Louis Missouri, Dred Scott, "a man of color" [1], requested that the St. Louis circuit court allow him to sue Irene Emerson (his owner), "in order to establish his right to freedom." [1] The St. Louis circuit court, "grant[ed] this petitioner (Scott) leave to sue etc. as prayed for." This was the beginning of a life-long battle for Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet.
In a deposition submitted by Second Lieutenant Miles H. Clark, who was stationed at Ft.Snelling with Dr. Emerson (Mrs. Emerson's deceased husband and original slave owner), Mr. Clark states the position of Mr. Scott, "I knew the negro man named Dred, who is the plaintiff in this suit. I first knew Dred some time in the year of 1834, at Rock island in the state of Illinois. He was then a servant belonging to Doctor Emeerson, who was there an Assistant Surgeon in the [U.S. Army] and was stationed there at rock island. He was held in service there by Doctor Emerson as a slave from the time I first knew him until April or May of 1836." [2] .
Soon after Mr. Scott filed a petition to sue Mrs. Irene Emerson, in November of 1846, both Mr. Scott and his wife filed petitions of false imprisonment and brought up charges of assault on Mrs. Emerson. Mr. Scott and his wife filed seperate petitions, but the text of each reads similarly, "[Mr. and Mrs. Scott], a [woman/man] of color, complains of Irene Emerson of a plea for that the said defendant on the fourth day of April in the year eighteen hundred and forty six, with force and arms etc.," mind you this is two days before the St. Louis circuit court granted Mr. Scott legal right to sue Mrs. Emerson, "made an assault upon the said plaintiff[s],.and then there beat, bruised and ill treated [him/her], the said plaintiff, and kept and detained [him/her] in prison there, without any reasonable or probable cause whatsoever, for a long time wit, for the space of twelve hours there next following, contrary to laws of the said state [of Missouri] and the will of said plaintiff.
