diff options
Diffstat (limited to '16332.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 16332.txt | 19286 |
1 files changed, 19286 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/16332.txt b/16332.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f8b0ffb --- /dev/null +++ b/16332.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19286 @@ +Project Gutenberg's A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln, by John G. Nicolay + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln + Condensed from Nicolay & Hay's Abraham Lincoln: A History + +Author: John G. Nicolay + +Release Date: July 19, 2005 [EBook #16332] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A SHORT LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS SON "TAD."] + + + + +A SHORT LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN + + +CONDENSED FROM NICOLAY & HAY'S +ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A HISTORY + +BY + +JOHN G. NICOLAY + + +NEW YORK +The Century Co. +1904 + + * * * * * + +_Published October, 1902_ + +THE DEVINNE PRESS. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I + +Ancestry--Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks--Rock Spring Farm--Lincoln's +Birth--Kentucky Schools--The Journey to Indiana--Pigeon Creek +Settlement--Indiana Schools--Sally Bush Lincoln--Gentryville--Work and +Books--Satires and Sermons--Flatboat Voyage to New Orleans--The Journey +to Illinois + +II + +Flatboat--New Salem--Election Clerk--Store and Mill--Kirkham's +"Grammar"--"Sangamo Journal"--The Talisman--Lincoln's Address, March 9, +1832--Black Hawk War--Lincoln Elected Captain--Mustered out May 27, +1832--Re-enlisted in Independent Spy Battalion--Finally Mustered out, +June 16, 1832--Defeated for the Legislature--Blacksmith or Lawyer?--The +Lincoln-Berry Store--Appointed Postmaster, May 7, 1833--National +Politics + +III + +Appointed Deputy Surveyor--Elected to Legislature in 1834--Campaign +Issues--Begins Study of Law--Internal Improvement System--The +Lincoln-Stone Protest--Candidate for Speaker in 1838 and 1840 + +IV + +Law Practice--Rules for a Lawyer--Law and Politics: Twin +Occupations--The Springfield Coterie--Friendly Help--Anne Rutledge--Mary +Owens + +V + +Springfield Society--Miss Mary Todd--Lincoln's Engagement--His Deep +Despondency--Visit to Kentucky--Letters to Speed--The Shields +Duel--Marriage--Law Partnership with Logan--Hardin Nominated for +Congress, 1843--Baker Nominated for Congress, 1844--Lincoln Nominated +and Elected, 1846 + +VI + +First Session of the Thirtieth Congress--Mexican War--"Wilmot +Proviso"--Campaign of 1848--Letters to Herndon about Young Men in +Politics--Speech in Congress on the Mexican War--Second Session of the +Thirtieth Congress--Bill to Prohibit Slavery in the District of +Columbia--Lincoln's Recommendations of Office-Seekers--Letters to +Speed--Commissioner of the General Land Office--Declines Governorship of +Oregon + +VII + +Repeal of the Missouri Compromise--State Fair Debate--Peoria +Debate--Trumbull Elected--Letter to Robinson--The Know-Nothings--Decatur +Meeting--Bloomington Convention--Philadelphia Convention--Lincoln's Vote +for Vice-President--Fremont and Dayton--Lincoln's Campaign +Speeches--Chicago Banquet Speech + +VIII + +Buchanan Elected President--The Dred Scott Decision--Douglas's +Springfield Speech, 1857--Lincoln's Answering Speech--Criticism of Dred +Scott Decision--Kansas Civil War--Buchanan Appoints Walker--Walker's +Letter on Kansas--The Lecompton Constitution--Revolt of Douglas + +IX + +The Senatorial Contest in Illinois--"House Divided against Itself" +Speech--The Lincoln-Douglas Debates--The Freeport Doctrine--Douglas +Deposed from Chairmanship of Committee on Territories--Benjamin on +Douglas--Lincoln's Popular Majority--Douglas Gains Legislature--Greeley, +Crittenden _et al._--"The Fight Must Go On"--Douglas's Southern +Speeches--Senator Brown's Questions--Lincoln's Warning against Popular +Sovereignty--The War of Pamphlets--Lincoln's Ohio Speeches--The John +Brown Raid--Lincoln's Comment + +X + +Lincoln's Kansas Speeches--The Cooper Institute Speech--New England +Speeches--The Democratic Schism--Senator Brown's Resolutions--Jefferson +Davis's Resolutions--The Charleston Convention--Majority and Minority +Reports--Cotton State Delegations Secede--Charleston Convention +Adjourns--Democratic Baltimore Convention Splits--Breckinridge +Nominated--Douglas Nominated--Bell Nominated by Union Constitutional +Convention--Chicago Convention--Lincoln's Letters to Pickett and +Judd--The Pivotal States--Lincoln Nominated + +XI + +Candidates and Platforms--The Political Chances--Decatur Lincoln +Resolution--John Hanks and the Lincoln Rails--The Rail-Splitter +Candidate--The Wide-Awakes--Douglas's Southern Tour--Jefferson Davis's +Address--Fusion--Lincoln at the State House--The Election Result + +XII + +Lincoln's Cabinet Program--Members from the South--Questions and +Answers--Correspondence with Stephens--Action of Congress--Peace +Convention--Preparation of the Inaugural--Lincoln's Farewell +Address--The Journey to Washington--Lincoln's Midnight Journey + +XIII + +The Secession Movement--South Carolina Secession--Buchanan's +Neglect--Disloyal Cabinet Members--Washington Central Cabal--Anderson's +Transfer to Sumter--Star of the West--Montgomery Rebellion--Davis and +Stephens--Corner-stone Theory--Lincoln Inaugurated--His Inaugural +Address--Lincoln's Cabinet--The Question of Sumter--Seward's +Memorandum--Lincoln's Answer--Bombardment of Sumter--Anderson's +Capitulation + +XIV + +President's Proclamation Calling for Seventy-five Regiments--Responses of +the Governors--Maryland and Virginia--The Baltimore Riot--Washington +Isolated--Lincoln Takes the Responsibility--Robert E. Lee--Arrival of the +New York Seventh--Suspension of Habeas Corpus--The Annapolis Route--Butler +in Baltimore--Taney on the Merryman Case--Kentucky--Missouri--Lyon +Captures Camp Jackson--Boonville Skirmish--The Missouri Convention--Gamble +made Governor--The Border States + +XV + +Davis's Proclamation for Privateers--Lincoln's Proclamation of +Blockade--The Call for Three Years' Volunteers--Southern Military +Preparations--Rebel Capital Moved to Richmond--Virginia, North Carolina, +Tennessee, and Arkansas Admitted to Confederate States--Desertion of +Army and Navy Officers--Union Troops Fortify Virginia Shore of the +Potomac--Concentration at Harper's Ferry--Concentration at Fortress +Monroe and Cairo--English Neutrality--Seward's 21st-of-May +Despatch--Lincoln's Corrections--Preliminary Skirmishes--Forward to +Richmond--Plan of McDowell's Campaign + +XVI + +Congress--The President's Message--Men and Money Voted--The +Contraband--Dennison Appoints McClellan--Rich Mountain--McDowell--Bull +Run--Patterson's Failure--McClellan at Washington + +XVII + +General Scott's Plans--Criticized as the "Anaconda"--The Three Fields of +Conflict--Fremont Appointed Major-General--His Military Failures--Battle +of Wilson's Creek--Hunter Ordered to Fremont--Fremont's +Proclamation--President Revokes Fremont's Proclamation--Lincoln's Letter +to Browning--Surrender of Lexington--Fremont Takes the Field--Cameron's +Visit to Fremont--Fremont's Removal + +XVIII + +Blockade--Hatteras Inlet--Port Royal Captured--The Trent Affair--Lincoln +Suggests Arbitration--Seward's Despatch--McClellan at Washington--Army +of the Potomac--McClellan's Quarrel with Scott--Retirement of +Scott--Lincoln's Memorandum--"All Quiet on the Potomac"--Conditions in +Kentucky--Cameron's Visit to Sherman--East Tennessee--Instructions to +Buell--Buell's Neglect--Halleck in Missouri + +XIX + +Lincoln Directs Cooeperation--Halleck and Buell--Ulysses S. +Grant--Grant's Demonstration--Victory at Mill River--Fort Henry--Fort +Donelson--Buell's Tardiness--Halleck's Activity--Victory of Pea +Ridge--Halleck Receives General Command--Pittsburg Landing--Island No. +10--Halleck's Corinth Campaign--Halleck's Mistakes + +XX + +The Blockade--Hatteras Inlet--Roanoke Island--Fort Pulaski--_Merrimac_ +and _Monitor_--The _Cumberland_ Sunk--The _Congress_ Burned--Battle of +the Ironclads--Flag-Officer Farragut--Forts Jackson and St. Philip--New +Orleans Captured--Farragut at Vicksburg--Farragut's Second Expedition to +Vicksburg--Return to New Orleans + +XXI + +McClellan's Illness--Lincoln Consults McDowell and Franklin--President's +Plan against Manassas--McClellan's Plan against Richmond--Cameron and +Stanton--President's War Order No. 1--Lincoln's Questions to +McClellan--News from the West--Death of Willie Lincoln--The Harper's +Ferry Fiasco--President's War Order No. 3--The News from Hampton +Roads--Manassas Evacuated--Movement to the Peninsula--Yorktown--The +Peninsula Campaign--Seven Days' Battles--Retreat to Harrison's Landing + +XXII + +Jackson's Valley Campaign--Lincoln's Visit to Scott--Pope Assigned to +Command--Lee's Attack on McClellan--Retreat to Harrison's +Landing--Seward Sent to New York--Lincoln's Letter to Seward--Lincoln's +Letter to McClellan--Lincoln's Visit to McClellan--Halleck Made +General-in-Chief--Halleck's Visit to McClellan--Withdrawal from +Harrison's Landing--Pope Assumes Command--Second Battle of Bull Run--The +Cabinet Protest--McClellan Ordered to Defend Washington--The Maryland +Campaign--Battle of Antietam--Lincoln visits Antietam--Lincoln's Letter +to McClellan--McClellan Removed from Command + +XXIII + +Cameron's Report--Lincoln's Letter to Bancroft--Annual Message on +Slavery--The Delaware Experiment--Joint Resolution on Compensated +Abolishment--First Border State Interview--Stevens's Comment--District +of Columbia Abolishment--Committee on Abolishment--Hunter's Order +Revoked--Antislavery Measures of Congress--Second Border State +Interview--Emancipation Proposed and Postponed + +XXIV + +Criticism of the President for his Action on Slavery--Lincoln's Letters +to Louisiana Friends--Greeley's Open Letter--Mr. Lincoln's +Reply--Chicago Clergymen Urge Emancipation--Lincoln's Answer--Lincoln +Issues Preliminary Proclamation--President Proposes Constitutional +Amendment--Cabinet Considers Final Proclamation--Cabinet Discusses +Admission of West Virginia--Lincoln Signs Edict of Freedom--Lincoln's +Letter to Hodges + +XXV + +Negro Soldiers--Fort Pillow--Retaliation--Draft--Northern +Democrats--Governor Seymour's Attitude--Draft Riots in New +York--Vallandigham--Lincoln on his Authority to Suspend Writ of Habeas +Corpus--Knights of the Golden Circle--Jacob Thompson in Canada + +XXVI + +Burnside--Fredericksburg--A Tangle of Cross-Purposes--Hooker Succeeds +Burnside--Lincoln to Hooker--Chancellorsville--Lee's Second +Invasion--Lincoln's Criticisms of Hooker's Plans--Hooker +Relieved--Meade--Gettysburg--Lee's Retreat--Lincoln's Letter to +Meade--Lincoln's Gettysburg Address--Autumn Strategy--The Armies go into +Winter Quarters + +XXVII + +Buell and Bragg--Perryville--Rosecrans and Murfreesboro--Grant's +Vicksburg Experiments--Grant's May Battles--Siege and Surrender of +Vicksburg--Lincoln to Grant--Rosecrans's March to Chattanooga--Battle of +Chickamauga--Grant at Chattanooga--Battle of Chattanooga--Burnside at +Knoxville--Burnside Repulses Longstreet + +XXVIII + +Grant Lieutenant-General--Interview with Lincoln--Grant Visits +Sherman--Plan of Campaigns--Lincoln to Grant--From the Wilderness to +Cold Harbor--The Move to City Point--Siege of Petersburg--Early Menaces +Washington--Lincoln under Fire--Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley + +XXIX + +Sherman's Meridian Expedition--Capture of Atlanta--Hood Supersedes +Johnston--Hood's Invasion of Tennessee--Franklin and Nashville--Sherman's +March to the Sea--Capture of Savannah--Sherman to Lincoln--Lincoln to +Sherman--Sherman's March through the Carolinas--The Burning of Charleston +and Columbia--Arrival at Goldsboro--Junction with Schofield--Visit to +Grant + +XXX + +Military Governors--Lincoln's Theory of Reconstruction--Congressional +Election in Louisiana--Letter to Military Governors--Letter to +Shepley--Amnesty Proclamation, December 8, 1863--Instructions to +Banks--Banks's Action in Louisiana--Louisiana Abolishes +Slavery--Arkansas Abolishes Slavery--Reconstruction in +Tennessee--Missouri Emancipation--Lincoln's Letter to Drake--Missouri +Abolishes Slavery--Emancipation in Maryland--Maryland Abolishes Slavery + +XXXI + +Shaping of the Presidential Campaign--Criticisms of Mr. Lincoln--Chase's +Presidential Ambitions--The Pomeroy Circular--Cleveland +Convention--Attempt to Nominate Grant--Meeting of Baltimore +Convention--Lincoln's Letter to Schurz--Platform of Republican +Convention--Lincoln Renominated--Refuses to Indicate Preference for +Vice-President--Johnson Nominated for Vice-President--Lincoln's Speech +to Committee of Notification--Reference to Mexico in his Letter of +Acceptance--The French in Mexico + +XXXII + +The Bogus Proclamation--The Wade-Davis Manifesto--Resignation of Mr. +Chase--Fessenden Succeeds Him--The Greeley Peace +Conference--Jaquess-Gilmore Mission--Letter of Raymond--Bad Outlook for +the Election--Mr. Lincoln on the Issues of the Campaign--President's +Secret Memorandum--Meeting of Democratic National Convention--McClellan +Nominated--His Letter of Acceptance--Lincoln Reelected--His Speech on +Night of Election--The Electoral Vote--Annual Message of December 6, +1864--Resignation of McClellan from the Army + +XXXIII + +The Thirteenth Amendment--The President's Speech on its Adoption--The +Two Constitutional Amendments of Lincoln's Term--Lincoln on Peace and +Slavery in his Annual Message of December 6, 1864--Blair's Mexican +Project--The Hampton Roads Conference + +XXXIV + +Blair--Chase Chief Justice--Speed Succeeds Bates--McCulloch Succeeds +Fessenden--Resignation of Mr. Usher--Lincoln's Offer of +$400,000,000--The Second Inaugural--Lincoln's Literary Rank--His Last +Speech + +XXXV + +Depreciation of Confederate Currency--Rigor of +Conscription--Dissatisfaction with the Confederate Government--Lee +General-in-Chief--J.E. Johnston Reappointed to Oppose Sherman's +March--Value of Slave Property Gone in Richmond--Davis's Recommendation +of Emancipation--Benjamin's Last Despatch to Slidell--Condition of the +Army when Lee took Command--Lee Attempts Negotiations with +Grant--Lincoln's Directions--Lee and Davis Agree upon Line of +Retreat--Assault on Fort Stedman--Five Forks--Evacuation of +Petersburg--Surrender of Richmond--Pursuit of Lee--Surrender of +Lee--Burning of Richmond--Lincoln in Richmond + +XXXVI + +Lincoln's Interviews with Campbell--Withdraws Authority for Meeting of +Virginia Legislature--Conference of Davis and Johnston at +Greensboro--Johnston Asks for an Armistice--Meeting of Sherman and +Johnston--Their Agreement--Rejected at Washington--Surrender of +Johnston--Surrender of other Confederate Forces--End of the Rebel +Navy--Capture of Jefferson Davis--Surrender of E. Kirby Smith--Number of +Confederates Surrendered and Exchanged--Reduction of Federal Army to a +Peace Footing--Grand Review of the Army + +XXXVII + +The 14th of April--Celebration at Fort Sumter--Last Cabinet +Meeting--Lincoln's Attitude toward Threats of Assassination--Booth's +Plot--Ford's Theater--Fate of the Assassins--The Mourning Pageant + +XXXVIII + +Lincoln's Early Environment--Its Effect on his Character--His Attitude +toward Slavery and the Slaveholder--His Schooling in Disappointment--His +Seeming Failures--His Real Successes--The Final Trial--His +Achievements--His Place in History + +Index + + + + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN + + + +I + +Ancestry--Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks--Rock Spring Farm--Lincoln's +Birth--Kentucky Schools--The Journey to Indiana--Pigeon Creek +Settlement--Indiana Schools--Sally Bush Lincoln--Gentryville--Work and +Books--Satires and Sermons--Flatboat Voyage to New Orleans--The Journey +to Illinois + + +Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, was born +in a log cabin in the backwoods of Kentucky on the 12th day of February +1809. His father, Thomas Lincoln, was sixth in direct line of descent +from Samuel Lincoln, who emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1638. +Following the prevailing drift of American settlement, these descendants +had, during a century and a half, successively moved from Massachusetts +to New Jersey, from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, from Pennsylvania to +Virginia, and from Virginia to Kentucky; while collateral branches of the +family eventually made homes in other parts of the West. In Pennsylvania +and Virginia some of them had acquired considerable property and local +prominence. + +In the year 1780, Abraham Lincoln, the President's grandfather, was able +to pay into the public treasury of Virginia "one hundred and sixty +pounds, current money," for which he received a warrant, directed to the +"Principal Surveyor of any County within the commonwealth of Virginia," +to lay off in one or more surveys for Abraham Linkhorn, his heirs or +assigns, the quantity of four hundred acres of land. The error in +spelling the name was a blunder of the clerk who made out the warrant. + +With this warrant and his family of five children--Mordecai, Josiah, +Mary, Nancy, and Thomas--he moved to Kentucky, then still a county of +Virginia, in 1780, and began opening a farm. Four years later, while at +work with his three boys in the edge of his clearing, a party of +Indians, concealed in the brush, shot and killed him. Josiah, the second +son, ran to a neighboring fort for assistance; Mordecai, the eldest, +hurried to the cabin for his gun, leaving Thomas, youngest of the +family, a child of six years, by his father. Mordecai had just taken +down his rifle from its convenient resting-place over the door of the +cabin when, turning, he saw an Indian in his war-paint stooping to seize +the child. He took quick aim through a loop-hole, shot, and killed the +savage, at which the little boy also ran to the house, and from this +citadel Mordecai continued firing at the Indians until Josiah brought +help from the fort. + +It was doubtless this misfortune which rapidly changed the circumstances +of the family.[1] Kentucky was yet a wild, new country. As compared with +later periods of emigration, settlement was slow and pioneer life a hard +struggle. So it was probably under the stress of poverty, as well as by +the marriage of the older children, that the home was gradually broken +up, and Thomas Lincoln became "even in childhood ... a wandering +laboring boy, and grew up literally without education.... Before he was +grown he passed one year as a hired hand with his uncle Isaac on +Watauga, a branch of the Holston River." Later, he seems to have +undertaken to learn the trade of carpenter in the shop of Joseph Hanks +in Elizabethtown. + + [Footnote 1: By the law of primogeniture, which at that date was + still unrepealed in Virginia, the family estate went to Mordecai, + the eldest son.] + +When Thomas Lincoln was about twenty-eight years old he married Nancy +Hanks, a niece of his employer, near Beechland, in Washington County. +She was a good-looking young woman of twenty-three, also from Virginia, +and so far superior to her husband in education that she could read and +write, and taught him how to sign his name. Neither one of the young +couple had any money or property; but in those days living was not +expensive, and they doubtless considered his trade a sufficient +provision for the future. He brought her to a little house in +Elizabethtown, where a daughter was born to them the following year. + +During the next twelvemonth Thomas Lincoln either grew tired of his +carpenter work, or found the wages he was able to earn insufficient to +meet his growing household expenses. He therefore bought a little farm +on the Big South Fork of Nolin Creek, in what was then Hardin and is now +La Rue County, three miles from Hodgensville, and thirteen miles from +Elizabethtown. Having no means, he of course bought the place on credit, +a transaction not so difficult when we remember that in that early day +there was plenty of land to be bought for mere promises to pay; under +the disadvantage, however, that farms to be had on these terms were +usually of a very poor quality, on which energetic or forehanded men did +not care to waste their labor. It was a kind of land generally known in +the West as "barrens"--rolling upland, with very thin, unproductive +soil. Its momentary usefulness was that it was partly cleared and +cultivated, that an indifferent cabin stood on it ready to be occupied, +and that it had one specially attractive as well as useful feature--a +fine spring of water, prettily situated amid a graceful clump of +foliage, because of which the place was called Rock Spring Farm. The +change of abode was perhaps in some respects an improvement upon +Elizabethtown. To pioneer families in deep poverty, a little farm +offered many more resources than a town lot--space, wood, water, greens +in the spring, berries in the summer, nuts in the autumn, small game +everywhere--and they were fully accustomed to the loss of +companionship. On this farm, and in this cabin, the future President of +the United States was born, on the 12th of February, 1809, and here the +first four years of his childhood were spent. + +When Abraham was about four years old the Lincoln home was changed to a +much better farm of two hundred and thirty-eight acres on Knob Creek, +six miles from Hodgensville, bought by Thomas Lincoln, again on credit, +for the promise to pay one hundred and eighteen pounds. A year later he +conveyed two hundred acres of it by deed to a new purchaser. In this new +home the family spent four years more, and while here Abraham and his +sister Sarah began going to A B C schools. Their first teacher was +Zachariah Riney, who taught near the Lincoln cabin; the next, Caleb +Hazel, at a distance of about four miles. + +Thomas Lincoln was evidently one of those easy-going, good-natured men +who carry the virtue of contentment to an extreme. He appears never to +have exerted himself much beyond the attainment of a necessary +subsistence. By a little farming and occasional jobs at his trade, he +seems to have supplied his family with food and clothes. There is no +record that he made any payment on either of his farms. The fever of +westward emigration was in the air, and, listening to glowing accounts +of rich lands and newer settlements in Indiana, he had neither valuable +possessions nor cheerful associations to restrain the natural impulse of +every frontiersman to "move." In this determination his carpenter's +skill served him a good purpose, and made the enterprise not only +feasible but reasonably cheap. In the fall of 1816 he built himself a +small flatboat, which he launched at the mouth of Knob Creek, half a +mile from his cabin, on the waters of the Rolling Fork. This stream +would float him to Salt River, and Salt River to the Ohio. He also +thought to combine a little speculation with his undertaking. Part of +his personal property he traded for four hundred gallons of whisky; +then, loading the rest on his boat with his carpenter's tools and the +whisky, he made the voyage, with the help of the current, down the +Rolling Fork to Salt River, down Salt River to the Ohio, and down the +Ohio to Thompson's Ferry, in Perry County, on the Indiana shore. The +boat capsized once on the way, but he saved most of the cargo. + +Sixteen miles out from the river he found a location in the forest which +suited him. Since his boat would not float up-stream, he sold it, left +his property with a settler, and trudged back home to Kentucky, all the +way on foot, to bring his wife and the two children--Sarah, nine years +old, and Abraham, seven. Another son had been born to them some years +before, but had died when only three days old. This time the trip to +Indiana was made with the aid of two horses, used by the wife and +children for riding and to carry their little equipage for camping at +night by the way. In a straight line, the distance is about fifty miles; +but it was probably doubled by the very few roads it was possible to +follow. + +Having reached the Ohio and crossed to where he had left his goods on +the Indiana side, he hired a wagon, which carried them and his family +the remaining sixteen miles through the forest to the spot he had +chosen, which in due time became the Lincoln farm. It was a piece of +heavily timbered land, one and a half miles east of what has since +become the village of Gentryville, in Spencer County. The lateness of +the autumn compelled him to provide a shelter as quickly as possible, +and he built what is known on the frontier as a half-faced camp, about +fourteen feet square. This structure differed from a cabin in that it +was closed on only three sides, and open to the weather on the fourth. +It was usual to build the fire in front of the open side, and the +necessity of providing a chimney was thus avoided. He doubtless intended +it for a mere temporary shelter, and as such it would have sufficed for +good weather in the summer season. But it was a rude provision for the +winds and snows of an Indiana winter. It illustrates Thomas Lincoln's +want of energy, that the family remained housed in this primitive camp +for nearly a whole year. He must, however, not be too hastily blamed for +his dilatory improvement. It is not likely that he remained altogether +idle. A more substantial cabin was probably begun, and, besides, there +was the heavy work of clearing away the timber--that is, cutting down +the large trees, chopping them into suitable lengths, and rolling them +together into great log-heaps to be burned, or splitting them into rails +to fence the small field upon which he managed to raise a patch of corn +and other things during the ensuing summer. + +Thomas Lincoln's arrival was in the autumn of 1816. That same winter +Indiana was admitted to the Union as a State. There were as yet no roads +worthy of the name to or from the settlement formed by himself and seven +or eight neighbors at various distances. The village of Gentryville was +not even begun. There was no sawmill to saw lumber. Breadstuff could be +had only by sending young Abraham, on horseback, seven miles, with a bag +of corn to be ground on a hand grist-mill. In the course of two or three +years a road from Corydon to Evansville was laid out, running past the +Lincoln farm; and perhaps two or three years afterward another from +Rockport to Bloomington crossing the former. This gave rise to +Gentryville. James Gentry entered the land at the cross-roads. Gideon +Romine opened a small store, and their joint efforts succeeded in +getting a post-office established from which the village gradually grew. +For a year after his arrival Thomas Lincoln remained a mere squatter. +Then he entered the quarter-section (one hundred and sixty acres) on +which he opened his farm, and made some payments on his entry, but only +enough in eleven years to obtain a patent for one half of it. + +About the time that he moved into his new cabin, relatives and friends +followed from Kentucky, and some of them in turn occupied the half-faced +camp. In the ensuing autumn much sickness prevailed in the Pigeon Creek +settlement. It was thirty miles to the nearest doctor, and several +persons died, among them Nancy Hanks Lincoln, the mother of young +Abraham. The mechanical skill of Thomas was called upon to make the +coffins, the necessary lumber for which had to be cut with a whip-saw. + +The death of Mrs. Lincoln was a serious loss to her husband and +children. Abraham's sister Sarah was only eleven years old, and the +tasks and cares of the little household were altogether too heavy for +her years and experience. Nevertheless, they struggled on bravely +through the winter and next summer, but in the autumn of 1819 Thomas +Lincoln went back to Kentucky and married Sally Bush Johnston, whom he +had known and, it is said, courted when she was merely Sally Bush. +Johnston, to whom she was married about the time Lincoln married Nancy +Hanks, had died, leaving her with three children. She came of a better +station in life than Thomas, and is represented as a woman of uncommon +energy and thrift, possessing excellent qualities both of head and +heart. The household goods which she brought to the Lincoln home in +Indiana filled a four-horse wagon. Not only were her own three children +well clothed and cared for, but she was able at once to provide little +Abraham and Sarah with home comforts to which they had been strangers +during the whole of their young lives. Under her example and urging, +Thomas at once supplied the yet unfinished cabin with floor, door, and +windows, and existence took on a new aspect for all the inmates. Under +her management and control, all friction and jealousy was avoided +between the two sets of children, and contentment, if not happiness, +reigned in the little cabin. + +The new stepmother quickly perceived the superior aptitudes and +abilities of Abraham. She became very fond of him, and in every way +encouraged his marked inclination to study and improve himself. The +opportunities for this were meager enough. Mr. Lincoln himself has drawn +a vivid outline of the situation: + +"It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in +the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools so called, but no +qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond readin', writin', +and cipherin' to the Rule of Three. If a straggler supposed to +understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked +upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for +education." + +As Abraham was only in his eighth year when he left Kentucky, the little +beginnings he had learned in the schools kept by Riney and Hazel in that +State must have been very slight--probably only his alphabet, or +possibly three or four pages of Webster's "Elementary Spelling Book." It +is likely that the multiplication table was as yet an unfathomed +mystery, and that he could not write or read more than the words he +spelled. There is no record at what date he was able again to go to +school in Indiana. Some of his schoolmates think it was in his tenth +year, or soon after he fell under the care of his stepmother. The +school-house was a low cabin of round logs, a mile and a half from the +Lincoln home, with split logs or "puncheons" for a floor, split logs +roughly leveled with an ax and set up on legs for benches, and a log cut +out of one end and the space filled in with squares of greased paper for +window panes. The main light in such primitive halls of learning was +admitted by the open door. It was a type of school building common in +the early West, in which many a statesman gained the first rudiments of +knowledge. Very often Webster's "Elementary Spelling Book" was the only +text-book. Abraham's first Indiana school was probably held five years +before Gentryville was located and a store established there. Until then +it was difficult, if not impossible, to obtain books, slates, pencils, +pen, ink, and paper, and their use was limited to settlers who had +brought them when they came. It is reasonable to infer that the Lincoln +family had no such luxuries, and, as the Pigeon Creek settlement +numbered only eight or ten families there must have been very few pupils +to attend this first school. Nevertheless, it is worthy of special note +that even under such difficulties and limitations, the American thirst +for education planted a school-house on the very forefront of every +settlement. + +Abraham's second school in Indiana was held about the time he was +fourteen years old, and the third in his seventeenth year. By this time +he probably had better teachers and increased facilities, though with +the disadvantage of having to walk four or five miles to the +school-house. He learned to write, and was provided with pen, ink, and a +copy-book, and probably a very limited supply of writing-paper, for +facsimiles have been printed of several scraps and fragments upon which +he had carefully copied tables, rules, and sums from his arithmetic, +such as those of long measure, land measure, and dry measure, and +examples in multiplication and compound division. All this indicates +that he pursued his studies with a very unusual purpose and +determination, not only to understand them at the moment, but to imprint +them indelibly upon his memory, and even to regain them in visible form +for reference when the school-book might no longer be in his hands or +possession. + +Mr. Lincoln has himself written that these three different schools were +"kept successively by Andrew Crawford, ---- Swaney, and Azel W. Dorsey." +Other witnesses state the succession somewhat differently. The important +fact to be gleaned from what we learn about Mr. Lincoln's schooling is +that the instruction given him by these five different teachers--two in +Kentucky and three in Indiana, in short sessions of attendance scattered +over a period of nine years--made up in all less than a twelvemonth. +He said of it in 1860, "Abraham now thinks that the aggregate of all his +schooling did not amount to one year." This distribution of the tuition +he received was doubtless an advantage. Had it all been given him at his +first school in Indiana, it would probably not have carried him half +through Webster's "Elementary Spelling Book." The lazy or indifferent +pupils who were his schoolmates doubtless forgot what was taught them at +one time before they had opportunity at another; but to the exceptional +character of Abraham, these widely separated fragments of instruction +were precious steps to self-help, of which he made unremitting use. + +It is the concurrent testimony of his early companions that he employed +all his spare moments in keeping on with some one of his studies. His +stepmother says: "Abe read diligently.... He read every book he could +lay his hands on; and when he came across a passage that struck him, he +would write it down on boards, if he had no paper, and keep it there +until he did get paper. Then he would rewrite it, look at it, repeat it. +He had a copy-book, a kind of scrap-book, in which he put down all +things, and thus preserved them." There is no mention that either he or +other pupils had slates and slate-pencils to use at school or at home, +but he found a ready substitute in pieces of board. It is stated that he +occupied his long evenings at home doing sums on the fire-shovel. Iron +fire-shovels were a rarity among pioneers; they used, instead a broad, +thin clapboard with one end narrowed to a handle. In cooking by the open +fire, this domestic implement was of the first necessity to arrange +piles of live coals on the hearth, over which they set their "skillet" +and "oven," upon the lids of which live coals were also heaped. + +Upon such a wooden shovel Abraham was able to work his sums by the +flickering firelight. If he had no pencil, he could use charcoal, and +probably did so. When it was covered with figures he would take a +drawing-knife, shave it off clean, and begin again. Under these various +disadvantages, and by the help of such troublesome expedients, Abraham +Lincoln worked his way to so much of an education as placed him far +ahead of his schoolmates, and quickly abreast of the acquirements of his +various teachers. The field from which he could glean knowledge was very +limited, though he diligently borrowed every book in the neighborhood. +The list is a short one--"Robinson Crusoe," Aesop's "Fables," Bunyan's +"Pilgrim's Progress," Weems's "Life of Washington," and a "History of +the United States." When he had exhausted other books, he even +resolutely attacked the Revised Statutes of Indiana, which Dave Turnham, +the constable, had in daily use and permitted him to come to his house +and read. + +It needs to be borne in mind that all this effort at self-education +extended from first to last over a period of twelve or thirteen years, +during which he was also performing hard manual labor, and proves a +degree of steady, unflinching perseverance in a line of conduct that +brings into strong relief a high aim and the consciousness of abundant +intellectual power. He was not permitted to forget that he was on an +uphill path, a stern struggle with adversity. The leisure hours which he +was able to devote to his reading, his penmanship, and his arithmetic +were by no means overabundant. Writing of his father's removal from +Kentucky to Indiana, he says: + +"He settled in an unbroken forest, and the clearing away of surplus wood +was the great task ahead. Abraham, though very young, was large of his +age, and had an ax put into his hands at once; and from that till within +his twenty-third year he was almost constantly handling that most useful +instrument--less, of course, in plowing and harvesting seasons." + +John Hanks mentions the character of his work a little more in detail. +"He and I worked barefoot, grubbed it, plowed, mowed, and cradled +together; plowed corn, gathered it, and shucked corn." The sum of it all +is that from his boyhood until after he was of age, most of his time was +spent in the hard and varied muscular labor of the farm and the forest, +sometimes on his father's place, sometimes as a hired hand for other +pioneers. In this very useful but commonplace occupation he had, +however, one advantage. He was not only very early in his life a tall, +strong country boy, but as he grew up he soon became a tall, strong, +sinewy man. He early attained the unusual height of six feet four +inches, with arms of proportionate length. This gave him a degree of +power and facility as an ax-man which few had or were able to acquire. +He was therefore usually able to lead his fellows in efforts of both +muscle and mind. He performed the tasks of his daily labor and mastered +the lessons of his scanty schooling with an ease and rapidity they were +unable to attain. + +Twice during his life in Indiana this ordinary routine was somewhat +varied. When he was sixteen, while working for a man who lived at the +mouth of Anderson's Creek, it was part of his duty to manage a +ferry-boat which transported passengers across the Ohio River. It was +doubtless this which three years later brought him a new experience, +that he himself related in these words: + +"When he was nineteen, still residing in Indiana, he made his first +trip upon a flatboat to New Orleans. He was a hired hand merely, and he +and a son of the owner, without other assistance, made the trip. The +nature of part of the 'cargo load,' as it was called, made it necessary +for them to linger and trade along the sugar-coast, and one night they +were attacked by seven negroes with intent to kill and rob them. They +were hurt some in the melee, but succeeded in driving the negroes from +the boat, and then 'cut cable,' 'weighed anchor,' and left." + +This commercial enterprise was set on foot by Mr. Gentry, the founder of +Gentryville. The affair shows us that Abraham had gained an enviable +standing in the village as a man of honesty, skill, and judgment--one +who could be depended on to meet such emergencies as might arise in +selling their bacon and other produce to the cotton-planters along the +shores of the lower Mississippi. + +By this time Abraham's education was well advanced. His handwriting, his +arithmetic, and his general intelligence were so good that he had +occasionally been employed to help in the Gentryville store, and Gentry +thus knew by personal test that he was entirely capable of assisting his +son Allen in the trading expedition to New Orleans. For Abraham, on the +other hand, it was an event which must have opened up wide vistas of +future hope and ambition. Allen Gentry probably was nominal supercargo +and steersman, but we may easily surmise that Lincoln, as the "bow oar," +carried his full half of general responsibility. For this service the +elder Gentry paid him eight dollars a month and his passage home on a +steamboat. It was the future President's first eager look into the wide, +wide world. + +Abraham's devotion to his books and his sums stands forth in more +striking light from the fact that his habits differed from those of most +frontier boys in one important particular. Almost every youth of the +backwoods early became a habitual hunter and superior marksman. The +Indiana woods were yet swarming with game, and the larder of every cabin +depended largely upon this great storehouse of wild meat.[2] The Pigeon +Creek settlement was especially fortunate on this point. There was in +the neighborhood of the Lincoln home what was known in the West as a +deer-lick--that is, there existed a feeble salt-spring, which +impregnated the soil in its vicinity or created little pools of brackish +water--and various kinds of animals, particularly deer, resorted there +to satisfy their natural craving for salt by drinking from these or +licking the moist earth. Hunters took advantage of this habit, and one +of their common customs was to watch in the dusk or at night, and secure +their approaching prey by an easy shot. Skill with the rifle and success +in the chase were points of friendly emulation. In many localities the +boy or youth who shot a squirrel in any part of the animal except its +head became the butt of the jests of his companions and elders. Yet, +under such conditions and opportunities Abraham was neither a hunter nor +a marksman. He tells us: + +"A few days before the completion of his eighth year, in the absence of +his father, a flock of wild turkeys approached the new log cabin, and +Abraham, with a rifle gun, standing inside, shot through a crack and +killed one of them. He has never since pulled a trigger on any larger +game." + + [Footnote 2: Franklin points out how much this resource of the + early Americans contributed to their spirit of independence by + saying: + + "I can retire cheerfully with my little family into the boundless + woods of America, which are sure to afford freedom and subsistence + to any man who can bait a hook or pull a trigger." + + (See "The Century Magazine," "Franklin as a Diplomatist," October, + 1899, p. 888.)] + +The hours which other boys spent in roaming the woods or lying in ambush +at the deer-lick, he preferred to devote to his effort at mental +improvement. It can hardly be claimed that he did this from calculating +ambition. It was a native intellectual thirst, the significance of which +he did not himself yet understand. Such exceptional characteristics +manifested themselves only in a few matters. In most particulars he grew +up as the ordinary backwoods boy develops into the youth and man. As he +was subjected to their usual labors, so also he was limited to their +usual pastimes and enjoyments. + +The varied amusements common to our day were not within their reach. The +period of the circus, the political speech, and the itinerant show had +not yet come. Schools, as we have seen, and probably meetings or church +services, were irregular, to be had only at long intervals. Primitive +athletic games and commonplace talk, enlivened by frontier jests and +stories, formed the sum of social intercourse when half a dozen or a +score of settlers of various ages came together at a house-raising or +corn-husking, or when mere chance brought them at the same time to the +post-office or the country store. On these occasions, however, Abraham +was, according to his age, always able to contribute his full share or +more. Most of his natural aptitudes equipped him especially to play his +part well. He had quick intelligence, ready sympathy, a cheerful +temperament, a kindling humor, a generous and helpful spirit. He was +both a ready talker and appreciative listener. By virtue of his tall +stature and unusual strength of sinew and muscle, he was from the +beginning a leader in all athletic games; by reason of his studious +habits and his extraordinarily retentive memory he quickly became the +best story-teller among his companions. Even the slight training he +gained from his studies greatly quickened his perceptions and broadened +and steadied the strong reasoning faculty with which nature had endowed +him. + +As the years of his youth passed by, his less gifted comrades learned to +accept his judgments and to welcome his power to entertain and instruct +them. On his own part, he gradually learned to write not merely with the +hand, but also with the mind--to think. It was an easy transition for +him from remembering the jingle of a commonplace rhyme to the +constructing of a doggerel verse, and he did not neglect the opportunity +of practising his penmanship in such impromptus. Tradition also relates +that he added to his list of stories and jokes humorous imitations from +the sermons of eccentric preachers. But tradition has very likely both +magnified and distorted these alleged exploits of his satire and +mimicry. All that can be said of them is that his youth was marked by +intellectual activity far beyond that of his companions. + +It is an interesting coincidence that nine days before the birth of +Abraham Lincoln Congress passed the act to organize the Territory of +Illinois, which his future life and career were destined to render so +illustrious. Another interesting coincidence may be found in the fact +that in the same year (1818) in which Congress definitely fixed the +number of stars and stripes in the national flag, Illinois was admitted +as a State to the Union. The Star of Empire was moving westward at an +accelerating speed. Alabama was admitted in 1819, Maine in 1820, +Missouri in 1821. Little by little the line of frontier settlement was +pushing itself toward the Mississippi. No sooner had the pioneer built +him a cabin and opened his little farm, than during every summer +canvas-covered wagons wound their toilsome way over the new-made roads +into the newer wilderness, while his eyes followed them with wistful +eagerness. Thomas Lincoln and his Pigeon Creek relatives and neighbors +could not forever withstand the contagion of this example, and at length +they yielded to the irrepressible longing by a common impulse. Mr. +Lincoln writes: + +"March 1, 1830, Abraham having just completed his twenty-first year, his +father and family, with the families of the two daughters and +sons-in-law of his stepmother, left the old homestead in Indiana and +came to Illinois. Their mode of conveyance was wagons drawn by ox-teams, +and Abraham drove one of the teams. They reached the county of Macon, +and stopped there some time within the same month of March. His father +and family settled a new place on the north side of the Sangamon River, +at the junction of the timber land and prairie, about ten miles westerly +from Decatur. Here they built a log cabin, into which they removed, and +made sufficient of rails to fence ten acres of ground, fenced and broke +the ground, and raised a crop of sown corn upon it the same year.... The +sons-in-law were temporarily settled in other places in the county. In +the autumn all hands were greatly afflicted with ague and fever, to +which they had not been used, and by which they were greatly +discouraged, so much so that they determined on leaving the county. They +remained, however, through the succeeding winter, which was the winter +of the very celebrated 'deep snow' of Illinois." + + + + +II + +Flatboat--New Salem--Election Clerk--Store and Mill--Kirkham's +"Grammar"--"Sangamo Journal"--The Talisman--Lincoln's Address, March 9, +1832--Black Hawk War--Lincoln Elected Captain--Mustered out May 27, +1832--Reenlisted in Independent Spy Battalion--Finally Mustered out, June +16, 1832--Defeated for the Legislature--Blacksmith or Lawyer?--The +Lincoln-Berry Store--Appointed Postmaster, May 7, 1833--National Politics + + +The life of Abraham Lincoln, or that part of it which will interest +readers for all future time, properly begins in March, 1831, after the +winter of the "deep snow." According to frontier custom, being then +twenty-one years old, he left his father's cabin to make his own fortune +in the world. A man named Denton Offutt, one of a class of local traders +and speculators usually found about early Western settlements, had +probably heard something of young Lincoln's Indiana history, +particularly that he had made a voyage on a flatboat from Indiana to New +Orleans, and that he was strong, active, honest, and generally, as would +be expressed in Western phrase, "a smart young fellow." He was therefore +just the sort of man Offutt needed for one of his trading enterprises, +and Mr. Lincoln himself relates somewhat in detail how Offutt engaged +him and the beginning of the venture: + +"Abraham, together with his stepmother's son, John D. Johnston, and +John Hanks, yet residing in Macon County, hired themselves to Denton +Offutt to take a flatboat from Beardstown, Illinois [on the Illinois +River], to New Orleans; and for that purpose were to join +him--Offutt--at Springfield, Illinois, so soon as the snow should go +off. When it did go off, which was about the first of March, 1831, the +county was so flooded as to make traveling by land impracticable, to +obviate which difficulty they purchased a large canoe, and came down the +Sangamon River in it. This is the time and the manner of Abraham's first +entrance into Sangamon County. They found Offutt at Springfield, but +learned from him that he had failed in getting a boat at Beardstown. +This led to their hiring themselves to him for twelve dollars per month +each, and getting the timber out of the trees and building a boat at Old +Sangamon town on the Sangamon River, seven miles northwest of +Springfield, which boat they took to New Orleans, substantially upon the +old contract." + +It needs here to be recalled that Lincoln's father was a carpenter, and +that Abraham had no doubt acquired considerable skill in the use of +tools during his boyhood and a practical knowledge of the construction +of flatboats during his previous New Orleans trip, sufficient to enable +him with confidence to undertake this task in shipbuilding. From the +after history of both Johnston and Hanks, we know that neither of them +was gifted with skill or industry, and it becomes clear that Lincoln was +from the first leader of the party, master of construction, and captain +of the craft. + +It took some time to build the boat, and before it was finished the +Sangamon River had fallen so that the new craft stuck midway across the +dam at Rutledge's Mill, at New Salem, a village of fifteen or twenty +houses. The inhabitants came down to the bank, and exhibited great +interest in the fate of the boat, which, with its bow in the air and its +stern under water, was half bird and half fish, and they probably +jestingly inquired of the young captain whether he expected to dive or +to fly to New Orleans. He was, however, equal to the occasion. He bored +a hole in the bottom of the boat at the bow, and rigged some sort of +lever or derrick to lift the stern, so that the water she had taken in +behind ran out in front, enabling her to float over the partly submerged +dam; and this feat, in turn, caused great wonderment in the crowd at the +novel expedient of bailing a boat by boring a hole in her bottom. + +This exploit of naval engineering fully established Lincoln's fame at +New Salem, and grounded him so firmly in the esteem of his employer +Offutt that the latter, already looking forward to his future +usefulness, at once engaged him to come back to New Salem, after his New +Orleans voyage, to act as his clerk in a store. + +Once over the dam and her cargo reloaded, partly there and partly at +Beardstown, the boat safely made the remainder of her voyage to New +Orleans; and, returning by steamer to St. Louis, Lincoln and Johnston +(Hanks had turned back from St. Louis) continued on foot to Illinois, +Johnston remaining at the family home, which had meanwhile been removed +from Macon to Coles County, and Lincoln going to his employer and +friends at New Salem. This was in July or August, 1831. Neither Offutt +nor his goods had yet arrived, and during his waiting he had a chance to +show the New Salemites another accomplishment. An election was to be +held, and one of the clerks was sick and failed to come. Scribes were +not plenty on the frontier, and Mentor Graham, the clerk who was +present, looking around for a properly qualified colleague, noticed +Lincoln, and asked him if he could write, to which he answered, in local +idiom, that he "could make a few rabbit tracks," and was thereupon +immediately inducted into his first office. He performed his duties not +only to the general satisfaction, but so as to interest Graham, who was +a schoolmaster, and afterward made himself very useful to Lincoln. + +Offutt finally arrived with a miscellaneous lot of goods, which Lincoln +opened and put in order in a room that a former New Salem storekeeper +was just ready to vacate, and whose remnant stock Offutt also purchased. +Trade was evidently not brisk at New Salem, for the commercial zeal of +Offutt led him to increase his venture by renting the Rutledge and +Cameron mill, on whose historic dam the flatboat had stuck. For a while +the charge of the mill was added to Lincoln's duties, until another +clerk was engaged to help him. There is likewise good evidence that in +addition to his duties at the store and the mill, Lincoln made himself +generally useful--that he cut down trees and split rails enough to make +a large hog-pen adjoining the mill, a proceeding quite natural when we +remember that his hitherto active life and still growing muscles +imperatively demanded the exercise which measuring calico or weighing +out sugar and coffee failed to supply. + +We know from other incidents that he was possessed of ample bodily +strength. In frontier life it is not only needed for useful labor of +many kinds, but is also called upon to aid in popular amusement. There +was a settlement in the neighborhood of New Salem called Clary's Grove, +where lived a group of restless, rollicking backwoodsmen with a strong +liking for various forms of frontier athletics and rough practical +jokes. In the progress of American settlement there has always been a +time, whether the frontier was in New England or Pennsylvania or +Kentucky, or on the banks of the Mississippi, when the champion wrestler +held some fraction of the public consideration accorded to the victor in +the Olympic games of Greece. Until Lincoln came, Jack Armstrong was the +champion wrestler of Clary's Grove and New Salem, and picturesque +stories are told how the neighborhood talk, inflamed by Offutt's fulsome +laudation of his clerk, made Jack Armstrong feel that his fame was in +danger. Lincoln put off the encounter as long as he could, and when the +wrestling match finally came off neither could throw the other. The +bystanders became satisfied that they were equally matched in strength +and skill, and the cool courage which Lincoln manifested throughout the +ordeal prevented the usual close of such incidents with a fight. Instead +of becoming chronic enemies and leaders of a neighborhood feud, +Lincoln's self-possession and good temper turned the contest into the +beginning of a warm and lasting friendship. + +If Lincoln's muscles were at times hungry for work, not less so was his +mind. He was already instinctively feeling his way to his destiny when, +in conversation with Mentor Graham, the schoolmaster, he indicated his +desire to use some of his spare moments to increase his education, and +confided to him his "notion to study English grammar." It was entirely +in the nature of things that Graham should encourage this mental +craving, and tell him: "If you expect to go before the public in any +capacity, I think it the best thing you can do." Lincoln said that if he +had a grammar he would begin at once. Graham was obliged to confess that +there was no such book at New Salem, but remembered that there was one +at Vaner's, six miles away. Promptly after breakfast the next morning +Lincoln walked to Vaner's and procured the precious volume, and, +probably with Graham's occasional help, found no great difficulty in +mastering its contents. While tradition does not mention any other study +begun at that time, we may fairly infer that, slight as may have been +Graham's education, he must have had other books from which, together +with his friendly advice, Lincoln's intellectual hunger derived further +stimulus and nourishment. + +In his duties at the store and his work at the mill, in his study of +Kirkham's "Grammar," and educational conversations with Mentor Graham, +in the somewhat rude but frank and hearty companionship of the citizens +of New Salem and the exuberant boys of Clary's Grove, Lincoln's life for +the second half of the year 1831 appears not to have been eventful, but +was doubtless more comfortable and as interesting as had been his +flatboat building and New Orleans voyage during the first half. He was +busy in useful labor, and, though he had few chances to pick up scraps +of schooling, was beginning to read deeply in that book of human nature, +the profound knowledge of which rendered him such immense service in +after years. + +The restlessness and ambition of the village of New Salem was many times +multiplied in the restlessness and ambition of Springfield, fifteen or +twenty miles away, which, located approximately near the geographical +center of Illinois, was already beginning to crave, if not yet to feel, +its future destiny as the capital of the State. In November of the same +year that aspiring town produced the first number of its weekly +newspaper, the "Sangamo Journal," and in its columns we begin to find +recorded historical data. Situated in a region of alternating spaces of +prairie and forest, of attractive natural scenery and rich soil, it was +nevertheless at a great disadvantage in the means of commercial +transportation. Lying sixty miles from Beardstown, the nearest landing +on the Illinois River, the peculiarities of soil, climate, and primitive +roads rendered travel and land carriage extremely difficult--often +entirely impossible--for nearly half of every year. The very first +number of the "Sangamo Journal" sounded its strongest note on the then +leading tenet of the Whig party--internal improvements by the general +government, and active politics to secure them. In later numbers we +learn that a regular Eastern mail had not been received for three weeks. +The tide of immigration which was pouring into Illinois is illustrated +in a tabular statement on the commerce of the Illinois River, showing +that the steamboat arrivals at Beardstown had risen from one each in the +years 1828 and 1829, and only four in 1830, to thirty-two during the +year 1831. This naturally directed the thoughts of travelers and traders +to some better means of reaching the river landing than the frozen or +muddy roads and impassable creeks and sloughs of winter and spring. The +use of the Sangamon River, flowing within five miles of Springfield and +emptying itself into the Illinois ten or fifteen miles from Beardstown, +seemed for the present the only solution of the problem, and a public +meeting was called to discuss the project. The deep snows of the winter +of 1830-31 abundantly filled the channels of that stream, and the winter +of 1831-32 substantially repeated its swelling floods. Newcomers in that +region were therefore warranted in drawing the inference that it might +remain navigable for small craft. Public interest on the topic was +greatly heightened when one Captain Bogue, commanding a small steamer +then at Cincinnati, printed a letter in the "Journal" of January 26, +1832, saying: "I intend to try to ascend the river [Sangamo] immediately +on the breaking up of the ice." It was well understood that the chief +difficulty would be that the short turns in the channels were liable to +be obstructed by a gorge of driftwood and the limbs and trunks of +overhanging trees. To provide for this, Captain Bogue's letter added: "I +should be met at the mouth of the river by ten or twelve men, having +axes with long handles under the direction of some experienced man. I +shall deliver freight from St. Louis at the landing on the Sangamo River +opposite the town of Springfield for thirty-seven and a half cents per +hundred pounds." The "Journal" of February 16 contained an advertisement +that the "splendid upper-cabin steamer _Talisman_" would leave for +Springfield, and the paper of March 1 announced her arrival at St. Louis +on the 22d of February with a full cargo. In due time the citizen +committee appointed by the public meeting met the _Talisman_ at the +mouth of the Sangamon, and the "Journal" of March 29 announced with +great flourish that the "steamboat _Talisman_, of one hundred and fifty +tons burden, arrived at the Portland landing opposite this town on +Saturday last." There was great local rejoicing over this demonstration +that the Sangamon was really navigable, and the "Journal" proclaimed +with exultation that Springfield "could no longer be considered an +inland town." + +President Jackson's first term was nearing its close, and the Democratic +party was preparing to reelect him. The Whigs, on their part, had held +their first national convention in December, 1831, and nominated Henry +Clay to dispute the succession. This nomination, made almost a year in +advance of the election, indicates an unusual degree of political +activity in the East, and voters in the new State of Illinois were +fired with an equal party zeal. During the months of January and +February, 1832, no less than six citizens of Sangamon County announced +themselves in the "Sangamo Journal" as candidates for the State +legislature, the election for which was not to occur until August; and +the "Journal" of March 15 printed a long letter, addressed "To the +People of Sangamon County," under date of the ninth, signed A. Lincoln, +and beginning: + +"FELLOW-CITIZENS: Having become a candidate for the honorable office of +one of your representatives in the next general assembly of this State, +in accordance with an established custom and the principles of true +republicanism, it becomes my duty to make known to you, the people whom +I propose to represent, my sentiments with regard to local affairs." He +then takes up and discusses in an eminently methodical and practical way +the absorbing topic of the moment--the Whig doctrine of internal +improvements and its local application, the improvement of the Sangamon +River. He mentions that meetings have been held to propose the +construction of a railroad, and frankly acknowledges that "no other +improvement that reason will justify us in hoping for can equal in +utility the railroad," but contends that its enormous cost precludes any +such hope, and that, therefore, "the improvement of the Sangamon River +is an object much better suited to our infant resources." Relating his +experience in building and navigating his flatboat, and his observation +of the stage of the water since then, he draws the very plausible +conclusion that by straightening its channel and clearing away its +driftwood the stream can be made navigable "to vessels of from +twenty-five to thirty tons burden for at least one half of all common +years, and to vessels of much greater burden a part of the time," His +letter very modestly touches a few other points of needed legislation--a +law against usury, laws to promote education, and amendments to estray +and road laws. The main interest for us, however, is in the frank avowal +of his personal ambition. + +"Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or +not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as that of being +truly esteemed of my fellow-men by rendering myself worthy of their +esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is yet to be +developed. I am young, and unknown to many of you. I was born, and have +ever remained, in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or +popular relations or friends to recommend me. My case is thrown +exclusively upon the independent voters of the country, and if elected +they will have conferred a favor upon me for which I shall be +unremitting in my labors to compensate. But if the good people in their +wisdom shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too +familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined." + +This written and printed address gives us an accurate measure of the man +and the time. When he wrote this document he was twenty-three years old. +He had been in the town and county only about nine months of actual +time. As Sangamon County covered an estimated area of twenty-one hundred +and sixty square miles, he could know but little of either it or its +people. How dared a "friendless, uneducated boy, working on a flatboat +at twelve dollars a month," with "no wealthy or popular friends to +recommend" him, aspire to the honors and responsibilities of a +legislator? The only answer is that he was prompted by that intuition of +genius, that consciousness of powers which justify their claims by their +achievements. When we scan the circumstances more closely, we find +distinct evidence of some reason for his confidence. Relatively +speaking, he was neither uneducated nor friendless. His acquirements +were already far beyond the simple elements of reading, writing, and +ciphering. He wrote a good, clear, serviceable hand; he could talk well +and reason cogently. The simple, manly style of his printed address +fully equals in literary ability that of the average collegian in the +twenties. His migration from Indiana to Illinois and his two voyages to +New Orleans had given him a glimpse of the outside world. His natural +logic readily grasped the significance of the railroad as a new factor +in transportation, although the first American locomotive had been built +only one year, and ten to fifteen years were yet to elapse before the +first railroad train was to run in Illinois. + +One other motive probably had its influence. He tells us that Offutt's +business was failing, and his quick judgment warned him that he would +soon be out of a job as clerk. This, however, could be only a secondary +reason for announcing himself as a candidate, for the election was not +to occur till August, and even if he were elected there would be neither +service nor salary till the coming winter. His venture into politics +must therefore be ascribed to the feeling which he so frankly announced +in his letter, his ambition to become useful to his fellow-men--the +impulse that throughout history has singled out the great leaders of +mankind. + +In this particular instance a crisis was also at hand, calculated to +develop and utilize the impulse. Just about a month after the +publication of Lincoln's announcement the "Sangamo Journal" of April 19 +printed an official call from Governor Reynolds, directed to General +Neale of the Illinois militia, to organize six hundred volunteers of his +brigade for military service in a campaign against the Indians under +Black Hawk, the war chief of the Sacs, who, in defiance of treaties and +promises, had formed a combination with other tribes during the winter, +and had now crossed back from the west to the east side of the +Mississippi River with the determination to reoccupy their old homes in +the Rock River country toward the northern end of the State. + +In the memoranda which Mr. Lincoln furnished for a campaign biography, +he thus relates what followed the call for troops: + +"Abraham joined a volunteer company, and, to his own surprise, was +elected captain of it. He says he has not since had any success in life +which gave him so much satisfaction. He went to the campaign, served +near three months, met the ordinary hardships of such an expedition, but +was in no battle." Official documents furnish some further interesting +details. As already said, the call was printed in the "Sangamo Journal" +of April 19. On April 21 the company was organized at Richland, Sangamon +County, and on April 28 was inspected and mustered into service at +Beardstown and attached to Colonel Samuel Thompson's regiment, the +Fourth Illinois Mounted Volunteers. They marched at once to the hostile +frontier. As the campaign shaped itself, it probably became evident to +the company that they were not likely to meet any serious fighting, and, +not having been enlisted for any stated period, they became clamorous to +return home. The governor therefore had them and other companies +mustered out of service, at the mouth of Fox River, on May 27. Not, +however, wishing to weaken his forces before the arrival of new levies +already on the way, he called for volunteers to remain twenty days +longer. Lincoln had gone to the frontier to perform real service, not +merely to enjoy military rank or reap military glory. On the same day, +therefore, on which he was mustered out as captain, he reenlisted, and +became Private Lincoln in Captain Iles's company of mounted volunteers, +organized apparently principally for scouting service, and sometimes +called the Independent Spy Battalion. Among the other officers who +imitated this patriotic example were General Whiteside and Major John T. +Stuart, Lincoln's later law partner. The Independent Spy Battalion, +having faithfully performed its new term of service, was finally +mustered out on June 16, 1832. Lincoln and his messmate, George M. +Harrison, had the misfortune to have their horses stolen the day before, +but Harrison relates: + +"I laughed at our fate and he joked at it, and we all started off +merrily. The generous men of our company walked and rode by turns with +us, and we fared about equal with the rest. But for this generosity our +legs would have had to do the better work; for in that day this dreary +route furnished no horses to buy or to steal, and, whether on horse or +afoot, we always had company, for many of the horses' backs were too +sore for riding." + +Lincoln must have reached home about August 1, for the election was to +occur in the second week of that month, and this left him but ten days +in which to push his claims for popular indorsement. His friends, +however had been doing manful duty for him during his three months' +absence, and he lost nothing in public estimation by his prompt +enlistment to defend the frontier. Successive announcements in the +"Journal" had by this time swelled the list of candidates to thirteen. +But Sangamon County was entitled to only four representatives and when +the returns came in Lincoln was among those defeated. Nevertheless, he +made a very respectable showing in the race. The list of successful and +unsuccessful aspirants and their votes was as follows: + + E.D. Taylor................ 1127 + John T. Stuart.............. 991 + Achilles Morris............. 945 + Peter Cartwright............ 815 + +Under the plurality rule, these four had been elected. The unsuccessful +candidates were: + + A.G. Herndon.............. 806 + W. Carpenter............... 774 + J. Dawson.................. 717 + A. Lincoln................. 657 + T.M. Neale................ 571 + R. Quinton................. 485 + Z. Peter................... 214 + E. Robinson................ 169 + ---- Kirkpatrick........... 44 + +The returns show that the total vote of the county was about twenty-one +hundred and sixty-eight. Comparing this with the vote cast for Lincoln, +we see that he received nearly one third of the total county vote, +notwithstanding his absence from the canvass, notwithstanding the fact +that his acquaintanceship was limited to the neighborhood of New Salem, +notwithstanding the sharp competition. Indeed, his talent and fitness +for active practical politics were demonstrated beyond question by the +result in his home precinct of New Salem, which, though he ran as a +Whig, gave two hundred and seventy-seven votes for him and only three +against him. Three months later it gave one hundred and eighty-five for +the Jackson and only seventy for the Clay electors, proving Lincoln's +personal popularity. He remembered for the remainder of his life with +great pride that this was the only time he was ever beaten on a direct +vote of the people. + +The result of the election brought him to one of the serious crises of +his life, which he forcibly stated in after years in the following +written words: + +"He was now without means and out of business, but was anxious to remain +with his friends, who had treated him with so much generosity, +especially as he had nothing elsewhere to go to. He studied what he +should do; thought of learning the blacksmith trade, thought of trying +to study law, rather thought he could not succeed at that without a +better education." + +The perplexing problem between inclination and means to follow it, the +struggle between conscious talent and the restraining fetters of +poverty, has come to millions of young Americans before and since, but +perhaps to none with a sharper trial of spirit or more resolute +patience. Before he had definitely resolved upon either career, chance +served not to solve, but to postpone his difficulty, and in the end to +greatly increase it. + +New Salem, which apparently never had any good reason for becoming a +town, seems already at that time to have entered on the road to rapid +decay. Offutt's speculations had failed, and he had disappeared. The +brothers Herndon, who had opened a new store, found business dull and +unpromising. Becoming tired of their undertaking, they offered to sell +out to Lincoln and Berry on credit, and took their promissory notes in +payment. The new partners, in that excess of hope which usually attends +all new ventures, also bought two other similar establishments that were +in extremity, and for these likewise gave their notes. It is evident +that the confidence which Lincoln had inspired while he was a clerk in +Offutt's store, and the enthusiastic support he had received as a +candidate, were the basis of credit that sustained these several +commercial transactions. + +It turned out in the long run that Lincoln's credit and the popular +confidence that supported it were as valuable both to his creditors and +himself as if the sums which stood over his signature had been gold coin +in a solvent bank. But this transmutation was not attained until he had +passed through a very furnace of financial embarrassment. Berry proved a +worthless partner, and the business a sorry failure. Seeing this, +Lincoln and Berry sold out again on credit--to the Trent brothers, who +soon broke up and ran away. Berry also departed and died, and finally +all the notes came back upon Lincoln for payment. He was unable to meet +these obligations, but he did the next best thing. He remained, promised +to pay when he could, and most of his creditors, maintaining their +confidence in his integrity, patiently bided their time, till, in the +course of long years, he fully justified it by paying, with interest +every cent of what he learned to call, in humorous satire upon his own +folly, the "national debt." + +With one of them he was not so fortunate. Van Bergen, who bought one of +the Lincoln-Berry notes, obtained judgment, and, by peremptory sale, +swept away the horse, saddle, and surveying instruments with the daily +use of which Lincoln "procured bread and kept body and soul together," +to use his own words. But here again Lincoln's recognized honesty was +his safety. Out of personal friendship, James Short bought the property +and restored it to the young surveyor, giving him time to repay. It was +not until his return from Congress, seventeen years after the purchase +of the store, that he finally relieved himself of the last instalments +of his "national debt." But by these seventeen years of sober industry, +rigid economy, and unflinching faith to his obligations he earned the +title of "Honest old Abe," which proved of greater service to himself +and his country than if he had gained the wealth of Croesus. + +Out of this ill-starred commercial speculation, however, Lincoln derived +one incidental benefit, and it may be said it became the determining +factor in his career. It is evident from his own language that he +underwent a severe mental struggle in deciding whether he would become a +blacksmith or a lawyer. In taking a middle course, and trying to become +a merchant, he probably kept the latter choice strongly in view. It +seems well established by local tradition that during the period while +the Lincoln-Berry store was running its fore-doomed course from bad to +worse, Lincoln employed all the time he could spare from his customers +(and he probably had many leisure hours) in reading and study of various +kinds. This habit was greatly stimulated and assisted by his being +appointed, May 7, 1833, postmaster at New Salem, which office he +continued to hold until May 30, 1836, when New Salem partially +disappeared and the office was removed to Petersburg. The influences +which brought about the selection of Lincoln are not recorded, but it is +suggested that he had acted for some time as deputy postmaster under the +former incumbent, and thus became the natural successor. Evidently his +politics formed no objection, as New Salem precinct had at the August +election, when he ran as a Whig, given him its almost solid vote for +representative notwithstanding the fact that it was more than two thirds +Democratic. The postmastership increased his public consideration and +authority, broadened his business experience, and the newspapers he +handled provided him an abundance of reading matter on topics of both +local and national importance up to the latest dates. + +Those were stirring times, even on the frontier. The "Sangamo Journal" +of December 30, 1832, printed Jackson's nullification proclamation. The +same paper, of March 9, 1833, contained an editorial on Clay's +compromise and that of the 16th had a notice of the great nullification +debate in Congress. The speeches of Clay, Calhoun, and Webster were +published in full during the following month, and Mr. Lincoln could not +well help reading them and joining in the feelings and comments they +provoked. + +While the town of New Salem was locally dying, the county of Sangamon +and the State of Illinois were having what is now called a boom. Other +wide-awake newspapers, such as the "Missouri Republican" and "Louisville +Journal," abounded in notices of the establishment of new stage lines +and the general rush of immigration. But the joyous dream of the New +Salemites, that the Sangamon River would become a commercial highway, +quickly faded. The _Talisman_ was obliged to hurry back down the rapidly +falling stream, tearing away a portion of the famous dam to permit her +departure. There were rumors that another steamer, the _Sylph_, would +establish regular trips between Springfield and Beardstown, but she +never came. The freshets and floods of 1831 and 1832 were succeeded by a +series of dry seasons, and the navigation of the Sangamon River was +never afterward a telling plank in the county platform of either +political party. + + + + +III + +Appointed Deputy Surveyor--Elected to Legislature in 1834--Campaign +Issues--Begins Study of Law--Internal Improvement System--The +Lincoln-Stone Protest--Candidate for Speaker in 1838 and 1840 + + +When Lincoln was appointed postmaster, in May, 1833, the Lincoln-Berry +store had not yet completely "winked out," to use his own picturesque +phrase. When at length he ceased to be a merchant, he yet remained a +government official, a man of consideration and authority, who still had +a responsible occupation and definite home, where he could read, write, +and study. The proceeds of his office were doubtless very meager, but in +that day, when the rate of postage on letters was still twenty-five +cents, a little change now and then came into his hands, which, in the +scarcity of money prevailing on the frontier, had an importance +difficult for us to appreciate. His positions as candidate for the +legislature and as postmaster probably had much to do in bringing him +another piece of good fortune. In the rapid settlement of Illinois and +Sangamon County, and the obtaining titles to farms by purchase or +preemption, as well as in the locating and opening of new roads, the +county surveyor had more work on his hands than he could perform +throughout a county extending forty miles east and west and fifty north +and south, and was compelled to appoint deputies to assist him. The name +of the county surveyor was John Calhoun, recognized by all his +contemporaries in Sangamon as a man of education and talent and an +aspiring Democratic politician. It was not an easy matter for Calhoun to +find properly qualified deputies, and when he became acquainted with +Lincoln, and learned his attainments and aptitudes, and the estimation +in which he was held by the people of New Salem, he wisely concluded to +utilize his talents and standing, notwithstanding their difference in +politics. The incident is thus recorded by Lincoln: + +"The surveyor of Sangamon offered to depute to Abraham that portion of +his work which was within his part of the county. He accepted, procured +a compass and chain, studied Flint and Gibson a little, and went at it. +This procured bread, and kept soul and body together." + +Tradition has it that Calhoun not only gave him the appointment, but +lent him the book in which to study the art, which he accomplished in a +period of six weeks, aided by the schoolmaster, Mentor Graham. The exact +period of this increase in knowledge and business capacity is not +recorded, but it must have taken place in the summer of 1833, as there +exists a certificate of survey in Lincoln's handwriting signed, "J. +Calhoun, S.S.C., by A. Lincoln," dated January 14, 1834. Before June of +that year he had surveyed and located a public road from "Musick's Ferry +on Salt Creek, _via_ New Salem, to the county line in the direction to +Jacksonville," twenty-six miles and seventy chains in length, the exact +course of which survey, with detailed bearings and distances, was drawn +on common white letter-paper pasted in a long slip, to a scale of two +inches to the mile, in ordinary yet clear and distinct penmanship. The +compensation he received for this service was three dollars per day for +five days, and two dollars and fifty cents for making the plat and +report. + +An advertisement in the "Journal" shows that the regular fees of another +deputy were "two dollars per day, or one dollar per lot of eight acres +or less, and fifty cents for a single line, with ten cents per mile for +traveling." + +While this class of work and his post-office, with its emoluments, +probably amply supplied his board, lodging and clothing, it left him no +surplus with which to pay his debts, for it was in the latter part of +that same year (1834) that Van Bergen caused his horse and surveying +instruments to be sold under the hammer, as already related. Meanwhile, +amid these fluctuations of good and bad luck, Lincoln maintained his +equanimity, his steady, persevering industry, and his hopeful ambition +and confidence in the future. Through all his misfortunes and his +failures, he preserved his self-respect and his determination to +succeed. + +Two years had nearly elapsed since he was defeated for the legislature, +and, having received so flattering a vote on that occasion, it was +entirely natural that he should determine to try a second chance. Four +new representatives were to be chosen at the August election of 1834, +and near the end of April Lincoln published his announcement that he +would again be a candidate. He could certainly view his expectations in +every way in a more hopeful light. His knowledge had increased, his +experience broadened, his acquaintanceship greatly increased. His +talents were acknowledged, his ability recognized. He was postmaster and +deputy surveyor. He had become a public character whose services were in +demand. As compared with the majority of his neighbors, he was a man of +learning who had seen the world. Greater, however, than all these +advantages, his sympathetic kindness of heart, his sincere, open +frankness, his sturdy, unshrinking honesty, and that inborn sense of +justice that yielded to no influence, made up a nobility of character +and bearing that impressed the rude frontiersmen as much as, if not more +quickly and deeply than, it would have done the most polished and +erudite society. + +Beginning his campaign in April, he had three full months before him for +electioneering, and he evidently used the time to good advantage. The +pursuit of popularity probably consisted mainly of the same methods that +in backwoods districts prevail even to our day: personal visits and +solicitations, attendance at various kinds of neighborhood gatherings, +such as raisings of new cabins, horse-races, shooting-matches, sales of +town lots or of personal property under execution, or whatever occasion +served to call a dozen or two of the settlers together. One recorded +incident illustrates the practical nature of the politician's art at +that day: + +"He [Lincoln] came to my house, near Island Grove, during harvest. There +were some thirty men in the field. He got his dinner and went out in the +field where the men were at work. I gave him an introduction, and the +boys said that they could not vote for a man unless he could make a +hand. 'Well, boys,' said he, 'if that is all, I am sure of your votes.' +He took hold of the cradle, and led the way all the round with perfect +ease. The boys were satisfied, and I don't think he lost a vote in the +crowd." + +Sometimes two or more candidates would meet at such places, and short +speeches be called for and given. Altogether, the campaign was livelier +than that of two years before. Thirteen candidates were again contesting +for the four seats in the legislature, to say nothing of candidates for +governor, for Congress, and for the State Senate. The scope of +discussion was enlarged and localized. From the published address of an +industrious aspirant who received only ninety-two votes, we learn that +the issues now were the construction by the general government of a +canal from Lake Michigan to the Illinois River, the improvement of the +Sangamon River, the location of the State capital at Springfield, a +United States bank, a better road law, and amendments to the estray +laws. + +When the election returns came in Lincoln had reason to be satisfied +with the efforts he had made. He received the second highest number of +votes in the long list of candidates. Those cast for the representatives +chosen stood: Dawson, 1390; Lincoln, 1376; Carpenter 1170; Stuart, 1164. +The location of the State capital had also been submitted to popular +vote at this election. Springfield, being much nearer the geographical +center of the State, was anxious to deprive Vandalia of that honor, and +the activity of the Sangamon politicians proved it to be a dangerous +rival. In the course of a month the returns from all parts of the State +had come in, and showed that Springfield was third in the race. + +It must be frankly admitted that Lincoln's success at this juncture was +one of the most important events of his life. A second defeat might have +discouraged his efforts to lift himself to a professional career, and +sent him to the anvil to make horseshoes and to iron wagons for the +balance of his days. But this handsome popular indorsement assured his +standing and confirmed his credit. With this lift in the clouds of his +horizon, he could resolutely carry his burden of debt and hopefully look +to wider fields of public usefulness. Already, during the progress of +the canvass, he had received cheering encouragement and promise of most +valuable help. One of the four successful candidates was John T. Stuart, +who had been major of volunteers in the Black Hawk War while Lincoln +was captain, and who, together with Lincoln, had reenlisted as a private +in the Independent Spy Battalion. There is every likelihood that the two +had begun a personal friendship during their military service, which was +of course strongly cemented by their being fellow-candidates and both +belonging to the Whig party. Mr. Lincoln relates: + +"Major John T. Stuart, then in full practice of the law [at +Springfield], was also elected. During the canvass, in a private +conversation he encouraged Abraham to study law. After the election, he +borrowed books of Stuart, took them home with him, and went at it in +good earnest. He studied with nobody.... In the autumn of 1836 he +obtained a law license, and on April 15, 1837, removed to Springfield +and commenced the practice, his old friend Stuart taking him into +partnership." + +From and after this election in 1834 as a representative, Lincoln was a +permanent factor in the politics and the progress of Sangamon County. At +a Springfield meeting in the following November to promote common +schools, he was appointed one of eleven delegates to attend a convention +at Vandalia called to deliberate on that subject. He was reelected to +the legislature in 1836, in 1838, and in 1840, and thus for a period of +eight years took a full share in shaping and enacting the public and +private laws of Illinois, which in our day has become one of the leading +States in the Mississippi valley. Of Lincoln's share in that +legislation, it need only be said that it was as intelligent and +beneficial to the public interest as that of the best of his colleagues. +The most serious error committed by the legislature of Illinois during +that period was that it enacted laws setting on foot an extensive system +of internal improvements, in the form of railroads and canals, +altogether beyond the actual needs of transportation for the then +existing population of the State, and the consequent reckless creation +of a State debt for money borrowed at extravagant interest and liberal +commissions. The State underwent a season of speculative intoxication, +in which, by the promised and expected rush of immigration and the +swelling currents of its business, its farms were suddenly to become +villages, its villages spreading towns, and its towns transformed into +great cities, while all its people were to be made rich by the increased +value of their land and property. Both parties entered with equal +recklessness into this ill-advised internal improvement system, which in +the course of about four years brought the State to bankruptcy, with no +substantial works to show for the foolishly expended millions. + +In voting for these measures, Mr. Lincoln represented the public opinion +and wish of his county and the whole State; and while he was as +blamable, he was at the same time no more so than the wisest of his +colleagues. It must be remembered in extenuation that he was just +beginning his parliamentary education. From the very first, however, he +seems to have become a force in the legislature, and to have rendered +special service to his constituents. It is conceded that the one object +which Springfield and the most of Sangamon County had at heart was the +removal of the capital from Vandalia to that place. This was +accomplished in 1836, and the management of the measure appears to have +been intrusted mainly to Mr. Lincoln. + +One incident of his legislative career stands out in such prominent +relation to the great events of his after life that it deserves special +explanation and emphasis. Even at that early date, a quarter of a +century before the outbreak of the Civil War, the slavery question was +now and then obtruding itself as an irritating and perplexing element +into the local legislation of almost every new State. Illinois, though +guaranteed its freedom by the Ordinance of 1787, nevertheless underwent +a severe political struggle in which, about four years after her +admission into the Union, politicians and settlers from the South made a +determined effort to change her to a slave State. The legislature of +1822-23, with a two-thirds pro-slavery majority of the State Senate, and +a technical, but legally questionable, two-thirds majority in the House, +submitted to popular vote an act calling a State convention to change +the constitution. It happened, fortunately, that Governor Coles, though +a Virginian, was strongly antislavery, and gave the weight of his +official influence and his whole four years' salary to counteract the +dangerous scheme. From the fact that southern Illinois up to that time +was mostly peopled from the slave States, the result was seriously in +doubt through an active and exciting campaign, and the convention was +finally defeated by a majority of eighteen hundred in a total vote of +eleven thousand six hundred and twelve. While this result effectually +decided that Illinois would remain a free State, the propagandism and +reorganization left a deep and tenacious undercurrent of pro-slavery +opinion that for many years manifested itself in vehement and intolerant +outcries against "abolitionism," which on one occasion caused the murder +of Elijah P. Lovejoy for persisting in his right to print an antislavery +newspaper at Alton. + +Nearly a year before this tragedy the Illinois legislature had under +consideration certain resolutions from the Eastern States on the subject +of slavery, and the committee to which they had been referred reported a +set of resolves "highly disapproving abolition societies," holding that +"the right of property in slaves is secured to the slaveholding States +by the Federal Constitution," together with other phraseology calculated +on the whole to soothe and comfort pro-slavery sentiment. After much +irritating discussion, the committee's resolutions were finally passed, +with but Lincoln and five others voting in the negative. No record +remains whether or not Lincoln joined in the debate; but, to leave no +doubt upon his exact position and feeling, he and his colleague, Dan +Stone, caused the following protest to be formally entered on the +journals of the House: + +"Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery having passed both +branches of the General Assembly at its present session, the undersigned +hereby protest against the passage of the same." + +"They believe that the institution of slavery is founded on both +injustice and bad policy, but that the promulgation of abolition +doctrines tends rather to increase than abate its evils." + +"They believe that the Congress of the United States has no power under +the Constitution to interfere with the institution of slavery in the +different States." + +"They believe that the Congress of the United States has the power, +under the Constitution, to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, +but that the power ought not to be exercised, unless at the request of +the people of the District." + +"The difference between these opinions and those contained in the said +resolutions is their reasons for entering this protest." + +In view of the great scope and quality of Lincoln's public service in +after life, it would be a waste of time to trace out in detail his words +or his votes upon the multitude of questions on which he acted during +this legislative career of eight years. It needs only to be remembered +that it formed a varied and thorough school of parliamentary practice +and experience that laid the broad foundation of that extraordinary +skill and sagacity in statesmanship which he afterward displayed in +party controversy and executive direction. The quick proficiency and +ready aptitude for leadership evidenced by him in this, as it may be +called, his preliminary parliamentary school are strikingly proved by +the fact that the Whig members of the Illinois House of Representatives +gave him their full party vote for Speaker, both in 1838 and 1840. But +being in a minority, they could not, of course, elect him. + + + + +IV + +Law Practice--Rules for a Lawyer--Law and Politics: Twin Occupations--The +Springfield Coterie--Friendly Help--Anne Rutledge--Mary Owens + + +Lincoln's removal from New Salem to Springfield and his entrance into a +law partnership with Major John T. Stuart begin a distinctively new +period in his career, From this point we need not trace in detail his +progress in his new and this time deliberately chosen vocation. The +lawyer who works his way up in professional merit from a five-dollar fee +in a suit before a justice of the peace to a five-thousand-dollar fee +before the Supreme Court of his State has a long and difficult path to +climb. Mr. Lincoln climbed this path for twenty-five years with +industry, perseverance, patience--above all, with that sense of moral +responsibility that always clearly traced the dividing line between his +duty to his client and his duty to society and truth. His unqualified +frankness of statement assured him the confidence of judge and jury in +every argument. His habit of fully admitting the weak points in his case +gained their close attention to its strong ones, and when clients +brought him bad cases, his uniform advice was not to begin the suit. +Among his miscellaneous writings there exist some fragments of autograph +notes, evidently intended for a little lecture or talk to law students +which set forth with brevity and force his opinion of what a lawyer +ought to be and do. He earnestly commends diligence in study, and, next +to diligence, promptness in keeping up his work. + +"As a general rule, never take your whole fee in advance," he says, "nor +any more than a small retainer. When fully paid beforehand, you are more +than a common mortal if you can feel the same interest in the case as if +something was still in prospect for you as well as for your client." +"Extemporaneous speaking should be practised and cultivated. It is the +lawyer's avenue to the public. However able and faithful he may be in +other respects, people are slow to bring him business if he cannot make +a speech. And yet, there is not a more fatal error to young lawyers than +relying too much on speech-making. If any one, upon his rare powers of +speaking, shall claim an exemption from the drudgery of the law, his +case is a failure in advance. Discourage litigation. Persuade your +neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the +nominal winner is often a real loser--in fees, expenses, and waste of +time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a +good man. There will still be business enough. Never stir up litigation. +A worse man can scarcely be found than one who does this. Who can be +more nearly a fiend than he who habitually overhauls the register of +deeds in search of defects in titles, whereon to stir up strife and put +money in his pocket? A moral tone ought to be infused into the +profession which should drive such men out of it." "There is a vague +popular belief that lawyers are necessarily dishonest. I say vague +because when we consider to what extent confidence and honors are +reposed in and conferred upon lawyers by the people, it appears +improbable that their impression of dishonesty is very distinct and +vivid. Yet the impression is common--almost universal. Let no young man +choosing the law for a calling for a moment yield to the popular belief. +Resolve to be honest at all events; and if, in your own judgment, you +cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. +Choose some other occupation, rather than one in the choosing of which +you do, in advance, consent to be a knave." + +While Lincoln thus became a lawyer, he did not cease to remain a +politician. In the early West, law and politics were parallel roads to +usefulness as well as distinction. Newspapers had not then reached any +considerable circulation. There existed neither fast presses to print +them, mail routes to carry them, nor subscribers to read them. Since +even the laws had to be newly framed for those new communities, the +lawyer became the inevitable political instructor and guide as far as +ability and fame extended. His reputation as a lawyer was a twin of his +influence as an orator, whether through logic or eloquence. Local +conditions fostered, almost necessitated, this double pursuit. Westward +emigration was in its full tide, and population was pouring into the +great State of Illinois with ever accelerating rapidity. Settlements +were spreading, roads were being opened, towns laid out, the larger +counties divided and new ones organized, and the enthusiastic visions of +coming prosperity threw the State into that fever of speculation which +culminated in wholesale internal improvements on borrowed capital and +brought collapse, stagnation, and bankruptcy in its inevitable train. As +already said, these swift changes required a plentiful supply of new +laws, to frame which lawyers were in a large proportion sent to the +legislature every two years. These same lawyers also filled the bar and +recruited the bench of the new State, and, as they followed the +itinerant circuit courts from county to county in their various +sections, were called upon in these summer wanderings to explain in +public speeches their legislative work of the winter. By a natural +connection, this also involved a discussion of national and party +issues. It was also during this period that party activity was +stimulated by the general adoption of the new system of party caucuses +and party conventions to which President Jackson had given the impulse. + +In the American system of representative government, elections not only +occur with the regularity of clockwork, but pervade the whole organism +in every degree of its structure from top to bottom--Federal, State, +county, township, and school district. In Illinois, even the State +judiciary has at different times been chosen by popular ballot. The +function of the politician, therefore, is one of continuous watchfulness +and activity, and he must have intimate knowledge of details if he would +work out grand results. Activity in politics also produces eager +competition and sharp rivalry. In 1839 the seat of government was +definitely transferred from Vandalia to Springfield, and there soon +gathered at the new State capital a group of young men whose varied +ability and future success in public service has rarely been +excelled--Douglas, Shields, Calhoun, Stuart, Logan, Baker, Treat, +Hardin, Trumbull, McClernand, Browning, McDougall, and others. + +His new surroundings greatly stimulated and reinforced Mr. Lincoln's +growing experience and spreading acquaintance, giving him a larger share +and wider influence in local and State politics. He became a valued and +sagacious adviser in party caucuses, and a power in party conventions. +Gradually, also, his gifts as an attractive and persuasive campaign +speaker were making themselves felt and appreciated. + +His removal, in April, 1837, from a village of twenty houses to a "city" +of about two thousand inhabitants placed him in striking new relations +and necessities as to dress, manners, and society, as well as politics; +yet here again, as in the case of his removal from his father's cabin to +New Salem six years before, peculiar conditions rendered the transition +less abrupt than would at first appear. Springfield, notwithstanding its +greater population and prospective dignity as the capital, was in many +respects no great improvement on New Salem. It had no public buildings, +its streets and sidewalks were unpaved, its stores, in spite of all +their flourish of advertisements, were staggering under the hard times +of 1837-39, and stagnation of business imposed a rigid economy on all +classes. If we may credit tradition, this was one of the most serious +crises of Lincoln's life. His intimate friend, William Butler, related +to the writer that, having attended a session of the legislature at +Vandalia, he and Lincoln returned together at its close to Springfield +by the usual mode of horseback travel. At one of their stopping-places +over night Lincoln, in one of his gloomy moods, told Butler the story of +the almost hopeless prospects which lay immediately before him--that the +session was over, his salary all drawn, and his money all spent; that he +had no resources and no work; that he did not know where to turn to earn +even a week's board. Butler bade him be of good cheer, and, without any +formal proposition or agreement, took him and his belongings to his own +house and domesticated him there as a permanent guest, with Lincoln's +tacit compliance rather than any definite consent. Later Lincoln shared +a room and genial companionship, which ripened into closest intimacy, in +the store of his friend Joshua F. Speed, all without charge or expense; +and these brotherly offerings helped the young lawyer over present +necessities which might otherwise have driven him to muscular handiwork +at weekly or monthly wages. + +From this time onward, in daily conversation, in argument at the bar, in +political consultation and discussion, Lincoln's life gradually +broadened into contact with the leading professional minds of the +growing State of Illinois. The man who could not pay a week's board bill +was twice more elected to the legislature, was invited to public +banquets and toasted by name, became a popular speaker, moved in the +best society of the new capital, and made what was considered a +brilliant marriage. + +Lincoln's stature and strength, his intelligence and ambition--in short, +all the elements which gave him popularity among men in New Salem, +rendered him equally attractive to the fair sex of that village. On the +other hand, his youth, his frank sincerity, his longing for sympathy and +encouragement, made him peculiarly sensitive to the society and +influence of women. Soon after coming to New Salem he chanced much in +the society of Miss Anne Rutledge, a slender, blue-eyed blonde, nineteen +years old, moderately educated, beautiful according to local +standards--an altogether lovely, tender-hearted, universally admired, +and generally fascinating girl. From the personal descriptions of her +which tradition has preserved, the inference is naturally drawn that her +temperament and disposition were very much akin to those of Mr. Lincoln +himself. It is little wonder, therefore, that he fell in love with her. +But two years before she had become engaged to a Mr. McNamar, who had +gone to the East to settle certain family affairs, and whose absence +became so unaccountably prolonged that Anne finally despaired of his +return, and in time betrothed herself to Lincoln. A year or so after +this event Anne Rutledge was taken sick and died--the neighbors said of +a broken heart, but the doctor called it brain fever, and his science +was more likely to be correct than their psychology. Whatever may have +been the truth upon this point, the incident threw Lincoln into profound +grief, and a period of melancholy so absorbing as to cause his friends +apprehension for his own health. Gradually, however, their studied and +devoted companionship won him back to cheerfulness, and his second +affair of the heart assumed altogether different characteristics, most +of which may be gathered from his own letters. + +Two years before the death of Anne Rutledge, Mr. Lincoln had seen and +made the acquaintance of Miss Mary Owens, who had come to visit her +sister Mrs. Able, and had passed about four weeks in New Salem, after +which she returned to Kentucky. Three years later, and perhaps a year +after Miss Rutledge's death, Mrs. Able, before starting for Kentucky, +told Mr. Lincoln probably more in jest than earnest, that she would +bring her sister back with her on condition that he would become +her--Mrs. Able's--brother-in-law. Lincoln, also probably more in jest +than earnest, promptly agreed to the proposition; for he remembered Mary +Owens as a tall, handsome, dark-haired girl, with fair skin and large +blue eyes, who in conversation could be intellectual and serious as well +as jovial and witty, who had a liberal education, and was considered +wealthy--one of those well-poised, steady characters who look upon +matrimony and life with practical views and social matronly instincts. + +The bantering offer was made and accepted in the autumn of 1836, and in +the following April Mr. Lincoln removed to Springfield. Before this +occurred, however, he was surprised to learn that Mary Owens had +actually returned with her sister from Kentucky, and felt that the +romantic jest had become a serious and practical question. Their first +interview dissipated some of the illusions in which each had indulged. +The three years elapsed since they first met had greatly changed her +personal appearance. She had become stout; her twenty-eight years (one +year more than his) had somewhat hardened the lines of her face. Both in +figure and feature she presented a disappointing contrast to the slim +and not yet totally forgotten Anne Rutledge. + +On her part, it was more than likely that she did not find in him all +the attractions her sister had pictured. The speech and manners of the +Illinois frontier lacked much of the chivalric attentions and flattering +compliments to which the Kentucky beaux were addicted. He was yet a +diamond in the rough, and she would not immediately decide till she +could better understand his character and prospects, so no formal +engagement resulted. + +In December, Lincoln went to his legislative duties at Vandalia, and in +the following April took up his permanent abode in Springfield. Such a +separation was not favorable to rapid courtship, yet they had occasional +interviews and exchanged occasional letters. None of hers to him have +been preserved, and only three of his to her. From these it appears that +they sometimes discussed their affair in a cold, hypothetical way, even +down to problems of housekeeping, in the light of mere worldly prudence, +much as if they were guardians arranging a _mariage de convenance_, +rather than impulsive and ardent lovers wandering in Arcady. Without +Miss Owens's letters it is impossible to know what she may have said to +him, but in May, 1837, Lincoln wrote to her: + +"I am often thinking of what we said about your coming to live at +Springfield. I am afraid you would not be satisfied. There is a great +deal of flourishing about in carriages here, which it would be your +doom to see without sharing it. You would have to be poor, without the +means of hiding your poverty. Do you believe you could bear that +patiently? Whatever woman may cast her lot with mine, should any ever do +so, it is my intention to do all in my power to make her happy and +contented; and there is nothing I can imagine that would make me more +unhappy than to fail in the effort. I know I should be much happier with +you than the way I am, provided I saw no signs of discontent in you. +What you have said to me may have been in the way of jest, or I may have +misunderstood it. If so, then let it be forgotten; if otherwise, I much +wish you would think seriously before you decide. What I have said I +will most positively abide by, provided you wish it. My opinion is that +you had better not do it. You have not been accustomed to hardship, and +it may be more severe than you now imagine. I know you are capable of +thinking correctly on any subject, and if you deliberate maturely upon +this before you decide, then I am willing to abide your decision." + +Whether, after receiving this, she wrote him the "good long letter" he +asked for in the same epistle is not known. Apparently they did not meet +again until August, and the interview must have been marked by reserve +and coolness on both sides, which left each more uncertain than before; +for on the same day Lincoln again wrote her, and, after saying that she +might perhaps be mistaken in regard to his real feelings toward her, +continued thus: + +"I want in all cases to do right, and most particularly so in all cases +with women. I want at this particular time, more than anything else, to +do right with you; and if I knew it would be doing right, as I rather +suspect it would, to let you alone, I would do it. And for the purpose +of making the matter as plain as possible, I now say that you can now +drop the subject, dismiss your thoughts (if you ever had any) from me +forever, and leave this letter unanswered, without calling forth one +accusing murmur from me. And I will even go further, and say that if it +will add anything to your comfort or peace of mind to do so, it is my +sincere wish that you should. Do not understand by this that I wish to +cut your acquaintance. I mean no such thing. What I do wish is that our +further acquaintance shall depend upon yourself. If such further +acquaintance would contribute nothing to your happiness, I am sure it +would not to mine. If you feel yourself in any degree bound to me, I am +now willing to release you, provided you wish it; while, on the other +hand, I am willing and even anxious to bind you faster, if I can be +convinced that it will in any considerable degree add to your happiness. +This, indeed, is the whole question with me." + +All that we know of the sequel is contained in a letter which Lincoln +wrote to his friend Mrs. Browning nearly a year later, after Miss Owens +had finally returned to Kentucky, in which, without mentioning the +lady's name, he gave a seriocomic description of what might be called a +courtship to escape matrimony. He dwells on his disappointment at her +changed appearance, and continues: + +"But what could I do? I had told her sister that I would take her for +better or for worse, and I made a point of honor and conscience in all +things to stick to my word, especially if others had been induced to act +on it, which in this case I had no doubt they had; for I was now fairly +convinced that no other man on earth would have her, and hence the +conclusion that they were bent on holding me to my bargain. 'Well,' +thought I, 'I have said it, and, be the consequences what they may, it +shall not be my fault if I fail to do it....' All this while, although I +was fixed 'firm as the surge-repelling rock' in my resolution, I found I +was continually repenting the rashness which had led me to make it. +Through life I have been in no bondage, either real or imaginary, from +the thraldom of which I so much desired to be free.... After I had +delayed the matter as long as I thought I could in honor do (which, by +the way, had brought me round into last fall), I concluded I might as +well bring it to a consummation without further delay, and so I mustered +my resolution and made the proposal to her direct; but, shocking to +relate, she answered, No. At first I supposed she did it through an +affectation of modesty, which I thought but ill became her under the +peculiar circumstances of her case, but on my renewal of the charge I +found she repelled it with greater firmness than before. I tried it +again and again, but with the same success, or rather with the same want +of success. I finally was forced to give it up, at which I very +unexpectedly found myself mortified almost beyond endurance. I was +mortified, it seemed to me, in a hundred different ways. My vanity was +deeply wounded by the reflection that I had so long been too stupid to +discover her intentions, and at the same time never doubting that I +understood them perfectly; and also that she, whom I had taught myself +to believe nobody else would have, had actually rejected me with all my +fancied greatness. And, to cap the whole, I then for the first time +began to suspect that I was really a little in love with her." + +The serious side of this letter is undoubtedly genuine and candid, while +the somewhat over-exaggeration of the comic side points as clearly that +he had not fully recovered from the mental suffering he had undergone +in the long conflict between doubt and duty. From the beginning, the +match-making zeal of the sister had placed the parties in a false +position, produced embarrassment, and created distrust. A different +beginning might have resulted in a very different outcome, for Lincoln, +while objecting to her corpulency, acknowledges that in both feature and +intellect she was as attractive as any woman he had ever met; and Miss +Owens's letters, written after his death, state that her principal +objection lay in the fact that his training had been different from +hers, and that "Mr. Lincoln was deficient in those little links which +make up the chain of a woman's happiness." She adds: "The last message I +ever received from him was about a year after we parted in Illinois. +Mrs. Able visited Kentucky, and he said to her in Springfield, 'Tell +your sister that I think she was a great fool because she did not stay +here and marry me.'" She was even then not quite clear in her own mind +but that his words were true. + + + + +V + +Springfield Society--Miss Mary Todd--Lincoln's Engagement--His Deep +Despondency--Visit to Kentucky--Letters to Speed--The Shields +Duel--Marriage--Law Partnership with Logan--Hardin Nominated for +Congress, 1843--Baker Nominated for Congress, 1844--Lincoln Nominated and +Elected, 1846 + + +The deep impression which the Mary Owens affair made upon Lincoln is +further shown by one of the concluding phrases of his letter to Mrs. +Browning: "I have now come to the conclusion never again to think of +marrying." But it was not long before a reaction set in from this +pessimistic mood. The actual transfer of the seat of government from +Vandalia to Springfield in 1839 gave the new capital fresh animation. +Business revived, public improvements were begun, politics ran high. +Already there was a spirit in the air that in the following year +culminated in the extraordinary enthusiasm and fervor of the Harrison +presidential campaign of 1840, that rollicking and uproarious party +carnival of humor and satire, of song and jollification, of hard cider +and log cabins. While the State of Illinois was strongly Democratic, +Sangamon County was as distinctly Whig, and the local party disputes were +hot and aggressive. The Whig delegation of Sangamon in the legislature, +popularly called the "Long Nine," because the sum of the stature of its +members was fifty-four feet, became noted for its influence in +legislation in a body where the majority was against them; and of these +Mr. Lincoln was the "tallest" both in person and ability, as was +recognized by his twice receiving the minority vote for Speaker of the +House. + +Society also began organizing itself upon metropolitan rather than +provincial assumptions. As yet, however society was liberal. Men of +either wealth or position were still too few to fill its ranks. Energy, +ambition talent, were necessarily the standard of admission; and +Lincoln, though poor as a church mouse, was as welcome as those who +could wear ruffled shirts and carry gold watches. The meetings of the +legislature at Springfield then first brought together that splendid +group of young men of genius whose phenomenal careers and distinguished +services have given Illinois fame in the history of the nation. It is a +marked peculiarity of the American character that the bitterest foes in +party warfare generally meet each other on terms of perfect social +courtesy in the drawing-rooms of society; and future presidential +candidates, cabinet members, senators, congressmen, jurists, orators, +and battle heroes lent the little social reunions of Springfield a zest +and exaltation never found--perhaps impossible--amid the heavy, +oppressive surroundings of conventional ceremony, gorgeous upholstery, +and magnificent decorations. + +It was at this period also that Lincoln began to feel and exercise his +expanding influence and powers as a writer and speaker. Already, two +years earlier, he had written and delivered before the Young Men's +Lyceum of Springfield an able address upon "The Perpetuation of Our +Political Institutions," strongly enforcing the doctrine of rigid +obedience to law. In December, 1839, Douglas, in a heated conversation, +challenged the young Whigs present to a political discussion. The +challenge was immediately taken up, and the public of Springfield +listened with eager interest to several nights of sharp debate between +Whig and Democratic champions, in which Lincoln bore a prominent and +successful share. In the following summer, Lincoln's name was placed +upon the Harrison electoral ticket for Illinois, and he lent all his +zeal and eloquence to swell the general popular enthusiasm for +"Tippecanoe and Tyler too." + +In the midst of this political and social awakening of the new capital +and the quickened interest and high hopes of leading citizens gathered +there from all parts of the State, there came into the Springfield +circles Miss Mary Todd of Kentucky, twenty-one years old, handsome, +accomplished, vivacious, witty, a dashing and fascinating figure in +dress and conversation, gracious and imperious by turns. She easily +singled out and secured the admiration of such of the Springfield beaux +as most pleased her somewhat capricious fancy. She was a sister of Mrs. +Ninian W. Edwards, whose husband was one of the "Long Nine." This +circumstance made Lincoln a frequent visitor at the Edwards house; and, +being thus much thrown in her company, he found himself, almost before +he knew it, entangled in a new love affair, and in the course of a +twelvemonth engaged to marry her. + +Much to the surprise of Springfield society, however, the courtship took +a sudden turn. Whether it was caprice or jealousy, a new attachment, or +mature reflection will always remain a mystery. Every such case is a law +unto itself, and neither science nor poetry is ever able to analyze and +explain its causes and effects. The conflicting stories then current, +and the varying traditions that yet exist, either fail to agree or to +fit the sparse facts which came to light. There remains no dispute, +however, that the occurrence, whatever shape it took, threw Mr. Lincoln +into a deeper despondency than any he had yet experienced, for on +January 23, 1841, he wrote to his law partner, John T. Stuart: + +"For not giving you a general summary of news you must pardon me; it is +not in my power to do so. I am now the most miserable man living. If +what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there +would not be one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, +I cannot tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is +impossible; I must die or be better." + +Apparently his engagement to Miss Todd was broken off, but whether that +was the result or the cause of his period of gloom seems still a matter +of conjecture. His mind was so perturbed that he felt unable to attend +the sessions of the legislature of which he was a member; and after its +close his intimate friend Joshua F. Speed carried him off for a visit to +Kentucky. The change of scene and surroundings proved of great benefit. +He returned home about midsummer very much improved, but not yet +completely restored to a natural mental equipoise. While on their visit +to Kentucky, Speed had likewise fallen in love, and in the following +winter had become afflicted with doubts and perplexities akin to those +from which Lincoln had suffered. It now became his turn to give sympathy +and counsel to his friend, and he did this with a warmth and delicacy +born of his own spiritual trials, not yet entirely overmastered. He +wrote letter after letter to Speed to convince him that his doubts about +not truly loving the woman of his choice were all nonsense. + +"Why, Speed, if you did not love her, although you might not wish her +death, you would most certainly be resigned to it. Perhaps this point +is no longer a question with you, and my pertinacious dwelling upon it +is a rude intrusion upon your feelings. If so, you must pardon me. You +know the hell I have suffered on that point, and how tender I am upon +it.... I am now fully convinced that you love her, as ardently as you +are capable of loving.... It is the peculiar misfortune of both you and +me to dream dreams of Elysium far exceeding all that anything earthly +can realize." + +When Lincoln heard that Speed was finally married, he wrote him: + +"It cannot be told how it now thrills me with joy to hear you say you +are 'far happier than you ever expected to be,' That much, I know, is +enough. I know you too well to suppose your expectations were not, at +least, sometimes extravagant; and if the reality exceeds them all, I +say, Enough, dear Lord. I am not going beyond the truth when I tell you +that the short space it took me to read your last letter gave me more +pleasure than the total sum of all I have enjoyed since the fatal first +of January, 1841. Since then it seems to me I should have been entirely +happy, but for the never-absent idea that there is one still unhappy +whom I have contributed to make so. That still kills my soul. I cannot +but reproach myself for even wishing to be happy while she is +otherwise." + +It is quite possible that a series of incidents that occurred during the +summer in which the above was written had something to do with bringing +such a frame of mind to a happier conclusion. James Shields, afterward a +general in two wars and a senator from two States, was at that time +auditor of Illinois, with his office at Springfield. Shields was an +Irishman by birth, and, for an active politician of the Democratic +party, had the misfortune to be both sensitive and irascible in party +warfare. Shields, together with the Democratic governor and treasurer, +issued a circular order forbidding the payment of taxes in the +depreciated paper of the Illinois State banks, and the Whigs were +endeavoring to make capital by charging that the order was issued for +the purpose of bringing enough silver into the treasury to pay the +salaries of these officials. Using this as a basis of argument, a couple +of clever Springfield society girls wrote and printed in the "Sangamo +Journal" a series of humorous letters in country dialect, purporting to +come from the "Lost Townships," and signed by "Aunt Rebecca," who called +herself a farmer's widow. It is hardly necessary to say that Mary Todd +was one of the culprits. The young ladies originated the scheme more to +poke fun at the personal weaknesses of Shields than for the sake of +party effect, and they embellished their simulated plaint about taxes +with an embroidery of fictitious social happenings and personal +allusions to the auditor that put the town on a grin and Shields into +fury. The fair and mischievous writers found it necessary to consult +Lincoln about how they should frame the political features of their +attack, and he set them a pattern by writing the first letter of the +series himself. + +Shields sent a friend to the editor of the "Journal," and demanded the +name of the real "Rebecca." The editor, as in duty bound, asked Lincoln +what he should do, and was instructed to give Lincoln's name, and not to +mention the ladies. Then followed a letter from Shields to Lincoln +demanding retraction and apology, Lincoln's reply that he declined to +answer under menace, and a challenge from Shields. Thereupon Lincoln +instructed his "friend" as follows: If former offensive correspondence +were withdrawn and a polite and gentlemanly inquiry made, he was +willing to explain that: + +"I did write the 'Lost Townships' letter which appeared in the 'Journal' +of the 2d instant, but had no participation in any form in any other +article alluding to you. I wrote that wholly for political effect; I had +no intention of injuring your personal or private character or standing +as a man or a gentleman; and I did not then think, and do not now think, +that that article could produce or has produced that effect against you, +and had I anticipated such an effect I would have forborne to write it. +And I will add that your conduct toward me, so far as I know, had always +been gentlemanly, and that I had no personal pique against you and no +cause for any.... If nothing like this is done, the preliminaries of the +fight are to be: + +"_First_. Weapons: Cavalry broadswords of the largest size, precisely +equal in all respects, and such as now used by the cavalry company at +Jacksonville. + +"_Second_. Position: A plank ten feet long, and from nine to twelve +inches broad, to be firmly fixed on edge, on the ground, as the line +between us, which neither is to pass his foot over upon forfeit of his +life. Next, a line drawn on the ground on either side of said plank and +parallel with it, each at the distance of the whole length of the sword +and three feet additional from the plank, and the passing of his own +such line by either party during the fight shall be deemed a surrender +of the contest." + +The two seconds met, and, with great unction, pledged "our honor to each +other that we would endeavor to settle the matter amicably," but +persistently higgled over points till publicity and arrests seemed +imminent. Procuring the necessary broadswords, all parties then hurried +away to an island in the Mississippi River opposite Alton, where, long +before the planks were set on edge or the swords drawn, mutual friends +took the case out of the hands of the seconds and declared an +adjustment. The terms of the fight as written by Mr. Lincoln show +plainly enough that in his judgment it was to be treated as a farce, and +would never proceed beyond "preliminaries." There, of course, ensued the +usual very bellicose after-discussion in the newspapers, with additional +challenges between the seconds about the proper etiquette of such +farces, all resulting only in the shedding of much ink and furnishing +Springfield with topics of lively conversation for a month. These +occurrences, naturally enough, again drew Mr. Lincoln and Miss Todd +together in friendly interviews, and Lincoln's letter to Speed detailing +the news of the duels contains this significant paragraph: + +"But I began this letter not for what I have been writing, but to say +something on that subject which you know to be of such infinite +solicitude to me. The immense sufferings you endured from the first days +of September till the middle of February you never tried to conceal from +me, and I well understood. You have now been the husband of a lovely +woman nearly eight months. That you are happier now than the day you +married her I well know, for without you could not be living. But I have +your word for it too, and the returning elasticity of spirits which is +manifested in your letters. But I want to ask a close question. 'Are you +now in feeling as well as judgment glad that you are married as you +are?' From anybody but me this would be an impudent question not to be +tolerated, but I know you will pardon it in me. Please answer it +quickly, as I am impatient to know." + +The answer was evidently satisfactory, for on November 4, 1842, the Rev. +Charles Dresser united Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd in the holy bonds +of matrimony.[3] + + [Footnote 3: The following children were born of this marriage: + + Robert Todd, August 1, 1843; Edward Baker, March 10, 1846; William + Wallace, December 21, 1850; Thomas, April 4, 1853. + + Edward died in infancy; William in the White House, February 20, + 1862; Thomas in Chicago, July 15, 1871; and the mother, Mary + Lincoln, in Springfield, July 16, 1882. + + Robert, who filled the office of Secretary of War with distinction + under the administrations of Presidents Garfield and Arthur, as + well William as that of minister to England under the + administration of President Harrison, now resides in Chicago, + Illinois.] + +His marriage to Miss Todd ended all those mental perplexities and +periods of despondency from which he had suffered more or less during +his several love affairs, extending over nearly a decade. Out of the +keen anguish he had endured, he finally gained that perfect mastery over +his own spirit which Scripture declares to denote a greatness superior +to that of him who takes a city. Few men have ever attained that +complete domination of the will over the emotions, of reason over +passion, by which he was able in the years to come to meet and solve the +tremendous questions destiny had in store for him. His wedding once +over, he took up with resolute patience the hard, practical routine of +daily life, in which he had already been so severely schooled. Even his +sentimental correspondence with his friend Speed lapsed into neglect. He +was so poor that he and his bride could not make the contemplated visit +to Kentucky they would both have so much enjoyed. His "national debt" of +the old New Salem days was not yet fully paid off. "We are not keeping +house, but boarding at the Globe tavern," he writes. "Our room ... and +boarding only cost us four dollars a week." + +His law partnership with Stuart had lasted four years, but was dissolved +by reason of Stuart's election to Congress, and a new one was formed +with Judge Stephen T. Logan, who had recently resigned from the circuit +bench, where he had learned the quality and promise of Lincoln's +talents. It was an opportune and important change. Stuart had devoted +himself mainly to politics, while with Logan law was the primary object. +Under Logan's guidance and encouragement, he took up both the study and +practical work of the profession in a more serious spirit. Lincoln's +interest in politics, however, was in no way diminished, and, in truth, +his limited practice at that date easily afforded him the time necessary +for both. + +Since 1840 he had declined a reelection to the legislature, and his +ambition had doubtless contributed much to this decision. His late law +partner, Stuart, had been three times a candidate for Congress. He was +defeated in 1836, but successfully gained his election in 1838 and 1840, +his service of two terms extending from December 2, 1839, to March 3, +1843. For some reason, the next election had been postponed from the +year 1842 to 1843. It was but natural that Stuart's success should +excite a similar desire in Lincoln, who had reached equal party +prominence, and rendered even more conspicuous party service. Lincoln +had profited greatly by the companionship and friendly emulation of the +many talented young politicians of Springfield, but this same condition +also increased competition and stimulated rivalry. Not only himself, but +both Hardin and Baker desired the nomination, which, as the district +then stood, was equivalent to an election. + +When the leading Whigs of Sangamon County met, Lincoln was under the +impression that it was Baker and not Hardin who was his most dangerous +rival, as appears in a letter to Speed of March 24, 1843: + +"We had a meeting of the Whigs of the county here on last Monday to +appoint delegates to a district convention, and Baker beat me and got +the delegation instructed to go for him. The meeting, in spite of my +attempt to decline it, appointed me one of the delegates, so that in +getting Baker the nomination I shall be fixed a good deal like a fellow +who is made groomsman to a man that has cut him out and is marrying his +own dear 'gal.'" + +The causes that led to his disappointment are set forth more in detail +in a letter, two days later, to a friend in the new county of Menard, +which now included his old home, New Salem, whose powerful assistance +was therefore lost from the party councils of Sangamon. The letter also +dwells more particularly on the complicated influences which the +practical politician has to reckon with, and shows that even his +marriage had been used to turn popular opinion against him. + +"It is truly gratifying to me to learn that while the people of Sangamon +have cast me off, my old friends of Menard, who have known me longest +and best, stick to me. It would astonish, if not amuse, the older +citizens to learn that I (a stranger, friendless, uneducated, penniless +boy, working on a flatboat at ten dollars per month) have been put down +here as the candidate of pride, wealth, and aristocratic family +distinction. Yet so, chiefly, it was. There was, too, the strangest +combination of church influence against me. Baker is a Campbellite, and +therefore, as I suppose, with few exceptions got all that church. My +wife has some relations in the Presbyterian churches and some with the +Episcopal churches; and therefore, wherever it would tell, I was set +down as either the one or the other, while it was everywhere contended +that no Christian ought to go for me, because I belonged to no church, +was suspected of being a deist, and had talked about fighting a duel. +With all these things, Baker of course had nothing to do. Nor do I +complain of them. As to his own church going for him, I think that was +right enough, and as to the influences I have spoken of in the other, +though they were very strong, it would be grossly untrue and unjust to +charge that they acted upon them in a body, or were very near so. I only +mean that those influences levied a tax of a considerable per cent. upon +my strength throughout the religious community." + +In the same letter we have a striking illustration of Lincoln's +intelligence and skill in the intricate details of political management, +together with the high sense of honor and manliness which directed his +action in such matters. Speaking of the influences of Menard County, he +wrote: + +"If she and Mason act circumspectly, they will in the convention be able +so far to enforce their rights as to decide absolutely which one of the +candidates shall be successful. Let me show the reason of this. Hardin, +or some other Morgan candidate, will get Putnam, Marshall, Woodford, +Tazewell, and Logan [counties], making sixteen. Then you and Mason, +having three, can give the victory to either side. You say you shall +instruct your delegates for me, unless I object. I certainly shall not +object. That would be too pleasant a compliment for me to tread in the +dust. And, besides, if anything should happen (which, however, is not +probable) by which Baker should be thrown out of the fight, I would be +at liberty to accept the nomination if I could get it. I do, however, +feel myself bound not to hinder him in any way from getting the +nomination. I should despise myself were I to attempt it. I think, then, +it would be proper for your meeting to appoint three delegates, and to +instruct them to go for some one as a first choice, some one else as a +second, and perhaps some one as a third; and if in those instructions I +were named as the first choice it would gratify me very much. If you +wish to hold the balance of power, it is important for you to attend to +and secure the vote of Mason also." + +A few weeks again changed the situation, of which he informed Speed in a +letter dated May 18: + +"In relation to our Congress matter here, you were right in supposing I +would support the nominee. Neither Baker nor I, however, is the man--but +Hardin, so far as I can judge from present appearances. We shall have no +split or trouble about the matter; all will be harmony." + +In the following year (1844) Lincoln was once more compelled to exercise +his patience. The Campbellite friends of Baker must have again been very +active in behalf of their church favorite; for their influence, added to +his dashing politics and eloquent oratory, appears to have secured him +the nomination without serious contention, while Lincoln found a partial +recompense in being nominated a candidate for presidential elector, +which furnished him opportunity for all his party energy and zeal during +the spirited but unsuccessful presidential campaign for Henry Clay. He +not only made an extensive canvass in Illinois, but also made a number +of speeches in the adjoining State of Indiana. + +It was probably during that year that a tacit agreement was reached +among the Whig leaders in Sangamon County, that each would be satisfied +with one term in Congress and would not seek a second nomination. But +Hardin was the aspirant from the neighboring county of Morgan, and +apparently therefore not included in this arrangement. Already, in the +fall of 1845, Lincoln industriously began his appeals and instructions +to his friends in the district to secure the succession. Thus he wrote +on November 17: + +"The paper at Pekin has nominated Hardin for governor, and, commenting +on this, the Alton paper indirectly nominated him for Congress. It would +give Hardin a great start, and perhaps use me up, if the Whig papers of +the district should nominate him for Congress. If your feelings toward +me are the same as when I saw you (which I have no reason to doubt), I +wish you would let nothing appear in your paper which may operate +against me. You understand. Matters stand just as they did when I saw +you. Baker is certainly off the track, and I fear Hardin intends to be +on it." + +But again, as before, the spirit of absolute fairness governed all his +movements, and he took special pains to guard against it being +"suspected that I was attempting to juggle Hardin out of a nomination +for Congress by juggling him into one for governor." "I should be +pleased," he wrote again in January, "if I could concur with you in the +hope that my name would be the only one presented to the convention; but +I cannot. Hardin is a man of desperate energy and perseverance, and one +that never backs out; and, I fear, to think otherwise is to be deceived +in the character of our adversary. I would rejoice to be spared the +labor of a contest, but, 'being in,' I shall go it thoroughly and to the +bottom." He then goes on to recount in much detail the chances for and +against him in the several counties of the district, and in later +letters discusses the system of selecting candidates, where the +convention ought to be held, how the delegates should be chosen, the +instructions they should receive, and how the places of absent +delegates should be filled. He watched his field of operations, planned +his strategy, and handled his forces almost with the vigilance of a +military commander. As a result, he won both his nomination in May and +his election to the Thirtieth Congress in August, 1846. + +In that same year the Mexican War broke out. Hardin became colonel of +one of the three regiments of Illinois volunteers called for by +President Polk, while Baker raised a fourth regiment, which was also +accepted. Colonel Hardin was killed in the battle of Buena Vista, and +Colonel Baker won great distinction in the fighting near the City of +Mexico. + +Like Abraham Lincoln, Douglas was also elected to Congress in 1846, +where he had already served the two preceding terms. But these +redoubtable Illinois champions were not to have a personal tilt in the +House of Representatives. Before Congress met, the Illinois legislature +elected Douglas to the United States Senate for six years from March 4, +1847. + + + + +VI + +First Session of the Thirtieth Congress--Mexican War--"Wilmot +Proviso"--Campaign of 1848--Letters to Herndon about Young Men +in Politics--Speech in Congress on the Mexican War--Second Session +of the Thirtieth Congress--Bill to Prohibit Slavery in the District +of Columbia--Lincoln's Recommendations of Office-Seekers--Letters +to Speed--Commissioner of the General Land Office--Declines Governorship +of Oregon + + +Very few men are fortunate enough to gain distinction during their first +term in Congress. The reason is obvious. Legally, a term extends over +two years; practically, a session of five or six months during the +first, and three months during the second year ordinarily reduce their +opportunities more than one half. In those two sessions, even if we +presuppose some knowledge of parliamentary law, they must learn the +daily routine of business, make the acquaintance of their +fellow-members, who already, in the Thirtieth Congress, numbered +something over two hundred, study the past and prospective legislation +on a multitude of minor national questions entirely new to the new +members, and perform the drudgery of haunting the departments in the +character of unpaid agent and attorney to attend to the private +interests of constituents--a physical task of no small proportions in +Lincoln's day, when there was neither street-car nor omnibus in the +"city of magnificent distances," as Washington was nicknamed. Add to +this that the principal work of preparing legislation is done by the +various committees in their committee-rooms, of which the public hears +nothing, and that members cannot choose their own time for making +speeches; still further, that the management of debate on prepared +legislation must necessarily be intrusted to members of long experience +as well as talent, and it will be seen that the novice need not expect +immediate fame. + +It is therefore not to be wondered at that Lincoln's single term in the +House of Representatives at Washington added practically nothing to his +reputation. He did not attempt to shine forth in debate by either a +stinging retort or a witty epigram, or by a sudden burst of inspired +eloquence. On the contrary, he took up his task as a quiet but earnest +and patient apprentice in the great workshop of national legislation, +and performed his share of duty with industry and intelligence, as well +as with a modest and appreciative respect for the ability and experience +of his seniors. + +"As to speech-making," he wrote, "by way of getting the hang of the +House, I made a little speech two or three days ago on a post-office +question of no general interest. I find speaking here and elsewhere +about the same thing. I was about as badly scared, and no worse, as I am +when I speak in court. I expect to make one within a week or two in +which I hope to succeed well enough to wish you to see it." And again, +some weeks later: "I just take my pen to say that Mr. Stephens of +Georgia, a little, slim, pale-faced consumptive man with a voice like +Logan's, has just concluded the very best speech of an hour's length I +ever heard. My old, withered, dry eyes are full of tears yet." + +He was appointed the junior Whig member of the Committee on Post-offices +and Post-roads, and shared its prosaic but eminently useful labors both +in the committee-room and the House debates. His name appears on only +one other committee,--that on Expenditures of the War Department,--and +he seems to have interested himself in certain amendments of the law +relating to bounty lands for soldiers and such minor military topics. He +looked carefully after the interests of Illinois in certain grants of +land to that State for railroads, but expressed his desire that the +government price of the reserved sections should not be increased to +actual settlers. + +During the first session of the Thirtieth Congress he delivered three +set speeches in the House, all of them carefully prepared and fully +written out. The first of these, on January 12, 1848, was an elaborate +defense of the Whig doctrine summarized in a House resolution passed a +week or ten days before, that the Mexican War "had been unnecessarily +and unconstitutionally commenced by the President," James K. Polk. The +speech is not a mere party diatribe, but a terse historical and legal +examination of the origin of the Mexican War. In the after-light of our +own times which shines upon these transactions, we may readily admit +that Mr. Lincoln and the Whigs had the best of the argument, but it must +be quite as readily conceded that they were far behind the President and +his defenders in political and party strategy. The former were clearly +wasting their time in discussing an abstract question of international +law upon conditions existing twenty months before. During those twenty +months the American arms had won victory after victory, and planted the +American flag on the "halls of the Montezumas." Could even successful +argument undo those victories or call back to life the brave American +soldiers who had shed their blood to win them? + +It may be assumed as an axiom that Providence has never gifted any +political party with all of political wisdom or blinded it with all of +political folly. Upon the foregoing point of controversy the Whigs were +sadly thrown on the defensive, and labored heavily under their already +discounted declamation. But instinct rather than sagacity led them to +turn their eyes to the future, and successfully upon other points to +retrieve their mistake. Within six weeks after Lincoln's speech +President Polk sent to the Senate a treaty of peace, under which Mexico +ceded to the United States an extent of territory equal in area to +Germany, France, and Spain combined, and thereafter the origin of the +war was an obsolete question. What should be done with the new territory +was now the issue. + +This issue embraced the already exciting slavery question, and Mr. +Lincoln was doubtless gratified that the Whigs had taken a position upon +it so consonant with his own convictions. Already, in the previous +Congress, the body of the Whig members had joined a small group of +antislavery Democrats in fastening upon an appropriation bill the famous +"Wilmot Proviso," that slavery should never exist in territory acquired +from Mexico, and the Whigs of the Thirtieth Congress steadily followed +the policy of voting for the same restriction in regard to every piece +of legislation where it was applicable. Mr. Lincoln often said he had +voted forty or fifty times for the Wilmot Proviso in various forms +during his single term. + +Upon another point he and the other Whigs were equally wise. Repelling +the Democratic charge that they were unpatriotic in denouncing the war, +they voted in favor of every measure to sustain, supply, and encourage +the soldiers in the field. But their most adroit piece of strategy, now +that the war was ended, was in their movement to make General Taylor +President. + +In this movement Mr. Lincoln took a leading and active part. No living +American statesman has ever been idolized by his party adherents as was +Henry Clay for a whole generation, and Mr. Lincoln fully shared this +hero-worship. But his practical campaigning as a candidate for +presidential elector in the Harrison campaign of 1840, and the Clay +campaign of 1844, in Illinois and the adjoining States, afforded him a +basis for sound judgment, and convinced him that the day when Clay could +have been elected President was forever passed. + +"Mr. Clay's chance for an election is just no chance at all," he wrote +on April 30. "He might get New York, and that would have elected in +1844, but it will not now, because he must now, at the least, lose +Tennessee which he had then, and in addition the fifteen new votes of +Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin.... In my judgment, we can elect +nobody but General Taylor; and we cannot elect him without a nomination. +Therefore don't fail to send a delegate." And again on the same day: +"Mr. Clay's letter has not advanced his interests any here. Several who +were against Taylor, but not for anybody particularly before, are since +taking ground, some for Scott and some for McLean. Who will be nominated +neither I nor any one else can tell. Now, let me pray to you in turn. My +prayer is that you let nothing discourage or baffle you, but that, in +spite of every difficulty, you send us a good Taylor delegate from your +circuit. Make Baker, who is now with you, I suppose, help about it. He +is a good hand to raise a breeze." + +In due time Mr. Lincoln's sagacity and earnestness were both justified; +for on June 12 he was able to write to an Illinois friend: + +"On my return from Philadelphia, where I had been attending the +nomination of 'Old Rough,' I found your letter in a mass of others which +had accumulated in my absence. By many, and often, it had been said they +would not abide the nomination of Taylor; but since the deed has been +done, they are fast falling in, and in my opinion we shall have a most +overwhelming, glorious triumph. One unmistakable sign is that all the +odds and ends are with us--Barnburners, Native Americans, Tyler men, +disappointed office-seeking Locofocos, and the Lord knows what. This is +important, if in nothing else, in showing which way the wind blows. Some +of the sanguine men have set down all the States as certain for Taylor +but Illinois, and it as doubtful. Cannot something be done even in +Illinois? Taylor's nomination takes the Locos on the blind side. It +turns the war-thunder against them. The war is now to them the gallows +of Haman, which they built for us, and on which they are doomed to be +hanged themselves." + +Nobody understood better than Mr. Lincoln the obvious truth that in +politics it does not suffice merely to nominate candidates. Something +must also be done to elect them. Two of the letters which he at this +time wrote home to his young law partner, William H. Herndon, are +especially worth quoting in part, not alone to show his own zeal and +industry, but also as a perennial instruction and encouragement to young +men who have an ambition to make a name and a place for themselves in +American politics: + +"Last night I was attending a sort of caucus of the Whig members, held +in relation to the coming presidential election. The whole field of the +nation was scanned, and all is high hope and confidence.... Now, as to +the young men. You must not wait to be brought forward by the older men. +For instance, do you suppose that I should ever have got into notice if +I had waited to be hunted up and pushed forward by older men? You young +men get together and form a 'Rough and Ready Club,' and have regular +meetings and speeches.... Let every one play the part he can play +best,--some speak, some sing, and all 'holler.' Your meetings will be of +evenings; the older men, and the women, will go to hear you; so that it +will not only contribute to the election of 'Old Zach,' but will be an +interesting pastime, and improving to the intellectual faculties of all +engaged." + +And in another letter, answering one from Herndon in which that young +aspirant complains of having been neglected, he says: + +"The subject of that letter is exceedingly painful to me; and I cannot +but think there is some mistake in your impression of the motives of the +old men. I suppose I am now one of the old men; and I declare, on my +veracity, which I think is good with you, that nothing could afford me +more satisfaction than to learn that you and others of my young friends +at home are doing battle in the contest, and endearing themselves to the +people, and taking a stand far above any I have been able to reach in +their admiration. I cannot conceive that other old men feel differently. +Of course I cannot demonstrate what I say; but I was young once, and I +am sure I was never ungenerously thrust back. I hardly know what to say. +The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself every way he can, +never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him. Allow me to assure +you that suspicion and jealousy never did help any man in any situation. +There may sometimes be ungenerous attempts to keep a young man down; and +they will succeed, too, if he allows his mind to be diverted from its +true channel to brood over the attempted injury. Cast about, and see if +this feeling has not injured every person you have ever known to fall +into it." + +Mr. Lincoln's interest in this presidential campaign did not expend +itself merely in advice to others. We have his own written record that +he also took an active part for the election of General Taylor after his +nomination, speaking a few times in Maryland near Washington, several +times in Massachusetts, and canvassing quite fully his own district in +Illinois. Before the session of Congress ended he also delivered two +speeches in the House--one on the general subject of internal +improvements, and the other the usual political campaign speech which +members of Congress are in the habit of making to be printed for home +circulation; made up mainly of humorous and satirical criticism, +favoring the election of General Taylor, and opposing the election of +General Cass, the Democratic candidate. Even this production, however, +is lighted up by a passage of impressive earnestness and eloquence, in +which he explains and defends the attitude of the Whigs in denouncing +the origin of the Mexican War: + +"If to say 'the war was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced +by the President,' be opposing the war, then the Whigs have very +generally opposed it. Whenever they have spoken at all they have said +this; and they have said it on what has appeared good reason to them. +The marching an army into the midst of a peaceful Mexican settlement, +frightening the inhabitants away, leaving their growing crops and other +property to destruction, to you may appear a perfectly amiable, +peaceful, unprovoking procedure; but it does not appear so to us. So to +call such an act, to us appears no other than a naked, impudent +absurdity, and we speak of it accordingly. But if, when the war had +begun, and had become the cause of the country, the giving of our money +and our blood, in common with yours, was support of the war, then it is +not true that we have always opposed the war. With few individual +exceptions, you have constantly had our votes here for all the necessary +supplies. And, more than this, you have had the services, the blood, and +the lives of our political brethren in every trial and on every field. +The beardless boy and the mature man, the humble and the +distinguished--you have had them. Through suffering and death, by +disease and in battle, they have endured, and fought and fell with you. +Clay and Webster each gave a son, never to be returned. From the State +of my own residence, besides other worthy but less known Whig names, we +sent Marshall, Morrison, Baker, and Hardin; they all fought and one +fell, and in the fall of that one we lost our best Whig man. Nor were +the Whigs few in number or laggard in the day of danger. In that +fearful, bloody, breathless struggle at Buena Vista, where each man's +hard task was to beat back five foes or die himself, of the five high +officers who perished, four were Whigs. In speaking of this, I mean no +odious comparison between the lion-hearted Whigs and the Democrats who +fought there. On other occasions, and among the lower officers and +privates on that occasion, I doubt not the proportion was different. I +wish to do justice to all. I think of all those brave men as Americans, +in whose proud fame, as an American, I, too, have a share. Many of them, +Whigs and Democrats, are my constituents and personal friends; and I +thank them--more than thank them--one and all, for the high, +imperishable honor they have conferred on our common State." + +During the second session of the Thirtieth Congress Mr. Lincoln made no +long speeches, but in addition to the usual routine work devolved on him +by the committee of which he was a member, he busied himself in +preparing a special measure which, because of its relation to the great +events of his later life, needs to be particularly mentioned. Slavery +existed in Maryland and Virginia when these States ceded the territory +out of which the District of Columbia was formed. Since, by that +cession, this land passed under the exclusive control of the Federal +government, the "institution" within this ten miles square could no +longer be defended by the plea of State sovereignty, and antislavery +sentiment naturally demanded that it should cease. Pro-slavery +statesmen, on the other hand, as persistently opposed its removal, +partly as a matter of pride and political consistency, partly because it +was a convenience to Southern senators and members of Congress, when +they came to Washington, to bring their family servants where the local +laws afforded them the same security over their black chattels which +existed at their homes. Mr. Lincoln, in his Peoria speech in 1854, +emphasized the sectional dispute with this vivid touch of local color: + +"The South clamored for a more efficient fugitive-slave law. The North +clamored for the abolition of a peculiar species of slave trade in the +District of Columbia, in connection with which, in view from the windows +of the Capitol, a sort of negro livery-stable, where droves of negroes +were collected, temporarily kept, and finally taken to Southern markets, +precisely like droves of horses, had been openly maintained for fifty +years." + +Thus the question remained a minor but never ending bone of contention +and point of irritation, and excited debate arose in the Thirtieth +Congress over a House resolution that the Committee on the Judiciary be +instructed to report a bill as soon as practicable prohibiting the slave +trade in the District of Columbia. In this situation of affairs, Mr. +Lincoln conceived the fond hope that he might be able to present a plan +of compromise. He already entertained the idea which in later years +during his presidency he urged upon both Congress and the border slave +States, that the just and generous mode of getting rid of the barbarous +institution of slavery was by a system of compensated emancipation +giving freedom to the slave and a money indemnity to the owner. He +therefore carefully framed a bill providing for the abolishment of +slavery in the District upon the following principal conditions: + +_First_. That the law should be adopted by a popular vote in the +District. + +_Second_. A temporary system of apprenticeship and gradual emancipation +for children born of slave mothers after January 1, 1850. + +_Third_. The government to pay full cash value for slaves voluntarily +manumitted by their owners. + +_Fourth_. Prohibiting bringing slaves into the District, or selling them +out of it. + +_Fifth_. Providing that government officers, citizens of slave States, +might bring with them and take away again, their slave house-servants. + +_Sixth_. Leaving the existing fugitive-slave law in force. + +When Mr. Lincoln presented this amendment to the House, he said that he +was authorized to state that of about fifteen of the leading citizens of +the District of Columbia, to whom the proposition had been submitted, +there was not one who did not approve the adoption of such a +proposition. He did not wish to be misunderstood. He did not know +whether or not they would vote for this bill on the first Monday in +April; but he repeated that out of fifteen persons to whom it had been +submitted, he had authority to say that every one of them desired that +some proposition like this should pass. + +While Mr. Lincoln did not so state to the House, it was well understood +in intimate circles that the bill had the approval on the one hand of +Mr. Seaton, the conservative mayor of Washington, and on the other hand +of Mr. Giddings, the radical antislavery member of the House of +Representatives. Notwithstanding the singular merit of the bill in +reconciling such extremes of opposing factions in its support, the +temper of Congress had already become too hot to accept such a rational +and practical solution, and Mr. Lincoln's wise proposition was not +allowed to come to a vote. + +The triumphant election of General Taylor to the presidency in November, +1848, very soon devolved upon Mr. Lincoln the delicate and difficult +duty of making recommendations to the incoming administration of persons +suitable to be appointed to fill the various Federal offices in +Illinois, as Colonel E.D. Baker and himself were the only Whigs elected +to Congress from that State. In performing this duty, one of his leading +characteristics, impartial honesty and absolute fairness to political +friends and foes alike, stands out with noteworthy clearness. His term +ended with General Taylor's inauguration, and he appears to have +remained in Washington but a few days thereafter. Before leaving, he +wrote to the new Secretary of the Treasury: + +"Colonel E.D. Baker and myself are the only Whig members of Congress +from Illinois--I of the Thirtieth, and he of the Thirty-first. We have +reason to think the Whigs of that State hold us responsible, to some +extent, for the appointments which may be made of our citizens. We do +not know you personally, and our efforts to see you have, so far, been +unavailing. I therefore hope I am not obtrusive in saying in this way, +for him and myself, that when a citizen of Illinois is to be appointed, +in your department, to an office, either in or out of the State, we most +respectfully ask to be heard." + +On the following day, March 10, 1849, he addressed to the Secretary of +State his first formal recommendation. It is remarkable from the fact +that between the two Whig applicants whose papers are transmitted, he +says rather less in favor of his own choice than of the opposing +claimant. + +"SIR: There are several applicants for the office of United States +Marshal for the District of Illinois, among the most prominent of whom +are Benjamin Bond, Esq., of Carlyle, and ---- Thomas, Esq., of Galena. +Mr. Bond I know to be personally every way worthy of the office; and he +is very numerously and most respectably recommended. His papers I send +to you; and I solicit for his claims a full and fair consideration. +Having said this much, I add that in my individual judgment the +appointment of Mr. Thomas would be the better. + + "Your obedient servant, + "A. LINCOLN" + +(Indorsed on Mr. Bond's papers.) + +"In this and the accompanying envelop are the recommendations of about +two hundred good citizens, of all parts of Illinois, that Benjamin Bond +be appointed marshal for that district. They include the names of nearly +all our Whigs who now are, or have ever been, members of the State +legislature, besides forty-six of the Democratic members of the present +legislature, and many other good citizens. I add that from personal +knowledge I consider Mr. Bond every way worthy of the office, and +qualified to fill it. Holding the individual opinion that the +appointment of a different gentleman would be better, I ask especial +attention and consideration for his claims, and for the opinions +expressed in his favor by those over whom I can claim no superiority." + +There were but three other prominent Federal appointments to be made in +Mr. Lincoln's congressional district, and he waited until after his +return home so that he might be better informed of the local opinion +concerning them before making his recommendations. It was nearly a month +after he left Washington before he sent his decision to the several +departments at Washington. The letter quoted below, relating to one of +these appointments, is in substance almost identical with the others, +and particularly refrains from expressing any opinion of his own for or +against the policy of political removals. He also expressly explains +that Colonel Baker, the other Whig representative, claims no voice in +the appointment. + +"DEAR SIR: I recommend that Walter Davis be appointed Receiver of the +Land Office at this place, whenever there shall be a vacancy. I cannot +say that Mr. Herndon, the present incumbent, has failed in the proper +discharge of any of the duties of the office. He is a very warm +partizan, and openly and actively opposed to the election of General +Taylor. I also understand that since General Taylor's election he has +received a reappointment from Mr. Polk, his old commission not having +expired. Whether this is true the records of the department will show. I +may add that the Whigs here almost universally desire his removal." + +If Mr. Lincoln's presence in Washington during two sessions in Congress +did not add materially to either his local or national fame, it was of +incalculable benefit in other respects. It afforded him a close +inspection of the complex machinery of the Federal government and its +relation to that of the States, and enabled him to notice both the easy +routine and the occasional friction of their movements. It brought him +into contact and, to some degree, intimate companionship with political +leaders from all parts of the Union, and gave him the opportunity of +joining in the caucus and the national convention that nominated General +Taylor for President. It broadened immensely the horizon of his +observation, and the sharp personal rivalries he noted at the center of +the nation opened to him new lessons in the study of human nature. His +quick intelligence acquired knowledge quite as, or even more, rapidly by +process of logical intuition than by mere dry, laborious study; and it +was the inestimable experience of this single term in the Congress of +the United States which prepared him for his coming, yet undreamed-of, +responsibilities, as fully as it would have done the ordinary man in a +dozen. + +Mr. Lincoln had frankly acknowledged to his friend Speed, after his +election in 1846, that "being elected to Congress, though I am very +grateful to our friends for having done it, has not pleased me as much +as I expected." It has already been said that an agreement had been +reached among the several Springfield aspirants, that they would limit +their ambition to a single term, and take turns in securing and enjoying +the coveted distinction; and Mr. Lincoln remained faithful to this +agreement. When the time to prepare for the election of 1848 approached, +he wrote to his law partner: + +"It is very pleasant to learn from you that there are some who desire +that I should be reelected. I most heartily thank them for their kind +partiality; and I can say, as Mr. Clay said of the annexation of Texas, +that 'personally I would not object' to a reelection, although I thought +at the time, and still think, it would be quite as well for me to +return to the law at the end of a single term. I made the declaration +that I would not be a candidate again, more from a wish to deal fairly +with others, to keep peace among our friends, and to keep the district +from going to the enemy, than for any cause personal to myself; so that, +if it should so happen that nobody else wishes to be elected, I could +not refuse the people the right of sending me again. But to enter myself +as a competitor of others, or to authorize any one so to enter me, is +what my word and honor forbid." + +Judge Stephen T. Logan, his late law partner, was nominated for the +place, and heartily supported not only by Mr. Lincoln, but also by the +Whigs of the district. By this time, however, the politics of the +district had undergone a change by reason of the heavy emigration to +Illinois at that period, and Judge Logan was defeated. + +Mr. Lincoln's strict and sensitive adherence to his promises now brought +him a disappointment which was one of those blessings in disguise so +commonly deplored for the time being by the wisest and best. A number of +the Western members of Congress had joined in a recommendation to +President-elect Taylor to give Colonel E.D. Baker a place in his +cabinet, a reward he richly deserved for his talents, his party service, +and the military honor he had won in the Mexican War. When this +application bore no fruit, the Whigs of Illinois, expecting at least +some encouragement from the new administration, laid claim to a bureau +appointment, that of Commissioner of the General Land Office, in the new +Department of the Interior, recently established. + +"I believe that, so far as the Whigs in Congress are concerned," wrote +Lincoln to Speed twelve days before Taylor's inauguration, "I could +have the General Land Office almost by common consent; but then Sweet +and Don Morrison and Browning and Cyrus Edwards all want it, and what is +worse, while I think I could easily take it myself, I fear I shall have +trouble to get it for any other man in Illinois." + +Unselfishly yielding his own chances, he tried to induce the four +Illinois candidates to come to a mutual agreement in favor of one of +their own number. They were so tardy in settling their differences as to +excite his impatience, and he wrote to a Washington friend: + +"I learn from Washington that a man by the name of Butterfield will +probably be appointed Commissioner of the General Land Office, This +ought not to be.... Some kind friends think I ought to be an applicant, +but I am for Mr. Edwards. Try to defeat Butterfield, and, in doing so, +use Mr. Edwards, J.L.D. Morrison, or myself, whichever you can to best +advantage." + +As the situation grew persistently worse, Mr. Lincoln at length, about +the first of June, himself became a formal applicant. But the delay +resulting from his devotion to his friends had dissipated his chances. +Butterfield received the appointment, and the defeat was aggravated +when, a few months later, his unrelenting spirit of justice and fairness +impelled him to write a letter defending Butterfield and the Secretary +of the Interior from an attack by one of Lincoln's warm personal but +indiscreet friends in the Illinois legislature. It was, however, a +fortunate escape. In the four succeeding years Mr. Lincoln qualified +himself for better things than the monotonous drudgery of an +administrative bureau at Washington. It is probable that this defeat +also enabled him more easily to pass by another temptation. The Taylor +administration, realizing its ingratitude, at length, in September, +offered him the governorship of the recently organized territory of +Oregon; but he replied: + +"On as much reflection as I have had time to give the subject, I cannot +consent to accept it." + + + + +VII + +Repeal of the Missouri Compromise--State Fair Debate--Peoria +Debate--Trumbull Elected--Letter to Robinson--The Know-Nothings--Decatur +Meeting--Bloomington Convention--Philadelphia Convention--Lincoln's Vote +for Vice-President--Fremont and Dayton--Lincoln's Campaign +Speeches--Chicago Banquet Speech + + +After the expiration of his term in Congress Mr. Lincoln applied himself +with unremitting assiduity to the practice of law, which the growth of +the State in population, and the widening of his acquaintanceship no +less than his own growth in experience and legal acumen, rendered ever +more important and absorbing. + +"In 1854," he writes, "his profession had almost superseded the thought +of politics in his mind, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise +aroused him as he had never been before." + +Not alone Mr. Lincoln, but, indeed, the whole nation, was so +aroused--the Democratic party, and nearly the entire South, to force the +passage of that repeal through Congress, and an alarmed majority, +including even a considerable minority of the Democratic party in the +North, to resist its passage. + +Mr. Lincoln, of course, shared the general indignation of Northern +sentiment that the whole of the remaining Louisiana Territory, out of +which six States, and the greater part of two more, have since been +organized and admitted to the Union, should be opened to the possible +extension of slavery. But two points served specially to enlist his +energy in the controversy. One was personal, in that Senator Douglas of +Illinois, by whom the repeal was championed, and whose influence as a +free-State senator and powerful Democratic leader alone made the repeal +possible, had been his personal antagonist in Illinois politics for +almost twenty years. The other was moral, in that the new question +involved the elemental principles of the American government, the +fundamental maxim of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are +created equal. His intuitive logic needed no demonstration that bank, +tariff, internal improvements, the Mexican War, and their related +incidents, were questions of passing expediency; but that this sudden +reaction, needlessly grafted upon a routine statute to organize a new +territory, was the unmistakable herald of a coming struggle which might +transform republican institutions. + +It was in January, 1854, that the accidents of a Senate debate threw +into Congress and upon the country the firebrand of the repeal of the +Missouri Compromise. The repeal was not consummated till the month of +May; and from May until the autumn elections the flame of acrimonious +discussion ran over the whole country like a wild fire. There is no +record that Mr. Lincoln took any public part in the discussion until the +month of September, but it is very clear that he not only carefully +watched its progress, but that he studied its phases of development, its +historical origins, and its legal bearings with close industry, and +gathered from party literature and legislative documents a harvest of +substantial facts and data, rather than the wordy campaign phrases and +explosive epithets with which more impulsive students and speakers were +content to produce their oratorical effects. Here we may again quote +Mr. Lincoln's exact written statement of the manner in which he resumed +his political activity: + +"In the autumn of that year [1854] he took the stump, with no broader +practical aim or object than to secure, if possible, the reelection of +Hon. Richard Yates to Congress. His speeches at once attracted a more +marked attention than they had ever before done. As the canvass +proceeded he was drawn to different parts of the State, outside of Mr. +Yates's district. He did not abandon the law, but gave his attention by +turns to that and politics. The State Agricultural Fair was at +Springfield that year, and Douglas was announced to speak there." + +The new question had created great excitement and uncertainty in +Illinois politics, and there were abundant signs that it was beginning +to break up the organization of both the Whig and the Democratic +parties. This feeling brought together at the State fair an unusual +number of local leaders from widely scattered counties, and almost +spontaneously a sort of political tournament of speech-making broke out. +In this Senator Douglas, doubly conspicuous by his championship of the +Nebraska Bill in Congress, was expected to play the leading part, while +the opposition, by a common impulse, called upon Lincoln to answer him. +Lincoln performed the task with such aptness and force, with such +freshness of argument, illustrations from history, and citations from +authorities, as secured him a decided oratorical triumph, and lifted him +at a single bound to the leadership of the opposition to Douglas's +propagandism. Two weeks later, Douglas and Lincoln met at Peoria in a +similar debate, and on his return to Springfield Lincoln wrote out and +printed his speech in full. + +The reader who carefully examines this speech will at once be impressed +with the genius which immediately made Mr. Lincoln a power in American +politics. His grasp of the subject is so comprehensive, his statement so +clear, his reasoning so convincing, his language so strong and eloquent +by turns, that the wonderful power he manifested in the discussions and +debates of the six succeeding years does not surpass, but only amplifies +this, his first examination of the whole brood of questions relating to +slavery precipitated upon the country by Douglas's repeal. After a +searching history of the Missouri Compromise, he attacks the +demoralizing effects and portentous consequences of its repeal. + +"This declared indifference," he says, "but, as I must think, covert +real zeal for the spread of slavery, I cannot but hate. I hate it +because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because +it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; +enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us +as hypocrites; causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our +sincerity; and especially because it forces so many good men among +ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil +liberty, criticizing the Declaration of Independence, and insisting that +there is no right principle of action but self-interest.... Slavery is +founded in the selfishness of man's nature--opposition to it in his love +of justice. These principles are an eternal antagonism, and when brought +into collision so fiercely as slavery extension brings them, shocks and +throes and convulsions must ceaselessly follow. Repeal the Missouri +Compromise, repeal all compromises, repeal the Declaration of +Independence, repeal all past history, you still cannot repeal human +nature. It still will be the abundance of man's heart that slavery +extension is wrong, and out of the abundance of his heart his mouth +will continue to speak." + +With argument as impetuous, and logic as inexorable, he disposes of +Douglas's plea of popular sovereignty: + +"Here, or at Washington, I would not trouble myself with the oyster laws +of Virginia, or the cranberry laws of Indiana. The doctrine of +self-government is right--absolutely and eternally right--but it has no +just application as here attempted. Or perhaps I should rather say, that +whether it has such application depends upon whether a negro is not or +is a man. If he is not a man, in that case, he who is a man may, as a +matter of self-government, do just what he pleases with him. But if the +negro is a man, is it not to that extent a total destruction of +self-government to say that he too shall not govern himself? When the +white man governs himself, that is self-government; but when he governs +himself and also governs another man, that is more than +self-government--that is despotism.... I particularly object to the new +position which the avowed principle of this Nebraska law gives to +slavery in the body politic. I object to it because it assumes that +there can be moral right in the enslaving of one man by another. I +object to it as a dangerous dalliance for a free people--a sad evidence +that, feeling prosperity, we forget right; that liberty, as a principle, +we have ceased to revere.... Little by little, but steadily as man's +march to the grave, we have been giving up the old for the new faith. +Near eighty years ago we began by declaring that all men are created +equal; but now, from that beginning, we have run down to the other +declaration, that for some men to enslave others is a 'sacred right of +self-government.' These principles cannot stand together. They are as +opposite as God and Mammon." + +If one compares the serious tone of this speech with the hard cider and +coon-skin buncombe of the Harrison campaign of 1840, and its lofty +philosophical thought with the humorous declamation of the Taylor +campaign of 1848, the speaker's advance in mental development at once +becomes apparent. In this single effort Mr. Lincoln had risen from the +class of the politician to the rank of the statesman. There is a +well-founded tradition that Douglas, disconcerted and troubled by +Lincoln's unexpected manifestation of power in the Springfield and +Peoria debates, sought a friendly interview with his opponent, and +obtained from him an agreement that neither one of them would make any +further speeches before the election. + +The local interest in the campaign was greatly heightened by the fact +that the term of Douglas's Democratic colleague in the United States +Senate was about to expire, and that the State legislature to be elected +would have the choosing of his successor. It is not probable that +Lincoln built much hope upon this coming political chance, as the +Democratic party had been throughout the whole history of the State in +decided political control. It turned out, nevertheless, that in the +election held on November 7, an opposition majority of members of the +legislature was chosen, and Lincoln became, to outward appearances, the +most available opposition candidate. But party disintegration had been +only partial. Lincoln and his party friends still called themselves +Whigs, though they could muster only a minority of the total membership +of the legislature. The so-called Anti-Nebraska Democrats, opposing +Douglas and his followers, were still too full of traditional party +prejudice to help elect a pronounced Whig to the United States Senate, +though as strongly "Anti-Nebraska" as themselves. Five of them brought +forward, and stubbornly voted for, Lyman Trumbull, an Anti-Nebraska +Democrat of ability, who had been chosen representative in Congress from +the eighth Illinois District in the recent election. On the ninth ballot +it became evident to Lincoln that there was danger of a new Democratic +candidate, neutral on the Nebraska question, being chosen. In this +contingency, he manifested a personal generosity and political sagacity +far above the comprehension of the ordinary smart politician. He advised +and prevailed upon his Whig supporters to vote for Trumbull, and thus +secure a vote in the United States Senate against slavery extension. He +had rightly interpreted both statesmanship and human nature. His +personal sacrifice on this occasion contributed essentially to the +coming political regeneration of his State; and the five Anti-Nebraska +Democrats, who then wrought his defeat, became his most devoted personal +followers and efficient allies in his own later political triumph, which +adverse currents, however, were still to delay to a tantalizing degree. +The circumstances of his defeat at that critical stage of his career +must have seemed especially irritating, yet he preserved a most +remarkable equanimity of temper. "I regret my defeat moderately," he +wrote to a sympathizing friend, "but I am not nervous about it." + +We may fairly infer that while Mr. Lincoln was not "nervous," he was +nevertheless deeply impressed by the circumstance as an illustration of +the grave nature of the pending political controversy. A letter written +by him about half a year later to a friend in Kentucky, is full of such +serious reflection as to show that the existing political conditions in +the United States had engaged his most profound thought and +investigation. + +"That spirit," he wrote, "which desired the peaceful extinction of +slavery has itself become extinct with the occasion and the men of the +Revolution. Under the impulse of that occasion, nearly half the States +adopted systems of emancipation at once, and it is a significant fact +that not a single State has done the like since. So far as peaceful +voluntary emancipation is concerned, the condition of the negro slave in +America, scarcely less terrible to the contemplation of a free mind, is +now as fixed and hopeless of change for the better as that of the lost +souls of the finally impenitent. The Autocrat of all the Russias will +resign his crown and proclaim his subjects free republicans sooner than +will our American masters voluntarily give up their slaves. Our +political problem now is, 'Can we as a nation continue together +permanently--forever--half slave and half free?' The problem is too +mighty for me--may God, in his mercy, superintend the solution." + +Not quite three years later Mr. Lincoln made the concluding problem of +this letter the text of a famous speech. On the day before his first +inauguration as President of the United States, the "Autocrat of all the +Russias," Alexander II, by imperial decree emancipated his serfs; while +six weeks after the inauguration the "American masters," headed by +Jefferson Davis, began the greatest war of modern times to perpetuate +and spread the institution of slavery. + +The excitement produced by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in +1854, by the election forays of the Missouri Border Ruffians into Kansas +in 1855, and by the succeeding civil strife in 1856 in that Territory, +wrought an effective transformation of political parties in the Union, +in preparation for the presidential election of that year. This +transformation, though not seriously checked, was very considerably +complicated by an entirely new faction, or rather by the sudden revival +of an old one, which in the past had called itself Native Americanism, +and now assumed the name of the American Party, though it was more +popularly known by the nickname of "Know-Nothings," because of its +secret organization. It professed a certain hostility to foreign-born +voters and to the Catholic religion, and demanded a change in the +naturalization laws from a five years' to a twenty-one years' +preliminary residence. This faction had gained some sporadic successes +in Eastern cities, but when its national convention met in February, +1856, to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President, the +pending slavery question, that it had hitherto studiously ignored, +caused a disruption of its organization; and though the adhering +delegates nominated Millard Fillmore for President and A.J. Donelson for +Vice-President, who remained in the field and were voted for, to some +extent, in the presidential election, the organization was present only +as a crippled and disturbing factor, and disappeared totally from +politics in the following years. + +Both North and South, party lines adjusted themselves defiantly upon the +single issue, for or against men and measures representing the extension +or restriction of slavery. The Democratic party, though radically +changing its constituent elements, retained the party name, and became +the party of slavery extension, having forced the repeal and supported +the resulting measures; while the Whig party entirely disappeared, its +members in the Northern States joining the Anti-Nebraska Democrats in +the formation of the new Republican party. Southern Whigs either went +boldly into the Democratic camp, or followed for a while the delusive +prospects of the Know-Nothings. + +This party change went on somewhat slowly in the State of Illinois, +because that State extended in territorial length from the latitude of +Massachusetts to that of Virginia, and its population contained an +equally diverse local sentiment. The northern counties had at once +become strongly Anti-Nebraska; the conservative Whig counties of the +center inclined to the Know-Nothings; while the Kentuckians and +Carolinians, who had settled the southern end, had strong antipathies to +what they called abolitionism, and applauded Douglas and repeal. + +The agitation, however, swept on, and further hesitation became +impossible. Early in 1856 Mr. Lincoln began to take an active part in +organizing the Republican party. He attended a small gathering of +Anti-Nebraska editors in February, at Decatur, who issued a call for a +mass convention which met at Bloomington in May, at which the Republican +party of Illinois was formally constituted by an enthusiastic gathering +of local leaders who had formerly been bitter antagonists, but who now +joined their efforts to resist slavery extension. They formulated an +emphatic but not radical platform, and through a committee selected a +composite ticket of candidates for State offices, which the convention +approved by acclamation. The occasion remains memorable because of the +closing address made by Mr. Lincoln in one of his most impressive +oratorical moods. So completely were his auditors carried away by the +force of his denunciation of existing political evils, and by the +eloquence of his appeal for harmony and union to redress them, that +neither a verbatim report nor even an authentic abstract was made during +its delivery: but the lifting inspiration of its periods will never fade +from the memory of those who heard it. + +About three weeks later, the first national convention of the Republican +party met at Philadelphia, and nominated John C. Fremont of California +for President. There was a certain fitness in this selection, from the +fact that he had been elected to the United States Senate when +California applied for admission as a free State, and that the +resistance of the South to her admission had been the entering wedge of +the slavery agitation of 1850. This, however, was in reality a minor +consideration. It was rather his romantic fame as a daring Rocky +Mountain explorer, appealing strongly to popular imagination and +sympathy, which gave him prestige as a presidential candidate. + +It was at this point that the career of Abraham Lincoln had a narrow and +fortunate escape from a premature and fatal prominence. The Illinois +Bloomington convention had sent him as a delegate to the Philadelphia +convention; and, no doubt very unexpectedly to himself, on the first +ballot for a candidate for Vice-President he received one hundred and +ten votes against two hundred and fifty-nine votes for William L. Dayton +of New Jersey, upon which the choice of Mr. Dayton was at once made +unanimous. But the incident proves that Mr. Lincoln was already gaining +a national fame among the advanced leaders of political thought. +Happily, a mysterious Providence reserved him for larger and nobler +uses. + +The nominations thus made at Philadelphia completed the array for the +presidential battle of 1856. The Democratic national convention had met +at Cincinnati on June 2, and nominated James Buchanan for President and +John C. Breckinridge for Vice-President. Its work presented two points +of noteworthy interest, namely: that the South, in an arrogant +pro-slavery dictatorship, relentlessly cast aside the claims of Douglas +and Pierce, who had effected the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and +nominated Buchanan, in apparently sure confidence of that +super-serviceable zeal in behalf of slavery which he so obediently +rendered; also, that in a platform of intolerable length there was such +a cunning ambiguity of word and concealment of sense, such a double +dealing of phrase and meaning, as to render it possible that the +pro-slavery Democrats of the South and some antislavery Democrats of the +North might join for the last time to elect a "Northern man with +Southern principles." + +Again, in this campaign, as in several former presidential elections, +Mr. Lincoln was placed upon the electoral ticket of Illinois, and he +made over fifty speeches in his own and adjoining States in behalf of +Fremont and Dayton. Not one of these speeches was reported in full, but +the few fragments which have been preserved show that he occupied no +doubtful ground on the pending issues. Already the Democrats were +raising the potent alarm cry that the Republican party was sectional, +and that its success would dissolve the Union. Mr. Lincoln did not then +dream that he would ever have to deal practically with such a +contingency, but his mind was very clear as to the method of meeting it. +Speaking for the Republican party, he said: + +"But the Union in any event will not be dissolved. We don't want to +dissolve it, and if you attempt it, we won't let you. With the purse and +sword, the army and navy and treasury, in our hands and at our command, +you could not do it. This government would be very weak, indeed, if a +majority, with a disciplined army and navy and a well-filled treasury, +could not preserve itself when attacked by an unarmed, undisciplined, +unorganized minority. All this talk about the dissolution of the Union +is humbug, nothing but folly. We do not want to dissolve the Union; you +shall not." + +While the Republican party was much cast down by the election of +Buchanan in November, the Democrats found significant cause for +apprehension in the unexpected strength with which the Fremont ticket +had been supported in the free States. Especially was this true in +Illinois, where the adherents of Fremont and Fillmore had formed a +fusion, and thereby elected a Republican governor and State officers. +One of the strong elements of Mr. Lincoln's leadership was the cheerful +hope he was always able to inspire in his followers, and his abiding +faith in the correct political instincts of popular majorities. This +trait was happily exemplified in a speech he made at a Republican +banquet in Chicago about a month after the presidential election. +Recalling the pregnant fact that though Buchanan gained a majority of +the electoral vote, he was in a minority of about four hundred thousand +of the popular vote for President, Mr. Lincoln thus summed up the +chances of Republican success in the future: + +"Our government rests in public opinion. Whoever can change public +opinion, can change the government, practically, just so much. Public +opinion on any subject always has a 'central idea,' from which all its +minor thoughts radiate. That 'central idea' in our political public +opinion at the beginning was, and until recently has continued to be, +'the equality of men.' And although it has always submitted patiently to +whatever of inequality there seemed to be as matter of actual necessity, +its constant working has been a steady progress towards the practical +equality of all men. The late presidential election was a struggle by +one party to discard that central idea and to substitute for it the +opposite idea that slavery is right in the abstract; the workings of +which as a central idea may be the perpetuity of human slavery and its +extension to all countries and colors.... All of us who did not vote for +Mr. Buchanan, taken together, are a majority of four hundred thousand. +But in the late contest we were divided between Fremont and Fillmore. +Can we not come together for the future? Let every one who really +believes, and is resolved, that free society is not and shall not be a +failure, and who can conscientiously declare that in the past contest he +has done only what he thought best--let every such one have charity to +believe that every other one can say as much. Thus let bygones be +bygones; let past differences as nothing be; and with steady eye on the +real issue, let us reinaugurate the good old 'central ideas' of the +republic. We can do it. The human heart is with us; God is with us. We +shall again be able, not to declare that 'all States as States are +equal,' nor yet that 'all citizens as citizens are equal,' but to renew +the broader, better declaration, including both these and much more, +that 'all men are created equal.'" + + + + +VIII + +Buchanan Elected President--The Dred Scott Decision--Douglas's +Springfield Speech, 1857--Lincoln's Answering Speech--Criticism of Dred +Scott Decision--Kansas Civil War--Buchanan Appoints Walker--Walker's +Letter on Kansas--The Lecompton Constitution--Revolt of Douglas + + +The election of 1856 once more restored the Democratic party to full +political control in national affairs. James Buchanan was elected +President to succeed Pierce; the Senate continued, as before, to have a +decided Democratic majority; and a clear Democratic majority of +twenty-five was chosen to the House of Representatives to succeed the +heavy opposition majority of the previous Congress. + +Though the new House did not organize till a year after it was elected, +the certainty of its coming action was sufficient not only to restore, +but greatly to accelerate the pro-slavery reaction begun by the repeal +of the Missouri Compromise. This impending drift of national policy now +received a powerful impetus by an act of the third cooerdinate branch, +the judicial department of the government. + +Very unexpectedly to the public at large, the Supreme Court of the +United States, a few days after Buchanan's inauguration, announced its +judgment in what quickly became famous as the Dred Scott decision. Dred +Scott, a negro slave in Missouri, sued for his freedom on the ground +that his master had taken him to reside in the State of Illinois and +the Territory of Wisconsin, where slavery was prohibited by law. The +question had been twice decided by Missouri courts, once for and then +against Dred Scott's claim; and now the Supreme Court of the United +States, after hearing the case twice elaborately argued by eminent +counsel, finally decided that Dred Scott, being a negro, could not +become a citizen, and therefore was not entitled to bring suit. This +branch, under ordinary precedent, simply threw the case out of court; +but in addition, the decision, proceeding with what lawyers call _obiter +dictum_, went on to declare that under the Constitution of the United +States neither Congress nor a territorial legislature possessed power to +prohibit slavery in Federal Territories. + +The whole country immediately flared up with the agitation of the +slavery question in this new form. The South defended the decision with +heat, the North protested against it with indignation, and the +controversy was greatly intensified by a phrase in the opinion of Chief +Justice Taney, that at the time of the Declaration of Independence +negroes were considered by general public opinion to be so far inferior +"that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." + +This decision of the Supreme Court placed Senator Douglas in a curious +dilemma. While it served to indorse and fortify his course in repealing +the Missouri Compromise, it, on the other hand, totally negatived his +theory by which he had sought to make the repeal palatable, that the +people of a Territory, by the exercise of his great principle of popular +sovereignty, could decide the slavery question for themselves. But, +being a subtle sophist, he sought to maintain a show of consistency by +an ingenious evasion. In the month of June following the decision, he +made a speech at Springfield, Illinois, in which he tentatively +announced what in the next year became widely celebrated as his Freeport +doctrine, and was immediately denounced by his political confreres of +the South as serious party heterodoxy. First lauding the Supreme Court +as "the highest judicial tribunal on earth," and declaring that violent +resistance to its decrees must be put down by the strong arm of the +government, he went on thus to define a master's right to his slave in +Kansas: + +"While the right continues in full force under the guarantees of the +Constitution, and cannot be divested or alienated by an act of Congress, +it necessarily remains a barren and a worthless right unless sustained, +protected, and enforced by appropriate police regulations and local +legislation prescribing adequate remedies for its violation. These +regulations and remedies must necessarily depend entirely upon the will +and wishes of the people of the Territory, as they can only be +prescribed by the local legislatures. Hence, the great principle of +popular sovereignty and self-government is sustained and firmly +established by the authority of this decision." + +Both the legal and political aspects of the new question immediately +engaged the earnest attention of Mr. Lincoln; and his splendid power of +analysis set its ominous portent in a strong light. He made a speech in +reply to Douglas about two weeks after, subjecting the Dred Scott +decision to a searching and eloquent criticism. He said: + +"That decision declares two propositions--first, that a negro cannot sue +in the United States courts; and secondly, that Congress cannot prohibit +slavery in the Territories. It was made by a divided court--dividing +differently on the different points. Judge Douglas does not discuss the +merits of the decision, and in that respect I shall follow his example, +believing I could no more improve on McLean and Curtis than he could on +Taney.... We think the Dred Scott decision was erroneous. We know the +court that made it has often overruled its own decisions, and we shall +do what we can to have it overrule this. We offer no resistance to +it.... If this important decision had been made by the unanimous +concurrence of the judges, and without any apparent partizan bias, and +in accordance with legal public expectation and with the steady practice +of the departments throughout our history and had been in no part based +on assumed historical facts which are not really true; or if, wanting in +some of these, it had been before the court more than once, and had +there been affirmed and reaffirmed through a course of years, it then +might be, perhaps would be, factious, nay, even revolutionary, not to +acquiesce in it as a precedent. But when, as is true, we find it wanting +in all these claims to the public confidence, it is not resistance, it +is not factious, it is not even disrespectful, to treat it as not having +yet quite established a settled doctrine for the country.... + +"The Chief Justice does not directly assert, but plainly assumes, as a +fact, that the public estimate of the black man is more favorable now +than it was in the days of the Revolution. This assumption is a mistake. +In some trifling particulars the condition of that race has been +ameliorated; but as a whole, in this country, the change between then +and now is decidedly the other way; and their ultimate destiny has never +appeared so hopeless as in the last three or four years. In two of the +five States--New Jersey and North Carolina--that then gave the free +negro the right of voting, the right has since been taken away; and in +the third--New York--it has been greatly abridged; while it has not +been extended, so far as I know, to a single additional State, though +the number of the States has more than doubled. In those days, as I +understand, masters could, at their own pleasure, emancipate their +slaves; but since then such legal restraints have been made upon +emancipation as to amount almost to prohibition. In those days, +legislatures held the unquestioned power to abolish slavery in their +respective States, but now it is becoming quite fashionable for State +constitutions to withhold that power from the legislatures. In those +days, by common consent, the spread of the black man's bondage to the +new countries was prohibited, but now Congress decides that it will not +continue the prohibition and the Supreme Court decides that it could not +if it would. In those days, our Declaration of Independence was held +sacred by all, and thought to include all; but now, to aid in making the +bondage of the negro universal and eternal, it is assailed and sneered +at and construed, and hawked at and torn, till, if its framers could +rise from their graves, they could not at all recognize it. All the +powers of earth seem rapidly combining against him. Mammon is after him, +ambition follows, philosophy follows, and the theology of the day is +fast joining the cry. They have him in his prison-house; they have +searched his person, and left no prying instrument with him. One after +another they have closed the heavy iron doors upon him; and now they +have him, as it were, bolted in with a lock of a hundred keys, which can +never be unlocked without the concurrence of every key--the keys in the +hands of a hundred different men, and they scattered to a hundred +different and distant places; and they stand musing as to what +invention, in all the dominions of mind and matter, can be produced to +make the impossibility of his escape more complete than it is." + +There is not room to quote the many other equally forcible points in Mr. +Lincoln's speech. Our narrative must proceed to other significant events +in the great pro-slavery reaction. Thus far the Kansas experiment had +produced nothing but agitation, strife, and bloodshed. First the storm +in Congress over repeal; then a mad rush of emigration to occupy the +Territory. This was followed by the Border Ruffian invasions, in which +Missouri voters elected a bogus territorial legislature, and the bogus +legislature enacted a code of bogus laws. In turn, the more rapid +emigration from free States filled the Territory with a majority of +free-State voters, who quickly organized a compact free-State party, +which sent a free-State constitution, known as the Topeka Constitution, +to Congress, and applied for admission. This movement proved barren, +because the two houses of Congress were divided in sentiment. Meanwhile, +President Pierce recognized the bogus laws, and issued proclamations +declaring the free-State movement illegal and insurrectionary; and the +free-State party had in its turn baffled the enforcement of the bogus +laws, partly by concerted action of nonconformity and neglect, partly by +open defiance. The whole finally culminated in a chronic border war +between Missouri raiders on one hand, and free-State guerrillas on the +other; and it became necessary to send Federal troops to check the +disorder. These were instructed by Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of +War, that "rebellion must be crushed." The future Confederate President +little suspected the tremendous prophetic import of his order. The most +significant illustration of the underlying spirit of the struggle was +that President Pierce had successively appointed three Democratic +governors for the Territory, who, starting with pro-slavery bias, all +became free-State partizans, and were successively insulted and driven +from the Territory by the pro-slavery faction when in manly protest they +refused to carry out the behests of the Missouri conspiracy. After a +three years' struggle neither faction had been successful, neither party +was satisfied; and the administration of Pierce bequeathed to its +successor the same old question embittered by rancor and defeat. + +President Buchanan began his administration with a boldly announced +pro-slavery policy. In his inaugural address he invoked the popular +acceptance of the Dred Scott decision, which he already knew was coming; +and a few months later declared in a public letter that slavery "exists +in Kansas under the Constitution of the United States.... How it ever +could have been seriously doubted is a mystery." He chose for the +governorship of Kansas, Robert J. Walker, a citizen of Mississippi of +national fame and of pronounced pro-slavery views, who accepted his +dangerous mission only upon condition that a new constitution, to be +formed for that State, must be honestly submitted to the real voters of +Kansas for adoption or rejection. President Buchanan and his advisers, +as well as Senator Douglas, accepted this condition repeatedly and +emphatically. But when the new governor went to the Territory, he soon +became convinced, and reported to his chief, that to make a slave State +of Kansas was a delusive hope. "Indeed," he wrote, "it is universally +admitted here that the only real question is this: whether Kansas shall +be a conservative, constitutional, Democratic, and ultimately free +State, or whether it shall be a Republican and abolition State." + +As a compensation for the disappointment, however, he wrote later direct +to the President: + +"But we must have a slave State out of the southwestern Indian +Territory, and then a calm will follow; Cuba be acquired with the +acquiescence of the North; and your administration, having in reality +settled the slavery question, be regarded in all time to come as a +re-signing and re-sealing of the Constitution.... I shall be pleased +soon to hear from you. Cuba! Cuba! (and Porto Rico, if possible) should +be the countersign of your administration, and it will close in a blaze +of glory." + +And the governor was doubtless much gratified to receive the President's +unqualified indorsement in reply: "On the question of submitting the +constitution to the _bona fide_ resident settlers of Kansas, I am +willing to stand or fall." + +The sequel to this heroic posturing of the chief magistrate is one of +the most humiliating chapters in American politics. Attendant +circumstances leave little doubt that a portion of Mr. Buchanan's +cabinet, in secret league and correspondence with the pro-slavery +Missouri-Kansas cabal, aided and abetted the framing and adoption of +what is known to history as the Lecompton Constitution, an organic +instrument of a radical pro-slavery type; that its pretended submission +to popular vote was under phraseology, and in combination with such +gigantic electoral frauds and dictatorial procedure, as to render the +whole transaction a mockery of popular government; still worse, that +President Buchanan himself, proving too weak in insight and will to +detect the intrigue or resist the influence of his malign counselors, +abandoned his solemn pledges to Governor Walker, adopted the Lecompton +Constitution as an administration measure, and recommended it to +Congress in a special message, announcing dogmatically: "Kansas is +therefore at this moment as much a slave State as Georgia or South +Carolina." + +The radical pro-slavery attitude thus assumed by President Buchanan and +Southern leaders threw the Democratic party of the free States into +serious disarray, while upon Senator Douglas the blow fell with the +force of party treachery--almost of personal indignity. The Dred Scott +decision had rudely brushed aside his theory of popular sovereignty, and +now the Lecompton Constitution proceedings brutally trampled it down in +practice. The disaster overtook him, too, at a critical moment. His +senatorial term was about to expire; the next Illinois legislature would +elect his successor. The prospect was none too bright for him, for at +the late presidential election Illinois had chosen Republican State +officers. He was compelled either to break his pledges to the Democratic +voters of Illinois, or to lead a revolt against President Buchanan and +the Democratic leaders in Congress. Party disgrace at Washington, or +popular disgrace in Illinois, were the alternatives before him. To lose +his reelection to the Senate would almost certainly end his public +career. When, therefore, Congress met in December, 1857, Douglas boldly +attacked and denounced the Lecompton Constitution, even before the +President had recommended it in his special message. + +"Stand by the doctrine," he said, "that leaves the people perfectly free +to form and regulate their institutions for themselves, in their own +way, and your party will be united and irresistible in power.... If +Kansas wants a slave-State constitution, she has a right to it; if she +wants a free-State constitution, she has a right to it. It is none of my +business which way the slavery clause is decided. I care not whether it +is voted down or voted up. Do you suppose, after the pledges of my honor +that I would go for that principle and leave the people to vote as they +choose, that I would now degrade myself by voting one way if the +slavery clause be voted down, and another way if it be voted up? I care +not how that vote may stand.... Ignore Lecompton; ignore Topeka; treat +both those party movements as irregular and void; pass a fair bill--the +one that we framed ourselves when we were acting as a unit; have a fair +election--and you will have peace in the Democratic party, and peace +throughout the country, in ninety days. The people want a fair vote. +They will never be satisfied without it.... But if this constitution is +to be forced down our throats in violation of the fundamental principle +of free government, under a mode of submission that is a mockery and +insult, I will resist it to the last." + +Walker, the fourth Democratic governor who had now been sacrificed to +the interests of the Kansas pro-slavery cabal, also wrote a sharp letter +of resignation denouncing the Lecompton fraud and policy; and such was +the indignation aroused in the free States, that although the Senate +passed the Lecompton Bill, twenty-two Northern Democrats joining their +vote to that of the Republicans, the measure was defeated in the House +of Representatives. The President and his Southern partizans bitterly +resented this defeat; and the schism between them, on the one hand, and +Douglas and his adherents, on the other, became permanent and +irreconcilable. + + + + +IX + +The Senatorial Contest in Illinois--"House Divided against Itself" +Speech--The Lincoln-Douglas Debates--The Freeport Doctrine--Douglas +Deposed from Chairmanship of Committee on Territories--Benjamin on +Douglas--Lincoln's Popular Majority--Douglas Gains Legislature--Greeley, +Crittenden, _et al._--"The Fight Must Go On"--Douglas's Southern +Speeches--Senator Brown's Questions--Lincoln's Warning against Popular +Sovereignty--The War of Pamphlets--Lincoln's Ohio Speeches--The John +Brown Raid--Lincoln's Comment + + +The hostility of the Buchanan administration to Douglas for his part in +defeating the Lecompton Constitution, and the multiplying chances +against him, served only to stimulate his followers in Illinois to +greater efforts to secure his reelection. Precisely the same elements +inspired the hope and increased the enthusiasm of the Republicans of the +State to accomplish his defeat. For a candidate to oppose the "Little +Giant," there could be no rival in the Republican ranks to Abraham +Lincoln. He had in 1854 yielded his priority of claim to Trumbull; he +alone had successfully encountered Douglas in debate. The political +events themselves seemed to have selected and pitted these two champions +against each other. Therefore, when the Illinois State convention on +June 16, 1858, passed by acclamation a separate resolution, "That +Abraham Lincoln is the first and only choice of the Republicans of +Illinois for the United States Senate as the successor of Stephen A. +Douglas," it only recorded the well-known judgment of the party. After +its routine work was finished, the convention adjourned to meet again in +the hall of the State House at Springfield at eight o'clock in the +evening. At that hour Mr. Lincoln appeared before the assembled +delegates and delivered a carefully studied speech, which has become +historic. After a few opening sentences, he uttered the following +significant prediction: + +"'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this +government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free. I do not +expect the Union to be dissolved--I do not expect the house to fall--but +I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or +all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further +spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the +belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates +will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the +States, old as well as new, North as well as South." + +Then followed his critical analysis of the legislative objects and +consequences of the Nebraska Bill, and the judicial effects and +doctrines of the Dred Scott decision, with their attendant and related +incidents. The first of these had opened all the national territory to +slavery. The second established the constitutional interpretation that +neither Congress nor a territorial legislature could exclude slavery +from any United States territory. The President had declared Kansas to +be already practically a slave State. Douglas had announced that he did +not care whether slavery was voted down or voted up. Adding to these +many other indications of current politics, Mr. Lincoln proceeded: + +"Put this and that together, and we have another nice little niche, +which we may, ere long, see filled with another Supreme Court decision +declaring that the Constitution of the United States does not permit a +State to exclude slavery from its limits.... Such a decision is all that +slavery now lacks of being alike lawful in all the States.... We shall +lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the +verge of making their State free, and we shall awake to the reality, +instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State." + +To avert this danger, Mr. Lincoln declared it was the duty of +Republicans to overthrow both Douglas and the Buchanan political +dynasty. + +"Two years ago the Republicans of the nation mustered over thirteen +hundred thousand strong. We did this under the single impulse of +resistance to a common danger, with every external circumstance against +us. Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from +the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the +constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and pampered enemy. Did we +brave all then to falter now?--now, when that same enemy is wavering, +dissevered, and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not +fail--if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate +or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to +come." + +Lincoln's speech excited the greatest interest everywhere throughout the +free States. The grave peril he so clearly pointed out came home to the +people of the North almost with the force of a revelation; and +thereafter their eyes were fixed upon the Illinois senatorial campaign +with undivided attention. Another incident also drew to it the equal +notice and interest of the politicians of the slave States. + +Within a month from the date of Lincoln's speech, Douglas returned from +Washington and began his campaign of active speech-making in Illinois. +The fame he had acquired as the champion of the Nebraska Bill, and, more +recently, the prominence into which his opposition to the Lecompton +fraud had lifted him in Congress, attracted immense crowds to his +meetings, and for a few days it seemed as if the mere contagion of +popular enthusiasm would submerge all intelligent political discussion. +To counteract this, Mr. Lincoln, at the advice of his leading friends, +sent him a letter challenging him to joint public debate. Douglas +accepted the challenge, but with evident hesitation; and it was arranged +that they should jointly address the same meetings at seven towns in the +State, on dates extending through August, September, and October. The +terms were, that, alternately, one should speak an hour in opening, the +other an hour and a half in reply, and the first again have half an hour +in closing. This placed the contestants upon an equal footing before +their audiences. Douglas's senatorial prestige afforded him no +advantage. Face to face with the partizans of both, gathered in immense +numbers and alert with critical and jealous watchfulness, there was no +evading the square, cold, rigid test of skill in argument and truth in +principle. The processions and banners, the music and fireworks, of both +parties, were stilled and forgotten while the audience listened with +high-strung nerves to the intellectual combat of three hours' duration. + +It would be impossible to give the scope and spirit of these famous +debates in the space allotted to these pages, but one of the +turning-points in the oratorical contest needs particular mention. +Northern Illinois, peopled mostly from free States, and southern +Illinois, peopled mostly from slave States, were radically opposed in +sentiment on the slavery question; even the old Whigs of central +Illinois had to a large extent joined the Democratic party, because of +their ineradicable prejudice against what they stigmatized as +"abolitionism." To take advantage of this prejudice, Douglas, in his +opening speech in the first debate at Ottawa in northern Illinois, +propounded to Lincoln a series of questions designed to commit him to +strong antislavery doctrines. He wanted to know whether Mr. Lincoln +stood pledged to the repeal of the fugitive-slave law; against the +admission of any more slave States; to the abolition of slavery in the +District of Columbia; to the prohibition of the slave trade between +different States; to prohibit slavery in all the Territories; to oppose +the acquisition of any new territory unless slavery were first +prohibited therein. + +In their second joint debate at Freeport, Lincoln answered that he was +pledged to none of these propositions, except the prohibition of slavery +in all Territories of the United States. In turn he propounded four +questions to Douglas, the second of which was: + +"Can the people of a United States Territory in any lawful way, against +the wish of any citizen of the United States, exclude slavery from its +limits prior to the formation of a State constitution?" + +Mr. Lincoln had long and carefully studied the import and effect of this +interrogatory, and nearly a month before, in a private letter, +accurately foreshadowed Douglas's course upon it: + +"You shall have hard work," he wrote, "to get him directly to the point +whether a territorial legislature has or has not the power to exclude +slavery. But if you succeed in bringing him to it--though he will be +compelled to say it possesses no such power--he will instantly take +ground that slavery cannot actually exist in the Territories unless the +people desire it and so give it protection by territorial legislation. +If this offends the South, he will let it offend them, as at all events +he means to hold on to his chances in Illinois." + +On the night before the Freeport debate the question had also been +considered in a hurried caucus of Lincoln's party friends. They all +advised against propounding it, saying, "If you do, you can never be +senator." "Gentlemen," replied Lincoln, "I am killing larger game; if +Douglas answers, he can never be President, and the battle of 1860 is +worth a hundred of this." + +As Lincoln had predicted, Douglas had no resource but to repeat the +sophism he had hastily invented in his Springfield speech of the +previous year. + +"It matters not," replied he, "what way the Supreme Court may hereafter +decide as to the abstract question whether slavery may or may not go +into a Territory under the Constitution, the people have the lawful +means to introduce it or exclude it, as they please, for the reason that +slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere unless it is supported by +local police regulations. Those police regulations can only be +established by the local legislature, and if the people are opposed to +slavery they will elect representatives to that body who will by +unfriendly legislation effectually prevent the introduction of it into +their midst. If, on the contrary, they are for it, their legislation +will favor its extension. Hence, no matter what the decision of the +Supreme Court may be on that abstract question, still the right of the +people to make a slave Territory or a free Territory is perfect and +complete under the Nebraska Bill." + +In the course of the next joint debate at Jonesboro', Mr. Lincoln easily +disposed of this sophism by showing: 1. That, practically, slavery had +worked its way into Territories without "police regulations" in almost +every instance; 2. That United States courts were established to protect +and enforce rights under the Constitution; 3. That members of a +territorial legislature could not violate their oath to support the +Constitution of the United States; and, 4. That in default of +legislative support, Congress would be bound to supply it for any right +under the Constitution. + +The serious aspect of the matter, however, to Douglas was not the +criticism of the Republicans, but the view taken by Southern Democratic +leaders, of his "Freeport doctrine," or doctrine of "unfriendly +legislation." His opposition to the Lecompton Constitution in the +Senate, grievous stumbling-block to their schemes as it had proved, +might yet be passed over as a reckless breach of party discipline; but +this new announcement at Freeport was unpardonable doctrinal heresy, as +rank as the abolitionism of Giddings and Lovejoy. + +The Freeport joint debate took place August 27, 1858. When Congress +convened on the first Monday in December of the same year, one of the +first acts of the Democratic senators was to put him under party ban by +removing him from the chairmanship of the Committee on Territories, a +position he had held for eleven years. In due time, also, the Southern +leaders broke up the Charleston convention rather than permit him to be +nominated for President; and, three weeks later, Senator Benjamin of +Louisiana frankly set forth, in a Senate speech, the light in which they +viewed his apostacy: + +"We accuse him for this, to wit: that having bargained with us upon a +point upon which we were at issue, that it should be considered a +judicial point; that he would abide the decision; that he would act +under the decision, and consider it a doctrine of the party; that having +said that to us here in the Senate, he went home, and, under the stress +of a local election, his knees gave way; his whole person trembled. His +adversary stood upon principle and was beaten; and, lo! he is the +candidate of a mighty party for the presidency of the United States. The +senator from Illinois faltered. He got the prize for which he faltered; +but, lo! the grand prize of his ambition to-day slips from his grasp, +because of his faltering in his former contest, and his success in the +canvass for the Senate, purchased for an ignoble price, has cost him the +loss of the presidency of the United States." + +In addition to the seven joint debates, both Lincoln and Douglas made +speeches at separate meetings of their own during almost every day of +the three months' campaign, and sometimes two or three speeches a day. +At the election which was held on November 2, 1858, a legislature was +chosen containing fifty-four Democrats and forty-six Republicans, +notwithstanding the fact that the Republicans had a plurality of +thirty-eight hundred and twenty-one on the popular vote. But the +apportionment was based on the census of 1850, and did not reflect +recent changes in political sentiment, which, if fairly represented, +would have given them an increased strength of from six to ten members +in the legislature. Another circumstance had great influence in causing +Lincoln's defeat. Douglas's opposition to the Lecompton Constitution in +Congress had won him great sympathy among a few Republican leaders in +the Eastern States. It was even whispered that Seward wished Douglas to +succeed as a strong rebuke to the Buchanan administration. The most +potent expression and influence of this feeling came, however, from +another quarter. Senator Crittenden of Kentucky, who, since Clay's death +in 1852, was the acknowledged leader of what remained of the Whig party, +wrote a letter during the campaign, openly advocating the reelection of +Douglas, and this, doubtless, influenced the vote of all the Illinois +Whigs who had not yet formally joined the Republican party. Lincoln's +own analysis gives, perhaps, the clearest view of the unusual political +conditions: + +"Douglas had three or four very distinguished men of the most extreme +antislavery views of any men in the Republican party expressing their +desire for his reelection to the Senate last year. That would of itself +have seemed to be a little wonderful, but that wonder is heightened when +we see that Wise of Virginia, a man exactly opposed to them, a man who +believes in the divine right of slavery, was also expressing his desire +that Douglas should be reelected; that another man that may be said to +be kindred to Wise, Mr. Breckinridge, the Vice-President, and of your +own State, was also agreeing with the antislavery men in the North that +Douglas ought to be reelected. Still to heighten the wonder, a senator +from Kentucky, whom I have always loved with an affection as tender and +endearing as I have ever loved any man, who was opposed to the +antislavery men for reasons which seemed sufficient to him, and equally +opposed to Wise and Breckinridge, was writing letters to Illinois to +secure the reelection of Douglas. Now that all these conflicting +elements should be brought, while at daggers' points with one another, +to support him, is a feat that is worthy for you to note and consider. +It is quite probable that each of these classes of men thought by the +reelection of Douglas their peculiar views would gain something; it is +probable that the antislavery men thought their views would gain +something that Wise and Breckinridge thought so too, as regards their +opinions; that Mr. Crittenden thought that his views would gain +something, although he was opposed to both these other men. It is +probable that each and all of them thought they were using Douglas, and +it is yet an unsolved problem whether he was not using them all." + +Lincoln, though beaten in his race for the Senate, was by no means +dismayed, nor did he lose his faith in the ultimate triumph of the cause +he had so ably championed. Writing to a friend, he said: + +"You doubtless have seen ere this the result of the election here. Of +course I wished, but I did not much expect a better result.... I am glad +I made the late race. It gave me a hearing on the great and durable +question of the age, which I could have had in no other way; and though +I now sink out of view, and shall be forgotten, I believe I have made +some marks which will tell for the cause of civil liberty long after I +am gone." + +And to another: + +"Yours of the 13th was received some days ago. The fight must go on. The +cause of civil liberty must not be surrendered at the end of one or even +one hundred defeats. Douglas had the ingenuity to be supported in the +late contest, both as the best means to break down and to uphold the +slave interest. No ingenuity can keep these antagonistic elements in +harmony long. Another explosion will soon come." + +In his "House divided against itself" speech, Lincoln had emphatically +cautioned Republicans not to be led on a false trail by the opposition +Douglas had made to the Lecompton Constitution; that his temporary +quarrel with the Buchanan administration could not be relied upon to +help overthrow that pro-slavery dynasty. + +"How can he oppose the advances of slavery? He don't care anything about +it. His avowed mission is impressing the 'public heart' to care nothing +about it.... Whenever, if ever, he and we can come together on principle +so that our great cause may have assistance from his great ability, I +hope to have interposed no adventitious obstacle. But, clearly, he is +not now with us--he does not pretend to be--he does not promise ever to +be. Our cause, then, must be intrusted to, and conducted by, its own +undoubted friends--those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the +work, who do care for the result." + +Since the result of the Illinois senatorial campaign had assured the +reelection of Douglas to the Senate, Lincoln's sage advice acquired a +double significance and value. Almost immediately after the close of the +campaign Douglas took a trip through the Southern States, and in +speeches made by him at Memphis, at New Orleans, and at Baltimore sought +to regain the confidence of Southern politicians by taking decidedly +advanced ground toward Southern views on the slavery question. On the +sugar plantations of Louisiana he said, it was not a question between +the white man and the negro, but between the negro and the crocodile. He +would say that between the negro and the crocodile, he took the side of +the negro; but between the negro and the white man, he would go for the +white man. The Almighty had drawn a line on this continent, on the one +side of which the soil must be cultivated by slave labor? on the other, +by white labor. That line did not run on 36 deg. and 30' [the Missouri +Compromise line], for 36 deg. and 30' runs over mountains and through +valleys. But this slave line, he said, meanders in the sugar-fields and +plantations of the South, and the people living in their different +localities and in the Territories must determine for themselves whether +their "middle belt" were best adapted to slavery or free labor. He +advocated the eventual annexation of Cuba and Central America. Still +going a step further, he laid down a far-reaching principle. + +"It is a law of humanity," he said, "a law of civilization that whenever +a man or a race of men show themselves incapable of managing their own +affairs, they must consent to be governed by those who are capable of +performing the duty.... In accordance with this principle, I assert that +the negro race, under all circumstances, at all times, and in all +countries, has shown itself incapable of self-government." + +This pro-slavery coquetting, however, availed him nothing, as he felt +himself obliged in the same speeches to defend his Freeport doctrine. +Having taken his seat in Congress, Senator Brown of Mississippi, toward +the close of the short session, catechized him sharply on this point. + +"If the territorial legislature refuses to act," he inquired "will you +act? If it pass unfriendly acts, will you pass friendly? If it pass laws +hostile to slavery, will you annul them, and substitute laws favoring +slavery in their stead?" + +There was no evading these direct questions, and Douglas answered +frankly: + +"I tell you, gentlemen of the South, in all candor, I do not believe a +Democratic candidate can ever carry any one Democratic State of the +North on the platform that it is the duty of the Federal government to +force the people of a Territory to have slavery when they do not want +it." + +An extended discussion between Northern and Southern Democratic +senators followed the colloquy, which showed that the Freeport doctrine +had opened up an irreparable schism between the Northern and Southern +wings of the Democratic party. + +In all the speeches made by Douglas during his Southern tour, he +continually referred to Mr. Lincoln as the champion of abolitionism, and +to his doctrines as the platform of the abolition or Republican party. +The practical effect of this course was to extend and prolong the +Illinois senatorial campaign of 1858, to expand it to national breadth, +and gradually to merge it in the coming presidential campaign. The +effect of this was not only to keep before the public the position of +Lincoln as the Republican champion of Illinois, but also gradually to +lift him into general recognition as a national leader. Throughout the +year 1859 politicians and newspapers came to look upon Lincoln as the +one antagonist who could at all times be relied on to answer and refute +the Douglas arguments. His propositions were so forcible and direct, his +phraseology so apt and fresh, that they held the attention and excited +comment. A letter written by him in answer to an invitation to attend a +celebration of Jefferson's birthday in Boston, contains some notable +passages: + +"Soberly, it is now no child's play to save the principles of Jefferson +from total overthrow in this nation. One would state with great +confidence that he could convince any sane child that the simpler +propositions of Euclid are true; but, nevertheless, he would fail, +utterly, with one who should deny the definitions and axioms. The +principles of Jefferson are the definitions and axioms of free society. +And yet they are denied and evaded with no small show of success. One +dashingly calls them 'glittering generalities.' Another bluntly calls +them 'self-evident lies.' And others insidiously argue that they apply +to 'superior races.' These expressions, differing in form, are identical +in object and effect--the supplanting the principles of free government, +and restoring those of classification, caste, and legitimacy. They would +delight a convocation of crowned heads plotting against the people. They +are the vanguard, the miners and sappers of returning despotism. We must +repulse them, or they will subjugate us. This is a world of +compensation; and he who would be no slave must consent to have no +slave. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, +and, under a just God, cannot long retain it." + +Douglas's quarrel with the Buchanan administration had led many +Republicans to hope that they might be able to utilize his name and his +theory of popular sovereignty to aid them in their local campaigns. +Lincoln knew from his recent experience the peril of this delusive party +strategy, and was constant and earnest in his warnings against adopting +it. In a little speech after the Chicago municipal election on March 1, +1859, he said: + +"If we, the Republicans of this State, had made Judge Douglas our +candidate for the Senate of the United States last year, and had elected +him, there would to-day be no Republican party in this Union.... Let the +Republican party of Illinois dally with Judge Douglas, let them fall in +behind him and make him their candidate, and they do not absorb him--he +absorbs them. They would come out at the end all Douglas men, all +claimed by him as having indorsed every one of his doctrines upon the +great subject with which the whole nation is engaged at this hour--that +the question of negro slavery is simply a question of dollars and +cents? that the Almighty has drawn a line across the continent, on one +side of which labor--the cultivation of the soil--must always be +performed by slaves. It would be claimed that we, like him, do not care +whether slavery is voted up or voted down. Had we made him our candidate +and given him a great majority, we should never have heard an end of +declarations by him that we had indorsed all these dogmas." + +To a Kansas friend he wrote on May 14, 1859: + +"You will probably adopt resolutions in the nature of a platform. I +think the only temptation will be to lower the Republican standard in +order to gather recruits In my judgment, such a step would be a serious +mistake, and open a gap through which more would pass out than pass in. +And this would be the same whether the letting down should be in +deference to Douglasism, or to the Southern opposition element; either +would surrender the object of the Republican organization--the +preventing of the spread and nationalization of slavery.... Let a union +be attempted on the basis of ignoring the slavery question, and +magnifying other questions which the people are just now not caring +about, and it will result in gaining no single electoral vote in the +South, and losing every one in the North." + +To Schuyler Colfax (afterward Vice-President) he said in a letter dated +July 6, 1859: + +"My main object in such conversation would be to hedge against divisions +in the Republican ranks generally and particularly for the contest of +1860. The point of danger is the temptation in different localities to +'platform' for something which will be popular just there, but which, +nevertheless, will be a firebrand elsewhere and especially in a national +convention. As instances: the movement against foreigners in +Massachusetts; in New Hampshire, to make obedience to the +fugitive-slave law punishable as a crime; in Ohio, to repeal the +fugitive-slave law; and squatter sovereignty, in Kansas. In these things +there is explosive matter enough to blow up half a dozen national +conventions, if it gets into them; and what gets very rife outside of +conventions is very likely to find its way into them." + +And again, to another warm friend in Columbus, Ohio, he wrote in a +letter dated July 28, 1859: + +"There is another thing our friends are doing which gives me some +uneasiness. It is their leaning toward 'popular sovereignty.' There are +three substantial objections to this. First, no party can command +respect which sustains this year what it opposed last. Secondly Douglas +(who is the most dangerous enemy of liberty, because the most insidious +one) would have little support in the North, and, by consequence, no +capital to trade on in the South, if it were not for his friends thus +magnifying him and his humbug. But lastly, and chiefly, Douglas's +popular sovereignty, accepted by the public mind as a just principle, +nationalizes slavery, and revives the African slave-trade inevitably. +Taking slaves into new Territories, and buying slaves in Africa, are +identical things, identical rights or identical wrongs, and the argument +which establishes one will establish the other. Try a thousand years for +a sound reason why Congress shall not hinder the people of Kansas from +having slaves, and when you have found it, it will be an equally good +one why Congress should not hinder the people of Georgia from importing +slaves from Africa." + +An important election occurred in the State of Ohio in the autumn of +1859, and during the canvass Douglas made two speeches in which, as +usual, his pointed attacks were directed against Lincoln by name. Quite +naturally, the Ohio Republicans called Lincoln to answer him, and the +marked impression created by Lincoln's replies showed itself not alone +in their unprecedented circulation in print in newspapers and pamphlets, +but also in the decided success which the Ohio Republicans gained at the +polls. About the same time, also, Douglas printed a long political essay +in "Harper's Magazine," using as a text quotations from Lincoln's "House +divided against itself" speech, and Seward's Rochester speech defining +the "irrepressible conflict." Attorney-General Black of President +Buchanan's cabinet here entered the lists with an anonymously printed +pamphlet in pungent criticism of Douglas's "Harper" essay; which again +was followed by reply and rejoinder on both sides. + +Into this field of overheated political controversy the news of the John +Brown raid at Harper's Ferry on Sunday, October 19, fell with startling +portent. The scattering and tragic fighting in the streets of the little +town on Monday; the dramatic capture of the fanatical leader on Tuesday +by a detachment of Federal marines under the command of Robert E. Lee, +the famous Confederate general of subsequent years; the undignified +haste of his trial and condemnation by the Virginia authorities; the +interviews of Governor Wise, Senator Mason, and Representative +Vallandigham with the prisoner; his sentence, and execution on the +gallows on December 2; and the hysterical laudations of his acts by a +few prominent and extreme abolitionists in the East, kept public +opinion, both North and South, in an inflamed and feverish state for +nearly six weeks. + +Mr. Lincoln's habitual freedom from passion, and the steady and +common-sense judgment he applied to this exciting event, which threw +almost everybody into an extreme of feeling or utterance, are well +illustrated by the temperate criticism he made of it a few months later: + +"John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not a slave insurrection. It +was an attempt by white men to get up a revolt among slaves, in which +the slaves refused to participate. In fact, it was so absurd that the +slaves, with all their ignorance, saw plainly enough it could not +succeed. That affair, in its philosophy, corresponds with the many +attempts, related in history, at the assassination of kings and +emperors. An enthusiast broods over the oppression of a people till he +fancies himself commissioned by Heaven to liberate them. He ventures the +attempt, which ends in little else than his own execution. Orsini's +attempt on Louis Napoleon and John Brown's attempt at Harper's Ferry +were, in their philosophy, precisely the same. The eagerness to cast +blame on old England in the one case, and on New England in the other, +does not disprove the sameness of the two things." + + + + +X + +Lincoln's Kansas Speeches--The Cooper Institute Speech--New England +Speeches--The Democratic Schism--Senator Brown's Resolutions--Jefferson +Davis's Resolutions--The Charleston Convention--Majority and Minority +Reports--Cotton State Delegations Secede--Charleston Convention +Adjourns--Democratic Baltimore Convention Splits--Breckinridge +Nominated--Douglas Nominated--Bell Nominated by Union Constitutional +Convention--Chicago Convention--Lincoln's Letters to Pickett and +Judd--The Pivotal States--Lincoln Nominated + + +During the month of December, 1859, Mr. Lincoln was invited to the +Territory of Kansas, where he made speeches at a number of its new and +growing towns. In these speeches he laid special emphasis upon the +necessity of maintaining undiminished the vigor of the Republican +organization and the high plane of the Republican doctrine. + +"We want, and must have," said he, "a national policy as to slavery +which deals with it as being a wrong. Whoever would prevent slavery +becoming national and perpetual yields all when he yields to a policy +which treats it either as being right, or as being a matter of +indifference." "To effect our main object we have to employ auxiliary +means. We must hold conventions, adopt platforms, select candidates, and +carry elections. At every step we must be true to the main purpose. If +we adopt a platform falling short of our principle, or elect a man +rejecting our principle, we not only take nothing affirmative by our +success, but we draw upon us the positive embarrassment of seeming +ourselves to have abandoned our principle." + +A still more important service, however, in giving the Republican +presidential campaign of 1860 precise form and issue was rendered by him +during the first three months of the new year. The public mind had +become so preoccupied with the dominant subject of national politics, +that a committee of enthusiastic young Republicans of New York and +Brooklyn arranged a course of public lectures by prominent statesmen and +Mr. Lincoln was invited to deliver the third one of the series. The +meeting took place in the hall of the Cooper Institute in New York, on +the evening of February 27, 1860; and the audience was made up of ladies +and gentlemen comprising the leading representatives of the wealth, +culture, and influence of the great metropolis. + +Mr. Lincoln's name and arguments had filled so large a space in Eastern +newspapers, both friendly and hostile, that the listeners before him +were intensely curious to see and hear this rising Western politician. +The West was even at that late day but imperfectly understood by the +East. The poets and editors, the bankers and merchants of New York +vaguely remembered having read in their books that it was the home of +Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, the country of bowie-knives and pistols, +of steamboat explosions and mobs, of wild speculation and the +repudiation of State debts; and these half-forgotten impressions had +lately been vividly recalled by a several years' succession of newspaper +reports retailing the incidents of Border Ruffian violence and +free-State guerrilla reprisals during the civil war in Kansas. What was +to be the type, the character, the language of this speaker? How would +he impress the great editor Horace Greeley, who sat among the invited +guests? David Dudley Field, the great lawyer, who escorted him to the +platform; William Cullen Bryant, the great poet, who presided over the +meeting? + +Judging from after effects, the audience quickly forgot these +questioning thoughts. They had but time to note Mr. Lincoln's impressive +stature, his strongly marked features, the clear ring of his rather +high-pitched voice, and the almost commanding earnestness of his manner. +His beginning foreshadowed a dry argument using as a text Douglas's +phrase that "our fathers, when they framed the government under which we +live, understood this question just as well and even better than we do +now," But the concise statements, the strong links of reasoning, and the +irresistible conclusions of the argument with which the speaker followed +his close historical analysis of how "our fathers" understood "this +question," held every listener as though each were individually merged +in the speaker's thought and demonstration. + +"It is surely safe to assume," said he, with emphasis, "that the +thirty-nine framers of the original Constitution and the seventy-six +members of the Congress which framed the amendments thereto, taken +together, do certainly include those who may be fairly called 'our +fathers who framed the government under which we live.' And, so +assuming, I defy any man to show that any one of them ever, in his whole +life, declared that, in his understanding, any proper division of local +from Federal authority, or any part of the Constitution, forbade the +Federal government to control as to slavery in the Federal Territories." + +With equal skill he next dissected the complaints, the demands, and the +threats to dissolve the Union made by the Southern States, pointed out +their emptiness, their fallacy, and their injustice, and defined the +exact point and center of the agitation. + +"Holding, as they do," said he, "that slavery is morally right and +socially elevating, they cannot cease to demand a full national +recognition of it, as a legal right and a social blessing. Nor can we +justifiably withhold this on any ground, save our conviction that +slavery is wrong. If slavery is right, all words, acts, laws, and +constitutions against it are themselves wrong, and should be silenced +and swept away. If it is right, we cannot justly object to its +nationality--its universality! If it is wrong, they cannot justly insist +upon its extension--its enlargement. All they ask we could readily +grant, if we thought slavery right; all we ask they could as readily +grant, if they thought it wrong. Their thinking it right, and our +thinking it wrong, is the precise fact upon which depends the whole +controversy.... Wrong as we think slavery is we can yet afford to let it +alone where it is, because that much is due to the necessity arising +from its actual presence in the nation; but can we, while our votes will +prevent it, allow it to spread into the national Territories, and to +overrun us here in the free States? If our sense of duty forbids this, +then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively. Let us be +diverted by none of those sophistical contrivances wherewith we are so +industriously plied and belabored, contrivances such as groping for some +middle ground between the right and the wrong, vain as the search for a +man who should be neither a living man nor a dead man; such as a policy +of 'don't care,' on a question about which all true men do care; such as +Union appeals beseeching true Union men to yield to disunionists; +reversing the divine rule, and calling, not the sinners, but the +righteous to repentance; such as invocations to Washington, imploring +men to unsay what Washington said, and undo what Washington did. Neither +let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor +frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government nor of +dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in +that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." + +The close attention bestowed on its delivery, the hearty applause that +greeted its telling points, and the enthusiastic comments of the +Republican journals next morning showed that Lincoln's Cooper Institute +speech had taken New York by storm. It was printed in full in four of +the leading New York dailies, and at once went into large circulation in +carefully edited pamphlet editions. From New York, Lincoln made a tour +of speech-making through several of the New England States, and was +everywhere received with enthusiastic welcome and listened to with an +eagerness that bore a marked result in their spring elections. The +interest of the factory men who listened to these addresses was equaled, +perhaps excelled, by the gratified surprise of college professors when +they heard the style and method of a popular Western orator that would +bear the test of their professional criticism and compare with the best +examples in their standard text-books. + +The attitude of the Democratic party in the coming presidential campaign +was now also rapidly taking shape. Great curiosity existed whether the +radical differences between its Northern and Southern wings could by any +possibility be removed or adjusted, whether the adherents of Douglas and +those of Buchanan could be brought to join in a common platform and in +the support of a single candidate. The Democratic leaders in the +Southern States had become more and more out-spoken in their pro-slavery +demands. They had advanced step by step from the repeal of the Missouri +Compromise in 1854, the attempt to capture Kansas by Missouri invasions +in 1855 and 1856, the support of the Dred Scott decision and the +Lecompton fraud in 1857, the repudiation of Douglas's Freeport heresy in +1858, to the demand for a congressional slave code for the Territories +and the recognition of the doctrine of property in slaves. These last +two points they had distinctly formulated in the first session of the +Thirty-sixth Congress. On January 18, 1860, Senator Brown of Mississippi +introduced into the Senate two resolutions, one asserting the +nationality of slavery, the other that, when necessary, Congress should +pass laws for its protection in the Territories. On February 2 Jefferson +Davis introduced another series of resolutions intended to serve as a +basis for the national Democratic platform, the central points of which +were that the right to take and hold slaves in the Territories could +neither be impaired nor annulled, and that it was the duty of Congress +to supply any deficiency of laws for its protection. Perhaps even more +significant than these formulated doctrines was the pro-slavery spirit +manifested in the congressional debates. Two months were wasted in a +parliamentary struggle to prevent the election of the Republican, John +Sherman, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, because the +Southern members charged that he had recommended an "abolition" book; +during which time the most sensational and violent threats of disunion +were made in both the House and the Senate, containing repeated +declarations that they would never submit to the inauguration of a +"Black Republican" President. + +When the national Democratic convention met at Charleston, on April 23, +1860, there at once became evident the singular condition that the +delegates from the free States were united and enthusiastic in their +determination to secure the nomination of Douglas as the Democratic +candidate for President, while the delegates from the slave States were +equally united and determined upon forcing the acceptance of an extreme +pro-slavery platform. All expectations of a compromise, all hope of +coming to an understanding by juggling omissions or evasions in their +declaration of party principles were quickly dissipated. The platform +committee, after three days and nights of fruitless effort, presented +two antagonistic reports. The majority report declared that neither +Congress nor a territorial legislature could abolish or prohibit slavery +in the Territories, and that it was the duty of the Federal government +to protect it when necessary. To this doctrine the Northern members +could not consent; but they were willing to adopt the ambiguous +declaration that property rights in slaves were judicial in their +character, and that they would abide the decisions of the Supreme Court +on such questions. + +The usual expedient of recommitting both reports brought no relief from +the deadlock. A second majority and a second minority report exhibited +the same irreconcilable divergence in slightly different language, and +the words of mutual defiance exchanged in debating the first report rose +to a parliamentary storm when the second came under discussion. On the +seventh day the convention came to a vote, and, the Northern delegates +being in the majority, the minority report was substituted for that of +the majority of the committee by one hundred and sixty-five to one +hundred and thirty-eight delegates--in other words, the Douglas +platform was declared adopted. Upon this the delegates of the cotton +States--Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, +and Arkansas--withdrew from the convention. It soon appeared, however, +that the Douglas delegates had achieved only a barren victory. Their +majority could indeed adopt a platform, but, under the acknowledged +two-thirds rule which governs Democratic national conventions, they had +not sufficient votes to nominate their candidate. During the fifty-seven +ballots taken, the Douglas men could muster only one hundred and +fifty-two and one half votes of the two hundred and two necessary to a +choice; and to prevent mere slow disintegration the convention adjourned +on the tenth day, under a resolution to reassemble in Baltimore on June +18. + +Nothing was gained, however, by the delay. In the interim, Jefferson +Davis and nineteen other Southern leaders published an address +commending the withdrawal of the cotton States delegates, and in a +Senate debate Davis laid down the plain proposition, "We want nothing +more than a simple declaration that negro slaves are property, and we +want the recognition of the obligation of the Federal government to +protect that property like all other." + +Upon the reassembling of the Charleston convention at Baltimore, it +underwent a second disruption on the fifth day; the Northern wing +nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, and the Southern wing John C. +Breckinridge of Kentucky as their respective candidates for President. +In the meanwhile, also, regular and irregular delegates from some +twenty-two States, representing fragments of the old Whig party, had +convened at Baltimore on May 9 and nominated John Bell of Tennessee as +their candidate for President, upon a platform ignoring the slavery +issue and declaring that they would "recognize no other political +principle than the Constitution of the country, the union of the States, +and the enforcement of the laws." + +In the long contest between slavery extension and slavery restriction +which was now approaching its culmination the growing demands and +increasing bitterness of the pro-slavery party had served in an equal +degree to intensify the feelings and stimulate the efforts of the +Republican party; and, remembering the encouraging opposition strength +which the united vote of Fremont and Fillmore had shown in 1856, they +felt encouraged to hope for possible success in 1860, since the Fillmore +party had practically disappeared throughout the free States. When, +therefore, the Charleston convention was rent asunder and adjourned on +May 10 without making a nomination, the possibility of Republican +victory seemed to have risen to probability. Such a feeling inspired the +eager enthusiasm of the delegates to the Republican national convention +which met, according to appointment, at Chicago on May 16. + +A large, temporary wooden building, christened "The Wigwam," had been +erected in which to hold its sessions, and it was estimated that ten +thousand persons were assembled in it to witness the proceedings. +William H. Seward of New York was recognized as the leading candidate, +but Chase of Ohio, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Bates of Missouri, and +several prominent Republicans from other States were known to have +active and zealous followers. The name of Abraham Lincoln had also often +been mentioned during his growing fame, and, fully a year before, an +ardent Republican editor of Illinois had requested permission to +announce him in his newspaper. Lincoln, however, discouraged such +action at that time, answering him: + +"As to the other matter you kindly mention, I must in candor say I do +not think myself fit for the presidency. I certainly am flattered and +gratified that some partial friends think of me in that connection; but +I really think it best for our cause that no concerted effort, such as +you suggest, should be made." + +He had given an equally positive answer to an eager Ohio friend in the +preceding July; but about Christmas 1859, an influential caucus of his +strongest Illinois adherents made a personal request that he would +permit them to use his name, and he gave his consent, not so much in any +hope of becoming the nominee for President, as in possibly reaching the +second place on the ticket; or at least of making such a showing of +strength before the convention as would aid him in his future senatorial +ambition at home, or perhaps carry him into the cabinet of the +Republican President, should one succeed. He had not been eager to enter +the lists, but once having agreed to do so, it was but natural that he +should manifest a becoming interest, subject, however, now as always, to +his inflexible rule of fair dealing and honorable faith to all his party +friends. + +"I do not understand Trumbull and myself to be rivals," he wrote +December 9, 1859. "You know I am pledged not to enter a struggle with +him for the seat in the Senate now occupied by him; and yet I would +rather have a full term in the Senate than in the presidency." + +And on February 9 he wrote to the same Illinois friend: + +"I am not in a position where it would hurt much for me not to be +nominated on the national ticket; but I am where it would hurt some for +me not to get the Illinois delegates. What I expected when I wrote the +the letter to Messrs. Dole and others is now happening. Your discomfited +assailants are most bitter against me; and they will, for revenge upon +me, lay to the Bates egg in the South, and to the Seward egg in the +North, and go far toward squeezing me out in the middle with nothing. +Can you not help me a little in this matter in your end of the +vineyard?" + +It turned out that the delegates whom the Illinois State convention sent +to the national convention at Chicago were men not only of exceptional +standing and ability, but filled with the warmest zeal for Mr. Lincoln's +success; and they were able at once to impress upon delegates from other +States his sterling personal worth and fitness, and his superior +availability. It needed but little political arithmetic to work out the +sum of existing political chances. It was almost self-evident that in +the coming November election victory or defeat would hang upon the +result in the four pivotal States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, +and Illinois. It was quite certain that no Republican candidate could +carry a single one of the fifteen slave States; and equally sure that +Breckinridge, on his extreme pro-slavery platform, could not carry a +single one of the eighteen free States. But there was a chance that one +or more of these four pivotal free States might cast its vote for +Douglas and popular sovereignty. + +A candidate was needed, therefore, who could successfully cope with +Douglas and the Douglas theory; and this ability had been convincingly +demonstrated by Lincoln. As a mere personal choice, a majority of the +convention would have preferred Seward; but in the four pivotal States +there were many voters who believed Seward's antislavery views to be +too radical. They shrank apprehensively from the phrase in one of his +speeches that "there is a higher law than the Constitution." These +pivotal States all lay adjoining slave States, and their public opinion +was infected with something of the undefined dread of "abolitionism." +When the delegates of the pivotal States were interviewed, they frankly +confessed that they could not carry their States for Seward, and that +would mean certain defeat if he were the nominee for President. For +their voters Lincoln stood on more acceptable ground. His speeches had +been more conservative; his local influence in his own State of Illinois +was also a factor not to be idly thrown away. + +Plain, practical reasoning of this character found ready acceptance +among the delegates to the convention. Their eagerness for the success +of the cause largely overbalanced their personal preferences for +favorite aspirants. When the convention met, the fresh, hearty +hopefulness of its members was a most inspiring reflection of the public +opinion in the States that sent them. They went at their work with an +earnestness which was an encouraging premonition of success, and they +felt a gratifying support in the presence of the ten thousand spectators +who looked on at their work. Few conventions have ever been pervaded by +such a depth of feeling, or exhibited such a reserve of latent +enthusiasm. The cheers that greeted the entrance of popular favorites, +and the short speeches on preliminary business, ran and rolled through +the great audience in successive moving waves of sound that were echoed +and reechoed from side to side of the vast building. Not alone the +delegates on the central platform, but the multitude of spectators as +well, felt that they were playing a part in a great historical event. + +The temporary, and afterward the permanent organization, was finished on +the first day, with somewhat less than usual of the wordy and +tantalizing small talk which these routine proceedings always call +forth. On the second day the platform committee submitted its work, +embodying the carefully considered and skilfully framed body of +doctrines upon which the Republican party, made up only four years +before from such previously heterogeneous and antagonistic political +elements was now able to find common and durable ground of agreement. +Around its central tenet, which denied "the authority of Congress, of a +territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence +to slavery in any territory of the United States," were grouped vigorous +denunciations of the various steps and incidents of the pro-slavery +reaction, and its prospective demands; while its positive +recommendations embraced the immediate admission of Kansas, free +homesteads to actual settlers, river and harbor improvements of a +national character, a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, and the maintenance +of existing naturalization laws. + +The platform was about to be adopted without objection when a flurry of +discussion arose over an amendment, proposed by Mr. Giddings of Ohio, to +incorporate in it that phrase of the Declaration of Independence which +declares the right of all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of +happiness. Impatience was at once manifested lest any change should +produce endless delay and dispute. "I believe in the Ten Commandments," +commented a member, "but I do not want them in a political platform"; +and the proposition was voted down. Upon this the old antislavery +veteran felt himself agrieved, and, taking up his hat, marched out of +the convention. In the course of an hour's desultory discussion +however, a member, with stirring oratorical emphasis, asked whether the +convention was prepared to go upon record before the country as voting +down the words of the Declaration of Independence--whether the men of +1860, on the free prairies of the West, quailed before repeating the +words enunciated by the men of '76 at Philadelphia. In an impulse of +patriotic reaction, the amendment was incorporated into the platform, +and Mr. Giddings was brought back by his friends, his face beaming with +triumph; and the stormy acclaim of the audience manifested the deep +feeling which the incident evoked. + +On the third day it was certain that balloting would begin, and crowds +hurried to the Wigwam in a fever of curiosity. Having grown restless at +the indispensable routine preliminaries, when Mr. Evarts nominated +William H. Seward of New York for President, they greeted his name with +a perfect storm of applause. Then Mr. Judd nominated Abraham Lincoln of +Illinois and in the tremendous cheering that broke from the throats of +his admirers and followers the former demonstration dwindled to +comparative feebleness. Again and again these contests of lungs and +enthusiasm were repeated as the choice of New York was seconded by +Michigan, and that of Illinois by Indiana. + +When other names had been duly presented, the cheering at length +subsided, and the chairman announced that balloting would begin. Many +spectators had provided themselves with tally-lists, and when the first +roll-call was completed were able at once to perceive the drift of +popular preference. Cameron, Chase, Bates, McLean, Dayton, and Collamer +were indorsed by the substantial votes of their own States; but two +names stood out in marked superiority: Seward, who had received one +hundred and seventy-three and one half votes, and Lincoln, one hundred +and two. + +The New York delegation was so thoroughly persuaded of the final success +of their candidate that they did not comprehend the significance of this +first ballot. Had they reflected that their delegation alone had +contributed seventy votes to Seward's total, they would have understood +that outside of the Empire State, upon this first showing, Lincoln held +their favorite almost an even race. As the second ballot progressed, +their anxiety visibly increased. They watched with eagerness as the +complimentary votes first cast for State favorites were transferred now +to one, now to the other of the recognized leaders in the contest, and +their hopes sank when the result of the second ballot was announced: +Seward, one hundred and eighty-four and one half, Lincoln, one hundred +and eighty-one; and a volume of applause, which was with difficulty +checked by the chairman, shook the Wigwam at this announcement. + +Then followed a short interval of active caucusing in the various +delegations, while excited men went about rapidly interchanging +questions, solicitations, and messages between delegations from +different States. Neither candidate had yet received a majority of all +the votes cast, and the third ballot was begun amid a deep, almost +painful suspense, delegates and spectators alike recording each +announcement of votes on their tally-sheets with nervous fingers. But +the doubt was of short duration. The second ballot had unmistakably +pointed out the winning man. Hesitating delegations and fragments from +many States steadily swelled the Lincoln column. Long before the +secretaries made the official announcement, the totals had been figured +up: Lincoln, two hundred and thirty one and one half, Seward, one +hundred and eighty. Counting the scattering votes, four hundred and +sixty-five ballots had been cast, and two hundred and thirty-three were +necessary to a choice. Seward had lost four and one half, Lincoln had +gained fifty and one half, and only one and one half votes more were +needed to make a nomination. + +The Wigwam suddenly became as still as a church, and everybody leaned +forward to see whose voice would break the spell. Before the lapse of a +minute, David K. Cartter sprang upon his chair and reported a change of +four Ohio votes from Chase to Lincoln. Then a teller shouted a name +toward the skylight, and the boom of cannon from the roof of the Wigwam +announced the nomination and started the cheering of the overjoyed +Illinoisans down the long Chicago streets; while in the Wigwam, +delegation after delegation changed its vote to the victor amid a tumult +of hurrahs. When quiet was somewhat restored, Mr. Evarts, speaking for +New York and for Seward, moved to make the nomination unanimous, and Mr. +Browning gracefully returned the thanks of Illinois for the honor the +convention had conferred upon the State. In the afternoon the convention +completed its work by nominating Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for +Vice-President; and as the delegates sped homeward in the night trains, +they witnessed, in the bonfires and cheering crowds at the stations, +that a memorable presidential campaign was already begun. + + + + +XI + +Candidates and Platforms--The Political Chances--Decatur Lincoln +Resolution--John Hanks and the Lincoln Rails--The Rail-Splitter +Candidate--The Wide-Awakes--Douglas's Southern Tour--Jefferson Davis's +Address--Fusion--Lincoln at the State House--The Election Result + + +The nomination of Lincoln at Chicago completed the preparations of the +different parties of the country for the presidential contest of 1860; +and presented the unusual occurrence of an appeal to the voters of the +several States by four distinct political organizations. In the order of +popular strength which they afterward developed, they were: + +1. The Republican party, whose platform declared in substance that +slavery was wrong, and that its further extension should be prohibited +by Congress. Its candidates were Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for +President and Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice-president. + +2. The Douglas wing of the Democratic party, which declared indifference +whether slavery were right or wrong, extended or prohibited, and +proposed to permit the people of a Territory to decide whether they +would prevent or establish it. Its candidates were Stephen A. Douglas of +Illinois for President, and Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia for +Vice-President. + +3. The Buchanan wing of the Democratic party, which declared that +slavery was right and beneficial, and whose policy was to extend the +institution, and create new slave States. Its candidates were John C. +Breckinridge of Kentucky for President, and Joseph Lane of Oregon for +Vice-President. + +4. The Constitutional Union party, which professed to ignore the +question of slavery, and declared it would recognize no political +principles other than "the Constitution of the country, the union of the +States, and the enforcement of the laws." Its candidates were John Bell +of Tennessee for President, and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for +Vice-President. + +In the array of these opposing candidates and their platforms, it could +be easily calculated from the very beginning that neither Lincoln nor +Douglas had any chance to carry a slave State, nor Breckinridge nor Bell +to carry a free State; and that neither Douglas in the free States, nor +Bell in either section could obtain electoral votes enough to succeed. +Therefore, but two alternatives seemed probable. Either Lincoln would be +chosen by electoral votes, or, upon his failure to obtain a sufficient +number, the election would be thrown into the House of Representatives, +in which case the course of combination, chance, or intrigue could not +be foretold. The political situation and its possible results thus +involved a degree of uncertainty sufficient to hold out a contingent +hope to all the candidates and to inspire the followers of each to +active exertion. This hope and inspiration, added to the hot temper +which the long discussion of antagonistic principles had engendered, +served to infuse into the campaign enthusiasm, earnestness, and even +bitterness, according to local conditions in the different sections. + +In campaign enthusiasm the Republican party easily took the lead. About +a week before his nomination, Mr. Lincoln had been present at the +Illinois State convention at Decatur in Coles County, not far from the +old Lincoln home, when, at a given signal, there marched into the +convention old John Hanks, one of his boyhood companions, and another +pioneer, who bore on their shoulders two long fence rails decorated with +a banner inscribed: "Two rails from a lot made by Abraham Lincoln and +John Hanks in the Sangamon Bottom in the year 1830." They were greeted +with a tremendous shout of applause from the whole convention succeeded +by a united call for Lincoln, who sat on the platform. The tumult would +not subside until he rose to speak, when he said: + +"GENTLEMEN: I suppose you want to know something about those things +[pointing to old John and the rails]. Well, the truth is, John Hanks and +I did make rails in the Sagamon Bottom. I don't know whether we made +those rails or not; fact is, I don't think they are a credit to the +makers [laughing as he spoke]. But I do know this: I made rails then, +and I think I could make better ones than these now." + +Still louder cheering followed this short, but effective reply. But the +convention was roused to its full warmth of enthusiasm when a resolution +was immediately and unanimously adopted declaring that "Abraham Lincoln +is the first choice of the Republican party of Illinois for the +Presidency," and directing the delegates to the Chicago convention "to +use all honorable means to secure his nomination, and to cast the vote +of the State as a unit for him." + +It was this resolution which the Illinois delegation had so successfully +carried out at Chicago. And, besides they had carried with them the two +fence rails, and set them up in state at the Lincoln headquarters at +their hotel, where enthusiastic lady friends gaily trimmed them with +flowers and ribbons and lighted them up with tapers. These slight +preliminaries, duly embellished in the newspapers, gave the key to the +Republican campaign, which designated Lincoln as the Rail-splitter +Candidate, and, added to his common Illinois sobriquet of "Honest Old +Abe," furnished both country and city campaign orators a powerfully +sympathetic appeal to the rural and laboring element of the United +States. + +When these homely but picturesque appellations were fortified by the +copious pamphlet and newspaper biographies in which people read the +story of his humble beginnings, and how he had risen, by dint of simple, +earnest work and native genius, through privation and difficulty, first +to fame and leadership in his State, and now to fame and leadership in +the nation, they grew quickly into symbols of a faith and trust destined +to play no small part in a political revolution of which the people at +large were not as yet even dreaming. + +Another feature of the campaign also quickly developed itself. On the +preceding 5th of March, one of Mr. Lincoln's New England speeches had +been made at Hartford, Connecticut; and at its close he was escorted to +his hotel by a procession of the local Republican club, at the head of +which marched a few of its members bearing torches and wearing caps and +capes of glazed oilcloth, the primary purpose of which was to shield +their clothes from the dripping oil of their torches. Both the +simplicity and the efficiency of the uniform caught the popular eye, as +did also the name, "Wide-Awakes," applied to them by the "Hartford +Courant." The example found quick imitation in Hartford and adjoining +towns, and when Mr. Lincoln was made candidate for President, every +city, town, and nearly every village in the North, within a brief space, +had its organized Wide-Awake club, with their half-military uniform and +drill; and these clubs were often, later in the campaign, gathered into +imposing torch-light processions, miles in length, on occasions of +important party meetings and speech-making. It was the revived spirit of +the Harrison campaign of twenty years before; but now, shorn of its fun +and frolic, it was strengthened by the power of organization and the +tremendous impetus of earnest devotion to a high principle. + +It was a noteworthy feature of the campaign that the letters of +acceptance of all the candidates, either in distinct words or +unmistakable implication, declared devotion to the Union, while at the +same time the adherents of each were charging disunion sentiments and +intentions upon the other three parties. Douglas himself made a tour of +speech-making through the Southern States, in which, while denouncing +the political views of both Lincoln and Breckinridge, he nevertheless +openly declared, in response to direct questions, that no grievance +could justify disunion, and that he was ready "to put the hemp around +the neck and hang any man who would raise the arm of resistance to the +constituted authorities of the country." + +During the early part of the campaign the more extreme Southern +fire-eaters abated somewhat of their violent menaces of disunion. +Between the Charleston and the Baltimore Democratic conventions an +address published by Jefferson Davis and other prominent leaders had +explained that the seventeen Democratic States which had voted at +Charleston for the seceders' platform could, if united with Pennsylvania +alone, elect the Democratic nominees against all opposition. This hope +doubtless floated before their eyes like a will-o'-the-wisp until the +October elections dispelled all possibility of securing Pennsylvania for +Breckinridge. From that time forward there began a renewal of disunion +threats, which, by their constant increase throughout the South, +prepared the public mind of that section for the coming secession. + +As the chances of Republican success gradually grew stronger, an +undercurrent of combination developed itself among those politicians of +the three opposing parties more devoted to patronage than principle, to +bring about the fusion of Lincoln's opponents on some agreed ratio of a +division of the spoils. Such a combination made considerable progress in +the three Northern States of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It +appears to have been engineered mainly by the Douglas faction, though, +it must be said to his credit, against the open and earnest protest of +Douglas himself. But the thrifty plotters cared little for his +disapproval. + +By the secret manipulations of conventions and committees a fusion +electoral ticket was formed in New York, made up of adherents of the +three different factions in the following proportion: Douglas, eighteen; +Bell, ten; Breckinridge, seven; and the whole opposition vote of the +State of New York was cast for this fusion ticket. The same tactics were +pursued in Pennsylvania, where, however, the agreement was not so openly +avowed. One third of the Pennsylvania fusion electoral candidates were +pledged to Douglas; the division of the remaining two thirds between +Bell and Breckinridge was not made public. The bulk of the Pennsylvania +opposition vote was cast for this fusion ticket, but a respectable +percentage refused to be bargained away, and voted directly for Douglas +or Bell. In New Jersey a definite agreement was reached by the managers, +and an electoral ticket formed, composed of two adherents of Bell, two +of Breckinridge, and three of Douglas; and in this State a practical +result was effected by the movement. A fraction of the Douglas voters +formed a straight electoral ticket, adopting the three Douglas +candidates on the fusion ticket, and by this action these three Douglas +electors received a majority vote in New Jersey, On the whole, however, +the fusion movement proved ineffectual to defeat Lincoln and, indeed, it +would not have done so even had the fusion electoral tickets deceived a +majority in all three of the above-named States. + +The personal habits and surroundings of Mr. Lincoln were varied +somewhat, though but slightly, during the whole of this election summer. +Naturally, he withdrew at once from active work, leaving his law office +and his whole law business to his partner, William H. Herndon; while his +friends installed him in the governor's room in the State House at +Springfield, which was not otherwise needed during the absence of the +legislature. Here he spent the time during the usual business hours of +the day, attended only by his private secretary, Mr. Nicolay. Friends +and strangers alike were thus able to visit him freely and without +ceremony and they availed themselves largely of the opportunity. Few, if +any, went away without being favorably impressed by his hearty Western +greeting, and the frank sincerity of his manner and conversation, in +which, naturally, all subjects of controversy were courteously and +instinctively avoided by both the candidate and his visitors. + +By none was this free, neighborly intercourse enjoyed more than by the +old-time settlers of Sangamon and the adjoining counties, who came to +revive the incidents and memories of pioneer days with one who could +give them such thorough and appreciative interest and sympathy. He +employed no literary bureau, wrote no public letters, made no set or +impromptu speeches, except that once or twice during great political +meetings at Springfield he uttered a few words of greeting and thanks to +passing street processions. All these devices of propagandism he left to +the leaders and committees of his adherents in their several States. +Even the strictly confidential letters in which he indicated his advice +on points in the progress of the campaign did not exceed a dozen in +number; and when politicians came to interview him at Springfield, he +received them in the privacy of his own home, and generally their +presence created little or no public notice. Cautious politician as he +was, he did not permit himself to indulge in any over-confidence, but +then, as always before, showed unusual skill in estimating political +chances. Thus he wrote about a week after the Chicago convention: + +"So far as I can learn, the nominations start well everywhere; and, if +they get no backset, it would seem as if they are going through." + +Again, on July 4: + +"Long before this you have learned who was nominated at Chicago. We know +not what a day may bring forth, but to-day it looks as if the Chicago +ticket will be elected." + +And on September 22, to a friend in Oregon: + +"No one on this side of the mountains pretends that any ticket can be +elected by the people, unless it be ours. Hence, great efforts to +combine against us are being made, which, however, as yet have not had +much success Besides what we see in the newspapers, I have a good deal +of private correspondence; and, without giving details, I will only say +it all looks very favorable to our success." + +His judgment was abundantly verified at the presidential election, +which occurred upon November 6, 1860. Lincoln electors were chosen in +every one of the free States except New Jersey, where, as has already +been stated, three Douglas electors received majorities because their +names were on both the fusion ticket and the straight Douglas ticket; +while the other four Republican electors in that State succeeded. Of the +slave States, eleven chose Breckinridge electors, three of them Bell +electors, and one of them--Missouri--Douglas electors. As provided by +law, the electors met in their several States on December 5, to +officially cast their votes, and on February 13, 1861, Congress in joint +session of the two Houses made the official count as follows: for +Lincoln, one hundred and eighty; for Breckinridge, seventy-two; for +Bell, thirty-nine; and for Douglas, twelve; giving Lincoln a clear +majority of fifty-seven in the whole electoral college. Thereupon +Breckinridge, who presided over the joint session, officially declared +that Abraham Lincoln was duly elected President of the United States for +four years, beginning March 4, 1861. + + + + +XII + +Lincoln's Cabinet Program--Members from the South--Questions and +Answers--Correspondence with Stephens--Action of Congress--Peace +Convention--Preparation of the Inaugural--Lincoln's Farewell +Address--The Journey to Washington--Lincoln's Midnight Journey + + +During the long presidential campaign of 1860, between the Chicago +convention in the middle of May and the election at the beginning of +November, Mr. Lincoln, relieved from all other duties, had watched +political developments with very close attention not merely to discern +the progress of his own chances, but, doubtless, also, much more +seriously to deliberate upon the future in case he should be elected. +But it was only when, on the night of November 6, he sat in the +telegraph office at Springfield, from which all but himself and the +operators were excluded, and read the telegrams as they fell from the +wires, that little by little the accumulating Republican majorities +reported from all directions convinced him of the certainty of his +success; and with that conviction there fell upon him the overwhelming, +almost crushing weight of his coming duties and responsibilities. He +afterward related that in that supreme hour, grappling resolutely with +the mighty problem before him, he practically completed the first +essential act of his administration, the selection of his future +cabinet--the choice of the men who were to aid him. + +From what afterward occurred, we may easily infer the general principle +which guided his choice. One of his strongest characteristics, as his +speeches abundantly show, was his belief in the power of public opinion, +and his respect for the popular will. That was to be found and to be +wielded by the leaders of public sentiment In the present instance there +were no truer representatives of that will than the men who had been +prominently supported by the delegates to the Chicago convention for the +presidential nominations. Of these he would take at least three, perhaps +four, to compose one half of his cabinet. In selecting Seward, Chase, +Bates, and Cameron, he could also satisfy two other points of the +representative principle, the claims of locality and the elements of +former party divisions now joined in the newly organized Republican +party. With Seward from New York, Cameron from Pennsylvania, Chase from +Ohio, and himself from Illinois, the four leading free States had each a +representative. With Bates from Missouri, the South could not complain +of being wholly excluded from the cabinet. New England was properly +represented by Vice-President Hamlin. When, after the inauguration, +Smith from Indiana Welles from Connecticut, and Blair from Maryland were +added to make up the seven cabinet members, the local distribution +between East and West, North and South, was in no wise disturbed. It +was, indeed, complained that in this arrangement there were four former +Democrats, and only three former Whigs; to which Lincoln laughingly +replied that he had been a Whig, and would be there to make the number +even. + +It is not likely that this exact list was in Lincoln's mind on the night +of the November election, but only the principal names in it; and much +delay and some friction occurred before its completion. The post of +Secretary of State was offered to Seward on December 8. + +"Rumors have got into the newspapers," wrote Lincoln, "to the effect +that the department named above would be tendered you as a compliment, +and with the expectation that you would decline it. I beg you to be +assured that I have said nothing to justify these rumors. On the +contrary, it has been my purpose, from the day of the nomination at +Chicago, to assign you, by your leave, this place in the +administration." + +Seward asked a few days for reflection, and then cordially accepted. +Bates was tendered the Attorney-Generalship on December 15, while making +a personal visit to Springfield. Word had been meanwhile sent to Smith +that he would probably be included. The assignment of places to Chase +and Cameron worked less smoothly. Lincoln wrote Cameron a note on +January 3, saying he would nominate him for either Secretary of the +Treasury or Secretary of War, he had not yet decided which; and on the +same day, in an interview with Chase, whom he had invited to +Springfield, said to him: + +"I have done with you what I would not perhaps have ventured to do with +any other man in the country--sent for you to ask whether you will +accept the appointment of Secretary of the Treasury, without, however, +being exactly prepared to offer it to you." + +They discussed the situation very fully, but without reaching a definite +conclusion, agreeing to await the advice of friends. Meanwhile, the +rumor that Cameron was to go into the cabinet excited such hot +opposition that Lincoln felt obliged to recall his tender in a +confidential letter; and asked him to write a public letter declining +the place. Instead of doing this, Cameron fortified himself with +recommendations from prominent Pennsylvanians, and demonstrated that in +his own State he had at least three advocates to one opponent. + +Pending the delay which this contest consumed, another cabinet +complication found its solution. It had been warmly urged by +conservatives that, in addition to Bates, another cabinet member should +be taken from one of the Southern States. The difficulty of doings this +had been clearly foreshadowed by Mr. Lincoln in a little editorial which +he wrote for the Springfield "Journal" on December 12: + +"_First_. Is it known that any such gentleman of character would accept +a place in the cabinet? + +"_Second_. If yea, on what terms does he surrender to Mr. Lincoln, or +Mr. Lincoln to him, on the political differences between them, or do +they enter upon the administration in open opposition to each other?" + +It was very soon demonstrated that these differences were +insurmountable. Through Mr. Seward, who was attending his senatorial +duties at Washington, Mr. Lincoln tentatively offered a cabinet +appointment successively to Gilmer of North Carolina, Hunt of Louisiana +and Scott of Virginia, no one of whom had the courage to accept. + +Toward the end of the recent canvass, and still more since the election, +Mr. Lincoln had received urgent letters to make some public declaration +to reassure and pacify the South, especially the cotton States, which +were manifesting a constantly growing spirit of rebellion. Most of such +letters remained unanswered, but in a number of strictly confidential +replies he explained the reasons for his refusal. + +"I appreciate your motive," he wrote October 23, "when you suggest the +propriety of my writing for the public something disclaiming all +intention to interfere with slaves or slavery in the States: but, in my +judgment, it would do no good. I have already done this many, many +times; and it is in print, and open to all who will read. Those who will +not read or heed what I have already publicly said, would not read or +heed a repetition of it. 'If they hear not Moses and the prophets, +neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'" + +To the editor of the "Louisville Journal" he wrote October 29: + +"For the good men of the South--and I regard the majority of them as +such--I have no objection to repeat seventy and seven times. But I have +bad men to deal with, both North and South; men who are eager for +something new upon which to base new misrepresentations; men who would +like to frighten me, or at least to fix upon me the character of +timidity and cowardice." + +Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, who afterward became Confederate +Vice-President, made a strong speech against secession in that State on +November 14; and Mr. Lincoln wrote him a few lines asking for a revised +copy of it. In the brief correspondence which ensued, Mr. Lincoln again +wrote him under date of December 22: + +"I fully appreciate the present peril the country is in, and the weight +of responsibility on me. Do the people of the South really entertain +fears that a Republican administration would, directly or indirectly, +interfere with the slaves, or with them about the slaves? If they do, I +wish to assure you, as once a friend, and still, I hope, not an enemy, +that there is no cause for such fears. The South would be in no more +danger in this respect than it was in the days of Washington. I +suppose, however, this does not meet the case. You think slavery is +right and ought to be extended, while we think it is wrong and ought to +be restricted. That, I suppose, is the rub. It certainly is the only +substantial difference between us." + +So, also, replying a few days earlier in a long letter to Hon. John A. +Gilmer of North Carolina, to whom, as already stated, he offered a +cabinet appointment, he said: + +"On the territorial question I am inflexible, as you see my position in +the book. On that there is a difference between you and us; and it is +the only substantial difference. You think slavery is right and ought to +be extended; we think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. For this +neither has any just occasion to be angry with the other. As to the +State laws, mentioned in your sixth question, I really know very little +of them. I never have read one. If any of them are in conflict with the +fugitive-slave clause, or any other part of the Constitution, I +certainly shall be glad of their repeal; but I could hardly be +justified, as a citizen of Illinois, or as President of the United +States, to recommend the repeal of a statute of Vermont or South +Carolina." + +Through his intimate correspondence with Mr. Seward and personal friends +in Congress, Mr. Lincoln was kept somewhat informed of the hostile +temper of the Southern leaders, and that a tremendous pressure was being +brought upon that body by timid conservatives and the commercial +interests in the North to bring about some kind of compromise which +would stay the progress of disunion; and on this point he sent an +emphatic monition to Representative Washburne on December 13: + +"Your long letter received. Prevent as far as possible any of our +friends from demoralizing themselves and their cause by entertaining +propositions for compromise of any sort on slavery extension. There is +no possible compromise upon it but what puts us under again, and all our +work to do over again. Whether it be a Missouri line or Eli Thayer's +popular sovereignty, it is all the same. Let either be done, and +immediately filibustering and extending slavery recommences. On that +point hold firm as a chain of steel." + +Between the day when a President is elected by popular vote and that on +which he is officially inaugurated there exists an interim of four long +months, during which he has no more direct power in the affairs of +government than any private citizen. However anxiously Mr. Lincoln might +watch the development of public events at Washington and in the cotton +States; whatever appeals might come to him through interviews or +correspondence, no positive action of any kind was within his power, +beyond an occasional word of advice or suggestion. The position of the +Republican leaders in Congress was not much better. Until the actual +secession of States, and the departure of their representatives, they +were in a minority in the Senate; while the so-called South Americans +and Anti-Lecompton Democrats held the balance of power in the House. The +session was mainly consumed in excited, profitless discussion. Both the +Senate and House appointed compromise committees, which met and labored, +but could find no common ground of agreement. A peace convention met and +deliberated at Washington, with no practical result, except to waste the +powder for a salute of one hundred guns over a sham report to which +nobody paid the least attention. + +Throughout this period Mr. Lincoln was by no means idle. Besides the +many difficulties he had to overcome in completing his cabinet, he +devoted himself to writing his inaugural address. Withdrawing himself +some hours each day from his ordinary receptions, he went to a quiet +room on the second floor of the store occupied by his brother-in-law, on +the south side of the public square in Springfield, where he could think +and write in undisturbed privacy. When, after abundant reflection and +revision, he had finished the document, he placed it in the hands of Mr. +William H. Bailhache, one of the editors of the "Illinois State +Journal," who locked himself and a single compositor into the +composing-room of the "Journal." Here, in Mr. Bailhache's presence, it +was set up, proof taken and read, and a dozen copies printed; after +which the types were again immediately distributed. The alert newspaper +correspondents in Springfield, who saw Mr. Lincoln every day as usual, +did not obtain the slightest hint of what was going on. + +Having completed his arrangements, Mr. Lincoln started on his journey to +Washington on February 11, 1861, on a special train, accompanied by Mrs. +Lincoln and their three children, his two private secretaries, and a +suite of about a dozen personal friends. Mr. Seward had suggested that +in view of the feverish condition of public affairs, he should come a +week earlier; but Mr. Lincoln allowed himself only time enough +comfortably to fill the appointments he had made to visit the capitals +and principal cities of the States on his route, in accordance with +non-partizan invitations from their legislatures and mayors, which he +had accepted. Standing on the front platform of the car, as the +conductor was about to pull the bell-rope, Mr. Lincoln made the +following brief and pathetic address of farewell to his friends and +neighbors of Springfield--the last time his voice was ever to be heard +in the city which had been his home for so many years: + + "My friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling + of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of + these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a + century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my + children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not + knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me + greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the + assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot + succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who + can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, + let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care + commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I + bid you an affectionate farewell." + +It was the beginning of a memorable journey. On the whole route from +Springfield to Washington, at almost every station, even the smallest, +was gathered a crowd of people in hope to catch a glimpse of the face of +the President-elect, or, at least, to see the flying train. At the +larger stopping-places these gatherings were swelled to thousands, and +in the great cities into almost unmanageable assemblages. Everywhere +there were vociferous calls for Mr. Lincoln, and, if he showed himself, +for a speech. Whenever there was sufficient time, he would step to the +rear platform of the car and bow his acknowledgments as the train was +moving away, and sometimes utter a few words of thanks and greeting. At +the capitals of Indiana, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, +as also in the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York, and +Philadelphia, a halt was made for one or two days, and a program was +carried out of a formal visit and brief address to each house of the +legislature, street processions, large receptions in the evening, and +other similar ceremonies; and in each of them there was an +unprecedented outpouring of the people to take advantage of every +opportunity to see and to hear the future Chief Magistrate of the Union. + +Party foes as well as party friends made up these expectant crowds. The +public suspense was at a degree of tension which rendered every eye and +ear eager to catch even the slightest indication of the thoughts or +intentions of the man who was to be the official guide of the nation in +a crisis the course and end of which even the wisest dared not predict. +In the twenty or thirty brief addresses delivered by Mr. Lincoln on this +journey, he observed the utmost caution of utterance and reticence of +declaration; yet the shades of meaning in his carefully chosen sentences +were enough to show how alive he was to the trials and dangers +confronting his administration, and to inspire hope and confidence in +his judgment. He repeated that he regarded the public demonstrations not +as belonging to himself, but to the high office with which the people +had clothed him; and that if he failed, they could four years later +substitute a better man in his place; and in his very first address, at +Indianapolis, he thus emphasized their reciprocal duties: + +"If the union of these States and the liberties of this people shall be +lost, it is but little to any one man of fifty-two years of age, but a +great deal to the thirty millions of people who inhabit these United +States, and to their posterity in all coming time. It is your business +to rise up and preserve the Union and liberty for yourselves and not for +me.... I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind that not with +politicians, not with Presidents, not with office-seekers, but with you, +is the question, Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this country +be preserved to the latest generations?" + +Many salient and interesting quotations could be made from his other +addresses, but a comparatively few sentences will be sufficient to +enable the reader to infer what was likely to be his ultimate conclusion +and action. In his second speech at Indianapolis he asked the question: + +"On what rightful principle may a State, being not more than +one-fiftieth part of the nation in soil and population, break up the +nation, and then coerce a proportionally larger subdivision of itself in +the most arbitrary way?" + +At Steubenville: + +"If the majority should not rule, who would be the judge? Where is such +a judge to be found? We should all be bound by the majority of the +American people--if not, then the minority must control. Would that be +right?" + +At Trenton: + +"I shall do all that may be in my power to promote a peaceful settlement +of all our difficulties. The man does not live who is more devoted to +peace than I am, none who would do more to preserve it, but it may be +necessary to put the foot down firmly." + +At Harrisburg: + +"While I am exceedingly gratified to see the manifestation upon your +streets of your military force here, and exceedingly gratified at your +promise to use that force upon a proper emergency--while I make these +acknowledgments, I desire to repeat, in order to preclude any possible +misconstruction, that I do most sincerely hope that we shall have no use +for them; that it will never become their duty to shed blood, and most +especially never to shed fraternal blood. I promise that so far as I may +have wisdom to direct, if so painful a result shall in any wise be +brought about, it shall be through no fault of mine." + +While Mr. Lincoln was yet at Philadelphia, he was met by Mr. Frederick +W. Seward, son of Senator Seward, who brought him an important +communication from his father and General Scott at Washington. About the +beginning of the year serious apprehension had been felt lest a sudden +uprising of the secessionists in Virginia and Maryland might endeavor to +gain possession of the national capital. An investigation by a committee +of Congress found no active military preparation to exist for such a +purpose, but considerable traces of disaffection and local conspiracy in +Baltimore; and, to guard against such an outbreak, President Buchanan +had permitted his Secretary of War, Mr. Holt, to call General Scott to +Washington and charge him with the safety of the city, not only at that +moment, but also during the counting of the presidential returns in +February, and the coming inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. For this purpose +General Scott had concentrated at Washington a few companies from the +regular army, and also, in addition, had organized and armed about nine +hundred men of the militia of the District of Columbia. + +In connection with these precautions, Colonel Stone, who commanded these +forces, had kept himself informed about the disaffection in Baltimore, +through the agency of the New York police department. The communication +brought by young Mr. Seward contained besides notes from his father and +General Scott, a short report from Colonel Stone, stating that there had +arisen within the past few days imminent danger of violence to and the +assassination of Mr. Lincoln in his passage through Baltimore, should +the time of that passage be known. + +"All risk," he suggested, "might be easily avoided by a change in the +traveling arrangements which would bring Mr. Lincoln and a portion of +his party through Baltimore by a night train without previous notice." + +The seriousness of this information was doubled by the fact that Mr. +Lincoln had, that same day, held an interview with a prominent Chicago +detective who had been for some weeks employed by the president of the +Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore railway to investigate the danger +to their property and trains from the Baltimore secessionists. The +investigations of this detective, a Mr. Pinkerton, had been carried on +without the knowledge of the New York detective, and he reported not +identical, but almost similar, conditions of insurrectionary feeling and +danger, and recommended the same precaution. + +Mr. Lincoln very earnestly debated the situation with his intimate +personal friend, Hon. N.B. Judd of Chicago, perhaps the most active and +influential member of his suite, who advised him to proceed to +Washington that same evening on the eleven-o'clock train. "I cannot go +to-night," replied Mr. Lincoln; "I have promised to raise the flag over +Independence Hall to-morrow morning, and to visit the legislature at +Harrisburg. Beyond that I have no engagements." + +The railroad schedule by which Mr. Lincoln had hitherto been traveling +included a direct trip from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, to Washington +on Saturday, February 23. When the Harrisburg ceremonies had been +concluded on the afternoon of the 22d, the danger and the proposed +change of program were for the first time fully laid before a +confidential meeting of the prominent members of Mr. Lincoln's suite. +Reasons were strongly urged both for and against the plan; but Mr. +Lincoln finally decided and explained that while he himself was not +afraid he would be assassinated, nevertheless, since the possibility of +danger had been made known from two entirely independent sources, and +officially communicated to him by his future prime minister and the +general of the American armies, he was no longer at liberty to disregard +it; that it was not the question of his private life, but the regular +and orderly transmission of the authority of the government of the +United States in the face of threatened revolution, which he had no +right to put in the slightest jeopardy. He would, therefore, carry out +the plan, the full details of which had been arranged with the railroad +officials. + +Accordingly, that same evening, he, with a single companion, Colonel W. +H. Lamon, took a car from Harrisburg back to Philadelphia, at which +place, about midnight, they boarded the through train from New York to +Washington, and without recognition or any untoward incident passed +quietly through Baltimore, and reached the capital about daylight on the +morning of February 23, where they were met by Mr. Seward and +Representative Washburne of Illinois, and conducted to Willard's Hotel. + +When Mr. Lincoln's departure from Harrisburg became known, a reckless +newspaper correspondent telegraphed to New York the ridiculous invention +that he traveled disguised in a Scotch cap and long military cloak. +There was not one word of truth in the absurd statement. Mr. Lincoln's +family and suite proceeded to Washington by the originally arranged +train and schedule, and witnessed great crowds in the streets of +Baltimore, but encountered neither turbulence nor incivility of any +kind. There was now, of course, no occasion for any, since the telegraph +had definitely announced that the President-elect was already in +Washington. + + + + +XIII + +The Secession Movement--South Carolina Secession--Buchanan's +Neglect--Disloyal Cabinet Members---Washington Central Cabal--Anderson's +Transfer to Sumter--Star of the West--Montgomery Rebellion---Davis and +Stephens--Corner-stone Theory--Lincoln Inaugurated--His Inaugural +Address--Lincoln's Cabinet--The Question of Sumter--Seward's +Memorandum--Lincoln's Answer--Bombardment of Sumter--Anderson's +Capitulation + + +It is not the province of these chapters to relate in detail the course +of the secession movement in the cotton States in the interim which +elapsed between the election and inauguration of President Lincoln. +Still less can space be given to analyze and set forth the lamentable +failure of President Buchanan to employ the executive authority and +power of the government to prevent it, or even to hinder its +development, by any vigorous opposition or adequate protest. The +determination of South Carolina to secede was announced by the governor +of that State a month before the presidential election, and on the day +before the election he sent the legislature of the State a revolutionary +message to formally inaugurate it. From that time forward the whole +official machinery of the State not only led, but forced the movement +which culminated on December 20 in the ordinance of secession by the +South Carolina convention. + +This official revolution in South Carolina was quickly imitated by +similar official revolutions ending in secession ordinances in the +States of Mississippi, on January 9, 1861; Florida, January 10; Alabama, +January 11; Georgia, January 19; Louisiana, January 26; and by a still +bolder usurpation in Texas, culminating on February 1. From the day of +the presidential election all these proceedings were known probably more +fully to President Buchanan than to the general public, because many of +the actors were his personal and party friends; while almost at their +very beginning he became aware that three members of his cabinet were +secretly or openly abetting and promoting them by their official +influence and power. + +Instead of promptly dismissing these unfaithful servants, he retained +one of them a month, and the others twice that period, and permitted +them so far to influence his official conduct, that in his annual +message to Congress he announced the fallacious and paradoxical doctrine +that though a State had no right to secede, the Federal government had +no right to coerce her to remain in the Union. + +Nor could he justify his non-action by the excuse that contumacious +speeches and illegal resolves of parliamentary bodies might be tolerated +under the American theory of free assemblage and free speech. Almost +from the beginning of the secession movement, it was accompanied from +time to time by overt acts both of treason and war; notably, by the +occupation and seizure by military order and force of the seceding +States, of twelve or fifteen harbor forts, one extensive navy-yard, half +a dozen arsenals, three mints, four important custom-houses, three +revenue cutters, and a variety of miscellaneous Federal property; for +all of which insults to the flag, and infractions of the sovereignty of +the United States, President Buchanan could recommend no more +efficacious remedy or redress than to ask the voters of the country to +reverse their decision given at the presidential election, and to +appoint a day of fasting and prayer on which to implore the Most High +"to remove from our hearts that false pride of opinion which would impel +us to persevere in wrong for the sake of consistency." + +Nor must mention be omitted of the astounding phenomenon that, +encouraged by President Buchanan's doctrine of non-coercion and purpose +of non-action, a central cabal of Southern senators and representatives +issued from Washington, on December 14, their public proclamation of the +duty of secession; their executive committee using one of the rooms of +the Capitol building itself as the headquarters of the conspiracy and +rebellion they were appointed to lead and direct. + +During the month of December, while the active treason of cotton-State +officials and the fatal neglect of the Federal executive were in their +most damaging and demoralizing stages, an officer of the United States +army had the high courage and distinguished honor to give the +ever-growing revolution its first effective check. Major Robert +Anderson, though a Kentuckian by birth and allied by marriage to a +Georgia family, was, late in November, placed in command of the Federal +forts in Charleston harbor; and having repeatedly reported that his +little garrison of sixty men was insufficient for the defense of Fort +Moultrie, and vainly asked for reinforcements which were not sent him, +he suddenly and secretly, on the night after Christmas, transferred his +command from the insecure position of Moultrie to the strong and +unapproachable walls of Fort Sumter, midway in the mouth of Charleston +harbor, where he could not be assailed by the raw Charleston militia +companies that had for weeks been threatening him with a storming +assault. In this stronghold, surrounded on all sides by water, he +loyally held possession for the government and sovereignty of the United +States. + +The surprised and baffled rage of the South Carolina rebels created a +crisis at Washington that resulted in the expulsion of the President's +treacherous counselors and the reconstruction of Mr. Buchanan's cabinet +to unity and loyalty. The new cabinet, though unable to obtain President +Buchanan's consent to aggressive measures to reestablish the Federal +authority, was, nevertheless, able to prevent further concessions to the +insurrection, and to effect a number of important defensive precautions, +among which was the already mentioned concentration of a small military +force to protect the national capital. + +Meanwhile, the governor of South Carolina had begun the erection of +batteries to isolate and besiege Fort Sumter; and the first of these, on +a sand-spit of Morris Island commanding the main ship-channel, by a few +shots turned back, on January 9, the merchant steamer _Star of the +West_, in which General Scott had attempted to send a reinforcement of +two hundred recruits to Major Anderson. Battery building was continued +with uninterrupted energy until a triangle of siege works was +established on the projecting points of neighboring islands, mounting a +total of thirty guns and seventeen mortars, manned and supported by a +volunteer force of from four to six thousand men. + +Military preparation, though not on so extensive or definite a scale, +was also carried on in the other revolted States; and while Mr. Lincoln +was making his memorable journey from Springfield to Washington, +telegrams were printed in the newspapers, from day to day, showing that +their delegates had met at Montgomery, Alabama, formed a provisional +congress, and adopted a constitution and government under the title of +The Confederate States of America, of which they elected Jefferson Davis +of Mississippi President, and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia +Vice-President. + +It needs to be constantly borne in mind that the beginning of this vast +movement was not a spontaneous revolution, but a chronic conspiracy. +"The secession of South Carolina," truly said one of the chief actors, +"is not an event of a day. It is not anything produced by Mr. Lincoln's +election, or by the non-execution of the fugitive-slave law. It is a +matter which has been gathering head for thirty years." The central +motive and dominating object of the revolution was frankly avowed by +Vice-President Stephens in a speech he made at Savannah a few weeks +after his inauguration: + +"The prevailing ideas entertained by him [Jefferson] and most of the +leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Constitution, +were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of +nature; that it was wrong in _principle_, socially, morally, and +politically.... Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite +idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great +truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that +slavery--subordination to the superior race--is his natural and normal +condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the +world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth." + +In the week which elapsed between Mr. Lincoln's arrival in Washington +and the day of inauguration, he exchanged the customary visits of +ceremony with President Buchanan, his cabinet, the Supreme Court, the +two Houses of Congress, and other dignitaries. In his rooms at Willard's +Hotel he also held consultations with leading Republicans about the +final composition of his cabinet and pressing questions of public +policy. Careful preparations had been made for the inauguration, and +under the personal eye of General Scott the military force in the city +was ready instantly to suppress any attempt to disturb the peace or +quiet of the day. + +On March 4 the outgoing and incoming Presidents rode side by side in a +carriage from the Executive Mansion to the Capitol and back, escorted by +an imposing military and civic procession; and an immense throng of +spectators heard the new Executive read his inaugural address from the +east portico of the Capitol. He stated frankly that a disruption of the +Federal Union was being formidably attempted, and discussed +dispassionately the theory and illegality of secession. He held that the +Union was perpetual; that resolves and ordinances of disunion are +legally void; and announced that to the extent of his ability he would +faithfully execute the laws of the Union in all the States. The power +confided to him would be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property +and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and +imposts. But beyond what might be necessary for these objects there +would be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people +anywhere. Where hostility to the United States in any interior locality +should be so great and universal as to prevent competent resident +citizens from holding the Federal offices, there would be no attempt to +force obnoxious strangers among them for that object. The mails, unless +repelled, would continue to be furnished in all parts of the Union; and +this course would be followed until current events and experience should +show a change to be necessary. To the South he made an earnest plea +against the folly of disunion, and in favor of maintaining peace and +fraternal good will; declaring that their property, peace, and personal +security were in no danger from a Republican administration. + +"One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be +extended," he said, "while the other believes it is wrong and ought not +to be extended; that is the only substantial dispute.... Physically +speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove our respective sections +from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband +and wife may be divorced, and go out of the presence and beyond the +reach of each other; but the different parts of our country cannot do +this. They cannot but remain face to face, and intercourse, either +amicable or hostile, must continue between them. Is it possible, then, +to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory after +separation than before? Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can +make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens, than +laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you cannot fight always; +and when, after much loss on both sides and no gain on either, you cease +fighting, the identical old questions as to terms of intercourse are +again upon you.... In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and +not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will +not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the +aggressors.... I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We +must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break +our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from +every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and +hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the +Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels +of our nature." + +But the peaceful policy here outlined was already more difficult to +follow than Mr. Lincoln was aware. On the morning after inauguration the +Secretary of War brought to his notice freshly received letters from +Major Anderson, commanding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, announcing +that in the course of a few weeks the provisions of the garrison would +be exhausted, and therefore an evacuation or surrender would become +necessary, unless the fort were relieved by supplies or reinforcements; +and this information was accompanied by the written opinions of the +officers that to relieve the fort would require a well-appointed army of +twenty thousand men. + +The new President had appointed as his cabinet William H. Seward, +Secretary of State; Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury; Simon +Cameron, Secretary of War; Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy; Caleb +B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior; Montgomery Blair, +Postmaster-General; and Edward Bates, Attorney-General. The President +and his official advisers at once called into counsel the highest +military and naval officers of the Union to consider the new and +pressing emergency revealed by the unexpected news from Sumter. The +professional experts were divided in opinion. Relief by a force of +twenty thousand men was clearly out of the question. No such Union army +existed, nor could one be created within the limit of time. The officers +of the navy thought that men and supplies might be thrown into the fort +by swift-going vessels, while on the other hand the army officers +believed that such an expedition would surely be destroyed by the +formidable batteries which the insurgents had erected to close the +harbor. In view of all the conditions, Lieutenant-General Scott, +general-in-chief of the army, recommended the evacuation of the fort as +a military necessity. + +President Lincoln thereupon asked the several members of his cabinet the +written question: "Assuming it to be possible to now provision Fort +Sumter, under all the circumstances is it wise to attempt it?" Only two +members replied in the affirmative, while the other five argued against +the attempt, holding that the country would recognize that the +evacuation of the fort was not an indication of policy, but a necessity +created by the neglect of the old administration. Under this advice, the +President withheld his decision until he could gather further +information. + +Meanwhile, three commissioners had arrived from the provisional +government at Montgomery, Alabama, under instructions to endeavor to +negotiate a _de facto_ and _de jure_ recognition of the independence of +the Confederate States. They were promptly informed by Mr. Seward that +he could not receive them; that he did not see in the Confederate States +a rightful and accomplished revolution and an independent nation; and +that he was not at liberty to recognize the commissioners as diplomatic +agents, or to hold correspondence with them. Failing in this direct +application, they made further efforts through Mr. Justice Campbell of +the Supreme Court, as a friendly intermediary, who came to Seward in the +guise of a loyal official, though his correspondence with Jefferson +Davis soon revealed a treasonable intent; and, replying to Campbell's +earnest entreaties that peace should be maintained, Seward informed him +confidentially that the military status at Charleston would not be +changed without notice to the governor of South Carolina. On March 29 a +cabinet meeting for the second time discussed the question of Sumter. +Four of the seven members now voted in favor of an attempt to supply the +fort with provisions, and the President signed a memorandum order to +prepare certain ships for such an expedition, under the command of +Captain G.V. Fox. + +So far, Mr. Lincoln's new duties as President of the United States had +not in any wise put him at a disadvantage with his constitutional +advisers. Upon the old question of slavery he was as well informed and +had clearer convictions and purposes than either Seward or Chase. And +upon the newer question of secession, and the immediate decision about +Fort Sumter which it involved, the members of his cabinet were, like +himself, compelled to rely on the professional advice of experienced +army and navy officers. Since these differed radically in their +opinions, the President's own powers of perception and logic were as +capable of forming a correct decision as men who had been governors and +senators. He had reached at least a partial decision in the memorandum +he gave Fox to prepare ships for the Sumter expedition. + +It must therefore have been a great surprise to the President when, on +April 1, Secretary of State Seward handed him a memorandum setting forth +a number of most extraordinary propositions. For a full enumeration of +the items the reader must carefully study the entire document, which is +printed below in a foot-note;[4] but the principal points for which it +had evidently been written and presented can be given in a few +sentences. + + [Footnote 4: SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE PRESIDENT'S CONSIDERATION. APRIL + 1, 1861. + + First. We are at the end of a month's administration, and yet + without a policy, either domestic or foreign. + + Second. This, however, is not culpable, and it has even been + unavoidable. The presence of the Senate, with the need to meet + applications for patronage, have prevented attention to other and + more grave matters. + + Third. But further delay to adopt and prosecute our policies for + both domestic and foreign affairs would not only bring scandal on + the administration, but danger upon the country. + + Fourth. To do this we must dismiss the applicants for office. But + how? I suggest that we make the local appointments forthwith, + leaving foreign or general ones for ulterior and occasional action. + + Fifth. The policy at home. I am aware that my views are singular + and perhaps not sufficiently explained My system is built upon this + idea as a ruling one, namely, that we must + + CHANGE THE QUESTION BEFORE THE PUBLIC FROM ONE UPON SLAVERY, OR + ABOUT SLAVERY, for a question upon UNION OR DISUNION. + + In other words, from what would be regarded as a party question, to + one of _Patriotism_ or _Union_. + + The occupation or evacuation of Fort Sumter, although not in fact a + slavery or a party question, is so regarded. Witness the temper + manifested by the Republicans in the free States, and even by the + Union men in the South. + + I would therefore terminate it as a safe means for changing the + issue. I deem it fortunate that the last administration created the + necessity. + + For the rest, I would simultaneously defend and reinforce all the + ports in the Gulf, and have the navy recalled from foreign stations + to be prepared for a blockade. Put the island of Key West under + martial law. + + This will raise distinctly the question of _Union_ or _Disunion_. I + would maintain every fort and possession in the South. + + + FOR FOREIGN NATIONS. + + I would demand explanations from Spain and France, categorically, + at once. + + I would seek explanations from Great Britain and Russia, and send + agents into Canada, Mexico, and Central America, to rouse a + vigorous continental spirit of independence on this continent + against European intervention. + + And, if satisfactory explanations are not received from Spain and + France, + + Would convene Congress and declare war against them. + + But whatever policy we adopt, there must be an energetic + prosecution of it. + + For this purpose it must be somebody's business to pursue and + direct it incessantly. + + Either the President must do it himself, and be all the while + active in it, or + + Devolve it on some member of his cabinet. Once adopted, debates on + it must end, and all agree and abide. + + It is not in my especial province. + + But I neither seek to evade nor assume responsibility.] + +A month has elapsed, and the administration has neither a domestic nor a +foreign policy. The administration must at once adopt and carry out a +novel, radical, and aggressive policy. It must cease saying a word about +slavery, and raise a great outcry about Union. It must declare war +against France and Spain, and combine and organize all the governments +of North and South America in a crusade to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. +This policy once adopted, it must be the business of some one +incessantly to pursue it. "It is not in my especial province," wrote Mr. +Seward; "but I neither seek to evade nor assume responsibility." This +phrase, which is a key to the whole memorandum, enables the reader +easily to translate its meaning into something like the following: + +After a month's trial, you, Mr. Lincoln, are a failure as President. The +country is in desperate straits, and must use a desperate remedy. That +remedy is to submerge the South Carolina insurrection in a continental +war. Some new man must take the executive helm, and wield the undivided +presidential authority. I should have been nominated at Chicago, and +elected in November, but am willing to take your place and perform your +duties. + +Why William H. Seward, who is fairly entitled to rank as a great +statesman, should have written this memorandum and presented it to Mr. +Lincoln, has never been explained; nor is it capable of explanation. Its +suggestions were so visionary, its reasoning so fallacious, its +assumptions so unwarranted, its conclusions so malapropos, that it falls +below critical examination. Had Mr. Lincoln been an envious or a +resentful man, he could not have wished for a better occasion to put a +rival under his feet. + +The President doubtless considered the incident one of phenomenal +strangeness, but it did not in the least disturb his unselfish judgment +or mental equipoise. There was in his answer no trace of excitement or +passion. He pointed out in a few sentences of simple, quiet explanation +that what the administration had done was exactly a foreign and domestic +policy which the Secretary of State himself had concurred in and helped +to frame. Only, that Mr. Seward proposed to go further and give up +Sumter. Upon the central suggestion that some one mind must direct, Mr. +Lincoln wrote with simple dignity: + +"If this must be done, I must do it. When a general line of policy is +adopted, I apprehend there is no danger of its being changed without +good reason, or continuing to be a subject of unnecessary debate; still, +upon points arising in its progress I wish, and suppose I am entitled to +have, the advice of all the cabinet." + +Mr. Lincoln's unselfish magnanimity is the central marvel of the whole +affair. His reply ended the argument. Mr. Seward doubtless saw at once +how completely he had put himself in the President's power. Apparently, +neither of the men ever again alluded to the incident. No other persons +except Mr. Seward's son and the President's private secretary ever saw +the correspondence, or knew of the occurrence. The President put the +papers away in an envelop, and no word of the affair came to the public +until a quarter of a century later, when the details were published in +Mr. Lincoln's biography. In one mind, at least, there was no further +doubt that the cabinet had a master, for only some weeks later Mr. +Seward is known to have written: "There is but one vote in the cabinet, +and that is cast by the President." This mastery Mr. Lincoln retained +with a firm dignity throughout his administration. When, near the close +of the war, he sent Mr. Seward to meet the rebel commissioners at the +Hampton Roads conference, he finished his short letter of instructions +with the imperative sentence: "You will not assume to definitely +consummate anything." + +From this strange episode our narrative must return to the question of +Fort Sumter. On April 4, official notice was sent to Major Anderson of +the coming relief, with the instruction to hold out till the eleventh or +twelfth if possible; but authorizing him to capitulate whenever it might +become necessary to save himself and command. Two days later the +President sent a special messenger with written notice to the governor +of South Carolina that an attempt would be made to supply Fort Sumter +with provisions only; and that if such attempt were not resisted, no +further effort would be made to throw in men, arms, or ammunition, +without further notice, or unless in case of an attack on the fort. + +The building of batteries around Fort Sumter had been begun, under the +orders of Governor Pickens, about the first of January, and continued +with industry and energy; and about the first of March General +Beauregard, an accomplished engineer officer, was sent by the +Confederate government to take charge of and complete the works. On +April 1 he telegraphed to Montgomery: "Batteries ready to open Wednesday +or Thursday. What instructions?" + +At this point, the Confederate authorities at Montgomery found +themselves face to face with the fatal alternative either to begin war +or to allow their rebellion to collapse. Their claim to independence was +denied, their commissioners were refused a hearing; yet not an angry +word, provoking threat, nor harmful act had come from President Lincoln. +He had promised them peace, protection, freedom from irritation; had +offered them the benefit of the mails. Even now, all he proposed to do +was--not to send guns or ammunition or men to Sumter, but only bread and +provisions to Anderson and his soldiers. His prudent policy placed them +in the exact attitude described a month earlier in his inaugural; they +could have no conflict without being themselves the aggressors. But the +rebellion was organized by ambitious men with desperate intentions. A +member of the Alabama legislature, present at Montgomery, said to +Jefferson Davis and three members of his cabinet: "Gentlemen, unless you +sprinkle blood in the face of the people of Alabama, they will be back +in the old Union in less than ten days." And the sanguinary advice was +adopted. In answer to his question, "What instructions?" Beauregard on +April 10 was ordered to demand the evacuation of Fort Sumter, and, in +case of refusal, to reduce it. + +The demand was presented to Anderson, who replied that he would evacuate +the fort by noon of April 15, unless assailed, or unless he received +supplies or controlling instructions from his government. This answer +being unsatisfactory to Beauregard, he sent Anderson notice that he +would open fire on Sumter at 4:20 on the morning of April 12. + +Promptly at the hour indicated the bombardment was begun. As has been +related, the rebel siege-works were built on the points of the islands +forming the harbor, at distances varying from thirteen hundred to +twenty-five hundred yards, and numbered nineteen batteries, with an +armament of forty-seven guns, supported by a land force of from four to +six thousand volunteers. The disproportion between means of attack and +defense was enormous. Sumter, though a work three hundred by three +hundred and fifty feet in size, with well-constructed walls and +casemates of brick, was in very meager preparation for such a conflict. +Of its forty-eight available guns, only twenty-one were in the +casemates, twenty-seven being on the rampart _en barbette_. The garrison +consisted of nine commissioned officers, sixty-eight non-commissioned +officers and privates, eight musicians, and forty-three non-combatant +workmen compelled by the besiegers to remain to hasten the consumption +of provisions. + +Under the fire of the seventeen mortars in the rebel batteries, Anderson +could reply only with a vertical fire from the guns of small caliber in +his casemates, which was of no effect against the rebel bomb-proofs of +sand and roofs of sloping railroad iron; but, refraining from exposing +his men to serve his barbette guns, his garrison was also safe in its +protecting casemates. It happened, therefore, that although the attack +was spirited and the defense resolute, the combat went on for a day and +a half without a single casualty. It came to an end on the second day +only when the cartridges of the garrison were exhausted, and the red-hot +shot from the rebel batteries had set the buildings used as officers' +quarters on fire, creating heat and smoke that rendered further defense +impossible. + +There was also the further discouragement that the expedition of relief +which Anderson had been instructed to look for on the eleventh or +twelfth, had failed to appear. Several unforeseen contingencies had +prevented the assembling of the vessels at the appointed rendezvous +outside Charleston harbor, though some of them reached it in time to +hear the opening guns of the bombardment. But as accident had deranged +and thwarted the plan agreed upon, they could do nothing except +impatiently await the issue of the fight. + +A little after noon of April 13, when the flagstaff of the fort had been +shot away and its guns remained silent, an invitation to capitulate with +the honors of war came from General Beauregard, which Anderson accepted; +and on the following day, Sunday, April 14, he hauled down his flag with +impressive ceremonies, and leaving the fort with his faithful garrison, +proceeded in a steamer to New York. + + + + +XIV + +President's Proclamation Calling for Seventy-five Regiments--Responses +of the Governors--Maryland and Virginia--The Baltimore Riot--Washington +Isolated--Lincoln Takes the Responsibility--Robert E. Lee--Arrival of +the New York Seventh--Suspension of Habeas Corpus--The Annapolis +Route--Butler in Baltimore--Taney on the Merryman +Case--Kentucky--Missouri--Lyon Captures Camp Jackson--Boonville +Skirmish--The Missouri Convention--Gamble made Governor--The Border +States + + +The bombardment of Fort Sumter changed the political situation as if by +magic. There was no longer room for doubt, hesitation, concession, or +compromise. Without awaiting the arrival of the ships that were bringing +provisions to Anderson's starving garrison, the hostile Charleston +batteries had opened their fire on the fort by the formal order of the +Confederate government, and peaceable secession was, without +provocation, changed to active war. The rebels gained possession of +Charleston harbor; but their mode of obtaining it awakened the +patriotism of the American people to a stern determination that the +insult to the national authority and flag should be redressed, and the +unrighteous experiment of a rival government founded on slavery as its +corner-stone should never succeed. Under the conflict thus begun the +long-tolerated barbarous institution itself was destined ignobly to +perish. + +On his journey from Springfield to Washington Mr. Lincoln had said that, +devoted as he was to peace, he might find it necessary "to put the foot +down firmly." That time had now come. On the morning of April 15, 1861, +the leading newspapers of the country printed the President's +proclamation reciting that, whereas the laws of the United States were +opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in the States of South +Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, +by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of +judicial proceedings, the militia of the several States of the Union, to +the aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, was called forth to +suppress said combinations and cause the laws to be duly executed. The +orders of the War Department specified that the period of service under +this call should be for three months; and to further conform to the +provisions of the Act of 1795, under which the call was issued, the +President's proclamation also convened the Congress in special session +on the coming fourth of July. + +Public opinion in the free States, which had been sadly demoralized by +the long discussions over slavery, and by the existence of four factions +in the late presidential campaign, was instantly crystallized and +consolidated by the Sumter bombardment and the President's proclamation +into a sentiment of united support to the government for the suppression +of the rebellion. The several free-State governors sent loyal and +enthusiastic responses to the call for militia, and tendered double the +numbers asked for. The people of the slave States which had not yet +joined the Montgomery Confederacy--namely, Virginia, North Carolina, +Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and +Delaware--remained, however, more or less divided on the issue as it +now presented itself. The governors of the first six of these were +already so much engaged in the secret intrigues of the secession +movement that they sent the Secretary of War contumacious and insulting +replies, and distinct refusals to the President's call for troops. The +governor of Delaware answered that there was no organized militia in his +State which he had legal authority to command, but that the officers of +organized volunteer regiments might at their own option offer their +services to the United States; while the governor of Maryland, in +complying with the requisition, stipulated that the regiments from his +State should not be required to serve outside its limits, except to +defend the District of Columbia. + +A swift, almost bewildering rush of events, however, quickly compelled +most of them to take sides. Secession feeling was rampant in Baltimore; +and when the first armed and equipped Northern regiment, the +Massachusetts Sixth, passed through that city on the morning of April +19, on its way to Washington, the last four of its companies were +assailed by street mobs with missiles and firearms while marching from +one depot to the other; and in the running fight which ensued, four of +its soldiers were killed and about thirty wounded, while the mob +probably lost two or three times as many. This tragedy instantly threw +the whole city into a wild frenzy of insurrection. That same afternoon +an immense secession meeting in Monument Square listened to a torrent of +treasonable protest and denunciation, in which Governor Hicks himself +was made momentarily to join. The militia was called out, preparations +were made to arm the city, and that night the railroad bridges were +burned between Baltimore and the Pennsylvania line to prevent the +further transit of Union regiments. The revolutionary furor spread to +the country towns, and for a whole week the Union flag practically +disappeared from Maryland. + +While these events were taking place to the north, equally threatening +incidents were occurring to the south of Washington. The State of +Virginia had been for many weeks balancing uneasily between loyalty and +secession. In the new revolutionary stress her weak remnant of +conditional Unionism gave way; and on April 17, two days after the +President's call, her State convention secretly passed a secession +ordinance, while Governor Letcher ordered a military seizure of the +United States navy-yard at Norfolk and the United States armory at +Harper's Ferry. Under orders from Washington, both establishments were +burned to prevent their falling into insurrectionary hands; but the +destruction in each case was only partial, and much valuable war +material thus passed to rebel uses. + +All these hostile occurrences put the national capital in the greatest +danger. For three days it was entirely cut off from communication with +the North by either telegraph or mail. Under the orders of General +Scott, the city was hastily prepared for a possible siege. The flour at +the mills, and other stores of provisions were taken possession of. The +Capitol and other public buildings were barricaded, and detachments of +troops stationed in them. Business was suspended by a common impulse; +streets were almost deserted except by squads of military patrol; +shutters of stores, and even many residences, remained unopened +throughout the day. The signs were none too reassuring. In addition to +the public rumors whispered about by serious faces on the streets, +General Scott reported in writing to President Lincoln on the evening of +April 22: + +"Of rumors, the following are probable, viz.: _First_, that from +fifteen hundred to two thousand troops are at the White House (four +miles below Mount Vernon, a narrow point in the Potomac), engaged in +erecting a battery; _Second_, that an equal force is collected or in +progress of assemblage on the two sides of the river to attack Fort +Washington; and _Third_, that extra cars went up yesterday to bring down +from Harper's Ferry about two thousand other troops to join in a general +attack on this capital--that is, on many of its fronts at once. I feel +confident that with our present forces we can defend the Capitol, the +Arsenal, and all the executive buildings (seven) against ten thousand +troops not better than our District volunteers." + +Throughout this crisis President Lincoln not only maintained his +composure, but promptly assumed the high responsibilities the occasion +demanded. On Sunday, April 21, he summoned his cabinet to meet at the +Navy Department, and with their unanimous concurrence issued a number of +emergency orders relating to the purchase of ships, the transportation +of troops and munitions of war, the advance of $2,000,000 of money to a +Union Safety Committee in New York, and other military and naval +measures, which were despatched in duplicate by private messengers over +unusual and circuitous routes. In a message to Congress, in which he +afterward explained these extraordinary transactions, he said: + +"It became necessary for me to choose whether, using only the existing +means, agencies, and processes which Congress had provided, I should let +the government fall at once into ruin, or whether, availing myself of +the broader powers conferred by the Constitution in cases of +insurrection, I would make an effort to save it with all its blessings +for the present age and for posterity." + +Unwelcome as was the thought of a possible capture of Washington city, +President Lincoln's mind was much more disturbed by many suspicious +indications of disloyalty in public officials, and especially in +officers of the army and navy. Hundreds of clerks of Southern birth +employed in the various departments suddenly left their desks and went +South. The commandant of the Washington navy-yard and the +quartermaster-general of the army resigned their positions to take +service under Jefferson Davis. One morning the captain of a light +battery on which General Scott had placed special reliance for the +defense of Washington came to the President at the White House to +asseverate and protest his loyalty and fidelity; and that same night +secretly left his post and went to Richmond to become a Confederate +officer. + +The most prominent case, however, was that of Colonel Robert E. Lee, the +officer who captured John Brown at Harper's Ferry, and who afterward +became the leader of the Confederate armies. As a lieutenant he had +served on the staff of General Scott in the war with Mexico. Personally +knowing his ability, Scott recommended him to Lincoln as the most +suitable officer to command the Union army about to be assembled under +the President's call for seventy-five regiments; and this command was +informally tendered him through a friend. Lee, however, declined the +offer, explaining that "though opposed to secession, and deprecating +war, I could take no part in an invasion of the Southern States." He +resigned his commission in a letter written on April 20, and, without +waiting for notice of its acceptance, which alone could discharge him +from his military obligation, proceeded to Richmond, where he was +formally and publicly invested with the command of the Virginia military +and naval forces on April 22; while, two days later, the rebel +Vice-President, Alexander H. Stephens, and a committee of the Richmond +convention signed a formal military league making Virginia an immediate +member of the Confederate States, and placing her armies under the +command of Jefferson Davis. + +The sudden uprising in Maryland and the insurrectionary activity in +Virginia had been largely stimulated by the dream of the leading +conspirators that their new confederacy would combine all the slave +States, and that by the adhesion of both Maryland and Virginia they +would fall heir to a ready-made seat of government. While the +bombardment of Sumter was in progress, the rebel Secretary of War, +announcing the news in a jubilant speech at Montgomery, in the presence +of Jefferson Davis and his colleagues, confidently predicted that the +rebel flag would before the end of May "float over the dome of the +Capitol at Washington." The disloyal demonstrations in Maryland and +Virginia rendered such a hope so plausible that Jefferson Davis +telegraphed to Governor Letcher at Richmond that he was preparing to +send him thirteen regiments, and added: "Sustain Baltimore if +practicable. We reinforce you"; while Senator Mason hurried to that city +personally to furnish advice and military assistance. + +But the flattering expectation was not realized. The requisite +preparation and concert of action were both wanting. The Union troops +from New York and New England, pouring into Philadelphia, flanked the +obstructions of the Baltimore route by devising a new one by way of +Chesapeake Bay and Annapolis; and the opportune arrival of the Seventh +Regiment of New York in Washington, on April 25, rendered that city +entirely safe against surprise or attack, relieved the apprehension of +officials and citizens, and renewed its business and public activity. +The mob frenzy of Baltimore and the Maryland towns subsided almost as +quickly as it had risen. The Union leaders and newspapers asserted +themselves, and soon demonstrated their superiority in numbers and +activity. + +Serious embarrassment had been created by the timidity of Governor +Hicks, who, while Baltimore remained under mob terrorism, officially +protested against the landing of Union troops at Annapolis; and, still +worse, summoned the Maryland legislature to meet on April 26--a step +which he had theretofore stubbornly refused to take. This event had +become doubly dangerous, because a Baltimore city election held during +the same terror week had reinforced the legislature with ten secession +members, creating a majority eager to pass a secession ordinance at the +first opportunity. The question of either arresting or dispersing the +body by military force was one of the problems which the crisis forced +upon President Lincoln. On full reflection he decided against either +measure. + +"I think it would not be justifiable," he wrote to General Scott, "nor +efficient for the desired object. _First_, they have a clearly legal +right to assemble; and we cannot know in advance that their action will +not be lawful and peaceful. And if we wait until they shall have acted, +their arrest or dispersion will not lessen the effect of their action. +_Secondly_, we cannot permanently prevent their action. If we arrest +them, we cannot long hold them as prisoners; and, when liberated, they +will immediately reassemble and take their action. And precisely the +same if we simply disperse them: they will immediately reassemble in +some other place. I therefore conclude that it is only left to the +commanding general to watch and await their action, which, if it shall +be to arm their people against the United States, he is to adopt the +most prompt and efficient means to counteract, even if necessary to the +bombardment of their cities; and, in the extremest necessity, the +suspension of the writ of _habeas corpus_." + +Two days later the President formally authorized General Scott to +suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ along his military lines, or in +their vicinity, if resistance should render it necessary. Arrivals of +additional troops enabled the General to strengthen his military hold on +Annapolis and the railroads; and on May 13 General B.F. Butler, with +about one thousand men, moved into Baltimore and established a fortified +camp on Federal Hill, the bulk of his force being the Sixth +Massachusetts, which had been mobbed in that city on April 19. Already, +on the previous day, the bridges and railroad had been repaired, and the +regular transit of troops through the city reestablished. + +Under these changing conditions the secession majority of the Maryland +legislature did not venture on any official treason. They sent a +committee to interview the President, vented their hostility in spiteful +reports and remonstrances, and prolonged their session by a recess. +Nevertheless, so inveterate was their disloyalty and plotting against +the authority of the Union, that four months later it became necessary +to place the leaders under arrest, finally to head off their darling +project of a Maryland secession ordinance. + +One additional incident of this insurrectionary period remains to be +noticed. One John Merryman, claiming to be a Confederate lieutenant, was +arrested in Baltimore for enlisting men for the rebellion, and Chief +Justice Taney of the United States Supreme Court, the famous author of +the Dred Scott decision, issued a writ of _habeas corpus_ to obtain his +release from Fort McHenry. Under the President's orders, General +Cadwalader of course declined to obey the writ. Upon this, the chief +justice ordered the general's arrest for contempt, but the officer sent +to serve the writ was refused entrance to the fort. In turn, the +indignant chief justice, taking counsel of his passion instead of his +patriotism, announced dogmatically that "the President, under the +Constitution and laws of the United States, cannot suspend the privilege +of the writ of _habeas corpus_, nor authorize any military officer to do +so"; and some weeks afterward filed a long written opinion in support of +this dictum. It is unnecessary here to quote the opinions of several +eminent jurists who successfully refuted his labored argument, nor to +repeat the vigorous analysis with which, in his special message to +Congress of July 4, President Lincoln vindicated his own authority. + +While these events were occurring in Maryland and Virginia, the +remaining slave States were gradually taking sides, some for, others +against rebellion. Under radical and revolutionary leadership similar to +that of the cotton States, the governors and State officials of North +Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas placed their States in an attitude of +insurrection, and before the middle of May practically joined them to +the Confederate government by the formalities of military leagues and +secession ordinances. + +But in the border slave States--that is, those contiguous to the free +States--the eventual result was different. In these, though secession +intrigue and sympathy were strong, and though their governors and State +officials favored the rebellion, the underlying loyalty and Unionism of +the people thwarted their revolutionary schemes. This happened even in +the northwestern part of Virginia itself. The forty-eight counties of +that State lying north of the Alleghanies and adjoining Pennsylvania and +Ohio repudiated the action at Richmond, seceded from secession, and +established a loyal provisional State government. President Lincoln +recognized them and sustained them with military aid; and in due time +they became organized and admitted to the Union as the State of West +Virginia. In Delaware, though some degree of secession feeling existed, +it was too insignificant to produce any note-worthy public +demonstration. + +In Kentucky the political struggle was deep and prolonged. The governor +twice called the legislature together to initiate secession proceedings; +but that body refused compliance, and warded off his scheme by voting to +maintain the State neutrality. Next, the governor sought to utilize the +military organization known as the State Guard to effect his object. The +Union leaders offset this movement by enlisting several volunteer Union +regiments. At the June election nine Union congressmen were chosen, and +only one secessionist; while in August a new legislature was elected +with a three-fourths Union majority in each branch. Other secession +intrigues proved equally abortive; and when, finally, in September, +Confederate armies invaded Kentucky at three different points, the +Kentucky legislature invited the Union armies of the West into the State +to expel them, and voted to place forty thousand Union volunteers at the +service of President Lincoln. + +In Missouri the struggle was more fierce, but also more brief. As far +back as January, the conspirators had perfected a scheme to obtain +possession, through the treachery of the officer in charge, of the +important Jefferson Barracks arsenal at St. Louis, with its store of +sixty thousand stand of arms and a million and a half cartridges. The +project, however, failed. Rumors of the danger came to General Scott, +who ordered thither a company of regulars under command of Captain +Nathaniel Lyon, an officer not only loyal by nature and habit, but also +imbued with strong antislavery convictions. Lyon found valuable support +in the watchfulness of a Union Safety Committee composed of leading St. +Louis citizens, who secretly organized a number of Union regiments +recruited largely from the heavy German population; and from these +sources Lyon was enabled to make such a show of available military force +as effectively to deter any mere popular uprising to seize the arsenal. + +A State convention, elected to pass a secession ordinance, resulted, +unexpectedly to the conspirators, in the return of a majority of Union +delegates, who voted down the secession program and adjourned to the +following December. Thereupon, the secession governor ordered his State +militia into temporary camps of instruction, with the idea of taking +Missouri out of the Union by a concerted military movement. One of these +encampments, established at St. Louis and named Camp Jackson in honor of +the governor, furnished such unquestionable evidences of intended +treason that Captain Lyon, whom President Lincoln had meanwhile +authorized to enlist ten thousand Union volunteers, and, if necessary, +to proclaim martial law, made a sudden march upon Camp Jackson with his +regulars and six of his newly enlisted regiments, stationed his force in +commanding positions around the camp, and demanded its surrender. The +demand was complied with after but slight hesitation, and the captured +militia regiments were, on the following day, disbanded under parole. +Unfortunately, as the prisoners were being marched away a secession mob +insulted and attacked some of Lyon's regiments and provoked a return +fire, in which about twenty persons, mainly lookers-on, were killed or +wounded; and for a day or two the city was thrown into the panic and +lawlessness of a reign of terror. + +Upon this, the legislature, in session at Jefferson City, the capital of +the State, with a three-fourths secession majority, rushed through the +forms of legislation a military bill placing the military and financial +resources of Missouri under the governor's control. For a month longer +various incidents delayed the culmination of the approaching struggle, +each side continuing its preparations, and constantly accentuating the +rising antagonism. The crisis came when, on June 11, Governor Jackson +and Captain Lyon, now made brigadier-general by the President, met in an +interview at St. Louis. In this interview the governor demanded that he +be permitted to exercise sole military command to maintain the +neutrality of Missouri, while Lyon insisted that the Federal military +authority must be left in unrestricted control. It being impossible to +reach any agreement, Governor Jackson hurried back to his capital, +burning railroad bridges behind him as he went, and on the following +day, June 12, issued his proclamation calling out fifty thousand State +militia, and denouncing the Lincoln administration as "an +unconstitutional military despotism." + +Lyon was also prepared for this contingency. On the afternoon of June +13, he embarked with a regular battery and several battalions of his +Union volunteers on steamboats, moved rapidly up the Missouri River to +Jefferson City, drove the governor and the secession legislature into +precipitate flight, took possession of the capital, and, continuing his +expedition, scattered, after a slight skirmish, a small rebel military +force which had hastily collected at Boonville. Rapidly following these +events, the loyal members of the Missouri State convention, which had in +February refused to pass a secession ordinance, were called together, +and passed ordinances under which was constituted a loyal State +government that maintained the local civil authority of the United +States throughout the greater part of Missouri during the whole of the +Civil War, only temporarily interrupted by invasions of transient +Confederate armies from Arkansas. + +It will be seen from the foregoing outline that the original hope of the +Southern leaders to make the Ohio River the northern boundary of their +slave empire was not realized. They indeed secured the adhesion of +Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas, by which the +territory of the Confederate States government was enlarged nearly one +third and its population and resources nearly doubled. But the northern +tier of slave States--Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and +Missouri--not only decidedly refused to join the rebellion, but remained +true to the Union; and this reduced the contest to a trial of military +strength between eleven States with 5,115,790 whites, and 3,508,131 +slaves, against twenty-four States with 21,611,422 whites and 342,212 +slaves, and at least a proportionate difference in all other resources +of war. At the very outset the conditions were prophetic of the result. + + + + +XV + +Davis's Proclamation for Privateers--Lincoln's Proclamation of +Blockade--The Call for Three Years' Volunteers--Southern Military +Preparations--Rebel Capital Moved to Richmond--Virginia, North Carolina, +Tennessee and Arkansas Admitted to Confederate States--Desertion of Army +and Navy Officers--Union Troops Fortify Virginia Shore of the +Potomac--Concentration at Harper's Ferry--Concentration at Fortress +Monroe and Cairo--English Neutrality--Seward's 21st-of-May +Despatch--Lincoln's Corrections--Preliminary Skirmishes--Forward to +Richmond--Plan of McDowell's Campaign + + +From the slower political developments in the border slave States we +must return and follow up the primary hostilities of the rebellion. The +bombardment of Sumter, President Lincoln's call for troops, the +Baltimore riot, the burning of Harper's Ferry armory and Norfolk +navy-yard, and the interruption of railroad communication which, for +nearly a week, isolated the capital and threatened it with siege and +possible capture, fully demonstrated the beginning of serious civil war. + +Jefferson Davis's proclamation, on April 17, of intention to issue +letters of marque, was met two days later by President Lincoln's +counter-proclamation instituting a blockade of the Southern ports, and +declaring that privateers would be held amenable to the laws against +piracy. His first call for seventy-five thousand three months' militia +was dictated as to numbers by the sudden emergency, and as to form and +term of service by the provisions of the Act of 1795. It needed only a +few days to show that this form of enlistment was both cumbrous and +inadequate; and the creation of a more powerful army was almost +immediately begun. On May 3 a new proclamation was issued, calling into +service 42,034 three years' volunteers, 22,714 enlisted men to add ten +regiments to the regular army, and 18,000 seamen for blockade service: a +total immediate increase of 82,748, swelling the entire military +establishment to an army of 156,861 and a navy of 25,000. + +No express authority of law yet existed for these measures; but +President Lincoln took the responsibility of ordering them, trusting +that Congress would legalize his acts. His confidence was entirely +justified. At the special session which met under his proclamation, on +the fourth of July, these acts were declared valid, and he was +authorized, moreover, to raise an army of a million men and $250,000,000 +in money to carry on the war to suppress the rebellion; while other +legislation conferred upon him supplementary authority to meet the +emergency. + +Meanwhile, the first effort of the governors of the loyal States was to +furnish their quotas under the first call for militia. This was easy +enough as to men. It required only a few days to fill the regiments and +forward them to the State capitals and principal cities; but to arm and +equip them for the field on the spur of the moment was a difficult task +which involved much confusion and delay, even though existing armories +and foundries pushed their work to the utmost and new ones were +established. Under the militia call, the governors appointed all the +officers required by their respective quotas, from company lieutenant to +major-general of division; while under the new call for three years' +volunteers, their authority was limited to the simple organization of +regiments. + +In the South, war preparation also immediately became active. All the +indications are that up to their attack on Sumter, the Southern leaders +hoped to effect separation through concession and compromise by the +North. That hope, of course, disappeared with South Carolina's opening +guns, and the Confederate government made what haste it could to meet +the ordeal it dreaded even while it had provoked it. The rebel Congress +was hastily called together, and passed acts recognizing war and +regulating privateering; admitting Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, +and Arkansas to the Confederate States; authorizing a $50,000,000 loan; +practically confiscating debts due from Southern to Northern citizens; +and removing the seat of government from Montgomery, Alabama, to +Richmond, Virginia. + +Four different calls for Southern volunteers had been made, aggregating +82,000 men; and Jefferson Davis's message now proposed to further +organize and hold in readiness an army of 100,000. The work of erecting +forts and batteries for defense was being rapidly pushed at all points: +on the Atlantic coast, on the Potomac, and on the Mississippi and other +Western streams. For the present the Confederates were well supplied +with cannon and small arms from the captured navy-yards at Norfolk and +Pensacola and the six or eight arsenals located in the South. The +martial spirit of their people was roused to the highest enthusiasm, and +there was no lack of volunteers to fill the companies and regiments +which the Confederate legislators authorized Davis to accept, either by +regular calls on State executives in accordance with, or singly in +defiance of, their central dogma of States Rights, as he might prefer. + +The secession of the Southern States not only strengthened the rebellion +with the arms and supplies stored in the various military and naval +depots within their limits, and the fortifications erected for their +defense: what was of yet greater help to the revolt, a considerable +portion of the officers of the army and navy--perhaps one +third--abandoned the allegiance which they had sworn to the United +States, and, under the false doctrine of State supremacy taught by +Southern leaders, gave their professional skill and experience to the +destruction of the government which had educated and honored them. The +defection of Robert E. Lee was a conspicuous example, and his loss to +the Union and service to the rebel army cannot easily be measured. So, +also, were the similar cases of Adjutant-General Cooper and +Quartermaster-General Johnston. In gratifying contrast stands the +steadfast loyalty and devotion of Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, +who, though he was a Virginian and loved his native State, never wavered +an instant in his allegiance to the flag he had heroically followed in +the War of 1812, and triumphantly planted over the capital of Mexico in +1847. Though unable to take the field, he as general-in-chief directed +the assembling and first movements of the Union troops. + +The largest part of the three months' regiments were ordered to +Washington city as the most important position in a political, and most +exposed in a military point of view. The great machine of war, once +started, moved, as it always does, by its own inherent energy from +arming to concentration, from concentration to skirmish and battle. It +was not long before Washington was a military camp. Gradually the +hesitation to "invade" the "sacred soil" of the South faded out under +the stern necessity to forestall an invasion of the equally sacred soil +of the North; and on May 24 the Union regiments in Washington crossed +the Potomac and planted themselves in a great semicircle of formidable +earthworks eighteen miles long on the Virginia shore, from Chain Bridge +to Hunting Creek, below Alexandria. + +Meanwhile, a secondary concentration of force developed itself at +Harper's Ferry, forty-nine miles northwest of Washington. When, on April +20, a Union detachment had burned and abandoned the armory at that +point, it was at once occupied by a handful of rebel militia; and +immediately thereafter Jefferson Davis had hurried his regiments thither +to "sustain" or overawe Baltimore; and when that prospect failed, it +became a rebel camp of instruction. Afterward, as Major-General +Patterson collected his Pennsylvania quota, he turned it toward that +point as a probable field of operations. As a mere town, Harper's Ferry +was unimportant; but, lying on the Potomac, and being at the head of the +great Shenandoah valley, down which not only a good turnpike, but also +an effective railroad ran southeastward to the very heart of the +Confederacy, it was, and remained through the entire war, a strategical +line of the first importance, protected, as the Shenandoah valley was, +by the main chain of the Alleghanies on the west and the Blue Ridge on +the east. + +A part of the eastern quotas had also been hurried to Fortress Monroe, +Virginia, lying at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, which became and +continued an important base for naval as well as military operations. In +the West, even more important than St. Louis was the little town of +Cairo, lying at the extreme southern end of the State of Illinois, at +the confluence of the Ohio River with the Mississippi. Commanding, as it +did, thousands of miles of river navigation in three different +directions, and being also the southernmost point of the earliest +military frontier, it had been the first care of General Scott to occupy +it; and, indeed, it proved itself to be the military key of the whole +Mississippi valley. + +It was not an easy thing promptly to develop a military policy for the +suppression of the rebellion. The so-called Confederate States of +America covered a military field having more than six times the area of +Great Britain, with a coast-line of over thirty-five hundred miles, and +an interior frontier of over seven thousand miles. Much less was it +possible promptly to plan and set on foot concise military campaigns to +reduce the insurgent States to allegiance. Even the great military +genius of General Scott was unable to do more than suggest a vague +outline for the work. The problem was not only too vast, but as yet too +indefinite, since the political future of West Virginia, Kentucky, and +Missouri still hung in more or less uncertainty. + +The passive and negligent attitude which the Buchanan administration had +maintained toward the insurrection during the whole three months between +the presidential election and Mr. Lincoln's inauguration, gave the +rebellion an immense advantage in the courts and cabinets of Europe. +Until within three days of the end of Buchanan's term not a word of +protest or even explanation was sent to counteract the impression that +disunion was likely to become permanent. Indeed, the non-coercion +doctrine of Buchanan's message was, in the eyes of European statesmen, +equivalent to an acknowledgment of such a result; and the formation of +the Confederate government, followed so quickly by the fall of Fort +Sumter, seemed to them a practical realization of their forecast. The +course of events appeared not merely to fulfil their expectations, but +also, in the case of England and France, gratified their eager hopes. To +England it promised cheap cotton and free trade with the South. To +France it appeared to open the way for colonial ambitions which Napoleon +III so soon set on foot on an imperial scale. + +Before Charles Francis Adams, whom President Lincoln appointed as the +new minister to England, arrived in London and obtained an interview +with Lord John Russell, Mr. Seward had already received several items of +disagreeable news. One was that, prior to his arrival, the Queen's +proclamation of neutrality had been published, practically raising the +Confederate States to the rank of a belligerent power, and, before they +had a single privateer afloat, giving these an equality in British ports +with United States ships of war. Another was that an understanding had +been reached between England and France which would lead both +governments to take the same course as to recognition, whatever that +course might be. Third, that three diplomatic agents of the Confederate +States were in London, whom the British minister had not yet seen, but +whom he had caused to be informed that he was not unwilling to see +unofficially. + +Under the irritation produced by this hasty and equivocal action of the +British government, Mr. Seward wrote a despatch to Mr. Adams under date +of May 21, which, had it been sent in the form of the original draft, +would scarcely have failed to lead to war between the two nations. While +it justly set forth with emphasis and courage what the government of the +United States would endure and what it would not endure from foreign +powers during the Southern insurrection, its phraseology, written in a +heat of indignation, was so blunt and exasperating as to imply +intentional disrespect. + +When Mr. Seward read the document to President Lincoln, the latter at +once perceived its objectionable tone, and retained it for further +reflection. A second reading confirmed his first impression. Thereupon, +taking his pen, the frontier lawyer, in a careful revision of the whole +despatch, so amended and changed the work of the trained and experienced +statesman, as entirely to eliminate its offensive crudeness, and bring +it within all the dignity and reserve of the most studied diplomatic +courtesy. If, after Mr. Seward's remarkable memorandum of April 1, the +Secretary of State had needed any further experience to convince him of +the President's mastery in both administrative and diplomatic judgment, +this second incident afforded him the full evidence. + +No previous President ever had such a sudden increase of official work +devolve upon him as President Lincoln during the early months of his +administration. The radical change of parties through which he was +elected not only literally filled the White House with applicants for +office, but practically compelled a wholesale substitution of new +appointees for the old, to represent the new thought and will of the +nation. The task of selecting these was greatly complicated by the sharp +competition between the heterogeneous elements of which the Republican +party was composed. This work was not half completed when the Sumter +bombardment initiated active rebellion, and precipitated the new +difficulty of sifting the loyal from the disloyal, and the yet more +pressing labor of scrutinizing the organization of the immense new +volunteer army called into service by the proclamation of May 3. Mr. +Lincoln used often to say at this period, when besieged by claims to +appointment, that he felt like a man letting rooms at one end of his +house, while the other end was on fire. In addition to this merely +routine work was the much more delicate and serious duty of deciding the +hundreds of novel questions affecting the constitutional principles and +theories of administration. + +The great departments of government, especially those of war and navy, +could not immediately expedite either the supervision or clerical +details of this sudden expansion, and almost every case of resulting +confusion and delay was brought by impatient governors and State +officials to the President for complaint and correction. Volunteers were +coming rapidly enough to the various rendezvous in the different States, +but where were the rations to feed them, money to pay them, tents to +shelter them, uniforms to clothe them, rifles to arm them, officers to +drill and instruct them, or transportation to carry them? In this +carnival of patriotism, this hurly-burly of organization, the weaknesses +as well as the virtues of human nature quickly developed themselves, and +there was manifest not only the inevitable friction of personal rivalry, +but also the disturbing and baneful effects of occasional falsehood and +dishonesty, which could not always be immediately traced to the +responsible culprit. It happened in many instances that there were +alarming discrepancies between the full paper regiments and brigades +reported as ready to start from State capitals, and the actual number of +recruits that railroad trains brought to the Washington camps; and Mr. +Lincoln several times ironically compared the process to that of a man +trying to shovel a bushel of fleas across a barn floor. + +While the month of May insensibly slipped away amid these preparatory +vexations, camps of instruction rapidly grew to small armies at a few +principal points, even under such incidental delay and loss; and during +June the confronting Union and Confederate forces began to produce the +conflicts and casualties of earnest war. As yet they were both few and +unimportant: the assassination of Ellsworth when Alexandria was +occupied; a slight cavalry skirmish at Fairfax Court House; the rout of +a Confederate regiment at Philippi, West Virginia; the blundering +leadership through which two Union detachments fired upon each other in +the dark at Big Bethel, Virginia; the ambush of a Union railroad train +at Vienna Station; and Lyon's skirmish, which scattered the first +collection of rebels at Boonville, Missouri. Comparatively speaking all +these were trivial in numbers of dead and wounded--the first few drops +of blood before the heavy sanguinary showers the future was destined to +bring. But the effect upon the public was irritating and painful to a +degree entirely out of proportion to their real extent and gravity. + +The relative loss and gain in these affairs was not greatly unequal. The +victories of Philippi and Boonville easily offset the disasters of Big +Bethel and Vienna. But the public mind was not yet schooled to patience +and to the fluctuating chances of war. The newspapers demanded prompt +progress and ample victory as imperatively as they were wont to demand +party triumph in politics or achievement in commercial enterprise. +"Forward to Richmond," repeated the "New York Tribune," day after day, +and many sheets of lesser note and influence echoed the cry. There +seemed, indeed, a certain reason for this clamor, because the period of +enlistment of the three months' regiments was already two thirds gone, +and they were not yet all armed and equipped for field service. + +President Lincoln was fully alive to the need of meeting this popular +demand. The special session of Congress was soon to begin, and to it the +new administration must look, not only to ratify what had been done, but +to authorize a large increase of the military force, and heavy loans for +coming expenses of the war. On June 29, therefore, he called his cabinet +and principal military officers to a council of war at the Executive +Mansion, to discuss a more formidable campaign than had yet been +planned. General Scott was opposed to such an undertaking at that time. +He preferred waiting until autumn, meanwhile organizing and drilling a +large army, with which to move down the Mississippi and end the war with +a final battle at New Orleans. Aside from the obvious military +objections to this course, such a procrastination, in the present +irritation of the public temper, was not to be thought of; and the old +general gracefully waived his preference and contributed his best +judgment to the perfecting of an immediate campaign into Virginia. + +The Confederate forces in Virginia had been gathered by the orders of +General Lee into a defensive position at Manassas Junction, where a +railroad from Richmond and another from Harper's Ferry come together. +Here General Beauregard, who had organized and conducted the Sumter +bombardment, had command of a total of about twenty-five thousand men +which he was drilling. The Junction was fortified with some slight +field-works and fifteen heavy guns, supported by a garrison of two +thousand; while the main body was camped in a line of seven miles' +length behind Bull Run, a winding, sluggish stream flowing southeasterly +toward the Potomac. The distance was about thirty-two miles southwest of +Washington. Another Confederate force of about ten thousand, under +General J.E. Johnston, was collected at Winchester and Harper's Ferry +on the Potomac, to guard the entrance to the Shenandoah valley; and an +understanding existed between Johnston and Beauregard, that in case +either were attacked, the other would come to his aid by the quick +railroad transportation between the two places. + +The new Union plan contemplated that Brigadier-General McDowell should +march from Washington against Manassas and Bull Run, with a force +sufficient to beat Beauregard, while General Patterson, who had +concentrated the bulk of the Pennsylvania regiments in the neighborhood +of Harper's Ferry, in numbers nearly or quite double that of his +antagonist, should move against Johnston, and either fight or hold him +so that he could not come to the aid of Beauregard. At the council +McDowell emphasized the danger of such a junction; but General Scott +assured him: "If Johnston joins Beauregard, he shall have Patterson on +his heels." With this understanding, McDowell's movement was ordered to +begin on July 9. + + + + +XVI + +Congress--The President's Message--Men and Money Voted--The +Contraband--Dennison Appoints McClellan--Rich Mountain--McDowell--Bull +Run--Patterson's Failure--McClellan at Washington + + +While these preparations for a Virginia campaign were going on, another +campaign was also slowly shaping itself in Western Virginia; but before +either of them reached any decisive results the Thirty-seventh Congress, +chosen at the presidential election of 1860, met in special session on +the fourth of July, 1861, in pursuance of the President's proclamation +of April 15. There being no members present in either branch from the +seceded States, the number in each house was reduced nearly one third. A +great change in party feeling was also manifest. No more rampant +secession speeches were to be heard. Of the rare instances of men who +were yet to join the rebellion, ex-Vice-President Breckinridge was the +most conspicuous example; and their presence was offset by prominent +Southern Unionists like Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, and John J. +Crittenden of Kentucky. The heated antagonisms which had divided the +previous Congress into four clearly defined factions were so far +restrained or obliterated by the events of the past four months, as to +leave but a feeble opposition to the Republican majority now dominant in +both branches, which was itself rendered moderate and prudent by the new +conditions. + +The message of President Lincoln was temperate in spirit, but positive +and strong in argument. Reciting the secession and rebellion of the +Confederate States, and their unprovoked assault on Fort Sumter, he +continued: + +"Having said to them in the inaugural address, 'You can have no conflict +without being yourselves the aggressors,' he took pains not only to keep +this declaration good, but also to keep the case so free from the power +of ingenious sophistry that the world should not be able to +misunderstand it. By the affair at Fort Sumter, with its surrounding +circumstances, that point was reached. Then and thereby the assailants +of the government began the conflict of arms, without a gun in sight or +in expectancy to return their fire, save only the few in the fort sent +to that harbor years before for their own protection, and still ready to +give that protection in whatever was lawful.... This issue embraces more +than the fate of these United States. It presents to the whole family of +man the question whether a constitutional republic or democracy--a +government of the people by the same people--can or cannot maintain its +territorial integrity against its own domestic foes." + +With his singular felicity of statement, he analyzed and refuted the +sophism that secession was lawful and constitutional. + +"This sophism derives much, perhaps the whole, of its currency from the +assumption that there is some omnipotent and sacred supremacy pertaining +to a State--to each State of our Federal Union. Our States have neither +more nor less power than that reserved to them in the Union by the +Constitution--no one of them ever having been a State out of the +Union.... The States have their status in the Union, and they have no +other legal status. If they break from this, they can only do so against +law and by revolution. The Union, and not themselves separately, +procured their independence and their liberty. By conquest or purchase +the Union gave each of them whatever of independence or liberty it has. +The Union is older than any of the States, and, in fact, it created them +as States. Originally some dependent colonies made the Union, and, in +turn, the Union threw off their old dependence for them, and made them +States, such as they are. Not one of them ever had a State constitution +independent of the Union." + +A noteworthy point in the message is President Lincoln's expression of +his abiding confidence in the intelligence and virtue of the people of +the United States. + +"It may be affirmed," said he, "without extravagance that the free +institutions we enjoy have developed the powers and improved the +condition of our whole people beyond any example in the world. Of this +we now have a striking and an impressive illustration. So large an army +as the government has now on foot was never before known, without a +soldier in it but who has taken his place there of his own free choice. +But more than this, there are many single regiments whose members, one +and another, possess full practical knowledge of all the arts, sciences, +professions and whatever else, whether useful or elegant, is known in +the world; and there is scarcely one from which there could not be +selected a President, a cabinet a congress, and, perhaps, a court, +abundantly competent to administer the government itself.... This is +essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union it is a +struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of +government whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men; to +lift artificial weights from all shoulders; to clear the paths of +laudable pursuit for all; to afford all an unfettered start, and a fair +chance in the race of life.... I am most happy to believe that the plain +people understand and appreciate this. It is worthy of note that while +in this, the government's hour of trial, large numbers of those in the +army and navy who have been favored with the offices have resigned and +proved false to the hand which had pampered them, not one common soldier +or common sailor is known to have deserted his flag." + +Hearty applause greeted that portion of the message which asked for +means to make the contest short and decisive; and Congress acted +promptly by authorizing a loan of $250,000,000 and an army not to exceed +one million men. All of President Lincoln's war measures for which no +previous sanction of law existed were duly legalized; additional direct +income and tariff taxes were laid; and the Force Bill of 1795, and +various other laws relating to conspiracy, piracy, unlawful recruiting, +and kindred topics, were amended or passed. + +Throughout the whole history of the South, by no means the least of the +evils entailed by the institution of slavery was the dread of slave +insurrections which haunted every master's household; and this vague +terror was at once intensified by the outbreak of civil war. It stands +to the lasting credit of the negro race in the United States that the +wrongs of their long bondage provoked them to no such crime, and that +the Civil War appears not to have even suggested, much less started, any +such organization or attempt. But the John Brown raid had indicated some +possibility of the kind, and when the Union troops began their movements +Generals Butler in Maryland and Patterson in Pennsylvania, moving +toward Harper's Ferry, and McClellan in West Virginia, in order to +reassure non-combatants, severally issued orders that all attempts at +slave insurrection should be suppressed. It was a most pointed and +significant warning to the leaders of the rebellion how much more +vulnerable the peculiar institution was in war than in peace, and that +their ill-considered scheme to protect and perpetuate slavery would +prove the most potent engine for its destruction. + +The first effect of opening hostilities was to give adventurous or +discontented slaves the chance to escape into Union camps, where, even +against orders to the contrary, they found practical means of protection +or concealment for the sake of the help they could render as cooks, +servants, or teamsters, or for the information they could give or +obtain, or the invaluable service they could render as guides. +Practically, therefore, at the very beginning, the war created a bond of +mutual sympathy based on mutual helpfulness, between the Southern negro +and the Union volunteer; and as fast as the Union troops advanced, and +secession masters fled, more or less slaves found liberation and refuge +in the Union camps. + +At some points, indeed, this tendency created an embarrassment to Union +commanders. A few days after General Butler assumed command of the Union +troops at Fortress Monroe, the agent of a rebel master who had fled from +the neighborhood came to demand, under the provisions of the +fugitive-slave law, three field hands alleged to be in Butler's camp. +Butler responded that as Virginia claimed to be a foreign country the +fugitive-slave law was clearly inoperative, unless the owner would come +and take an oath of allegiance to the United States. In connection with +this incident, the newspaper report stated that as the breastworks and +batteries which had been so rapidly erected for Confederate defense in +every direction on the Virginia peninsula were built by enforced negro +labor under rigorous military impressment, negroes were manifestly +contraband of war under international law. The dictum was so pertinent, +and the equity so plain, that, though it was not officially formulated +by the general until two months later, it sprang at once into popular +acceptance and application; and from that time forward the words "slave" +and "negro" were everywhere within the Union lines replaced by the +familiar, significant term "contraband." + +While Butler's happy designation had a more convincing influence on +public thought than a volume of discussion, it did not immediately solve +the whole question. Within a few days he reported that he had slave +property to the value of $60,000 in his hands, and by the end of July +nine hundred "contrabands," men, women, and children, of all ages. What +was their legal status, and how should they be disposed of? It was a +knotty problem, for upon its solution might depend the sensitive public +opinion and balancing, undecided loyalty and political action of the +border slave States of Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri. +In solving the problem, President Lincoln kept in mind the philosophic +maxim of one of his favorite stories, that when the Western Methodist +presiding elder, riding about the circuit during the spring freshets, +was importuned by his young companion how they should ever be able to +get across the swollen waters of Fox River, which they were approaching, +the elder quieted him by saying he had made it the rule of his life +never to cross Fox River till he came to it. + +The President did not immediately decide, but left it to be treated as a +question of camp and local police, in the discretion of each commander. +Under this theory, later in the war, some commanders excluded, others +admitted such fugitives to their camps; and the curt formula of General +Orders, "We have nothing to do with slaves. We are neither negro +stealers nor negro catchers," was easily construed by subordinate +officers to justify the practice of either course. _Inter arma silent +leges_. For the present, Butler was instructed not to surrender such +fugitives, but to employ them in suitable labor, and leave the question +of their final disposition for future determination. Congress greatly +advanced the problem, soon after the battle of Bull Run, by adopting an +amendment which confiscated a rebel master's right to his slave when, by +his consent, such slave was employed in service or labor hostile to the +United States. The debates exhibited but little spirit of partizanship, +even on this feature of the slavery question. The border State members +did not attack the justice of such a penalty. They could only urge that +it was unconstitutional and inexpedient. On the general policy of the +war, both houses, with but few dissenting votes, passed the resolution, +offered by Mr. Crittenden, which declared that the war was not waged for +oppression or subjugation, or to interfere with the rights or +institutions of States, "but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the +Constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, +and rights of the several States unimpaired." The special session +adjourned on August 6, having in a single month completed and enacted a +thorough and comprehensive system of war legislation. + +The military events that were transpiring in the meanwhile doubtless had +their effect in hastening the decision and shortening the labors of +Congress. To command the thirteen regiments of militia furnished by the +State of Ohio, Governor Dennison had given a commission of major-general +to George B. McClellan, who had been educated at West Point and served +with distinction in the Mexican War, and who, through unusual +opportunities in travel and special duties in surveys and exploration, +had gained acquirements and qualifications that appeared to fit him for +a brilliant career. Being but thirty-five years old, and having reached +only the grade of captain, he had resigned from the army, and was at the +moment serving as president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. +General Scott warmly welcomed his appointment to lead the Ohio +contingent, and so industriously facilitated his promotion that by the +beginning of June McClellan's militia commission as major-general had +been changed to a commission for the same grade in the regular army, and +he found himself assigned to the command of a military department +extending from Western Virginia to Missouri. Though this was a leap in +military title, rank, and power which excels the inventions of romance, +it was necessitated by the sudden exigencies of army expansion over the +vast territory bordering the insurrection, and for a while seemed +justified by the hopeful promise indicated in the young officer's zeal +and activity. + +His instructions made it a part of his duty to encourage and support the +Unionists of Western Virginia in their political movement to divide the +State and erect a Union commonwealth out of that portion of it lying +northwest of the Alleghanies. General Lee, not fully informed of the +adverse popular sentiment, sent a few Confederate regiments into that +region to gather recruits and hold the important mountain passes. +McClellan, in turn, advanced a detachment eastward from Wheeling, to +protect the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; and at the beginning of June, +an expedition of two regiments, led by Colonel Kelly, made a spirited +dash upon Philippi, where, by a complete surprise, he routed and +scattered Porterfield's recruiting detachment of one thousand +Confederates. Following up this initial success, McClellan threw +additional forces across the Ohio, and about a month later had the good +fortune, on July 11, by a flank movement under Rosecrans, to drive a +regiment of the enemy out of strong intrenchments on Rich Mountain, +force the surrender of the retreating garrison on the following day, +July 12, and to win a third success on the thirteenth over another +flying detachment at Carrick's Ford, one of the crossings of the Cheat +River, where the Confederate General Garnett was killed in a +skirmish-fire between sharp-shooters. + +These incidents, happening on three successive days, and in distance +forty miles apart, made a handsome showing for the young department +commander when gathered into the single, short telegram in which he +reported to Washington that Garnett was killed, his force routed, at +least two hundred of the enemy killed, and seven guns and one thousand +prisoners taken. "Our success is complete, and secession is killed in +this country," concluded the despatch. The result, indeed, largely +overshadowed in importance the means which accomplished it. The Union +loss was only thirteen killed and forty wounded. In subsequent effect, +these two comparatively insignificant skirmishes permanently recovered +the State of West Virginia to the Union. The main credit was, of course, +due to the steadfast loyalty of the people of that region. + +This victory afforded welcome relief to the strained and impatient +public opinion of the Northern States, and sharpened the eager +expectation of the authorities at Washington of similar results from +the projected Virginia campaign. The organization and command of that +column were intrusted to Brigadier-General McDowell, advanced to this +grade from his previous rank of major. He was forty-two years old, an +accomplished West Point graduate, and had won distinction in the Mexican +War, though since that time he had been mainly engaged in staff duty. On +the morning of July 16, he began his advance from the fortifications of +Washington, with a marching column of about twenty-eight thousand men +and a total of forty-nine guns, an additional division of about six +thousand being left behind to guard his communications. Owing to the +rawness of his troops, the first few days' march was necessarily +cautious and cumbersome. + +The enemy, under Beauregard, had collected about twenty-three thousand +men and thirty-five guns, and was posted behind Bull Run. A preliminary +engagement occurred on Thursday, July 18, at Blackburn's Ford on that +stream, which served to develop the enemy's strong position, but only +delayed the advance until the whole of McDowell's force reached +Centreville Here McDowell halted, spent Friday and Saturday in +reconnoitering, and on Sunday, July 21, began the battle by a circuitous +march across Bull Run and attacking the enemy's left flank. + +It proved that the plan was correctly chosen, but, by a confusion in the +march, the attack, intended for day-break, was delayed until nine +o'clock. Nevertheless, the first half of the battle, during the +forenoon, was entirely successful, the Union lines steadily driving the +enemy southward, and enabling additional Union brigades to join the +attacking column by a direct march from Centreville. + +At noon, however, the attack came to a halt, partly through the fatigue +of the troops, partly because the advancing line, having swept the field +for nearly a mile, found itself in a valley, from which further progress +had to be made with all the advantage of the ground in favor of the +enemy. In the lull of the conflict which for a while ensued, the +Confederate commander, with little hope except to mitigate a defeat, +hurriedly concentrated his remaining artillery and supporting regiments +into a semicircular line of defense at the top of the hill that the +Federals would be obliged to mount, and kept them well concealed among +the young pines at the edge of the timber, with an open field in their +front. + +Against this second position of the enemy, comprising twelve regiments, +twenty-two guns, and two companies of cavalry, McDowell advanced in the +afternoon with an attacking force of fourteen regiments, twenty-four +guns, and a single battalion of cavalry, but with all the advantages of +position against him. A fluctuating and intermitting attack resulted. +The nature of the ground rendered a combined advance impossible. The +Union brigades were sent forward and repulsed by piecemeal. A battery +was lost by mistaking a Confederate for a Union regiment. Even now the +victory seemed to vibrate, when a new flank attack by seven rebel +regiments, from an entirely unexpected direction, suddenly impressed the +Union troops with the belief that Johnston's army from Harper's Ferry +had reached the battle-field; and, demoralized by this belief, the Union +commands, by a common impulse, gave up the fight as lost, and half +marched, half ran from the field. Before reaching Centreville, the +retreat at one point degenerated into a downright panic among army +teamsters and a considerable crowd of miscellaneous camp-followers; and +here a charge or two by the Confederate cavalry companies captured +thirteen Union guns and quite a harvest of army wagons. + +When the truth came to be known, it was found that through the want of +skill and courage on the part of General Patterson in his operations at +Harper's Ferry, General Johnston, with his whole Confederate army, had +been allowed to slip away; and so far from coming suddenly into the +battle of Bull Run, the bulk of them were already in Beauregard's camps +on Saturday, and performed the heaviest part of the fighting in Sunday's +conflict. + +The sudden cessation of the battle left the Confederates in doubt +whether their victory was final, or only a prelude to a fresh Union +attack. But as the Union forces not only retreated from the field, but +also from Centreville, it took on, in their eyes, the proportions of a +great triumph; confirming their expectation of achieving ultimate +independence, and, in fact, giving them a standing in the eyes of +foreign nations which they had hardly dared hope for so soon. In numbers +of killed and wounded, the two armies suffered about equally; and +General Johnston writes: "The Confederate army was more disorganized by +victory than that of the United States by defeat." Manassas was turned +into a fortified camp, but the rebel leaders felt themselves unable to +make an aggressive movement during the whole of the following autumn and +winter. + +The shock of the defeat was deep and painful to the administration and +the people of the North. Up to late Sunday afternoon favorable reports +had come to Washington from the battle-field, and every one believed in +an assured victory. When a telegram came about five o'clock in the +afternoon, that the day was lost, and McDowell's army in full retreat +through Centreville, General Scott refused to credit the news, so +contradictory of everything which had been heard up to that hour. But +the intelligence was quickly confirmed. The impulse of retreat once +started, McDowell's effort to arrest it at Centreville proved useless. +The regiments and brigades not completely disorganized made an +unmolested and comparatively orderly march back to the fortifications of +Washington, while on the following day a horde of stragglers found their +way across the bridges of the Potomac into the city. + +President Lincoln received the news quietly and without any visible sign +of perturbation or excitement; but he remained awake and in the +executive office all of Sunday night, listening to the personal +narratives of a number of congressmen and senators who had, with undue +curiosity, followed the army and witnessed some of the sounds and sights +of the battle. By the dawn of Monday morning the President had +substantially made up his judgment of the battle and its probable +results, and the action dictated by the untoward event. This was, in +brief, that the militia regiments enlisted under the three months' call +should be mustered out as soon as practicable; the organization of the +new three years' forces be pushed forward both east and west; Manassas +and Harper's Ferry and the intermediate lines of communication be seized +and held; and a joint movement organized from Cincinnati on East +Tennessee, and from Cairo on Memphis. + +Meanwhile, General McClellan was ordered from West Virginia to +Washington, where he arrived on July 26, and assumed command of the +Division of the Potomac, comprising the troops in and around Washington +on both sides of the river. He quickly cleared the city of stragglers, +and displayed a gratifying activity in beginning the organization of the +Army of the Potomac from the new three years' volunteers that were +pouring into Washington by every train. He was received by the +administration and the army with the warmest friendliness and +confidence, and for awhile seemed to reciprocate these feelings with +zeal and gratitude. + + + + +XVII + +General Scott's Plans--Criticized as the "Anaconda"--The Three Fields of +Conflict--Fremont Appointed Major-General--His Military Failures--Battle +of Wilson's Creek--Hunter Ordered to Fremont--Fremont's +Proclamation--President Revokes Fremont's Proclamation--Lincoln's Letter +to Browning--Surrender of Lexington--Fremont Takes the Field--Cameron's +Visit to Fremont--Fremont's Removal + + +The military genius and experience of General Scott, from the first, +pretty correctly divined the grand outline of military operations which +would become necessary in reducing the revolted Southern States to +renewed allegiance. Long before the battle of Bull Run was planned, he +urged that the first seventy-five regiments of three months' militia +could not be relied on for extensive campaigns, because their term of +service would expire before they could be well organized. His outline +suggestion, therefore, was that the new three years' volunteer army be +placed in ten or fifteen healthy camps and given at least four months of +drill and tactical instruction; and when the navy had, by a rigid +blockade, closed all the harbors along the seaboard of the Southern +States, the fully prepared army should, by invincible columns, move down +the Mississippi River to New Orleans, leaving a strong cordon of +military posts behind it to keep open the stream, join hands with the +blockade, and thus envelop the principal area of rebellion in a +powerful military grasp which would paralyze and effectually kill the +insurrection. Even while suggesting this plan, however, the general +admitted that the great obstacle to its adoption would be the impatience +of the patriotic and loyal Union people and leaders, who would refuse to +wait the necessary length of time. + +The general was correct in his apprehension. The newspapers criticized +his plan in caustic editorials and ridiculous cartoons as "Scott's +Anaconda," and public opinion rejected it in an overwhelming demand for +a prompt and energetic advance. Scott was correct in military theory, +while the people and the administration were right in practice, under +existing political conditions. Although Bull Run seemed to justify the +general, West Virginia and Missouri vindicated the President and the +people. + +It can now be seen that still a third element--geography--intervened to +give shape and sequence to the main outlines of the Civil War. When, at +the beginning of May, General Scott gave his advice, the seat of +government of the first seven Confederate States was still at +Montgomery, Alabama. By the adhesion of the four interior border States +to the insurrection, and the removal of the archives and administration +of Jefferson Davis to Richmond, Virginia, toward the end of June, as the +capital of the now eleven Confederate States, Washington necessarily +became the center of Union attack, and Richmond the center of +Confederate defense. From the day when McDowell began his march to Bull +Run, to that when Lee evacuated Richmond in his final hopeless flight, +the route between these two opposing capitals remained the principal and +dominating line of military operations, and the region between +Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River on the east, and the chain of the +Alleghanies on the west, the primary field of strategy. + +According to geographical features, the second great field of strategy +lay between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi River, and the +third between the Mississippi River, the Rocky Mountains, and the Rio +Grande. Except in Western Virginia, the attitude of neutrality assumed +by Kentucky for a considerable time delayed the definition of the +military frontier and the beginning of active hostilities in the second +field, thus giving greater momentary importance to conditions existing +and events transpiring in Missouri, with the city of St. Louis as the +principal center of the third great military field. + +The same necessity which dictated the promotion of General McClellan at +one bound from captain to major-general compelled a similar phenomenal +promotion, not alone of officers of the regular army, but also of +eminent civilians to high command and military responsibility in the +immense volunteer force authorized by Congress. Events, rather than +original purpose, had brought McClellan into prominence and ranking +duty; but now, by design, the President gave John C. Fremont a +commission of major-general, and placed him in command of the third +great military field, with headquarters at St. Louis, with the leading +idea that he should organize the military strength of the Northwest, +first, to hold Missouri to the Union, and, second, by a carefully +prepared military expedition open the Mississippi River. By so doing, he +would sever the Confederate States, reclaim or conquer the region lying +west of the great stream, and thus reduce by more than one half the +territorial area of the insurrection. Though he had been an army +lieutenant, he had no experience in active war; yet the talent and +energy he had displayed in Western military exploration, and the +political prominence he had reached as candidate of the Republican party +for President in 1856, seemed to fit him preeminently for such a duty. + +While most of the volunteers from New England and the Middle States were +concentrated at Washington and dependent points, the bulk of the Western +regiments was, for the time being, put under the command of Fremont for +present and prospective duty. But the high hopes which the +administration placed in the general were not realized. The genius which +could lead a few dozen or a few hundred Indian scouts and mountain +trappers over desert plains and through the fastnesses of the Sierra +Nevada, that could defy savage hostilities and outlive starvation amid +imprisoning snows, failed signally before the task of animating and +combining the patriotic enthusiasm of eight or ten great northwestern +States, and organizing and leading an army of one hundred thousand eager +volunteers in a comprehensive and decisive campaign to recover a great +national highway. From the first, Fremont failed in promptness, in +foresight, in intelligent supervision and, above all, in inspiring +confidence and attracting assistance and devotion. His military +administration created serious extravagance and confusion, and his +personal intercourse excited the distrust and resentment of the +governors and civilian officials, whose counsel and cooeperation were +essential to his usefulness and success. + +While his resources were limited, and while he fortified St. Louis and +reinforced Cairo, a yet more important point needed his attention and +help. Lyon, who had followed Governor Jackson and General Price in their +flight from Boonville to Springfield in southern Missouri, found his +forces diminished beyond his expectation by the expiration of the term +of service of his three months' regiments, and began to be threatened by +a northward concentration of Confederate detachments from the Arkansas +line and the Indian Territory. The neglect of his appeals for help +placed him in the situation where he could neither safely remain +inactive, nor safely retreat. He therefore took the chances of +scattering the enemy before him by a sudden, daring attack with his five +thousand effectives, against nearly treble numbers, in the battle of +Wilson's Creek, at daylight on August 10. The casualties on the two +sides were nearly equal, and the enemy was checked and crippled; but the +Union army sustained a fatal loss in the death of General Lyon, who was +instantly killed while leading a desperate bayonet charge. His skill and +activity had, so far, been the strength of the Union cause in Missouri. +The absence of his counsel and personal example rendered a retreat to +the railroad terminus at Rolla necessary. This discouraging event turned +public criticism sharply upon Fremont. Loath to yield to mere public +clamor, and averse to hasty changes in military command, Mr. Lincoln +sought to improve the situation by sending General David Hunter to take +a place on Fremont's staff. + +"General Fremont needs assistance," said his note to Hunter, "which it +is difficult to give him. He is losing the confidence of men near him, +whose support any man in his position must have to be successful. His +cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows nobody to see +him; and by which he does not know what is going on in the very matter +he is dealing with. He needs to have by his side a man of large +experience. Will you not, for me, take that place? Your rank is one +grade too high to be ordered to it; but will you not serve the country +and oblige me by taking it voluntarily?" + +This note indicates, better than pages of description, the kind, +helpful, and forbearing spirit with which the President, through the +long four years' war, treated his military commanders and subordinates; +and which, in several instances, met such ungenerous return. But even +while Mr. Lincoln was attempting to smooth this difficulty, Fremont had +already burdened him with two additional embarrassments. One was a +perplexing personal quarrel the general had begun with the influential +Blair family, represented by Colonel Frank Blair, the indefatigable +Unionist leader in Missouri, and Montgomery Blair, the +postmaster-general in Lincoln's cabinet, who had hitherto been Fremont's +most influential friends and supporters; and, in addition, the father of +these, Francis P. Blair, Sr., a veteran politician whose influence dated +from Jackson's administration, and through whose assistance Fremont had +been nominated as presidential candidate in 1856. + +The other embarrassment was of a more serious and far-reaching nature. +Conscious that he was losing the esteem and confidence of both civil and +military leaders in the West, Fremont's adventurous fancy caught at the +idea of rehabilitating himself before the public by a bold political +manoeuver. Day by day the relation of slavery to the Civil War was +becoming a more troublesome question, and exciting impatient and angry +discussion. Without previous consultation with the President or any of +his advisers or friends, Fremont, on August 30, wrote and printed, as +commander of the Department of the West, a proclamation establishing +martial law throughout the State of Missouri, and announcing that: + +"All persons who shall be taken with arms in their hands within these +lines shall be tried by court-martial, and if found guilty will be shot. +The property, real and personal, of all persons in the State of +Missouri who shall take up arms against the United States, or who shall +be directly proven to have taken an active part with their enemies in +the field, is declared to be confiscated to the public use; and their +slaves, if any they have, are hereby declared freemen." + +The reason given in the proclamation for this drastic and dictatorial +measure was to suppress disorder, maintain the public peace, and protect +persons and property of loyal citizens--all simple police duties. For +issuing his proclamation without consultation with the President, he +could offer only the flimsy excuse that it involved two days of time to +communicate with Washington, while he well knew that no battle was +pending and no invasion in progress. This reckless misuse of power +President Lincoln also corrected with his dispassionate prudence and +habitual courtesy. He immediately wrote to the general: + +"MY DEAR SIR: Two points in your proclamation of August 30 give me some +anxiety: + +"_First_. Should you shoot a man, according to the proclamation, the +Confederates would very certainly shoot our best men in their hands, in +retaliation; and so, man for man, indefinitely. It is, therefore, my +order that you allow no man to be shot under the proclamation, without +first having my approbation or consent. + +"_Second_. I think there is great danger that the closing paragraph, in +relation to the confiscation of property and the liberating slaves of +traitorous owners, will alarm our Southern Union friends and turn them +against us; perhaps ruin our rather fair prospect for Kentucky. Allow +me, therefore, to ask that you will, as of your own motion, modify that +paragraph so as to conform to the first and fourth sections of the act +of Congress entitled, 'An act to confiscate property used for +insurrectionary purposes,' approved August 6, 1861, and a copy of which +act I herewith send you. + +"This letter is written in a spirit of caution, and not of censure. I +send it by a special messenger, in order that it may certainly and +speedily reach you." + +But the headstrong general was too blind and selfish to accept this mild +redress of a fault that would have justified instant displacement from +command. He preferred that the President should openly direct him to +make the correction. Admitting that he decided in one night upon the +measure, he added: "If I were to retract it of my own accord, it would +imply that I myself thought it wrong, and that I had acted without the +reflection which the gravity of the point demanded." The inference is +plain that Fremont was unwilling to lose the influence of his hasty step +upon public opinion. But by this course he deliberately placed himself +in an attitude of political hostility to the administration. + +The incident produced something of the agitation which the general had +evidently counted upon. Radical antislavery men throughout the free +States applauded his act and condemned the President, and military +emancipation at once became a subject of excited discussion. Even strong +conservatives were carried away by the feeling that rebels would be but +properly punished by the loss of their slaves. To Senator Browning, the +President's intimate personal friend, who entertained this feeling, Mr. +Lincoln wrote a searching analysis of Fremont's proclamation and its +dangers: + +"Yours of the seventeenth is just received; and, coming from you, I +confess it astonishes me. That you should object to my adhering to a law +which you had assisted in making and presenting to me, less than a month +before, is odd enough. But this is a very small part. General Fremont's +proclamation as to confiscation of property and the liberation of slaves +is purely political, and not within the range of military law or +necessity. If a commanding general finds a necessity to seize the farm +of a private owner, for a pasture, an encampment, or a fortification, he +has the right to do so, and to so hold it as long as the necessity +lasts; and this is within military law, because within military +necessity. But to say the farm shall no longer belong to the owner or +his heirs forever, and this as well when the farm is not needed for +military purposes as when it is, is purely political, without the savor +of military law about it. And the same is true of slaves. If the general +needs them he can seize them and use them, but when the need is past, it +is not for him to fix their permanent future condition. That must be +settled according to laws made by law-makers, and not by military +proclamations. The proclamation in the point in question is simply +'dictatorship.' It assumes that the general may do anything he +pleases--confiscate the lands and free the slaves of loyal people, as +well as of disloyal ones. And going the whole figure, I have no doubt, +would be more popular, with some thoughtless people, than that which has +been done! But I cannot assume this reckless position, nor allow others +to assume it on my responsibility. + +"You speak of it as being the only means of saving the government. On +the contrary, it is itself the surrender of the government. Can it be +pretended that it is any longer the government of the United States--any +government of constitution and laws--wherein a general or a president +may make permanent rules of property by proclamation? I do not say +Congress might not, with propriety, pass a law on the point, just such +as General Fremont proclaimed. I do not say I might not, as a member of +Congress, vote for it. What I object to is, that I, as President, shall +expressly or impliedly seize and exercize the permanent legislative +functions of the government. + +"So much as to principle. Now as to policy. No doubt the thing was +popular in some quarters, and would have been more so if it had been a +general declaration of emancipation. The Kentucky legislature would not +budge till that proclamation was modified; and General Anderson +telegraphed me that on the news of General Fremont having actually +issued deeds of manumission, a whole company of our volunteers threw +down their arms and disbanded. I was so assured as to think it probable +that the very arms we had furnished Kentucky would be turned against us. +I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. +Kentucky gone, we cannot hold Missouri, nor, as I think, Maryland. These +all against us, and the job on our hands is too large for us. We would +as well consent to separation at once, including the surrender of this +capital." + +If it be objected that the President himself decreed military +emancipation a year later, then it must be remembered that Fremont's +proclamation differed in many essential particulars from the President's +edict of January 1, 1863. By that time, also, the entirely changed +conditions justified a complete change of policy; but, above all, the +supreme reason of military necessity, upon which alone Mr. Lincoln based +the constitutionality of his edict of freedom, was entirely wanting in +the case of Fremont. + +The harvest of popularity which Fremont evidently hoped to secure by his +proclamation was soon blighted by a new military disaster. The +Confederate forces which had been united in the battle of Wilson's Creek +quickly became disorganized through the disagreement of their leaders +and the want of provisions and other military supplies, and mainly +returned to Arkansas and the Indian Territory, whence they had come. But +General Price, with his Missouri contingent, gradually increased his +followers, and as the Union retreat from Springfield to Rolla left the +way open, began a northward march through the western part of the State +to attack Colonel Mulligan, who, with about twenty-eight hundred Federal +troops, intrenched himself at Lexington on the Missouri River. Secession +sympathy was strong along the line of his march, and Price gained +adherents so rapidly that on September 18 he was able to invest +Mulligan's position with a somewhat irregular army numbering about +twenty thousand. After a two days' siege, the garrison was compelled to +surrender, through the exhaustion of the supply of water in their +cisterns. The victory won, Price again immediately retreated southward, +losing his army almost as fast as he had collected it, made up, as it +was, more in the spirit and quality of a sudden border foray than an +organized campaign. + +For this new loss, Fremont was subjected to a shower of fierce +criticism, which this time he sought to disarm by ostentatious +announcements of immediate activity. "I am taking the field myself," he +telegraphed, "and hope to destroy the enemy either before or after the +junction of forces under McCulloch." Four days after the surrender, the +St. Louis newspapers printed his order organizing an army of five +divisions. The document made a respectable show of force on paper, +claiming an aggregate of nearly thirty-nine thousand. In reality, +however, being scattered and totally unprepared for the field, it +possessed no such effective strength. For a month longer extravagant +newspaper reports stimulated the public with the hope of substantial +results from Fremont's intended campaign. Before the end of that time, +however, President Lincoln, under growing apprehension, sent Secretary +of War Cameron and the adjutant-general of the army to Missouri to make +a personal investigation. Reaching Fremont's camp on October 13, they +found the movement to be a mere forced, spasmodic display, without +substantial strength, transportation, or coherent and feasible plan; and +that at least two of the division commanders were without means to +execute the orders they had received, and utterly without confidence in +their leader, or knowledge of his intentions. + +To give Fremont yet another chance, the Secretary of War withheld the +President's order to relieve the general from command, which he had +brought with him, on Fremont's insistence that a victory was really +within his reach. When this hope also proved delusive, and suspicion was +aroused that the general might be intending not only to deceive, but to +defy the administration, President Lincoln sent the following letter by +a special friend to General Curtis, commanding at St. Louis: + +"DEAR SIR: On receipt of this, with the accompanying inclosures, you +will take safe, certain, and suitable measures to have the inclosure +addressed to Major-General Fremont delivered to him with all reasonable +dispatch, subject to these conditions only, that if, when General +Fremont shall be reached by the messenger--yourself, or any one sent by +you--he shall then have, in personal command, fought and won a battle, +or shall then be actually in a battle, or shall then be in the immediate +presence of the enemy in expectation of a battle, it is not to be +delivered, but held for further orders. After, and not till after, the +delivery to General Fremont, let the inclosure addressed to General +Hunter be delivered to him." + +The order of removal was delivered to Fremont on November 2. By that +date he had reached Springfield, but had won no victory, fought no +battle, and was not in the presence of the enemy. Two of his divisions +were not yet even with him. Still laboring under the delusion, perhaps +imposed on him by his scouts, his orders stated that the enemy was only +a day's march distant, and advancing to attack him. The inclosure +mentioned in the President's letter to Curtis was an order to General +David Hunter to relieve Fremont. When he arrived and assumed command the +scouts he sent forward found no enemy within reach, and no such +contingency of battle or hope of victory as had been rumored and +assumed. + +Fremont's personal conduct in these disagreeable circumstances was +entirely commendable. He took leave of the army in a short farewell +order, couched in terms of perfect obedience to authority and courtesy +to his successor, asking for him the same cordial support he had himself +received. Nor did he by word or act justify the suspicions of +insubordination for which some of his indiscreet adherents had given +cause. Under the instructions President Lincoln had outlined in his +order to Hunter, that general gave up the idea of indefinitely pursuing +Price, and divided the army into two corps of observation, which were +drawn back and posted, for the time being, at the two railroad termini +of Rolla and Sedalia, to be recruited and prepared for further service. + + + + +XVIII + +Blockade--Hatteras Inlet--Port Royal Captured--The Trent +Affair--Lincoln Suggests Arbitration--Seward's Despatch--McClellan at +Washington--Army of the Potomac--McClellan's Quarrel with +Scott--Retirement of Scott--Lincoln's Memorandum--"All Quiet on the +Potomac"--Conditions in Kentucky--Cameron's Visit to Sherman--East +Tennessee--Instructions to Buell--Buell's Neglect--Halleck in Missouri + + +Following the fall of Fort Sumter, the navy of the United States was in +no condition to enforce the blockade from Chesapeake Bay to the Rio +Grande declared by Lincoln's proclamation of April 19. Of the forty-two +vessels then in commission nearly all were on foreign stations. Another +serious cause of weakness was that within a few days after the Sumter +attack one hundred and twenty-four officers of the navy resigned, or +were dismissed for disloyalty, and the number of such was doubled before +the fourth of July. Yet by the strenuous efforts of the department in +fitting out ships that had been laid up, in completing those under +construction, and in extensive purchases and arming of all classes of +vessels that could be put to use, from screw and side-wheel merchant +steamers to ferry-boats and tugs, a legally effective blockade was +established within a period of six months. A considerable number of new +war-ships was also immediately placed under construction. The special +session of Congress created a commission to study the subject of +ironclads, and on its recommendation three experimental vessels of this +class were placed under contract. One of these, completed early in the +following year, rendered a momentous service, hereafter to be mentioned, +and completely revolutionized naval warfare. + +Meanwhile, as rapidly as vessels could be gathered and prepared, the +Navy Department organized effective expeditions to operate against +points on the Atlantic coast. On August 29 a small fleet, under command +of Flag Officer Stringham, took possession of Hatteras Inlet, after +silencing the forts the insurgents had erected to guard the entrance, +and captured twenty-five guns and seven hundred prisoners. This success, +achieved without the loss of a man to the Union fleet, was of great +importance, opening, as it did, the way for a succession of victories in +the interior waters of North Carolina early in the following year. + +A more formidable expedition, and still greater success soon followed. +Early in November, Captain Du-Pont assembled a fleet of fifty sail, +including transports, before Port Royal Sound. Forming a column of nine +war-ships with a total of one hundred and twelve guns, the line steamed +by the mid-channel between Fort Beauregard to the right, and Fort Walker +to the left, the first of twenty and the second of twenty-three guns, +each ship delivering its fire as it passed the forts. Turning at the +proper point, they again gave broadside after broadside while steaming +out, and so repeated their circular movement. The battle was decided +when, on the third round, the forts failed to respond to the fire of the +ships. When Commander Rodgers carried and planted the Stars and Stripes +on the ramparts, he found them utterly deserted, everything having been +abandoned by the flying garrisons. Further reconnaissance proved that +the panic extended itself over the whole network of sea islands between +Charleston and Savannah, permitting the immediate occupation of the +entire region, and affording a military base for both the navy and the +army of incalculable advantage in the further reduction of the coast. + +Another naval exploit, however, almost at the same time, absorbed +greater public attention, and for a while created an intense degree of +excitement and suspense. Ex-Senators J.M. Mason and John Slidell, having +been accredited by the Confederate government as envoys to European +courts, had managed to elude the blockade and reach Havana. Captain +Charles Wilkes, commanding the _San Jacinto_, learning that they were to +take passage for England on the British mail steamer _Trent_, +intercepted that vessel on November 8 near the coast of Cuba, took the +rebel emissaries prisoner by the usual show of force, and brought them +to the United States, but allowed the _Trent_ to proceed on her voyage. +The incident and alleged insult produced as great excitement in England +as in the United States, and the British government began instant and +significant preparations for war for what it hastily assumed to be a +violation of international law and an outrage on the British flag. +Instructions were sent to Lord Lyons, the British minister at +Washington, to demand the release of the prisoners and a suitable +apology; and, if this demand were not complied with within a single +week, to close his legation and return to England. + +In the Northern States the capture was greeted with great jubilation. +Captain Wilkes was applauded by the press; his act was officially +approved by the Secretary of the Navy, and the House of Representatives +unanimously passed a resolution thanking him for his "brave, adroit, and +patriotic conduct." While the President and cabinet shared the first +impulses of rejoicing, second thoughts impressed them with the grave +nature of the international question involved, and the serious dilemma +of disavowal or war precipitated by the imperative British demand. It +was fortunate that Secretary Seward and Lord Lyons were close personal +friends, and still more that though British public opinion had strongly +favored the rebellion, the Queen of England entertained the kindliest +feelings for the American government. Under her direction, Prince Albert +instructed the British cabinet to formulate and present the demand in +the most courteous diplomatic language, while, on their part, the +American President and cabinet discussed the affair in a temper of +judicious reserve. + +President Lincoln's first desire was to refer the difficulty to friendly +arbitration, and his mood is admirably expressed in the autograph +experimental draft of a despatch suggesting this course. + +"The President is unwilling to believe," he wrote, "that her Majesty's +government will press for a categorical answer upon what appears to him +to be only a partial record, in the making up of which he has been +allowed no part. He is reluctant to volunteer his view of the case, with +no assurance that her Majesty's government will consent to hear him; yet +this much he directs me to say, that this government has intended no +affront to the British flag, or to the British nation; nor has it +intended to force into discussion an embarrassing question; all which is +evident by the fact hereby asserted, that the act complained of was done +by the officer without orders from, or expectation of, the government. +But, being done, it was no longer left to us to consider whether we +might not, to avoid a controversy, waive an unimportant though a strict +right; because we, too, as well as Great Britain, have a people justly +jealous of their rights, and in whose presence our government could undo +the act complained of only upon a fair showing that it was wrong, or at +least very questionable. The United States government and people are +still willing to make reparation upon such showing. + +"Accordingly, I am instructed by the President to inquire whether her +Majesty's government will hear the United States upon the matter in +question. The President desires, among other things, to bring into view, +and have considered, the existing rebellion in the United States; the +position Great Britain has assumed, including her Majesty's proclamation +in relation thereto; the relation the persons whose seizure is the +subject of complaint bore to the United States, and the object of their +voyage at the time they were seized; the knowledge which the master of +the _Trent_ had of their relation to the United States, and of the +object of their voyage, at the time he received them on board for the +voyage; the place of the seizure; and the precedents and respective +positions assumed in analogous cases between Great Britain and the +United States. + +"Upon a submission containing the foregoing facts, with those set forth +in the before-mentioned despatch to your lordship, together with all +other facts which either party may deem material, I am instructed to say +the government of the United States will, if agreed to by her Majesty's +government, go to such friendly arbitration as is usual among nations, +and will abide the award." + +The most practised diplomatic pen in Europe could not have written a +more dignified, courteous, or succinct presentation of the case; and +yet, under the necessities of the moment, it was impossible to adopt +this procedure. Upon full discussion, it was decided that war with Great +Britain must be avoided, and Mr. Seward wrote a despatch defending the +course of Captain Wilkes up to the point where he permitted the _Trent_ +to proceed on her voyage. It was his further duty to have brought her +before a prize court. Failing in this, he had left the capture +incomplete under rules of international law, and the American government +had thereby lost the right and the legal evidence to establish the +contraband character of the vessel and the persons seized. Under the +circumstances, the prisoners were therefore willingly released. Excited +American feeling was grievously disappointed at the result; but American +good sense readily accommodated itself both to the correctness of the +law expounded by the Secretary of State, and to the public policy that +averted a great international danger; particularly as this decision +forced Great Britain to depart from her own and to adopt the American +traditions respecting this class of neutral rights. + +It has already been told how Captain George B. McClellan was suddenly +raised in rank, at the very outset of the war, first to a +major-generalship in the three months' militia, then to the command of +the military department of the Ohio; from that to a major-generalship in +the regular army; and after his successful campaign in West Virginia was +called to Washington and placed in command of the Division of the +Potomac, which comprised all the troops in and around Washington, on +both sides of the river. Called thus to the capital of the nation to +guard it against the results of the disastrous battle of Bull Run, and +to organize a new army for extended offensive operations, the +surrounding conditions naturally suggested to him that in all +likelihood he would play a conspicuous part in the great drama of the +Civil War. His ambition rose eagerly to the prospect. On the day on +which he assumed command, July 27, he wrote to his wife: + +"I find myself in a new and strange position here; President, cabinet, +General Scott, and all, deferring to me. By some strange operation of +magic I seem to have become the power of the land." + +And three days later: + +"They give me my way in everything, full swing and unbounded +confidence.... Who would have thought, when we were married, that I +should so soon be called upon to save my country?" + +And still a few days afterward: + +"I shall carry this thing _en grande_, and crush the rebels in one +campaign." + +From the giddy elevation to which such an imaginary achievement raised +his dreams, there was but one higher step, and his colossal egotism +immediately mounted to occupy it. On August 9, just two weeks after his +arrival in Washington, he wrote: + +"I would cheerfully take the dictatorship and agree to lay down my life +when the country is saved;" while in the same letter he adds, with the +most naive unconsciousness of his hallucination: "I am not spoiled by my +unexpected new position." + +Coming to the national capital in the hour of deepest public depression +over the Bull Run defeat, McClellan was welcomed by the President, the +cabinet, and General Scott with sincere friendship, by Congress with a +hopeful eagerness, by the people with enthusiasm, and by Washington +society with adulation. Externally he seemed to justify such a greeting. +He was young, handsome, accomplished, genial and winning in conversation +and manner. He at once manifested great industry and quick decision, +and speedily exhibited a degree of ability in army organization which +was not equaled by any officer during the Civil War. Under his eye the +stream of the new three years' regiments pouring into the city went to +their camps, fell into brigades and divisions, were supplied with +equipments, horses, and batteries, and underwent the routine of drill, +tactics, and reviews, which, without the least apparent noise or +friction, in three months made the Army of the Potomac a perfect +fighting machine of over one hundred and fifty thousand men and more +than two hundred guns. + +Recognizing his ability in this work, the government had indeed given +him its full confidence, and permitted him to exercise almost unbounded +authority; which he fully utilized in favoring his personal friends, and +drawing to himself the best resources of the whole country in arms, +supplies, and officers of education and experience. For a while his +outward demeanor indicated respect and gratitude for the promotion and +liberal favors bestowed upon him. But his phenomenal rise was fatal to +his usefulness. The dream that he was to be the sole savior of his +country, announced confidentially to his wife just two weeks after his +arrival in Washington, never again left him so long as he continued in +command. Coupled with this dazzling vision, however, was soon developed +the tormenting twofold hallucination: first, that everybody was +conspiring to thwart him; and, second, that the enemy had from double to +quadruple numbers to defeat him. + +For the first month he could not sleep for the nightmare that +Beauregard's demoralized army had by a sudden bound from Manassas seized +the city of Washington. He immediately began a quarrel with General +Scott, which, by the first of November, drove the old hero into +retirement and out of his pathway. The cabinet members who, wittingly or +unwittingly, had encouraged him in this he some weeks later stigmatized +as a set of geese. Seeing that President Lincoln was kind and unassuming +in discussing military questions, McClellan quickly contracted the habit +of expressing contempt for him in his confidential letters; and the +feeling rapidly grew until it reached a mark of open disrespect. The +same trait manifested itself in his making exclusive confidants of only +two or three of his subordinate generals, and ignoring the counsel of +all the others; and when, later on, Congress appointed a standing +committee of leading senators and representatives to examine into the +conduct of the war, he placed himself in a similar attitude respecting +their inquiry and advice. + +McClellan's activity and judgment as an army organizer naturally created +great hopes that he would be equally efficient as a commander in the +field. But these hopes were grievously disappointed. To his first great +defect of estimating himself as the sole savior of the country, must at +once be added the second, of his utter inability to form any reasonable +judgment of the strength of the enemy in his front. On September 8, when +the Confederate army at Manassas numbered forty-one thousand, he rated +it at one hundred and thirty thousand. By the end of October that +estimate had risen to one hundred and fifty thousand, to meet which he +asked that his own force should be raised to an aggregate of two hundred +and forty thousand, with a total of effectives of two hundred and eight +thousand, and four hundred and eighty-eight guns. He suggested that to +gather this force all other points should be left on the defensive; that +the Army of the Potomac held the fate of the country in its hands; that +the advance should not be postponed beyond November 25; and that a +single will should direct the plan of accomplishing a crushing defeat of +the rebel army at Manassas. + +On the first of November the President, yielding at last to General +Scott's urgent solicitation, issued the orders placing him on the +retired list, and in his stead appointing General McClellan to the +command of all the armies. The administration indulged the expectation +that at last "The Young Napoleon," as the newspapers often called him, +would take advantage of the fine autumn weather, and, by a bold move +with his single will and his immense force, outnumbering the enemy +nearly four to one, would redeem his promise to crush the army at +Manassas and "save the country." But the November days came and went, as +the October days had come and gone. McClellan and his brilliant staff +galloped unceasingly from camp to camp, and review followed review, +while autumn imperceptibly gave place to the cold and storms of winter; +and still there was no sign of forward movement. + +Under his own growing impatience, as well as that of the public, the +President, about the first of December, inquired pointedly, in a +memorandum suggesting a plan of campaign, how long it would require to +actually get in motion. McClellan answered: "By December 15,--probably +25"; and put aside the President's suggestion by explaining: "I have now +my mind actively turned toward another plan of campaign that I do not +think at all anticipated by the enemy, nor by many of our own people." + +December 25 came, as November 25 had come, and still there was no plan, +no preparation, no movement. Then McClellan fell seriously ill. By a +spontaneous and most natural impulse, the soldiers of the various camps +began the erection of huts to shelter them from snow and storm. In a few +weeks the Army of the Potomac was practically, if not by order, in +winter quarters; and day after day the monotonous telegraphic phrase +"All quiet on the Potomac" was read from Northern newspapers in Northern +homes, until by mere iteration it degenerated from an expression of deep +disappointment to a note of sarcastic criticism. + +While so unsatisfactory a condition of affairs existed in the first +great military field east of the Alleghanies, the outlook was quite as +unpromising both in the second--between the Alleghanies and the +Mississippi--and in the third--west of the Mississippi. When the +Confederates, about September 1, 1861, invaded Kentucky, they stationed +General Pillow at the strongly fortified town of Columbus on the +Mississippi River, with about six thousand men; General Buckner at +Bowling Green, on the railroad north of Nashville, with five thousand; +and General Zollicoffer, with six regiments, in eastern Kentucky, +fronting Cumberland Gap. Up to that time there were no Union troops in +Kentucky, except a few regiments of Home Guards. Now, however, the State +legislature called for active help; and General Anderson, exercising +nominal command from Cincinnati, sent Brigadier-General Sherman to +Nashville to confront Buckner, and Brigadier-General Thomas to Camp Dick +Robinson, to confront Zollicoffer. + +Neither side was as yet in a condition of force and preparation to take +the aggressive. When, a month later, Anderson, on account of ill health +turned over the command to Sherman, the latter had gathered only about +eighteen thousand men, and was greatly discouraged by the task of +defending three hundred miles of frontier with that small force. In an +interview with Secretary of War Cameron, who called upon him on his +return from Fremont's camp, about the middle of October, he strongly +urged that he needed for immediate defense sixty thousand, and for +ultimate offense "two hundred thousand before we were done." "Great +God!" exclaimed Cameron, "where are they to come from?" Both Sherman's +demand and Cameron's answer were a pertinent comment on McClellan's +policy of collecting the whole military strength of the country at +Washington to fight the one great battle for which he could never get +ready. + +Sherman was so distressed by the seeming magnitude of his burden that he +soon asked to be relieved; and when Brigadier-General Buell was sent to +succeed him in command of that part of Kentucky lying east of the +Cumberland River, it was the expectation of the President that he would +devote his main attention and energy to the accomplishment of a specific +object which Mr. Lincoln had very much at heart. + +Ever since the days in June, when President Lincoln had presided over +the council of war which discussed and decided upon the Bull Run +campaign, he had devoted every spare moment of his time to the study of +such military books and leading principles of the art of war as would +aid him in solving questions that must necessarily come to himself for +final decision. His acute perceptions, retentive memory, and unusual +power of logic enabled him to make rapid progress in the acquisition of +the fixed and accepted rules on which military writers agree. In this, +as in other sciences, the main difficulty, of course, lies in applying +fixed theories to variable conditions. When, however, we remember that +at the outbreak of hostilities all the great commanders of the Civil War +had experience only as captains and lieutenants, it is not strange that +in speculative military problems the President's mature reasoning powers +should have gained almost as rapidly by observation and criticism as +theirs by practice and experiment. The mastery he attained of the +difficult art, and how intuitively correct was his grasp of military +situations, has been attested since in the enthusiastic admiration of +brilliant technical students, amply fitted by training and intellect to +express an opinion, whose comment does not fall short of declaring Mr. +Lincoln "the ablest strategist of the war." + +The President had early discerned what must become the dominating and +decisive lines of advance in gaining and holding military control of the +Southern States. Only two days after the battle of Bull Run, he had +written a memorandum suggesting three principal objects for the army +when reorganized: First, to gather a force to menace Richmond; second, a +movement from Cincinnati upon Cumberland Gap and East Tennessee; third, +an expedition from Cairo against Memphis. In his eyes, the second of +these objectives never lost its importance; and it was in fact +substantially adopted by indirection and by necessity in the closing +periods of the war. The eastern third of the State of Tennessee remained +from the first stubbornly and devotedly loyal to the Union. At an +election on June 8, 1861, the people of twenty-nine counties, by more +than two to one, voted against joining the Confederacy; and the most +rigorous military repression by the orders of Jefferson Davis and +Governor Harris was necessary to prevent a general uprising against the +rebellion. + +The sympathy of the President, even more than that of the whole North, +went out warmly to these unfortunate Tennesseeans, and he desired to +convert their mountain fastnesses into an impregnable patriotic +stronghold. Had his advice been followed, it would have completely +severed railroad communication, by way of the Shenandoah valley, +Knoxville, and Chattanooga, between Virginia and the Gulf States, +accomplishing in the winter of 1861 what was not attained until two +years later. Mr. Lincoln urged this in a second memorandum, made late in +September; and seeing that the principal objection to it lay in the long +and difficult line of land transportation, his message to Congress of +December 3, 1861, recommended, as a military measure, the construction +of a railroad to connect Cincinnati, by way of Lexington, Kentucky, with +that mountain region. + +A few days after the message, he personally went to the President's room +in the Capitol building, and calling around him a number of leading +senators and representatives, and pointing out on a map before them the +East Tennessee region, said to them in substance: + +I am thoroughly convinced that the closing struggle of the war will +occur somewhere in this mountain country. By our superior numbers and +strength we will everywhere drive the rebel armies back from the level +districts lying along the coast, from those lying south of the Ohio +River, and from those lying east of the Mississippi River. Yielding to +our superior force, they will gradually retreat to the more defensible +mountain districts, and make their final stand in that part of the South +where the seven States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, +Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia come together. The +population there is overwhelmingly and devotedly loyal to the Union. The +despatches from Brigadier-General Thomas of October 28 and November 5 +show that, with four additional good regiments, he is willing to +undertake the campaign and is confident he can take immediate +possession. Once established, the people will rally to his support, and +by building a railroad, over which to forward him regular supplies and +needed reinforcements from time to time, we can hold it against all +attempts to dislodge us, and at the same time menace the enemy in any +one of the States I have named. + +While his hearers listened with interest, it was evident that their +minds were still full of the prospect of a great battle in Virginia, the +capture of Richmond, and an early suppression of the rebellion. Railroad +building appeared to them altogether too slow an operation of war. To +show how sagacious was the President's advice, we may anticipate by +recalling that in the following summer General Buell spent as much time, +money, and military strength in his attempted march from Corinth to East +Tennessee as would have amply sufficed to build the line from Lexington +to Knoxville recommended by Mr. Lincoln--the general's effort resulting +only in his being driven back to Louisville; that in 1863, Burnside, +under greater difficulties, made the march and successfully held +Knoxville, even without a railroad, which Thomas with a few regiments +could have accomplished in 1861; and that in the final collapse of the +rebellion, in the spring of 1865, the beaten armies of both Johnston and +Lee attempted to retreat for a last stand to this same mountain region +which Mr. Lincoln pointed out in December, 1861. + +Though the President received no encouragement from senators and +representatives in his plan to take possession of East Tennessee, that +object was specially enjoined in the instructions to General Buell when +he was sent to command in Kentucky. + +"It so happens that a large majority of the inhabitants of eastern +Tennessee are in favor of the Union; it therefore seems proper that you +should remain on the defensive on the line from Louisville to Nashville, +while you throw the mass of your forces by rapid marches by Cumberland +Gap or Walker's Gap on Knoxville, in order to occupy the railroad at +that point, and thus enable the loyal citizens of eastern Tennessee to +rise, while you at the same time cut off the railway communication +between eastern Virginia and the Mississippi." + +Three times within the same month McClellan repeated this injunction to +Buell with additional emphasis. Senator Andrew Johnson and +Representative Horace Maynard telegraphed him from Washington: + +"Our people are oppressed and pursued as beasts of the forest; the +government must come to their relief." + +Buell replied, keeping the word of promise to the ear, but, with his +ambition fixed on a different campaign, gradually but doggedly broke it +to the hope. When, a month later, he acknowledged that his preparations +and intent were to move against Nashville, the President wrote him: + +"Of the two, I would rather have a point on the railroad south of +Cumberland Gap than Nashville. _First_, because it cuts a great artery +of the enemy's communication which Nashville does not; and, _secondly_, +because it is in the midst of loyal people, who would rally around it, +while Nashville is not.... But my distress is that our friends in East +Tennessee are being hanged and driven to despair, and even now, I fear, +are thinking of taking rebel arms for the sake of personal protection. +In this we lose the most valuable stake we have in the South." + +McClellan's comment amounted to a severe censure, and this was quickly +followed by an almost positive command to "advance on eastern Tennessee +at once." Again Buell promised compliance, only, however, again to +report in a few weeks his conviction "that an advance into East +Tennessee is impracticable at this time on any scale which would be +sufficient." It is difficult to speculate upon the advantages lost by +this unwillingness of a commander to obey instructions. To say nothing +of the strategical value of East Tennessee to the Union, the fidelity of +its people is shown in the reports sent to the Confederate government +that "the whole country is now in a state of rebellion"; that "civil war +has broken out in East Tennessee"; and that "they look for the +reestablishment of the Federal authority in the South with as much +confidence as the Jews look for the coming of the Messiah." + +Henry W. Halleck, born in 1815, graduated from West Point in 1839, who, +after distinguished service in the Mexican war, had been brevetted +captain of Engineers, but soon afterward resigned from the army to +pursue the practice of law in San Francisco, was, perhaps, the best +professionally equipped officer among the number of those called by +General Scott in the summer of 1861 to assume important command in the +Union army. It is probable that Scott intended he should succeed himself +as general-in-chief; but when he reached Washington the autumn was +already late, and because of Fremont's conspicuous failure it seemed +necessary to send Halleck to the Department of the Missouri, which, as +reconstituted, was made to include, in addition to several northwestern +States, Missouri and Arkansas, and so much of Kentucky as lay west of +the Cumberland River. This change of department lines indicates the +beginning of what soon became a dominant feature of military operations; +namely, that instead of the vast regions lying west of the Mississippi, +the great river itself, and the country lying immediately adjacent to +it on either side, became the third principal field of strategy and +action, under the necessity of opening and holding it as a great +military and commercial highway. + +While the intention of the government to open the Mississippi River by a +powerful expedition received additional emphasis through Halleck's +appointment, that general found no immediate means adequate to the task +when he assumed command at St. Louis. Fremont's regime had left the +whole department in the most deplorable confusion. Halleck reported that +he had no army, but, rather, a military rabble to command and for some +weeks devoted himself with energy and success to bringing order out of +the chaos left him by his predecessor. A large element of his difficulty +lay in the fact that the population of the whole State was tainted with +disloyalty to a degree which rendered Missouri less a factor in the +larger questions of general army operations, than from the beginning to +the end of the war a local district of bitter and relentless factional +hatred and guerrilla or, as the term was constantly employed, +"bushwhacking" warfare, intensified and kept alive by annual roving +Confederate incursions from Arkansas and the Indian Territory in +desultory summer campaigns. + + + + +XIX + +Lincoln Directs Cooeperation--Halleck and Buell--Ulysses S. +Grant--Grant's Demonstration--Victory at Mill River--Fort Henry--Fort +Donelson--Buell's Tardiness--Halleck's Activity--Victory of Pea +Ridge--Halleck Receives General Command--Pittsburg Landing--Island No. +10--Halleck's Corinth Campaign--Halleck's Mistakes + + +Toward the end of December, 1861, the prospects of the administration +became very gloomy. McClellan had indeed organized a formidable army at +Washington, but it had done nothing to efface the memory of the Bull Run +defeat. On the contrary, a practical blockade of the Potomac by rebel +batteries on the Virginia shore, and another small but irritating defeat +at Ball's Bluff, greatly heightened public impatience. The necessary +surrender of Mason and Slidell to England was exceedingly unpalatable. +Government expenditures had risen to $2,000,000 a day, and a financial +crisis was imminent. Buell would not move into East Tennessee, and +Halleck seemed powerless in Missouri. Added to this, McClellan's illness +completed a stagnation of military affairs both east and west. Congress +was clamoring for results, and its joint Committee on the Conduct of the +War was pushing a searching inquiry into the causes of previous defeats. + +To remove this inertia, President Lincoln directed specific questions to +the Western commanders. "Are General Buell and yourself in concert?" he +telegraphed Halleck on December 31. And next day he wrote: + +"I am very anxious that, in case of General Buell's moving toward +Nashville, the enemy shall not be greatly reinforced, and I think there +is danger he will be from Columbus. It seems to me that a real or +feigned attack on Columbus from up-river at the same time would either +prevent this, or compensate for it by throwing Columbus into our hands." + +Similar questions also went to Buell, and their replies showed that no +concert, arrangement, or plans existed, and that Halleck was not ready +to cooeperate. The correspondence started by the President's inquiry for +the first time clearly brought out an estimate of the Confederate +strength opposed to a southward movement in the West. Since the +Confederate invasion of Kentucky on September 4, the rebels had so +strongly fortified Columbus on the Mississippi River that it came to be +called the "Gibraltar of the West," and now had a garrison of twenty +thousand to hold it; while General Buckner was supposed to have a force +of forty thousand at Bowling Green on the railroad between Louisville +and Nashville. For more than a month Buell and Halleck had been aware +that a joint river and land expedition southward up the Tennessee or the +Cumberland River, which would outflank both positions and cause their +evacuation, was practicable with but little opposition. Yet neither +Buell nor Halleck had exchanged a word about it, or made the slightest +preparation to begin it; each being busy in his own field, and with his +own plans. Even now, when the President had started the subject, Halleck +replied that it would be bad strategy for himself to move against +Columbus, or Buell against Bowling Green; but he had nothing to say +about a Tennessee River expedition, or cooeperation with Buell to effect +it, except by indirectly complaining that to withdraw troops from +Missouri would risk the loss of that State. + +The President, however, was no longer satisfied with indecision and +excuses, and telegraphed to Buell on January 7: + +"Please name as early a day as you safely can on or before which you can +be ready to move southward in concert with Major-General Halleck. Delay +is ruining us, and it is indispensable for me to have something +definite. I send a like despatch to Major-General Halleck." + +To this Buell made no direct reply, while Halleck answered that he had +asked Buell to designate a date for a demonstration, and explained two +days later: "I can make, with the gunboats and available troops, a +pretty formidable demonstration, but no real attack." In point of fact, +Halleck had on the previous day, January 6, written to Brigadier-General +U.S. Grant: "I wish you to make a demonstration in force": and he added +full details, to which Grant responded on January 8: "Your instructions +of the sixth were received this morning, and immediate preparations made +for carrying them out"; also adding details on his part. + +Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822, was graduated from West +Point in 1843, and brevetted captain for gallant conduct in the Mexican +War; but resigned from the army and was engaged with his father in a +leather store at Galena, Illinois, when the Civil War broke out. +Employed by the governor of Illinois a few weeks at Springfield to +assist in organizing militia regiments under the President's first call, +Grant wrote a letter to the War Department at Washington tendering his +services, and saying: "I feel myself competent to command a regiment, if +the President in his judgment should see fit to intrust one to me." For +some reason, never explained, this letter remained unanswered, though +the department was then and afterward in constant need of educated and +experienced officers. A few weeks later, however, Governor Yates +commissioned him colonel of one of the Illinois three years' regiments. +From that time until the end of 1861, Grant, by constant and specially +meritorious service, rose in rank to brigadier-general and to the +command of the important post of Cairo, Illinois, having meanwhile, on +November 7, won the battle of Belmont on the Missouri shore opposite +Columbus. + +The "demonstration'" ordered by Halleck was probably intended only as a +passing show of activity; but it was executed by Grant, though under +strict orders to "avoid a battle," with a degree of promptness and +earnestness that drew after it momentous consequences. He pushed a +strong reconnaissance by eight thousand men within a mile or two of +Columbus, and sent three gunboats up the Tennessee River, which drew the +fire of Fort Henry. The results of the combined expedition convinced +Grant that a real movement in that direction was practicable, and he +hastened to St. Louis to lay his plan personally before Halleck. At +first that general would scarcely listen to it; but, returning to Cairo, +Grant urged it again and again, and the rapidly changing military +conditions soon caused Halleck to realize its importance. + +Within a few days, several items of interesting information reached +Halleck: that General Thomas, in eastern Kentucky, had won a victory +over the rebel General Zollicoffer, capturing his fortified camp on +Cumberland River, annihilating his army of over ten regiments, and fully +exposing Cumberland Gap; that the Confederates were about to throw +strong reinforcements into Columbus; that seven formidable Union +ironclad river gunboats were ready for service; and that a rise of +fourteen feet had taken place in the Tennessee River, greatly weakening +the rebel batteries on that stream and the Cumberland. The advantages on +the one hand, and the dangers on the other, which these reports +indicated, moved Halleck to a sudden decision. When Grant, on January +28, telegraphed him: "With permission, I will take Fort Henry on the +Tennessee, and establish and hold a large camp there," Halleck responded +on the thirtieth: "Make your preparations to take and hold Fort Henry." + +It would appear that Grant's preparations were already quite complete +when he received written instructions by mail on February 1, for on the +next day he started fifteen thousand men on transports, and on February +4 himself followed with seven gunboats under command of Commodore Foote. +Two days later, Grant had the satisfaction of sending a double message +in return: "Fort Henry is ours.... I shall take and destroy Fort +Donelson on the eighth." + +Fort Henry had been an easy victory. The rebel commander, convinced that +he could not defend the place, had early that morning sent away his +garrison of three thousand on a retreat to Fort Donelson, and simply +held out during a two hours' bombardment until they could escape +capture. To take Fort Donelson was a more serious enterprise. That +stronghold, lying twelve miles away on the Cumberland River, was a much +larger work, with a garrison of six thousand, and armed with seventeen +heavy and forty-eight field guns. If Grant could have marched +immediately to an attack of the combined garrisons, there would have +been a chance of quick success. But the high water presented +unlooked-for obstacles, and nearly a week elapsed before his army began +stretching itself cautiously around the three miles of Donelson's +intrenchments. During this delay, the conditions became greatly changed. +When the Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston received news that +Fort Henry had fallen, he held a council at Bowling Green with his +subordinate generals Hardee and Beauregard, and seeing that the Union +success would, if not immediately counteracted, render both Nashville +and Columbus untenable, resolved, to use his own language, "To defend +Nashville at Donelson." + +An immediate retreat was begun from Bowling Green to Nashville, and +heavy reinforcements were ordered to the garrison of Fort Donelson. It +happened, therefore, that when Grant was ready to begin his assault the +Confederate garrison with its reinforcements outnumbered his entire +army. To increase the discouragement, the attack by gunboats on the +Cumberland River on the afternoon of February 14 was repulsed, seriously +damaging two of them, and a heavy sortie from the fort threw the right +of Grant's investing line into disorder. Fortunately, General Halleck at +St. Louis strained all his energies to send reinforcements, and these +arrived in time to restore Grant's advantage in numbers. + +Serious disagreement among the Confederate commanders also hastened the +fall of the place. On February 16, General Buckner, to whom the senior +officers had turned over the command, proposed an armistice, and the +appointment of commissioners to agree on terms of capitulation. To this +Grant responded with a characteristic spirit of determination: "No terms +except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose +to move immediately upon your works." Buckner complained that the terms +were ungenerous and unchivalric, but that necessity compelled him to +accept them; and Grant telegraphed Halleck on February 16: "We have +taken Fort Donelson, and from twelve to fifteen thousand prisoners." The +senior Confederate generals, Pillow and Floyd, and a portion of the +garrison had escaped by the Cumberland River during the preceding night. + +Since the fall of Fort Henry on February 6, a lively correspondence had +been going on, in which General Halleck besought Buell to come with his +available forces, assist in capturing Donelson, and command the column +up the Cumberland to cut off both Columbus and Nashville. President +Lincoln, scanning the news with intense solicitude, and losing no +opportunity to urge effective cooeperation, telegraphed Halleck: + +"You have Fort Donelson safe, unless Grant shall be overwhelmed from +outside: to prevent which latter will, I think, require all the +vigilance, energy, and skill of yourself and Buell, acting in full +cooeperation. Columbus will not get at Grant, but the force from Bowling +Green will. They hold the railroad from Bowling Green to within a few +miles of Fort Donelson, with the bridge at Clarksville undisturbed. It +is unsafe to rely that they will not dare to expose Nashville to Buell. +A small part of their force can retire slowly toward Nashville, breaking +up the railroad as they go, and keep Buell out of that city twenty days. +Meantime, Nashville will be abundantly defended by forces from all south +and perhaps from here at Manassas. Could not a cavalry force from +General Thomas on the upper Cumberland dash across, almost unresisted, +and cut the railroad at or near Knoxville, Tennessee? In the midst of a +bombardment at Fort Donelson, why could not a gunboat run up and destroy +the bridge at Clarksville? Our success or failure at Fort Donelson is +vastly important, and I beg you to put your soul in the effort. I send a +copy of this to Buell." + +This telegram abundantly shows with what minute understanding and +accurate judgment the President comprehended military conditions and +results in the West. Buell, however, was too intent upon his own +separate movement to seize the brilliant opportunity offered him. As he +only in a feeble advance followed up the retreating Confederate column +from Bowling Green to Nashville, Halleck naturally appropriated to +himself the merit of the campaign, and telegraphed to Washington on the +day after the surrender: + +"Make Buell, Grant, and Pope major-generals of volunteers, and give me +command in the West. I ask this in return for Forts Henry and Donelson." + +The eagerness of General Halleck for superior command in the West was, +to say the least, very pardonable. A vast horizon of possibilities was +opening up to his view. Two other campaigns under his direction were +exciting his liveliest hopes. Late in December he had collected an army +of ten thousand at the railroad terminus at Rolla, Missouri, under +command of Brigadier-General Curtis, for the purpose of scattering the +rebel forces under General Price at Springfield or driving them out of +the State. Despite the hard winter weather, Halleck urged on the +movement with almost peremptory orders, and Curtis executed the +intentions of his chief with such alacrity that Price was forced into a +rapid and damaging retreat from Springfield toward Arkansas. While +forcing this enterprise in the southwest, Halleck had also determined on +an important campaign in southeast Missouri. + +Next to Columbus, which the enemy evacuated on March 2, the strongest +Confederate fortifications on the Mississippi River were at Island No. +10, about forty miles farther to the south. To operate against these, he +planned an expedition under Brigadier-General Pope to capture the town +of New Madrid as a preliminary step. Columbus and Nashville were almost +sure to fall as the result of Donelson. If now he could bring his two +Missouri campaigns into a combination with two swift and strong +Tennessee expeditions, while the enemy was in scattered retreat, he +could look forward to the speedy capture of Memphis. But to the +realization of such a project, the hesitation and slowness of Buell were +a serious hindrance. That general had indeed started a division under +Nelson to Grant's assistance, but it was not yet in the Cumberland when +Donelson surrendered. Halleck's demand for enlarged power, therefore, +became almost imperative. He pleaded earnestly with Buell: + +"I have asked the President to make you a major-general. Come down to +the Cumberland and take command. The battle of the West is to be fought +in that vicinity.... There will be no battle at Nashville." His +telegrams to McClellan were more urgent. "Give it [the Western Division] +to me, and I will split secession in twain in one month." And again: "I +must have command of the armies in the West. Hesitation and delay are +losing us the golden opportunity. Lay this before the President and +Secretary of War. May I assume the command? Answer quickly." + +But McClellan was in no mood to sacrifice the ambition of his intimate +friend and favorite, General Buell, and induced the President to +withhold his consent; and while the generals were debating by telegraph, +Nelson's division of the army of Buell moved up the Cumberland and +occupied Nashville under the orders of Grant. Halleck, however, held +tenaciously to his views and requests, explaining to McClellan that he +himself proposed going to Tennessee: + +"That is now the great strategic line of the western campaign, and I am +surprised that General Buell should hesitate to reinforce me. He was too +late at Fort Donelson.... Believe me, General, you make a serious +mistake in having three independent commands in the West. There never +will and never can be any cooeperation at the critical moment; all +military history proves it." + +This insistence had greater point because of the news received that +Curtis, energetically following Price into Arkansas, had won a great +Union victory at Pea Ridge, between March 5 and 8, over the united +forces of Price and McCulloch, commanded by Van Dorn. At this juncture, +events at Washington, hereafter to be mentioned, caused a reorganization +of military commands and President Lincoln's Special War Order No. 3 +consolidated the western departments of Hunter, Halleck, and Buell, as +far east as Knoxville, Tennessee, under the title of the Department of +the Mississippi, and placed General Halleck in command of the whole. +Meanwhile, Halleck had ordered the victorious Union army at Fort +Donelson to move forward to Savannah on the Tennessee River under the +command of Grant; and, now that he had superior command, directed Buell +to march all of his forces not required to defend Nashville "as rapidly +as possible" to the same point. Halleck was still at St. Louis; and +through the indecision of his further orders, through the slowness of +Buell's march, and through the unexplained inattention of Grant, the +Union armies narrowly escaped a serious disaster, which, however, the +determined courage of the troops and subordinate officers turned into a +most important victory. + +The "golden opportunity" so earnestly pointed out by Halleck, while not +entirely lost, was nevertheless seriously diminished by the hesitation +and delay of the Union commanders to agree upon some plan of effective +cooeperation. When, at the fall of Fort Donelson the Confederates +retreated from Nashville toward Chattanooga, and from Columbus toward +Jackson, a swift advance by the Tennessee River could have kept them +separated; but as that open highway was not promptly followed in force, +the flying Confederate detachments found abundant leisure to form a +junction. + +Grant reached Savannah, on the east bank of the Tennessee River, about +the middle of March, and in a few days began massing troops at Pittsburg +Landing, six miles farther south, on the west bank of the Tennessee; +still keeping his headquarters at Savannah, to await the arrival of +Buell and his army. During the next two weeks he reported several times +that the enemy was concentrating at Corinth, Mississippi, an important +railroad crossing twenty miles from Pittsburg Landing, the estimate of +their number varying from forty to eighty thousand. All this time his +mind was so filled with an eager intention to begin a march upon +Corinth, and a confidence that he could win a victory by a prompt +attack, that he neglected the essential precaution of providing against +an attack by the enemy, which at the same time was occupying the +thoughts of the Confederate commander General Johnston. + +General Grant was therefore greatly surprised on the morning of April 6, +when he proceeded from Savannah to Pittsburg Landing, to learn the cause +of a fierce cannonade. He found that the Confederate army, forty +thousand strong, was making an unexpected and determined attack in force +on the Union camp, whose five divisions numbered a total of about +thirty-three thousand. The Union generals had made no provision against +such an attack. No intrenchments had been thrown up, no plan or +understanding arranged. A few preliminary picket skirmishes had, indeed, +put the Union front on the alert, but the commanders of brigades and +regiments were not prepared for the impetuous rush with which the three +successive Confederate lines began the main battle. On their part, the +enemy did not realize their hope of effecting a complete surprise, and +the nature of the ground was so characterized by a network of local +roads, alternating patches of woods and open fields, miry hollows and +abrupt ravines, that the lines of conflict were quickly broken into +short, disjointed movements that admitted of little or no combined or +systematic direction. The effort of the Union officers was necessarily +limited to a continuous resistance to the advance of the enemy, from +whatever direction it came; that of the Confederate leaders to the +general purpose of forcing the Union lines away from Pittsburg Landing +so that they might destroy the Federal transports and thus cut off all +means of retreat. In this effort, although during the whole of Sunday, +April 6, the Union front had been forced back a mile and a half, the +enemy had not entirely succeeded. About sunset, General Beauregard, who, +by the death of General Johnston during the afternoon, succeeded to the +Confederate command, gave orders to suspend the attack, in the firm +expectation however, that he would be able to complete his victory the +next morning. + +But in this hope he was disappointed. During the day the vanguard of +Buell's army had arrived on the opposite bank of the river. Before +nightfall one of his brigades was ferried across and deployed in front +of the exultant enemy. During the night and early Monday morning three +superb divisions of Buell's army, about twenty thousand fresh, +well-drilled troops, were advanced to the front under Buell's own +direction; and by three o'clock of that day the two wings of the Union +army were once more in possession of all the ground that had been lost +on the previous day, while the foiled and disorganized Confederates were +in full retreat upon Corinth. The severity of the battle may be judged +by the losses. In the Union army: killed, 1754; wounded, 8408; missing, +2885. In the Confederate army: killed, 1728; wounded, 8012; missing. +954. + +Having comprehended the uncertainty of Buell's successful junction with +Grant, Halleck must have received tidings of the final victory at +Pittsburg Landing with emotions of deep satisfaction. To this was now +joined the further gratifying news that the enemy on that same momentous +April 7 had surrendered Island No. 10, together with six or seven +thousand Confederate troops, including three general officers, to the +combined operations of General Pope and Flag-Officer Foote. Full +particulars of these two important victories did not reach Halleck for +several days. Following previous suggestions, Pope and Foote promptly +moved their gunboats and troops down the river to the next Confederate +stronghold, Fort Pillow, where extensive fortifications, aided by an +overflow of the adjacent river banks, indicated strong resistance and +considerable delay. When all the conditions became more fully known, +Halleck at length adopted the resolution, to which he had been strongly +leaning for some time, to take the field himself. About April 10 he +proceeded from St. Louis to Pittsburg Landing, and on the fifteenth +ordered Pope with his army to join him there, which the latter, having +his troops already on transports succeeded in accomplishing by April 22. +Halleck immediately effected a new organization, combining the armies +of the Tennessee, of the Ohio, and of the Mississippi into respectively +his right wing, center, and left wing. He assumed command of the whole +himself, and nominally made Grant second in command. Practically, +however, he left Grant so little authority or work that the latter felt +himself slighted, and asked leave to proceed to another field of duty. + +It required but a few weeks to demonstrate that however high were +Halleck's professional acquirements in other respects, he was totally +unfit for a commander in the field. Grant had undoubtedly been careless +in not providing against the enemy's attack at Pittsburg Landing. +Halleck, on the other extreme, was now doubly over-cautious in his march +upon Corinth. From first to last, his campaign resembled a siege. With +over one hundred thousand men under his hand, he moved at a snail's +pace, building roads and breastworks, and consuming more than a month in +advancing a distance of twenty miles; during which period Beauregard +managed to collect about fifty thousand effective Confederates and +construct defensive fortifications with equal industry around Corinth. +When, on May 29, Halleck was within assaulting distance of the rebel +intrenchments Beauregard had leisurely removed his sick and wounded, +destroyed or carried away his stores, and that night finally evacuated +the place, leaving Halleck to reap, practically, a barren victory. + +Nor were the general's plans and actions any more fruitful during the +following six weeks. He wasted the time and energy of his soldiers +multiplying useless fortifications about Corinth. He despatched Buell's +wing of the army on a march toward eastern Tennessee but under such +instructions and limitations that long before reaching its objective it +was met by a Confederate army under General Bragg, and forced into a +retrograde movement which carried it back to Louisville. More +deplorable, however, than either of these errors of judgment was +Halleck's neglect to seize the opportune moment when, by a vigorous +movement in cooeperation with the brilliant naval victories under +Flag-Officer Farragut, commanding a formidable fleet of Union war-ships, +he might have completed the over-shadowing military task of opening the +Mississippi River. + + + + +XX + +The Blockade--Hatteras Inlet--Roanoke Island--Fort Pulaski--Merrimac +and Monitor--The Cumberland Sunk--The Congress Burned--Battle of the +Ironclads--Flag-officer Farragut--Forts Jackson and St. Philip--New +Orleans Captured--Farragut at Vicksburg--Farragut's Second Expedition to +Vicksburg--Return to New Orleans + + +In addition to its heavy work of maintaining the Atlantic blockade, the +navy of the United States contributed signally toward the suppression of +the rebellion by three brilliant victories which it gained during the +first half of the year 1862. After careful preparation during several +months, a joint expedition under the command of General Ambrose E. +Burnside and Flag-Officer Goldsborough, consisting of more than twelve +thousand men and twenty ships of war, accompanied by numerous +transports, sailed from Fort Monroe on January 11, with the object of +occupying the interior waters of the North Carolina coast. Before the +larger vessels could effect their entrance through Hatteras Inlet, +captured in the previous August, a furious storm set in, which delayed +the expedition nearly a month. By February 7, however, that and other +serious difficulties were overcome, and on the following day the +expedition captured Roanoke Island, and thus completely opened the whole +interior water-system of Albemarle and Pamlico sounds to the easy +approach of the Union fleet and forces. + +From Roanoke Island as a base, minor expeditions within a short period +effected the destruction of the not very formidable fleet which the +enemy had been able to organize, and the reduction of Fort Macon and the +rebel defenses of Elizabeth City, New Berne, and other smaller places. +An eventual advance upon Goldsboro' formed part of the original plan; +but, before it could be executed, circumstances intervened effectually +to thwart that object. + +While the gradual occupation of the North Carolina coast was going on, +two other expeditions of a similar nature were making steady progress. +One of them, under the direction of General Quincy A. Gillmore, carried +on a remarkable siege operation against Fort Pulaski, standing on an +isolated sea marsh at the mouth of the Savannah River. Here not only the +difficulties of approach, but the apparently insurmountable obstacle of +making the soft, unctuous mud sustain heavy batteries, was overcome, and +the fort compelled to surrender on April 11, after an effective +bombardment. The second was an expedition of nineteen ships, which, +within a few days during the month of March, without serious resistance, +occupied the whole remaining Atlantic coast southward as far as St. +Augustine. + +When, at the outbreak of the rebellion, the navy-yard at Norfolk, +Virginia, had to be abandoned to the enemy, the destruction at that time +attempted by Commodore Paulding remained very incomplete. Among the +vessels set on fire, the screw-frigate _Merrimac_, which had been +scuttled, was burned only to the water's edge, leaving her hull and +machinery entirely uninjured. In due time she was raised by the +Confederates, covered with a sloping roof of railroad iron, provided +with a huge wedge-shaped prow of cast iron, and armed with a formidable +battery of ten guns. Secret information came to the Navy Department of +the progress of this work, and such a possibility was kept in mind by +the board of officers that decided upon the construction of the three +experimental ironclads in September, 1861. + +The particular one of these three especially intended for this peculiar +emergency was a ship of entirely novel design, made by the celebrated +inventor John Ericsson, a Swede by birth, but American by adoption--a +man who combined great original genius with long scientific study and +experience. His invention may be most quickly described as having a +small, very low hull, covered by a much longer and wider flat deck only +a foot or two above the water-line, upon which was placed a revolving +iron turret twenty feet in diameter, nine feet high, and eight inches +thick, on the inside of which were two eleven-inch guns trained side by +side and revolving with the turret. This unique naval structure was +promptly nicknamed "a cheese-box on a raft," and the designation was not +at all inapt. Naval experts at once recognized that her sea-going +qualities were bad; but compensation was thought to exist in the belief +that her iron turret would resist shot and shell, and that the thin edge +of her flat deck would offer only a minimum mark to an enemy's guns: in +other words, that she was no cruiser, but would prove a formidable +floating battery; and this belief she abundantly justified. + +The test of her fighting qualities was attended by what almost suggested +a miraculous coincidence. On Saturday, March 8, 1862, about noon, a +strange-looking craft resembling a huge turtle was seen coming into +Hampton Roads out of the mouth of Elizabeth River, and it quickly became +certain that this was the much talked of rebel ironclad _Merrimac_, or, +as the Confederates had renamed her, the _Virginia_. She steamed +rapidly toward Newport News, three miles to the southwest, where the +Union ships _Congress_ and _Cumberland_ lay at anchor. These saw the +uncouth monster coming and prepared for action. The _Minnesota_, the +_St. Lawrence_, and the _Roanoke_, lying at Fortress Monroe also saw her +and gave chase, but, the water being low, they all soon grounded. The +broadsides of the _Congress_, as the _Merrimac_ passed her at three +hundred yards' distance, seemed to produce absolutely no effect upon her +sloping iron roof. Neither did the broadsides of her intended prey, nor +the fire of the shore batteries, for even an instant arrest her speed +as, rushing on, she struck the _Cumberland_, and with her iron prow +broke a hole as large as a hogshead in her side. Then backing away and +hovering over her victim at convenient distance, she raked her decks +with shot and shell until, after three quarters of an hour's combat, the +_Cumberland_ and her heroic defenders, who had maintained the fight with +unyielding stubbornness, went to the bottom in fifty feet of water with +colors flying. + +Having sunk the _Cumberland_, the _Merrimac_ next turned her attention +to the _Congress_, which had meanwhile run into shoal water and grounded +where the rebel vessel could not follow. But the _Merrimac_, being +herself apparently proof against shot and shell by her iron plating, +took up a raking position two cables' length away, and during an hour's +firing deliberately reduced the _Congress_ to helplessness and to +surrender--her commander being killed and the vessel set on fire. The +approach, the manoeuvering, and the two successive combats consumed the +afternoon, and toward nightfall the _Merrimac_ and her three small +consorts that had taken little part in the action withdrew to the rebel +batteries on the Virginia shore: not alone because of the approaching +darkness and the fatigue of the crew, but because the rebel ship had +really suffered considerable damage in ramming the _Cumberland_, as well +as from one or two chance shots that entered her port-holes. + +That same night, while the burning _Congress_ yet lighted up the waters +of Hampton Roads, a little ship, as strange-looking and as new to marine +warfare as the rebel turtleback herself, arrived by sea in tow from New +York, and receiving orders to proceed at once to the scene of conflict, +stationed herself near the grounded _Minnesota_. This was Ericsson's +"cheese-box on a raft," named by him the _Monitor_. The Union officers +who had witnessed the day's events with dismay, and were filled with +gloomy forebodings for the morrow, while welcoming this providential +reinforcement, were by no means reassured. The _Monitor_ was only half +the size of her antagonist, and had only two guns to the other's ten. +But this very disparity proved an essential advantage. With only ten +feet draft to the _Merrimac's_ twenty-two, she not only possessed +superior mobility, but might run where the _Merrimac_ could not follow. +When, therefore, at eight o'clock on Sunday, March 9, the _Merrimac_ +again came into Hampton Roads to complete her victory, Lieutenant John +L. Worden, commanding the _Monitor_, steamed boldly out to meet her. + +Then ensued a three hours' naval conflict which held the breathless +attention of the active participants and the spectators on ship and +shore, and for many weeks excited the wonderment of the reading world. +If the _Monitor's_ solid eleven-inch balls bounded without apparent +effect from the sloping roof of the _Merrimac_, so, in turn, the +_Merrimac's_ broadsides passed harmlessly over the low deck of the +_Monitor_, or rebounded from the round sides of her iron turret. When +the unwieldy rebel turtleback, with her slow, awkward movement, tried +to ram the pointed raft that carried the cheese-box, the little vessel, +obedient to her rudder, easily glided out of the line of direct impact. + +Each ship passed through occasional moments of danger, but the long +three hours' encounter ended without other serious damage than an injury +to Lieutenant Worden by the explosion of a rebel shell against a crevice +of the _Monitor's_ pilot-house through which he was looking, which, +temporarily blinding his eye-sight, disabled him from command. At that +point the battle ended by mutual consent. The _Monitor_, unharmed except +by a few unimportant dents in her plating, ran into shoal water to +permit surgical attendance to her wounded officer. On her part, the +_Merrimac_, abandoning any further molestation of the other ships, +steamed away at noon to her retreat in Elizabeth River. The forty-one +rounds fired from the _Monitor's_ guns had so far weakened the +_Merrimac's_ armor that, added to the injuries of the previous day, it +was of the highest prudence to avoid further conflict. A tragic fate +soon ended the careers of both vessels. Owing to other military events, +the _Merrimac_ was abandoned, burned, and blown up by her officers about +two months later; and in the following December, the _Monitor_ foundered +in a gale off Cape Hatteras. But the types of these pioneer ironclads, +which had demonstrated such unprecedented fighting qualities, were +continued. Before the end of the war the Union navy had more than twenty +monitors in service; and the structure of the _Merrimac_ was in a number +of instances repeated by the Confederates. + +The most brilliant of all the exploits of the navy during the year 1862 +were those carried on under the command of Flag-Officer David G. +Farragut, who, though a born Southerner and residing in Virginia when +the rebellion broke out, remained loyal to the government and true to +the flag he had served for forty-eight years. Various preparations had +been made and various plans discussed for an effective attempt against +some prominent point on the Gulf coast. Very naturally, all examinations +of the subject inevitably pointed to the opening of the Mississippi as +the dominant problem to be solved; and on January 9, Farragut was +appointed to the command of the western Gulf blockading squadron, and +eleven days thereafter received his confidential instructions to attempt +the capture of the city of New Orleans. + +Thus far in the war, Farragut had been assigned to no prominent service, +but the patience with which he had awaited his opportunity was now more +than compensated by the energy and thoroughness with which he +superintended the organization of his fleet. By the middle of April he +was in the lower Mississippi with seventeen men-of-war and one hundred +and seventy-seven guns. With him were Commander David D. Porter, in +charge of a mortar flotilla of nineteen schooners and six armed +steamships, and General Benjamin F. Butler, at the head of an army +contingent of six thousand men, soon to be followed by considerable +reinforcements. + +The first obstacle to be overcome was the fire from the twin forts +Jackson and St. Philip, situated nearly opposite each other at a bend of +the Mississippi twenty-five miles above the mouth of the river, while +the city of New Orleans itself lies seventy-five miles farther up the +stream. These were formidable forts of masonry, with an armament +together of over a hundred guns, and garrisons of about six hundred men +each. They also had auxiliary defenses: first, of a strong river +barrier of log rafts and other obstructions connected by powerful +chains, half a mile below the forts; second, of an improvised fleet of +sixteen rebel gunboats and a formidable floating battery. None of +Farragut's ships were ironclad. He had, from the beginning of the +undertaking, maintained the theory that a wooden fleet, properly +handled, could successfully pass the batteries of the forts. "I would as +soon have a paper ship as an ironclad; only give me _men_ to fight her!" +he said. He might not come back; but New Orleans would be won. In his +hazardous undertaking his faith was based largely on the skill and +courage of his subordinate commanders of ships, and this faith was fully +sustained by their gallantry and devotion. + +Porter's flotilla of nineteen schooners carrying two mortars each, +anchored below the forts, maintained a heavy bombardment for five days, +and then Farragut decided to try his ships. On the night of the +twentieth the daring work of two gunboats cut an opening through the +river barrier through which the vessels might pass; and at two o'clock +on the morning of April 24, Farragut gave the signal to advance. The +first division of his fleet, eight vessels, led by Captain Bailey, +successfully passed the barrier. The second division of nine ships was +not quite so fortunate. Three of them failed to pass the barrier, but +the others, led by Farragut himself in his flag-ship, the _Hartford_, +followed the advance. + +The starlit night was quickly obscured by the smoke of the general +cannonade from both ships and forts; but the heavy batteries of the +latter had little effect on the passing fleet. Farragut's flag-ship was +for a short while in great danger. At a moment when she slightly +grounded a huge fire-raft, fully ablaze, was pushed against her by a +rebel tug, and the flames caught in the paint on her side, and mounted +into her rigging. But this danger had also been provided against, and by +heroic efforts the _Hartford_ freed herself from her peril. Immediately +above the forts, the fleet of rebel gunboats joined in the battle, which +now resolved itself into a series of conflicts between single vessels or +small groups. But the stronger and better-armed Union ships quickly +destroyed the Confederate flotilla, with the single exception that two +of the enemy's gunboats rammed the _Varuna_ from opposite sides and sank +her. Aside from this, the Union fleet sustained much miscellaneous +damage, but no serious injury in the furious battle of an hour and a +half. + +With but a short halt at Quarantine, six miles above the forts, Farragut +and his thirteen ships of war pushed on rapidly over the seventy-five +miles, and on the forenoon of April 25 New Orleans lay helpless under +the guns of the Union fleet. The city was promptly evacuated by the +Confederate General Lovell. Meanwhile, General Butler was busy moving +his transports and troops around outside by sea to Quarantine; and, +having occupied that point in force, Forts Jackson and St. Philip +capitulated on April 28. This last obstruction removed, Butler, after +having garrisoned the forts, brought the bulk of his army up to New +Orleans, and on May 1 Farragut turned over to him the formal possession +of the city, where Butler continued in command of the Department of the +Gulf until the following December. + +Farragut immediately despatched an advance section of his fleet up the +Mississippi. None of the important cities on its banks below Vicksburg +had yet been fortified, and, without serious opposition, they +surrendered as the Union ships successively reached them. Farragut +himself, following with the remainder of his fleet, arrived at +Vicksburg on May 20. This city, by reason of the high bluffs on which it +stands, was the most defensible point on the whole length of the great +river within the Southern States; but so confidently had the +Confederates trusted to the strength of their works at Columbus, Island +No. 10, Fort Pillow, and other points, that the fortifications of +Vicksburg had thus far received comparatively little attention. The +recent Union victories, however, both to the north and south, had +awakened them to their danger; and when Lovell evacuated New Orleans, he +shipped heavy guns and sent five Confederate regiments to Vicksburg; and +during the eight days between their arrival on May 12 and the twentieth, +on which day Farragut reached the city, six rebel batteries were put in +readiness to fire on his ships. + +General Halleck, while pushing his siege works toward Corinth, was +notified as early as April 27 that Farragut was coming, and the logic of +the situation ought to have induced him to send a cooeperating force to +Farragut's assistance, or, at the very least, to have matured plans for +such cooeperation. All the events would have favored an expedition of +this kind. When Corinth, at the end of May, fell into Halleck's hands, +Forts Pillow and Randolph on the Mississippi River were hastily +evacuated by the enemy, and on June 6 the Union flotilla of river +gunboats which had rendered such signal service at Henry, Donelson, and +Island No. 10, reinforced by a hastily constructed flotilla of heavy +river tugs converted into rams, gained another brilliant victory in a +most dramatic naval battle at Memphis, during which an opposing +Confederate flotilla of similar rams and gunboats was almost completely +destroyed, and the immediate evacuation of Memphis by the Confederates +thereby forced. + +This left Vicksburg as the single barrier to the complete opening of the +Mississippi, and that barrier was defended by only six batteries and a +garrison of six Confederate regiments at the date of Farragut's arrival +before it. But Farragut had with his expedition only two regiments of +troops, and the rebel batteries were situated at such an elevation that +the guns of the Union fleet could not be raised sufficiently to silence +them. Neither help nor promise of help came from Halleck's army, and +Farragut could therefore do nothing but turn his vessels down stream and +return to New Orleans. There, about June 1, he received news from the +Navy Department that the administration was exceedingly anxious to have +the Mississippi opened; and this time, taking with him Porter's mortar +flotilla and three thousand troops, he again proceeded up the river, and +a second time reached Vicksburg on June 25. + +The delay, however, had enabled the Confederates greatly to strengthen +the fortifications and the garrison of the city. Neither a bombardment +from Porter's mortar sloops, nor the running of Farragut's ships past +the batteries, where they were joined by the Union gunboat flotilla from +above, sufficed to bring the Confederates to a surrender. Farragut +estimated that a cooeperating land force of twelve to fifteen thousand +would have enabled him to take the works; and Halleck, on June 28 and +July 3, partially promised early assistance. But on July 14 he reported +definitely that it would be impossible for him to render the expected +aid. Under these circumstances, the Navy Department ordered Farragut +back to New Orleans, lest his ships of deep draft should be detained in +the river by the rapidly falling water. The capture of Vicksburg was +postponed for a whole year, and the early transfer of Halleck to +Washington changed the current of Western campaigns. + + + + +XXI + +McClellan's Illness--Lincoln Consults McDowell and Franklin--President's +Plan against Manassas--McClellan's Plan against Richmond--Cameron and +Stanton--President's War Order No. 1--Lincoln's Questions to +McClellan--News from the West--Death of Willie Lincoln--The Harper's +Ferry Fiasco--President's War Order No. 3--The News from Hampton +Roads--Manassas Evacuated--Movement to the Peninsular--Yorktown--The +Peninsula Campaign--Seven Days' Battles--Retreat to Harrison's Landing + + +We have seen how the express orders of President Lincoln in the early +days of January, 1862, stirred the Western commanders to the beginning +of active movements that brought about an important series of victories +during the first half of the year. The results of his determination to +break a similar military stagnation in the East need now to be related. + +The gloomy outlook at the beginning of the year has already been +mentioned. Finding on January 10 that General McClellan was still ill +and unable to see him, he called Generals McDowell and Franklin into +conference with himself, Seward, Chase, and the Assistant Secretary of +War; and, explaining to them his dissatisfaction and distress at +existing conditions, said to them that "if something were not soon done, +the bottom would be out of the whole affair; and if General McClellan +did not want to use the army, he would like to borrow it, provided he +could see how it could be made to do something." + +The two generals, differing on some other points, agreed, however, in a +memorandum prepared next day at the President's request, that a direct +movement against the Confederate army at Manassas was preferable to a +movement by water against Richmond; that preparations for the former +could be made in a week, while the latter would require a month or six +weeks. Similar discussions were held on the eleventh and twelfth, and +finally, on January 13, by which date General McClellan had sufficiently +recovered to be present. McClellan took no pains to hide his displeasure +at the proceedings, and ventured no explanation when the President asked +what and when anything could be done. Chase repeated the direct +interrogatory to McClellan himself, inquiring what he intended doing +with his army, and when he intended doing it. McClellan stated his +unwillingness to develop his plans, but said he would tell them if he +was ordered to do so. The President then asked him if he had in his own +mind any particular time fixed when a movement could be commenced. +McClellan replied that he had. "Then," rejoined the President, "I will +adjourn this meeting." + +While these conferences were going on, a change occurred in the +President's cabinet; Secretary of War Cameron, who had repeatedly +expressed a desire to be relieved from the onerous duties of the War +Department, was made minister to Russia and Edwin M. Stanton appointed +to succeed him. Stanton had been Attorney-General during the last months +of President Buchanan's administration, and, though a lifelong Democrat, +had freely conferred and cooeperated with Republican leaders in the +Senate and House of Representatives in thwarting secession schemes. He +was a lawyer of ability and experience, and, possessing organizing +qualities of a high degree combined with a strong will and great +physical endurance, gave his administration of the War Department a +record for efficiency which it will be difficult for any future minister +to equal; and for which service his few mistakes and subordinate faults +of character will be readily forgotten. In his new functions, Stanton +enthusiastically seconded the President's efforts to rouse the Army of +the Potomac to speedy and vigorous action. + +In his famous report, McClellan states that very soon after Stanton +became Secretary of War he explained verbally to the latter his plan of +a campaign against Richmond by way of the lower Chesapeake Bay, and at +Stanton's direction also explained it to the President. It is not +strange that neither the President nor the new Secretary approved it. +The reasons which then existed against it in theory, and were afterward +demonstrated in practice, are altogether too evident. As this first plan +was never reduced to writing, it may be fairly inferred that it was one +of those mere suggestions which, like all that had gone before, would +serve only to postpone action. + +The patience of the President was at length so far exhausted that on +January 27 he wrote his General War Order No. I, which directed "that +the 22d day of February, 1862, be the day for a general movement of all +the land and naval forces of the United States against the insurgent +forces," and that the Secretaries of War and of the Navy, the +general-in-chief, and all other commanders and subordinates of land and +naval forces "will severally be held to their strict and full +responsibilities for prompt execution of this order." To leave no doubt +of his intention that the Army of the Potomac should make a beginning, +the President, four days later, issued his Special War Order No. I, +directing that after providing safely for the defense of Washington, it +should move against the Confederate army at Manassas Junction, on or +before the date announced. + +As McClellan had been allowed to have his way almost without question +for six months past, it was, perhaps, as much through mere habit of +opposition as from any intelligent decision in his own mind that he +again requested permission to present his objections to the President's +plan. Mr. Lincoln, thereupon, to bring the discussion to a practical +point, wrote him the following list of queries on February 3: + +"MY DEAR SIR: You and I have distinct and different plans for a movement +of the Army of the Potomac--yours to be down the Chesapeake, up the +Rappahannock to Urbana, and across land to the terminus of the railroad +on the York River; mine, to move directly to a point on the railroad +southwest of Manassas. + +"If you will give me satisfactory answers to the following questions, I +shall gladly yield my plan to yours. + +"_First_. Does not your plan involve a greatly larger expenditure of +time and money than mine?" + +"_Second_. Wherein is a victory more certain by your plan than mine?" + +"_Third_. Wherein is a victory more valuable by your plan than mine?" + +"_Fourth_. In fact, would it not be less valuable in this, that it would +break no great line of the enemy's communications, while mine would?" + +"_Fifth_. In case of disaster, would not a retreat be more difficult by +your plan than mine?" + +Instead of specifically answering the President's concise +interrogatories, McClellan, on the following day, presented to the +Secretary of War a long letter, reciting in much detail his statement of +what he had done since coming to Washington, and giving a rambling +outline of what he thought might be accomplished in the future +prosecution of the war. His reasoning in favor of an advance by +Chesapeake Bay upon Richmond, instead of against Manassas Junction, +rests principally upon the assumption that at Manassas the enemy is +prepared to resist, while at Richmond there are no preparations; that to +win Manassas would give us only the field of battle and the moral effect +of a victory, while to win Richmond would give us the rebel capital with +its communications and supplies; that at Manassas we would fight on a +field chosen by the enemy, while at Richmond we would fight on one +chosen by ourselves. If as a preliminary hypothesis these comparisons +looked plausible, succeeding events quickly exposed their fallacy. + +The President, in his anxious studies and exhaustive discussion with +military experts in the recent conferences, fully comprehended that +under McClellan's labored strategical theories lay a fundamental error. +It was not the capture of a place, but the destruction of the rebel +armies that was needed to subdue the rebellion. But Mr. Lincoln also saw +the fearful responsibility he would be taking upon himself if he forced +McClellan to fight against his own judgment and protest, even though +that judgment was incorrect. The whole subject, therefore, underwent a +new and yet more elaborate investigation. The delay which this rendered +necessary was soon greatly lengthened by two other causes. It was about +this time that the telegraph brought news from the West of the surrender +of Fort Henry, February 6, the investment of Fort Donelson on the +thirteenth, and its surrender on the sixteenth, incidents which absorbed +the constant attention of the President and the Secretary of War. Almost +simultaneously, a heavy domestic sorrow fell upon Mr. Lincoln in the +serious illness of his son Willie, an interesting and most promising lad +of twelve, and his death in the White House on February 20. + +When February 22 came, while there was plainly no full compliance with +the President's War Order No. I, there was, nevertheless, such promise +of a beginning, even at Washington, as justified reasonable expectation. +The authorities looked almost hourly for the announcement of two +preliminary movements which had been preparing for many days: one, to +attack rebel batteries on the Virginia shore of the Potomac; the other +to throw bridges--one of pontoons, the second a permanent bridge of +canal-boats--across the river at Harper's Ferry, and an advance by +Banks's division on Winchester to protect the opening of the Baltimore +and Ohio railroad and reestablish transportation to and from the West +over that important route. + +On the evening of February 27, Secretary Stanton came to the President, +and, after locking the door to prevent interruption, opened and read two +despatches from McClellan, who had gone personally to superintend the +crossing. The first despatch from the general described the fine spirits +of the troops, and the splendid throwing of the pontoon bridge by +Captain Duane and his three lieutenants, for whom he at once recommended +brevets, and the immediate crossing of eighty-five hundred infantry. +This despatch was dated at ten o'clock the previous night. "The next is +not so good," remarked the Secretary of War. It stated that the lift +lock was too small to permit the canal-boats to enter the river, so that +it was impossible to construct the permanent bridge. He would therefore +be obliged to fall back upon the safe and slow plan of merely covering +the reconstruction of the railroad, which would be tedious and make it +impossible to seize Winchester. + +"What does this mean?" asked the President, in amazement. + +"It means," said the Secretary of War, "that it is a damned fizzle. It +means that he doesn't intend to do anything." + +The President's indignation was intense; and when, a little later, +General Marcy, McClellan's father-in-law and chief of staff, came in, +Lincoln's criticism of the affair was in sharper language than was his +usual habit. + +"Why, in the name of common sense," said he, excitedly, "couldn't the +general have known whether canal-boats would go through that lock before +he spent a million dollars getting them there? I am almost despairing at +these results. Everything seems to fail. The impression is daily gaining +ground that the general does not intend to do anything. By a failure +like this we lose all the prestige gained by the capture of Fort +Donelson." + +The prediction of the Secretary of War proved correct. That same night, +McClellan revoked Hooker's authority to cross the lower Potomac and +demolish the rebel batteries about the Occoquan River. It was doubtless +this Harper's Ferry incident which finally convinced the President that +he could no longer leave McClellan intrusted with the sole and +unrestricted exercise of military affairs. Yet that general had shown +such decided ability in certain lines of his profession, and had plainly +in so large a degree won the confidence of the Army of the Potomac +itself, that he did not wish entirely to lose the benefit of his +services. He still hoped that, once actively started in the field, he +might yet develop valuable qualities of leadership. He had substantially +decided to let him have his own way in his proposed campaign against +Richmond by water, and orders to assemble the necessary vessels had been +given before the Harper's Ferry failure was known. + +Early on the morning of March 8, the President made one more effort to +convert McClellan to a direct movement against Manassas, but without +success. On the contrary, the general convened twelve of his division +commanders in a council, who voted eight to four for the water route. +This finally decided the question in the President's mind, but he +carefully qualified the decision by two additional war orders of his +own, written without consultation. President's General War Order No. 2 +directed that the Army of the Potomac should be immediately organized +into four army corps, to be respectively commanded by McDowell, Sumner, +Heintzelman, and Keyes, and a fifth under Banks. It is noteworthy that +the first three of these had always earnestly advocated the Manassas +movement. President's General War Order No. 3 directed, in substance: +_First_. An immediate effort to capture the Potomac batteries. _Second_. +That until that was accomplished not more than two army corps should be +started on the Chesapeake campaign toward Richmond _Third_. That any +Chesapeake movement should begin in ten days; and--_Fourth_. That no +such movement should be ordered without leaving Washington entirely +secure. + +Even while the President was completing the drafting and copying of +these important orders, events were transpiring which once more put a +new face upon the proposed campaign against Richmond. During the +forenoon of the next day, March 9, a despatch was received from Fortress +Monroe, reporting the appearance of the rebel ironclad _Merrimac_, and +the havoc she had wrought the previous afternoon--the _Cumberland_ sunk, +the _Congress_ surrendered and burned, the _Minnesota_ aground and about +to be attacked. There was a quick gathering of officials at the +Executive Mansion--Secretaries Stanton, Seward, Welles, Generals +McClellan, Meigs, Totten, Commodore Smith, and Captain Dahlgren--and a +scene of excitement ensued, unequaled by any other in the President's +office during the war. Stanton walked up and down like a caged lion, and +eager discussion animated cabinet and military officers. Two other +despatches soon came, one from the captain of a vessel at Baltimore, who +had left Fortress Monroe on the evening of the eighth, and a copy of a +telegram to the "New York Tribune," giving more details. + +President Lincoln was the coolest man in the whole gathering, carefully +analyzing the language of the telegrams, to give their somewhat confused +statements intelligible coherence. Wild suggestions flew from speaker to +speaker about possible danger to be apprehended from the new marine +terror--whether she might not be able to go to New York or Philadelphia +and levy tribute, to Baltimore or Annapolis to destroy the transports +gathered for McClellan's movement, or even to come up the Potomac and +burn Washington; and all sorts of prudential measures and safeguards +were proposed. + +In the afternoon, however, apprehension was greatly quieted. That very +day a cable was laid across the bay, giving direct telegraphic +communication with Fortress Monroe, and Captain Fox, who happened to be +on the spot, concisely reported at about 4 P.M. the dramatic sequel--the +timely arrival of the _Monitor_, the interesting naval battle between +the two ironclads, and that at noon the _Merrimac_ had withdrawn from +the conflict, and with her three small consorts steamed back into +Elizabeth River. + +Scarcely had the excitement over the _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_ news begun +to subside, when, on the same afternoon, a new surprise burst upon the +military authorities in a report that the whole Confederate army had +evacuated its stronghold at Manassas and the batteries on the Potomac, +and had retired southward to a new line behind the Rappahannock. General +McClellan hastened across the river, and, finding the news to be +correct, issued orders during the night for a general movement of the +army next morning to the vacated rebel camps. The march was promptly +accomplished, notwithstanding the bad roads, and the troops had the +meager satisfaction of hoisting the Union flag over the deserted rebel +earthworks. + +For two weeks the enemy had been preparing for this retreat; and, +beginning their evacuation on the seventh, their whole retrograde +movement was completed by March 11, by which date they were secure in +their new line of defense, "prepared for such an emergency--the south +bank of the Rappahannock strengthened by field-works, and provided with +a depot of food," writes General Johnston. No further comment is needed +to show McClellan's utter incapacity or neglect, than that for full two +months he had commanded an army of one hundred and ninety thousand, +present for duty, within two days' march of the forty-seven thousand +Confederates, present for duty, whom he thus permitted to march away to +their new strongholds without a gun fired or even a meditated attack. + +General McClellan had not only lost the chance of an easy and brilliant +victory near Washington, but also the possibility of his favorite plan +to move by water to Urbana on the lower Rappahannock, and from there by +a land march _via_ West Point toward Richmond. On that route the enemy +was now in his way. He therefore, on March 13, hastily called a council +of his corps commanders, who decided that under the new conditions it +would be best to proceed by water to Fortress Monroe, and from there +move up the Peninsula toward Richmond. To this new plan, adopted in the +stress of excitement and haste, the President answered through the +Secretary of War on the same day: + +"_First_. Leave such force at Manassas Junction as shall make it +entirely certain that the enemy shall not repossess himself of that +position and line of communication." + +"_Second_. Leave Washington entirely secure." + +"_Third_. Move the remainder of the force down the Potomac, choosing a +new base at Fort Monroe, or anywhere between here and there; or, at all +events, move such remainder of the army at once in pursuit of the enemy +by some route." + +Two days before, the President had also announced a step which he had +doubtless had in contemplation for many days, if not many weeks, namely, +that-- + +"Major-General McClellan having personally taken the field at the head +of the Army of the Potomac, until otherwise ordered, he is relieved from +the command of the other military departments, he retaining command of +the Department of the Potomac." + +This order of March 11 included also the already mentioned consolidation +of the western departments under Halleck; and out of the region lying +between Halleck's command and McClellan's command it created the +Mountain Department, the command of which he gave to General Fremont, +whose reinstatement had been loudly clamored for by many prominent and +enthusiastic followers. + +As the preparations for a movement by water had been in progress since +February 27, there was little delay in starting the Army of the Potomac +on its new campaign. The troops began their embarkation on March 17, and +by April 5 over one hundred thousand men, with all their material of +war, had been transported to Fortress Monroe, where General McClellan +himself arrived on the second of the month, and issued orders to begin +his march on the fourth. + +Unfortunately, right at the outset of this new campaign, General +McClellan's incapacity and want of candor once more became sharply +evident. In the plan formulated by the four corps commanders, and +approved by himself, as well as emphatically repeated by the President's +instructions, was the essential requirement that Washington should be +left entirely secure. Learning that the general had neglected this +positive injunction, the President ordered McDowell's corps to remain +for the protection of the capital; and when the general complained of +this, Mr. Lincoln wrote him on April 9: + +"After you left I ascertained that less than twenty thousand unorganized +men, without a single field-battery, were all you designed to be left +for the defense of Washington and Manassas Junction; and part of this, +even, was to go to General Hooker's old position. General Banks's corps, +once designed for Manassas Junction, was divided and tied up on the line +of Winchester and Strasburg, and could not leave it without again +exposing the upper Potomac and the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. This +presented (or would present when McDowell and Sumner should be gone) a +great temptation to the enemy to turn back from the Rappahannock and +sack Washington. My explicit order that Washington should, by the +judgment of all the commanders of corps, be left entirely secure, had +been neglected. It was precisely this that drove me to detain McDowell. + +"I do not forget that I was satisfied with your arrangement to leave +Banks at Manassas Junction; but when that arrangement was broken up and +nothing was substituted for it, of course I was not satisfied. I was +constrained to substitute something for it myself." + +"And now allow me to ask, do you really think I should permit the line +from Richmond _via_ Manassas Junction to this city to be entirely open, +except what resistance could be presented by less than twenty thousand +unorganized troops? This is a question which the country will not allow +me to evade...." + +"By delay, the enemy will relatively gain upon you--that is, he will +gain faster by fortifications and reinforcements than you can by +reinforcements alone. And once more let me tell you it is indispensable +to you that you strike a blow. I am powerless to help this. You will do +me the justice to remember I always insisted that going down the bay in +search of a field, instead of fighting at or near Manassas, was only +shifting and not surmounting a difficulty; that we would find the same +enemy and the same or equal intrenchments at either place. The country +will not fail to note--is noting now--that the present hesitation to +move upon an intrenched enemy is but the story of Manassas repeated." + +General McClellan's expectations in coming to the Peninsula, first, that +he would find few or no rebel intrenchments, and, second, that he would +be able to make rapid movements, at once signally failed. On the +afternoon of the second day's march he came to the first line of the +enemy's defenses, heavy fortifications at Yorktown on the York River, +and a strong line of intrenchments and dams flooding the Warwick River, +extending to an impassable inlet from James River. But the situation was +not yet desperate. Magruder, the Confederate commander, had only eleven +thousand men to defend Yorktown and the thirteen-mile line of the +Warwick. McClellan, on the contrary, had fifty thousand at hand, and as +many more within call, with which to break the Confederate line and +continue his proposed "rapid movements." But now, without any adequate +reconnaissance or other vigorous effort, he at once gave up his thoughts +of rapid movement, one of the main advantages he had always claimed for +the water route, and adopted the slow expedient of a siege of Yorktown. +Not alone was his original plan of campaign demonstrated to be faulty, +but by this change in the method of its execution it became fatal. + +It would be weary and exasperating to recount in detail the remaining +principal episodes of McClellan's operations to gain possession of the +Confederate capital. The whole campaign is a record of hesitation, +delay, and mistakes in the chief command, brilliantly relieved by the +heroic fighting and endurance of the troops and subordinate officers, +gathering honor out of defeat, and shedding the luster of renown over a +result of barren failure. McClellan wasted a month raising siege-works +to bombard Yorktown, when he might have turned the place by two or three +days' operations with his superior numbers of four to one. By his +failure to give instructions after Yorktown was evacuated, he allowed a +single division of his advance-guard to be beaten back at Williamsburg, +when thirty thousand of their comrades were within reach, but without +orders. He wrote to the President that he would have to fight double +numbers intrenched, when his own army was actually twice as strong as +that of his antagonist. Placing his army astride the Chickahominy, he +afforded that antagonist, General Johnston, the opportunity, at a sudden +rise of the river, to fall on one portion of his divided forces at Fair +Oaks with overwhelming numbers. Finally, when he was within four miles +of Richmond and was attacked by General Lee, he began a retreat to the +James River, and after his corps commanders held the attacking enemy at +bay by a successful battle on each of six successive days, he day after +day gave up each field won or held by the valor and blood of his heroic +soldiers. On July 1, the collected Union army made a stand at the battle +of Malvern Hill, inflicting a defeat on the enemy which practically +shattered the Confederate army, and in the course of a week caused it to +retire within the fortifications of Richmond. During all this +magnificent fighting, however, McClellan was oppressed by the +apprehension of impending defeat; and even after the brilliant victory +of Malvern Hill, continued his retreat to Harrison's Landing, where the +Union gunboats on the James River assured him of safety and supplies. + +It must be borne in mind that this Peninsula campaign, from the landing +at Fortress Monroe to the battle at Malvern Hill, occupied three full +months, and that during the first half of that period the government, +yielding to McClellan's constant faultfinding and clamor for +reinforcements, sent him forty thousand additional men; also that in the +opinion of competent critics, both Union and Confederate, he had, after +the battle of Fair Oaks, and twice during the seven days' battles, a +brilliant opportunity to take advantage of Confederate mistakes, and by +a vigorous offensive to capture Richmond. But constitutional indecision +unfitted him to seize the fleeting chances of war. His hope of victory +was always overawed by his fear of defeat. While he commanded during a +large part of the campaign double, and always superior, numbers to the +enemy, his imagination led him continually to double their strength in +his reports. This delusion so wrought upon him that on the night of June +27 he sent the Secretary of War an almost despairing and insubordinate +despatch, containing these inexcusable phrases: + +"Had I twenty thousand or even ten thousand fresh troops to use +to-morrow, I could take Richmond; but I have not a man in reserve, and +shall be glad to cover my retreat and save the material and personnel of +the army.... If I save this army now, I tell you plainly that I owe no +thanks to you or to any other persons in Washington. You have done your +best to sacrifice this army." + +Under almost any other ruler such language would have been quickly +followed by trial and dismissal, if not by much severer punishment. But +while Mr. Lincoln was shocked by McClellan's disrespect, he was yet more +startled by the implied portent of the despatch. It indicated a loss of +confidence and a perturbation of mind which rendered possible even a +surrender of the whole army. The President, therefore, with his habitual +freedom from passion, merely sent an unmoved and kind reply: + +"Save your army at all events. Will send reinforcements as fast as we +can. Of course they cannot reach you to-day, to-morrow, or next day. I +have not said you were ungenerous for saying you needed reinforcements. +I thought you were ungenerous in assuming that I did not send them as +fast as I could. I feel any misfortune to you and your army quite as +keenly as you feel it yourself. If you have had a drawn battle or a +repulse, it is the price we pay for the enemy not being in Washington." + + + + +XXII + +Jackson's Valley Campaign--Lincoln's Visit to Scott--Pope Assigned to +Command--Lee's Attack on McClellan--Retreat to Harrison's +Landing--Seward Sent to New York--Lincoln's Letter to Seward--Lincoln's +Letter to McClellan--Lincoln's Visit to McClellan--Halleck made +General-in-Chief--Halleck's Visit to McClellan--Withdrawal from +Harrison's Landing--Pope Assumes Command--Second Battle of Bull Run--The +Cabinet Protest--McClellan Ordered to Defend Washington--The Maryland +Campaign--Battle of Antietam--Lincoln Visits Antietam--Lincoln's Letter +to McClellan--McClellan Removed from Command + + +During the month of May, while General McClellan was slowly working his +way across the Chickahominy by bridge-building and intrenching, there +occurred the episode of Stonewall Jackson's valley campaign, in which +that eccentric and daring Confederate commander made a rapid and +victorious march up the Shenandoah valley nearly to Harper's Ferry. Its +principal effect upon the Richmond campaign was to turn back McDowell, +who had been started on a land march to unite with the right wing of +McClellan's army, under instructions, however, always to be in readiness +to interpose his force against any attempt of the enemy to march upon +Washington. This campaign of Stonewall Jackson's has been much lauded by +military writers; but its temporary success resulted from good luck +rather than military ability. Rationally considered, it was an +imprudent and even reckless adventure that courted and would have +resulted in destruction or capture had the junction of forces under +McDowell, Shields, and Fremont, ordered by President Lincoln, not been +thwarted by the mistake and delay of Fremont. It was an episode that +signally demonstrated the wisdom of the President in having retained +McDowell's corps for the protection of the national capital. + +That, however, was not the only precaution to which the President had +devoted his serious attention. During the whole of McClellan's Richmond +campaign he had continually borne in mind the possibility of his defeat, +and the eventualities it might create. Little by little, that general's +hesitation, constant complaints, and exaggerated reports of the enemy's +strength changed the President's apprehensions from possibility to +probability; and he took prompt measures to be prepared as far as +possible, should a new disaster arise. On June 24 he made a hurried +visit to the veteran General Scott at West Point, for consultation on +the existing military conditions, and on his return to Washington called +General Pope from the West, and, by an order dated June 26, specially +assigned him to the command of the combined forces under Fremont, Banks, +and McDowell, to be called the Army of Virginia, whose duty it should be +to guard the Shenandoah valley and Washington city, and, as far as might +be, render aid to McClellan's campaign against Richmond. + +The very day on which the President made this order proved to be the +crisis of McClellan's campaign. That was the day he had fixed upon for a +general advance; but so far from realizing this hope, it turned out, +also, to be the day on which General Lee began his attack on the Army of +the Potomac, which formed the beginning of the seven days' battles, and +changed McClellan's intended advance against Richmond to a retreat to +the James River. It was after midnight of the next day that McClellan +sent Stanton his despairing and insubordinate despatch indicating the +possibility of losing his entire army. + +Upon the receipt of this alarming piece of news, President Lincoln +instantly took additional measures of safety. He sent a telegram to +General Burnside in North Carolina to come with all the reinforcements +he could spare to McClellan's help. Through the Secretary of War he +instructed General Halleck at Corinth to send twenty-five thousand +infantry to McClellan by way of Baltimore and Washington. His most +important action was to begin the formation of a new army. On the same +day he sent Secretary of State Seward to New York with a letter to be +confidentially shown to such of the governors of States as could be +hurriedly called together, setting forth his view of the present +condition of the war, and his own determination in regard to its +prosecution. After outlining the reverse at Richmond and the new +problems it created, the letter continued: + +"What should be done is to hold what we have in the West, open the +Mississippi, and take Chattanooga and East Tennessee without more. A +reasonable force should in every event be kept about Washington for its +protection. Then let the country give us a hundred thousand new troops +in the shortest possible time, which, added to McClellan directly or +indirectly, will take Richmond without endangering any other place which +we now hold, and will substantially end the war. I expect to maintain +this contest until successful, or till I die, or am conquered, or my +term expires, or Congress or the country forsake me; and I would +publicly appeal to the country for this new force were it not that I +fear a general panic and stampede would follow, so hard it is to have a +thing understood as it really is." + +Meanwhile, by the news of the victory of Malvern Hill and the secure +position to which McClellan had retired at Harrison's Landing, the +President learned that the condition of the Army of the Potomac was not +as desperate as at first had seemed. The result of Seward's visit to New +York is shown in the President's letter of July 2, answering McClellan's +urgent call for heavy reinforcements: + +"The idea of sending you fifty thousand, or any other considerable +force, promptly, is simply absurd. If, in your frequent mention of +responsibility, you have the impression that I blame you for not doing +more than you can, please be relieved of such impression. I only beg +that in like manner you will not ask impossibilities of me. If you think +you are not strong enough to take Richmond just now, I do not ask you to +try just now. Save the army, material and personnel, and I will +strengthen it for the offensive again as fast as I can. The governors of +eighteen States offer me a new levy of three hundred thousand, which I +accept." + +And in another letter, two days later: + +"To reinforce you so as to enable you to resume the offensive within a +month, or even six weeks, is impossible.... Under these circumstances, +the defensive for the present must be your only care. Save the +army--first, where you are, if you can; secondly, by removal, if you +must." + +To satisfy himself more fully about the actual situation, the President +made a visit to Harrison's Landing on July 8 and 9, and held personal +interviews with McClellan and his leading generals. While the question +of removing the army underwent considerable discussion, the President +left it undecided for the present; but on July 11, soon after his return +to Washington, he issued an order: + +"That Major-General Henry W. Halleck be assigned to command the whole +land forces of the United States, as general-in-chief, and that he +repair to this capital so soon as he can with safety to the positions +and operations within the department now under his charge." + +Though General Halleck was loath to leave his command in the West, he +made the necessary dispositions there, and in obedience to the +President's order reached Washington on July 23, and assumed command of +all the armies as general-in-chief. On the day following he proceeded to +General McClellan's headquarters at Harrison's Landing, and after two +days' consultation reached the same conclusion at which the President +had already arrived, that the Army of the Potomac must be withdrawn. +McClellan strongly objected to this course. He wished to be reinforced +so that he might resume his operations against Richmond. To do this he +wanted fifty thousand more men, which number it was impossible to give +him, as he had already been pointedly informed by the President. On +Halleck's return to Washington, it was, on further consultation, +resolved to bring the Army of the Potomac back to Acquia Creek and unite +it with the army of Pope. + +On July 30, McClellan received a preliminary order to send away his +sick, and the withdrawal of his entire force was ordered by telegraph on +August 3. With the obstinacy and persistence that characterized his +course from first to last, McClellan still protested against the change, +and when Halleck in a calm letter answered his objections with both the +advantages and the necessity of the order, McClellan's movement of +withdrawal was so delayed that fully eleven days of inestimable time +were unnecessarily lost, and the army of Pope was thereby put in serious +peril. + +Meanwhile, under President Lincoln's order of June 26, General Pope had +left the West, and about the first of July reached Washington, where for +two weeks, in consultation with the President and the Secretary of War, +he studied the military situation, and on July 14 assumed command of the +Army of Virginia, consisting of the corps of General Fremont, eleven +thousand five hundred strong, and that of General Banks, eight thousand +strong, in the Shenandoah valley, and the corps of General McDowell, +eighteen thousand five hundred strong, with one division at Manassas and +the other at Fredericksburg. It is unnecessary to relate in detail the +campaign which followed. Pope intelligently and faithfully performed the +task imposed on him to concentrate his forces and hold in check the +advance of the enemy, which began as soon as the Confederates learned of +the evacuation of Harrison's Landing. + +When the Army of the Potomac was ordered to be withdrawn it was clearly +enough seen that the movement might put the Army of Virginia in +jeopardy; but it was hoped that if the transfer to Acquia Creek and +Alexandria were made as promptly as the order contemplated, the two +armies would be united before the enemy could reach them. McClellan, +however, continued day after day to protest against the change, and made +his preparations and embarkation with such exasperating slowness as +showed that he still hoped to induce the government to change its plans. + +Pope, despite the fact that he had managed his retreat with skill and +bravery, was attacked by Lee's army, and fought the second battle of +Bull Run on August 30, under the disadvantage of having one of +McClellan's divisions entirely absent and the other failing to respond +to his order to advance to the attack on the first day. McClellan had +reached Alexandria on August 24; and notwithstanding telegram after +telegram from Halleck, ordering him to push Franklin's division out to +Pope's support, excuse and delay seemed to be his only response, ending +at last in his direct suggestion that Franklin's division be kept to +defend Washington, and Pope be left to "get out of his scrape" as best +he might. + +McClellan's conduct and language had awakened the indignation of the +whole cabinet, roused Stanton to fury, and greatly outraged the feelings +of President Lincoln. But even under such irritation the President was, +as ever, the very incarnation of cool, dispassionate judgment, allowing +nothing but the daily and hourly logic of facts to influence his +suggestions or decision. In these moments of crisis and danger he felt +more keenly than ever the awful responsibilities of rulership, and that +the fate of the nation hung upon his words and acts from hour to hour. + +His official counselors, equally patriotic and sincere, were not his +equals in calmness of temper. On Friday, August 29, Stanton went to +Chase, and after an excited conference drew up a memorandum of protest, +to be signed by the members of the cabinet, which drew a gloomy picture +of present and apprehended dangers, and recommended the immediate +removal of McClellan from command. Chase and Stanton signed the paper, +as also did Bates, whom they immediately consulted, and somewhat later +Smith added his signature. But when they presented it to Welles, he +firmly refused, stating that though he concurred with them in judgment, +it would be discourteous and unfriendly to the President to adopt such a +course. They did not go to Seward and Blair, apparently believing them +to be friendly to McClellan, and therefore probably unwilling to give +their assent. The refusal of Mr. Welles to sign had evidently caused a +more serious discussion among them about the form and language of the +protest; for on Monday, September 1, it was entirely rewritten by Bates, +cut down to less than half its original length as drafted by Stanton, +and once more signed by the same four members of the cabinet. + +Presented for the second time to Mr. Welles, he reiterated his +objection, and again refused his signature. Though in the new form it +bore the signatures of a majority of the cabinet, the paper was never +presented to Mr. Lincoln. The signers may have adopted the feeling of +Mr. Welles that it was discourteous; or they may have thought that with +only four members of the cabinet for it and three against it, it would +be ineffectual; or, more likely than either, the mere progress of events +may have brought them to consider it inexpedient. + +The defeat of Pope became final and conclusive on the afternoon of +August 30, and his telegram announcing it conveyed an intimation that he +had lost control of his army. President Lincoln had, therefore, to +confront a most serious crisis and danger. Even without having seen the +written and signed protest, he was well aware of the feelings of the +cabinet against McClellan. With what began to look like a serious +conspiracy among McClellan's officers against Pope, with Pope's army in +a disorganized retreat upon Washington, with the capital in possible +danger of capture by Lee, and with a distracted and half-mutinous +cabinet, the President had need of all his caution and all his wisdom. +Both his patience and his judgment proved equal to the demand. + +On Monday, September 1, repressing every feeling of indignation, and +solicitous only to make every expedient contribute to the public safety, +he called McClellan from Alexandria to Washington and asked him to use +his personal influence with the officers who had been under his command +to give a hearty and loyal support to Pope as a personal favor to their +former general, and McClellan at once sent a telegram in this spirit. + +That afternoon, also, Mr. Lincoln despatched a member of General +Halleck's staff to the Virginia side of the Potomac, who reported the +disorganization and discouragement among the retreating troops as even +more than had been expected. Worse than all, Halleck, the +general-in-chief, who was much worn out by the labors of the past few +days, seemed either unable or unwilling to act with prompt direction and +command equal to the emergency, though still willing to give his advice +and suggestion. + +Under such conditions, Mr. Lincoln saw that it was necessary for him +personally to exercise at the moment his military functions and +authority as commander-in-chief of the army and navy. On the morning of +September 2, therefore, he gave a verbal order, which during the day was +issued in regular form as coming from the general-in-chief, that +Major-General McClellan be placed in command of the fortifications +around Washington and the troops for the defense of the capital. Mr. +Lincoln made no concealment of his belief that McClellan had acted badly +toward Pope and really wanted him to fail; "but there is no one in the +army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops of ours into +shape half as well as he can," he said. "We must use the tools we have; +if he cannot fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight." + +It turned out that the second battle of Bull Run had by no means so +seriously disorganized the Union army as was reported, and that +Washington had been exposed to no real danger. The Confederate army +hovered on its front for a day or two, but made neither attack nor +demonstration. Instead of this, Lee entered upon a campaign into +Maryland, hoping that his presence might stimulate a secession revolt in +that State, and possibly create the opportunity successfully to attack +Baltimore or Philadelphia. + +Pope having been relieved and sent to another department, McClellan soon +restored order among the troops, and displayed unwonted energy and +vigilance in watching the movements of the enemy, as Lee gradually moved +his forces northwestward toward Leesburg, thirty miles from Washington, +where he crossed the Potomac and took position at Frederick, ten miles +farther away. McClellan gradually followed the movement of the enemy, +keeping the Army of the Potomac constantly in a position to protect both +Washington and Baltimore against an attack. In this way it happened that +without any order or express intention on the part of either the general +or the President, McClellan's duty became imperceptibly changed from +that of merely defending Washington city to that of an active campaign +into Maryland to follow the Confederate army. + +This movement into Maryland was begun by both armies about September 4. +On the thirteenth of that month McClellan had reached Frederick, while +Lee was by that time across the Catoctin range at Boonsboro', but his +army was divided. He had sent a large part of it back across the +Potomac to capture Harper's Ferry and Martinsburg. On that day there +fell into McClellan's hands the copy of an order issued by General Lee +three days before, which, as McClellan himself states in his report, +fully disclosed Lee's plans. The situation was therefore, as follows: It +was splendid September weather, with the roads in fine condition. +McClellan commanded a total moving force of more than eighty thousand; +Lee, a total moving force of forty thousand. The Confederate army was +divided. Each of the separate portions was within twenty miles of the +Union columns; and before half-past six on the evening of September 13, +McClellan had full knowledge of the enemy's plans. + +General Palfrey, an intelligent critic friendly to McClellan, distinctly +admits that the Union army, properly commanded, could have absolutely +annihilated the Confederate forces. But the result proved quite +different. Even such advantages in McClellan's hands failed to rouse him +to vigorous and decisive action. As usual, hesitation and tardiness +characterized the orders and movements of the Union forces, and during +the four days succeeding, Lee had captured Harper's Ferry with eleven +thousand prisoners and seventy-three pieces of artillery, reunited his +army, and fought the defensive battle of Antietam on September 17, with +almost every Confederate soldier engaged, while one third of McClellan's +army was not engaged at all and the remainder went into action piecemeal +and successively, under such orders that cooeperative movement and mutual +support were practically impossible. Substantially, it was a drawn +battle, with appalling slaughter on both sides. + +Even after such a loss of opportunity, there still remained a precious +balance of advantage in McClellan's hands. Because of its smaller total +numbers, the Confederate army was disproportionately weakened by the +losses in battle. The Potomac River was almost immediately behind it, +and had McClellan renewed his attack on the morning of the eighteenth, +as several of his best officers advised, a decisive victory was yet +within his grasp. But with his usual hesitation, notwithstanding the +arrival of two divisions of reinforcements, he waited all day to make up +his mind. He indeed gave orders to renew the attack at daylight on the +nineteenth, but before that time the enemy had retreated across the +Potomac, and McClellan telegraphed, apparently with great satisfaction, +that Maryland was free and Pennsylvania safe. + +The President watched the progress of this campaign with an eagerness +born of the lively hope that it might end the war. He sent several +telegrams to the startled Pennsylvania authorities to assure them that +Philadelphia and Harrisburg were in no danger. He ordered a +reinforcement of twenty-one thousand to join McClellan. He sent a +prompting telegram to that general: "Please do not let him [the enemy] +get off without being hurt." He recognized the battle of Antietam as a +substantial, if not a complete victory, and seized the opportunity it +afforded him to issue his preliminary proclamation of emancipation on +September 22. + +For two weeks after the battle of Antietam, General McClellan kept his +army camped on various parts of the field, and so far from exhibiting +any disposition of advancing against the enemy in the Shenandoah valley, +showed constant apprehension lest the enemy might come and attack him. +On October 1, the President and several friends made a visit to +Antietam, and during the three succeeding days reviewed the troops and +went over the various battle-grounds in company with the general. The +better insight which the President thus received of the nature and +results of the late battle served only to deepen in his mind the +conviction he had long entertained--how greatly McClellan's defects +overbalanced his merits as a military leader; and his impatience found +vent in a phrase of biting irony. In a morning walk with a friend, +waving his arm toward the white tents of the great army, he asked: "Do +you know what that is?" The friend, not catching the drift of his +thought, said, "It is the Army of the Potomac, I suppose." "So it is +called," responded the President, in a tone of suppressed indignation, +"But that is a mistake. It is only McClellan's body-guard." + +At that time General McClellan commanded a total force of one hundred +thousand men present for duty under his immediate eye, and seventy-three +thousand present for duty under General Banks about Washington. It is, +therefore, not to be wondered at that on October 6, the second day after +Mr. Lincoln's return to Washington, the following telegram went to the +general from Halleck: + +"I am instructed to telegraph you as follows: The President directs that +you cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy, or drive him south. +Your army must move now while the roads are good. If you cross the river +between the enemy and Washington, and cover the latter by your +operation, you can be reinforced with thirty thousand men. If you move +up the valley of the Shenandoah, not more than twelve thousand or +fifteen thousand can be sent to you. The President advises the interior +line, between Washington and the enemy, but does not order it. He is +very desirous that your army move as soon as possible. You will +immediately report what line you adopt, and when you intend to cross +the river; also to what point the reinforcements are to be sent. It is +necessary that the plan of your operations be positively determined on +before orders are given for building bridges and repairing railroads. I +am directed to add that the Secretary of War and the general-in-chief +fully concur with the President in these instructions." + +This express order was reinforced by a long letter from the President, +dated October 13, specifically pointing out the decided advantages +McClellan possessed over the enemy, and suggesting a plan of campaign +even to details, the importance and value of which was self-evident. + +"You remember my speaking to you of what I called your +over-cautiousness. Are you not over-cautious when you assume that you +cannot do what the enemy is constantly doing? Should you not claim to be +at least his equal in prowess, and act upon the claim?... Change +positions with the enemy, and think you not he would break your +communication with Richmond within the next twenty-four hours? You dread +his going into Pennsylvania, but if he does so in full force, he gives +up his communications to you absolutely, and you have nothing to do but +to follow and ruin him. If he does so with less than full force, fall +upon and beat what is left behind all the easier. Exclusive of the +water-line, you are now nearer Richmond than the enemy is by the route +that you can and he must take. Why can you not reach there before him, +unless you admit that he is more than your equal on a march? His route +is the arc of a circle, while yours is the chord. The roads are as good +on yours as on his. You know I desired, but did not order, you to cross +the Potomac below instead of above the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge. My +idea was that this would at once menace the enemy's communications, +which I would seize, if he would permit. If he should move northward I +would follow him closely, holding his communications. If he should +prevent our seizing his communications and move toward Richmond, I would +press closely to him, fight him, if a favorable opportunity should +present, and at least try to beat him to Richmond on the inside track. I +say 'try'; if we never try we shall never succeed. If he makes a stand +at Winchester, moving neither north nor south, I would fight him there, +on the idea that if we cannot beat him when he bears the wastage of +coming to us, we never can when we bear the wastage of going to him." + +But advice, expostulation, argument, orders, were all wasted, now as +before, on the unwilling, hesitating general. When he had frittered away +another full month in preparation, in slowly crossing the Potomac, and +in moving east of the Blue Ridge and massing his army about Warrenton, a +short distance south of the battle-field of Bull Run, without a vigorous +offensive, or any discernible intention to make one, the President's +patience was finally exhausted, and on November 5 he sent him an order +removing him from command. And so ended General McClellan's military +career. + + + + +XXIII + +Cameron's Report--Lincoln's Letter to Bancroft--Annual Message on +Slavery--The Delaware Experiment--Joint Resolution on Compensated +Abolishment--First Border State Interview--Stevens's Comment--District +of Columbia Abolishment--Committee on Abolishment--Hunter's Order +Revoked--Antislavery Measures of Congress--Second Border State +Interview--Emancipation Proposed and Postponed + + +The relation of the war to the institution of slavery has been touched +upon in describing several incidents which occurred during 1861, namely, +the designation of fugitive slaves as "contraband," the Crittenden +resolution and the confiscation act of the special session of Congress, +the issuing and revocation of Fremont's proclamation, and various orders +relating to contrabands in Union camps. The already mentioned +resignation of Secretary Cameron had also grown out of a similar +question. In the form in which it was first printed, his report as +Secretary of War to the annual session of Congress which met on December +3, 1861, announced: + +"If it shall be found that the men who have been held by the rebels as +slaves are capable of bearing arms and performing efficient military +service, it is the right, and may become the duty, of the government to +arm and equip them, and employ their services against the rebels, under +proper military regulation, discipline, and command." + +The President was not prepared to permit a member of his cabinet, +without his consent, to commit the administration to so radical a policy +at that early date. He caused the advance copies of the document to be +recalled and modified to the simple declaration that fugitive and +abandoned slaves, being clearly an important military resource, should +not be returned to rebel masters, but withheld from the enemy to be +disposed of in future as Congress might deem best. Mr. Lincoln saw +clearly enough what a serious political role the slavery question was +likely to play during the continuance of the war. Replying to a letter +from the Hon. George Bancroft, in which that accomplished historian +predicted that posterity would not be satisfied with the results of the +war unless it should effect an increase of the free States, the +President wrote: + +"The main thought in the closing paragraph of your letter is one which +does not escape my attention, and with which I must deal in all due +caution, and with the best judgment I can bring to it." + +This caution was abundantly manifested in his annual message to Congress +of December 3, 1861: + +"In considering the policy to be adopted for suppressing the +insurrection," he wrote, "I have been anxious and careful that the +inevitable conflict for this purpose shall not degenerate into a violent +and remorseless revolutionary struggle. I have, therefore, in every +case, thought it proper to keep the integrity of the Union prominent as +the primary object of the contest on our part, leaving all questions +which are not of vital military importance to the more deliberate action +of the legislature.... The Union must be preserved; and hence all +indispensable means must be employed. We should not be in haste to +determine that radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal +as well as the disloyal, are indispensable." + +The most conservative opinion could not take alarm at phraseology so +guarded and at the same time so decided; and yet it proved broad enough +to include every great exigency which the conflict still had in store. + +Mr. Lincoln had indeed already maturely considered and in his own mind +adopted a plan of dealing with the slavery question: the simple plan +which, while a member of Congress, he had proposed for adoption in the +District of Columbia--the plan of voluntary compensated abolishment. At +that time local and national prejudice stood in the way of its +practicability; but to his logical and reasonable mind it seemed now +that the new conditions opened for it a prospect at least of initial +success. + +In the late presidential election the little State of Delaware had, by a +fusion between the Bell and the Lincoln vote, chosen a Union member of +Congress, who identified himself in thought and action with the new +administration. While Delaware was a slave State, only the merest +remnant of the institution existed there--seventeen hundred and +ninety-eight slaves all told. Without any public announcement of his +purpose, the President now proposed to the political leaders of +Delaware, through their representative, a scheme for the gradual +emancipation of these seventeen hundred and ninety-eight slaves, on the +payment therefore by the United States at the rate of four hundred +dollars per slave, in annual instalments during thirty-one years to that +State, the sum to be distributed by it to the individual owners. The +President believed that if Delaware could be induced to take this step, +Maryland might follow, and that these examples would create a sentiment +that would lead other States into the same easy and beneficent path. But +the ancient prejudice still had its relentless grip upon some of the +Delaware law-makers. A majority of the Delaware House indeed voted to +entertain the scheme. But five of the nine members of the Delaware +Senate, with hot partizan anathemas, scornfully repelled the "abolition +bribe," as they called it, and the project withered in the bud. + +Mr. Lincoln did not stop at the failure of his Delaware experiment, but +at once took an appeal to a broader section of public opinion. On March +6, 1862, he sent a special message to the two houses of Congress +recommending the adoption of the following joint resolution: + +"_Resolved_, that the United States ought to cooeperate with any State +which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State +pecuniary aid, to be used by such State, in its discretion, to +compensate for the inconveniences, public and private, produced by such +change of system." + +"The point is not," said his explanatory message, "that all the States +tolerating slavery would very soon, if at all, initiate emancipation; +but that while the offer is equally made to all, the more northern +shall, by such initiation, make it certain to the more southern that in +no event will the former ever join the latter in their proposed +Confederacy. I say 'initiation' because, in my judgment, gradual, and +not sudden, emancipation is better for all.... Such a proposition on the +part of the general government sets up no claim of a right by Federal +authority to interfere with slavery within State limits, referring, as +it does, the absolute control of the subject in each case to the State +and its people immediately interested. It is proposed as a matter of +perfectly free choice with them. In the annual message last December I +thought fit to say, 'The Union must be preserved; and hence, all +indispensable means must be employed.' I said this, not hastily, but +deliberately. War has been made, and continues to be, an indispensable +means to this end. A practical reacknowledgment of the national +authority would render the war unnecessary, and it would at once cease. +If, however, resistance continues, the war must also continue; and it is +impossible to foresee all the incidents which may attend and all the +ruin which may follow it. Such as may seem indispensable, or may +obviously promise great efficiency toward ending the struggle, must and +will come." + +The Republican journals of the North devoted considerable discussion to +the President's message and plan, which, in the main, were very +favorably received. Objection was made, however, in some quarters that +the proposition would be likely to fail on the score of expense, and +this objection the President conclusively answered in a private letter +to a senator. + +"As to the expensiveness of the plan of gradual emancipation, with +compensation, proposed in the late message, please allow me one or two +brief suggestions. Less than one half-day's cost of this war would pay +for all the slaves in Delaware at four hundred dollars per head.... +Again, less than eighty-seven days' cost of this war would, at the same +price, pay for all in Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Kentucky +and Missouri.... Do you doubt that taking the initiatory steps on the +part of those States and this District would shorten the war more than +eighty-seven days, and thus be an actual saving of expense?" + +Four days after transmitting the message the President called together +the delegations in Congress from the border slave States, and in a long +and earnest personal interview, in which he repeated and enforced the +arguments of his message, urged upon them the expediency of adopting his +plan, which he assured them he had proposed in the most friendly spirit, +and with no intent to injure the interests or wound the sensibilities of +the slave States. On the day following this interview the House of +Representatives adopted the joint resolution by more than a two-thirds +vote; ayes eighty-nine, nays thirty-one. Only a very few of the border +State members had the courage to vote in the affirmative. The Senate +also passed the joint resolution, by about a similar party division, not +quite a month later; the delay occurring through press of business +rather than unwillingness. + +As yet, however, the scheme was tolerated rather than heartily indorsed +by the more radical elements in Congress. Stevens, the cynical +Republican leader of the House of Representatives, said: + +"I confess I have not been able to see what makes one side so anxious to +pass it, or the other side so anxious to defeat it. I think it is about +the most diluted milk-and-water-gruel proposition that was ever given to +the American nation." + +But the bulk of the Republicans, though it proposed no immediate +practical legislation, nevertheless voted for it, as a declaration of +purpose in harmony with a pending measure, and as being, on the one +hand, a tribute to antislavery opinion in the North, and, on the other, +an expression of liberality toward the border States. The concurrent +measure of practical legislation was a bill for the immediate +emancipation of the slaves in the District of Columbia, on the payment +to their loyal owners of an average sum of three hundred dollars for +each slave, and for the appointment of a commission to assess and award +the amount. The bill was introduced early in the session, and its +discussion was much stimulated by the President's special message and +joint resolution. Like other antislavery measures, it was opposed by the +Democrats and supported by the Republicans, with but trifling +exceptions; and by the same majority of two thirds was passed by the +Senate on April 3, and the House on April 11, and became a law by the +President's signature on April 16. + +The Republican majority in Congress as well as the President was thus +pledged to the policy of compensated abolishment, both by the promise of +the joint resolution and the fulfilment carried out in the District +bill. If the representatives and senators of the border slave States had +shown a willingness to accept the generosity of the government, they +could have avoided the pecuniary sacrifice which overtook the slave +owners in those States not quite three years later. On April 14, in the +House of Representatives, the subject was taken up by Mr. White of +Indiana, at whose instance a select committee on emancipation, +consisting of nine members, a majority of whom were from border slave +States, was appointed; and this committee on July 16 reported a +comprehensive bill authorizing the President to give compensation at the +rate of three hundred dollars for each slave to any one of the States of +Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, that +might adopt immediate or gradual emancipation. Some subsequent +proceedings on this subject occurred in Congress in the case of +Missouri; but as to the other States named in the bill, either the +neglect or open opposition of their people and representatives and +senators prevented any further action from the committee. + +Meanwhile a new incident once more brought the question of military +emancipation into sharp public discussion. On May 9, General David +Hunter, commanding the Department of the South, which consisted mainly +of some sixty or seventy miles of the South Carolina coast between North +Edisto River and Warsaw Sound, embracing the famous Sea Island cotton +region which fell into Union hands by the capture of Port Royal in 1861, +issued a military order which declared: + +"Slavery and martial law in a free country are altogether incompatible; +the persons in these three States--Georgia, Florida, and South +Carolina--heretofore held as slaves are therefore declared forever +free." + +The news of this order, coming by the slow course of ocean mails, +greatly surprised Mr. Lincoln, and his first comment upon it was +positive and emphatic. "No commanding general shall do such a thing, +upon my responsibility, without consulting me," he wrote to Secretary +Chase. Three days later, May 19, 1862, he published a proclamation +declaring Hunter's order entirely unauthorized and void, and adding: + +"I further make known that whether it be competent for me, as +commander-in-chief of the army and navy, to declare the slaves of any +State or States free, and whether, at any time, in any case, it shall +have become a necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the +government to exercise such supposed power, are questions which, under +my responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I cannot feel +justified in leaving to the decision of commanders in the field. These +are totally different questions from those of police regulations in +armies and camps." + +This distinct reservation of executive power, and equally plain +announcement of the contingency which would justify its exercise, was +coupled with a renewed recital of his plan and offer of compensated +abolishment and reinforced by a powerful appeal to the public opinion of +the border slave States. + +"I do not argue," continued the proclamation, "I beseech you to make the +arguments for yourselves. You cannot, if you would, be blind to the +signs of the times. I beg of you a calm and enlarged consideration of +them, ranging, if it may be, far above personal and partizan politics. +This proposal makes common cause for a common object, casting no +reproaches upon any. It acts not the Pharisee. The change it +contemplates would come gently as the dews of heaven, not rending or +wrecking anything. Will you not embrace it? So much good has not been +done, by one effort, in all past time, as in the providence of God it is +now your high privilege to do. May the vast future not have to lament +that you have neglected it." + +This proclamation of President Lincoln's naturally created considerable +and very diverse comment, but much less than would have occurred had not +military events intervened which served in a great degree to absorb +public attention. At the date of the proclamation McClellan, with the +Army of the Potomac, was just reaching the Chickahominy in his campaign +toward Richmond; Stonewall Jackson was about beginning his startling +raid into the Shenandoah valley; and Halleck was pursuing his somewhat +leisurely campaign against Corinth. On the day following the +proclamation the victorious fleet of Farragut reached Vicksburg in its +first ascent of the Mississippi. Congress was busy with the multifarious +work that crowded the closing weeks of the long session; and among this +congressional work the debates and proceedings upon several measures of +positive and immediate antislavery legislation were significant "signs +of the times." During the session, and before it ended, acts or +amendments were passed prohibiting the army from returning fugitive +slaves; recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Haiti and +Liberia; providing for carrying into effect the treaty with England to +suppress the African slave trade; restoring the Missouri Compromise and +extending its provisions to all United States Territories; greatly +increasing the scope of the confiscation act in freeing slaves actually +employed in hostile military service; and giving the President +authority, if not in express terms, at least by easy implication, to +organize and arm negro regiments for the war. + +But between the President's proclamation and the adjournment of Congress +military affairs underwent a most discouraging change. McClellan's +advance upon Richmond became a retreat to Harrison's Landing Halleck +captured nothing but empty forts at Corinth. Farragut found no +cooeperation at Vicksburg, and returned to New Orleans, leaving its +hostile guns still barring the commerce of the great river. Still worse, +the country was plunged into gloomy forebodings by the President's call +for three hundred thousand new troops. + +About a week before the adjournment of Congress the President again +called together the delegations from the border slave States, and read +to them, in a carefully prepared paper, a second and most urgent appeal +to adopt his plan of compensated abolishment. + +"Let the States which are in rebellion see definitely and certainly that +in no event will the States you represent ever join their proposed +confederacy, and they cannot much longer maintain the contest. But you +cannot divest them of their hope to ultimately have you with them so +long as you show a determination to perpetuate the institution within +your own States. Beat them at elections, as you have overwhelmingly +done, and, nothing daunted, they still claim you as their own. You and I +know what the lever of their power is. Break that lever before their +faces, and they can shake you no more forever.... If the war continues +long, as it must if the object be not sooner attained, the institution +in your States will be extinguished by mere friction and abrasion--by +the mere incidents of the war. It will be gone, and you will have +nothing valuable in lieu of it. Much of its value is gone already. How +much better for you and for your people to take the step which at once +shortens the war and secures substantial compensation for that which is +sure to be wholly lost in any other event. How much better to thus save +the money which else we sink forever in the war.... Our common country +is in great peril, demanding the loftiest views and boldest action to +bring it speedy relief. Once relieved, its form of government is saved +to the world, its beloved history and cherished memories are vindicated, +and its happy future fully assured and rendered inconceivably grand. To +you, more than to any others, the privilege is given to assure that +happiness and swell that grandeur, and to link your own names therewith +forever." + +Even while the delegations listened, Mr. Lincoln could see that events +had not yet ripened their minds to the acceptance of his proposition. In +their written replies, submitted a few days afterward, two thirds of +them united in a qualified refusal, which, while recognizing the +President's patriotism and reiterating their own loyalty, urged a number +of rather unsubstantial excuses. The minority replies promised to submit +the proposal fairly to the people of their States, but could of course +give no assurance that it would be welcomed by their constituents. The +interview itself only served to confirm the President in an alternative +course of action upon which his mind had doubtless dwelt for a +considerable time with intense solicitude, and which is best presented +in the words of his own recital. + +"It had got to be," said he, in a conversation with the artist F.B. +Carpenter, "midsummer, 1862. Things had gone on from bad to worse, until +I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of operations +we had been pursuing; that we had about played our last card, and must +change our tactics, or lose the game. I now determined upon the adoption +of the emancipation policy; and, without consultation with, or the +knowledge of, the cabinet, I prepared the original draft of the +proclamation, and after much anxious thought called a cabinet meeting +upon the subject.... All were present excepting Mr. Blair, the +Postmaster-General, who was absent at the opening of the discussion, but +came in subsequently. I said to the cabinet that I had resolved upon +this step, and had not called them together to ask their advice, but to +lay the subject-matter of a proclamation before them, suggestions as to +which would be in order after they had heard it read." + +It was on July 22 that the President read to his cabinet the draft of +this first emancipation proclamation, which, after a formal warning +against continuing the rebellion, was in the following words: + +"And I hereby make known that it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of +Congress, to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure for +tendering pecuniary aid to the free choice or rejection of any and all +States which may then be recognizing and practically sustaining the +authority of the United States, and which may then have voluntarily +adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, gradual abolishment of +slavery within such State or States; that the object is to practically +restore, thenceforward to be maintained, the constitutional relation +between the general government and each and all the States wherein that +relation is now suspended or disturbed; and that for this object the +war, as it has been, will be prosecuted. And as a fit and necessary +military measure for effecting this object, I, as commander-in-chief of +the army and navy of the United States, do order and declare that on the +first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred +and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or States +wherein the constitutional authority of the United States shall not then +be practically recognized, submitted to, and maintained, shall then, +thenceforward, and forever be free." + +Mr. Lincoln had given a confidential intimation of this step to Mr. +Seward and Mr. Welles on the day following the border State interview, +but to all the other members of the cabinet it came as a complete +surprise. Blair thought it would cost the administration the fall +elections. Chase preferred that emancipation should be proclaimed by +commanders in the several military districts. Seward, approving the +measure, suggested that it be postponed until it could be given to the +country supported by military success, instead of issuing it, as would +be the case then, upon the greatest disasters of the war. Mr. Lincoln's +recital continues: + +"The wisdom of the view of the Secretary of State struck me with very +great force. It was an aspect of the case that, in all my thought upon +the subject, I had entirely overlooked. The result was that I put the +draft of the proclamation aside, as you do your sketch for a picture, +waiting for a victory." + + + + +XXIV + +Criticism of the President for his Action on Slavery--Lincoln's Letters +to Louisiana Friends--Greeley's Open Letter--Mr. Lincoln's +Reply--Chicago Clergymen Urge Emancipation--Lincoln's Answer--Lincoln +Issues Preliminary Proclamation--President Proposes Constitutional +Amendment--Cabinet Considers Final Proclamation--Cabinet Discusses +Admission of West Virginia--Lincoln Signs Edict of Freedom--Lincoln's +Letter to Hodges + + +The secrets of the government were so well kept that no hint whatever +came to the public that the President had submitted to the cabinet the +draft of an emancipation proclamation. Between that date and the battle +of the second Bull Run intervened the period of a full month, during +which, in the absence of military movements or congressional proceedings +to furnish exciting news, both private individuals and public journals +turned a new and somewhat vindictive fire of criticism upon the +administration. For this they seized upon the ever-ready text of the +ubiquitous slavery question. Upon this issue the conservatives protested +indignantly that the President had been too fast, while, contrarywise, +the radicals clamored loudly that he had been altogether too slow. We +have seen how his decision was unalterably taken and his course +distinctly marked out, but that he was not yet ready publicly to +announce it. Therefore, during this period of waiting for victory, he +underwent the difficult task of restraining the impatience of both +sides, which he did in very positive language. Thus, under date of July +26, 1862, he wrote to a friend in Louisiana: + +"Yours of the sixteenth, by the hand of Governor Shepley, is received. +It seems the Union feeling in Louisiana is being crushed out by the +course of General Phelps. Please pardon me for believing that is a false +pretense. The people of Louisiana--all intelligent people +everywhere--know full well that I never had a wish to touch the +foundations of their society, or any right of theirs. With perfect +knowledge of this, they forced a necessity upon me to send armies among +them, and it is their own fault, not mine, that they are annoyed by the +presence of General Phelps. They also know the remedy--know how to be +cured of General Phelps. Remove the necessity of his presence.... I am a +patient man--always willing to forgive on the Christian terms of +repentance, and also to give ample time for repentance. Still, I must +save this government if possible. What I cannot do, of course I will not +do; but it may as well be understood, once for all, that I shall not +surrender this game leaving any available card unplayed." + +Two days later he answered another Louisiana critic: + +"Mr. Durant complains that, in various ways, the relation of master and +slave is disturbed by the presence of our army, and he considers it +particularly vexatious that this, in part, is done under cover of an act +of Congress, while constitutional guarantees are suspended on the plea +of military necessity. The truth is that what is done and omitted about +slaves is done and omitted on the same military necessity. It is a +military necessity to have men and money; and we can get neither in +sufficient numbers or amounts if we keep from or drive from our lines +slaves coming to them. Mr. Durant cannot be ignorant of the pressure in +this direction, nor of my efforts to hold it within bounds till he and +such as he shall have time to help themselves.... What would you do in +my position? Would you drop the war where it is? Or would you prosecute +it in future with elder-stalk squirts charged with rose-water? Would you +deal lighter blows rather than heavier ones? Would you give up the +contest, leaving any available means unapplied? I am in no boastful +mood. I shall not do more than I can, and I shall do all I can, to save +the government, which is my sworn duty as well as my personal +inclination. I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast +for malicious dealing." + +The President could afford to overlook the misrepresentations and +invective of the professedly opposition newspapers, but he had also to +meet the over-zeal of influential Republican editors of strong +antislavery bias. Horace Greeley printed, in the New York "Tribune" of +August 20, a long "open letter" ostentatiously addressed to Mr. Lincoln, +full of unjust censure all based on the general accusation that the +President and many army officers as well, were neglecting their duty +under pro-slavery influences and sentiments. The open letter which Mr. +Lincoln wrote in reply is remarkable not alone for the skill with which +it separated the true from the false issue of the moment, but also for +the equipoise and dignity with which it maintained his authority as +moral arbiter between the contending factions. + + "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, + August 22, 1862. + + "HON. HORACE GREELEY. + +"DEAR SIR: I have just read yours of the nineteenth, addressed to myself +through the New York 'Tribune.' If there be in it any statements or +assumptions of fact which I may know to be erroneous, I do not, now and +here, controvert them. If there be in it any inferences which I may +believe to be falsely drawn, I do not, now and here, argue against them. +If there be perceptible in it an impatient and dictatorial tone, I waive +it in deference to an old friend whose heart I have always supposed to +be right. + +"As to the policy I 'seem to be pursuing,' as you say, I have not meant +to leave any one in doubt. + +"I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the +Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored, the +nearer the Union will be 'the Union as it was.' If there be those who +would not save the Union unless they could at the same time save +slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save +the Union unless they could, at the same time, destroy slavery, I do not +agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the +Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save +the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save +it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by +freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do +about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to +save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe +it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall +believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I +shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct +errors when shown to be errors, and I shall adopt new views so fast as +they shall appear to be true views. + +"I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; +and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all +men everywhere could be free. + + "Yours, + + "A. LINCOLN." + +It can hardly be doubted that President Lincoln, when he wrote this +letter, intended that it should have a twofold effect upon public +opinion: first, that it should curb extreme antislavery sentiment to +greater patience; secondly, that it should rouse dogged pro-slavery +conservatism, and prepare it for the announcement which he had resolved +to make at the first fitting opportunity. At the date of the letter, he +very well knew that a serious conflict of arms was soon likely to occur +in Virginia; and he had strong reason to hope that the junction of the +armies of McClellan and Pope which had been ordered, and was then in +progress, could be successfully effected, and would result in a decisive +Union victory. This hope, however, was sadly disappointed. The second +battle of Bull Run, which occurred one week after the Greeley letter, +proved a serious defeat, and necessitated a further postponement of his +contemplated action. + +As a secondary effect of the new disaster, there came upon him once more +an increased pressure to make reprisal upon what was assumed to be the +really vulnerable side of the rebellion. On September 13, he was visited +by an influential deputation from the religious denominations of +Chicago, urging him to issue at once a proclamation of universal +emancipation. His reply to them, made in the language of the most +perfect courtesy nevertheless has in it a tone of rebuke that indicates +the state of irritation and high sensitiveness under which he was living +from day to day. In the actual condition of things, he could neither +safely satisfy them nor deny them. As any answer he could make would be +liable to misconstruction, he devoted the larger part of it to pointing +out the unreasonableness of their dogmatic insistence: + +"I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by +religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the divine +will. I am sure that either the one or the other class is mistaken in +that belief, and perhaps, in some respects, both. I hope it will not be +irreverent for me to say that if it is probable that God would reveal +his will to others, on a point so connected with my duty, it might be +supposed he would reveal it directly to me.... What good would a +proclamation of emancipation from me do, especially as we are now +situated? I do not want to issue a document that the whole world will +see must necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the +comet.... Understand, I raise no objections against it on legal or +constitutional grounds, for, as commander-in-chief of the army and navy +in time of war, I suppose I have a right to take any measure which may +best subdue the enemy; nor do I urge objections of a moral nature, in +view of possible consequences of insurrection and massacre at the South. +I view this matter as a practical war measure, to be decided on +according to the advantages or disadvantages it may offer to the +suppression of the rebellion.... Do not misunderstand me because I have +mentioned these objections. They indicate the difficulties that have +thus far prevented my action in some such way as you desire. I have not +decided against a proclamation of liberty to the slaves, but hold the +matter under advisement. And I can assure you that the subject is on my +mind, by day and night, more than any other. Whatever shall appear to be +God's will, I will do." + +Four days after this interview the battle of Antietam was fought, and +when, after a few days of uncertainty it was ascertained that it could +be reasonably claimed as a Union victory, the President resolved to +carry out his long-matured purpose. The diary of Secretary Chase has +recorded a very full report of the interesting transaction. On this ever +memorable September 22, 1862, after some playful preliminary talk, Mr. +Lincoln said to his cabinet: + +"GENTLEMEN: I have, as you are aware, thought a great deal about the +relation of this war to slavery; and you all remember that, several +weeks ago, I read to you an order I had prepared on this subject, which, +on account of objections made by some of you, was not issued. Ever since +then my mind has been much occupied with this subject, and I have +thought, all along, that the time for acting on it might probably come. +I think the time has come now. I wish it was a better time. I wish that +we were in a better condition. The action of the army against the rebels +has not been quite what I should have best liked. But they have been +driven out of Maryland, and Pennsylvania is no longer in danger of +invasion. When the rebel army was at Frederick, I determined, as soon as +it should be driven out of Maryland, to issue a proclamation of +emancipation, such as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing +to any one, but I made the promise to myself and [hesitating a little] +to my Maker. The rebel army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfil +that promise. I have got you together to hear what I have written down. +I do not wish your advice about the main matter, for that I have +determined for myself. This I say without intending anything but respect +for any one of you. But I already know the views of each on this +question. They have been heretofore expressed, and I have considered +them as thoroughly and carefully as I can. What I have written is that +which my reflections have determined me to say. If there is anything in +the expressions I use, or in any minor matter which any one of you +thinks had best be changed, I shall be glad to receive the suggestions. +One other observation I will make. I know very well that many others +might, in this matter as in others, do better than I can; and if I was +satisfied that the public confidence was more fully possessed by any one +of them than by me, and knew of any constitutional way in which he could +be put in my place, he should have it. I would gladly yield it to him. +But, though I believe that I have not so much of the confidence of the +people as I had some time since, I do not know that, all things +considered any other person has more; and, however this may be, there is +no way in which I can have any other man put where I am. I am here; I +must do the best I can, and bear the responsibility of taking the course +which I feel I ought to take." + +The members of the cabinet all approved the policy of the measure; Mr. +Blair only objecting that he thought the time inopportune, while others +suggested some slight amendments. In the new form in which it was +printed on the following morning, the document announced a renewal of +the plan of compensated abolishment, a continuance of the effort at +voluntary colonization, a promise to recommend ultimate compensation to +loyal owners, and-- + +"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand +eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any +State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be +in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, +and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, +including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and +maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to +repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for +their actual freedom." + +Pursuant to these announcements, the President's annual message of +December 1, 1862, recommended to Congress the passage of a joint +resolution proposing to the legislatures of the several States a +constitutional amendment consisting of three articles, namely: One +providing compensation in bonds for every State which should abolish +slavery before the year 1900; another securing freedom to all slaves +who, during the rebellion, had enjoyed actual freedom by the chances of +war--also providing compensation to legal owners; the third authorizing +Congress to provide for colonization. The long and practical argument in +which he renewed this plan, "not in exclusion of, but additional to, all +others for restoring and preserving the national authority throughout +the Union," concluded with the following eloquent sentences: + +"We can succeed only by concert. It is not, 'Can any of us imagine +better?' but, 'Can we all do better?' Object whatsoever is possible, +still the question recurs, 'Can we do better?' The dogmas of the quiet +past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high +with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, +so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and +then we shall save our country. + +"Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We, of this Congress and +this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No +personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of +us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor +or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The +world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. +The world knows we do know how to save it. We--even we here--hold the +power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we +assure freedom to the free--honorable alike in what we give and what we +preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of +earth. Other means may succeed, this could not fail. The way is plain, +peaceful generous, just--a way which, if followed, the world will +forever applaud, and God must forever bless." + +But Mr. Lincoln was not encouraged by any response to this earnest +appeal, either from Congress or by manifestations of public opinion. +Indeed, it may be fairly presumed that he expected none. Perhaps he +considered it already a sufficient gain that it was silently accepted as +another admonition of the consequences which not he nor his +administration, but the Civil War, with its relentless agencies, was +rapidly bringing about. He was becoming more and more conscious of the +silent influence of his official utterances on public sentiment, if not +to convert obstinate opposition, at least to reconcile it to patient +submission. + +In that faith he steadfastly went on carrying out his well-matured plan, +the next important step of which was the fulfilment of the announcements +made in the preliminary emancipation proclamation of September 22. On +December 30, he presented to each member of his cabinet a copy of the +draft he had carefully made of the new and final proclamation to be +issued on New Year's day. It will be remembered that as early as July +22, he informed the cabinet that the main question involved he had +decided for himself. Now, as twice before it was only upon minor points +that he asked their advice and suggestion, for which object he placed +these drafts in their hands for verbal and collateral criticism. + +In addition to the central point of military emancipation in all the +States yet in rebellion, the President's draft for the first time +announced his intention to incorporate a portion of the newly liberated +slaves into the armies of the Union. This policy had also been under +discussion at the first consideration of the subject in July. Mr. +Lincoln had then already seriously considered it, but thought it +inexpedient and productive of more evil than good at that date. In his +judgment, the time had now arrived for energetically adopting it. + +On the following day, December 31, the members brought back to the +cabinet meeting their several criticisms and suggestions on the draft he +had given them. Perhaps the most important one was that earnestly +pressed by Secretary Chase, that the new proclamation should make no +exceptions of fractional parts of States controlled by the Union armies, +as in Louisiana and Virginia, save the forty-eight counties of the +latter designated as West Virginia, then in process of formation and +admission as a new State; the constitutionality of which, on this same +December 31, was elaborately discussed in writing by the members of the +cabinet, and affirmatively decided by the President. + +On the afternoon of December 31, the cabinet meeting being over, Mr. +Lincoln once more carefully rewrote the proclamation, embodying in it +the suggestions which had been made as to mere verbal improvements; but +he rigidly adhered to his own draft in retaining the exceptions as to +fractional parts of States and the forty-eight counties of West +Virginia; and also his announcement of intention to enlist the freedmen +in military service. Secretary Chase had submitted the form of a closing +paragraph. This the President also adopted, but added to it, after the +words "warranted by the Constitution," his own important qualifying +correction, "upon military necessity." + +The full text of the weighty document will be found in a foot-note.[5] + + [Footnote 5: + + BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE + UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: + A PROCLAMATION. + + Whereas on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our + Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was + issued by the President of the United States, containing, among + other things, the following, to wit: + + "That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord one + thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves + within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof + shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be + then, thenceforward and forever free; and the executive government + of the United States, including the military and naval authority + thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, + and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, + in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. + + "That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by + proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in + which the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion + against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the + people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in + the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at + elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State + shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong + counter-vailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such + State and the people thereof are not then in rebellion against the + United States." + + Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, + by virtue of the power in me vested as commander-in-chief of the + army and navy of the United States, in time of actual armed + rebellion against the authority and government of the United + States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said + rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our + Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance + with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period + of one hundred days from the day first above mentioned, order and + designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people + thereof, respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United + States, the following, to wit: + + Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, + Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, + Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. + Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans), + Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North + Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated + as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, + Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk, + including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted + parts are for the present left precisely as if this proclamation + were not issued. + + And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do + order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said + designated States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall + be, free; and that the executive government of the United States, + including the military and naval authorities thereof will recognize + and maintain the freedom of said persons. + + And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to + abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense; and I + recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor + faithfully for reasonable wages. + + And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable + condition will be received into the armed service of the United + States to garrison forts, positions, stations and other places, and + to man vessels of all sorts in said service. + + And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, + warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the + considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty + God. + + In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the + seal of the United States to be affixed. + + Done at the city of Washington, this first day of January, in the + year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of + the independence of the United States of America the + eighty-seventh. + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + BY THE PRESIDENT: WILLIAM H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_.] + +It recited the announcement of the September proclamation; defined its +character and authority as a military decree; designated the States and +parts of States that day in rebellion against the government; ordered +and declared that all persons held as slaves therein "are and +henceforward shall be free"; and that such persons of suitable condition +would be received into the military service. "And upon this act, +sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the +Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment +of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God." + +The conclusion of the momentous transaction was as deliberate and +simple as had been its various stages of preparation. The morning and +midday of January 1, 1863, were occupied by the half-social, +half-official ceremonial of the usual New Year's day reception at the +Executive Mansion, established by long custom. At about three o'clock in +the afternoon, after full three hours of greetings and handshakings, Mr. +Lincoln and perhaps a dozen persons assembled in the executive office, +and, without any prearranged ceremony the President affixed his +signature to the great Edict of Freedom. No better commentary will ever +be written upon this far-reaching act than that which he himself +embodied in a letter written to a friend a little more than a year +later: + +"I am naturally antislavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. +I cannot remember when I did not so think and feel, and yet I have never +understood that the Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right +to act officially upon this judgment and feeling. It was in the oath I +took that I would, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and +defend the Constitution of the United States. I could not take the +office without taking the oath. Nor was it my view that I might take an +oath to get power, and break the oath in using the power. I understood, +too, that in ordinary civil administration this oath even forbade me to +practically indulge my primary abstract judgment on the moral question +of slavery. I had publicly declared this many times, and in many ways. +And I aver that, to this day, I have done no official act in mere +deference to my abstract judgment and feeling on slavery. I did +understand, however, that my oath to preserve the Constitution to the +best of my ability imposed upon me the duty of preserving, by every +indispensable means, that government, that nation, of which that +Constitution was the organic law. Was it possible to lose the nation and +yet preserve the Constitution? By general law, life and limb must be +protected, yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life +is never wisely given to save a limb. I felt that measures otherwise +unconstitutional might become lawful by becoming indispensable to the +preservation of the Constitution, through the preservation of the +nation. Right or wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I could +not feel that, to the best of my ability, I had even tried to preserve +the Constitution if, to save slavery or any minor matter, I should +permit the wreck of government, country, and Constitution all together. +When, early in the war, General Fremont attempted military emancipation, +I forbade it, because I did not then think it an indispensable +necessity. When, a little later, General Cameron, then Secretary of War, +suggested the arming of the blacks, I objected because I did not yet +think it an indispensable necessity. When, still later, General Hunter +attempted military emancipation, I again forbade it, because I did not +yet think the indispensable necessity had come. When in March and May +and July, 1862, I made earnest and successive appeals to the border +States to favor compensated emancipation, I believed the indispensable +necessity for military emancipation and arming the blacks would come +unless averted by that measure. They declined the proposition, and I +was, in my best judgment, driven to the alternative of either +surrendering the Union, and with it the Constitution, or of laying +strong hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter." + + + + +XXV + +Negro Soldiers--Fort Pillow--Retaliation--Draft--Northern +Democrats--Governor Seymour's Attitude--Draft Riots in New +York--Vallandigham--Lincoln on his Authority to Suspend Writ of Habeas +Corpus--Knights of the Golden Circle--Jacob Thompson in Canada + + +On the subject of negro soldiers, as on many other topics, the period of +active rebellion and civil war had wrought a profound change in public +opinion. From the foundation of the government to the Rebellion, the +horrible nightmare of a possible slave insurrection had brooded over the +entire South. This feeling naturally had a sympathetic reflection in the +North, and at first produced an instinctive shrinking from any thought +of placing arms in the hands of the blacks whom the chances of war had +given practical or legal freedom. During the year 1862, a few sporadic +efforts were made by zealous individuals, under apparently favoring +conditions, to begin the formation of colored regiments. The eccentric +Senator Lane tried it in Kansas, or, rather, along the Missouri border +without success. General Hunter made an experiment in South Carolina, +but found the freedmen too unwilling to enlist, and the white officers +too prejudiced to instruct them. General Butler, at New Orleans, infused +his wonted energy into a similar attempt, with somewhat better results. +He found that before the capture of the city, Governor Moore of +Louisiana had begun the organization of a regiment of free colored men +for local defense. Butler resuscitated this organization for which he +thus had the advantage of Confederate example and precedent, and against +which the accusation of arming slaves could not be urged. Early in +September, Butler reported, with his usual biting sarcasm: + +"I shall also have within ten days a regiment, one thousand strong, of +native guards (colored), the darkest of whom will be about the +complexion of the late Mr. Webster." + +All these efforts were made under implied, rather than expressed +provisions of law, and encountered more or less embarrassment in +obtaining pay and supplies, because they were not distinctly recognized +in the army regulations. This could not well be done so long as the +President considered the policy premature. His spirit of caution in this +regard was set forth by the Secretary of War in a letter of instruction +dated July 3, 1862: + +"He is of opinion," wrote Mr. Stanton, "that under the laws of Congress, +they [the former slaves] cannot be sent back to their masters; that in +common humanity they must not be permitted to suffer for want of food, +shelter, or other necessaries of life; that to this end they should be +provided for by the quartermaster's and commissary's departments, and +that those who are capable of labor should be set to work and paid +reasonable wages. In directing this to be done, the President does not +mean, at present, to settle any general rule in respect to slaves or +slavery, but simply to provide for the particular case under the +circumstances in which it is now presented." + +All this was changed by the final proclamation of emancipation, which +authoritatively announced that persons of suitable condition, whom it +declared free, would be received into the armed service of the United +States. During the next few months, the President wrote several personal +letters to General Dix, commanding at Fortress Monroe; to Andrew +Johnson, military governor of Tennessee; to General Banks, commanding at +New Orleans; and to General Hunter, in the Department of the South, +urging their attention to promoting the new policy; and, what was yet +more to the purpose, a bureau was created in the War Department having +special charge of the duty, and the adjutant-general of the army was +personally sent to the Union camps on the Mississippi River to +superintend the recruitment and enlistment of the negroes, where, with +the hearty cooeperation of General Grant and other Union commanders, he +met most encouraging and gratifying success. + +The Confederate authorities made a great outcry over the new departure. +They could not fail to see the immense effect it was destined to have in +the severe military struggle, and their prejudice of generations greatly +intensified the gloomy apprehensions they no doubt honestly felt. Yet +even allowing for this, the exaggerated language in which they described +it became absolutely ludicrous. The Confederate War Department early +declared Generals Hunter and Phelps to be outlaws, because they were +drilling and organizing slaves; and the sensational proclamation issued +by Jefferson Davis on December 23, 1862, ordered that Butler and his +commissioned officers, "robbers and criminals deserving death, ... be, +whenever captured, reserved for execution." + +Mr. Lincoln's final emancipation proclamation excited them to a still +higher frenzy. The Confederate Senate talked of raising the black flag; +Jefferson Davis's message stigmatized it as "the most execrable measure +recorded in the history of guilty man"; and a joint resolution of the +Confederate Congress prescribed that white officers of negro Union +soldiers "shall, if captured, be put to death, or be otherwise punished +at the discretion of the court." The general orders of some subordinate +Confederate commanders repeated or rivaled such denunciations and +threats. + +Fortunately, the records of the war are not stained with either excesses +by the colored troops or even a single instance of such proclaimed +barbarity upon white Union officers; and the visitation of vengeance +upon negro soldiers is confined, so far as known, to the single instance +of the massacre at Fort Pillow. In that deplorable affair, the +Confederate commander reported, by telegraph, that in thirty minutes he +stormed a fort manned by seven hundred, and captured the entire garrison +killing five hundred and taking one hundred prisoners while he sustained +a loss of only twenty killed and sixty wounded. It is unnecessary to +explain that the bulk of the slain were colored soldiers. Making due +allowance for the heat of battle, history can considerately veil closer +scrutiny into the realities wrapped in the exaggerated boast of such a +victory. + +The Fort Pillow incident, which occurred in the spring of 1864, brought +upon President Lincoln the very serious question of enforcing an order +of retaliation which had been issued on July 30, 1863, as an answer to +the Confederate joint resolution of May 1. Mr. Lincoln's freedom from +every trace of passion was as conspicuous in this as in all his official +acts. In a little address at Baltimore, while referring to the rumor of +the massacre which had just been received, Mr. Lincoln said: + +"We do not to-day know that a colored soldier, or white officer +commanding colored soldiers, has been massacred by the rebels when made +a prisoner. We fear it, believe it, I may say, but we do not know it. To +take the life of one of their prisoners on the assumption that they +murder ours, when it is short of certainty that they do murder ours, +might be too serious, too cruel, a mistake." + +When more authentic information arrived, the matter was very earnestly +debated by the assembled cabinet; but the discussion only served to +bring out in stronger light the inherent dangers of either course. In +this nice balancing of weighty reasons, two influences decided the +course of the government against retaliation. One was that General Grant +was about to begin his memorable campaign against Richmond, and that it +would be most impolitic to preface a great battle by the tragic +spectacle of a military punishment, however justifiable. The second was +the tender-hearted humanity of the ever merciful President. Frederick +Douglass has related the answer Mr. Lincoln made to him in a +conversation nearly a year earlier: + +"I shall never forget the benignant expression of his face, the tearful +look of his eye, and the quiver in his voice when he deprecated a resort +to retaliatory measures. 'Once begun,' said he, 'I do not know where +such a measure would stop.' He said he could not take men out and kill +them in cold blood for what was done by others. If he could get hold of +the persons who were guilty of killing the colored prisoners in cold +blood, the case would be different, but he could not kill the innocent +for the guilty." + +Amid the sanguinary reports and crowding events that held public +attention for a year, from the Wilderness to Appomattox, the Fort Pillow +affair was forgotten, not only by the cabinet, but by the country. + +The related subjects of emancipation and negro soldiers would doubtless +have been discussed with much more passion and friction, had not public +thought been largely occupied during the year 1863 by the enactment of +the conscription law and the enforcement of the draft. In the hard +stress of politics and war during the years 1861 and 1862, the popular +enthusiasm with which the free States responded to the President's call +to put down the rebellion by force of arms had become measurably +exhausted. The heavy military reverses which attended the failure of +McClellan's campaign against Richmond, Pope's defeat at the second Bull +Run, McClellan's neglect to follow up the drawn battle of Antietam with +energetic operations, the gradual change of early Western victories to a +cessation of all effort to open the Mississippi, and the scattering of +the Western forces to the spiritless routine of repairing and guarding +long railroad lines, all operated together practically to stop +volunteering and enlistment by the end of 1862. + +Thus far, the patriotic record was a glorious one. Almost one hundred +thousand three months' militia had shouldered muskets to redress the +fall of Fort Sumter; over half a million three years' volunteers +promptly enlisted to form the first national army under the laws of +Congress passed in August, 1861; nearly half a million more volunteers +came forward under the tender of the governors of free States and the +President's call of July, 1862, to repair the failure of McClellan's +Peninsula campaign. Several minor calls for shorter terms of enlistment, +aggregating more than forty thousand, are here omitted for brevity's +sake. Had the Western victories continued, had the Mississippi been +opened, had the Army of the Potomac been more fortunate, volunteering +would doubtless have continued at quite or nearly the same rate. But +with success delayed, with campaigns thwarted, with public sentiment +despondent, armies ceased to fill. An emergency call for three hundred +thousand nine months' men, issued on August 4, 1862, produced a total of +only eighty-six thousand eight hundred and sixty; and an attempt to +supply these in some of the States by a draft under State laws +demonstrated that mere local statutes and machinery for that form of +military recruitment were defective and totally inadequate. + +With the beginning of the third year of the war, more energetic measures +to fill the armies were seen to be necessary; and after very hot and +acrimonious debate for about a month, Congress, on March 3, 1863, passed +a national conscription law, under which all male citizens between the +ages of twenty and forty-five were enrolled to constitute the national +forces, and the President was authorized to call them into service by +draft as occasion might require. The law authorized the appointment of a +provost-marshal-general, and under him a provost-marshal, a +commissioner, and a surgeon, to constitute a board of enrollment in each +congressional district; who, with necessary deputies, were required to +carry out the law by national authority, under the supervision of the +provost-marshal-general. + +For more than a year past, the Democratic leaders in the Northern States +had assumed an attitude of violent partizanship against the +administration, their hostility taking mainly the form of stubborn +opposition to the antislavery enactments of Congress and the +emancipation measures of the President. They charged with loud +denunciation that he was converting the maintenance of the Union into a +war for abolition, and with this and other clamors had gained +considerable successes in the autumn congressional elections of 1862, +though not enough to break the Republican majority in the House of +Representatives. General McClellan was a Democrat, and, since his +removal from command, they proclaimed him a martyr to this policy, and +were grooming him to be their coming presidential candidate. + +The passage of the conscription law afforded them a new pretext to +assail the administration; and Democratic members of both Houses of +Congress denounced it with extravagant partizan bitterness as a +violation of the Constitution, and subversive of popular liberty. In the +mouths of vindictive cross-roads demagogues, and in the columns of +irresponsible newspapers that supply the political reading among the +more reckless elements of city populations, the extravagant language of +Democratic leaders degenerated in many instances into unrestrained abuse +and accusation. Yet, considering that this was the first conscription +law ever enacted in the United States, considering the multitude of +questions and difficulties attending its application, considering that +the necessity of its enforcement was, in the nature of things, unwelcome +to the friends of the government, and, as naturally, excited all the +enmity and cunning of its foes to impede, thwart, and evade it, the law +was carried out with a remarkably small proportion of delay, +obstruction, or resulting violence. + +Among a considerable number of individual violations of the act, in +which prompt punishment prevented a repetition, only two prominent +incidents arose which had what may be called a national significance. In +the State of New York the partial political reaction of 1862 had caused +the election of Horatio Seymour, a Democrat, as governor. A man of high +character and great ability, he, nevertheless, permitted his partizan +feeling to warp and color his executive functions to a dangerous +extent. The spirit of his antagonism is shown in a phrase of his +fourth-of-July oration: + +"The Democratic organization look upon this administration as hostile to +their rights and liberties; they look upon their opponents as men who +would do them wrong in regard to their most sacred franchises." + +Believing--perhaps honestly--the conscription law to be +unconstitutional, he endeavored, by protest, argument and administrative +non-compliance, to impede its execution on the plea of first demanding a +Supreme Court decision as to its legality. To this President Lincoln +replied: + +"I cannot consent to suspend the draft in New York, as you request, +because, among other reasons, time is too important.... I do not object +to abide a decision of the United States Supreme Court, or of the judges +thereof, on the constitutionality of the draft law. In fact, I should be +willing to facilitate the obtaining of it; but I cannot consent to lose +the time while it is being obtained. We are contending with an enemy +who, as I understand, drives every able-bodied man he can reach into his +ranks, very much as a butcher drives bullocks into a slaughter-pen. No +time is wasted, no argument is used. This produces an army which will +soon turn upon our now victorious soldiers already in the field, if they +shall not be sustained by recruits as they should be." + +Notwithstanding Governor Seymour's neglect to give the enrolling +officers any cooeperation, preparations for the draft went on in New York +city without prospect of serious disturbance, except the incendiary +language of low newspapers and handbills. But scarcely had the wheel +begun to turn, and the drawing commenced on July 13, when a sudden riot +broke out. First demolishing the enrolling-office, the crowd next +attacked an adjoining block of stores, which they plundered and set on +fire, refusing to let the firemen put out the flames. From this point +the excitement and disorder spread over the city, which for three days +was at many points subjected to the uncontrolled fury of the mob. Loud +threats to destroy the New York "Tribune" office, which the inmates as +vigorously prepared to defend, were made. The most savage brutality was +wreaked upon colored people. The fine building of the colored Orphan +Asylum, where several hundred children barely found means of escape, was +plundered and set on fire. It was notable that foreigners of recent +importation were the principal leaders and actors in this lawlessness in +which two million dollars worth of property was destroyed, and several +hundred persons lost their lives. + +The disturbance came to an end on the night of the fourth day, when a +small detachment of soldiers met a body of rioters, and firing into +them, killed thirteen, and wounded eighteen more. Governor Seymour gave +but little help in the disorder, and left a stain on the record of his +courage by addressing a portion of the mob as "my friends." The +opportune arrival of national troops restored, and thereafter +maintained, quiet and safety. + +Some temporary disturbance occurred in Boston, but was promptly put +down, and loud appeals came from Philadelphia and Chicago to stop the +draft. The final effect of the conscription law was not so much to +obtain recruits for the service, as to stimulate local effort throughout +the country to promote volunteering, whereby the number drafted was +either greatly lessened or, in many localities, entirely avoided by +filling the State quotas. + +The military arrest of Clement L. Vallandigham, a Democratic member of +Congress from Ohio, for incendiary language denouncing the draft, also +grew to an important incident. Arrested and tried under the orders of +General Burnside, a military commission found him guilty of having +violated General Order No. 38, by "declaring disloyal sentiments and +opinions with the object and purpose of weakening the power of the +government in its efforts to suppress an unlawful rebellion"; and +sentenced him to military confinement during the war. Judge Leavitt of +the United States Circuit Court denied a writ of _habeas corpus_ in the +case. President Lincoln regretted the arrest, but felt it imprudent to +annul the action of the general and the military tribunal. Conforming to +a clause of Burnside's order, he modified the sentence by sending +Vallandigham south beyond the Union military lines. The affair created a +great sensation, and, in a spirit of party protest, the Ohio Democrats +unanimously nominated Vallandigham for governor. Vallandigham went to +Richmond, held a conference with the Confederate authorities, and, by +way of Bermuda, went to Canada, from whence he issued a political +address. The Democrats of both Ohio and New York took up the political +and legal discussion with great heat, and sent imposing committees to +present long addresses to the President on the affair. + +Mr. Lincoln made long written replies to both addresses of which only so +much needs quoting here as concisely states his interpretation of his +authority to suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_: + +"You ask, in substance, whether I really claim that I may override all +the guaranteed rights of individuals, on the plea of conserving the +public safety--when I may choose to say the public safety requires it. +This question, divested of the phraseology calculated to represent me +as struggling for an arbitrary personal prerogative, is either simply a +question who shall decide or an affirmation that nobody shall decide, +what the public safety does require in cases of rebellion or invasion. +The Constitution contemplates the question as likely to occur for +decision, but it does not expressly declare who is to decide it. By +necessary implication, when rebellion or invasion comes, the decision is +to be made from time to time; and I think the man whom, for the time, +the people have, under the Constitution, made the commander-in-chief of +their army and navy, is the man who holds the power and bears the +responsibility of making it. If he uses the power justly, the same +people will probably justify him; if he abuses it, he is in their hands, +to be dealt with by all the modes they have reserved to themselves in +the Constitution." + +Forcible and convincing as was this legal analysis, a single sympathetic +phrase of the President's reply had a much greater popular effect: + +"Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts while I must not +touch a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert?" + +The term so accurately described the character of Vallandigham, and the +pointed query so touched the hearts of the Union people throughout the +land whose favorite "soldier boys" had volunteered to fill the Union +armies, that it rendered powerless the crafty criticism of party +diatribes. The response of the people of Ohio was emphatic. At the +October election Vallandigham was defeated by more than one hundred +thousand majority. + +In sustaining the arrest of Vallandigham, President Lincoln had acted +not only within his constitutional, but also strictly within his legal, +authority. In the preceding March, Congress had passed an act +legalizing all orders of this character made by the President at any +time during the rebellion, and accorded him full indemnity for all +searches, seizures, and arrests or imprisonments made under his orders. +The act also provided: + +"That, during the present rebellion, the President of the United States, +whenever in his judgment the public safety may require it, is authorized +to suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ in any case, +throughout the United States or any part thereof." + +About the middle of September, Mr. Lincoln's proclamation formally put +the law in force, to obviate any hindering or delaying the prompt +execution of the draft law. + +Though Vallandigham and the Democrats of his type were unable to prevent +or even delay the draft, they yet managed to enlist the sympathies and +secure the adhesion of many uneducated and unthinking men by means of +secret societies, known as "Knights of the Golden Circle," "The Order of +American Knights," "Order of the Star," "Sons of Liberty," and by other +equally high-sounding names, which they adopted and discarded in turn, +as one after the other was discovered and brought into undesired +prominence. The titles and grips and passwords of these secret military +organizations, the turgid eloquence of their meetings, and the +clandestine drill of their oath-bound members, doubtless exercised quite +as much fascination on such followers as their unlawful object of aiding +and abetting the Southern cause. The number of men thus enlisted in the +work of inducing desertion among Union soldiers, fomenting resistance to +the draft, furnishing the Confederates with arms, and conspiring to +establish a Northwestern Confederacy in full accord with the South, +which formed the ultimate dream of their leaders, is hard to determine. +Vallandigham, the real head of the movement, claimed five hundred +thousand, and Judge Holt, in an official report, adopted that as being +somewhere near the truth, though others counted them at a full million. + +The government, cognizant of their existence, and able to produce +abundant evidence against the ring-leaders whenever it chose to do so, +wisely paid little heed to these dark-lantern proceedings, though, as +was perhaps natural, military officers commanding the departments in +which they were most numerous were inclined to look upon them more +seriously; and Governor Morton of Indiana was much disquieted by their +work in his State. + +Mr. Lincoln's attitude toward them was one of good-humored contempt. +"Nothing can make me believe that one hundred thousand Indiana Democrats +are disloyal," he said; and maintained that there was more folly than +crime in their acts. Indeed, though prolific enough of oaths and +treasonable utterances, these organizations were singularly lacking in +energy and initiative. Most of the attempts made against the public +peace in the free States and along the northern border came, not from +resident conspirators, but from Southern emissaries and their Canadian +sympathizers; and even these rarely rose above the level of ordinary +arson and highway robbery. + +Jacob Thompson, who had been Secretary of the Interior under President +Buchanan, was the principal agent of the Confederate government in +Canada, where he carried on operations as remarkable for their +impracticability as for their malignity. One plan during the summer of +1864 contemplated nothing less than seizing and holding the three great +States of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, with the aid of disloyal +Democrats, whereupon it was supposed Missouri and Kentucky would +quickly join them and make an end of the war. + +Becoming convinced, when this project fell through, that nothing could +be expected from Northern Democrats he placed his reliance on Canadian +sympathizers, and turned his attention to liberating the Confederate +prisoners confined on Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay and at Camp +Douglas near Chicago. But both these elaborate schemes, which embraced +such magnificent details as capturing the war steamer _Michigan_ on Lake +Erie, came to naught. Nor did the plans to burn St. Louis and New York, +and to destroy steamboats on the Mississippi River, to which he also +gave his sanction, succeed much better. A very few men were tried and +punished for these and similar crimes, despite the voluble protest of +the Confederate government but the injuries he and his agents were able +to inflict, like the acts of the Knights of the Golden Circle on the +American side of the border, amounted merely to a petty annoyance, and +never reached the dignity of real menace to the government. + + + + +XXVI + +Burnside--Fredericksburg--A Tangle of Cross-Purposes--Hooker Succeeds +Burnside--Lincoln to Hooker--Chancellorsville--Lee's Second +Invasion--Lincoln's Criticisms of Hooker's Plans--Hooker +Relieved--Meade--Gettysburg--Lee's Retreat--Lincoln's Letter to +Meade--Lincoln's Gettysburg Address--Autumn Strategy--The Armies go into +Winter Quarters + + +It was not without well-meditated reasons that Mr. Lincoln had so long +kept McClellan in command of the Army of the Potomac. He perfectly +understood that general's defects, his want of initiative, his +hesitations, his delays, his never-ending complaints. But he had long +foreseen the difficulty which would and did immediately arise when, on +November 5, 1862, he removed him from command. Whom should he appoint as +McClellan's successor? What officer would be willing and competent to +play a better part? That important question had also long been +considered; several promising generals had been consulted, who, as +gracefully as they could, shrank from the responsibility even before it +was formally offered them. + +The President finally appointed General Ambrose E. Burnside to the +command. He was a West Point graduate, thirty-eight years old, of +handsome presence, brave and generous to a fault, and McClellan's +intimate friend. He had won a favorable reputation in leading the +expedition against Roanoke Island and the North Carolina coast; and, +called to reinforce McClellan after the Peninsula disaster, commanded +the left wing of the Army of the Potomac at Antietam. He was not +covetous of the honor now given him. He had already twice declined it, +and only now accepted the command as a duty under the urgent advice of +members of his staff. His instincts were better than the judgment of his +friends. A few brief weeks sufficed to demonstrate what he had told +them--that he "was not competent to command such a large army." + +The very beginning of his work proved the truth of his self-criticism. +Rejecting all the plans of campaign which were suggested to him, he +found himself incapable of forming any very plausible or consistent one +of his own. As a first move he concentrated his army opposite the town +of Fredericksburg on the lower Rappahannock, but with such delays that +General Lee had time to seize and strongly fortify the town and the +important adjacent heights on the south bank; and when Burnside's army +crossed on December 11, and made its main and direct attack on the +formidable and practically impregnable Confederate intrenchments on the +thirteenth, a crushing repulse and defeat of the Union forces, with a +loss of over ten thousand killed and wounded, was the quick and direful +result. + +It was in a spirit of stubborn determination rather than clear, +calculating courage that he renewed his orders for an attack on the +fourteenth; but, dissuaded by his division and corps commanders from the +rash experiment, succeeded without further damage in withdrawing his +forces on the night of the fifteenth to their old camps north of the +river. In manly words his report of the unfortunate battle gave generous +praise to his officers and men, and assumed for himself all the +responsibility for the attack and its failure. But its secondary +consequences soon became irremediable. By that gloomy disaster Burnside +almost completely lost the confidence of his officers and men, and +rumors soon came to the President that a spirit akin to mutiny pervaded +the army. When information came that, on the day after Christmas, +Burnside was preparing for a new campaign, the President telegraphed +him: + +"I have good reason for saying you must not make a general movement of +the army without letting me know." + +This, naturally, brought Burnside to the President for explanation, and, +after a frank and full discussion between them, Mr. Lincoln, on New +Year's day, wrote the following letter to General Halleck: + +"General Burnside wishes to cross the Rappahannock with his army, but +his grand division commanders all oppose the movement. If in such a +difficulty as this you do not help, you fail me precisely in the point +for which I sought your assistance. You know what General Burnside's +plan is, and it is my wish that you go with him to the ground, examine +it as far as practicable, confer with the officers, getting their +judgment and ascertaining their temper; in a word, gather all the +elements for forming a judgment of your own, and then tell General +Burnside that you do approve, or that you do not approve, his plan. Your +military skill is useless to me if you will not do this." + +Halleck's moral and official courage, however, failed the President in +this emergency. He declined to give his military opinion, and asked to +be relieved from further duties as general-in-chief. This left Mr. +Lincoln no option, and still having need of the advice of his +general-in-chief on other questions, he indorsed on his own letter, +"withdrawn because considered harsh by General Halleck." The +complication, however, continued to grow worse, and the correspondence +more strained. Burnside declared that the country had lost confidence in +both the Secretary of War and the general-in-chief; also, that his own +generals were unanimously opposed to again crossing the Rappahannock. +Halleck, on the contrary, urged another crossing, but that it must be +made on Burnside's own decision, plan, and responsibility. Upon this the +President, on January 8, 1863, again wrote Burnside: + +"I understand General Halleck has sent you a letter of which this is a +copy. I approve this letter. I deplore the want of concurrence with you +in opinion by your general officers, but I do not see the remedy. Be +cautious, and do not understand that the government or country is +driving you. I do not yet see how I could profit by changing the command +of the Army of the Potomac; and if I did, I should not wish to do it by +accepting the resignation of your commission." + +Once more Burnside issued orders against which his generals protested, +and which a storm turned into the fruitless and impossible "mud march" +before he reached the intended crossings of the Rappahannock. Finally, +on January 23, Burnside presented to the President the alternative of +either approving an order dismissing about a dozen generals, or +accepting his own resignation, and Mr. Lincoln once more had before him +the difficult task of finding a new commander for the Army of the +Potomac. On January 25, 1863, the President relieved Burnside and +assigned Major-General Joseph Hooker to duty as his successor; and in +explanation of his action wrote him the following characteristic letter: + +"I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I +have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons, and yet +I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to +which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and +skilful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix +politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have +confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if not an indispensable +quality. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good +rather than harm; but I think that during General Burnside's command of +the army you have taken counsel of your ambition and thwarted him as +much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country, and to +a most meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such +a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the army and +the government needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in +spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who +gain successes can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military +success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The government will support +you to the utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than it +has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit +which you have aided to infuse into the army, of criticizing their +commander and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I +shall assist you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor +Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army +while such a spirit prevails in it; and now beware of rashness. Beware +of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give +us victories." + +Perhaps the most remarkable thing in this letter is the evidence it +gives how completely the genius of President Lincoln had by this, the +middle of his presidential term, risen to the full height of his great +national duties and responsibilities. From beginning to end it speaks +the language and breathes the spirit of the great ruler, secure in +popular confidence and official authority, equal to the great +emergencies that successively rose before him. Upon General Hooker its +courteous praise and frank rebuke, its generous trust and distinct note +of fatherly warning, made a profound impression. He strove worthily to +redeem his past indiscretions by devoting himself with great zeal and +energy to improving the discipline and morale of his army, recalling its +absentees, and restoring its spirit by increased drill and renewed +activity. He kept the President well informed of what he was doing, and +early in April submitted a plan of campaign on which Mr. Lincoln +indorsed, on the eleventh of that month: + +"My opinion is that just now, with the enemy directly ahead of us, there +is no eligible route for us into Richmond; and consequently a question +of preference between the Rappahannock route and the James River route +is a contest about nothing. Hence, our prime object is the enemy's army +in front of us, and is not with or about Richmond at all, unless it be +incidental to the main object." + +Having raised his effective force to about one hundred and thirty +thousand men, and learning that Lee's army was weakened by detachments +to perhaps half that number, Hooker, near the end of the month, prepared +and executed a bold movement which for a while was attended with +encouraging progress. Sending General Sedgwick with three army corps to +make a strong demonstration and crossing below Fredericksburg, Hooker +with his remaining four corps made a somewhat long and circuitous march +by which he crossed both the Rappahannock and the Rapidan above the +town without serious opposition, and on the evening of April 30 had his +four corps at Chancellorsville, south of the Rappahannock, from whence +he could advance against the rear of the enemy. But his advantage of +position was neutralized by the difficulties of the ground. He was in +the dense and tangled forest known as the Wilderness, and the decision +and energy of his brilliant and successful advance were suddenly +succeeded by a spirit of hesitation and delay in which the evident and +acknowledged chances of victory were gradually lost. The enemy found +time to rally from his surprise and astonishment, to gather a strong +line of defense, and finally, to organize a counter flank movement under +Stonewall Jackson, which fell upon the rear of the Union right and +created a panic in the Eleventh Corps. Sedgwick's force had crossed +below and taken Fredericksburg; but the divided Union army could not +effect a junction; and the fighting from May 1 to May 4 finally ended by +the withdrawal of both sections of the Union army north of the +Rappahannock. The losses suffered by the Union and the Confederate +forces were about equal, but the prestige of another brilliant victory +fell to General Lee, seriously balanced, however, by the death of +Stonewall Jackson, who was accidentally killed by the fire of his own +men. + +In addition to his evident very unusual diminution of vigor and will, +Hooker had received a personal injury on the third, which for some hours +rendered him incapable of command; and he said in his testimony before +the Committee on the Conduct of the War: + +"When I returned from Chancellorsville I felt that I had fought no +battle; in fact, I had more men than I could use, and I fought no +general battle for the reason that I could not get my men in position to +do so probably not more than three or three and a half corps on the +right were engaged in the fight." + +Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville had not been so great a disaster as +that of Burnside at Fredericksburg; and while his influence was greatly +impaired, his usefulness did not immediately cease. The President and +the Secretary of War still had faith in him. The average opinion of his +qualities has been tersely expressed by one of his critics, who wrote: +"As an inferior he planned badly and fought well; as a chief he planned +well and fought badly." The course of war soon changed, so that he was +obliged to follow rather than permitted to lead the developments of a +new campaign. + +The brilliant victories gained by Lee inspired the Confederate +authorities and leaders with a greatly exaggerated hope of the ultimate +success of the rebellion. It was during the summer of 1863 that the +Confederate armies reached, perhaps, their highest numerical strength +and greatest degree of efficiency. Both the long dreamed of possibility +of achieving Southern independence and the newly flushed military ardor +of officers and men, elated by what seemed to them an unbroken record of +successes on the Virginia battle-fields moved General Lee to the bold +hazard of a second invasion of the North. Early in June, Hooker gave it +as his opinion that Lee intended to move against Washington, and asked +whether in that case he should attack the Confederate rear. To this +Lincoln answered on the fifth of that month: + +"In case you find Lee coming to the north of the Rappahannock, I would +by no means cross to the south of it. If he should leave a rear force at +Fredericksburg tempting you to fall upon it, it would fight in +intrenchments and have you at disadvantage, and so, man for man, worst +you at that point, while his main force would in some way be getting an +advantage of you northward. In one word, I would not take any risk of +being entangled upon the river, like an ox jumped half over a fence and +liable to be torn by dogs front and rear, without a fair chance to gore +one way or kick the other." + +Five days later, Hooker, having become convinced that a large part of +Lee's army was in motion toward the Shenandoah valley, proposed the +daring plan of a quick and direct march to capture Richmond. But the +President immediately telegraphed him a convincing objection: + +"If left to me, I would not go south of the Rappahannock upon Lee's +moving north of it. If you had Richmond invested to-day, you would not +be able to take it in twenty days; meanwhile, your communications, and +with them your army, would be ruined. I think Lee's army, and not +Richmond, is your true objective point. If he comes toward the upper +Potomac, follow on his flank and on his inside track, shortening your +lines while he lengthens his. Fight him, too, when opportunity offers. +If he stays where he is, fret him and fret him." + +The movement northward of Lee's army, effectually masked for some days +by frequent cavalry skirmishes, now became evident to the Washington +authorities. On June 14, Lincoln telegraphed Hooker: + +"So far as we can make out here, the enemy have Milroy surrounded at +Winchester, and Tyler at Martinsburg If they could hold out a few days, +could you help them? If the head of Lee's army is at Martinsburg, and +the tail of it on the plank road between Fredericksburg and +Chancellorsville, the animal must be very slim somewhere. Could you not +break him?" + +While Lee, without halting, crossed the Potomac above Harper's Ferry, +and continued his northward march into Maryland and Pennsylvania, Hooker +prudently followed on the "inside track" as Mr. Lincoln had suggested, +interposing the Union army effectually to guard Washington and +Baltimore. But at this point a long-standing irritation and jealousy +between Hooker and Halleck became so acute that on the +general-in-chief's refusing a comparatively minor request, Hooker asked +to be relieved from command. The President, deeming divided counsel at +so critical a juncture more hazardous than a change of command, took +Hooker at his word, and appointed General George G. Meade as his +successor. + +Meade had, since Chancellorsville, been as caustic a critic of Hooker as +Hooker was of Burnside at and after Fredericksburg. But all spirit of +insubordination vanished in the exciting stress of a pursuing campaign +and the new and retiring leaders of the Army of the Potomac exchanged +compliments in General Orders with high chivalric courtesy, while the +army continued its northward march with undiminished ardor and unbroken +step. When Meade crossed the Pennsylvania line, Lee was already far +ahead, threatening Harrisburg. The Confederate invasion spread terror +and loss among farms and villages, and created almost a panic in the +great cities. Under the President's call for one hundred thousand six +months' militia six of the adjoining States were sending hurried and +improvised forces to the banks of the Susquehanna, under the command of +General Couch. Lee, finding that stream too well guarded, turned his +course directly east, which, with Meade marching to the north, brought +the opposing armies into inevitable contact and collision at the town of +Gettysburg. + +Meade had both expected and carefully prepared to receive the attack +and fight a defensive battle on the line of Pipe Creek. But when, on the +afternoon of July 1, 1863, the advance detachments of each army met and +engaged in a fierce conflict for the possession of the town, Meade, on +learning the nature of the fight, and the situation of the ground, +instantly decided to accept it, and ordering forward his whole force, +made it the principal and most decisive battle-field of the whole war. + +The Union troops made a violent and stubborn effort to hold the town of +Gettysburg; but the early Confederate arrivals, taking position in a +half-circle on the west, north, and east, drove them through and out of +it. The seeming reverse proved an advantage. Half a mile to the south it +enabled the Union detachments to seize and establish themselves on +Cemetery Ridge and Hill. This, with several rocky elevations, and a +crest of boulders making a curve to the east at the northern end, was in +itself almost a natural fortress, and with the intrenchments thrown up +by the expert veterans, soon became nearly impregnable. Beyond a wide +valley to the west, and parallel with it, lay Seminary Ridge, on which +the Confederate army established itself with equal rapidity. Lee had +also hoped to fight a defensive battle; but thus suddenly arrested in +his eastward march in a hostile country, could not afford to stand still +and wait. + +On the morning of July 2, both commanding generals were in the field. +After careful studies and consultations Lee ordered an attack on both +the extreme right and extreme left of the Union position, meeting some +success in the former, but a complete repulse in the latter. That night, +Meade's council of war, coinciding with his own judgment, resolved to +stand and fight it out; while Lee, against the advice of Longstreet, +his ablest general, with equal decision determined to risk the chance of +a final and determined attack. + +It was Meade who began the conflict at dawn on the morning of July 3, +but only long enough to retake and hold the intrenchments on his extreme +right, which he had lost the evening before; then for some hours an +ominous lull and silence fell over the whole battle-field. But these +were hours of stern preparation At midday a furious cannonade began from +one hundred and thirty Confederate guns on Seminary Ridge, which was +answered with promptness and spirit by about seventy Union guns from the +crests and among the boulders of Cemetery Ridge; and the deafening roar +of artillery lasted for about an hour, at the end of which time the +Union guns ceased firing and were allowed to cool, and to be made ready +to meet the assault that was sure to come. There followed a period of +waiting almost painful to officers and men, in its intense expectancy; +and then across the broad, undulating, and highly cultivated valley +swept the long attacking line of seventeen thousand rebel infantry, the +very flower of the Confederate army. But it was a hopeless charge. +Thinned, almost mowed down by the grape-shot of the Union batteries and +the deadly aim of the Union riflemen behind their rocks and +intrenchments the Confederate assault wavered, hesitated, struggled on, +and finally melted away before the destructive fire. A few rebel +battle-flags reached the crest, only, however, to fall, and their +bearers and supporters to be made prisoners. The Confederate dream of +taking Philadelphia and dictating peace and separation in Independence +Hall was over forever. + +It is doubtful whether Lee immediately realized the full measure of his +defeat, or Meade the magnitude of his victory. The terrible losses of +the battle of Gettysburg--over three thousand killed, fourteen thousand +wounded, and five thousand captured or missing of the Union army; and +twenty-six hundred killed, twelve thousand wounded, and five thousand +missing of the Confederates--largely occupied the thoughts and labors of +both sides during the national holiday which followed. It was a surprise +to Meade that on the morning of July 5 the Confederate army had +disappeared, retreating as rapidly as might be to the neighborhood of +Harper's Ferry. Unable immediately to cross because the Potomac was +swollen by heavy rains, and Meade having followed and arrived in Lee's +front on July 10, President Lincoln had the liveliest hopes that Meade +would again attack and capture or destroy the Confederate army. Generous +praise for his victory, and repeated and urgent suggestions to renew his +attack and end the rebellion, had gone to Meade from the President and +General Halleck. But Meade hesitated, and his council of war objected; +and on the night of July 13 Lee recrossed the Potomac in retreat. When +he heard the news, Mr. Lincoln sat down and wrote a letter of criticism +and disappointment which reflects the intensity of his feeling at the +escape of Lee: + +"The case, summarily stated, is this: You fought and beat the enemy at +Gettysburg, and, of course, to say the least, his loss was as great as +yours. He retreated and you did not, as it seemed to me, pressingly +pursue him; but a flood in the river detained him till, by slow degrees, +you were again upon him. You had at least twenty thousand veteran troops +directly with you, and as many more raw ones within supporting distance, +all in addition to those who fought with you at Gettysburg, while it was +not possible that he had received a single recruit, and yet you stood +and let the flood run down, bridges be built, and the enemy move away +at his leisure, without attacking him.... Again, my dear general, I do +not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in +Lee's escape. He was within your easy grasp, and to have closed upon him +would, in connection with our other late successes, have ended the war. +As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely. If you could not +safely attack Lee last Monday, how can you possibly do so south of the +river, when you can take with you very few more than two thirds of the +force you then had in hand? It would be unreasonable to expect, and I do +not expect [that] you can now effect much. Your golden opportunity is +gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it." + +Clearly as Mr. Lincoln had sketched and deeply as he felt Meade's fault +of omission, so quick was the President's spirit of forgiveness, and so +thankful was he for the measure of success which had been gained, that +he never signed or sent the letter. + +Two memorable events are forever linked with the Gettysburg victory: the +surrender of Vicksburg to Grant on the same fourth of July, described in +the next chapter, and the dedication of the Gettysburg battle-field as a +national cemetery for Union soldiers, on November 19, 1863, on which +occasion President Lincoln crowned that imposing ceremonial with an +address of such literary force, brevity, and beauty, that critics have +assigned it a high rank among the world's historic orations. He said: + +"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this +continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the +proposition that all men are created equal. + +"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, +or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met +on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion +of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their +lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper +that we should do this. + +"But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we +cannot hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who +struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or +detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, +but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, +rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who +fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be +here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these +honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they +gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that +these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, +shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by +the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." + +Having safely crossed the Potomac, the Confederate army continued its +retreat without halting to the familiar camps in central Virginia it had +so long and valiantly defended. Meade followed with alert but prudent +vigilance, but did not again find such chances as he lost on the fourth +of July, or while the swollen waters of the Potomac held his enemy as in +a trap. During the ensuing autumn months there went on between the +opposing generals an unceasing game of strategy, a succession of moves +and counter-moves in which the opposing commanders handled their great +armies with the same consumate skill with which the expert +fencing-master uses his foil, but in which neither could break through +the other's guard. Repeated minor encounters took place which, in other +wars, would have rated as heavy battles; but the weeks lengthened into +months without decisive results, and when the opposing armies finally +went into winter quarters in December, 1863, they again confronted each +other across the Rapidan in Virginia, not very far south of where they +lay in the winter of 1861. + + + + +XXVII + +Buell and Bragg--Perryville--Rosecrans and Murfreesboro--Grant's +Vicksburg Experiments--Grant's May Battles--Siege and Surrender of +Vicksburg--Lincoln to Grant--Rosecrans's March to Chattanooga--Battle of +Chickamauga--Grant at Chattanooga--Battle of Chattanooga--Burnside at +Knoxville--Burnside Repulses Longstreet + + +From the Virginia campaigns of 1863 we must return to the Western +campaigns of the same year, or, to be more precise, beginning with the +middle of 1862. When, in July of that year, Halleck was called to +Washington to become general-in-chief, the principal plan he left behind +was that Buell, with the bulk of the forces which had captured Corinth, +should move from that place eastward to occupy eastern Tennessee. Buell, +however, progressed so leisurely that before he reached Chattanooga the +Confederate General Bragg, by a swift northward movement, advanced into +eastern Kentucky, enacted the farce of appointing a Confederate governor +for that State, and so threatened Louisville that Buell was compelled +abruptly to abandon his eastward march and, turning to the north, run a +neck-and-neck race to save Louisville from rebel occupation. Successful +in this, Buell immediately turned and, pursuing the now retreating +forces of Bragg, brought them to bay at Perryville, where, on October 8, +was fought a considerable battle from which Bragg immediately retreated +out of Kentucky. + +While on one hand Bragg had suffered defeat, he had on the other caused +Buell to give up all idea of moving into East Tennessee, an object on +which the President had specially and repeatedly insisted. When Halleck +specifically ordered Buell to resume and execute that plan, Buell urged +such objections, and intimated such unwillingness, that on October 24, +1862, he was relieved from command, and General Rosecrans was appointed +to succeed him. Rosecrans neglected the East Tennessee orders as +heedlessly as Buell had done; but, reorganizing the Army of the +Cumberland and strengthening his communications, marched against Bragg, +who had gone into winter quarters at Murfreesboro. The severe engagement +of that name, fought on December 31, 1862, and the three succeeding days +of the new year, between forces numbering about forty-three thousand on +each side, was tactically a drawn battle, but its results rendered it an +important Union victory, compelling Bragg to retreat; though, for +reasons which he never satisfactorily explained, Rosecrans failed for +six months to follow up his evident advantages. + +The transfer of Halleck from the West to Washington in the summer of +1862, left Grant in command of the district of West Tennessee. But +Buell's eastward expedition left him so few movable troops that during +the summer and most of the autumn he was able to accomplish little +except to defend his department by the repulse of the enemy at Iuka in +September, and at Corinth early in October, Rosecrans being in local +command at both places. It was for these successes that Rosecrans was +chosen to succeed Buell. + +Grant had doubtless given much of his enforced leisure to studying the +great problem of opening the Mississippi, a task which was thus left in +his own hands, but for which, as yet, he found neither a theoretical +solution, nor possessed an army sufficiently strong to begin practical +work. Under the most favorable aspects, it was a formidable undertaking. +Union gunboats had full control of the great river from Cairo as far +south as Vicksburg; and Farragut's fleet commanded it from New Orleans +as far north as Port Hudson. But the intervening link of two hundred +miles between these places was in as complete possession of the +Confederates, giving the rebellion uninterrupted access to the immense +resources in men and supplies of the trans-Mississippi country, and +effectually barring the free navigation of the river. Both the cities +named were strongly fortified, but Vicksburg, on the east bank, by its +natural situation on a bluff two hundred feet high, rising almost out of +the stream, was unassailable from the river front. Farragut had, indeed, +in midsummer passed up and down before it with little damage from its +fire; but, in return, his own guns could no more do harm to its +batteries than they could have bombarded a fortress in the clouds. + +When, by the middle of November, 1862, Grant was able to reunite +sufficient reinforcements, he started on a campaign directly southward +toward Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, and sent Sherman, with an +expedition from Memphis, down the river to the mouth of the Yazoo, +hoping to unite these forces against Vicksburg. But before Grant reached +Grenada his railroad communications were cut by a Confederate raid, and +his great depot of supplies at Holly Springs captured and burned, +leaving him for two weeks without other provisions than such as he could +gather by foraging. The costly lesson proved a valuable experience to +him, which he soon put to use. Sherman's expedition also met disaster. +Landing at Milliken's Bend, on the west bank of the Mississippi, he +ventured a daring storming assault from the east bank of the Yazoo at +Haines's Bluff, ten miles north of Vicksburg, but met a bloody repulse. + +Having abandoned his railroad advance, Grant next joined Sherman at +Milliken's Bend in January, 1863, where also Admiral Porter, with a +river squadron of seventy vessels, eleven of them ironclads, was added +to his force. For the next three months Grant kept his large army and +flotilla busy with four different experiments to gain a practicable +advance toward Vicksburg, until his fifth highly novel and, to other +minds, seemingly reckless and impossible plan secured him a brilliant +success and results of immense military advantage. One experiment was to +cut a canal across the tongue of land opposite Vicksburg, through which +the flotilla might pass out of range of the Vicksburg guns. A second was +to force the gunboats and transports up the tortuous and swampy Yazoo to +find a landing far north of Haines's Bluff. A third was for the flotilla +to enter through Yazoo Pass and Cold Water River, two hundred miles +above, and descend the Yazoo to a hoped-for landing. Still a fourth +project was to cut a canal into Lake Providence west of the Mississippi, +seventy miles above, find a practicable waterway through two hundred +miles of bayous and rivers, and establish communication with Banks and +Farragut, who were engaged in an effort to capture Port Hudson. + +The time, the patience, the infinite labor, and enormous expense of +these several projects were utterly wasted. Early in April, Grant began +an entirely new plan, which was opposed by all his ablest generals, and, +tested by the accepted rules of military science, looked like a headlong +venture of rash desperation. During the month of April he caused Admiral +Porter to prepare fifteen or twenty vessels--ironclads, steam +transports, and provision barges--and run them boldly by night past the +Vicksburg and, later, past the Grand Gulf batteries, which the admiral +happily accomplished with very little loss. Meanwhile, the general, by a +very circuitous route of seventy miles, marched an army of thirty-five +thousand down the west bank of the Mississippi and, with Porter's +vessels and transports, crossed them to the east side of the river at +Bruinsburg. From this point, with an improvised train of country +vehicles to carry his ammunition, and living meanwhile entirely upon the +country, as he had learned to do in his baffled Grenada expedition, he +made one of the most rapid and brilliant campaigns in military history. +In the first twenty days of May he marched one hundred and eighty miles, +and fought five winning battles--respectively Port Gibson, Raymond, +Jackson, Champion's Hill, and Big Black River--in each of which he +brought his practically united force against the enemy's separated +detachments, capturing altogether eighty-eight guns and over six +thousand prisoners, and shutting up the Confederate General Pemberton in +Vicksburg. By a rigorous siege of six weeks he then compelled his +antagonist to surrender the strongly fortified city with one hundred and +seventy-two cannon, and his army of nearly thirty thousand men. On the +fourth of July, 1863, the day after Meade's crushing defeat of Lee at +Gettysburg, the surrender took place, citizens and Confederate soldiers +doubtless rejoicing that the old national holiday gave them escape from +their caves and bomb-proofs, and full Yankee rations to still their +long-endured hunger. + +The splendid victory of Grant brought about a quick and important echo. +About the time that the Union army closed around Vicksburg, General +Banks, on the lower Mississippi, began a close investment and siege of +Port Hudson, which he pushed with determined tenacity. When the rebel +garrison heard the artillery salutes which were fired by order of Banks +to celebrate the surrender of Vicksburg, and the rebel commander was +informed of Pemberton's disaster, he also gave up the defense, and on +July 9 surrendered Port Hudson with six thousand prisoners and fifty-one +guns. + +Great national rejoicing followed this double success of the Union arms +on the Mississippi, which, added to Gettysburg, formed the turning tide +in the war of the rebellion; and no one was more elated over these +Western victories, which fully restored the free navigation of the +Mississippi, than President Lincoln. Like that of the whole country, his +patience had been severely tried by the long and ineffectual experiments +of Grant. But from first to last Mr. Lincoln had given him firm and +undeviating confidence and support. He not only gave the general quick +promotion, but crowned the official reward with the following generous +letter: + +"My Dear General: I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. +I write this now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable +service you have done the country. I wish to say a word further. When +you first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should do +what you finally did--march the troops across the neck, run the +batteries with the transports, and thus go below; and I never had any +faith, except a general hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo +Pass expedition and the like could succeed. When you got below and took +Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down the +river and join General Banks, and when you turned northward, east of the +Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal +acknowledgment that you were right and I was wrong." + +It has already been mentioned that General Rosecrans after winning the +battle of Murfreesboro at the beginning of 1863, remained inactive at +that place nearly six months, though, of course, constantly busy +recruiting his army, gathering supplies, and warding off several +troublesome Confederate cavalry raids. The defeated General Bragg +retreated only to Shelbyville, ten miles south of the battle-field he +had been obliged to give up, and the military frontier thus divided +Tennessee between the contestants. Against repeated prompting and urging +from Washington, Rosecrans continued to find real or imaginary excuses +for delay until midsummer, when, as if suddenly awaking from a long +lethargy, he made a bold advance and, by a nine days' campaign of +skilful strategy, forced Bragg into a retreat that stopped only at +Chattanooga, south of the Tennessee River, which, with the surrounding +mountains, made it the strategical center and military key to the heart +of Georgia and the South. This march of Rosecrans, ending the day before +the Vicksburg surrender, again gave the Union forces full possession of +middle Tennessee down to its southern boundary. + +The march completed, and the enemy thus successfully manoeuvered out of +the State, Rosecrans once more came to a halt, and made no further +movement for six weeks. The President and General Halleck were already +out of patience with Rosecrans for his long previous delay. Bragg's +retreat to Chattanooga was such a gratifying and encouraging supplement +to the victories of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, that they felt the +Confederate army should not be allowed to rest, recruit, and fortify the +important gateway to the heart of the Southern Confederacy, and early +in August sent Rosecrans peremptory orders to advance. This direction +seemed the more opportune and necessary, since Burnside had organized a +special Union force in eastern Kentucky, and was about starting on a +direct campaign into East Tennessee. + +Finally, obeying this explicit injunction, Rosecrans took the initiative +in the middle of August by a vigorous southward movement. Threatening +Chattanooga from the north, he marched instead around the left flank of +Bragg's army, boldly crossing the Cumberland Mountains, the Tennessee +River, and two mountain ranges beyond. Bragg, seriously alarmed lest +Rosecrans should seize the railroad communications behind him, hastily +evacuated Chattanooga, but not with the intention of flight, as +Rosecrans erroneously believed and reported. When, on September 9, the +left of Rosecrans's army marched into Chattanooga without firing a shot, +the Union detachments were so widely scattered in separating mountain +valleys, in pursuit of Bragg's imaginary retreat, that Bragg believed he +saw his chance to crush them in detail before they could unite. + +With this resolve, Bragg turned upon his antagonist but his effort at +quick concentration was delayed by the natural difficulties of the +ground. By September 19, both armies were well gathered on opposite +sides of Chickamauga Creek, eight miles southeast of Chattanooga; each +commander being as yet, however, little informed of the other's position +and strength. Bragg had over seventy-one thousand men; Rosecrans, +fifty-seven thousand. The conflict was finally begun, rather by accident +than design, and on that day and the twentieth was fought the battle of +Chickamauga, one of the severest encounters of the whole war. Developing +itself without clear knowledge on either side, it became a moving +conflict, Bragg constantly extending his attack toward his right, and +Rosecrans meeting the onset with prompt shifting toward his left. + +In this changing contest Rosecrans's army underwent an alarming crisis +on the second day of the battle. A mistake or miscarriage of orders +opened a gap of two brigades in his line, which the enemy quickly found, +and through which the Confederate battalions rushed with an energy that +swept away the whole Union right in a disorderly retreat. Rosecrans +himself was caught in the panic, and, believing the day irretrievably +lost, hastened back to Chattanooga to report the disaster and collect +what he might of his flying army. The hopeless prospect, however, soon +changed. General Thomas, second in command, and originally in charge of +the center, had been sent by Rosecrans to the extreme left, and had, +while the right was giving way, successfully repulsed the enemy in his +front. He had been so fortunate as to secure a strong position on the +head of a ridge, around which he gathered such remnants of the beaten +detachments as he could collect, amounting to about half the Union army, +and here, from two o'clock in the afternoon until dark, he held his +semicircular line against repeated assaults of the enemy, with a heroic +valor that earned him the sobriquet of "The Rock of Chickamauga." At +night, Thomas retired, under orders, to Rossville, half way to +Chattanooga. + +The President was of course greatly disappointed when Rosecrans +telegraphed that he had met a serious disaster, but this disappointment +was mitigated by the quickly following news of the magnificent defense +and the successful stand made by General Thomas at the close of the +battle. Mr. Lincoln immediately wrote in a note to Halleck: + +"I think it very important for General Rosecrans to hold his position at +or about Chattanooga, because, if held, from that place to Cleveland, +both inclusive, it keeps all Tennessee clear of the enemy, and also +breaks one of his most important railroad lines.... If he can only +maintain this position, without more, this rebellion can only eke out a +short and feeble existence, as an animal sometimes may with a thorn in +its vitals." + +And to Rosecrans he telegraphed directly, bidding him be of good cheer, +and adding: "We shall do our utmost to assist you." To this end the +administration took instant and energetic measures. On the night of +September 23, the President, General Halleck, several members of the +cabinet, and leading army and railroad officials met in an improvised +council at the War Department, and issued emergency orders under which +two army corps from the Army of the Potomac, numbering twenty thousand +men in all, with their arms and equipments ready for the field, the +whole under command of General Hooker, were transported from their camps +on the Rapidan by railway to Nashville and the Tennessee River in the +next eight days. Burnside, who had arrived at Knoxville early in +September, was urged by repeated messages to join Rosecrans, and other +reinforcements were already on the way from Memphis and Vicksburg. + +All this help, however, was not instantly available. Before it could +arrive Rosecrans felt obliged to draw together within the fortifications +of Chattanooga, while Bragg quickly closed about him, and, by +practically blockading Rosecrans's river communication, placed him in a +state of siege. In a few weeks the limited supplies brought the Union +army face to face with famine. It having become evident that Rosecrans +was incapable of extricating it from its peril, he was relieved and the +command given to Thomas, while the three western departments were +consolidated under General Grant, and he was ordered personally to +proceed to Chattanooga, which place he reached on October 22. + +Before his arrival, General W.F. Smith had devised and prepared an +ingenious plan to regain control of river communication. Under the +orders of Grant, Smith successfully executed it, and full rations soon +restored vigor and confidence to the Union troops. The considerable +reinforcements under Hooker and Sherman coming up, put the besieging +enemy on the defensive, and active preparations were begun, which +resulted in the famous battle and overwhelming Union victory of +Chattanooga on November 23, 24, and 25, 1863. + +The city of Chattanooga lies on the southeastern bank of the Tennessee +River. Back of the city, Chattanooga valley forms a level plain about +two miles in width to Missionary Ridge, a narrow mountain range five +hundred feet high, generally parallel to the course of the Tennessee, +extending far to the southwest. The Confederates had fortified the upper +end of Missionary Ridge to a length of five to seven miles opposite the +city, lining its long crest with about thirty guns, amply supported by +infantry. This formidable barrier was still further strengthened by two +lines of rifle-pits, one at the base of Missionary Ridge next to the +city, and another with advanced pickets still nearer Chattanooga +Northward, the enemy strongly held the end of Missionary Ridge where the +railroad tunnel passes through it; southward, they held the yet stronger +point of Lookout Mountain, whose rocky base turns the course of the +Tennessee River in a short bend to the north. + +Grant's plan in rough outline was, that Sherman, with the Army of the +Tennessee, should storm the northern end of Missionary Ridge at the +railroad tunnel; Hooker, stationed at Wauhatchie, thirteen miles to the +southwest with his two corps from the Army of the Potomac, should +advance toward the city, storming the point of Lookout Mountain on his +way; and Thomas, in the city, attack the direct front of Missionary +Ridge. The actual beginning slightly varied this program, with a change +of corps and divisions, but the detail is not worth noting. + +Beginning on the night of November 23, Sherman crossed his command over +the Tennessee, and on the afternoon of the twenty-fourth gained the +northern end of Missionary Ridge, driving the enemy before him as far as +the railroad tunnel. Here, however, he found a deep gap in the ridge, +previously unknown to him, which barred his further progress. That same +afternoon Hooker's troops worked their way through mist and fog up the +rugged sides of Lookout Mountain, winning the brilliant success which +has become famous as the "battle above the clouds." That same afternoon, +also, two divisions of the center, under the eyes of Grant and Thomas, +pushed forward the Union line about a mile, seizing and fortifying a +hill called Orchard Knob, capturing Bragg's first line of rifle-pits and +several hundred prisoners. + +So far, everything had occurred to inspirit the Union troops and +discourage the enemy. But the main incident was yet to come, on the +afternoon of November 25. All the forenoon of that day Grant waited +eagerly to see Sherman making progress along the north end of Missionary +Ridge, not knowing that he had met an impassable valley. Grant's +patience was equally tried at hearing no news from Hooker, though that +general had successfully reached Missionary Ridge, and was ascending +the gap near Rossville. + +At three o'clock in the afternoon Grant at length gave Thomas the order +to advance. Eleven Union brigades rushed forward with orders to take the +enemy's rifle-pits at the base of Missionary Ridge, and then halt to +reform. But such was the ease of this first capture, such the eagerness +of the men who had been waiting all day for the moment of action, that, +after but a slight pause, without orders, and moved by a common impulse, +they swept on and up the steep and rocky face of Missionary Ridge, +heedless of the enemy's fire from rifle and cannon at the top, until in +fifty-five minutes after leaving their positions they almost +simultaneously broke over the crest of the ridge in six different +places, capturing the batteries and making prisoners of the supporting +infantry, who, surprised and bewildered by the daring escalade, made +little or no further resistance. Bragg's official report soundly berates +the conduct of his men, apparently forgetting the heavy loss they had +inflicted on their assailants but regardless of which the Union veterans +mounted to victory in an almost miraculous exaltation of patriotic +heroism. + +Bragg's Confederate army was not only beaten, but hopelessly demoralized +by the fiery Union assault, and fled in panic and retreat. Grant kept up +a vigorous pursuit to a distance of twenty miles, which he ceased in +order to send an immediate strong reinforcement under Sherman to relieve +Burnside, besieged by the Confederate General Longstreet at Knoxville. +But before this help arrived, Burnside had repulsed Longstreet who, +promptly informed of the Chattanooga disaster, retreated in the +direction of Virginia. Not being pursued, however, this general again +wintered in East Tennessee; and for the same reason, the beaten army of +Bragg halted in its retreat from Missionary Ridge at Dalton, where it +also went into winter quarters. The battle of Chattanooga had opened the +great central gateway to the south, but the rebel army, still determined +and formidable, yet lay in its path, only twenty-eight miles away. + + + + +XXVIII + +Grant Lieutenant-General--Interview with Lincoln--Grant Visits +Sherman--Plan of Campaigns--Lincoln to Grant--From the Wilderness to Cold +Harbor--The Move to City Point--Siege of Petersburg--Early Menaces +Washington--Lincoln under Fire--Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley + + +The army rank of lieutenant-general had, before the Civil War, been +conferred only twice on American commanders; on Washington, for service +in the War of Independence, and on Scott, for his conquest of Mexico. As +a reward for the victories of Donelson, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, +Congress passed, and the President signed in February, 1864, an act to +revive that grade. Calling Grant to Washington, the President met him +for the first time at a public reception at the Executive Mansion on +March 8, when the famous general was received with all the +manifestations of interest and enthusiasm possible in a social state +ceremonial. On the following day, at one o'clock, the general's formal +investiture with his new rank and authority took place in the presence +of Mr. Lincoln, the cabinet, and a few other officials. + +"General Grant," said the President, "the nation's appreciation of what +you have done, and its reliance upon you for what remains to do in the +existing great struggle, are now presented, with this commission +constituting you Lieutenant-General in the Army of the United States. +With this high honor devolves upon you, also, a corresponding +responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will +sustain you. I scarcely need to add that with what I here speak for the +nation, goes my own hearty personal concurrence." + +General Grant's reply was modest and also very brief: + +"Mr. President, I accept this commission with gratitude for the high +honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so +many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not +to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the +responsibilities now devolving on me; and I know that if they are met, +it will be due to those armies, and above all to the favor of that +Providence which leads both nations and men." + +In the informal conversation which followed, General Grant inquired what +special service was expected of him; to which the President replied that +the country wanted him to take Richmond; and being asked if he could do +so, replied that he could if he had the troops, which he was assured +would be furnished him. On the following day, Grant went to the Army of +the Potomac, where Meade received him with frank courtesy, generously +suggesting that he was ready to yield the command to any one Grant might +prefer. Grant, however, informed Meade that he desired to make no +change; and, returning to Washington, started west without a moment's +loss of time. On March 12, 1864, formal orders of the War Department +placed Grant in command of all the armies of the United States, while +Halleck, relieved from that duty, was retained at Washington as the +President's chief of staff. + +Grant frankly confesses in his "Memoirs" that when he started east it +was with a firm determination to accept no appointment requiring him to +leave the West; but "when I got to Washington and saw the situation, it +was plain that here was the point for the commanding general to be." His +short visit had removed several false impressions, and future experience +was to cure him of many more. + +When Grant again met Sherman in the West, he outlined to that general, +who had become his most intimate and trusted brother officer, the very +simple and definite military policy which was to be followed during the +year 1864. There were to be but two leading campaigns. Sherman, starting +from Chattanooga, full master of his own movements, was to lead the +combined western forces against the Confederate army under Johnston, the +successor of Bragg. Grant would personally conduct the campaign in the +East against Richmond, or rather against the rebel army under Lee. Meade +would be left in immediate command of the Army of the Potomac, to +execute the personal daily directions of Grant. The two Confederate +armies were eight hundred miles apart, and should either give way, it +was to be followed without halt or delay to battle or surrender, to +prevent its junction with the other. Scattered as a large portion of the +Union forces were in garrisons and detachments at widely separated +points, there were, of course, many details to be arranged, and a few +expeditions already in progress; but these were of minor importance, and +for contributory, rather than main objects, and need not here be +described. + +Returning promptly to Washington, Grant established his headquarters +with the Army of the Potomac, at Culpepper, and for about a month +actively pushed his military preparations. He seems at first to have +been impressed with a dread that the President might wish to influence +or control his plans. But the few interviews between them removed the +suspicion which reckless newspaper accusation had raised; and all doubt +on this point vanished, when, on the last day of April, Mr. Lincoln sent +him the following explicit letter: + +"Not expecting to see you again before the spring campaign opens, I wish +to express in this way my entire satisfaction with what you have done up +to this time, so far as I understand it. The particulars of your plan I +neither know nor seek to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant; and, +pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any constraints or restraints +upon you. While I am very anxious that any great disaster or capture of +our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know these points are less +likely to escape your attention than they would be mine. If there is +anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me +know it. And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain +you." + +Grant's immediate reply confessed the groundlessness of his +apprehensions: + +"From my first entrance into the volunteer service of the country to the +present day, I have never had cause of complaint--have never expressed +or implied a complaint against the administration, or the Secretary of +War, for throwing any embarrassment in the way of my vigorously +prosecuting what appeared to me my duty. Indeed, since the promotion +which placed me in command of all the armies, and in view of the great +responsibility and importance of success, I have been astonished at the +readiness with which everything asked for has been yielded, without even +an explanation being asked. Should my success be less than I desire and +expect, the least I can say is, the fault is not with you." + +The Union army under Grant, one hundred and twenty-two thousand strong, +on April 30, was encamped north of the Rapidan River. The Confederate +army under Lee, numbering sixty-two thousand, lay south of that stream. +Nearly three years before, these opposing armies had fought their first +battle of Bull Run, only a comparatively short distance north of where +they now confronted each other. Campaign and battle between them had +surged far to the north and to the south, but neither could as yet claim +over the other any considerable gain of ground or of final advantage in +the conflict. Broadly speaking, relative advance and retreat, as well as +relative loss and gain of battle-fields substantially balanced each +other. Severe as had been their struggles in the past, a more arduous +trial of strength was before them. Grant had two to one in numbers; Lee +the advantage of a defensive campaign. He could retire toward cumulative +reserves, and into prepared fortifications; knew almost by heart every +road, hill, and forest of Virginia; had for his friendly scout every +white inhabitant. Perhaps his greatest element of strength lay in the +conscious pride of the Confederate army that through all fluctuations of +success and failure, it had for three years effectually barred the way +of the Army of the Potomac to Richmond. But to offset this there now +menaced it what was before absent in every encounter, the grim, +unflinching will of the new Union commander. + +General Grant devised no plan of complicated strategy for the problem +before him, but proposed to solve it by plain, hard, persistent +fighting. He would endeavor to crush the army of Lee before it could +reach Richmond or unite with the army of Johnston; or, failing in that, +he would shut it up in that stronghold and reduce it by a siege. With +this in view, he instructed Meade at the very outset: "Lee's army will +be your objective point. Where Lee goes, there you will go, also." +Everything being ready, on the night of May 4, Meade threw five bridges +across the Rapidan, and before the following night the whole Union army, +with its trains, was across the stream moving southward by the left +flank, past the right flank of the Confederates. + +Sudden as was the advance, it did not escape the vigilant observation of +Lee, who instantly threw his force against the flanks of the Union +columns, and for two days there raged in that difficult, broken, and +tangled region known as the Wilderness, a furious battle of detachments +along a line five miles in length. Thickets, swamps, and ravines, +rendered intelligent direction and concerted manoeuvering impossible, +and furious and bloody as was the conflict, its results were indecisive. +No enemy appearing on the seventh, Grant boldly started to Spottsylvania +Court House, only, however, to find the Confederates ahead of him; and +on the eighth and ninth these turned their position, already strong by +nature, into an impregnable intrenched camp. Grant assaulted their works +on the tenth, fiercely, but unsuccessfully. There followed one day of +inactivity, during which Grant wrote his report, only claiming that +after six days of hard fighting and heavy losses "the result up to this +time is much in our favor"; but expressing, in the phrase which +immediately became celebrated, his firm resolution to "fight it out on +this line if it takes all summer." + +On May 12, 1864, Grant ordered a yet more determined attack, in which, +with fearful carnage on both sides, the Union forces finally stormed the +earthworks which have become known as the "bloody angle." But finding +that other and more formidable intrenchments still resisted his entrance +to the Confederate camp, Grant once more moved by the left flank past +his enemy toward Richmond. Lee followed with equal swiftness along the +interior lines. Days passed in an intermitting, and about equally +matched contest of strategy and fighting. The difference was that Grant +was always advancing and Lee always retiring. On May 26, Grant reported +to Washington: + +"Lee's army is really whipped. The prisoners we now take show it, and +the action of his army shows it unmistakably. A battle with them outside +of intrenchments cannot be had. Our men feel that they have gained the +_morale_ over the enemy, and attack him with confidence. I may be +mistaken, but I feel that our success over Lee's army is already +assured." + +That same night, Grant's advance crossed the Pamunkey River at Hanover +Town, and during another week, with a succession of marching, flanking, +and fighting. Grant pushed the Union army forward to Cold Harbor. Here +Lee's intrenched army was again between him and Richmond, and on June 3, +Grant ordered another determined attack in front, to break through that +constantly resisting barrier. But a disastrous repulse was the +consequence. Its effect upon the campaign is best given in Grant's own +letter, written to Washington on June 5: + +"My idea from the start has been to beat Lee's army, if possible, north +of Richmond; then, after destroying his lines of communication on the +north side of the James River, to transfer the army to the south side +and besiege Lee in Richmond, or follow him south if he should retreat. I +now find, after over thirty days of trial, the enemy deems it of the +first importance to run no risks with the armies they now have. They act +purely on the defensive behind breastworks, or feebly on the offensive +immediately in front of them, and where, in case of repulse, they can +instantly retire behind them. Without a greater sacrifice of human life +than I am willing to make, all cannot be accomplished that I had +designed outside of the city." + +During the week succeeding the severe repulse at Cold Harbor, which +closed what may be summed up as Grant's campaign against Richmond, he +made his preparations to enter upon the second element of his general +plan, which may be most distinctively denominated the siege of +Petersburg, though, in fuller phraseology, it might be called the siege +of Petersburg and Richmond combined. But the amplification is not +essential; for though the operation and the siege-works embraced both +cities, Petersburg was the vital and vulnerable point. When Petersburg +fell, Richmond fell of necessity. The reason was, that Lee's army, +inclosed within the combined fortifications, could only be fed by the +use of three railroads centering at Petersburg; one from the southeast, +one from the south, and one with general access from the southwest. +Between these, two plank roads added a partial means of supply. Thus +far, Grant's active campaign, though failing to destroy Lee's army, had +nevertheless driven it into Richmond, and obviously his next step was +either to dislodge it, or compel it to surrender. + +Cold Harbor was about ten miles from Richmond, and that city was +inclosed on the Washington side by two circles of fortifications devised +with the best engineering skill. On June 13, Grant threw forward an army +corps across the Chickahominy, deceiving Lee into the belief that he was +making a real direct advance upon the city; and so skilfully concealed +his intention that by midnight of the sixteenth he had moved the whole +Union army with its artillery and trains about twenty miles directly +south and across the James River, on a pontoon bridge over two thousand +feet long, to City Point. General Butler, with an expedition from +Fortress Monroe, moving early in May, had been ordered to capture +Petersburg; and though he failed in this, he had nevertheless seized and +held City Point, and Grant thus effected an immediate junction with +Butler's force of thirty-two thousand. Butler's second attempt to seize +Petersburg while Grant was marching to join him also failed, and Grant, +unwilling to make any needless sacrifice, now limited his operations to +the processes of a regular siege. + +This involved a complete change of method. The campaign against +Richmond, from the crossing of the Rapidan and battle of the Wilderness, +to Cold Harbor, and the change of base to City Point, occupied a period +of about six weeks of almost constant swift marching and hard fighting. +The siege of Petersburg was destined to involve more than nine months of +mingled engineering and fighting. The Confederate army forming the +combined garrisons of Richmond and Petersburg numbered about seventy +thousand. The army under Grant, though in its six weeks' campaign it had +lost over sixty thousand in killed, wounded, and missing, was again +raised by the reinforcements sent to it, and by its junction with +Butler, to a total of about one hundred and fifty thousand. With this +superiority of numbers, Grant pursued the policy of alternately +threatening the defenses of Lee, sometimes south, sometimes north of the +James River, and at every favorable opportunity pushing his siege-works +westward in order to gradually gain and command the three railroads and +two plank roads that brought the bulk of absolutely necessary food and +supplies to the Confederate armies and the inhabitants of Petersburg and +Richmond. It is estimated that this gradual westward extension of +Grant's lines, redoubts, and trenches, when added to those threatening +Richmond and Petersburg on the east, finally reached a total development +of about forty miles. The catastrophe came when Lee's army grew +insufficient to man his defensive line along this entire length, and +Grant, finding the weakened places, eventually broke through it, +compelling the Confederate general and army to evacuate and abandon both +cities and seek safety in flight. + +The central military drama, the first two distinctive acts of which are +outlined above, had during this long period a running accompaniment of +constant under-plot and shifting and exciting episodes. The Shenandoah +River, rising northwest of Richmond, but flowing in a general northeast +course to join the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, gives its name to a valley +twenty to thirty miles wide, highly fertile and cultivated, and having +throughout its length a fine turnpike, which in ante-railroad days was +an active commercial highway between North and South. Bordered on the +west by the rugged Alleghany Mountains, and on the east by the single +outlying range called the Blue Ridge, it formed a protected military +lane or avenue, having vital relation to the strategy of campaigns on +the open Atlantic slopes of central Virginia. The Shenandoah valley had +thus played a not unimportant part in almost every military operation of +the war, from the first battle of Bull Run to the final defense of +Richmond. + +The plans of General Grant did not neglect so essential a feature of his +task. While he was fighting his way toward the Confederate capital, his +instructions contemplated the possession and occupation of the +Shenandoah valley as part of the system which should isolate and +eventually besiege Richmond. But this part of his plan underwent many +fluctuations. He had scarcely reached City Point when he became aware +that General Lee, equally alive to the advantages of the Shenandoah +valley, had dispatched General Early with seventeen thousand men on a +flying expedition up that convenient natural sally-port, which was for +the moment undefended. + +Early made such speed that he crossed the Potomac during the first week +of July, made a devastating raid through Maryland and southern +Pennsylvania, threatened Baltimore, and turning sharply to the south, +was, on the eleventh of the month, actually at the outskirts of +Washington city, meditating its assault and capture. Only the opportune +arrival of the Sixth Army Corps under General Wright, on the afternoon +of that day, sent hurriedly by Grant from City Point, saved the Federal +capital from occupation and perhaps destruction by the enemy. + +Certain writers have represented the government as panic-stricken during +the two days that this menace lasted; but neither Mr. Lincoln, nor +Secretary Stanton, nor General Halleck, whom it has been even more the +fashion to abuse, lacked coolness or energy in the emergency. Indeed, +the President's personal unconcern was such as to give his associates +much uneasiness. On the tenth, he rode out as was his usual custom +during the summer months, to spend the night at the Soldiers' Home, in +the suburbs; but Secretary Stanton, learning that Early was advancing in +heavy force, sent after him to compel his return to the city; and twice +afterward, intent on watching the fighting which took place near Fort +Stevens, he exposed his tall form to the gaze and bullets of the enemy +in a manner to call forth earnest remonstrance from those near him. + +The succeeding military events in the Shenandoah valley must here be +summed up in the brief statement that General Sheridan, being placed in +command of the Middle Military Division and given an army of thirty or +forty thousand men, finally drove back the Confederate detachments upon +Richmond, in a series of brilliant victories, and so devastated the +southern end of the valley as to render it untenable for either army; +and by the destruction of the James River Canal and the Virginia Central +Railroad, succeeded in practically carrying out Grant's intention of +effectually closing the avenue of supplies to Richmond from the +northwest. + + + + +XXIX + +Sherman's Meridian Expedition--Capture of Atlanta--Hood Supersedes +Johnston--Hood's Invasion of Tennessee--Franklin and +Nashville--Sherman's March to the Sea--Capture of Savannah--Sherman to +Lincoln--Lincoln to Sherman--Sherman's March through the Carolinas--The +Burning of Charleston and Columbia--Arrival at Goldsboro--Junction with +Schofield--Visit to Grant + + +While Grant was making his marches, fighting his battles, and carrying +on his siege operations in Virginia, Sherman in the West was performing +the task assigned to him by his chief, to pursue, destroy, or capture +the principal western Confederate army, now commanded by General +Johnston. The forces which under Bragg had been defeated in the previous +autumn at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, had halted as soon as +pursuit ceased, and remained in winter quarters at and about Dalton, +only twenty-eight or thirty miles on the railroad southeast of +Chattanooga where their new commander, Johnston, had, in the spring of +1864, about sixty-eight thousand men with which to oppose the Union +advance. + +A few preliminary campaigns and expeditions in the West need not here be +detailed, as they were not decisive. One, however, led by Sherman +himself from Vicksburg to Meridian, must be mentioned, since, during the +month of February, it destroyed about one hundred miles of the several +railroads centering at the latter place, and rendered the whole railroad +system of Mississippi practically useless to the Confederates, thus +contributing essentially to the success of his future operations. + +Sherman prepared himself by uniting at Chattanooga the best material of +the three Union armies, that of the Cumberland, that of the Tennessee, +and that of the Ohio, forming a force of nearly one hundred thousand men +with two hundred and fifty-four guns. They were seasoned veterans, whom +three years of campaigning had taught how to endure every privation, and +avail themselves of every resource. They were provided with every +essential supply, but carried with them not a pound of useless baggage +or impedimenta that could retard the rapidity of their movements. + +Sherman had received no specific instructions from Grant, except to +fight the enemy and damage the war resources of the South; but the +situation before him clearly indicated the city of Atlanta, Georgia, as +his first objective, and as his necessary route, the railroad leading +thither from Chattanooga. It was obviously a difficult line of approach, +for it traversed a belt of the Alleghanies forty miles in width, and in +addition to the natural obstacles they presented, the Confederate +commander, anticipating his movement, had prepared elaborate defensive +works at the several most available points. + +As agreed upon with Grant, Sherman began his march on May 5, 1864, the +day following that on which Grant entered upon his Wilderness campaign +in Virginia. These pages do not afford space to describe his progress. +It is enough to say that with his double numbers he pursued the policy +of making strong demonstrations in front, with effective flank movements +to threaten the railroad in the Confederate rear, by which means he +forced back the enemy successively from point to point, until by the +middle of July he was in the vicinity of Atlanta, having during his +advance made only one serious front attack, in which he met a costly +repulse. His progress was by no means one of mere strategical manoeuver. +Sherman says that during the month of May, across nearly one hundred +miles of as difficult country as was ever fought over by civilized +armies, the fighting was continuous, almost daily, among trees and +bushes, on ground where one could rarely see one hundred yards ahead. + +However skilful and meritorious may have been the retreat into which +Johnston had been forced, it was so unwelcome to the Richmond +authorities, and damaging to the Confederate cause, that about the +middle of July, Jefferson Davis relieved him, and appointed one of his +corps commanders, General J.B. Hood, in his place; whose personal +qualities and free criticism of his superior led them to expect a change +from a defensive to an aggressive campaign. Responding to this +expectation, Hood almost immediately took the offensive, and made +vigorous attacks on the Union positions, but met disastrous repulse, and +found himself fully occupied in guarding the defenses of Atlanta. For +some weeks each army tried ineffectual methods to seize the other's +railroad communications. But toward the end of August, Sherman's flank +movements gained such a hold of the Macon railroad at Jonesboro, +twenty-five miles south of Atlanta, as to endanger Hood's security; and +when, in addition, a detachment sent to dislodge Sherman was defeated, +Hood had no alternative but to order an evacuation. On September 3, +Sherman telegraphed to Washington: + +"Atlanta is ours, and fairly won.... Since May 5 we have been in one +constant battle or skirmish, and need rest." + +The fall of Atlanta was a heavy blow to the Confederates. They had, +during the war, transformed it into a city of mills, foundries, and +workshops, from which they drew supplies, ammunition, and equipments, +and upon which they depended largely for the manufacture and repair of +arms. But perhaps even more important than the military damage to the +South resulting from its capture, was its effect upon Northern politics. +Until then the presidential campaign in progress throughout the free +States was thought by many to involve fluctuating chances under the +heavy losses and apparently slow progress of both eastern and western +armies. But the capture of Atlanta instantly infused new zeal and +confidence among the Union voters, and from that time onward, the +reelection of Mr. Lincoln was placed beyond reasonable doubt. + +Sherman personally entered the city on September 8, and took prompt +measures to turn it into a purely military post. He occupied only the +inner line of its formidable defenses, but so strengthened them as to +make the place practically impregnable. He proceeded at once to remove +all its non-combatant inhabitants with their effects, arranging a truce +with Hood under which he furnished transportation to the south for all +those whose sympathies were with the Confederate cause, and sent to the +north those who preferred that destination. Hood raised a great outcry +against what he called such barbarity and cruelty, but Sherman replied +that war is war, and if the rebel families wanted peace they and their +relatives must stop fighting. + +"God will judge us in due time, and he will pronounce whether it be more +humane to fight with a town full of women, and the families of a brave +people at our back, or to remove them in time to places of safety among +their own friends and people." + +Up to his occupation of Atlanta, Sherman's further plans had neither +been arranged by Grant nor determined by himself, and for a while +remained somewhat undecided. For the time being, he was perfectly secure +in the new stronghold he had captured and completed. But his supplies +depended upon a line of about one hundred and twenty miles of railroad +from Atlanta to Chattanooga, and very near one hundred and fifty miles +more from Chattanooga to Nashville. Hood, held at bay at Lovejoy's +Station, was not strong enough to venture a direct attack or undertake a +siege, but chose the more feasible policy of operating systematically +against Sherman's long line of communications. In the course of some +weeks both sides grew weary of the mere waste of time and military +strength consumed in attacking and defending railroad stations, and +interrupting and reestablishing the regularities of provision trains. +Toward the end of September, Jefferson Davis visited Hood, and in +rearranging some army assignments, united Hood's and an adjoining +Confederate department under the command of Beauregard; partly with a +view to adding the counsels of the latter to the always energetic and +bold, but sometimes rash, military judgment of Hood. + +Between these two Hood's eccentric and futile operations against +Sherman's communications were gradually shaded off into a plan for a +Confederate invasion of Tennessee. Sherman, on his part, finally matured +his judgment that instead of losing a thousand men a month merely +defending the railroad, without other advantage, he would divide his +army, send back a portion of it under the command of General Thomas to +defend the State of Tennessee against the impending invasion; and, +abandoning the whole line of railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and +cutting entirely loose from his base of supplies, march with the +remainder to the sea; living upon the country, and "making the interior +of Georgia feel the weight of war." Grant did not immediately fall in +with Sherman's suggestion; and Sherman prudently waited until the +Confederate plan of invading Tennessee became further developed. It +turned out as he hoped and expected. Having gradually ceased his raids +upon the railroad, Hood, by the end of October, moved westward to +Tuscumbia on the Tennessee River, where he gathered an army of about +thirty-five thousand, to which a cavalry force under Forrest of ten +thousand more was soon added. + +Under Beauregard's orders to assume the offensive, he began a rapid +march northward, and for a time with a promise of cutting off some +advanced Union detachments. We need not follow the fortunes of this +campaign further than to state that the Confederate invasion of +Tennessee ended in disastrous failure. It was severely checked at the +battle of Franklin on November 30; and when, in spite of this reverse, +Hood pushed forward and set his army down before Nashville as if for +attack or siege, the Union army, concentrated and reinforced to about +fifty-five thousand, was ready. A severe storm of rain and sleet held +the confronting armies in forced immobility for a week; but on the +morning of December 15, 1864, General Thomas moved forward to an attack +in which on that and the following day he inflicted so terrible a defeat +upon his adversary, that the Confederate army not only retreated in rout +and panic, but soon literally went to pieces in disorganization, and +disappeared as a military entity from the western conflict. + +Long before this, Sherman had started on his famous march to the sea. +His explanations to Grant were so convincing, that the general-in-chief, +on November 2, telegraphed him: "Go on as you propose." In anticipation +of this permission, he had been preparing himself ever since Hood left +him a clear path by starting westward on his campaign of invasion. From +Atlanta, he sent back his sick and wounded and surplus stores to +Chattanooga, withdrew the garrisons, burned the bridges, broke up the +railroad, and destroyed the mills, foundries, shops and public buildings +in Atlanta. With sixty thousand of his best soldiers, and sixty-five +guns, he started on November 15 on his march of three hundred miles to +the Atlantic. They carried with them twenty days' supplies of +provisions, five days' supply of forage, and two hundred rounds of +ammunition, of which each man carried forty rounds. + +With perfect confidence in their leader, with perfect trust in each +others' valor, endurance and good comradeship, in the fine weather of +the Southern autumn, and singing the inspiring melody of "John Brown's +Body," Sherman's army began its "marching through Georgia" as gaily as +if it were starting on a holiday. And, indeed, it may almost be said +such was their experience in comparison with the hardships of war which +many of these veterans had seen in their varied campaigning. They +marched as nearly as might be in four parallel columns abreast, making +an average of about fifteen miles a day. Kilpatrick's admirable cavalry +kept their front and flanks free from the improvised militia and +irregular troopers of the enemy. Carefully organized foraging parties +brought in their daily supply of miscellaneous provisions--corn, meat, +poultry, and sweet potatoes, of which the season had yielded an abundant +harvest along their route. + +The Confederate authorities issued excited proclamations and orders, +calling on the people to "fly to arms," and to "assail the invader in +front, flank, and rear, by night and by day." But no rising occurred +that in any way checked the constant progress of the march. The Southern +whites were, of course, silent and sullen, but the negroes received the +Yankees with demonstrations of welcome and good will, and in spite of +Sherman's efforts, followed in such numbers as to embarrass his +progress. As he proceeded, he destroyed the railroads by filling up +cuts, burning ties, heating the rails red hot and twisting them around +trees and into irreparable spirals. Threatening the principal cities to +the right and left, he marched skilfully between and past them. + +He reached the outer defenses of Savannah on December 10, easily driving +before him about ten thousand of the enemy. On December 13, he stormed +Fort McAllister, and communicated with the Union fleet through Ossabaw +Sound, reporting to Washington that his march had been most agreeable, +that he had not lost a wagon on the trip, that he had utterly destroyed +over two hundred miles of rails, and consumed stores and provisions that +were essential to Lee's and Hood's armies. With pardonable exultation +General Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln on December 22: + +"I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with +one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition. Also about +twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." + +He had reason to be gratified with the warm acknowledgment which +President Lincoln wrote him in the following letter: + +"MY DEAR GENERAL SHERMAN: Many, many thanks for your Christmas gift, the +capture of Savannah. When you were about leaving Atlanta for the +Atlantic coast I was anxious, if not fearful; but feeling that you were +the better judge, and remembering that 'nothing risked, nothing gained,' +I did not interfere. Now, the undertaking being a success, the honor is +all yours, for I believe none of us went farther than to acquiesce. And +taking the work of General Thomas into the count, as it should be taken, +it is, indeed, a great success. Not only does it afford the obvious and +immediate military advantages, but in showing to the world that your +army could be divided, putting the stronger part to an important new +service, and yet leaving enough to vanquish the old opposing force of +the whole--Hood's army--it brings those who sat in darkness to see a +great light. But what next? I suppose it will be safe if I leave General +Grant and yourself to decide. Please make my grateful acknowledgments to +your whole army, officers and men." + +It was again General Sherman who planned and decided the next step of +the campaign. Grant sent him orders to fortify a strong post, leave his +artillery and cavalry, and bring his infantry by sea to unite with the +Army of the Potomac before Petersburg. Greatly to Sherman's +satisfaction, this order was soon revoked, and he was informed that +Grant wished "the whole matter of your future actions should be left +entirely to your own discretion." In Sherman's mind, the next steps to +be taken were "as clear as daylight." The progress of the war in the +West could now be described step by step, and its condition and probable +course be estimated with sound judgment. The opening of the Mississippi +River in the previous year had cut off from the rebellion the vast +resources west of the great river. Sherman's Meridian campaign in +February had rendered useless the railroads of the State of Mississippi. +The capture of Atlanta and the march to the sea had ruined the railroads +of Georgia, cutting off another huge slice of Confederate resources. +The battles of Franklin and Nashville had practically annihilated the +principal Confederate army in the West. Sherman now proposed to Grant +that he would subject the two Carolinas to the same process, by marching +his army through the heart of them from Savannah to Raleigh. + +"The game is then up with Lee," he confidently added, "unless he comes +out of Richmond, avoids you, and fights me, in which case I should +reckon on your being on his heels.... If you feel confident that you can +whip Lee outside of his intrenchments, I feel equally confident that I +can handle him in the open country." + +Grant promptly adopted the plan, and by formal orders directed Sherman +to execute it. Several minor western expeditions were organized to +contribute to its success. The Union fleet on the coast was held in +readiness to cooeperate as far as possible with Sherman's advance, and to +afford him a new base of supply, if, at some suitable point he should +desire to establish communications with it. When, in the middle of +January, 1865, a naval expedition captured Fort Fisher at the mouth of +Cape Fear River, an army corps under General Schofield was brought east +from Thomas's Army of the Tennessee, and sent by sea to the North +Carolina coast to penetrate into the interior and form a junction with +Sherman when he should arrive. + +Having had five weeks for rest and preparation, Sherman began the third +stage of his campaign on February 1, with a total of sixty thousand men, +provisions for twenty days, forage for seven, and a full supply of +ammunition for a great battle. This new undertaking proved a task of +much greater difficulty and severer hardship than his march to the sea. +Instead of the genial autumn weather, the army had now to face the +wintry storms that blew in from the neighboring coast. Instead of the +dry Georgia uplands, his route lay across a low sandy country cut by +rivers with branches at right angles to his line of march, and bordered +by broad and miry swamps. But this was an extraordinary army, which +faced exposure, labor and peril with a determination akin to contempt. +Here were swamps and water-courses to be waded waist deep; endless miles +of corduroy road to be laid and relaid as course after course sank into +the mud under the heavy army wagons; frequent head-water channels of +rivers to be bridged; the lines of railroad along their route to be torn +up and rendered incapable of repair; food to be gathered by foraging; +keeping up, meanwhile a daily average of ten or twelve miles of +marching. Under such conditions, Sherman's army made a mid-winter march +of four hundred and twenty-five miles in fifty days, crossing five +navigable rivers, occupying three important cities, and rendering the +whole railroad system of South Carolina useless to the enemy. + +The ten to fifteen thousand Confederates with which General Hardee had +evacuated Savannah and retreated to Charleston could, of course, oppose +no serious opposition to Sherman's march. On the contrary, when Sherman +reached Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, on February 16, Hardee +evacuated Charleston, which had been defended for four long years +against every attack of a most powerful Union fleet, and where the most +ingenious siege-works and desperate storming assault had failed to wrest +Fort Wagner from the enemy. But though Charleston fell without a battle, +and was occupied by the Union troops on the eighteenth, the destructive +hand of war was at last heavily laid upon her. The Confederate +government pertinaciously adhered to the policy of burning accumulations +of cotton to prevent it falling into Union hands; and the supply +gathered in Charleston to be sent abroad by blockade runners, having +been set on fire by the evacuating Confederate officials, the flames not +only spread to the adjoining buildings, but grew into a great +conflagration that left the heart of the city a waste of blackened walls +to illustrate the folly of the first secession ordinance. Columbia, the +capital, underwent the same fate, to even a broader extent. Here the +cotton had been piled in a narrow street, and when the torch was applied +by similar Confederate orders, the rising wind easily floated the +blazing flakes to the near roofs of buildings. On the night following +Sherman's entrance the wind rose to a gale, and neither the efforts of +the citizens, nor the ready help of Sherman's soldiers were able to +check the destruction. Confederate writers long nursed the accusation +that it was the Union army which burned the city as a deliberate act of +vengeance. Contrary proof is furnished by the orders of Sherman, leaving +for the sufferers a generous supply of food, as well as by the careful +investigation by the mixed commission on American and British claims, +under the treaty of Washington. + +Still pursuing his march, Sherman arrived at Cheraw March 3, and opened +communication with General Terry, who had advanced from Fort Fisher to +Wilmington. Hitherto, his advance had been practically unopposed. But +now he learned that General Johnston had once more been placed in +command of the Confederate forces, and was collecting an army near +Raleigh, North Carolina. Well knowing the ability of this general, +Sherman became more prudent in his movements. But Johnston was able to +gather a force of only twenty-five or thirty thousand men, of which the +troops Hardee brought from Charleston formed the nucleus; and the two +minor engagements on March 16 and 19 did little to impede Sherman's +advance to Goldsboro, where he arrived on March 23, forming a junction +with the Union army sent by sea under Schofield, that had reached the +same point the previous day. + +The third giant stride of Sherman's great campaign was thus happily +accomplished. His capture of Atlanta, his march to the sea and capture +of Savannah, his progress through the Carolinas, and the fall of +Charleston, formed an aggregate expedition covering nearly a thousand +miles, with military results that rendered rebellion powerless in the +central States of the Southern Confederacy. Several Union cavalry raids +had accomplished similar destruction of Confederate resources in Alabama +and the country bordering on East Tennessee. Military affairs were +plainly in a condition which justified Sherman in temporarily devolving +his command on General Schofield and hurrying by sea to make a brief +visit for urgent consultation with General Grant at his headquarters +before Richmond and Petersburg. + + + + +XXX + +Military Governors--Lincoln's Theory of Reconstruction--Congressional +Election in Louisiana--Letter to Military Governors--Letter to +Shepley--Amnesty Proclamation, December 8, 1863--Instructions to +Banks--Banks's Action in Louisiana--Louisiana Abolishes +Slavery--Arkansas Abolishes Slavery--Reconstruction in +Tennessee--Missouri Emancipation--Lincoln's Letter to Drake--Missouri +Abolishes Slavery--Emancipation in Maryland--Maryland Abolishes Slavery + + +To subdue the Confederate armies and establish order under martial law +was not the only task before President Lincoln. As rapidly as rebel +States or portions of States were occupied by Federal troops, it became +necessary to displace usurping Confederate officials and appoint in +their stead loyal State, county, and subordinate officers to restore the +administration of local civil law under the authority of the United +States. In western Virginia the people had spontaneously effected this +reform, first by repudiating the Richmond secession ordinance and +organizing a provisional State government, and, second, by adopting a +new constitution and obtaining admission to the Union as the new State +of West Virginia. In Missouri the State convention which refused to pass +a secession ordinance effected the same object by establishing a +provisional State government. In both these States the whole process of +what in subsequent years was comprehensively designated "reconstruction" +was carried on by popular local action, without any Federal initiative +or interference other than prompt Federal recognition and substantial +military support and protection. + +But in other seceded States there was no such groundwork of loyal +popular authority upon which to rebuild the structure of civil +government. Therefore, when portions of Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, +and North Carolina came under Federal control, President Lincoln, during +the first half of 1862, appointed military governors to begin the work +of temporary civil administration. He had a clear and consistent +constitutional theory under which this could be done. In his first +inaugural he announced the doctrine that "the union of these States is +perpetual" and "unbroken." His special message to Congress on July 4, +1861, added the supplementary declaration that "the States have their +status in the Union, and they have no other legal status." The same +message contained the further definition: + +"The people of Virginia have thus allowed this giant insurrection to +make its nest within her borders; and this government has no choice left +but to deal with it where it finds it. And it has the less regret, as +the loyal citizens have, in due form, claimed its protection. Those +loyal citizens this government is bound to recognize and protect, as +being Virginia." + +The action of Congress entirely conformed to this theory. That body +admitted to seats senators and representatives from the provisional +State governments of West Virginia and Missouri; and also allowed +Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee to retain his seat, and admitted +Horace Maynard and Andrew J. Clements as representatives from the same +State, though since their election Tennessee had undergone the usual +secession usurpation, and had as yet organized no loyal provisional +government. + +The progress of the Union armies was so far checked during the second +half of 1862, that Military Governor Phelps, appointed for Arkansas, did +not assume his functions; and Military Governor Stanley wielded but +slight authority in North Carolina. Senator Andrew Johnson, appointed +military governor of Tennessee, established himself at Nashville, the +capital, and, though Union control of Tennessee fluctuated greatly, he +was able, by appointing loyal State and county officers, to control the +administration of civil government in considerable districts, under +substantial Federal jurisdiction. + +In the State of Louisiana the process of restoring Federal authority was +carried on a step farther, owing largely to the fact that the territory +occupied by the Union army, though quite limited, comprising only the +city of New Orleans and a few adjacent parishes, was more securely held, +and its hostile frontier less disturbed. It soon became evident that +considerable Union sentiment yet existed in the captured city and +surrounding districts, and when some of the loyal citizens began to +manifest impatience at the restraints of martial law, President Lincoln +in a frank letter pointed the way to a remedy: + +"The people of Louisiana," he wrote under date of July 28, 1862, "who +wish protection to person and property, have but to reach forth their +hands and take it. Let them in good faith reinaugurate the national +authority and set up a State government conforming thereto under the +Constitution. They know how to do it, and can have the protection of the +army while doing it. The army will be withdrawn so soon as such State +government can dispense with its presence, and the people of the State +can then, upon the old constitutional terms, govern themselves to their +own liking." + +At about this date there occurred the serious military crisis in +Virginia; and the battles of the Peninsula, of the second Bull Run, and +of Antietam necessarily compelled the postponement of minor questions. +But during this period the President's policy on the slavery question +reached its development and solution, and when, on September 22, he +issued his preliminary proclamation of emancipation, it also paved the +way for a further defining of his policy of reconstruction. + +That proclamation announced the penalty of military emancipation against +all States in rebellion on the succeeding first day of January; but also +provided that if the people thereof were represented in Congress by +properly elected members, they should be deemed not in rebellion, and +thereby escape the penalty. Wishing now to prove the sincerity of what +he said in the Greeley letter, that his paramount object was to save the +Union, and not either to save or destroy slavery, he wrote a circular +letter to the military governors and commanders in Louisiana, Tennessee, +and Arkansas, instructing them to permit and aid the people within the +districts held by them to hold elections for members of Congress, and +perhaps a legislature, State officers, and United States senators. + +"In all available ways," he wrote, "give the people a chance to express +their wishes at these elections. Follow forms of law as far as +convenient, but at all events get the expression of the largest number +of the people possible. All see how such action will connect with and +affect the proclamation of September 22. Of course the men elected +should be gentlemen of character, willing to swear support to the +Constitution as of old, and known to be above reasonable suspicion of +duplicity." + +But the President wished this to be a real and not a sham proceeding, as +he explained a month later in a letter to Governor Shepley: + +"We do not particularly need members of Congress from there to enable us +to get along with legislation here. What we do want is the conclusive +evidence that respectable citizens of Louisiana are willing to be +members of Congress and to swear support to the Constitution, and that +other respectable citizens there are willing to vote for them and send +them. To send a parcel of Northern men here as representatives, elected, +as would be understood (and perhaps really so), at the point of the +bayonet, would be disgraceful and outrageous; and were I a member of +Congress here, I would vote against admitting any such man to a seat." + +Thus instructed, Governor Shepley caused an election to be held in the +first and second congressional districts of Louisiana on December 3, +1862, at which members of Congress were chosen. No Federal office-holder +was a candidate, and about one half the usual vote was polled. The House +of Representatives admitted them to seats after full scrutiny, the +chairman of the committee declaring this "had every essential of a +regular election in a time of most profound peace, with the exception of +the fact that the proclamation was issued by the military instead of the +civil governor of Louisiana." + +Military affairs were of such importance and absorbed so much attention +during the year 1863, both at Washington and at the headquarters of the +various armies, that the subject of reconstruction was of necessity +somewhat neglected. The military governor of Louisiana indeed ordered a +registration of loyal voters, about the middle of June, for the purpose +of organizing a loyal State government; but its only result was to +develop an inevitable antagonism and contest between conservatives who +desired that the old constitution of Louisiana prior to the rebellion +should be revived, by which the institution of slavery as then existing +would be maintained, and the free-State party which demanded that an +entirely new constitution be framed and adopted, in which slavery should +be summarily abolished. The conservatives asked President Lincoln to +adopt their plan. While the President refused this, he in a letter to +General Banks dated August 5, 1863, suggested the middle course of +gradual emancipation. + +"For my own part," he wrote, "I think I shall not, in any event, retract +the emancipation proclamation; nor, as Executive, ever return to slavery +any person who is freed by the terms of that proclamation, or by any of +the acts of Congress. If Louisiana shall send members to Congress, their +admission to seats will depend, as you know, upon the respective houses +and not upon the President." + +"I would be glad for her to make a new constitution recognizing the +emancipation proclamation and adopting emancipation in those parts of +the State to which the proclamation does not apply. And while she is at +it, I think it would not be objectionable for her to adopt some +practical system by which the two races could gradually live themselves +out of their old relation to each other, and both come out better +prepared for the new. Education for young blacks should be included in +the plan. After all, the power or element of 'contract' may be +sufficient for this probationary period, and by its simplicity and +flexibility may be the better." + +During the autumn months the President's mind dwelt more and more on +the subject of reconstruction, and he matured a general plan which he +laid before Congress in his annual message to that body on December 8, +1863. He issued on the same day a proclamation of amnesty, on certain +conditions, to all persons in rebellion except certain specified +classes, who should take a prescribed oath of allegiance. The +proclamation further provided that whenever a number of persons so +amnestied in any rebel State, equal to one tenth the vote cast at the +presidential election of 1860, should "reestablish a State government +which shall be republican, and in no wise contravening said oath," such +would be recognized as the true government of the State. The annual +message discussed and advocated the plan at length, but also added: +"Saying that reconstruction will be accepted if presented in a specified +way, it is not said it will never be accepted in any other way." + +This plan of reconstructing what came to be called "ten percent States," +met much opposition in Congress, and that body, reversing its action in +former instances, long refused admission to members and senators from +States similarly organized; but the point needs no further mention here. + +A month before the amnesty proclamation the President had written to +General Banks, expressing his great disappointment that the +reconstruction in Louisiana had been permitted to fall in abeyance by +the leading Union officials there, civil and military. + +"I do, however," he wrote, "urge both you and them to lose no more time. +Governor Shepley has special instructions from the War Department. I +wish him--these gentlemen and others cooeperating--without waiting for +more territory, to go to work and give me a tangible nucleus which the +remainder of the State may rally around as fast as it can, and which I +can at once recognize and sustain as the true State government." + +He urged that such reconstruction should have in view a new free-State +constitution, for, said he: + +"If a few professedly loyal men shall draw the disloyal about them, and +colorably set up a State government repudiating the emancipation +proclamation and reestablishing slavery, I cannot recognize or sustain +their work.... I have said, and say again, that if a new State +government, acting in harmony with this government and consistently with +general freedom, shall think best to adopt a reasonable temporary +arrangement in relation to the landless and houseless freed people, I do +not object; but my word is out to be for and not against them on the +question of their permanent freedom." + +General Banks in reply excused his inaction by explaining that the +military governor and others had given him to understand that they were +exclusively charged with the work of reconstruction in Louisiana. To +this the President rejoined under date of December 24, 1863: + +"I have all the while intended you to be master, as well in regard to +reorganizing a State government for Louisiana as in regard to the +military matters of the department, and hence my letters on +reconstruction have nearly, if not quite, all been addressed to you. My +error has been that it did not occur to me that Governor Shepley or any +one else would set up a claim to act independently of you.... I now +distinctly tell you that you are master of all, and that I wish you to +take the case as you find it, and give us a free-State reorganization of +Louisiana in the shortest possible time." + +Under this explicit direction of the President, and basing his action +on martial law as the fundamental law of the State, the general caused a +governor and State officials to be elected on February 22, 1864. To +override the jealousy and quarrels of both the conservative and +free-State parties, he set out in his proclamation that the officials to +be chosen should-- + +"Until others are appointed by competent authority, constitute the civil +government of the State, under the constitution and laws of Louisiana, +except so much of the said constitution and laws as recognize, regulate, +or relate to slavery; which, being inconsistent with the present +condition of public affairs, and plainly inapplicable to any class of +persons now existing within its limits, must be suspended, and they are +therefore and hereby declared to be inoperative and void." + +The newly elected governor was inaugurated on March 4, with imposing +public ceremonies, and the President also invested him "with the powers +exercised hitherto by the military governor of Louisiana." General Banks +further caused delegates to a State convention to be chosen, who, in a +session extending from April 6 to July 25, perfected and adopted a new +constitution, which was again adopted by popular vote on September 5 +following. General Banks reported the constitution to be "one of the +best ever penned.... It abolishes slavery in the State, and forbids the +legislature to enact any law recognizing property in man. The +emancipation is instantaneous and absolute, without condition or +compensation, and nearly unanimous." + +The State of Arkansas had been forced into rebellion by military +terrorism, and remained under Confederate domination only because the +Union armies could afford the latent loyal sentiment of the State no +effective support until the fall of Vicksburg and the opening of the +Mississippi. After that decisive victory, General Steele marched a +Union column of about thirteen thousand from Helena to Little Rock, the +capital, which surrendered to him on the evening of September 10, 1863. +By December, eight regiments of Arkansas citizens had been formed for +service in the Union army; and, following the amnesty proclamation of +December 8, the reorganization of a loyal State government was speedily +brought about, mainly by spontaneous popular action, of course under the +direction and with the assistance of General Steele. + +In response to a petition, President Lincoln sent General Steele on +January 20, 1864, a letter repeating substantially the instructions he +had given General Banks for Louisiana. Before these could be carried +out, popular action had assembled at Little Rock on January 8, 1864, a +formal delegate convention, composed of forty-four delegates who claimed +to represent twenty-two out of the fifty-four counties of the State. On +January 22 this convention adopted an amended constitution which +declared the act of secession null and void, abolished slavery +immediately and unconditionally, and wholly repudiated the Confederate +debt. The convention appointed a provisional State government, and under +its schedule an election was held on March 14, 1864. During the three +days on which the polls were kept open, under the orders of General +Steele, who by the President's suggestion adopted the convention +program, a total vote of 12,179 was cast for the constitution, and only +226 against it; while the provisional governor was also elected for a +new term, together with members of Congress and a legislature which in +due time chose United States senators. By this time Congress had +manifested its opposition to the President's plan, but Mr. Lincoln stood +firm, and on June 29 wrote to General Steele: + +"I understand that Congress declines to admit to seats the persons sent +as senators and representatives from Arkansas. These persons apprehend +that in consequence you may not support the new State government there +as you otherwise would. My wish is that you give that government and the +people there the same support and protection that you would if the +members had been admitted, because in no event, nor in any view of the +case, can this do any harm, while it will be the best you can do toward +suppressing the rebellion." + +While Military Governor Andrew Johnson had been the earliest to begin +the restoration of loyal Federal authority in the State of Tennessee, +the course of campaign and battle in that State delayed its completion +to a later period than in the others. The invasion of Tennessee by the +Confederate General Bragg in the summer of 1862, and the long delay of +the Union General Rosecrans to begin an active campaign against him +during the summer of 1863, kept civil reorganization in a very uncertain +and chaotic condition. When at length Rosecrans advanced and occupied +Chattanooga, President Lincoln deemed it a propitious time to vigorously +begin reorganization, and under date of September 11, 1863, he wrote the +military governor emphatic suggestions that: + +"The reinauguration must not be such as to give control of the State and +its representation in Congress to the enemies of the Union, driving its +friends there into political exile.... You must have it otherwise. Let +the reconstruction be the work of such men only as can be trusted for +the Union. Exclude all others; and trust that your government so +organized will be recognized here as being the one of republican form to +be guaranteed to the State, and to be protected against invasion and +domestic violence. It is something on the question of time to remember +that it cannot be known who is next to occupy the position I now hold, +nor what he will do. I see that you have declared in favor of +emancipation in Tennessee, for which, may God bless you. Get +emancipation into your new State government--constitution--and there +will be no such word as fail for your case." + +In another letter of September 19, the President sent the governor +specific authority to execute the scheme outlined in his letter of +advice; but no substantial success had yet been reached in the process +of reconstruction in Tennessee during the year 1864, when the +Confederate army under Hood turned northward from Atlanta to begin its +third and final invasion of the State. This once more delayed all work +of reconstruction until the Confederate army was routed and dispersed by +the battle of Nashville on December 15, 1864. Previous popular action +had called a State convention, which, taking immediate advantage of the +expulsion of the enemy, met in Nashville on January 9, 1865, in which +fifty-eight counties and some regiments were represented by about four +hundred and sixty-seven delegates. After six days of deliberation the +convention adopted a series of amendments to the constitution, the main +ordinance of which provided: + +"That slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for +crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, are hereby +forever abolished and prohibited throughout the State." + +These amendments were duly adopted at a popular election held on +February 22, and the complete organization of a loyal State government +under them followed in due course. + +The State of Missouri needed no reconstruction. It has already been said +that her local affairs were administered by a provisional State +government instituted by the State convention chosen by popular election +before rebellion broke out. In this State, therefore, the institution of +slavery was suppressed by the direct action of the people, but not +without a long and bitter conflict of party factions and military +strife. There existed here two hostile currents of public opinion, one, +the intolerant pro-slavery prejudices of its rural population; the +other, the progressive and liberal spirit dominant in the city of St. +Louis, with its heavy German population, which, as far back as 1856, had +elected to Congress a candidate who boldly advocated gradual +emancipation: St. Louis, with outlying cities and towns, supplying +during the whole rebellion the dominating influence that held the State +in the Union, and at length transformed her from a slave to a free +State. + +Missouri suffered severely in the war, but not through important +campaigns or great battles. Persistent secession conspiracy, the Kansas +episodes of border strife, and secret orders of Confederate agents from +Arkansas instigating unlawful warfare, made Missouri a hotbed of +guerrilla uprisings and of relentless neighborhood feuds, in which armed +partizan conflict often degenerated into shocking barbarity, and the +pretense of war into the malicious execution of private vengeance. +President Lincoln drew a vivid picture of the chronic disorders in +Missouri in reply to complaints demanding the removal of General +Schofield from local military command: + +"We are in civil war. In such cases there always is a main question; but +in this case that question is a perplexing compound--Union and slavery. +It thus becomes a question not of two sides merely, but of at least four +sides, even among those who are for the Union, saying nothing of those +who are against it. Thus, those who are for the Union _with_, but not +_without_, slavery--those for it _without_, but not _with_--those for it +_with_ or _without_, but prefer it _with_--and those for it _with or +without_, but prefer it _without_. Among these again is a subdivision of +those who are for _gradual_ but not for _immediate_, and those who are +for _immediate_, but not for _gradual_ extinction of slavery. It is easy +to conceive that all these shades of opinion, and even more, may be +sincerely entertained by honest and truthful men. Yet, all being for the +Union, by reason of these differences each will prefer a different way +of sustaining the Union. At once sincerity is questioned, and motives +are assailed. Actual war coming, blood grows hot, and blood is spilled. +Thought is forced from old channels into confusion. Deception breeds and +thrives. Confidence dies and universal suspicion reigns. Each man feels +an impulse to kill his neighbor, lest he be first killed by him. Revenge +and retaliation follow. And all this, as before said, may be among +honest men only. But this is not all. Every foul bird comes abroad and +every dirty reptile rises up. These add crime to confusion. Strong +measures deemed indispensable, but harsh at best, such men make worse by +maladministration. Murders for old grudges, and murders for pelf, +proceed under any cloak that will best cover for the occasion. These +causes amply account for what has occurred in Missouri, without +ascribing it to the weakness or wickedness of any general. The newspaper +files, those chroniclers of current events, will show that the evils now +complained of were quite as prevalent under Fremont, Hunter, Halleck, +and Curtis, as under Schofield.... I do not feel justified to enter +upon the broad field you present in regard to the political differences +between radicals and conservatives. From time to time I have done and +said what appeared to me proper to do and say. The public knows it all. +It obliges nobody to follow me, and I trust it obliges me to follow +nobody. The radicals and conservatives each agree with me in some things +and disagree in others. I could wish both to agree with me in all +things; for then they would agree with each other, and would be too +strong for any foe from any quarter. They, however, choose to do +otherwise, and I do not question their right. I, too, shall do what +seems to be my duty. I hold whoever commands in Missouri, or elsewhere, +responsible to me, and not to either radicals or conservatives. It is my +duty to hear all; but at last I must, within my sphere, judge what to do +and what to forbear." + +It is some consolation to history, that out of this blood and travail +grew the political regeneration of the State. Slavery and emancipation +never gave each other a moment's truce. The issue was raised to an acute +stage by Fremont's proclamation in August, 1861. Though that ill-advised +measure was revoked by President Lincoln, the friction and irritation of +war kept it alive, and in the following year a member of the Missouri +State convention offered a bill to accept and apply President Lincoln's +plan of compensated abolishment. Further effort was made in this +direction in Congress, where in January, 1863, the House passed a bill +appropriating ten million dollars, and in February, the Senate another +bill appropriating fifteen million dollars to aid compensated +abolishment in Missouri. But the stubborn opposition of three +pro-slavery Missouri members of the House prevented action on the latter +bill or any compromise. + +The question, however, continually grew among the people of Missouri, +and made such advance that parties, accepting the main point as already +practically decided at length only divided upon the mode of procedure +The conservatives wanted the work to be done by the old State +convention, the radicals desired to submit it to a new convention fresh +from the people. Legislative agreement having failed, the provisional +governor called the old State convention together. The convention +leaders who controlled that body inquired of the President whether he +would sustain their action. To this he made answer in a letter to +Schofield dated June 22, 1863: + +"Your despatch, asking in substance whether, in case Missouri shall +adopt gradual emancipation, the general government will protect +slave-owners in that species of property during the short time it shall +be permitted by the State to exist within it, has been received. +Desirous as I am that emancipation shall be adopted by Missouri, and +believing as I do that gradual can be made better than immediate for +both black and white, except when military necessity changes the case, +my impulse is to say that such protection would be given. I cannot know +exactly what shape an act of emancipation may take. If the period from +the initiation to the final end should be comparatively short, and the +act should prevent persons being sold during that period into more +lasting slavery, the whole would be easier. I do not wish to pledge the +general government to the affirmative support of even temporary slavery +beyond what can be fairly claimed under the Constitution. I suppose, +however, this is not desired, but that it is desired for the military +force of the United States, while in Missouri, to not be used in +subverting the temporarily reserved legal rights in slaves during the +progress of emancipation. This I would desire also." + +Proceeding with its work, the old State convention, which had hitherto +made a most honorable record, neglected a great opportunity. It indeed +adopted an ordinance of gradual emancipation on July 1, 1863, but of +such an uncertain and dilatory character, that public opinion in the +State promptly rejected it. By the death of the provisional governor on +January 31, 1864, the conservative party of Missouri lost its most +trusted leader, and thereafter the radicals succeeded to the political +power of the State. At the presidential election of 1864, that party +chose a new State convention, which met in St. Louis on January 6, 1865, +and on the sixth day of its session (January 11) formally adopted an +ordinance of immediate emancipation. + +Maryland, like Missouri, had no need of reconstruction. Except for the +Baltimore riot and the arrest of her secession legislature during the +first year of the war, her State government continued its regular +functions. But a strong popular undercurrent of virulent secession +sympathy among a considerable minority of her inhabitants was only held +in check by the military power of the Union, and for two years +emancipation found no favor in the public opinion of the State. Her +representatives, like those of most other border States, coldly refused +President Lincoln's earnest plea to accept compensated abolishment; and +a bill in Congress to give Maryland ten million dollars for that object +was at once blighted by the declaration of one of her leading +representatives that Maryland did not ask for it. Nevertheless, the +subject could no more be ignored there than in other States; and after +the President's emancipation proclamation an emancipation party +developed itself in Maryland. + +There was no longer any evading the practical issue, when, by the +President's direction, the Secretary of War issued a military order, +early in October, 1863, regulating the raising of colored troops in +certain border States, which decreed that slaves might be enlisted +without consent of their owners, but provided compensation in such +cases. At the November election of that year the emancipation party of +Maryland elected its ticket by an overwhelming majority, and a +legislature that enacted laws under which a State convention was chosen +to amend the constitution. Of the delegates elected on April 6, 1864, +sixty-one were emancipationists, and only thirty-five opposed. + +After two months' debate this convention by nearly two thirds adopted an +article: + +"That hereafter in this State there shall be neither slavery nor +involuntary servitude except in punishment of crime whereof the party +shall have been duly convicted; and all persons held to service or labor +as slaves are hereby declared free." + +The decisive test of a popular vote accepting the amended constitution +as a whole, remained, however, yet to be undergone. President Lincoln +willingly complied with a request to throw his official voice and +influence in favor of the measure, and wrote, on October 10, 1864: + +"A convention of Maryland has framed a new constitution for the State; a +public meeting is called for this evening at Baltimore to aid in +securing its ratification by the people; and you ask a word from me for +the occasion. I presume the only feature of the instrument about which +there is serious controversy is that which provides for the extinction +of slavery. It needs not to be a secret, and I presume it is no secret, +that I wish success to this provision. I desire it on every +consideration. I wish all men to be free. I wish the material prosperity +of the already free, which I feel sure the extinction of slavery would +bring. I wish to see in process of disappearing that only thing which +ever could bring this nation to civil war. I attempt no argument. +Argument upon the question is already exhausted by the abler, better +informed, and more immediately interested sons of Maryland herself. I +only add that I shall be gratified exceedingly if the good people of the +State shall, by their votes, ratify the new constitution." + +At the election which was held on October 12 and 13, stubborn Maryland +conservatism, whose roots reached far back to the colonial days, made +its last desperate stand, and the constitution was ratified by a +majority of only three hundred and seventy-five votes out of a total of +nearly sixty thousand. But the result was accepted as decisive, and in +due time the governor issued his proclamation, declaring the new +constitution legally adopted. + + + + +XXXI + +Shaping of the Presidential Campaign--Criticisms of Mr. Lincoln--Chase's +Presidential Ambitions--The Pomeroy Circular--Cleveland +Convention--Attempt to Nominate Grant--Meeting of Baltimore +Convention--Lincoln's Letter to Schurz--Platform of Republican +Convention--Lincoln Renominated--Refuses to Indicate Preference for +Vice-President--Johnson Nominated for Vice-President--Lincoln's Speech +to Committee of Notification--Reference to Mexico in his Letter of +Acceptance--The French in Mexico + + +The final shaping of the campaign, the definition of the issues, the +wording of the platforms, and selection of the candidates, had grown +much more out of national politics than out of mere party combination or +personal intrigues. The success of the war, and fate of the Union, of +course dominated every other consideration; and next to this the +treatment of the slavery question became in a hundred forms almost a +direct personal interest. Mere party feeling, which had utterly vanished +for a few months in the first grand uprising of the North, had been once +more awakened by the first Bull Run defeat, and from that time onward +was heard in loud and constant criticism of Mr. Lincoln and the acts of +his supporters wherever they touched the institution of slavery. The +Democratic party, which had been allied with the Southern politicians in +the interests of that institution through so many decades, quite +naturally took up its habitual role of protest that slavery should +receive no hurt or damage from the incidents of war, where, in the +border States, it still had constitutional existence among loyal Union +men. + +On the other hand, among Republicans who had elected Mr. Lincoln, and +who, as a partizan duty, indorsed and sustained his measures, Fremont's +proclamation of military emancipation in the first year of the war +excited the over-hasty zeal of antislavery extremists, and developed a +small but very active faction which harshly denounced the President when +Mr. Lincoln revoked that premature and ill-considered measure. No matter +what the President subsequently did about slavery, the Democratic press +and partizans always assailed him for doing too much, while the Fremont +press and partizans accused him of doing too little. + +Meanwhile, personal considerations were playing their minor, but not +unimportant parts. When McClellan was called to Washington, and during +all the hopeful promise of the great victories he was expected to win, a +few shrewd New York Democratic politicians grouped themselves about him, +and put him in training as the future Democratic candidate for +President; and the general fell easily into their plans and ambitions. +Even after he had demonstrated his military incapacity, when he had +reaped defeat instead of victory, and earned humiliation instead of +triumph, his partizan adherents clung to the desperate hope that though +they could not win applause for him as a conqueror, they might yet +create public sympathy in his behalf as a neglected and persecuted +genius. + +The cabinets of Presidents frequently develop rival presidential +aspirants, and that of Mr. Lincoln was no exception. Considering the +strong men who composed it, the only wonder is that there was so little +friction among them. They disagreed constantly and heartily on minor +questions, both with Mr. Lincoln and with each other, but their great +devotion to the Union, coupled with his kindly forbearance, and the +clear vision which assured him mastery over himself and others, kept +peace and even personal affection in his strangely assorted official +family. + +The man who developed the most serious presidential aspirations was +Salmon P. Chase, his Secretary of the Treasury, who listened to and +actively encouraged the overtures of a small faction of the Republican +party which rallied about him at the end of the year 1863. Pure and +disinterested, and devoted with all his energies and powers to the cause +of the Union, he was yet singularly ignorant of current public thought, +and absolutely incapable of judging men in their true relations He +regarded himself as the friend of Mr. Lincoln and made strong +protestations to him and to others of this friendship, but he held so +poor an opinion of the President's intellect and character, compared +with his own, that he could not believe the people blind enough to +prefer the President to himself. He imagined that he did not covet +advancement, and was anxious only for the public good; yet, in the midst +of his enormous labors found time to write letters to every part of the +country, protesting his indifference to the presidency, but indicating +his willingness to accept it, and painting pictures so dark of the +chaotic state of affairs in the government, that the irresistible +inference was that only he could save the country. From the beginning +Mr. Lincoln had been aware of this quasi-candidacy, which continued all +through the winter Indeed, it was impossible to remain unconscious of +it, although he discouraged all conversation on the subject, and +refused to read letters relating to it. He had his own opinion of the +taste and judgment displayed by Mr. Chase in his criticisms of the +President and his colleagues in the cabinet, but he took no note of +them. + +"I have determined," he said, "to shut my eyes, so far as possible, to +everything of the sort. Mr. Chase makes a good secretary, and I shall +keep him where he is. If he becomes President, all right. I hope we may +never have a worse man." + +And he went on appointing Mr. Chase's partizans and adherents to places +in the government. Although his own renomination was a matter in regard +to which he refused to talk much, even with intimate friends, he was +perfectly aware of the true drift of things. In capacity of appreciating +popular currents Chase was as a child beside him; and he allowed the +opposition to himself in his own cabinet to continue, without question +or remark, all the more patiently, because he knew how feeble it really +was. + +The movement in favor of Mr. Chase culminated in the month of February, +1864, in a secret circular signed by Senator Pomeroy of Kansas, and +widely circulated through the Union; which criticised Mr. Lincoln's +"tendency toward compromises and temporary expedients"; explained that +even if his reelection were desirable, it was practically impossible in +the face of the opposition that had developed; and lauded Chase as the +statesman best fitted to rescue the country from present perils and +guard it against future ills. Of course copies of this circular soon +reached the White House, but Mr. Lincoln refused to look at them, and +they accumulated unread in the desk of his secretary. Finally, it got +into print, whereupon Mr. Chase wrote to the President to assure him he +had no knowledge of the letter before seeing it in the papers. To this +Mr. Lincoln replied: + +"I was not shocked or surprised by the appearance of the letter, because +I had had knowledge of Mr. Pomeroy's committee, and of secret issues +which I supposed came from it, ... for several weeks. I have known just +as little of these things as my friends have allowed me to know.... I +fully concur with you that neither of us can be justly held responsible +for what our respective friends may do without our instigation or +countenance.... Whether you shall remain at the head of the Treasury +Department is a question which I will not allow myself to consider from +any standpoint other than my judgment of the public service, and, in +that view, I do not perceive occasion for a change." + +Even before the President wrote this letter, Mr. Chase's candidacy had +passed out of sight. In fact, it never really existed save in the +imagination of the Secretary of the Treasury and a narrow circle of his +adherents. He was by no means the choice of the body of radicals who +were discontented with Mr. Lincoln because of his deliberation in +dealing with the slavery question, or of those others who thought he was +going entirely too fast and too far. + +Both these factions, alarmed at the multiplying signs which foretold his +triumphant renomination, issued calls for a mass convention of the +people, to meet at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 31, a week before the +assembling of the Republican national convention at Baltimore, to unite +in a last attempt to stem the tide in his favor. Democratic newspapers +naturally made much of this, heralding it as a hopeless split in the +Republican ranks, and printing fictitious despatches from Cleveland +reporting that city thronged with influential and earnest delegates. +Far from this being the case, there was no crowd and still less +enthusiasm. Up to the very day of its meeting no place was provided for +the sessions of the convention, which finally came together in a small +hall whose limited capacity proved more than ample for both delegates +and spectators. Though organization was delayed nearly two hours in the +vain hope that more delegates would arrive, the men who had been counted +upon to give character to the gathering remained notably absent. The +delegates prudently refrained from counting their meager number, and +after preliminaries of a more or less farcical nature, voted for a +platform differing little from that afterward adopted at Baltimore, +listened to the reading of a vehement letter from Wendell Phillips +denouncing Mr. Lincoln's administration and counseling the choice of +Fremont for President, nominated that general by acclamation, with +General John Cochrane of New York for his running-mate, christened +themselves the "Radical Democracy," and adjourned. + +The press generally greeted the convention and its work with a chorus of +ridicule, though certain Democratic newspapers, from motives harmlessly +transparent, gave it solemn and unmeasured praise. General Fremont, +taking his candidacy seriously, accepted the nomination, but three +months later, finding no response from the public, withdrew from the +contest. + +At this fore-doomed Cleveland meeting a feeble attempt had been made by +the men who considered Mr. Lincoln too radical, to nominate General +Grant for President, instead of Fremont; but he had been denounced as a +Lincoln hireling, and his name unceremoniously swept aside. During the +same week another effort in the same direction was made in New York, +though the committee having the matter in charge made no public avowal +of its intention beforehand, merely calling a meeting to express the +gratitude of the country to the general for his signal services; and +even inviting Mr. Lincoln to take part in the proceedings. This he +declined to do, but wrote: + +"I approve, nevertheless, whatever may tend to strengthen and sustain +General Grant and the noble armies now under his direction. My previous +high estimate of General Grant has been maintained and heightened by +what has occurred in the remarkable campaign he is now conducting, while +the magnitude and difficulty of the task before him do not prove less +than I expected. He and his brave soldiers are now in the midst of their +great trial, and I trust that at your meeting you will so shape your +good words that they may turn to men and guns, moving to his and their +support." + +With such gracious approval of the movement the meeting naturally fell +into the hands of the Lincoln men. General Grant neither at this time +nor at any other, gave the least countenance to the efforts which were +made to array him in political opposition to the President. + +These various attempts to discredit the name of Mr. Lincoln and nominate +some one else in his place caused hardly a ripple on the great current +of public opinion. Death alone could have prevented his choice by the +Union convention. So absolute and universal was the tendency that most +of the politicians made no effort to direct or guide it; they simply +exerted themselves to keep in the van and not be overwhelmed. The +convention met on June 7, but irregular nominations of Mr. Lincoln for +President had begun as early as January 6, when the first State +convention of the year was held in New Hampshire. + +From one end of the country to the other such spontaneous nominations +had joyously echoed his name. Only in Missouri did it fail of +overwhelming adhesion, and even in the Missouri Assembly the resolution +in favor of his renomination was laid upon the table by a majority of +only eight. The current swept on irresistibly throughout the spring. A +few opponents of Mr. Lincoln endeavored to postpone the meeting of the +national convention until September, knowing that their only hope lay in +some possible accident of the summer. But though supported by so +powerful an influence as the New York "Tribune," the National Committee +paid no attention to this appeal. Indeed, they might as well have +considered the request of a committee of prominent citizens to check an +impending thunderstorm. + +Mr. Lincoln took no measures whatever to promote his own candidacy. +While not assuming airs of reluctance or bashfulness, he discouraged on +the part of strangers any suggestion as to his reelection. Among his +friends he made no secret of his readiness to continue the work he was +engaged in, if such should be the general wish. "A second term would be +a great honor and a great labor, which together, perhaps, I would not +decline if tendered," he wrote Elihu B. Washburne. He not only opposed +no obstacle to the ambitions of Chase, but received warnings to beware +of Grant in the same serene manner, answering tranquilly, "If he takes +Richmond, let him have it." And he discouraged office-holders, civil or +military, who showed any special zeal in his behalf. To General Schurz, +who wrote asking permission to take an active part in the presidential +campaign, he replied: + +"Allow me to suggest that if you wish to remain in the military service, +it is very dangerous for you to get temporarily out of it; because, +with a major-general once out, it is next to impossible for even the +President to get him in again.... Of course I would be very glad to have +your service for the country in the approaching political canvass; but I +fear we cannot properly have it without separating you from the +military." And in a later letter he added: "I perceive no objection to +your making a political speech when you are where one is to be made; but +quite surely, speaking in the North and fighting in the South at the +same time are not possible; nor could I be justified to detail any +officer to the political campaign during its continuance and then return +him to the army." + +Not only did he firmly take this stand as to his own nomination, but +enforced it even more rigidly in cases where he learned that Federal +office-holders were working to defeat the return of certain Republican +congressmen. In several such instances he wrote instructions of which +the following is a type: + +"Complaint is made to me that you are using your official power to +defeat Judge Kelley's renomination to Congress.... The correct +principle, I think, is that all our friends should have absolute freedom +of choice among our friends. My wish, therefore, is that you will do +just as you think fit with your own suffrage in the case, and not +constrain any of your subordinates to do other than as he thinks fit +with his." + +He made, of course, no long speeches during the campaign, and in his +short addresses, at Sanitary Fairs, in response to visiting delegations, +or on similar occasions where custom and courtesy decreed that he must +say something, preserved his mental balance undisturbed, speaking +heartily and to the point, but skilfully avoiding the perils that beset +the candidate who talks. + +When at last the Republican convention came together on June 7, 1864, it +had less to do than any other convention in our political history; for +its delegates were bound by a peremptory mandate. It was opened by brief +remarks from Senator Morgan of New York, whose significant statement +that the convention would fall far short of accomplishing its great +mission unless it declared for a Constitutional amendment prohibiting +African slavery, was loudly cheered. In their speeches on taking the +chair, both the temporary chairman, Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge of +Kentucky, and the permanent chairman, William Dennison of Ohio, treated +Mr. Lincoln's nomination as a foregone conclusion, and the applause +which greeted his name showed that the delegates did not resent this +disregard of customary etiquette. There were, in fact, but three tasks +before the convention--to settle the status of contesting delegations, +to agree upon a platform, and to nominate a candidate for +Vice-President. + +The platform declared in favor of crushing rebellion and maintaining the +integrity of the Union, commending the government's determination to +enter into no compromise with the rebels. It applauded President +Lincoln's patriotism and fidelity in the discharge of his duties, and +stated that only those in harmony with "these resolutions" ought to have +a voice in the administration of the government. This, while intended to +win support of radicals throughout the Union, was aimed particularly at +Postmaster General Blair, who had made many enemies. It approved all +acts directed against slavery; declared in favor of a constitutional +amendment forever abolishing it; claimed full protection of the laws of +war for colored troops; expressed gratitude to the soldiers and sailors +of the Union; pronounced in favor of encouraging foreign immigration; +of building a Pacific railway; of keeping inviolate the faith of the +nation, pledged to redeem the national debt; and vigorously reaffirmed +the Monroe Doctrine. + +Then came the nominations. The only delay in registering the will of the +convention occurred as a consequence of the attempt of members to do it +by irregular and summary methods. When Mr. Delano of Ohio made the +customary motion to proceed to the nomination, Simon Cameron moved as a +substitute the renomination of Lincoln and Hamlin by acclamation. A long +wrangle ensued on the motion to lay this substitute on the table, which +was finally brought to an end by the cooler heads, who desired that +whatever opposition to Mr. Lincoln there might be in the convention +should have fullest opportunity of expression. The nominations, +therefore, proceeded by call of States in the usual way. The +interminable nominating speeches of recent years had not yet come into +fashion. B.C. Cook, the chairman of the Illinois delegation, merely +said: + +"The State of Illinois again presents to the loyal people of this nation +for President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln--God bless him!" + +Others, who seconded the nomination, were equally brief. Every State +gave its undivided vote for Lincoln, with the exception of Missouri, +which cast its vote, under positive instructions, as the chairman +stated, for Grant. But before the result was announced, John F. Hume of +Missouri moved that Mr. Lincoln's nomination be declared unanimous. This +could not be done until the result of the balloting was made known--four +hundred and eighty-four for Lincoln, twenty-two for Grant. Missouri then +changed its vote, and the secretary read the grand total of five hundred +and six for Lincoln; the announcement being greeted with a storm of +cheering which lasted many minutes. + +The principal names mentioned for the vice-presidency were Hannibal +Hamlin, the actual incumbent; Andrew Johnson of Tennessee; and Daniel S. +Dickinson of New York. Besides these, General L.H. Rousseau had the vote +of his own State--Kentucky. The radicals of Missouri favored General +B.F. Butler, who had a few scattered votes also from New England. Among +the principal candidates, however, the voters were equally enough +divided to make the contest exceedingly spirited and interesting. + +For several days before the convention met Mr. Lincoln had been besieged +by inquiries as to his personal wishes in regard to his associate on the +ticket. He had persistently refused to give the slightest intimation of +such wish. His private secretary, Mr. Nicolay, who was at Baltimore in +attendance at the convention, was well acquainted with this attitude; +but at last, over-borne by the solicitations of the chairman of the +Illinois delegation, who had been perplexed at the advocacy of Joseph +Holt by Leonard Swett, one of the President's most intimate friends, Mr. +Nicolay wrote to Mr. Hay, who had been left in charge of the executive +office in his absence: + +"Cook wants to know, confidentially, whether Swett is all right; whether +in urging Holt for Vice-President he reflects the President's wishes; +whether the President has any preference, either personal or on the +score of policy; or whether he wishes not even to interfere by a +confidential intimation.... Please get this information for me, if +possible." + +The letter was shown to the President, who indorsed upon it: + +"Swett is unquestionably all right. Mr. Holt is a good man, but I had +not heard or thought of him for V.P. Wish not to interfere about V.P. +Cannot interfere about platform. Convention must judge for itself." + +This positive and final instruction was sent at once to Mr. Nicolay, and +by him communicated to the President's most intimate friends in the +convention. It was therefore with minds absolutely untrammeled by even +any knowledge of the President's wishes that the convention went about +its work of selecting his associate on the ticket. It is altogether +probable that the ticket of 1860 would have been nominated without a +contest had it not been for the general impression, in and out of the +convention, that it would be advisable to select as a candidate for the +vice-presidency a war Democrat. Mr. Dickinson, while not putting himself +forward as a candidate, had sanctioned the use of his name on the +special ground that his candidacy might attract to the support of the +Union party many Democrats who would have been unwilling to support a +ticket avowedly Republican; but these considerations weighed with still +greater force in favor of Mr. Johnson, who was not only a Democrat, but +also a citizen of a slave State. The first ballot showed that Mr. +Johnson had received two hundred votes, Mr. Hamlin one hundred and +fifty, and Mr. Dickinson one hundred and eight; and before the result +was announced almost the whole convention turned their votes to Johnson; +whereupon his nomination was declared unanimous. The work was so quickly +done that Mr. Lincoln received notice of the action of the convention +only a few minutes after the telegram announcing his own renomination +had reached him. + +Replying next day to a committee of notification, he said in part: + +"I will neither conceal my gratification nor restrain the expression of +my gratitude that the Union people, through their convention, in the +continued effort to save and advance the nation, have deemed me not +unworthy to remain in my present position. I know no reason to doubt +that I shall accept the nomination tendered and yet, perhaps I should +not declare definitely before reading and considering what is called the +platform. I will say now, however, I approve the declaration in favor of +so amending the Constitution as to prohibit slavery throughout the +nation. When the people in revolt, with a hundred days of explicit +notice that they could within those days resume their allegiance without +the overthrow of their institutions, and that they could not resume it +afterward, elected to stand out, such amendment to the Constitution as +is now proposed became a fitting and necessary conclusion to the final +success of the Union cause.... In the joint names of Liberty and Union, +let us labor to give it legal form and practical effect." + +In his letter of June 29, formally accepting the nomination, the +President observed the same wise rule of brevity which he had followed +four years before. He made but one specific reference to any subject of +discussion. While he accepted the convention's resolution reaffirming +the Monroe Doctrine, he gave the convention and the country distinctly +to understand that he stood by the action already adopted by himself and +the Secretary of State. He said: + +"There might be misunderstanding were I not to say that the position of +the government in relation to the action of France in Mexico, as assumed +through the State Department and approved and indorsed by the convention +among the measures and acts of the Executive will be faithfully +maintained so long as the state of facts shall leave that position +pertinent and applicable." + +This resolution, which was, in truth, a more vigorous assertion of the +Monroe Doctrine than the author of that famous tenet ever dreamed of +making, had been introduced in the convention by the radicals as a +covert censure of Mr. Lincoln's attitude toward the French invasion of +our sister republic; but through skilful wording of the platform had +been turned by his friends into an indorsement of the administration. + +And, indeed, this was most just, since from the beginning President +Lincoln and Mr. Seward had done all in their power to discourage the +presence of foreign troops on Mexican territory. When a joint expedition +by England, France, and Spain had been agreed upon to seize certain +Mexican ports in default of a money indemnity demanded by those +countries for outrages against their subjects, England had invited the +United States to be a party to the convention. Instead, Mr. Lincoln and +Mr. Seward attempted to aid Mexico with a sufficient sum to meet these +demands, and notified Great Britain of their intention to do so, and the +motives which prompted them. The friendly assistance came to naught; but +as the three powers vigorously disclaimed any designs against Mexico's +territory or her form of government, the United States saw no necessity +for further action, beyond a clear definition of its own attitude for +the benefit of all the parties. + +This it continued to repeat after England withdrew from the expedition, +and Spain, soon recalling her troops, left Napoleon III to set the +Archduke Maximilian on his shadowy throne, and to develop in the heart +of America his scheme of an empire friendly to the South. At the moment +the government was unable to do more, though recognizing the veiled +hostility of Europe which thus manifested itself in a movement on what +may be called the right flank of the republic. While giving utterance to +no expressions of indignation at the aggressions, or of gratification at +disaster which met the aggressor, the President and Mr. Seward continued +to assert, at every proper opportunity the adherence of the American +government to its traditional policy of discouraging European +intervention in the affairs of the New World. + + + + +XXXII + +The Bogus Proclamation--The Wade-Davis Manifesto--Resignation +of Mr. Chase--Fessenden Succeeds Him--The Greeley Peace +Conference--Jaquess-Gilmore Mission--Letter of Raymond--Bad Outlook for +the Election--Mr. Lincoln on the Issues of the Campaign--President's +Secret Memorandum--Meeting of Democratic National Convention--McClellan +Nominated--His Letter of Acceptance--Lincoln Reelected--His Speech on +Night of Election--The Electoral Vote--Annual Message of December 6, +1864--Resignation of McClellan from the Army + + +The seizure of the New York "Journal of Commerce" and New York "World," +in May, 1864, for publishing a forged proclamation calling for four +hundred thousand more troops, had caused great excitement among the +critics of Mr. Lincoln's administration. The terrible slaughter of +Grant's opening campaign against Richmond rendered the country painfully +sensitive to such news at the moment; and the forgery, which proved to +be the work of two young Bohemians of the press, accomplished its +purpose of raising the price of gold, and throwing the Stock Exchange +into a temporary fever. Telegraphic announcement of the imposture soon +quieted the flurry, and the quick detection of the guilty parties +reduced the incident to its true rank; but the fact that the fiery +Secretary of War had meanwhile issued orders for the suppression of both +newspapers and the arrest of their editors was neither forgiven nor +forgotten. The editors were never incarcerated, and the journals resumed +publication after an interval of only two days, but the incident was +vigorously employed during the entire summer as a means of attack upon +the administration. + +Violent opposition to Mr. Lincoln came also from those members of both +Houses of Congress who disapproved his attitude on reconstruction. +Though that part of his message of December 8, 1863, relating to the +formation of loyal State governments in districts which had been in +rebellion at first received enthusiastic commendation from both +conservatives and radicals, it was soon evident that the millennium had +not yet arrived, and that in a Congress composed of men of such positive +convictions and vehement character, there were many who would not submit +permanently to the leadership of any man, least of all to that of one so +reasonable, so devoid of malice, as the President. + +Henry Winter Davis at once moved that that part of the message be +referred to a special committee of which he was chairman, and on +February 15 reported a bill whose preamble declared the Confederate +States completely out of the Union; prescribing a totally different +method of reestablishing loyal State governments, one of the essentials +being the prohibition of slavery. Congress rejected the preamble, but +after extensive debate accepted the bill, which breathed the same spirit +throughout. The measure was also finally acceded to in the Senate, and +came to Mr. Lincoln for signature in the closing hours of the session. +He laid it aside and went on with other business, despite the evident +anxiety of several friends, who feared his failure to indorse it would +lose the Republicans many votes in the Northwest. In stating his +attitude to his cabinet he said: + +"This bill and the position of these gentlemen seem to me, in asserting +that the insurrectionary States are no longer in the Union, to make the +fatal admission that States, whenever they please, may of their own +motion dissolve their connection with the Union. Now we cannot survive +that admission, I am convinced. If that be true, I am not President; +these gentlemen are not Congress. I have laboriously endeavored to avoid +that question ever since it first began to be mooted, and thus to avoid +confusion and disturbance in our own councils. It was to obviate this +question that I earnestly favored the movement for an amendment to the +Constitution abolishing slavery, which passed the Senate and failed in +the House. I thought it much better, if it were possible, to restore the +Union without the necessity of a violent quarrel among its friends as to +whether certain States have been in or out of the Union during the +war--a merely metaphysical question and one unnecessary to be forced +into discussion." + +But though every member of the cabinet agreed with him, he foresaw the +importance of the step he had resolved to take, and its possible +disastrous consequences to himself. When some one said that the threats +of the radicals were without foundation, and that the people would not +bolt their ticket on a question of metaphysics, he answered: + +"If they choose to make a point upon this, I do not doubt that they can +do harm. They have never been friendly to me. At all events, I must keep +some consciousness of being somewhere near right. I must keep some +standard or principle fixed within myself." + +Convinced, after fullest deliberation, that the bill was too restrictive +in its provisions, and yet unwilling to reject whatever of practical +good might be accomplished by it, he disregarded precedents, and acting +on his lifelong rule of taking the people into his confidence, issued a +proclamation on July 8, giving a copy of the bill of Congress, reciting +the circumstances under which it was passed, and announcing that while +he was unprepared by formal approval of the bill to be inflexibly +committed to any single plan of restoration, or to set aside the +free-State governments already adopted in Arkansas and Louisiana, or to +declare that Congress was competent to decree the abolishment of +slavery; yet he was fully satisfied with the plan as one very proper +method of reconstruction, and promised executive aid to any State that +might see fit to adopt it. + +The great mass of Republican voters, who cared little for the +"metaphysics" of the case, accepted this proclamation, as they had +accepted that issued six months before, as the wisest and most +practicable method of handling the question; but among those already +hostile to the President, and those whose devotion to the cause of +freedom was so ardent as to make them look upon him as lukewarm, the +exasperation which was already excited increased. The indignation of Mr. +Davis and of Mr. Wade, who had called the bill up in the Senate, at +seeing their work thus brought to nothing, could not be restrained; and +together they signed and published in the New York "Tribune" of August 5 +the most vigorous attack ever directed against the President from his +own party; insinuating that only the lowest motives dictated his action, +since by refusing to sign the bill he held the electoral votes of the +rebel States at his personal dictation; calling his approval of the bill +of Congress as a very proper plan for any State choosing to adopt it, a +"studied outrage"; and admonishing the people to "consider the remedy of +these usurpations, and, having found it," to "fearlessly execute it." + +Congress had already repealed the fugitive-slave law, and to the voters +at large, who joyfully accepted the emancipation proclamation, it +mattered very little whether the "institution" came to its inevitable +end, in the fragments of territory where it yet remained, by virtue of +congressional act or executive decree. This tempest over the method of +reconstruction had, therefore, little bearing on the presidential +campaign, and appealed more to individual critics of the President than +to the mass of the people. + +Mr. Chase entered in his diary: "The President pocketed the great +bill.... He did not venture to veto, and so put it in his pocket. It was +a condemnation of his amnesty proclamation and of his general policy of +reconstruction, rejecting the idea of possible reconstruction with +slavery, which neither the President nor his chief advisers have, in my +opinion, abandoned." Mr. Chase was no longer one of the chief advisers. +After his withdrawal from his hopeless contest for the presidency, his +sentiments toward Mr. Lincoln took on a tinge of bitterness which +increased until their friendly association in the public service became +no longer possible; and on June 30 he sent the President his +resignation, which was accepted. There is reason to believe that he did +not expect such a prompt severing of their official relations, since +more than once, in the months of friction which preceded this +culmination, he had used a threat to resign as means to carry some point +in controversy. + +Mr. Lincoln, on accepting his resignation, sent the name of David Tod of +Ohio to the Senate as his successor; but, receiving a telegram from Mr. +Tod declining on the plea of ill health, substituted that of William +Pitt Fessenden, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, whose +nomination was instantly confirmed and commanded general approval. + +Horace Greeley, editor of the powerful New York "Tribune," had become +one of those patriots whose discouragement and discontent led them, +during the summer of 1864, to give ready hospitality to any suggestions +to end the war. In July he wrote to the President, forwarding the letter +of one "Wm. Cornell Jewett of Colorado," which announced the arrival in +Canada of two ambassadors from Jefferson Davis with full powers to +negotiate a peace. Mr. Greeley urged, in his over-fervid letter of +transmittal, that the President make overtures on the following plan of +adjustment: First. The Union to be restored and declared perpetual. +Second. Slavery to be utterly and forever abolished. Third. A complete +amnesty for all political offenses. Fourth. Payment of four hundred +million dollars to the slave States, pro rata, for their slaves. Fifth. +Slave States to be represented in proportion to their total population. +Sixth. A national convention to be called at once. + +Though Mr. Lincoln had no faith in Jewett's story, and doubted whether +the embassy had any existence, he determined to take immediate action on +this proposition. He felt the unreasonableness and injustice of Mr. +Greeley's letter, which in effect charged his administration with a +cruel disinclination to treat with the rebels, and resolved to convince +him at least, and perhaps others, that there was no foundation for these +reproaches. So he arranged that the witness of his willingness to listen +to any overtures that might come from the South should be Mr. Greeley +himself, and answering his letter at once on July 9, said: + +"If you can find any person, anywhere, professing to have any +proposition of Jefferson Davis in writing, for peace, embracing the +restoration of the Union and abandonment of slavery, whatever else it +embraces, say to him he may come to me with you, and that if he really +brings such proposition he shall at the least have safe conduct with the +paper (and without publicity, if he chooses) to the point where you +shall have met him. The same if there be two or more persons." + +This ready acquiescence evidently surprised and somewhat embarrassed Mr. +Greeley, who replied by several letters of different dates, but made no +motion to produce his commissioners. At last, on the fifteenth, to end a +correspondence which promised to be indefinitely prolonged, the +President telegraphed him: "I was not expecting you to send me a letter, +but to bring me a man or men." Mr. Greeley then went to Niagara, and +wrote from there to the alleged commissioners, Clement C. Clay and James +P. Holcombe, offering to conduct them to Washington, but neglecting to +mention the two conditions--restoration of the Union and abandonment of +slavery--laid down in Mr. Lincoln's note of the ninth and repeated by +him on the fifteenth. Even with this great advantage, Clay and Holcombe +felt themselves too devoid of credentials to accept Mr. Greeley's offer, +but replied that they could easily get credentials, or that other agents +could be accredited, if they could be sent to Richmond armed with "the +circumstances disclosed in this correspondence." + +This, of course, meant that Mr. Lincoln should take the initiative in +suing the Richmond authorities for peace on terms proposed by them. The +essential impossibility of these terms was not, however, apparent to Mr. +Greeley, who sent them on to Washington, soliciting fresh instructions. +With unwearied patience, Mr. Lincoln drew up a final paper, "To Whom it +may Concern," formally restating his position, and despatched Major Hay +with it to Niagara. This ended the conference; the Confederates charging +the President through the newspapers with a "sudden and entire change of +views"; while Mr. Greeley, being attacked by his colleagues of the press +for his action, could defend himself only by implied censure of the +President, utterly overlooking the fact that his own original letter had +contained the identical propositions Mr. Lincoln insisted upon. + +The discussion grew so warm that both he and his assailants at last +joined in a request to Mr. Lincoln to permit the publication of the +correspondence. This was, of course, an excellent opportunity for the +President to vindicate his own proceeding. But he rarely looked at such +matters from the point of view of personal advantage, and he feared that +the passionate, almost despairing appeals of the most prominent +Republican editor of the North for peace at any cost, disclosed in the +correspondence, would deepen the gloom in the public mind and have an +injurious effect upon the Union cause. The spectacle of the veteran +journalist, who was justly regarded as the leading controversial writer +on the antislavery side, ready to sacrifice everything for peace, and +frantically denouncing the government for refusing to surrender the +contest, would have been, in its effect upon public opinion, a disaster +equal to the loss of a great battle. He therefore proposed to Mr. +Greeley, in case the letters were published, to omit some of the most +vehement passages; and took Mr. Greeley's refusal to assent to this as a +veto on their publication. + +It was characteristic of him that, seeing the temper in which Mr. +Greeley regarded the transaction, he dropped the matter and submitted +in silence to the misrepresentations to which he was subjected by reason +of it. Some thought he erred in giving any hearing to the rebels; some +criticized his choice of a commissioner; and the opposition naturally +made the most of his conditions of negotiation, and accused him of +embarking in a war of extermination in the interests of the negro. +Though making no public effort to set himself right, he was keenly alive +to their attitude. To a friend he wrote: + +"Saying reunion and abandonment of slavery would be considered, if +offered, is not saying that nothing else or less would be considered, if +offered.... Allow me to remind you that no one, having control of the +rebel armies, or, in fact, having any influence whatever in the +rebellion, has offered, or intimated, a willingness to a restoration of +the Union, in any event, or on any condition whatever.... If Jefferson +Davis wishes for himself, or for the benefit of his friends at the +North, to know what I would do if he were to offer peace and reunion, +saying nothing about slavery, let him try me." + +If the result of Mr. Greeley's Niagara efforts left any doubt that peace +was at present unattainable, the fact was demonstrated beyond question +by the published report of another unofficial and volunteer negotiation +which was proceeding at the same time. In May, 1863, James F. Jaquess, +D.D., a Methodist clergyman of piety and religious enthusiasm, who had +been appointed by Governor Yates colonel of an Illinois regiment, +applied for permission to go South, urging that by virtue of his church +relations he could, within ninety days, obtain acceptable terms of peace +from the Confederates. The military superiors to whom he submitted the +request forwarded it to Mr. Lincoln with a favorable indorsement; and +the President replied, consenting that they grant him a furlough, if +they saw fit, but saying: + +"He cannot go with any government authority whatever. This is absolute +and imperative." + +Eleven days later he was back again within Union lines, claiming to have +valuable "unofficial" proposals for peace. President Lincoln paid no +attention to his request for an interview, and in course of time he +returned to his regiment. Nothing daunted, however, a year later he +applied for and received permission to repeat his visit, this time in +company with J.R. Gilmore, a lecturer and writer, but, as before, +expressly without instruction or authority from Mr. Lincoln. They went +to Richmond, and had an extended interview with Mr. Davis, during which +they proposed to him a plan of adjustment as visionary as it was +unauthorized, its central feature being a general election to be held +over the whole country, North and South, within sixty days, on the two +propositions,--peace with disunion and Southern independence, or peace +with Union, emancipation, no confiscation, and universal amnesty,--the +majority vote to decide, and the governments at Washington and Richmond +to be finally bound by the decision. + +The interview resulted in nothing but a renewed declaration from Mr. +Davis that he would fight for separation to the bitter end--a +declaration which, on the whole, was of service to the Union cause, +since, to a great extent, it stopped the clamor of the peace factionists +during the presidential campaign. Not entirely, however. There was still +criticism enough to induce Henry J. Raymond, chairman of the executive +committee of the Republican party, to write a letter on August 22, +suggesting to Mr. Lincoln that he ought to appoint a commission in due +form to make proffers of peace to Davis on the sole condition of +acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitution; all other questions to +be settled in a convention of the people of all the States. + +Mr. Lincoln answered this patiently and courteously, framing, to give +point to his argument, an experimental draft of instructions with which +he proposed, in case such proffers were made, to send Mr. Raymond +himself to the rebel authorities. On seeing these in black and white, +Raymond, who had come to Washington to urge his project, readily agreed +with the President and Secretaries Seward, Stanton, and Fessenden, that +to carry it out would be worse than losing the presidential contest: it +would be ignominiously surrendering it in advance. + +"Nevertheless," wrote an inmate of the White House, "the visit of +himself and committee here did great good. They found the President and +cabinet much better informed than themselves, and went home encouraged +and cheered." + +The Democratic managers had called the national convention of their +party to meet on the fourth of July, 1864; but after the nomination of +Fremont at Cleveland, and of Lincoln at Baltimore, it was thought +prudent to postpone it to a later date, in the hope that something in +the chapter of accidents might arise to the advantage of the opposition. +It appeared for a while as if this manoeuver were to be successful. The +military situation was far from satisfactory. The terrible fighting of +Grant's army in Virginia had profoundly shocked and depressed the +country; and its movement upon Petersburg, so far without decisive +results, had contributed little hope or encouragement. The campaign of +Sherman in Georgia gave as yet no positive assurance of the brilliant +results it afterward attained. The Confederate raid into Maryland and +Pennsylvania in July was the cause of great annoyance and exasperation. + +This untoward state of things in the field of military operations found +its exact counterpart in the political campaign. Several circumstances +contributed to divide and discourage the administration party. The +resignation of Mr. Chase had seemed to not a few leading Republicans a +presage of disintegration in the government. Mr. Greeley's mission at +Niagara Falls had unsettled and troubled the minds of many. The +Democrats, not having as yet appointed a candidate or formulated a +platform, were free to devote all their leisure to attacks upon the +administration. The rebel emissaries in Canada, being in thorough +concert with the leading peace men of the North, redoubled their efforts +to disturb the public tranquility, and not without success. In the +midst of these discouraging circumstances the manifesto of Wade and +Davis had appeared to add its depressing influence to the general gloom. + +Mr. Lincoln realized to the full the tremendous issues of the campaign. +Asked in August by a friend who noted his worn looks, if he could not go +away for a fortnight's rest, he replied: + +"I cannot fly from my thoughts--my solicitude for this great country +follows me wherever I go. I do not think it is personal vanity or +ambition, though I am not free from these infirmities, but I cannot but +feel that the weal or woe of this great nation will be decided in +November. There is no program offered by any wing of the Democratic +party, but that must result in the permanent destruction of the Union." + +"But, Mr. President," his friend objected, "General McClellan is in +favor of crushing out this rebellion by force. He will be the Chicago +candidate." + +"Sir, the slightest knowledge of arithmetic will prove to any man that +the rebel armies cannot be destroyed by Democratic strategy. It would +sacrifice all the white men of the North to do it. There are now in the +service of the United States nearly one hundred and fifty thousand +able-bodied colored men, most of them under arms, defending and +acquiring Union territory. The Democratic strategy demands that these +forces be disbanded, and that the masters be conciliated by restoring +them to slavery.... You cannot conciliate the South if you guarantee to +them ultimate success; and the experience of the present war proves +their successes inevitable if you fling the compulsory labor of millions +of black men into their side of the scale.... Abandon all the posts now +garrisoned by black men, take one hundred and fifty thousand men from +our side and put them in the battle-field or corn-field against us, and +we would be compelled to abandon the war in three weeks.... My enemies +pretend I am now carrying on this war for the sole purpose of abolition. +So long as I am President it shall be carried on for the sole purpose of +restoring the Union. But no human power can subdue this rebellion +without the use of the emancipation policy and every other policy +calculated to weaken the moral and physical forces of the rebellion.... +Let my enemies prove to the country that the destruction of slavery is +not necessary to a restoration of the Union. I will abide the issue." + +The political situation grew still darker. When at last, toward the end +of August, the general gloom had enveloped even the President himself, +his action was most original and characteristic. Feeling that the +campaign was going against him, he made up his mind deliberately as to +the course he should pursue, and laid down for himself the action +demanded by his conviction of duty. He wrote on August 23 the following +memorandum: + +"This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that +this administration will not be reelected. Then it will be my duty to so +cooeperate with the President-elect as to save the Union between the +election and the inauguration, as he will have secured his election on +such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards." + +He then folded and pasted the sheet in such manner that its contents +could not be read, and as the cabinet came together he handed this paper +to each member successively, requesting them to write their names across +the back of it. In this peculiar fashion he pledged himself and the +administration to accept loyally the anticipated verdict of the people +against him, and to do their utmost to save the Union in the brief +remainder of his term of office. He gave no intimation to any member of +his cabinet of the nature of the paper they had signed until after his +reelection. + +The Democratic convention was finally called to meet in Chicago on +August 29. Much had been expected by the peace party from the strength +and audacity of its adherents in the Northwest; and, indeed, the day of +the meeting of the convention was actually the date appointed by rebel +emissaries in Canada for an outbreak which should effect that revolution +in the northwestern States which had long been their chimerical dream. +This scheme of the American Knights, however, was discovered and guarded +against through the usual treachery of some of their members; and it is +doubtful if the Democrats reaped any real, permanent advantage from the +delay of their convention. + +On coming together, the only manner in which the peace men and war +Democrats could arrive at an agreement was by mutual deception. The war +Democrats, led by the delegation from New York, were working for a +military candidate; while the peace Democrats, under the leadership of +Vallandigham, who had returned from Canada and was allowed to remain at +large through the half-contemptuous and half-calculated leniency of the +government he defied, bent all their energies to a clear statement of +their principles in the platform. + +Both got what they desired. General McClellan was nominated on the first +ballot, and Vallandigham wrote the only plank worth quoting in the +platform. It asserted: "That after four years of failure to restore the +Union by the experiment of war, during which ... the Constitution itself +has been disregarded in every part," public welfare demands "that +immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities." It is +altogether probable that this distinct proposition of surrender to the +Confederates might have been modified or defeated in full convention if +the war Democrats had had the courage of their convictions; but they +were so intent upon the nomination of McClellan, that they considered +the platform of secondary importance, and the fatal resolutions were +adopted without debate. + +Mr. Vallandigham, having thus taken possession of the convention, next +adopted the candidate, and put the seal of his sinister approval on +General McClellan by moving that his nomination be made unanimous, which +was done amid great cheering. George H. Pendleton was nominated for +Vice-President, and the convention adjourned--not _sine die_, as is +customary, but "subject to be called at any time and place the executive +national committee shall designate." The motives of this action were not +avowed, but it was taken as a significant warning that the leaders of +the Democratic party held themselves ready for any extraordinary +measures which the exigencies of the time might provoke or invite. + +The New-Yorkers, however, had the last word, for Governor Seymour, in +his letter as chairman of the committee to inform McClellan of his +nomination, assured him that "those for whom we speak were animated with +the most earnest, devoted, and prayerful desire for the salvation of the +American Union"; and the general, knowing that the poison of death was +in the platform, took occasion in his letter of acceptance to renew his +assurances of devotion to the Union, the Constitution, the laws, and the +flag of his country. After having thus absolutely repudiated the +platform upon which he was nominated, he coolly concluded: + +"Believing that the views here expressed are those of the convention and +the people you represent, I accept the nomination." + +His only possible chance of success lay, of course, in his war record. +His position as a candidate on a platform of dishonorable peace would +have been no less desperate than ridiculous. But the stars in their +courses fought against the Democratic candidates. Even before the +convention that nominated them, Farragut had won the splendid victory of +Mobile Bay; during the very hours when the streets of Chicago were +blazing with Democratic torches, Hood was preparing to evacuate Atlanta; +and the same newspaper that printed Vallandigham's peace platform +announced Sherman's entrance into the manufacturing metropolis of +Georgia. The darkest hour had passed; dawn was at hand, and amid the +thanksgivings of a grateful people, and the joyful salutes of great +guns, the presidential campaign began. + +When the country awoke to the true significance of the Chicago platform, +the successes of Sherman excited the enthusiasm of the people, and the +Unionists, arousing from their midsummer languor, began to show their +confidence in the Republican candidate, the hopelessness of all efforts +to undermine him became evident. + +The electoral contest began with the picket firing in Vermont and Maine +in September, was continued in what might be called the grand guard +fighting in October in the great States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and +Indiana, and the final battle took place all along the line on November +8. To Mr. Lincoln this was one of the most solemn days of his life. +Assured of his personal success, and made devoutly confident by the +military successes of the last few weeks that the day of peace and the +reestablishment of the Union was at hand, he felt no elation, and no +sense of triumph over his opponents. The thoughts that filled his mind +were expressed in the closing sentences of the little speech he made in +response to a group of serenaders that greeted him when, in the early +morning hours, he left the War Department, where he had gone on the +evening of election to receive the returns: + +"I am thankful to God for this approval of the people; but, while deeply +grateful for this mark of their confidence in me, if I know my heart, my +gratitude is free from any taint of personal triumph. I do not impugn +the motives of any one opposed to me. It is no pleasure to me to triumph +over any one, but I give thanks to the Almighty for this evidence of the +people's resolution to stand by free government and the rights of +humanity." + +Lincoln and Johnson received a popular majority of 411,281, and two +hundred and twelve out of two hundred and thirty-three electoral votes, +only those of New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky, twenty-one in all, +being cast for McClellan. In his annual message to Congress, which met +on December 5, President Lincoln gave the best summing up of the results +of the election that has ever been written: + +"The purpose of the people within the loyal States to maintain the +integrity of the Union was never more firm nor more nearly unanimous +than now.... No candidate for any office whatever, high or low, has +ventured to seek votes on the avowal that he was for giving up the +Union. There have been much impugning of motives and much heated +controversy as to the proper means and best mode of advancing the Union +cause; but on the distinct issue of Union or no Union the politicians +have shown their instinctive knowledge that there is no diversity among +the people. In affording the people the fair opportunity of showing one +to another and to the world this firmness and unanimity of purpose, the +election has been of vast value to the national cause." + +On the day of election General McClellan resigned his commission in the +army, and the place thus made vacant was filled by the appointment of +General Philip H. Sheridan, a fit type and illustration of the turn in +the tide of affairs, which was to sweep from that time rapidly onward to +the great decisive national triumph. + + + + +XXXIII + +The Thirteenth Amendment--The President's Speech on its Adoption--The +Two Constitutional Amendments of Lincoln's Term--Lincoln on Peace and +Slavery in his Annual Message of December 6, 1864--Blair's Mexican +Project--The Hampton Roads Conference + + +A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution +prohibiting slavery throughout the United States had passed the Senate +on April 8, 1864, but had failed of the necessary two-thirds vote in the +House. The two most vital thoughts which animated the Baltimore +convention when it met in June had been the renomination of Mr. Lincoln +and the success of this constitutional amendment. The first was +recognized as a popular decision needing only the formality of an +announcement by the convention; and the full emphasis of speech and +resolution had therefore been centered on the latter as the dominant and +aggressive reform upon which the party would stake its political +fortunes in the presidential campaign. Mr. Lincoln had himself suggested +to Mr. Morgan the wisdom of sounding that key-note in his opening speech +before the convention; and the great victory gained at the polls in +November not only demonstrated his sagacity, but enabled him to take up +the question with confidence among his recommendations to Congress in +the annual message of December 6, 1864. Relating the fate of the measure +at the preceding session, he said: + +"Without questioning the wisdom or patriotism of those who stood in +opposition, I venture to recommend the reconsideration and passage of +the measure at the present session. Of course the abstract question is +not changed, but an intervening election shows, almost certainly, that +the next Congress will pass the measure if this does not. Hence there is +only a question of time as to when the proposed amendment will go to the +States for their action. And as it is to so go at all events, may we not +agree that the sooner the better? It is not claimed that the election +has imposed a duty on members to change their views or their votes any +further than, as an additional element to be considered, their judgment +may be affected by it. It is the voice of the people, now for the first +time heard upon the question. In a great national crisis like ours, +unanimity of action among those seeking a common end is very +desirable--almost indispensable. And yet no approach to such unanimity +is attainable unless some deference shall be paid to the will of the +majority, simply because it is the will of the majority. In this case +the common end is the maintenance of the Union; and among the means to +secure that end, such will, through the election, is most clearly +declared in favor of such constitutional amendment." + +The joint resolution was called up in the House on January 6, 1865, and +general discussion followed from time to time, occupying perhaps half +the days of that month. As at the previous session, the Republicans all +favored, while the Democrats mainly opposed it; but important exceptions +among the latter showed what immense gains the proposition had made in +popular opinion and in congressional willingness to recognize and embody +it. The logic of events had become more powerful than party creed or +strategy. For fifteen years the Democratic party had stood as sentinel +and bulwark to slavery, and yet, despite its alliance and championship, +the "peculiar institution" was being consumed in the fire of war. It had +withered in popular elections, been paralyzed by confiscation laws, +crushed by executive decrees, trampled upon by marching Union armies. +More notable than all, the agony of dissolution had come upon it in its +final stronghold--the constitutions of the slave States. Local public +opinion had throttled it in West Virginia, in Missouri, in Arkansas, in +Louisiana, in Maryland, and the same spirit of change was upon +Tennessee, and even showing itself in Kentucky. The Democratic party did +not, and could not, shut its eyes to the accomplished facts. + +The issue was decided on the afternoon of January 31, 1865. The scene +was one of unusual interest. The galleries were filled to overflowing, +and members watched the proceedings with unconcealed solicitude. "Up to +noon," said a contemporaneous report, "the pro-slavery party are said to +have been confident of defeating the amendment; and after that time had +passed, one of the most earnest advocates of the measure said: "'Tis the +toss of a copper." At four o'clock the House came to a final vote, and +the roll-call showed: yeas, one hundred and nineteen; nays, fifty-six; +not voting, eight. Scattering murmurs of applause followed affirmative +votes from several Democratic members; but when the Speaker finally +announced the result, members on the Republican side of the House sprang +to their feet, and, regardless of parliamentary rules, applauded with +cheers and hand-clappings--an exhibition of enthusiasm quickly echoed by +the spectators in the crowded galleries, where waving of hats and +handkerchiefs and similar demonstrations of joy lasted for several +minutes. + +A salute of one hundred guns soon made the occasion the subject of +comment and congratulation throughout the city. On the following night a +considerable procession marched with music to the Executive Mansion to +carry popular greetings to the President. In response to their calls he +appeared at a window and made a brief speech, of which only an abstract +report was preserved, but which is nevertheless important as showing the +searching analysis of cause and effect this question had undergone in +his mind, the deep interest he felt in it, and the far-reaching +consequences he attached to the measure and its success: + +"The occasion was one of congratulation to the country and to the whole +world. But there is a task yet before us--to go forward and have +consummated by the votes of the States that which Congress had so nobly +begun yesterday. He had the honor to inform those present that Illinois +had already to-day done the work. Maryland was about half through, but +he felt proud that Illinois was a little ahead. He thought this measure +was a very fitting, if not an indispensable, adjunct to the winding up +of the great difficulty. He wished the reunion of all the States +perfected, and so effected as to remove all causes of disturbance in the +future; and to attain this end it was necessary that the original +disturbing cause should, if possible, be rooted out. He thought all +would bear him witness that he had never shrunk from doing all that he +could to eradicate slavery, by issuing an emancipation proclamation. But +that proclamation falls far short of what the amendment will be when +fully consummated. A question might be raised whether the proclamation +was legally valid. It might be urged that it only aided those that came +into our lines, and that it was inoperative as to those who did not give +themselves up; or that it would have no effect upon the children of +slaves born hereafter; in fact, it would be urged that it did not meet +the evil. But this amendment is a king's cure-all for all the evils. It +winds the whole thing up. He would repeat that it was the fitting, if +not the indispensable, adjunct to the consummation of the great game we +are playing." + +Widely divergent views were expressed by able constitutional lawyers as +to what would constitute a valid ratification of the Thirteenth +Amendment; some contending that ratification by three fourths of the +loyal States would be sufficient, others that three fourths of all the +States, whether loyal or insurrectionary, was necessary. Mr. Lincoln, in +a speech on Louisiana reconstruction, while expressing no opinion +against the first proposition, nevertheless declared with great +argumentative force that the latter "would be unquestioned and +unquestionable"; and this view appears to have governed the action of +his successor. + +As Mr. Lincoln mentioned with just pride, Illinois was the first State +to ratify the amendment. On December 18, 1865, Mr. Seward, who remained +as Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Johnson, made official +proclamation that the legislatures of twenty-seven States, constituting +three fourths of the thirty-six States of the Union, had ratified the +amendment, and that it had become valid as a part of the Constitution. +Four of the States constituting this number--Virginia, Louisiana, +Tennessee, and Arkansas--were those whose reconstruction had been +effected under the direction of President Lincoln. Six more States +subsequently ratified the amendment, Texas ending the list in February, +1870. + +The profound political transformation which the American Republic had +undergone can perhaps best be measured by contrasting the two +constitutional amendments which Congress made it the duty of the Lincoln +administration to submit officially to the States. The first, signed by +President Buchanan as one of his last official acts, and accepted and +indorsed by Lincoln in his inaugural address, was in these words: + +"No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or +give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere within any State with +the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to +labor or service by the laws of said State." + +Between Lincoln's inauguration and the outbreak of war, the Department +of State transmitted this amendment to the several States for their +action; and had the South shown a willingness to desist from secession +and accept it as a peace offering, there is little doubt that it would +have become a part of the Constitution. But the thunder of Beauregard's +guns drove away all possibility of such a ratification, and within four +years the Lincoln administration sent forth the amendment of 1865, +sweeping out of existence by one sentence the institution to which it +had in its first proposal offered a virtual claim to perpetual +recognition and tolerance. The "new birth of freedom" which Lincoln +invoked for the nation in his Gettysburg address, was accomplished. + +The closing paragraphs of President Lincoln's message to Congress of +December 6, 1864, were devoted to a summing up of the existing +situation. The verdict of the ballot-box had not only decided the +continuance of a war administration and war policy, but renewed the +assurance of a public sentiment to sustain its prosecution. Inspired by +this majestic manifestation of the popular will, he was able to speak of +the future with hope and confidence. But with characteristic prudence +and good taste, he uttered no word of boasting, and indulged in no +syllable of acrimony; on the contrary, in terms of fatherly kindness he +again offered the rebellious States the generous conditions he had +previously tendered them. + +"The national resources, then, are unexhausted, and, as we believe, +inexhaustible. The public purpose to reestablish and maintain the +national authority is unchanged and, as we believe, unchangeable. The +manner of continuing the effort remains to choose. On careful +consideration of all the evidence accessible, it seems to me that no +attempt at negotiation with the insurgent leader could result in any +good. He would accept nothing short of severance of the Union--precisely +what we will not and cannot give. His declarations to this effect are +explicit and oft-repeated.... What is true, however, of him who heads +the insurgent cause is not necessarily true of those who follow. +Although he cannot reaccept the Union, they can. Some of them, we know, +already desire peace and reunion. The number of such may increase. They +can, at any moment, have peace simply by laying down their arms and +submitting to the national authority under the Constitution. After so +much, the government could not, if it would, maintain war against them. +The loyal people would not sustain or allow it. If questions should +remain, we would adjust them by the peaceful means of legislation, +conference, courts, and votes, operating only in constitutional and +lawful channels.... In presenting the abandonment of armed resistance to +the national authority, on the part of the insurgents, as the only +indispensable condition to ending the war on the part of the government, +I retract nothing heretofore said as to slavery. I repeat the +declaration made a year ago, that 'While I remain in my present +position I shall not attempt to retract or modify the emancipation +proclamation, nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by +the terms of that proclamation, or by any of the acts of Congress.' If +the people should, by whatever mode or means, make it an executive duty +to reenslave such persons, another, and not I, must be their instrument +to perform it. In stating a single condition of peace, I mean simply to +say that the war will cease on the part of the government whenever it +shall have ceased on the part of those who began it." The country was +about to enter upon the fifth year of actual war; but all indications +were pointing to a speedy collapse of the rebellion. This foreshadowed +disaster to the Confederate armies gave rise to another volunteer peace +negotiation, which, from the boldness of its animating thought and the +prominence of its actors, assumes a special importance. The veteran +politician Francis P. Blair, Sr., who, from his long political and +personal experience in Washington, knew, perhaps better than almost any +one else, the individual characters and tempers of Southern leaders, +conceived that the time had come when he might take up the role of +successful mediator between the North and the South. He gave various +hints of his desire to President Lincoln, but received neither +encouragement nor opportunity to unfold his plans. "Come to me after +Savannah falls," was Lincoln's evasive reply. On the surrender of that +city, Mr. Blair hastened to put his design into execution, and with a +simple card from Mr. Lincoln, dated December 28, saying, "Allow the +bearer, F.P. Blair, Sr., to pass our lines, go south and return," as his +only credential, set out for Richmond. From General Grant's camp he +forwarded two letters to Jefferson Davis: one, a brief request to be +allowed to go to Richmond in search of missing title papers presumably +taken from his Maryland home during Early's raid; the other, a longer +letter, explaining the real object of his visit, but stating with the +utmost candor that he came wholly unaccredited, save for permission to +pass the lines, and that he had not offered the suggestions he wished to +submit in person to Mr. Davis to any one in authority at Washington. + +After some delay, he found himself in Richmond, and was accorded a +confidential interview by the rebel President on January 12, 1865, when +he unfolded his project, which proved to be nothing less than a +proposition that the Union and Confederate armies cease fighting each +other and unite to drive the French from Mexico. He supported this +daring idea in a paper of some length, pointing out that as slavery, the +real cause of the war, was hopelessly doomed, nothing now remained to +keep the two sections of the country apart except the possible +intervention of foreign soldiery. Hence, all considerations pointed to +the wisdom of dislodging the French invaders from American soil, and +thus baffling "the designs of Napoleon to subject our Southern people to +the 'Latin race.'" + +"He who expels the Bonaparte-Hapsburg dynasty from our southern flank," +the paper said further, "will ally his name with those of Washington and +Jackson as a defender of the liberty of the country. If in delivering +Mexico he should model its States in form and principle to adapt them to +our Union, and add a new southern constellation to its benignant sky +while rounding off our possessions on the continent at the Isthmus, ... +he would complete the work of Jefferson, who first set one foot of our +colossal government on the Pacific by a stride from the Gulf of +Mexico...." + +"I then said to him, 'There is my problem, Mr. Davis; do you think it +possible to be solved?' After consideration, he said: 'I think so.' I +then said, 'You see that I make the great point of this matter that the +war is no longer made for slavery, but monarchy. You know that if the +war is kept up and the Union kept divided, armies must be kept afoot on +both sides, and this state of things has never continued long without +resulting in monarchy on one side or the other, and on both generally.' +He assented to this." + +The substantial accuracy of Mr. Blair's report is confirmed by the +memorandum of the same interview which Jefferson Davis wrote at the +time. In this conversation, the rebel leader took little pains to +disguise his entire willingness to enter upon the wild scheme of +military conquest and annexation which could easily be read between the +lines of a political crusade to rescue the Monroe Doctrine from its +present peril. If Mr. Blair felt elated at having so quickly made a +convert of the Confederate President, he was further gratified at +discovering yet more favorable symptoms in his official surroundings at +Richmond. In the three or four days he spent at the rebel capital he +found nearly every prominent personage convinced of the hopeless +condition of the rebellion, and even eager to seize upon any contrivance +to help them out of their direful prospects. + +But the government councils at Washington were not ruled by the spirit +of political adventure. Abraham Lincoln had a loftier conception of +patriotic duty, and a higher ideal of national ethics. His whole +interest in Mr. Blair's mission lay in the rebel despondency it +disclosed, and the possibility it showed of bringing the Confederates to +an abandonment of their resistance. Mr. Davis had, indeed, given Mr. +Blair a letter, to be shown to President Lincoln, stating his +willingness, "notwithstanding the rejection of our former offers," to +appoint a commissioner to enter into negotiations "with a view to secure +peace to the two countries." This was, of course, the old impossible +attitude. In reply the President wrote Mr. Blair on January 18 the +following note: + +"SIR: You having shown me Mr. Davis's letter to you of the twelfth +instant, you may say to him that I have constantly been, am now, and +shall continue ready to receive any agent whom he, or any other +influential person now resisting the national authority, may informally +send to me, with the view of securing peace to the people of our one +common country." + +With this, Mr. Blair returned to Richmond, giving Mr. Davis such excuses +as he could hastily frame why the President had rejected his plan for a +joint invasion of Mexico. Jefferson Davis therefore had only two +alternatives before him--either to repeat his stubborn ultimatum of +separation and independence, or frankly to accept Lincoln's ultimatum of +reunion. The principal Richmond authorities knew, and some of them +admitted, that their Confederacy was nearly in collapse. Lee sent a +despatch saying he had not two days' rations for his army. Richmond was +already in a panic at rumors of evacuation. Flour was selling at a +thousand dollars a barrel in Confederate currency. The recent fall of +Fort Fisher had closed the last avenue through which blockade-runners +could bring in foreign supplies. Governor Brown of Georgia was refusing +to obey orders from Richmond, and characterizing them as "despotic." +Under such circumstances a defiant cry of independence would not +reassure anybody; nor, on the other hand, was it longer possible to +remain silent. Mr. Blair's first visit had created general interest; +when he came a second time, wonder and rumor rose to fever heat. + +Impelled to take action, Mr. Davis had not the courage to be frank. +After consultation with his cabinet, a peace commission of three was +appointed, consisting of Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President; R.M.T. +Hunter, senator and ex-Secretary of State; and John A. Campbell, +Assistant Secretary of War--all of them convinced that the rebellion was +hopeless, but unwilling to admit the logical consequences and +necessities. The drafting of instructions for their guidance was a +difficult problem, since the explicit condition prescribed by Mr. +Lincoln's note was that he would receive only an agent sent him "with +the view of securing peace to the people of our one common country." The +rebel Secretary of State proposed, in order to make the instructions "as +vague and general as possible," the simple direction to confer "upon the +subject to which it relates"; but his chief refused the suggestion, and +wrote the following instruction, which carried a palpable contradiction +on its face: + +"In conformity with the letter of Mr. Lincoln, of which the foregoing is +a copy, you are requested to proceed to Washington City for informal +conference with him upon the issues involved in the existing war, and +for the purpose of securing peace to the two countries." + +With this the commissioners presented themselves at the Union lines on +the evening of January 29, but instead of showing their double-meaning +credential, asked admission, "in accordance with an understanding +claimed to exist with Lieutenant-General Grant." Mr. Lincoln, being +apprised of the application, promptly despatched Major Thomas T. Eckert, +of the War Department, with written directions to admit them under +safe-conduct, if they would say in writing that they came for the +purpose of an informal conference on the basis of his note of January 18 +to Mr. Blair. The commissioners having meantime reconsidered the form of +their application and addressed a new one to General Grant which met the +requirements, were provisionally conveyed to Grant's headquarters; and +on January 31 the President commissioned Secretary Seward to meet them, +saying in his written instructions: + +"You will make known to them that three things are indispensable, to +wit: First. The restoration of the national authority throughout all the +States. Second. No receding by the Executive of the United States on the +slavery question from the position assumed thereon in the late annual +message to Congress, and in preceding documents. Third. No cessation of +hostilities short of an end of the war, and the disbanding of all forces +hostile to the government. You will inform them that all propositions of +theirs, not inconsistent with the above, will be considered and passed +upon in a spirit of sincere liberality. You will hear all they may +choose to say, and report it to me. You will not assume to definitely +consummate anything." + +Mr. Seward started on the morning of February 1, and simultaneously with +his departure the President repeated to General Grant the monition +already sent him two days before: "Let nothing which is transpiring +change, hinder, or delay your military movements or plans." Major Eckert +had arrived while Mr. Seward was yet on the way, and on seeing Jefferson +Davis's instructions, promptly notified the commissioners that they +could not proceed further without complying strictly with President +Lincoln's terms. Thus, at half-past nine on the night of February 1, +their mission was practically at an end, though next day they again +recanted and accepted the President's conditions in writing. Mr. +Lincoln, on reading Major Eckert's report on the morning of February 2, +was about to recall Secretary Seward by telegraph, when he was shown a +confidential despatch from General Grant to the Secretary of War, +stating his belief that the intention of the commissioners was good, and +their desire for peace sincere, and regretting that Mr. Lincoln could +not have an interview with them. This communication served to change his +purpose. Resolving not to neglect the indications of sincerity here +described, he telegraphed at once, "Say to the gentlemen I will meet +them personally at Fortress Monroe as soon as I can get there," and +joined Secretary Seward that same night. + +On the morning of February 3, 1865, the rebel commissioners were +conducted on board the _River Queen_, lying at anchor near Fort Monroe, +where President Lincoln and Secretary Seward awaited them. It was agreed +beforehand that no writing or memorandum should be made at the time, so +the record of the interview remains only in the separate accounts which +the rebel commissioners wrote out afterward from memory, neither Mr. +Seward nor President Lincoln ever having made any report in detail. In a +careful analysis of these reports, the first striking feature is the +difference of intention between the parties. It is apparent that Mr. +Lincoln went honestly and frankly to offer them the best terms he could +to, secure peace and reunion, but to abate no jot of official duty or +personal dignity; while the main thought of the commissioners was to +evade the express condition on which they had been admitted to +conference, to seek to postpone the vital issue, and to propose an +armistice by debating a mere juggling expedient against which they had +in a private agreement with one another already committed themselves. + +At the first hint of Blair's Mexican project, however, Mr. Lincoln +firmly disclaimed any responsibility for the suggestion, or any +intention of adopting it, and during the four hours' talk led the +conversation continually back to the original object of the conference. +But though he patiently answered the many questions addressed him by the +commissioners, as to what would probably be done on various important +subjects that must arise at once if the Confederate States consented, +carefully discriminating in his answers between what he was authorized +under the Constitution to do as Executive, and what would devolve upon +cooerdinate branches of the government, the interview came to nothing. +The commissioners returned to Richmond in great disappointment, and +communicated the failure of their efforts to Jefferson Davis, whose +chagrin was equal to their own. They had all caught eagerly at the hope +that this negotiation would somehow extricate them from the dilemmas and +dangers of their situation. Davis took the only course open to him after +refusing the honorable peace Mr. Lincoln had tendered. He transmitted +the commissioners' report to the rebel Congress, with a brief and dry +message stating that the enemy refused any terms except those the +conqueror might grant; and then arranged as vigorous an effort as +circumstances permitted once more to "fire the Southern heart." A public +meeting was called, where the speeches, judging from the meager reports +printed, were as denunciatory and bellicose as the bitterest Confederate +could desire. Davis particularly is represented to have excelled himself +in defiant heroics. "Sooner than we should ever be united again," he +said, "he would be willing to yield up everything he had on earth--if it +were possible, he would sacrifice a thousand lives"; and he further +announced his confidence that they would yet "compel the Yankees, in +less than twelve months, to petition us for peace on our own terms." + +This extravagant rhetoric would seem merely grotesque, were it not +embittered by the reflection that it was the signal which carried many +additional thousands of brave soldiers to death, in continuing a +palpably hopeless military struggle. + + + + +XXXIV + +Blair--Chase Chief Justice--Speed Succeeds Bates--McCulloch Succeeds +Fessenden--Resignation of Mr. Usher--Lincoln's Offer of +$400,000,000--The Second Inaugural--Lincoln's Literary Rank--His Last +Speech + + +The principal concession in the Baltimore platform made by the friends +of the administration to their opponents, the radicals, was the +resolution which called for harmony in the cabinet. The President at +first took no notice, either publicly or privately, of this resolution, +which was in effect a recommendation that he dismiss those members of +his council who were stigmatized as conservatives; and the first cabinet +change which actually took place after the adjournment of the convention +filled the radical body of his supporters with dismay, since they had +looked upon Mr. Chase as their special representative in the government. +The publication of the Wade-Davis manifesto still further increased +their restlessness, and brought upon Mr. Lincoln a powerful pressure +from every quarter to satisfy radical demands by dismissing Montgomery +Blair, his Postmaster-General. Mr. Blair had been one of the founders of +the Republican party, and in the very forefront of opposition to slavery +extension, but had gradually attracted to himself the hostility of all +the radical Republicans in the country. The immediate cause of this +estrangement was the bitter quarrel that developed between his family +and General Fremont in Missouri: a quarrel in which the Blairs were +undoubtedly right in the beginning, but which broadened and extended +until it landed them finally in the Democratic party. + +The President considered the dispute one of form rather than substance, +and having a deep regard, not only for the Postmaster-General, but for +his brother, General Frank Blair, and for his distinguished father, was +most reluctant to take action against him. Even in the bosom of the +government, however, a strong hostility to Mr. Blair manifested itself. +As long as Chase remained in the cabinet there was smoldering hostility +between them, and his attitude toward Seward and Stanton was one of +increasing enmity. General Halleck, incensed at some caustic remarks +Blair was reported to have made about the defenders of the capital after +Early's raid, during which the family estate near Washington had +suffered, sent an angry note to the War Department, wishing to know if +such "wholesale denouncement" had the President's sanction; adding that +either the names of the officers accused should be stricken from the +rolls, or the "slanderer dismissed from the cabinet." Mr. Stanton sent +the letter to the President without comment. This was too much; and the +Secretary received an answer on the very same day, written in Mr. +Lincoln's most masterful manner: + +"Whether the remarks were really made I do not know, nor do I suppose +such knowledge is necessary to a correct response. If they were made, I +do not approve them; and yet, under the circumstances, I would not +dismiss a member of the cabinet therefore. I do not consider what may +have been hastily said in a moment of vexation at so severe a loss is +sufficient ground for so grave a step.... I propose continuing to be +myself the judge as to when a member of the cabinet shall be +dismissed." + +Not content with this, the President, when the cabinet came together, +read them this impressive little lecture: + +"I must myself be the judge how long to retain in and when to remove any +of you from his position. It would greatly pain me to discover any of +you endeavoring to procure another's removal, or in any way to prejudice +him before the public. Such endeavor would be a wrong to me, and, much +worse, a wrong to the country. My wish is that on this subject no remark +be made nor question asked by any of you, here or elsewhere, now or +hereafter." + +This is one of the most remarkable speeches ever made by a President. +The tone of authority is unmistakable. Washington was never more +dignified; Jackson was never more peremptory. + +The feeling against Mr. Blair and the pressure upon the President for +his removal increased throughout the summer. All through the period of +gloom and discouragement he refused to act, even when he believed the +verdict of the country likely to go against him, and was assured on +every side that such a concession to the radical spirit might be greatly +to his advantage. But after the turn had come, and the prospective +triumph of the Union cause became evident, he felt that he ought no +longer to retain in his cabinet a member who, whatever his personal +merits, had lost the confidence of the great body of Republicans; and on +September 9 wrote him a kindly note, requesting his resignation. + +Mr. Blair accepted his dismissal in a manner to be expected from his +manly and generous character, not pretending to be pleased, but assuming +that the President had good reason for his action; and, on turning over +his office to his successor, ex-Governor William Dennison of Ohio, went +at once to Maryland and entered into the campaign, working heartily for +Mr. Lincoln's reelection. + +After the death of Judge Taney in October, Mr. Blair for a while +indulged the hope that he might be appointed chief justice, a position +for which his natural abilities and legal acquirements eminently fitted +him. But Mr. Chase was chosen, to the bitter disappointment of Mr. +Blair's family, though even this did not shake their steadfast loyalty +to the Union cause or their personal friendship for the President. +Immediately after his second inauguration, Mr. Lincoln offered +Montgomery Blair his choice of the Spanish or the Austrian mission, an +offer which he peremptorily though respectfully declined. + +The appointment of Mr. Chase as chief justice had probably been decided +on in Mr. Lincoln's own mind from the first, though he gave no public +intimation of his decision before sending the nomination to the Senate +on December 6. Mr. Chase's partizans claimed that the President had +already virtually promised him the place; his opponents counted upon the +ex-secretary's attitude of criticism to work against his appointment. +But Mr. Lincoln sternly checked all presentations of this personal +argument; nor were the prayers of those who urged him to overlook the +harsh and indecorous things Mr. Chase had said of him at all necessary. +To one who spoke in this latter strain the President replied: + +"Oh, as to that I care nothing. Of Mr. Chase's ability, and of his +soundness on the general issues of the war, there is, of course, no +question. I have only one doubt about his appointment. He is a man of +unbounded ambition, and has been working all his life to become +President. That he can never be; and I fear that if I make him chief +justice he will simply become more restless and uneasy and neglect the +place in his strife and intrigue to make himself President. If I were +sure that he would go on the bench and give up his aspirations, and do +nothing but make himself a great judge, I would not hesitate a moment." + +He wrote out Mr. Chase's nomination with his own hand, and sent it to +the Senate the day after Congress came together. It was confirmed at +once, without reference to a committee, and Mr. Chase, on learning of +his new dignity, sent the President a cordial note, thanking him for the +manner of his appointment, and adding: "I prize your confidence and good +will more than any nomination to office." But Mr. Lincoln's fears were +better founded than his hopes. Though Mr. Chase took his place on the +bench with a conscientious desire to do his whole duty in his great +office, he could not dismiss the political affairs of the country from +his mind, and still considered himself called upon to counteract the +mischievous tendencies of the President toward conciliation and hasty +reconstruction. + +The reorganization of the cabinet went on by gradual disintegration +rather than by any brusque or even voluntary action on the part of Mr. +Lincoln. Mr. Bates, the attorney-general, growing weary of the labors of +his official position, resigned toward the end of November. Mr. Lincoln, +on whom the claim of localities always had great weight, unable to +decide upon another Missourian fitted for the place, offered it to +Joseph Holt of Kentucky, who declined, and then to James Speed, also a +Kentuckian of high professional and social standing, the brother of his +early friend Joshua F. Speed. Soon after the opening of the new year, +Mr. Fessenden, having been again elected to the Senate from Maine, +resigned his office as Secretary of the Treasury. The place thus +vacated instantly excited a wide and spirited competition of +recommendations. The President wished to appoint Governor Morgan of New +York, who declined, and the choice finally fell upon Hugh McCulloch of +Indiana, who had made a favorable record as comptroller of the currency. +Thus only two of Mr. Lincoln's original cabinet, Mr. Seward and Mr. +Welles, were in office at the date of his second inauguration; and still +another change was in contemplation. Mr. Usher of Indiana, who had for +some time discharged the duties of Secretary of the Interior, desiring, +as he said, to relieve the President from any possible embarrassment +which might arise from the fact that two of his cabinet were from the +same State, sent in his resignation, which Mr. Lincoln indorsed "To take +effect May 15, 1865." + +The tragic events of the future were mercifully hidden. Mr. Lincoln, +looking forward to four years more of personal leadership, was planning +yet another generous offer to shorten the period of conflict. His talk +with the commissioners at Hampton Roads had probably revealed to him the +undercurrent of their hopelessness and anxiety; and he had told them +that personally he would be in favor of the government paying a liberal +indemnity for the loss of slave property, on absolute cessation of the +war and the voluntary abolition of slavery by the Southern States. + +This was indeed going to the extreme of magnanimity; but Mr. Lincoln +remembered that the rebels, notwithstanding all their offenses and +errors, were yet American citizens, members of the same nation, brothers +of the same blood. He remembered, too, that the object of the war, +equally with peace and freedom, was the maintenance of one government +and the perpetuation of one Union. Not only must hostilities cease, but +dissension, suspicion, and estrangement be eradicated. Filled with such +thoughts and purposes, he spent the day after his return from Hampton +Roads in considering and perfecting a new proposal, designed as a peace +offering to the States in rebellion. On the evening of February 5, 1865, +he called his cabinet together, and read to them the draft of a joint +resolution and proclamation embodying this idea, offering the Southern +States four hundred million dollars, or a sum equal to the cost of the +war for two hundred days, on condition that hostilities cease by the +first of April, 1865; to be paid in six per cent. government bonds, pro +rata on their slave populations as shown by the census of 1860--one half +on April 1, the other half only upon condition that the Thirteenth +Amendment be ratified by a requisite number of States before July 1, +1865. + +It turned out that he was more humane and liberal than his +constitutional advisers. The indorsement in his own handwriting on the +manuscript draft records the result of his appeal and suggestion: + + "February 5, 1865. To-day, these papers, which explain themselves, + were drawn up and submitted to the cabinet, and unanimously + disapproved by them. + + "A. LINCOLN." + +With the words, "You are all opposed to me," sadly uttered, the +President folded up the paper and ceased the discussion. + +The formal inauguration of Mr. Lincoln for his second presidential term +took place at the appointed time, March 4, 1865. There is little +variation in the simple but impressive pageantry with which the official +ceremony is celebrated. The principal novelty commented upon by the +newspapers was the share which the hitherto enslaved race had for the +first time in this public and political drama. Civic associations of +negro citizens joined in the procession, and a battalion of negro +soldiers formed part of the military escort. The weather was +sufficiently favorable to allow the ceremonies to take place on the +eastern portico of the Capitol, in view of a vast throng of spectators. +The central act of the occasion was President Lincoln's second inaugural +address, which enriched the political literature of the Union with +another masterpiece, and deserves to be quoted in full. He said: + + "FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN: At this second appearing to take the oath of + the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended + address than there was at the first. Then, a statement, somewhat in + detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, + at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations + have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the + great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the + energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The + progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as + well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, + reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for + the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. + + "On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts + were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded + it--all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being + delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union + without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy + it without war--seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, + by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would + make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would + accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came. + + "One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not + distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern + part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful + interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of + the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was + the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by + war; while the government claimed no right to do more than to + restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected + for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already + attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might + cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each + looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and + astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and + each invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that + any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing + their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge + not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be + answered--that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has + his own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it + must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the + offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that American slavery is one + of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, + but which, having continued through his appointed time, he now + wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this + terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, + shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes + which the believers in a living God always ascribe to him? Fondly + do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war + may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until + all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years + of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood + drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, + as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, + 'The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.' + + "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in + the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to + finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds, to care + for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his + orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting + peace among ourselves, and with all nations." + +The address being concluded, Chief Justice Chase administered the oath +of office; and listeners who heard Abraham Lincoln for the second time +repeat, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office +of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, +preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," +went from the impressive scene to their several homes with thankfulness +and with confidence that the destiny of the country and the liberty of +the citizen were in safe keeping. "The fiery trial" through which he had +hitherto walked showed him possessed of the capacity, the courage, and +the will to keep the promise of his oath. + +Among the many criticisms passed by writers and thinkers upon the second +inaugural, none will so interest the reader as that of Mr. Lincoln +himself, written about ten days after its delivery, in the following +letter to a friend: + + "DEAR MR. WEED: Every one likes a compliment. Thank you for yours + on my little notification speech, and on the recent inaugural + address. I expect the latter to wear as well as, perhaps better + than, anything I have produced; but I believe it is not immediately + popular. Men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a + difference of purpose between the Almighty and them. To deny it, + however, in this case, is to deny that there is a God governing the + world. It is a truth which I thought needed to be told, and, as + whatever of humiliation there is in it falls most directly on + myself, I thought others might afford for me to tell it." + +Nothing would have more amazed Mr. Lincoln than to hear himself called a +man of letters; but this age has produced few greater writers. Emerson +ranks him with Aesop; Montalembert commends his style as a model for the +imitation of princes. It is true that in his writings the range of +subjects is not great. He was chiefly concerned with the political +problems of the time, and the moral considerations involved in them. But +the range of treatment is remarkably wide, running from the wit, the gay +humor, the florid eloquence of his stump speeches, to the marvelous +sententiousness and brevity of the address at Gettysburg, and the +sustained and lofty grandeur of his second inaugural; while many of his +phrases have already passed into the daily speech of mankind. + +A careful student of Mr. Lincoln's character will find this inaugural +address instinct with another meaning, which, very naturally, the +President's own comment did not touch. The eternal law of compensation, +which it declares and applies to the sin and fall of American slavery, +in a diction rivaling the fire and dignity of the old Hebrew prophecies, +may, without violent inference, be interpreted to foreshadow an +intention to renew at a fitting moment the brotherly goodwill gift to +the South which has already been treated of. Such an inference finds +strong corroboration in the sentences which closed the last public +address he ever made. On Tuesday evening, April 11, a considerable +assemblage of citizens of Washington gathered at the Executive Mansion +to celebrate the victory of Grant over Lee. The rather long and careful +speech which Mr. Lincoln made on that occasion was, however, less about +the past than the future. It discussed the subject of reconstruction as +illustrated in the case of Louisiana, showing also how that issue was +related to the questions of emancipation, the condition of the freedmen, +the welfare of the South, and the ratification of the constitutional +amendment. + +"So new and unprecedented is the whole case," he concluded, "that no +exclusive and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to details and +collaterals. Such exclusive and inflexible plan would surely become a +new entanglement. Important principles may and must be inflexible. In +the present situation, as the phrase goes, it may be my duty to make +some new announcement to the people of the South. I am considering, and +shall not fail to act when satisfied that action will be proper." + +Can any one doubt that this "new announcement" which was taking shape in +his mind would again have embraced and combined justice to the blacks +and generosity to the whites of the South, with Union and liberty for +the whole country? + + + + +XXXV + +Depreciation of Confederate Currency--Rigor of +Conscription--Dissatisfaction with the Confederate Government--Lee +General-in-Chief--J.E. Johnston Reappointed to Oppose Sherman's +March--Value of Slave Property Gone in Richmond--Davis's Recommendation +of Emancipation--Benjamin's Last Despatch to Slidell--Condition of the +Army when Lee took Command--Lee Attempts Negotiations with +Grant--Lincoln's Directions--Lee and Davis Agree upon Line of +Retreat--Assault on Fort Stedman--Five Forks--Evacuation of +Petersburg--Surrender of Richmond--Pursuit of Lee--Surrender of +Lee--Burning of Richmond--Lincoln in Richmond + + +From the hour of Mr. Lincoln's reelection the Confederate cause was +doomed. The cheering of the troops which greeted the news from the North +was heard within the lines at Richmond and at Petersburg; and although +the leaders maintained their attitude of defiance, the impression +rapidly gained ground among the people that the end was not far off. The +stimulus of hope being gone, they began to feel the pinch of increasing +want. Their currency had become almost worthless. In October, a dollar +in gold was worth thirty-five dollars in Confederate money. With the +opening of the new year the price rose to sixty dollars, and, despite +the efforts of the Confederate treasury, which would occasionally rush +into the market and beat down the price of gold ten or twenty per cent. +a day, the currency gradually depreciated until a hundred for one was +offered and not taken. It was natural for the citizens of Richmond to +think that monstrous prices were being extorted for food, clothing, and +supplies, when in fact they were paying no more than was reasonable. To +pay a thousand dollars for a barrel of flour was enough to strike a +householder with terror but ten dollars is not a famine price. High +prices, however, even if paid in dry leaves, are a hardship when dry +leaves are not plentiful; and there was scarcity even of Confederate +money in the South. + +At every advance of Grant's lines a new alarm was manifested in +Richmond, the first proof of which was always a fresh rigor in enforcing +the conscription laws and the arbitrary orders of the frightened +authorities. After the capture of Fort Harrison, north of the James, +squads of guards were sent into the streets with directions to arrest +every able-bodied man they met. It is said that the medical boards were +ordered to exempt no one capable of bearing arms for ten days. Human +nature will not endure such a strain as this, and desertion grew too +common to punish. + +As disaster increased, the Confederate government steadily lost ground +in the confidence and respect of the Southern people. Mr. Davis and his +councilors were doing their best, but they no longer got any credit for +it. From every part of the Confederacy came complaints of what was done, +demands for what was impossible to do. Some of the States were in a +condition near to counter-revolution. A slow paralysis was benumbing the +limbs of the insurrection, and even at the heart its vitality was +plainly declining. The Confederate Congress, which had hitherto been the +mere register of the President's will, now turned upon him. On January +19 it passed a resolution making Lee general-in-chief of the army. This +Mr. Davis might have borne with patience, although it was intended as a +notification that his meddling with military affairs must come to an +end. But far worse was the bitter necessity put upon him as a sequel to +this act, of reappointing General Joseph E. Johnston to the command of +the army which was to resist Sherman's victorious march to the north. +Mr. Seddon, rebel Secretary of War, thinking his honor impugned by a +vote of the Virginia delegation in Congress, resigned. Warnings of +serious demoralization came daily from the army, and disaffection was so +rife in official circles in Richmond that it was not thought politic to +call public attention to it by measures of repression. + +It is curious and instructive to note how the act of emancipation had by +this time virtually enforced itself in Richmond. The value of slave +property was gone. It is true that a slave was still occasionally sold, +at a price less than one tenth of what he would have brought before the +war, but servants could be hired of their nominal owners for almost +nothing--merely enough to keep up a show of vassalage. In effect, any +one could hire a negro for his keeping--which was all that anybody in +Richmond, black or white, got for his work. Even Mr. Davis had at last +become docile to the stern teaching of events. In his message of +November he had recommended the employment of forty thousand slaves in +the army--not as soldiers, it is true, save in the last extremity--with +emancipation to come. + +On December 27, Mr. Benjamin wrote his last important instruction to +John Slidell, the Confederate commissioner in Europe. It is nothing less +than a cry of despair. Complaining bitterly of the attitude of foreign +nations while the South is fighting the battles of England and France +against the North, he asks: "Are they determined never to recognize the +Southern Confederacy until the United States assent to such action on +their part?" And with a frantic offer to submit to any terms which +Europe might impose as the price of recognition, and a scarcely veiled +threat of making peace with the North unless Europe should act speedily, +the Confederate Department of State closed its four years of fruitless +activity. + +Lee assumed command of all the Confederate armies on February 9. His +situation was one of unprecedented gloom. The day before he had reported +that his troops, who had been in line of battle for two days at +Hatcher's Run, exposed to the bad winter weather, had been without meat +for three days. A prodigious effort was made, and the danger of +starvation for the moment averted, but no permanent improvement +resulted. The armies of the Union were closing in from every point of +the compass. Grant was every day pushing his formidable left wing nearer +the only roads by which Lee could escape; Thomas was threatening the +Confederate communications from Tennessee; Sheridan was riding for the +last time up the Shenandoah valley to abolish Early; while from the +south the redoubtable columns of Sherman were moving northward with the +steady pace and irresistible progress of a tragic fate. + +A singular and significant attempt at negotiation was made at this time +by General Lee. He was so strong in the confidence of the people of the +South, and the government at Richmond was so rapidly becoming +discredited, that he could doubtless have obtained the popular support +and compelled the assent of the Executive to any measures he thought +proper for the attainment of peace. From this it was easy for him and +for others to come to the wholly erroneous conclusion that General Grant +held a similar relation to the government and people of the United +States. General Lee seized upon the pretext of a conversation reported +to him by General Longstreet as having been held with General E.O.C. Ord +under an ordinary flag of truce for the exchange of prisoners, to +address a letter to Grant, sanctioned by Mr. Davis, saying he had been +informed that General Ord had said General Grant would not decline an +interview with a view "to a satisfactory adjustment of the present +unhappy difficulties by means of a military convention," provided Lee +had authority to act. He therefore proposed to meet General Grant "with +the hope that ... it may be found practicable to submit the subjects of +controversy ... to a convention of the kind mentioned"; professing +himself "authorized to do whatever the result of the proposed interview +may render necessary." + +Grant at once telegraphed these overtures to Washington. Stanton +received the despatch at the Capitol, where the President was, according +to his custom, passing the last night of the session of Congress, for +the convenience of signing bills. The Secretary handed the telegram to +Mr. Lincoln, who read it in silence. He asked no advice or suggestion +from any one about him, but, taking up a pen, wrote with his usual +slowness and precision a despatch in Stanton's name, which he showed to +Seward, and then handed to Stanton to be signed and sent. The language +is that of an experienced ruler, perfectly sure of himself and of his +duty: + +"The President directs me to say that he wishes you to have no +conference with General Lee, unless it be for capitulation of General +Lee's army, or on some minor or purely military matter. He instructs me +to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political +questions. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and +will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meanwhile, +you are to press to the utmost your military advantages." + +Grant answered Lee that he had no authority to accede to his +proposition, and explained that General Ord's language must have been +misunderstood. This closed to the Confederate authorities the last +avenue of hope of any compromise by which the alternative of utter +defeat or unconditional surrender might be avoided. + +Early in March, General Lee visited Richmond for conference with Mr. +Davis on the measures to be adopted in the crisis which he saw was +imminent. He had never sympathized with the slight Congress had intended +to put upon Mr. Davis when it gave him supreme military authority, and +continued to the end to treat his President as commander-in-chief of the +forces. There is direct contradiction between Mr. Davis and General Lee +as to how Davis received this statement of the necessities of the +situation. Mr. Davis says he suggested immediate withdrawal from +Richmond, but that Lee said his horses were too weak for the roads in +their present condition, and that he must wait. General Lee, on the +other hand, is quoted as saying that he wished to retire behind the +Staunton River, from which point he might have indefinitely protracted +the war, but that the President overruled him. Both agreed, however, +that sooner or later Richmond must be abandoned, and that the next move +should be to Danville. + +But before he turned his back forever upon the lines he had so stoutly +defended, Lee resolved to dash once more at the toils by which he was +surrounded. He placed half his army under the command of General John B. +Gordon, with orders to break through the Union lines at Fort Stedman +and take possession of the high ground behind them. A month earlier +Grant had foreseen some such move on Lee's part, and had ordered General +Parke to be prepared to meet an assault on his center, and to have his +commanders ready to bring all their resources to bear on the point in +danger, adding: "With proper alacrity in this respect I would have no +objection to seeing the enemy get through." This characteristic phrase +throws the strongest light both on Grant's temperament, and on the +mastery of his business at which he had arrived. Under such generalship, +an army's lines are a trap into which entrance is suicide. + +The assault was made with great spirit at half-past four on the morning +of March 25. Its initial success was due to a singular cause. The spot +chosen was a favorite point for deserters to pass into the Union lines, +which they had of late been doing in large numbers. When Gordon's +skirmishers, therefore, came stealing through the darkness, they were +mistaken for an unusually large party of deserters, and they +over-powered several picket-posts without firing a shot. The storming +party, following at once, took the trenches with a rush, and in a few +minutes had possession of the main line on the right of the fort, and, +next, of the fort itself. It was hard in the semi-darkness to +distinguish friends from foes, and for a time General Parke was unable +to make headway; but with the growing light his troops advanced from +every direction to mend the breach, and, making short work of the +Confederate detachments, recaptured the fort, opening a cross-fire of +artillery so withering that few of the Confederates could get back to +their own lines. This was, moreover, not the only damage the +Confederates suffered. Humphreys and Wright, on the Union left, rightly +assuming that Parke could take care of himself, instantly searched the +lines in their front to see if they had been essentially weakened to +support Gordon's attack. They found they had not, but in gaining this +knowledge captured the enemy's intrenched picket-lines in front of them, +which, being held, gave inestimable advantage to the Union army in the +struggle of the next week. + +Grant's chief anxiety for some time had been lest Lee should abandon his +lines; but though burning to attack, he was delayed by the same bad +roads which kept Lee in Richmond, and by another cause. He did not wish +to move until Sheridan had completed the work assigned him in the +Shenandoah valley and joined either Sherman or the army at Petersburg. +On March 24, however, at the very moment Gordon was making his plans for +next day's sortie, Grant issued his order for the great movement to the +left which was to finish the war. He intended to begin on the +twenty-ninth, but Lee's desperate dash of the twenty-fifth convinced him +that not a moment was to be lost. Sheridan reached City Point on the +twenty-sixth. Sherman came up from North Carolina for a brief visit next +day. The President was also there, and an interesting meeting took place +between these famous brothers in arms and Mr. Lincoln; after which +Sherman went back to Goldsboro, and Grant began pushing his army to the +left with even more than his usual iron energy. + +It was a great army--the result of all the power and wisdom of the +government, all the devotion of the people, all the intelligence and +teachableness of the soldiers themselves, and all the ability which a +mighty war had developed in the officers. In command of all was Grant, +the most extraordinary military temperament this country has ever seen. +The numbers of the respective armies in this last grapple have been the +occasion of endless controversy. As nearly as can be ascertained, the +grand total of all arms on the Union side was 124,700; on the +Confederate side, 57,000. + +Grant's plan, as announced in his instructions of March 24, was at first +to despatch Sheridan to destroy the South Side and Danville railroads, +at the same time moving a heavy force to the left to insure the success +of this raid, and then to turn Lee's position. But his purpose developed +from hour to hour, and before he had been away from his winter +headquarters one day, he gave up this comparatively narrow scheme, and +adopted the far bolder plan which he carried out to his immortal honor. +He ordered Sheridan not to go after the railroads, but to push for the +enemy's right rear, writing him: "I now feel like ending the matter.... +We will act all together as one army here, until it is seen what can be +done with the enemy." + +On the thirtieth, Sheridan advanced to Five Forks, where he found a +heavy force of the enemy. Lee, justly alarmed by Grant's movements, had +despatched a sufficient detachment to hold that important cross-roads, +and taken personal command of the remainder on White Oak Ridge. A heavy +rain-storm, beginning on the night of the twenty-ninth and continuing +more than twenty-four hours, greatly impeded the march of the troops. On +the thirty-first, Warren, working his way toward the White Oak road, was +attacked by Lee and driven back on the main line, but rallied, and in +the afternoon drove the enemy again into his works. Sheridan, opposed by +Pickett with a large force of infantry and cavalry, was also forced +back, fighting obstinately, as far as Dinwiddie Court House, from which +point he hopefully reported his situation to Grant at dark. Grant, more +disturbed than Sheridan himself, rained orders and suggestions all +night to effect a concentration at daylight on that portion of the enemy +in front of Sheridan; but Pickett, finding himself out of position, +silently withdrew during the night, and resumed his strongly intrenched +post at Five Forks. Here Sheridan followed him on April 1, and repeated +the successful tactics of his Shenandoah valley exploits so brilliantly +that Lee's right was entirely shattered. + +This battle of Five Forks should have ended the war. Lee's right was +routed; his line had been stretched westward until it broke; there was +no longer any hope of saving Richmond, or even of materially delaying +its fall. But Lee apparently thought that even the gain of a day was of +value to the Richmond government, and what was left of his Army of +Northern Virginia was still so perfect in discipline that it answered +with unabated spirit every demand made upon it. Grant, who feared Lee +might get away from Petersburg and overwhelm Sheridan on the White Oak +road, directed that an assault be made all along the line at four +o'clock on the morning of the second. His officers responded with +enthusiasm; and Lee, far from dreaming of attacking any one after the +stunning blow he had received the day before, made what hasty +preparations he could to resist them. + +It is painful to record the hard fighting which followed. Wright, in his +assault in front of Forts Fisher and Walsh, lost eleven hundred men in +fifteen minutes of murderous conflict that made them his own; and other +commands fared scarcely better, Union and Confederate troops alike +displaying a gallantry distressing to contemplate when one reflects +that, the war being already decided, all this heroic blood was shed in +vain. The Confederates, from the Appomattox to the Weldon road, fell +slowly back to their inner line of works; and Lee, watching the +formidable advance before which his weakened troops gave way, sent a +message to Richmond announcing his purpose of concentrating on the +Danville road, and made preparations for the evacuation which was now +the only resort left him. + +Some Confederate writers express surprise that General Grant did not +attack and destroy Lee's army on April 2; but this is a view, after the +fact, easy to express. The troops on the Union left had been on foot for +eighteen hours, had fought an important battle, marched and +countermarched many miles, and were now confronted by Longstreet's fresh +corps behind formidable works, while the attitude of the force under +Gordon on the south side of the town was such as to require the close +attention of Parke. Grant, anticipating an early retirement of Lee from +his citadel, wisely resolved to avoid the waste and bloodshed of an +immediate assault on the inner lines of Petersburg. He ordered Sheridan +to get upon Lee's line of retreat; sent Humphreys to strengthen him; +then, directing a general bombardment for five o'clock next morning, and +an assault at six, gave himself and his soldiers a little of the rest +they had so richly earned and so seriously needed. + +He had telegraphed during the day to President Lincoln, who was still at +City Point, the news as it developed from hour to hour. Prisoners he +regarded as so much net gain: he was weary of slaughter, and wanted the +war ended with as little bloodshed as possible; and it was with delight +that he summed up on Sunday afternoon: "The whole captures since the +army started out gunning will not amount to less than twelve thousand +men, and probably fifty pieces of artillery." + +Lee bent all his energies to saving his army and leading it out of its +untenable position on the James to a point from which he could effect a +junction with Johnston in North Carolina. The place selected for this +purpose was Burkeville, at the crossing of the South Side and Danville +roads, fifty miles southwest from Richmond, whence a short distance +would bring him to Danville, where the desired junction could be made. +Even yet he was able to cradle himself in the illusion that it was only +a campaign that had failed, and that he might continue the war +indefinitely in another field. At nightfall all his preparations were +completed, and dismounting at the mouth of the road leading to Amelia +Court House, the first point of rendezvous, where he had directed +supplies to be sent, he watched his troops file noiselessly by in the +darkness. By three o'clock the town was abandoned; at half-past four it +was formally surrendered. Meade, reporting the news to Grant, received +orders to march his army immediately up the Appomattox; and divining +Lee's intentions, Grant also sent word to Sheridan to push with all +speed to the Danville road. + +Thus flight and pursuit began almost at the same moment. The +swift-footed Army of Northern Virginia was racing for its life, and +Grant, inspired with more than his habitual tenacity and energy, not +only pressed his enemy in the rear, but hung upon his flank, and +strained every nerve to get in his front. He did not even allow himself +the pleasure of entering Richmond, which surrendered to Weitzel early on +the morning of the third. + +All that day Lee pushed forward toward Amelia Court House. There was +little fighting except among the cavalry. A terrible disappointment +awaited Lee on his arrival at Amelia Court House on the fourth. He had +ordered supplies to be forwarded there, but his half-starved troops +found no food awaiting them, and nearly twenty-four hours were lost in +collecting subsistence for men and horses. When he started again on the +night of the fifth, the whole pursuing force was south and stretching +out to the west of him. Burkeville was in Grant's possession; the way to +Danville was barred; the supply of provisions to the south cut off. He +was compelled to change his route to the west, and started for +Lynchburg, which he was destined never to reach. + +It had been the intention to attack Lee at Amelia Court House on the +morning of April 6, but learning of his turn to the west, Meade, who was +immediately in pursuit, quickly faced his army about and followed. A +running fight ensued for fourteen miles, the enemy, with remarkable +quickness and dexterity, halting and partly intrenching themselves from +time to time, and the national forces driving them out of every +position; the Union cavalry, meanwhile, harassing the moving left flank +of the Confederates, and working havoc on the trains. They also caused a +grievous loss to history by burning Lee's headquarters baggage, with all +its wealth of returns and reports. At Sailor's Creek, a rivulet running +north into the Appomattox, Ewell's corps was brought to bay, and +important fighting occurred; the day's loss to Lee, there and elsewhere, +amounting to eight thousand in all, with several of his generals among +the prisoners. This day's work was of incalculable value to the national +arms. Sheridan's unerring eye appreciated the full importance of it, his +hasty report ending with the words: "If the thing is pressed, I think +that Lee will surrender." Grant sent the despatch to President Lincoln, +who instantly replied: + +"Let the thing be pressed." + +In fact, after nightfall of the sixth, Lee's army could only flutter +like a wounded bird with one wing shattered. There was no longer any +possibility of escape; but Lee found it hard to relinquish the illusion +of years, and as soon as night came down he again began his weary march +westward. A slight success on the next day once more raised his hopes; +but his optimism was not shared by his subordinates, and a number of his +principal officers, selecting General Pendleton as their spokesman, made +known to him on the seventh their belief that further resistance was +useless, and advised surrender. Lee told them that they had yet too many +men to think of laying down their arms, but in answer to a courteous +summons from Grant sent that same day, inquired what terms he would be +willing to offer. Without waiting for a reply, he again put his men in +motion, and during all of the eighth the chase and pursuit continued +through a part of Virginia green with spring, and until then unvisited +by hostile armies. + +Sheridan, by unheard-of exertions, at last accomplished the important +task of placing himself squarely on Lee's line of retreat. About sunset +of the eighth, his advance captured Appomattox Station and four trains +of provisions. Shortly after, a reconnaissance revealed the fact that +Lee's entire army was coming up the road. Though he had nothing but +cavalry, Sheridan resolved to hold the inestimable advantage he had +gained, and sent a request to Grant to hurry up the required infantry +support; saying that if it reached him that night, they "might perhaps +finish the job in the morning." He added, with singular prescience, +referring to the negotiations which had been opened: "I do not think Lee +means to surrender until compelled to do so." + +This was strictly true. When Grant replied to Lee's question about +terms, saying that the only condition he insisted upon was that the +officers and men surrendered should be disqualified from taking up arms +again until properly exchanged, Lee disclaimed any intention to +surrender his army, but proposed to meet Grant to discuss the +restoration of peace. It appears from his own report that even on the +night of the eighth he had no intention of giving up the fight. He +expected to find only cavalry before him next morning, and thought his +remnant of infantry could break through while he himself was amusing +Grant with platonic discussions in the rear. But on arriving at the +rendezvous he had suggested, he received Grant's courteous but decided +refusal to enter into a political negotiation, and also the news that a +formidable force of infantry barred the way and covered the adjacent +hills and valley. The marching of the Confederate army was over forever, +and Lee, suddenly brought to a sense of his real situation, sent orders +to cease hostilities, and wrote another note to Grant, asking an +interview for the purpose of surrendering his army. + +The meeting took place at the house of Wilmer McLean, in the edge of the +village of Appomattox, on April 9, 1865. Lee met Grant at the threshold, +and ushered him into a small and barely furnished parlor, where were +soon assembled the leading officers of the national army. General Lee +was accompanied only by his secretary, Colonel Charles Marshall. A short +conversation led up to a request from Lee for the terms on which the +surrender of his army would be received. Grant briefly stated them, and +then wrote them out. Men and officers were to be paroled, and the arms, +artillery, and public property turned over to the officer appointed to +receive them. + +"This," he added, "will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor +their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will +be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United +States authority so long as they observe their parole and the laws in +force where they may reside." + +General Grant says in his "Memoirs" that up to the moment when he put +pen to paper he had not thought of a word that he should write. The +terms he had verbally proposed were soon put in writing, and there he +might have stopped. But as he wrote a feeling of sympathy for his +gallant antagonist came over him, and he added the extremely liberal +terms with which his letter closed. The sight of Lee's fine sword +suggested the paragraph allowing officers to retain their side-arms; and +he ended with a phrase he evidently had not thought of, and for which he +had no authority, which practically pardoned and amnestied every man in +Lee's army--a thing he had refused to consider the day before, and which +had been expressly forbidden him in the President's order of March 3. +Yet so great was the joy over the crowning victory, and so deep the +gratitude of the government and people to Grant and his heroic army, +that his terms were accepted as he wrote them, and his exercise of the +Executive prerogative of pardon entirely overlooked. It must be noticed +here, however, that a few days later it led the greatest of Grant's +generals into a serious error. + +Lee must have read the memorandum with as much surprise as +gratification. He suggested and gained another important +concession--that those of the cavalry and artillery who owned their own +horses should be allowed to take them home to put in their crops; and +wrote a brief reply accepting the terms. He then remarked that his army +was in a starving condition, and asked Grant to provide them with +subsistence and forage; to which he at once assented, inquiring for how +many men the rations would be wanted. Lee answered, "About twenty-five +thousand"; and orders were given to issue them. The number turned out to +be even greater, the paroles signed amounting to twenty-eight thousand +two hundred and thirty-one. If we add to this the captures made during +the preceding week, and the thousands who deserted the failing cause at +every by-road leading to their homes, we see how considerable an army +Lee commanded when Grant "started out gunning." + +With these brief and simple formalities, one of the most momentous +transactions of modern times was concluded. The Union gunners prepared +to fire a national salute, but Grant forbade any rejoicing over a fallen +enemy, who, he hoped, would be an enemy no longer. The next day he rode +to the Confederate lines to make a visit of farewell to General Lee. +They parted with courteous good wishes, and Grant, without pausing to +look at the city he had taken, or the enormous system of works which had +so long held him at bay, hurried away to Washington, intent only upon +putting an end to the waste and burden of war. + +A very carnival of fire and destruction had attended the flight of the +Confederate authorities from Richmond. On Sunday night, April 2, +Jefferson Davis, with his cabinet and their more important papers, +hurriedly left the doomed city on one of the crowded and overloaded +railroad trains. The legislature of Virginia and the governor of the +State departed in a canal-boat toward Lynchburg; and every available +vehicle was pressed into service by the frantic inhabitants, all anxious +to get away before their capital was desecrated by the presence of +"Yankee invaders." By the time the military left, early next morning, a +conflagration was already under way. The rebel Congress had passed a +law ordering government tobacco and other public property to be burned. +General Ewell, the military commander, asserts that he took the +responsibility of disobeying the law, and that they were not fired by +his orders. However that may be, flames broke out in various parts of +the city, while a miscellaneous mob, inflamed by excitement and by the +alcohol which had run freely in the gutters the night before, rushed +from store to store, smashing in the doors and indulging all the +wantonness of pillage and greed. Public spirit was paralyzed, and the +whole fabric of society seemed crumbling to pieces, when the convicts +from the penitentiary, a shouting, leaping crowd of party-colored +demons, overcoming their guard, and drunk with liberty, appeared upon +the streets, adding their final dramatic horror to the pandemonium. + +It is quite probable that the very magnitude and rapidity of the +disaster served in a measure to mitigate its evil results. The burning +of seven hundred buildings, comprising the entire business portion of +Richmond warehouses, manufactories, mills, depots, and stores, all +within the brief space of a day, was a visitation so sudden, so +unexpected, so stupefying, as to overawe and terrorize even wrong-doers, +and made the harvest of plunder so abundant as to serve to scatter the +mob and satisfy its rapacity to quick repletion. + +Before a new hunger could arise, assistance was at hand. General +Weitzel, to whom the city was surrendered, taking up his headquarters in +the house lately occupied by Jefferson Davis, promptly set about the +work of relief; organizing efficient resistance to the fire, which, up +to this time, seems scarcely to have been attempted; issuing rations to +the poor, who had been relentlessly exposed to starvation by the action +of the rebel Congress; and restoring order and personal authority. That +a regiment of black soldiers assisted in this noble work must have +seemed to the white inhabitants of Richmond the final drop in their cup +of misery. + +Into the capital, thus stricken and laid waste, came President Lincoln +on the morning of April 4. Never in the history of the world did the +head of a mighty nation and the conqueror of a great rebellion enter the +captured chief city of the insurgents in such humbleness and simplicity. +He had gone two weeks before to City Point for a visit to General Grant, +and to his son, Captain Robert Lincoln, who was serving on Grant's +staff. Making his home on the steamer which brought him, and enjoying +what was probably the most satisfactory relaxation in which he had been +able to indulge during his whole presidential service, he had visited +the various camps of the great army in company with the general, cheered +everywhere by the loving greetings of the soldiers. He had met Sherman +when that commander hurried up fresh from his victorious march, and +after Grant started on his final pursuit of Lee the President still +lingered; and it was at City Point that he received the news of the fall +of Richmond. + +Between the receipt of this news and the following forenoon, but before +any information of the great fire had reached them, a visit was arranged +for the President and Rear-Admiral Porter. Ample precautions were taken +at the start. The President went in his own steamer, the _River Queen_, +with her escort, the _Bat_, and a tug used at City Point in landing from +the steamer. Admiral Porter went in his flag-ship, the _Malvern_, and a +transport carried a small cavalry escort and ambulances for the party. +But the obstructions in the river soon made it impossible to proceed in +this fashion. One unforeseen accident after another rendered it +necessary to leave behind even the smaller boats, until finally the +party went on in Admiral Porter's barge, rowed by twelve sailors, and +without escort of any kind. In this manner the President made his advent +into Richmond, landing near Libby Prison. As the party stepped ashore +they found a guide among the contrabands who quickly crowded the +streets, for the possible coming of the President had been circulated +through the city. Ten of the sailors, armed with carbines, were formed +as a guard, six in front and four in rear, and between them the +President, Admiral Porter, and the three officers who accompanied them +walked the long distance, perhaps a mile and a half, to the center of +the town. + +The imagination can easily fill up the picture of a gradually increasing +crowd, principally of negroes, following the little group of marines and +officers, with the tall form of the President in its center; and, having +learned that it was indeed Mr. Lincoln, giving expression to joy and +gratitude in the picturesque emotional ejaculations of the colored race. +It is easy also to imagine the sharp anxiety of those who had the +President's safety in charge during this tiresome and even foolhardy +march through a city still in flames, whose white inhabitants were +sullenly resentful at best, and whose grief and anger might at any +moment culminate against the man they looked upon as the incarnation of +their misfortunes. But no accident befell him. Reaching General +Weitzel's headquarters, Mr. Lincoln rested in the mansion Jefferson +Davis had occupied as President of the Confederacy, and after a day of +sight-seeing returned to his steamer and to Washington, to be stricken +down by an assassin's bullet, literally "in the house of his friends." + + + + +XXXVI + +Lincoln's Interviews with Campbell--Withdraws Authority for Meeting of +Virginia Legislature--Conference of Davis and Johnston at +Greensboro--Johnston Asks for an Armistice--Meeting of Sherman and +Johnston--Their Agreement--Rejected at Washington--Surrender of +Johnston--Surrender of other Confederate Forces--End of the Rebel +Navy--Capture of Jefferson Davis--Surrender of E. Kirby Smith--Number of +Confederates Surrendered and Exchanged--Reduction of Federal Army to a +Peace Footing--Grand Review of the Army + + +While in Richmond, Mr. Lincoln had two interviews with John A. Campbell, +rebel Secretary of War, who had not accompanied the other fleeing +officials, preferring instead to submit to Federal authority. Mr. +Campbell had been one of the commissioners at the Hampton Roads +conference, and Mr. Lincoln now gave him a written memorandum repeating +in substance the terms he had then offered the Confederates. On +Campbell's suggestion that the Virginia legislature, if allowed to come +together, would at once repeal its ordinance of secession and withdraw +all Virginia troops from the field, he also gave permission for its +members to assemble for that purpose. But this, being distorted into +authority to sit in judgment on the political consequences of the war, +was soon withdrawn. + +Jefferson Davis and his cabinet proceeded to Danville, where, two days +after his arrival, the rebel President made still another effort to fire +the Southern heart, announcing, "We have now entered upon a new phase +of the struggle. Relieved from the necessity of guarding particular +points, our army will be free to move from point to point to strike the +enemy in detail far from his base. Let us but will it and we are free"; +and declaring in sonorous periods his purpose never to abandon one foot +of ground to the invader. + +The ink was hardly dry on the document when news came of the surrender +of Lee's army, and that the Federal cavalry was pushing southward west +of Danville. So the Confederate government again hastily packed its +archives and moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, where its headquarters +were prudently kept on the train at the depot. Here Mr. Davis sent for +Generals Johnston and Beauregard, and a conference took place between +them and the members of the fleeing government--a conference not unmixed +with embarrassment, since Mr. Davis still "willed" the success of the +Confederacy too strongly to see the true hopelessness of the situation, +while the generals and most of his cabinet were agreed that their cause +was lost. The council of war over, General Johnston returned to his army +to begin negotiations with Sherman; and on the following day, April 14, +Davis and his party left Greensboro to continue their journey southward. + +Sherman had returned to Goldsboro from his visit to City Point, and set +himself at once to the reorganization of his army and the replenishment +of his stores. He still thought there was a hard campaign with desperate +fighting ahead of him. Even on April 6, when he received news of the +fall of Richmond and the flight of Lee and the Confederate government, +he was unable to understand the full extent of the national triumph. He +admired Grant so far as a man might, short of idolatry, yet the long +habit of respect for Lee led him to think he would somehow get away and +join Johnston in his front with at least a portion of the Army of +Northern Virginia. He had already begun his march upon Johnston when he +learned of Lee's surrender at Appomattox. + +Definitely relieved from apprehension of a junction of the two +Confederate armies, he now had no fear except of a flight and dispersal +of Johnston's forces into guerrilla bands. If they ran away, he felt he +could not catch them; the country was too open. They could scatter and +meet again, and so continue a partizan warfare indefinitely. He could +not be expected to know that this resolute enemy was sick to the heart +of war, and that the desire for more fighting survived only in a group +of fugitive politicians flying through the pine forests of the Carolinas +from a danger which did not exist. + +Entering Raleigh on the morning of the thirteenth, he turned his heads +of column southwest, hoping to cut off Johnston's southward march, but +made no great haste, thinking Johnston's cavalry superior to his own, +and desiring Sheridan to join him before he pushed the Confederates to +extremities. While here, however, he received a communication from +General Johnston, dated the thirteenth, proposing an armistice to enable +the National and Confederate governments to negotiate on equal terms. It +had been dictated by Jefferson Davis during the conference at +Greensboro, written down by S.R. Mallory, and merely signed by Johnston, +and was inadmissible and even offensive in its terms; but Sherman, +anxious for peace, and himself incapable of discourtesy to a brave +enemy, took no notice of its language, and answered so cordially that +the Confederates were probably encouraged to ask for better conditions +of surrender than they had expected to receive. + +The two great antagonists met on April 17, when Sherman offered +Johnston the same terms that had been accorded Lee, and also +communicated the news he had that morning received of the murder of Mr. +Lincoln. The Confederate general expressed his unfeigned sorrow at this +calamity, which smote the South, he said, as deeply as the North; and in +this mood of sympathy the discussion began. Johnston asserted that he +would not be justified in such a capitulation as Sherman proposed, but +suggested that together they might arrange the terms of a permanent +peace. This idea pleased Sherman, to whom the prospect of ending the war +without shedding another drop of blood was so tempting that he did not +sufficiently consider the limits of his authority in the matter. It can +be said, moreover, in extenuation of his course, that President +Lincoln's despatch to Grant of March 3, which expressly forbade Grant to +"decide, discuss, or to confer upon any political question," had never +been communicated to Sherman; while the very liberality of Grant's terms +led him to believe that he was acting in accordance with the views of +the administration. + +But the wisdom of Lincoln's peremptory order was completely vindicated. +With the best intentions in the world, Sherman, beginning very properly +by offering his antagonist the same terms accorded Lee, ended, after two +days' negotiation, by making a treaty of peace with the Confederate +States, including a preliminary armistice, the disbandment of the +Confederate armies, recognition by the United States Executive of the +several State governments, reestablishment of the Federal courts, and a +general amnesty. "Not being fully empowered by our respective principals +to fulfil these terms," the agreement truthfully concluded, "we +individually and officially pledge ourselves to promptly obtain the +necessary authority." + +The rebel President, with unnecessary formality, required a report from +General Breckinridge, his Secretary of War, on the desirability of +ratifying this most favorable convention. Scarcely had he given it his +indorsement when news came that it had been disapproved at Washington, +and that Sherman had been directed to continue his military operations; +and the peripatetic government once more took up its southward flight. + +The moment General Grant read the agreement he saw it was entirely +inadmissible. The new President called his cabinet together, and Mr. +Lincoln's instructions of March 3 to Grant were repeated to +Sherman--somewhat tardily, it must be confessed--as his rule of action. +All this was a matter of course, and General Sherman could not properly, +and perhaps would not, have objected to it. But the calm spirit of +Lincoln was now absent from the councils of the government; and it was +not in Andrew Johnson and Mr. Stanton to pass over a mistake like this, +even in the case of one of the most illustrious captains of the age. +They ordered Grant to proceed at once to Sherman's headquarters, and to +direct operations against the enemy; and, what was worse, Mr. Stanton +printed in the newspapers the reasons of the government for disapproving +the agreement in terms of sharpest censure of General Sherman. This, +when it came to his notice some weeks later, filled him with hot +indignation, and, coupled with some orders Halleck, who had been made +commander of the armies of the Potomac and the James, issued to Meade, +to disregard Sherman's truce and push forward against Johnston, roused +him to open defiance of the authorities he thought were persecuting him, +and made him declare in a report to Grant, that he would have maintained +his truce at any cost of life. Halleck's order, however, had been +nullified by Johnston's surrender, and Grant, suggesting that this +outburst was uncalled for, offered Sherman the opportunity to correct +the statement. This he refused, insisting that his record stand as +written, although avowing his readiness to obey all future orders of +Grant and the President. + +So far as Johnston was concerned, the war was indeed over. He was unable +longer to hold his men together. Eight thousand of them left their camps +and went home in the week of the truce, many riding away on the +artillery horses and train mules. On notice of Federal disapproval of +his negotiations with Sherman, he disregarded Jefferson Davis's +instructions to disband the infantry and try to escape with the cavalry +and light guns, and answered Sherman's summons by inviting another +conference, at which, on April 26, he surrendered all the forces in his +command on the same terms granted Lee at Appomattox; Sherman supplying, +as did Grant, rations for the beaten army. Thirty-seven thousand men and +officers were paroled in North Carolina--exclusive, of course, of the +thousands who had slipped away to their homes during the suspension of +hostilities. + +After Appomattox the rebellion fell to pieces all at once. Lee +surrendered less than one sixth of the Confederates in arms on April 9. +The armies that still remained, though inconsiderable when compared with +the mighty host under the national colors, were yet infinitely larger +than any Washington ever commanded, and capable of strenuous resistance +and of incalculable mischief. But the march of Sherman from Atlanta to +the sea, and his northward progress through the Carolinas, had +predisposed the great interior region to make an end of strife: a +tendency which was greatly promoted by the masterly raid of General J.H. +Wilson's cavalry through Alabama, and his defeat of Forrest at Selma. +An officer of Taylor's staff came to Canby's headquarters on April 19 to +make arrangements for the surrender of all the Confederate forces east +of the Mississippi not already paroled by Sherman and Wilson, embracing +some forty-two thousand men. The terms were agreed upon and signed on +May 4, at the village of Citronelle in Alabama. At the same time and +place the Confederate Commodore Farrand surrendered to Rear-Admiral +Thatcher all the naval forces Of the Confederacy in the neighborhood of +Mobile--a dozen vessels and some hundreds of officers. + +The rebel navy had practically ceased to exist some months before. The +splendid fight in Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, between Farragut's fleet +and the rebel ram _Tennessee_, with her three attendant gunboats, and +Cushing's daring destruction of the powerful _Albemarle_ in Albemarle +Sound on October 27, marked its end in Confederate waters. The duel +between the _Kearsarge_ and the _Alabama_ off Cherbourg had already +taken place; a few more encounters, at or near foreign ports, furnished +occasion for personal bravery and subsequent lively diplomatic +correspondence; and rebel vessels, fitted out under the unduly lenient +"neutrality" of France and England, continued for a time to work havoc +with American shipping in various parts of the world. But these two +Union successes, and the final capture of Fort Fisher and of Wilmington +early in 1865, which closed the last haven for daring blockade-runners, +practically silenced the Confederate navy. + +General E. Kirby Smith commanded all the insurgent forces west of the +Mississippi. On him the desperate hopes of Mr. Davis and his flying +cabinet were fixed, after the successive surrenders of Lee and Johnston +had left them no prospect in the east. They imagined they could move +westward, gathering up stragglers as they fled, and, crossing the river, +join Smith's forces, and there continue the war. But after a time even +this hope failed them. Their escort melted away; members of the cabinet +dropped off on various pretexts, and Mr. Davis, abandoning the attempt +to reach the Mississippi River, turned again toward the east in an +effort to gain the Florida coast and escape by means of a sailing vessel +to Texas. + +The two expeditions sent in pursuit of him by General Wilson did not +allow this consummation, which the government at Washington might +possibly have viewed with equanimity. His camp near Irwinville, Georgia, +was surrounded by Lieutenant-Colonel Pritchard's command at dawn on May +10, and he was captured as he was about to mount horse with a few +companions and ride for the coast, leaving his family to follow more +slowly. The tradition that he was captured in disguise, having donned +female dress in a last desperate attempt to escape, has only this +foundation, that Mrs. Davis threw a cloak over her husband's shoulders, +and a shawl over his head, on the approach of the Federal soldiers. He +was taken to Fortress Monroe, and there kept in confinement for about +two years; was arraigned before the United States Circuit Court for the +District of Virginia for the crime of treason, and released on bail; and +was finally restored to all the duties and privileges of citizenship, +except the right to hold office, by President Johnson's proclamation of +amnesty of December 25, 1868. + +General E. Kirby Smith, on whom Davis's last hopes of success had +centered, kept up so threatening an attitude that Sherman was sent from +Washington to bring him to reason. But he did not long hold his position +of solitary defiance. One more needless skirmish took place near +Brazos, Texas, and then Smith followed the example of Taylor and +surrendered his entire force, some eighteen thousand, to General Canby, +on May 26. One hundred and seventy-five thousand men in all were +surrendered by the different Confederate commanders, and there were, in +addition to these, about ninety-nine thousand prisoners in national +custody during the year. One third of these were exchanged, and two +thirds released. This was done as rapidly as possible by successive +orders of the War Department, beginning on May 9 and continuing through +the summer. + +The first object of the government was to stop the waste of war. +Recruiting ceased immediately after Lee's surrender, and measures were +taken to reduce as promptly as possible the vast military establishment. +Every chief of bureau was ordered, on April 28, to proceed at once to +the reduction of expenses in his department to a peace footing; and this +before Taylor or Smith had surrendered, and while Jefferson Davis was +still at large. The army of a million men was brought down, with +incredible ease and celerity, to one of twenty-five thousand. + +Before the great army melted away into the greater body of citizens, the +soldiers enjoyed one final triumph, a march through the capital, +undisturbed by death or danger, under the eyes of their highest +commanders, military and civilian, and the representatives of the people +whose nationality they had saved. Those who witnessed this solemn yet +joyous pageant will never forget it, and will pray that their children +may never witness anything like it. For two days this formidable host +marched the long stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue, starting from the +shadow of the dome of the Capitol, and filling that wide thoroughfare to +Georgetown with a serried mass, moving with the easy yet rapid pace of +veterans in cadence step. As a mere spectacle this march of the +mightiest host the continent has ever seen gathered together was grand +and imposing; but it was not as a spectacle alone that it affected the +beholder most deeply. It was not a mere holiday parade; it was an army +of citizens on their way home after a long and terrible war. Their +clothes were worn and pierced with bullets; their banners had been torn +with shot and shell, and lashed in the winds of a thousand battles; the +very drums and fifes had called out the troops to numberless night +alarms, and sounded the onset on historic fields. The whole country +claimed these heroes as a part of themselves. And now, done with +fighting, they were going joyously and peaceably to their homes, to take +up again the tasks they had willingly laid down in the hour of their +country's peril. + +The world had many lessons to learn from this great conflict, which +liberated a subject people and changed the tactics of modern warfare; +but the greatest lesson it taught the nations of waiting Europe was the +conservative power of democracy--that a million men, flushed with +victory, and with arms in their hands, could be trusted to disband the +moment the need for their services was over, and take up again the +soberer labors of peace. + +Friends loaded these veterans with flowers as they swung down the +Avenue, both men and officers, until some were fairly hidden under their +fragrant burden. There was laughter and applause; grotesque figures were +not absent as Sherman's legions passed, with their "bummers" and their +regimental pets; but with all the shouting and the laughter and the joy +of this unprecedented ceremony, there was one sad and dominant thought +which could not be driven from the minds of those who saw it--that of +the men who were absent, and who had, nevertheless, richly earned the +right to be there. The soldiers in their shrunken companies were +conscious of the ever-present memories of the brave comrades who had +fallen by the way; and in the whole army there was the passionate and +unavailing regret for their wise, gentle, and powerful friend, Abraham +Lincoln, gone forever from the house by the Avenue, who had called the +great host into being, directed the course of the nation during the four +years they had been fighting for its preservation, and for whom, more +than for any other, this crowning peaceful pageant would have been +fraught with deep and happy meaning. + + + + +XXXVII + +The 14th of April--Celebration at Fort Sumter--Last Cabinet +Meeting--Lincoln's Attitude toward Threats of Assassination--Booth's +Plot--Ford's Theater--Fate of the Assassins--The Mourning Pageant + + +Mr. Lincoln had returned to Washington, refreshed by his visit to City +Point, and cheered by the unmistakable signs that the war was almost +over. With that ever-present sense of responsibility which distinguished +him, he gave his thoughts to the momentous question of the restoration +of the Union and of harmony between the lately warring sections. His +whole heart was now enlisted in the work of "binding up the nation's +wounds," and of doing all which might "achieve and cherish a just and +lasting peace." + +April 14 was a day of deep and tranquil happiness throughout the United +States. It was Good Friday, observed by a portion of the people as an +occasion of fasting and religious meditation; though even among the most +devout the great tidings of the preceding week exerted their joyous +influence, and changed this period of traditional mourning into an +occasion of general thanksgiving. But though the Misereres turned of +themselves to Te Deums, the date was not to lose its awful significance +in the calendar: at night it was claimed once more by a world-wide +sorrow. + +The thanksgiving of the nation found its principal expression at +Charleston Harbor, where the flag of the Union received that day a +conspicuous reparation on the spot where it had first been outraged. At +noon General Robert Anderson raised over Fort Sumter the identical flag +lowered and saluted by him four years before; the surrender of Lee +giving a more transcendent importance to this ceremony, made stately +with orations, music, and military display. + +In Washington it was a day of deep peace and thankfulness. Grant had +arrived that morning, and, going to the Executive Mansion, had met the +cabinet, Friday being their regular day for assembling. He expressed +some anxiety as to the news from Sherman which he was expecting hourly. +The President answered him in that singular vein of poetic mysticism +which, though constantly held in check by his strong common sense, +formed such a remarkable element in his character. He assured Grant that +the news would come soon and come favorably, for he had last night had +his usual dream which preceded great events. He seemed to be, he said, +in a singular and indescribable vessel, but always the same, moving with +great rapidity toward a dark and indefinite shore; he had had this dream +before Antietam, Murfreesboro, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg. The cabinet +were greatly impressed by this story; but Grant, most matter-of-fact of +created beings, made the characteristic response that "Murfreesboro was +no victory, and had no important results." The President did not argue +this point with him, but repeated that Sherman would beat or had beaten +Johnston; that his dream must relate to that, since he knew of no other +important event likely at present to occur. + +Questions of trade between the States, and of various phases of +reconstruction, occupied the cabinet on this last day of Lincoln's firm +and tolerant rule. The President spoke at some length, disclosing his +hope that much could be done to reanimate the States and get their +governments in successful operation before Congress came together. He +was anxious to close the period of strife without over-much discussion. +Particularly did he desire to avoid the shedding of blood, or any +vindictiveness of punishment. "No one need expect that he would take any +part in hanging or killing these men, even the worst of them." "Enough +lives have been sacrificed," he exclaimed; "we must extinguish our +resentments if we expect harmony and union." He did not wish the +autonomy nor the individuality of the States disturbed; and he closed +the session by commending the whole subject to the most careful +consideration of his advisers. It was, he said, the great question +pending--they must now begin to act in the interest of peace. Such were +the last words that Lincoln spoke to his cabinet. They dispersed with +these sentences of clemency and good will in their ears, never again to +meet under his wise and benignant chairmanship. He had told them that +morning a strange story, which made some demand upon their faith, but +the circumstances under which they were next to come together were +beyond the scope of the wildest fancy. + +The day was one of unusual enjoyment to Mr. Lincoln. His son Robert had +returned from the field with General Grant, and the President spent an +hour with the young captain in delighted conversation over the campaign. +He denied himself generally to the throng of visitors, admitting only a +few friends. In the afternoon he went for a long drive with Mrs. +Lincoln. His mood, as it had been all day, was singularly happy and +tender. He talked much of the past and future; after four years of +trouble and tumult he looked forward to four years of comparative quiet +and normal work; after that he expected to go back to Illinois and +practise law again. He was never simpler or gentler than on this day of +unprecedented triumph; his heart overflowed with sentiments of gratitude +to Heaven, which took the shape, usual to generous natures, of love and +kindness to all men. + +From the very beginning of his presidency, Mr. Lincoln had been +constantly subject to the threats of his enemies. His mail was infested +with brutal and vulgar menace, and warnings of all sorts came to him +from zealous or nervous friends. Most of these communications received +no notice. In cases where there seemed a ground for inquiry, it was +made, as carefully as possible, by the President's private secretary, or +by the War Department; but always without substantial result. Warnings +that appeared most definite, when examined, proved too vague and +confused for further attention. The President was too intelligent not to +know that he was in some danger. Madmen frequently made their way to the +very door of the executive office, and sometimes into Mr. Lincoln's +presence. But he had himself so sane a mind, and a heart so kindly, even +to his enemies, that it was hard for him to believe in political hatred +so deadly as to lead to murder. + +He knew, indeed, that incitements to murder him were not uncommon in the +South, but as is the habit of men constitutionally brave, he considered +the possibilities of danger remote, and positively refused to torment +himself with precautions for his own safety; summing the matter up by +saying that both friends and strangers must have daily access to him; +that his life was therefore in reach of any one, sane or mad, who was +ready to murder and be hanged for it; and that he could not possibly +guard against all danger unless he shut himself up in an iron box, in +which condition he could scarcely perform the duties of a President. He +therefore went in and out before the people, always unarmed, generally +unattended. He received hundreds of visitors in a day, his breast bare +to pistol or knife. He walked at midnight, with a single secretary, or +alone, from the Executive Mansion to the War Department and back. He +rode through the lonely roads of an uninhabited suburb from the White +House to the Soldiers' Home in the dusk of the evening, and returned to +his work in the morning before the town was astir. He was greatly +annoyed when it was decided that there must be a guard at the Executive +Mansion, and that a squad of cavalry must accompany him on his daily +drive; but he was always reasonable, and yielded to the best judgment of +others. + +Four years of threats and boastings that were unfounded, and of plots +that came to nothing, thus passed away; but precisely at the time when +the triumph of the nation seemed assured, and a feeling of peace and +security was diffused over the country, one of the conspiracies, +apparently no more important than the others, ripened in the sudden heat +of hatred and despair. A little band of malignant secessionists, +consisting of John Wilkes Booth, an actor of a family of famous players; +Lewis Powell, alias Payne, a disbanded rebel soldier from Florida; +George Atzerodt, formerly a coachmaker, but more recently a spy and +blockade-runner of the Potomac; David E. Herold, a young druggist's +clerk; Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin, Maryland secessionists and +Confederate soldiers; and John H. Surratt, had their ordinary rendezvous +at the house of Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, the widowed mother of the last +named, formerly a woman of some property in Maryland, but reduced by +reverses to keeping a small boarding-house in Washington. + +Booth was the leader of the little coterie. He was a young man of +twenty-six, strikingly handsome, with that ease and grace of manner +which came to him of right from his theatrical ancestors. He had played +for several seasons with only indifferent success, his value as an actor +lying rather in his romantic beauty of person than in any talent or +industry he possessed. He was a fanatical secessionist, and had imbibed +at Richmond and other Southern cities where he played a furious spirit +of partizanship against Lincoln and the Union party. After the +reelection of Mr. Lincoln, he visited Canada, consorted with the rebel +emissaries there, and--whether or not at their instigation cannot +certainly be said--conceived a scheme to capture the President and take +him to Richmond. He passed a great part of the autumn and winter +pursuing this fantastic enterprise, seeming to be always well supplied +with money; but the winter wore away, and nothing was accomplished. On +March 4 he was at the Capitol, and created a disturbance by trying to +force his way through the line of policemen who guarded the passage +through which the President walked to the east front of the building. +His intentions at this time are not known; he afterward said he lost an +excellent chance of killing the President that day. + +His ascendancy over his fellow-conspirators seems to have been complete. +After the surrender of Lee, in an access of malice and rage akin to +madness he called them together and assigned each his part in the new +crime which had risen in his mind out of the abandoned abduction scheme. +This plan was as brief and simple as it was horrible. Powell, alias +Payne, the stalwart, brutal, simple-minded boy from Florida, was to +murder Seward; Atzerodt, the comic villain of the drama, was assigned to +remove Andrew Johnson; Booth reserved for himself the most conspicuous +role of the tragedy. It was Herold's duty to attend him as page and aid +him in his escape. Minor parts were given to stage-carpenters and other +hangers-on, who probably did not understand what it all meant. Herold, +Atzerodt, and Surratt had previously deposited at a tavern at +Surrattsville, Maryland, owned by Mrs. Surratt, but kept by a man named +Lloyd, a quantity of arms and materials to be used in the abduction +scheme. Mrs. Surratt, being at the tavern on the eleventh, warned Lloyd +to have the "shooting-irons" in readiness, and, visiting the place again +on the fourteenth, told him they would probably be called for that +night. + +The preparations for the final blow were made with feverish haste. It +was only about noon of the fourteenth that Booth learned that the +President was to go to Ford's Theater that night to see the play "Our +American Cousin." It has always been a matter of surprise in Europe that +he should have been at a place of amusement on Good Friday; but the day +was not kept sacred in America, except by the members of certain +churches. The President was fond of the theater. It was one of his few +means of recreation. Besides, the town was thronged with soldiers and +officers, all eager to see him; by appearing in public he would gratify +many people whom he could not otherwise meet. Mrs. Lincoln had asked +General and Mrs. Grant to accompany her; they had accepted, and the +announcement that they would be present had been made in the evening +papers; but they changed their plans, and went north by an afternoon +train. Mrs. Lincoln then invited in their stead Miss Harris and Major +Rathbone, the daughter and the stepson of Senator Ira Harris. Being +detained by visitors, the play had made some progress when the President +appeared. The band struck up "Hail to the Chief," the actors ceased +playing, the audience rose, cheering tumultuously, the President bowed +in acknowledgment, and the play went on. + +From the moment he learned of the President's intention, Booth's every +action was alert and energetic. He and his confederates were seen on +horseback in every part of the city. He had a hurried conference with +Mrs. Surratt before she started for Lloyd's tavern. He intrusted to an +actor named Matthews a carefully prepared statement of his reasons for +committing the murder, which he charged him to give to the publisher of +the "National Intelligencer," but which Matthews, in the terror and +dismay of the night, burned without showing to any one. Booth was +perfectly at home in Ford's Theater. Either by himself, or with the aid +of friends, he arranged his whole plan of attack and escape during the +afternoon. He counted upon address and audacity to gain access to the +small passage behind the President's box. Once there, he guarded against +interference by an arrangement of a wooden bar to be fastened by a +simple mortise in the angle of the wall and the door by which he had +entered, so that the door could not be opened from without. He even +provided for the contingency of not gaining entrance to the box by +boring a hole in its door, through which he might either observe the +occupants, or take aim and shoot. He hired at a livery-stable a small, +fleet horse. + +A few minutes before ten o'clock, leaving his horse at the rear of the +theater in charge of a call-boy, he went into a neighboring saloon, took +a drink of brandy, and, entering the theater, passed rapidly to the +little hallway leading to the President's box. Showing a card to the +servant in attendance, he was allowed to enter, closed the door +noiselessly, and secured it with the wooden bar he had previously made +ready, without disturbing any of the occupants of the box, between whom +and himself yet remained the partition and the door through which he had +made the hole. + +No one, not even the comedian who uttered them, could ever remember the +last words of the piece that were spoken that night--the last Abraham +Lincoln heard upon earth. The tragedy in the box turned play and players +to the most unsubstantial of phantoms. Here were five human beings in a +narrow space--the greatest man of his time, in the glory of the most +stupendous success of our history; his wife, proud and happy; a pair of +betrothed lovers, with all the promise of felicity that youth, social +position, and wealth could give them; and this handsome young actor, the +pet of his little world. The glitter of fame, happiness, and ease was +upon the entire group; yet in an instant everything was to be changed. +Quick death was to come to the central figure--the central figure of the +century's great and famous men. Over the rest hovered fates from which a +mother might pray kindly death to save her children in their infancy. +One was to wander with the stain of murder upon his soul, in frightful +physical pain, with a price upon his head and the curse of a world upon +his name, until he died a dog's death in a burning barn; the wife was to +pass the rest of her days in melancholy and madness; and one of the +lovers was to slay the other, and end his life a raving maniac. + +The murderer seemed to himself to be taking part in a play. Hate and +brandy had for weeks kept his brain in a morbid state. Holding a pistol +in one hand and a knife in the other, he opened the box door, put the +pistol to the President's head, and fired. Major Rathbone sprang to +grapple with him, and received a savage knife wound in the arm. Then, +rushing forward, Booth placed his hand on the railing of the box and +vaulted to the stage. It was a high leap, but nothing to such an +athlete. He would have got safely away but for his spur catching in the +flag that draped the front of the box. He fell, the torn flag trailing +on his spur; but, though the fall had broken his leg, he rose instantly +and brandishing his knife and shouting, "Sic Semper Tyrannis!" fled +rapidly across the stage and out of sight. Major Rathbone called, "Stop +him!" The cry rang out, "He has shot the President!" and from the +audience, stupid at first with surprise, and wild afterward with +excitement and horror, two or three men jumped upon the stage in pursuit +of the assassin. But he ran through the familiar passages, leaped upon +his horse, rewarding with a kick and a curse the boy who held him, and +escaped into the night. + +The President scarcely moved; his head drooped forward slightly, his +eyes closed. Major Rathbone, not regarding his own grievous hurt, rushed +to the door of the box to summon aid. He found it barred, and some one +on the outside beating and clamoring for admittance. It was at once seen +that the President's wound was mortal. A large derringer bullet had +entered the back of the head, on the left side, and, passing through the +brain, lodged just behind the left eye. He was carried to a house across +the street, and laid upon a bed in a small room at the rear of the hall +on the ground floor. Mrs. Lincoln followed, tenderly cared for by Miss +Harris. Rathbone, exhausted by loss of blood, fainted, and was taken +home. Messengers were sent for the cabinet, for the surgeon-general, for +Dr. Stone, Mr. Lincoln's family physician, and for others whose official +or private relations to the President gave them the right to be there. A +crowd of people rushed instinctively to the White House, and, bursting +through the doors, shouted the dreadful news to Robert Lincoln and Major +Hay, who sat together in an upper room. They ran down-stairs, and as +they were entering a carriage to drive to Tenth Street, a friend came up +and told them that Mr. Seward and most of the cabinet had been murdered. +The news seemed so improbable that they hoped it was all untrue; but, on +reaching Tenth Street, the excitement and the gathering crowds prepared +them for the worst. In a few moments those who had been sent for and +many others were assembled in the little chamber where the chief of the +state lay in his agony. His son was met at the door by Dr. Stone, who +with grave tenderness informed him that there was no hope. + +The President had been shot a few minutes after ten. The wound would +have brought instant death to most men, but his vital tenacity was +remarkable. He was, of course, unconscious from the first moment; but he +breathed with slow and regular respiration throughout the night. As the +dawn came and the lamplight grew pale, his pulse began to fail; but his +face, even then, was scarcely more haggard than those of the sorrowing +men around him. His automatic moaning ceased, a look of unspeakable +peace came upon his worn features, and at twenty-two minutes after seven +he died. Stanton broke the silence by saying: + +"Now he belongs to the ages." + +Booth had done his work efficiently. His principal subordinate, Payne, +had acted with equal audacity and cruelty, but not with equally fatal +result. Going to the home of the Secretary of State, who lay ill in bed, +he had forced his way to Mr. Seward's room, on the pretext of being a +messenger from the physician with a packet of medicine to deliver. The +servant at the door tried to prevent him from going up-stairs; the +Secretary's son, Frederick W. Seward, hearing the noise, stepped out +into the hall to check the intruders. Payne rushed upon him with a +pistol which missed fire, then rained blows with it upon his head, and, +grappling and struggling, the two came to the Secretary's room and fell +together through the door. Frederick Seward soon became unconscious, and +remained so for several weeks, being, perhaps, the last man in the +civilized world to learn the strange story of the night. The Secretary's +daughter and a soldier nurse were in the room. Payne struck them right +and left, wounding the nurse with his knife, and then, rushing to the +bed, began striking at the throat of the crippled statesman, inflicting +three terrible wounds on his neck and cheek. The nurse recovered himself +and seized the assassin from behind, while another son, roused by his +sister's screams, came into the room and managed at last to force him +outside the door--not, however, until he and the nurse had been stabbed +repeatedly. Payne broke away at last, and ran down-stairs, seriously +wounding an attendant on the way, reached the door unhurt, sprang upon +his horse, and rode leisurely away. When surgical aid arrived, the +Secretary's house looked like a field hospital. Five of its inmates were +bleeding from ghastly wounds, and two of them, among the highest +officials of the nation, it was thought might never see the light of +another day; though all providentially recovered. + +The assassin left behind him his hat, which apparently trivial loss cost +him and one of his fellow conspirators their lives. Fearing that the +lack of it would arouse suspicion, he abandoned his horse, instead of +making good his escape, and hid himself in the woods east of Washington +for two days. Driven at last by hunger, he returned to the city and +presented himself at Mrs. Surratt's house at the very moment when all +its inmates had been arrested and were about to be taken to the office +of the provost-marshal. Payne thus fell into the hands of justice, and +the utterance of half a dozen words by him and the unhappy woman whose +shelter he sought proved the death-warrant of them both. + +Booth had been recognized by dozens of people as he stood before the +footlights and brandished his dagger; but his swift horse quickly +carried him beyond any haphazard pursuit. He crossed the Navy-Yard +bridge and rode into Maryland, being joined very soon by Herold. The +assassin and his wretched acolyte came at midnight to Mrs. Surratt's +tavern, and afterward pushed on through the moonlight to the house of an +acquaintance of Booth, a surgeon named Mudd, who set Booth's leg and +gave him a room, where he rested until evening, when Mudd sent them on +their desolate way south. After parting with him they went to the +residence of Samuel Cox near Port Tobacco, and were by him given into +the charge of Thomas Jones, a contraband trader between Maryland and +Richmond, a man so devoted to the interests of the Confederacy that +treason and murder seemed every-day incidents to be accepted as natural +and necessary. He kept Booth and Herold in hiding at the peril of his +life for a week, feeding and caring for them in the woods near his +house, watching for an opportunity to ferry them across the Potomac; +doing this while every wood-path was haunted by government detectives, +well knowing that death would promptly follow his detection, and that a +reward was offered for the capture of his helpless charge that would +make a rich man of any one who gave him up. + +With such devoted aid Booth might have wandered a long way; but there +is no final escape but suicide for an assassin with a broken leg. At +each painful move the chances of discovery increased. Jones was able, +after repeated failures, to row his fated guests across the Potomac. +Arriving on the Virginia side, they lived the lives of hunted animals +for two or three days longer, finding to their horror that they were +received by the strongest Confederates with more of annoyance than +enthusiasm, though none, indeed, offered to betray them. Booth had by +this time seen the comments of the newspapers on his work, and bitterer +than death or bodily suffering was the blow to his vanity. He confided +his feelings of wrong to his diary, comparing himself favorably with +Brutus and Tell, and complaining: "I am abandoned, with the curse of +Cain upon me, when, if the world knew my heart, that one blow would have +made me great." + +On the night of April 25, he and Herold were surrounded by a party under +Lieutenant E.P. Doherty, as they lay sleeping in a barn belonging to one +Garrett, in Caroline County, Virginia, on the road to Bowling Green. +When called upon to surrender, Booth refused. A parley took place, after +which Doherty told him he would fire the barn. At this Herold came out +and surrendered. The barn was fired, and while it was burning, Booth, +clearly visible through the cracks in the building, was shot by Boston +Corbett, a sergeant of cavalry. He was hit in the back of the neck, not +far from the place where he had shot the President, lingered about three +hours in great pain, and died at seven in the morning. + +The surviving conspirators, with the exception of John H. Surratt, were +tried by military commission sitting in Washington in the months of May +and June. The charges against them specified that they were "incited +and encouraged" to treason and murder by Jefferson Davis and the +Confederate emissaries in Canada. This was not proved on the trial; +though the evidence bearing on the case showed frequent communications +between Canada and Richmond and the Booth coterie in Washington, and +some transactions in drafts at the Montreal Bank, where Jacob Thompson +and Booth both kept accounts. Mrs. Surratt, Payne, Herold, and Atzerodt +were hanged on July 7; Mudd, Arnold, and O'Laughlin were imprisoned for +life at the Tortugas, the term being afterward shortened; and Spangler, +the scene-shifter at the theater, was sentenced to six years in jail. +John H. Surratt escaped to Canada, and from there to England. He +wandered over Europe, and finally was detected in Egypt and brought back +to Washington in 1867, where his trial lasted two months, and ended in a +disagreement of the jury. + +Upon the hearts of a people glowing with the joy of victory, the news of +the President's assassination fell as a great shock. It was the first +time the telegraph had been called upon to spread over the world tidings +of such deep and mournful significance. In the stunning effect of the +unspeakable calamity the country lost sight of the national success of +the past week, and it thus came to pass that there was never any +organized expression of the general exultation or rejoicing in the North +over the downfall of the rebellion. It was unquestionably best that it +should be so; and Lincoln himself would not have had it otherwise. He +hated the arrogance of triumph; and even in his cruel death he would +have been glad to know that his passage to eternity would prevent too +loud an exultation over the vanquished. As it was, the South could take +no umbrage at a grief so genuine and so legitimate; the people of that +section even shared, to a certain degree, in the lamentations over the +bier of one whom in their inmost hearts they knew to have wished them +well. + +There was one exception to the general grief too remarkable to be passed +over in silence. Among the extreme radicals in Congress, Mr. Lincoln's +determined clemency and liberality toward the Southern people had made +an impression so unfavorable that, though they were naturally shocked at +his murder, they did not, among themselves, conceal their gratification +that he was no longer in the way. In a political caucus, held a few +hours after the President's death, "the feeling was nearly universal," +to quote the language of one of their most prominent representatives, +"that the accession of Johnson to the presidency would prove a godsend +to the country." + +In Washington, with this singular exception, the manifestation of public +grief was immediate and demonstrative. Within an hour after the body was +taken to the White House, the town was shrouded in black. Not only the +public buildings, the shops, and the better residences were draped in +funeral decorations, but still more touching proof of affection was seen +in the poorest class of houses, where laboring men of both colors found +means in their penury to afford some scanty show of mourning. The +interest and veneration of the people still centered in the White House, +where, under a tall catafalque in the East Room, the late chief lay in +the majesty of death, and not at the modest tavern on Pennsylvania +Avenue, where the new President had his lodging, and where Chief-Justice +Chase administered the oath of office to him at eleven o'clock on the +morning of April 15. + +It was determined that the funeral ceremonies in Washington should be +celebrated on Wednesday, April 19, and all the churches throughout the +country were invited to join at the same time in appropriate +observances. The ceremonies in the East Room were brief and simple--the +burial service, a prayer, and a short address; while all the pomp and +circumstance which the government could command was employed to give a +fitting escort from the White House to the Capitol, where the body of +the President was to lie in state. The vast procession moved amid the +booming of minute-guns, and the tolling of all the bells in Washington +Georgetown, and Alexandria; and to associate the pomp of the day with +the greatest work of Lincoln's life, a detachment of colored troops +marched at the head of the line. + +As soon as it was announced that Mr. Lincoln was to be buried at +Springfield, Illinois, every town and city on the route begged that the +train might halt within its limits and give its people the opportunity +of testifying their grief and reverence. It was finally arranged that +the funeral cortege should follow substantially the same route over +which he had come in 1861 to take possession of the office to which he +had given a new dignity and value for all time. On April 21, accompanied +by a guard of honor, and in a train decked with somber trappings, the +journey was begun. At Baltimore through which, four years before, it was +a question whether the President-elect could pass with safety to his +life, the coffin was taken with reverent care to the great dome of the +Exchange, where, surrounded with evergreens and lilies, it lay for +several hours, the people passing by in mournful throngs. The same +demonstration was repeated, gaining continually in intensity of feeling +and solemn splendor of display, in every city through which the +procession passed. The reception in New York was worthy alike of the +great city and of the memory of the man they honored. The body lay in +state in the City Hall, and a half-million people passed in deep silence +before it. Here General Scott came, pale and feeble, but resolute, to +pay his tribute of respect to his departed friend and commander. + +The train went up the Hudson River by night, and at every town and +village on the way vast waiting crowds were revealed by the fitful glare +of torches, and dirges and hymns were sung. As the train passed into +Ohio, the crowds increased in density, and the public grief seemed +intensified at every step westward. The people of the great central +basin were claiming their own. The day spent at Cleveland was unexampled +in the depth of emotion it brought to life. Some of the guard of honor +have said that it was at this point they began to appreciate the place +which Lincoln was to hold in history. + +The last stage of this extraordinary progress was completed, and +Springfield reached at nine o'clock on the morning of May 3. Nothing had +been done or thought of for two weeks in Springfield but the +preparations for this day, and they had been made with a thoroughness +which surprised the visitors from the East. The body lay in state in the +Capitol, which was richly draped from roof to basement in black velvet +and silver fringe. Within it was a bower of bloom and fragrance. For +twenty-four hours an unbroken stream of people passed through, bidding +their friend and neighbor welcome home and farewell; and at ten o'clock +on May 4, the coffin lid was closed, and a vast procession moved out to +Oak Ridge, where the town had set apart a lovely spot for his grave, and +where the dead President was committed to the soil of the State which +had so loved and honored him. The ceremonies at the grave were simple +and touching. Bishop Simpson delivered a pathetic oration; prayers were +offered and hymns were sung; but the weightiest and most eloquent words +uttered anywhere that day were those of the second inaugural, which the +committee had wisely ordained to be read over his grave, as the friends +of Raphael chose the incomparable canvas of the Transfiguration to be +the chief ornament of his funeral. + + + + +XXXVIII + +Lincoln's Early Environment--Its Effect on his Character--His Attitude +toward Slavery and the Slaveholder--His Schooling in Disappointment--His +Seeming Failures--His Real Successes--The Final Trial--His +Achievements--His Place in History + + +A child born to an inheritance of want; a boy growing into a narrow +world of ignorance; a youth taking up the burden of coarse manual labor; +a man entering on the doubtful struggle of a local backwoods +career--these were the beginnings of Abraham Lincoln, if we analyze them +under the hard practical cynical philosophy which takes for its motto +that "nothing succeeds but success." If, however, we adopt a broader +philosophy, and apply the more generous and more universal principle +that "everything succeeds which attacks favorable opportunity with +fitting endeavor," then we see that it was the strong vitality, the +active intelligence, and the indefinable psychological law of moral +growth that assimilates the good and rejects the bad, which Nature gave +this obscure child, that carried him to the service of mankind and to +the admiration of the centuries with the same certainty with which the +acorn grows to be the oak. + +We see how even the limitations of his environment helped the end. +Self-reliance, that most vital characteristic of the pioneer, was his by +blood and birth and training; and developed through the privations of +his lot and the genius that was in him to the mighty strength needed to +guide our great country through the titanic struggle of the Civil War. + +The sense of equality was his, also by virtue of his pioneer training--a +consciousness fostered by life from childhood to manhood in a state of +society where there were neither rich to envy nor poor to despise, where +the gifts and hardships of the forest were distributed impartially to +each, and where men stood indeed equal before the forces of unsubdued +nature. + +The same great forces taught liberality, modesty, charity, sympathy--in +a word, neighborliness. In that hard life, far removed from the +artificial aids and comforts of civilization, where all the wealth of +Croesus, had a man possessed it, would not have sufficed to purchase +relief from danger, or help in time of need, neighborliness became of +prime importance. A good neighbor doubled his safety and his resources, +a group of good neighbors increased his comfort and his prospects in a +ratio that grew like the cube root. Here was opportunity to practise +that virtue that Christ declared to be next to the love of God--the +fruitful injunction to "love thy neighbor as thyself." + +Here, too, in communities far from the customary restraints of organized +law, the common native intelligence of the pioneer was brought face to +face with primary and practical questions of natural right. These men +not only understood but appreciated the American doctrine of +self-government. It was this understanding, this feeling, which taught +Lincoln to write: "When the white man governs himself, that is +self-government; but when he governs himself and also governs another +man, that is more than self-government--that is despotism"; and its +philosophic corollary: "He who would be no slave must consent to have no +slave." + +Abraham Lincoln sprang from exceptional conditions--was in truth, in +the language of Lowell, a "new birth of our new soil." But this +distinction was not due alone to mere environment. The ordinary man, +with ordinary natural gifts, found in Western pioneer communities a +development essentially the same as he would have found under colonial +Virginia or Puritan New England: a commonplace life, varying only with +the changing ideas and customs of time and locality. But for the man +with extraordinary powers of body and mind; for the individual gifted by +nature with the genius which Abraham Lincoln possessed; the pioneer +condition, with its severe training in self-denial, patience, and +industry, was favorable to a development of character that helped in a +preeminent degree to qualify him for the duties and responsibilities of +leadership and government. He escaped the formal conventionalities which +beget insincerity and dissimulation. He grew up without being warped by +erroneous ideas or false principles; without being dwarfed by vanity, or +tempted by self-interest. + +Some pioneer communities carried with them the institution of slavery; +and in the slave State of Kentucky Lincoln was born. He remained there +only a short time, and we have every reason to suppose that wherever he +might have grown to maturity his very mental and moral fiber would have +spurned the doctrine and practice of human slavery. And yet so subtle is +the influence of birth and custom, that we can trace one lasting effect +of this early and brief environment. Though he ever hated slavery, he +never hated the slaveholder. This ineradicable feeling of pardon and +sympathy for Kentucky and the South played no insignificant part in his +dealings with grave problems of statesmanship. He struck slavery its +death-blow with the hand of war, but he tendered the slaveholder a +golden equivalent with the hand of friendship and peace. + +His advancement in the astonishing career which carried him from +obscurity to world-wide fame; from postmaster of New Salem village to +President of the United States; from captain of a backwoods volunteer +company to commander-in-chief of the army and navy, was neither sudden, +nor accidental, nor easy. He was both ambitious and successful, but his +ambition was moderate and his success was slow. And because his success +was slow, his ambition never outgrew either his judgment or his powers. +From the day when he left the paternal roof and launched his canoe on +the head waters of the Sangamon River to begin life on his own account, +to the day of his first inauguration, there intervened full thirty years +of toil, of study, self-denial, patience; often of effort baffled, of +hope deferred; sometimes of bitter disappointment. Given the natural +gift of great genius, given the condition of favorable environment, it +yet required an average lifetime and faithful unrelaxing effort to +transform the raw country stripling into a competent ruler for this +great nation. + +Almost every success was balanced--sometimes overbalanced by a seeming +failure. Reversing the usual promotion, he went into the Black Hawk War +a captain and, through no fault of his own, came out a private. He rode +to the hostile frontier on horseback, and trudged home on foot. His +store "winked out." His surveyor's compass and chain, with which he was +earning a scanty living, were sold for debt. He was defeated in his +first campaign for the legislature; defeated in his first attempt to be +nominated for Congress; defeated in his application to be appointed +commissioner of the General Land Office; defeated for the Senate in the +Illinois legislature of 1854, when he had forty-five votes to begin +with, by Trumbull, who had only five votes to begin with; defeated in +the legislature of 1858, by an antiquated apportionment, when his joint +debates with Douglas had won him a popular plurality of nearly four +thousand in a Democratic State; defeated in the nomination for +Vice-President on the Fremont ticket in 1856, when a favorable nod from +half a dozen wire-workers would have brought him success. + +Failures? Not so. Every seeming defeat was a slow success. His was the +growth of the oak, and not of Jonah's gourd. Every scaffolding of +temporary elevation he pulled down, every ladder of transient +expectation which broke under his feet accumulated his strength, and +piled up a solid mound which raised him to wider usefulness and clearer +vision. He could not become a master workman until he had served a +tedious apprenticeship. It was the quarter of a century of reading +thinking, speech-making and legislating which qualified him for +selection as the chosen champion of the Illinois Republicans in the +great Lincoln-Douglas joint debates of 1858. It was the great +intellectual victory won in these debates, plus the title "Honest old +Abe," won by truth and manhood among his neighbors during a whole +generation, that led the people of the United States to confide to his +hands the duties and powers of President. + +And when, after thirty years of endeavor, success had beaten down +defeat; when Lincoln had been nominated elected, and inaugurated, came +the crowning trial of his faith and constancy. When the people, by free +and lawful choice, had placed honor and power in his hands; when his +signature could convene Congress, approve laws, make ministers, cause +ships to sail and armies to move; when he could speak with potential +voice to other rulers of other lands, there suddenly came upon the +government and the nation the symptoms of a fatal paralysis; honor +seemed to dwindle and power to vanish. Was he then, after all, not to be +President? Was patriotism dead? Was the Constitution waste paper? Was +the Union gone? + +The indications were, indeed, ominous. Seven States were in rebellion. +There was treason in Congress, treason in the Supreme Court, treason in +the army and navy. Confusion and discord rent public opinion. To use +Lincoln's own forcible simile, sinners were calling the righteous to +repentance. Finally, the flag, insulted on the _Star of the West_, +trailed in capitulation at Sumter and then came the humiliation of the +Baltimore riot, and the President practically for a few days a prisoner +in the capital of the nation. + +But his apprenticeship had been served, and there was no more failure. +With faith and justice and generosity he conducted for four long years a +civil war whose frontiers stretched from the Potomac to the Rio Grande; +whose soldiers numbered a million men on each side; in which, counting +skirmishes and battles small and great, was fought an average of two +engagements every day; and during which every twenty-four hours saw an +expenditure of two millions of money. The labor, the thought, the +responsibility, the strain of intellect and anguish of soul that he gave +to this great task, who can measure? + +The sincerity of the fathers of the Republic was impugned he justified +them. The Declaration of Independence was called a "string of glittering +generalities" and a "self-evident lie"; he refuted the aspersion. The +Constitution was perverted; he corrected the error. The flag was +insulted; he redressed the offense. The government was assailed? he +restored its authority. Slavery thrust the sword of civil war at the +heart of the nation? he crushed slavery, and cemented the purified Union +in new and stronger bonds. + +And all the while conciliation was as active as vindication was stern. +He reasoned and pleaded with the anger of the South; he gave +insurrection time to repent; he forbore to execute retaliation; he +offered recompense to slaveholders; he pardoned treason. + +What but lifetime schooling in disappointment; what but the pioneer's +self-reliance and freedom from prejudice; what but the patient faith, +the clear perceptions of natural right, the unwarped sympathy and +unbounding charity of this man with spirit so humble and soul so great, +could have carried him through the labors he wrought to the victory he +attained? + +As the territory may be said to be its body, and its material activities +its blood, so patriotism may be said to be the vital breath of a nation. +When patriotism dies, the nation dies, and its resources as well as its +territory go to other peoples with stronger vitality. + +Patriotism can in no way be more effectively cultivated than by studying +and commemorating the achievements and virtues of our great men--the men +who have lived and died for the nation, who have advanced its prosperity, +increased its power, added to its glory. In our brief history the United +States can boast of many great men, and the achievement by its sons of +many great deeds; and if we accord the first rank to Washington as +founder, so we must unhesitatingly give to Lincoln the second place as +preserver and regenerator of American liberty. So far, however from being +opposed or subordinated either to the other, the popular heart has +already canonized these two as twin heroes in our national pantheon, as +twin stars in the firmament of our national fame. + + + + +INDEX + + +=Able, Mrs.=, sister of Mary Owens, 55, 60 + +=Adams, Charles Francis=, member of Congress, United States minister + to England, sent to England, 211 + +=Alabama=, State of, admitted as State, 1819, 19 + +=Alabama=, the, Confederate cruiser, sunk by the _Kearsarge_, 525 + +=Albemarle=, the, Confederate ironclad, destruction of, + October 27, 1864, 525 + +=Albert=, Prince Consort, drafts note to Lord Russell about _Trent_ + affair, 247 + +=Alexander II=, Czar of Russia, emancipates Russian serfs, 101 + +=Alexandria=, Virginia, occupation of, 214 + +=American Party=, principles of, 101, 102; + nominates Millard Fillmore for President, 1856, 102 + +=Anderson, Robert=, brevet major-general United States army, + transfers his command to Fort Sumter, 177, 178; + reports condition of Fort Sumter, 182; + notified of coming relief, 188; + defense and surrender of Fort Sumter, 189, 190; + telegram about Fremont's proclamation, 240; + sends Sherman to Nashville, 254; + turns over command to Sherman, 254; + raises flag over Fort Sumter, 531 + +=Antietam=, Maryland, battle of, September 17, 1862, 31 + +=Arkansas=, State of, joins Confederacy, 200, 204; + military governor appointed for, 419; + reconstruction in, 426, 427; + slavery abolished in, 427; + slavery in, throttled by public opinion, 473; + ratifies Thirteenth Amendment, 475 + +=Armies of the United States=, + enlistment in, since beginning of the war, 353, 354; + numbers under Grant's command, March, 1865, 507; + reduction of, to peace footing, 527; + grand review of, 527-529 + +=Armstrong, Jack=, wrestles with Lincoln, 25 + +=Arnold, Samuel=, in conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, 534; + imprisoned, 544 + +=Atlanta=, Georgia, siege of, July 22 to September 1, 1864, 407 + +=Atzerodt, George=, in conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, 534; + assigned to murder Andrew Johnson, 535; + deposits arms in tavern at Surrattsville, 536; + execution of, 544 + + +=Bailey, Theodorus=, rear-admiral United States navy, + in expedition against New Orleans, 284 + +=Bailhache, William H.=, prints Lincoln's first inaugural, 168 + +=Baker, Edward D.=, member of Congress, United States senator, + brevet major-general United States Volunteers, at Springfield, + Illinois, 52; + nominated for Congress, 73; + in Mexican War, 75 + +=Ball's Bluff=, Virginia, battle of, October, 21, 1861, 262 + +=Baltimore=, Maryland, Massachusetts Sixth mobbed in, 193; + occupied by General Butler, 199; + threatened by Early, 403; + funeral honors to Lincoln in, 546 + +=Bancroft, George=, Secretary of the Navy, historian, + minister to Prussia, letter to Lincoln, 321 + +=Banks, Nathaniel P.=, Speaker of the House of Representatives, + major-general United States Volunteers, in Army of Virginia, 310; + forces under, for defense of Washington, 317; + operations against Port Hudson, 382; + captures Port Hudson, 383, 384; + reply to Lincoln, 425; + causes election of State officers in Louisiana, 425, 426; + opinion of new Louisiana constitution, 426 + +=Barton, William=, governor of Delaware, + reply to Lincoln's call for volunteers, 193 + +=Bates, Edward=, member of Congress, Attorney-General, + candidate for presidential nomination, 1860, 144; + vote for, in Chicago convention, 149; + tendered cabinet appointment, 163; + appointed Attorney-General, 182; + signs cabinet protest, 311; + rewrites cabinet protest, 312; + resigns from cabinet, 491 + +=Beauregard, G.T.=, Confederate general, reduces Fort Sumter, 188-190; + in command at Manassas Junction, 215; + understanding with Johnston, 216; + battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, 226-229; + council with Johnston and Hardee, 267; + succeeds to command at Pittsburg Landing, 273; + losses at Pittsburg Landing, 274; + evacuates Corinth, 275; + united with Hood, 409; + orders Hood to assume offensive, 410; + interview with Davis and Johnston, 520 + +=Bell, John=, member of Congress, Secretary of War, + United States senator, nominated for President, 1860, 143; + vote for, 160 + +=Benjamin, Judah P.=, United States senator, + Confederate Secretary of State, suggestions about instructions + to peace commissioners, 482; + last instructions to Slidell, 501, 502 + +=Berry, William F.=, partner of Lincoln in a store, 35; + death of, 36 + +=Big Bethel=, Virginia, disaster at, 214 + +=Blackburn's Ford=, Virginia, engagement at, July 18, 1861, 226 + +=Black Hawk=, chief of the Sac Indians, + crosses Mississippi into Illinois, 32 + +=Black, Jeremiah S.=, Attorney-General, Secretary of State, + war of pamphlets with Douglas, 134 + +=Blair, Francis P.=, Sr., quarrel with Fremont, 236, 487; + asks permission to go South, 478; + interviews with Jefferson Davis, 479-482; + his Mexican project, 479 + +=Blair, Francis P.=, Jr., member of Congress major-general + United States Volunteers quarrel with Fremont, 236, 487, 488 + +=Blair, Montgomery=, Postmaster-General, + appointed Postmaster-General, 182; + quarrel with Fremont, 236, 487, 488; + at cabinet meeting, July 22, 1862, 331, 332; + objects to time for issuing emancipation proclamation, 340; + resolution in Republican platform aimed at, 446, 487; + relations with members of the cabinet, 488; + remarks after Early's raid, 488; + retires from cabinet, 489; + works for Lincoln's reelection, 489, 490; + wishes to be chief justice, 490; + declines foreign mission, 490 + +=Bogue, Captain Vincent=, navigates Sangamon River in + steamer _Talisman_, 27, 28 + +=Boonville=, Missouri, battle of, June 17, 1861, 214 + +=Booth, John Wilkes=, personal description of, 534, 535; + scheme to abduct Lincoln, 535; + creates disturbance at Lincoln's second inauguration, 535; + assigns parts in conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, 535, 536; + final preparations, 536, 537; + shoots the President, 538; + wounds Major Rathbone 538; + escape of, 539; + flight and capture of, 542, 543; + death of, 543; + account at Montreal Bank, 544 + +=Bragg, Braxton=, Confederate general, + forces Buell back to Louisville, 275, 276; + threatens Louisville, 379; + battle of Perryville, 379; + battle of Murfreesboro, 380; + retreat to Chattanooga, 385; + Chattanooga and Chickamauga, 386-392; + retreats to Dalton, 392; + superseded by Johnston, 395; + his invasion delays reconstruction in Tennessee, 428 + +=Breckinridge, John C.=, Vice-President, Confederate major-general, + and Secretary of War, nominated for Vice-President, 1856, 104; + desires Douglas's reelection to United States Senate, 126; + nominated for President, 1860, 143; + vote for, 160; + joins the rebellion, 217; + required by Davis to report on Johnston-Sherman agreement, 523 + +=Breckinridge, Robert J.=, D.D., LL.D., + temporary chairman Republican national convention, 1864, 446 + +=Brown, Albert G.=, member of Congress, United States senator, + questions Douglas, 129; + demands congressional slave code, 141 + +=Brown, John=, raid at Harper's Ferry, trial and execution of, 134 + +=Brown, Joseph E.=, governor of Georgia, United States senator, + refuses to obey orders from Richmond, 481 + +=Browning, Orville H.=, United States senator, Secretary of the Interior + under President Johnson, at Springfield, Illinois, 52; + speech in Chicago convention, 151 + +=Browning, Mrs. O.H.=, Lincoln's letter to, 58, 59 + +=Bryant, William Cullen=, presides over Cooper Institute meeting, 138 + +=Buchanan, Franklin=, captain United States navy, admiral Confederate + navy, resigns from Washington navy-yard and joins the Confederacy, 196 + +=Buchanan, James=, fifteenth President of the United States, + nominated for President, 1856, 104; + elected President, 105, 108; + announces pro-slavery policy, 114; + appoints Walker governor of Kansas, 114; + reply to Walker's letter, 115; + special message recommending Lecompton Constitution, 115; + permits Scott to be called to Washington, 172; + non-action regarding secession, 176, 177; + reconstruction of his cabinet, 178; + rides with Lincoln in inauguration procession, 180; + non-coercion doctrine of, 210; + signs resolution for constitutional amendment, 476 + +=Buckner, Simon B.=, Confederate lieutenant-general, + stationed at Bowling Green, 254; + force of, 263; + surrenders Fort Donelson, 267, 268 + +=Buell, Don Carlos=, major-general United States Volunteers, + succeeds Sherman in Kentucky, 255; + driven back to Louisville, 1862, 258; + instructions about East Tennessee, 258, 259; + reluctance to move into East Tennessee, 260; + reluctance to cooeperate with Halleck, 263, 264, 269; + ordered forward to Savannah, 271; + arrives at Pittsburg Landing, 273; + retreats to Louisville, 275, 276; + battle of Perryville, 379; + relieved from command, 380 + +=Bull Run=, Virginia, battle of, July 21, 1861, 226-229; + second battle of, August 30, 1862, 310, 311 + +=Burnside, Ambrose E.=, major-general United States Volunteers, + holds Knoxville 1863, 258; + commands force in Roanoke Island expedition, 277, 278; + ordered to reinforce McClellan, 307; + orders arrest of Vallandigham, 358; + appointed to command Army of the Potomac, 363; + previous services, 363, 364; + battle of Fredericksburg, 364, 365; + relieved from command, 366; + ordered to reinforce Rosecrans, 388; + besieged at Knoxville, 391; + repulses Longstreet, 391 + +=Butler, Benjamin F.=, major-general United States Volunteers, + member of Congress, occupies Baltimore, 199; + orders concerning slaves, 220-222; + instructions to, about slaves, 223; + commands land + force in Farragut's expedition against New Orleans, 283; + in command at New Orleans, 285; + report about negro soldiers, 348, 349; + proclaimed an outlaw by Jefferson Davis, 350; + seizes City Point, 401; + receives votes for Vice-President at Baltimore convention, 448 + +=Butler, William=, relates incident about Lincoln, 53 + +=Butterfield, Justin=, appointed Commissioner of General Land Office, 92; + defended by Lincoln from political attack, 92 + + +=Cadwalader, George=, major-general United States Volunteers, + action in Merryman case, 199, 200 + +=Cairo=, Illinois, military importance of, 209, 210 + +=Calhoun, John=, appoints Lincoln deputy surveyor, 39, 40; + at Springfield, Illinois, 52 + +=Cameron, Simon=, United States senator, Secretary of War, + candidate for presidential nomination, 1860, 144; + vote for, in Chicago convention, 149; + tendered cabinet appointment, 163, 164; + appointed Secretary of War, 182; + brings letters of Anderson to Lincoln, 182; + visits Fremont, 242; + interview with Sherman, 255; + appointed minister to Russia, 289; + reference to slavery in report to Congress, 320; + moves renomination of Lincoln and Hamlin by acclamation, 447 + +=Campbell, John A.=, justice United States Supreme Court; Confederate + commissioner; intermediary of Confederate commissioners, 183; + at Hampton Roads conference, 482-485; + interviews with Lincoln, 519 + +=Canby, E.R.S.=, brevet major-general United States army, + receives surrender of Taylor, 525; + receives surrender of E. Kirby Smith, 526, 527 + +=Carpenter, Frank B.=, conversation with Lincoln about + emancipation proclamation, 331, 332 + +=Carpenter, W.=, defeated for Illinois legislature 1832, 34; + elected in 1834, 43 + +=Carrick's Ford=, Virginia, battle of, July 13, 1861, 225 + +=Cartter, David K.=, announces change of vote to Lincoln + in Chicago convention, 151 + +=Cartwright, Peter=, elected to Illinois legislature in 1832, 34 + +=Chancellorsville=, Virginia, battle of, May 1-4, 1863, 369 + +=Charleston=, South Carolina, capture of, February 18, 1865, 415; + burning of, 416 + +=Chase, Salmon P.=, United States senator, Secretary of the Treasury, + chief justice United States Supreme Court, + candidate for presidential nomination, 1860, 144; + vote for, in Chicago convention, 149; + summoned to Springfield, 163; + appointed Secretary of the Treasury, 182; + questions McClellan at council of war, 289; + signs cabinet protest, 311; + favors emancipation by military commanders, 332; + urges that parts of States be not exempted + in final emancipation proclamation, 343; + submits form of closing paragraph, 344; + presidential aspirations of, 439-441; + letter to Lincoln, 440, 441; + resigns from cabinet, 457; + effect of his resignation on the political situation, 464; + looked upon by radicals as their representative in the cabinet, 487; + hostility to Montgomery Blair, 488; + made chief justice, 490, 491; + note of thanks to Lincoln, 491; + opinion of Lincoln, 491; + administers oath of office to Lincoln at second inauguration, 496; + administers oath of office to President Johnson, 545 + +=Chattanooga=, Tennessee, battle of, November 23-25, 1863, 389-392 + +=Chickamauga=, Tennessee, battle of, September 18-20, 1863, 386, 387 + +=Clary's Grove=, Illinois, settlement of, 24 + +=Clay, Clement C., Jr.=, United States senator, + Confederate agent in Canada, correspondence with Horace Greeley, 459 + +=Clay, Henry=, nominated for President, 28 + +=Clements, Andrew J.=, member of Congress, elected to Congress, 419 + +=Cleveland=, Ohio, funeral honors to Lincoln in, 547 + +=Cochrane, John=, member of Congress, brigadier-general United States + Volunteers, nominated for Vice-President, 1864, 442 + +=Cold Harbor=, Virginia, battle of, June 1-12, 1864, 399 + +=Colfax, Schuyler=, member of Congress, Vice-President, + letter to, from Lincoln, 132, 133 + +=Collamer, Jacob=, member of Congress, Postmaster-General, + United States senator, vote for, in Chicago convention, 149 + +=Columbia=, South Carolina, capture and burning of, 415, 416 + +=Columbus=, Kentucky, evacuation of, 269 + +=Confederate States of America=, formed by seceding States, 178, 179; + "corner-stone" theory, 179; + government of, fires on Fort Sumter, 189; + joined by North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas, 200; + strength of, 204; + war measures of, 207; + capital removed to Richmond, 207; + strength of, in the West, 263; + outcry of, against emancipation proclamation and arming of + negroes, 350, 351; + efficiency of armies of, in 1863, 370; + proclamation calling on people to resist Sherman's march, 411, 412; + nearly in state of collapse, 481; + doomed from the hour of Lincoln's reelection, 499; + depreciation of its currency, 499, 500; + conscription laws of, 500; + Confederate Congress makes Lee general-in-chief, 500; + number of soldiers in final struggle, 507; + flight of, from Richmond, 515; + collapse of the rebellion, 524-527; + number of troops surrendered, 527 + +=Congress of the United States=, passes act organizing + territory of Illinois, 19; + fixes number of stars and stripes in the flag, 19; + admits as States Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri, 19; + nullification debate in, 38; + Lincoln's service in, 75-90; + Missouri Compromise, 94-96; + Democratic majorities chosen in, in 1856, 108; + agitation over Kansas in, 113; + Senator Brown's resolutions, 141; + official count of electoral votes, 160; + appoints compromise committees, 167; + Buchanan's annual message to, December, 1860, 176, 177; + convened in special session by President Lincoln, 192; + Lincoln's message to, May 26, 1862, 195; + legalizes Lincoln's war measures, 206; + meeting and measures of special session of + Thirty-seventh Congress, 217-220; + Southern unionists in, 217; + Lincoln's message to, July 4, 1861, 218-220; + action on slavery, 223; + special session adjourns, 223; + House passes resolution of thanks to Captain Wilkes, 246; + friendly to McClellan, 250; + Lincoln's message of December 3, 1861, 257, 321, 322; + interview of border State delegations with Lincoln, 257, 258, 324, 325; + Lincoln's special message, March 6, 1862, 323, 324; + passes joint resolution favoring compensated emancipation, 325; + passes bill for compensated emancipation in District of + Columbia, 325, 336; + House bill to aid emancipation in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, + Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, 326; + slavery measures of 1862, 329; + President's second interview with border slave State + delegations, 329-331; + President's annual message, December 1, 1862, 341, 342; + passes national conscription law, 354, 355; + act authorizing the President to suspend writ of habeas corpus, 359, 360; + confers rank of lieutenant-general on Grant, 393; + admits representatives and senators from States with + provisional governments, 419; + President's annual message, December 8, 1863, 424; + reverses former action about seating members from "ten-per-cent + States," 424; + bills to aid compensated abolishment in Missouri, 432; + opposition to Lincoln in, 454; + action on bill of Henry Winter Davis, 454; + repeals fugitive-slave law, 457; + confirms Fessenden's nomination, 458; + Lincoln's message of December 5, 1864, 470-472; + joint resolution proposing constitutional amendment to prohibit + slavery throughout United States, 471-476; + the two constitutional amendments submitted to the States during + Lincoln's term, 475, 476; + Senate confirms Chase's nomination as chief justice, 491 + +=Congress=, the, Union sailing frigate, burned by _Merrimac_, 280 + +=Constitutional Union Party=, candidates in 1860, 153 + +=Conventions=: first national convention of Whig party, 28; + President Jackson gives impetus to system of, 52; + Illinois State convention nominates Lincoln for Congress 74, 75; + convention of "Know-Nothing" party, 1856, 102; + Bloomington convention, May, 1856, 103; + first national convention of Republican party, June 17, 1856, 103; + Democratic national convention, June 2, 1856, 104; + Democratic national convention, Charleston, April 23, 1860, 142; + it adjourns to reassemble at Baltimore, June 18, 1860, 143; + Constitutional Union Convention, Baltimore, May 9, 1860, 143; + Republican national convention, Chicago, May 16, 1860, 144, 147-151; + Decatur, Illinois, State convention, 154; + Cleveland convention, May 31, 1864, 441, 442; + meeting in New York to nominate Grant, 442, 443; + New Hampshire State convention, January 6, 1864, 443; + Republican national convention, June 7, 1864, 446-449; + Democratic national convention, 1864, postponed, 463; + Democratic national convention meets, 466-468; + resolution of Baltimore convention hostile to Montgomery Blair, 487 + +=Cook, B.C.=, member of Congress, nominates Lincoln + in Baltimore convention, 447; + seeks to learn Lincoln's wishes about Vice-Presidency, 448 + +=Cooper, Samuel=, Confederate adjutant-general, + joins the Confederacy, 208 + +=Corbett, Boston=, sergeant United States army, shoots Booth, 543 + +=Corinth=, Mississippi, captured by Halleck, 275 + +=Couch, Darius N.=, major-general United States Volunteers, + militia force under, in Pennsylvania, 372 + +=Cox, Samuel=, assists Booth and Herold, 542 + +=Crawford, Andrew=, teacher of President Lincoln, 12 + +=Crittenden, John J.=, Attorney-General, United States senator, + advocates reelection of Douglas to United States Senate, 126; + in Thirty-seventh Congress, 217; + presents resolution, 223 + +=Cumberland=, the, Union frigate, sunk by _Merrimac_, 280 + +=Curtis, Samuel R.=, member of Congress, major-general + United States Volunteers, sends order of removal to Fremont, 242, 243; + campaign in Missouri, 269; + victory at Pea Ridge, 271 + +=Cushing, William B.=, commander United States navy, + destruction of the _Albemarle_, 525 + + +=Dahlgren, John A.=, rear-admiral United States navy, + at gathering of officials to discuss fight between _Monitor_ + and _Merrimac_, 296 + +=Davis, Henry Winter=, member of Congress, bill prescribing + method of reconstruction, 454; + signs Wade-Davis manifesto, 456 + +=Davis, Jefferson=, Secretary of War, United States senator, + Confederate President, orders that + "rebellion must be crushed" in Kansas, 113; + Senate resolutions of, 141; + signs address commending Charleston disruption, 143; + statement in Senate, 143; + elected President of Confederate States of America, 179; + telegram to Governor Letcher, 197; + proclamation offering letters of marque to privateers, 205; + camp of instruction at Harper's Ferry, 209; + proclamation of outlawry, 350; + message on emancipation proclamation, 350, 351; + appoints Hood to succeed Johnston, 407; + visits Hood, and unites commands of Beauregard and Hood, 409; + interview with Jaquess and Gilmore, 462; + interviews with F.P. Blair, Sr., 479-481; + gives Blair a letter to show Lincoln, 481; + appoints peace commission, 482; + instructions to peace commissioners, 482; + reports Hampton Roads conference to rebel Congress, 485; + speech at public meeting, 485, 486; + Confederate Congress shows hostility to, 500, 501; + reappoints J.E. Johnston to resist Sherman, 501; + recommendations concerning slaves in rebel army, 501; + sanctions Lee's letter to Grant, 503; + conference with Lee, 504; + flight from Richmond, 515; + proclamation from Danville, 519, 520; + retreat to Greensboro, North Carolina, 520; + interview with Johnston and Beauregard, 520; + continues southward, 520; + dictates proposition of armistice presented by Johnston to Sherman, 521; + requires report from Breckinridge about Johnston-Sherman agreement, 523; + instructions to Johnston, 524; + attempt to reach E. Kirby Smith, 525, 526; + effort to gain Florida coast, 526; + capture, imprisonment, and release of, 526 + +=Davis, Mrs. Jefferson=, captured with her husband, 526 + +=Dawson, John=, defeated for Illinois legislature, 1832, 34; + elected in 1834, 43 + +=Dayton, William L.=, United States senator minister to France, + nominated for Vice-President, 104; + vote for, in Chicago convention, 149 + +=Delano, Columbus=, member of Congress, Secretary of the Interior, + in Baltimore convention, 447 + +=Delaware=, State of, secession feeling in, 201; + rejects compensated abolishment, 322, 323 + +=Democratic Party=, party of slavery extension, 102; + nominates Buchanan and Breckinridge in 1856, 104; + disturbed by Buchanan's attitude on slavery, 116; + pro-slavery demands of, 140, 141; + national conventions of, 1860, 142-144; + candidates in 1860, 152, 153; + opposition to emancipation measures and conscription law, 354, 355; + adopts McClellan for presidential candidate, 355; + interest in Vallandigham, 358; + attitude on slavery, 437, 438, 472, 473; + convention postponed, 463; + national convention, 1864, 466-468 + +=Dennison, William=, governor of Ohio, Postmaster-General, + permanent chairman of Republican national convention, 1864, 446; + succeeds Blair as Postmaster-General, 489, 490 + +=Dickinson, Daniel S.=, United States senator, candidate + for vice-presidential nomination, 1864, 448, 449 + +=Doherty, E.P.=, lieutenant United States army, + captures Booth and Herold, 543 + +=Donelson, Andrew J.=, nominated for Vice-President, 102 + +=Dorsey, Azel W.=, teacher of President Lincoln, 12 + +=Douglas, Stephen A.=, member of Congress, United States senator, + at Springfield, Illinois, 52; + challenges young Whigs of Springfield to debate, 62; + elected to United States Senate, 75; + champions repeal of Missouri Compromise, 95; + speech at Illinois State fair, 96; + at Peoria, 96; + agreement with Lincoln, 99; + on Dred Scott case, 109, 110; + denounces Lecompton Constitution, 116, 117; + hostility of Buchanan administration toward, 117; + Lincoln-Douglas joint debate, 121-125; + speeches in the South, 128, 129; + answer to Senator Brown, 129; + references to Lincoln, 130; + Ohio speeches, 133; + "Harper's Magazine" essay, 134; + fight over nomination of, for President, 1860, 142-144; + nominated for President, 143; + speeches during campaign of 1860, 156; + vote for, 160 + +=Douglass, Frederick=, conversation with Lincoln, 352 + +=Draft=, Congress passes national conscription law, 354; + opposition of Governor Seymour to, 355-357; + riots in New York, 356, 357; + dissatisfaction in other places, 357; + opposition of Vallandigham to, 358 + +=Dred Scott= case, decision of Supreme Court in, 108, 109; + protest of North against, 109; + Senator Douglas on, 109, 110 + +=Dresser, Rev. Charles=, marries Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd, 68, 69 + +=Du-Pont, Samuel F.=, rear-admiral United States navy, + commands fleet in Port Royal expedition, 245 + +=Durant, Thomas J.=, mentioned in letter of Lincoln's, 334, 335 + + +=Early, Jubal A.=, Confederate lieutenant-general, + threatens Washington, 403; + inflicts damage on Blair's estate, 488 + +=Eckert, Thomas T.=, brevet brigadier-general United States Volunteers, + sent to meet peace commissioners at Hampton Roads, 482; + refuses to allow peace commissioners to proceed, 483 + +=Edwards, Cyrus=, desires commissionership of General Land Office, 92 + +=Edwards, Ninian W.=, one of "Long Nine," 63 + +=Edwards, Mrs. Ninian W.=, sister of Mrs. Lincoln, 63 + +=Ellsworth, E.E.=, colonel United States Volunteers, assassination of, 214 + +=Emancipation=, Lincoln-Stone protest, 47; + Lincoln's bill for, in District of Columbia, 86, 87; + Missouri Compromise, 94, 95; + Fremont's proclamation of, 236-238; + discussed in President's message of December 3, 1861, 321, 322; + Lincoln offers Delaware compensated abolishment, 322, 323; + special message of March 6, 1862, 323, 324; + Congress passes bill for, in District of Columbia, 325, 326; + bill to aid it in border slave States, 326; + Hunter's order of, 327; + measures in Congress relating to, 328, 329; + Lincoln's second interview with delegations from border slave + States, 329-331; + Lincoln's conversation with Carpenter about, 331, 332; + first draft of emancipation proclamation read to cabinet, 331, 332; + President's interview with Chicago clergymen, 337-339; + Lincoln issues preliminary emancipation proclamation, 339-341; + annual message of December 1, 1862, 341, 342; + President issues final emancipation proclamation, 342-346; + President's views on, 346, 347; + arming of negro soldiers, 348, 350; + Lincoln's letters to Banks about emancipation in Louisiana, 423-425; + slavery abolished in Louisiana, 426; + slavery abolished in Arkansas, 427; + slavery abolished in Tennessee, 429; + slavery abolished in Missouri, 432-434; + Maryland refuses offer of compensated abolishment, 434; + slavery abolished in Maryland, 435, 436; + Republican national platform favors Constitutional + amendment abolishing slavery, 446; + Constitutional amendment prohibiting slavery in United States, 471-476; + two Constitutional amendments affecting slavery offered during + Lincoln's term, 475,476; + Lincoln's draft of joint resolution offering the South $400,000,000, 493; + Jefferson Davis recommends employment of negroes in army, + with emancipation to follow, 501. + See _Slavery_ + +=England=, public opinion in, favorable to the South, 211; + excitement in, over _Trent_ affair, 246; + joint expedition to Mexico, 451; + "neutrality" of, 525 + +=Ericsson=, John, inventor of the _Monitor_, 279 + +=Evarts=, William M., Secretary of State, United States senator, + nominates Seward for President, 149; + moves to make Lincoln's nomination unanimous, 151 + +=Everett=, Edward, member of Congress, minister to England, + Secretary of State, United States senator, + candidate for Vice-President, 1860, 153 + +=Ewell=, Richard S., Confederate lieutenant-general, + in retreat to Appomattox, 511; + statement about burning of Richmond, 516 + +=Ewing=, Thomas, Secretary of the Interior defended by Lincoln + against political attack, 92 + + +=Fair Oaks=, Virginia, battle of, 302 + +=Farragut=, David G., admiral United States navy, + captures New Orleans and ascends the Mississippi, 282-287; + ascends Mississippi a second time, 287; + mentioned 328, 329, 381; + operations against Port Hudson, 382; + Mobile Bay, 468, 525 + +=Farrand=, Ebenezer, captain Confederate navy, surrender of, 525 + +=Fessenden=, William P., United States senator, + Secretary of the Treasury, becomes Secretary of the Treasury, 458; + agrees with President against making proffers of peace to Davis, 463; + resigns from cabinet, 491, 492 + +=Field=, David Dudley, escorts Lincoln to platform at Cooper Institute, 138 + +=Fillmore=, Millard, thirteenth President of the United States, + nominated by Know-Nothing party for President, 1856, 102 + +=Five Forks=, Virginia, battle of, April 1, 1865, 507-509 + +=Floyd=, John B., Secretary of War, Confederate brigadier-general, + escapes from Fort Donelson, 268 + +=Foote=, Andrew H., rear-admiral United States navy, + capture of Island No. 10, 274; + proceeds to Fort Pillow, 274 + +=Forrest=, Nathan B., Confederate lieutenant-general, + with Hood's army, 410; + defeat of, 525 + +=Fort Donelson=, Tennessee, capture of, 266-268 + +=Fort Fisher=, North Carolina, capture of, 414, 481, 525 + +=Fort Harrison=, Virginia, capture of, 560 + +=Fort Henry=, Tennessee, capture of, 266 + +=Fort Jackson=, Louisiana, capture of, 282-285 + +=Fort McAllister=, Georgia, stormed by Sherman, 412 + +=Fort Pillow=, Tennessee, evacuation of, 286; + massacre of negro troops at, 351 + +=Fort Pulaski=, Georgia, capture of, 278 + +=Fort Randolph=, Tennessee, evacuation of, 286 + +=Fort Stedman=, Virginia, assault of, 505, 506 + +=Fort St. Philip=, Louisiana, capture of, 282-285 + +=Fort Sumter=, South Carolina, occupied by Anderson, 177, 178; + attempt to reinforce 178; + cabinet consultations about, 182-184; + defense and capture of, 189, 190 + +=Fortress Monroe=, Virginia, importance of, 209 + +=Fox=, Gustavus V., Assistant Secretary of the Navy, + ordered to aid Sumter, 184; + sends the President additional news about fight between _Monitor_ + and _Merrimac_, 296, 297 + +=France=, public opinion in, favorable to the South, 211; + joint expedition to Mexico, 451; + "neutrality" of, 525 + +=Franklin=, Benjamin, on American forests and the spirit + of independence they fostered, 17 + +=Franklin=, Tennessee, battle of, November 30, 1864, 410 + +=Franklin=, W.B., brevet major-general United States army, + advises movement on Manassas, 289 + +=Fredericksburg=, Virginia, battle of, December 13, 1862, 364 + +=Fremont=, John C., United States senator, + major-general United States army, nominated for President, 1856, 103; + made major-general, 233; + opportunities and limitations of, 233-235; + criticism of, 235; + quarrel with Blair family, 236, 487; + proclamation freeing slaves, 236, 237, 432; + refuses to revoke proclamation, 238; + removed from command of Western Department, 241-243; + commands Mountain Department, 299; + ordered to form junction with McDowell and Shields, 306; + in Army of Virginia, 310; + nominated for President, 1864, 442; + withdraws from the contest, 442 + +=Fusion=, attempts at, in campaign of 1860, 157, 158 + + +=Gamble, Hamilton R.=, provisional governor of Missouri, + calls State convention together, 433; + death of, 434 + +=Garnett, Robert S.=, Confederate brigadier-general, + killed at Carrick's Ford, 225 + +=Gentry, Allen=, makes flatboat trip with Lincoln, 16 + +=Gentry, James=, enters land at Gentryville, 9; + sends Lincoln to New Orleans, 16 + +=Gettysburg=, Pennsylvania, battle of, July 1-3, 1863, 372-375; + address of Mr. Lincoln at, 376, 377 + +=Giddings, Joshua R.=, member of Congress approves + Lincoln's bill abolishing slavery in District of Columbia, 87; + amendment to Chicago platform, 148, 149 + +=Gillmore, Quincy A.=, brevet major-general United States army, + siege of Fort Pulaski, 278 + +=Gilmer, John A.=, member of Congress, tendered cabinet appointment, 164 + +=Gilmore, J.R.=, visits Jefferson Davis with Jaquess, 462 + +=Gist, William H.=, governor of South Carolina, inaugurates secession, 175 + +=Goldsborough, L.M.=, rear-admiral United States navy, + commands fleet in Roanoke Island expedition, 277, 278 + +=Gordon, John B.=, Confederate lieutenant-general, + United States senator, in assault of Fort Stedman, 504, 505; + in defense of Petersburg, 509 + +=Graham, Mentor=, makes Lincoln election clerk, 23, 24; + advises Lincoln to study grammar, 25; + aids Lincoln to study surveying, 40 + +=Grant, Ulysses S.=, eighteenth President of the United States, + general, and general-in-chief United States army, early life, 264; + letter offering services to War Department, 264, 265; + commissioned by Governor Yates, 265; + reconnaissance toward Columbus, 265; + urges movement on Fort Henry, 265, 266; + capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, 266-268; + ordered forward to Savannah, 271; + Pittsburg Landing, 272-274; + asks to be relieved, 275; + co-operates with adjutant-general of the army in arming negroes, 350; + repulses rebels at Iuka and Corinth, 380; + Vicksburg campaign, 380-383; + ordered to Chattanooga, 389; + battle of Chattanooga, 390, 391; + pursuit of Bragg, 391, 392; + speech on accepting commission of lieutenant-general, 394; + visits Army of the Potomac and starts west, 394; + placed in command of all the armies, 394; + conference with Sherman, 395; + plan of campaign, 395, 397; + returns to Culpepper, 395; + fear of presidential interference, 395, 396; + letter to Lincoln, 396; + strength and position of his army, 396, 397; + instructions to Meade, 397; + battle of the Wilderness, 398; + Spottsylvania Court House, 398, 399; + report to Washington, 399; + Cold Harbor, 399; + letter to Washington, 399, 400; + siege of Petersburg, 400-402; + sends Wright to Washington, 403; + withholds consent to Sherman's plan, 410; + gives his consent, 411; + orders to Sherman, 413; + adopts Sherman's plan, 414; + attempt to nominate him for President, 1864, 442, 443; + depressing influence on political situation of his heavy fighting, 463; + admits peace commissioners to his headquarters, 483; + despatch to Stanton, 484; + pushing forward, 502; + telegraphs Lee's letter to Washington, 503; + reply to Lee, 504; + orders to General Parke, 505; + issues orders for the final movement of the war, 506; + number of men under his command in final struggle, 507; + his plan, 507; + battle of Five Forks, 507-509; + orders Sheridan to get on Lee's line of retreat, 509, 510; + sends Humphreys to Sheridan's assistance, 509; + telegram to Lincoln, 509; + pursuit of Lee, 510-513; + sends Sheridan's despatch to Lincoln, 511; + correspondence with Lee, 512, 513; + receives Lee's surrender, 513-515; + forbids salute in honor of Lee's surrender, 515; + visit to Lee, 515; + goes to Washington, 515; + learns terms of agreement between Sherman and Johnson, 523; + ordered to Sherman's headquarters, 523; + gives Sherman opportunity to modify his report, 523, 524; + at Lincoln's last cabinet meeting, 531; + invited by Mrs. Lincoln to Ford's Theater, 536 + +=Grant, Mrs. U.S.=, invited by Mrs. Lincoln to Ford's Theater, 536 + +=Greeley, Horace=, hears Lincoln's Cooper Institute speech, 138; + "open letter" to Lincoln, 335; + Niagara Falls conference, 458-461; + effect of his mission on political situation, 464 + + +=Halleck, Henry Wager=, major-general and general-in-chief + United States army, succeeds Fremont, 260; + reluctance to cooeperate with Buell, 263, 264; + answers to Lincoln, 263, 264; + instructions to Grant, 264; + orders Grant to take Fort Henry, 266; + sends reinforcements to Grant, 267; + asks for command in the West, 269; + plans expedition under Pope, 270; + message to Buell, 270; + telegrams to McClellan, 270; + appeal to McClellan, 271; + commands Department of the Mississippi, 271; + orders Pope to join him, 274; + march on Corinth, 275; + capture of Corinth, 275; + sends Buell to East Tennessee, 275; + ordered to reinforce McClellan, 307; + general-in-chief, 309; + visit to McClellan, 309; + orders Army of Potomac back to Acquia Creek, 309; + letter to McClellan, 309, 310; + orders McClellan to support Pope, 311; + telegram to McClellan, 317; + mentioned, 328, 329; + asks to be relieved, 365; + quarrel with Hooker, 372; + urges Meade to active pursuit of Lee, 375; + plans for Western campaign, 379; + urges Buell to move into East Tennessee, 380; + orders Rosecrans to advance, 385, 386; + at council to consider news of Chattanooga, 388; + President's chief of staff, 394; + conduct during Early's raid, 403; + note to War Department about Blair, 488; + orders to Meade, 523 + +=Hamlin, Hannibal=, United States senator, Vice-President, + nominated for Vice-President, 151; + Cameron moves his renomination, 447; + candidate for vice-presidential nomination in 1864, 448, 449 + +=Hanks, John=, tells of Lincoln's frontier labors, 15; + flatboat voyage with Lincoln, 22, 23; + at Decatur convention, 154 + +=Hanks, Joseph=, teaches Thomas Lincoln carpenter's trade, 5 + +=Hanks, Nancy=. See _Lincoln, Nancy Hanks_ + +=Hardee, William J.=, lieutenant-colonel United States army, Confederate + lieutenant-general, council with Johnston and Beauregard, 267; + evacuates Savannah and Charleston, 415; + joins Johnston, 416 + +=Hardin, John J.=, member of Congress, colonel United States Volunteers, + at Springfield, Illinois, 52; + elected to Congress, 73; + killed in Mexican War, 75 + +=Harper's Ferry=, Virginia, John Brown raid at, 134; + burning of armory, 209; + captured by Lee, September 15, 1862, 315 + +=Harris, Miss Clara W.=, attends Ford's Theater with Mrs. Lincoln, 536; + assists Mrs. Lincoln, 539 + +=Harrison, George M.=, Lincoln's messmate in Black Hawk War, 33 + +=Hartford=, the, Union cruiser, Farragut's flag-ship, 284, 285 + +=Hatteras Inlet=, North Carolina, capture of forts at, August 29, 1861, 245 + +=Hay, John=, assistant private secretary to Lincoln, + brevet colonel and assistant adjutant-general United States Volunteers, + ambassador to England, Secretary of State, accompanies + Mr. Lincoln to Washington, 168; + shows Lincoln letter of inquiry about Vice-Presidency, 448; + mission to Canada, 460; + at Lincoln's death-bed, 540 + +=Hazel, Caleb=, teacher of President Lincoln, 6 + +=Herndon, A.G.=, defeated for Illinois legislature, 1832, 34 + +=Herndon, "Jim" and "Row,"= sell Lincoln and Berry their store, 35 + +=Herndon, William H.=, Lincoln's law partner, 158; + assumes Lincoln's law business during campaign, 158 + +=Herold, David E.=, in conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, 534; + chosen to assist Booth, 536; + deposits arms in tavern at Surrattsville, 536; + accompanies Booth in his flight, 542, 543; + capture of, 543; + execution of, 544 + +=Hicks, Thomas H.=, governor of Maryland, United States senator, + reply to Lincoln's call for volunteers, 193; + speech at mass-meeting, 193; + protest against landing of troops at Annapolis, 198; + calls meeting of Maryland legislature, 198 + +=Holcomb, James P.=, Confederate agent in Canada, + correspondence with Horace Greeley, 459 + +=Holt, Joseph=, Postmaster-General, Secretary of War, + judge-advocate general United States army, calls Scott to + Washington, 172; + report on Knights of the Golden Circle, 361; + favored by Swett for Vice-President, 448; + declines attorney-generalship, 491 + +=Hood, John B.=, Confederate general, succeeds Johnston, 407; + evacuates Atlanta, 407, 468; + truce with Sherman, 408; + placed under command of Beauregard, 409; + moves to Tuscumbia, 410; + Franklin and Nashville, 410; + his movements delay reconstruction in Tennessee, 429 + +=Hooker, Joseph=, brevet major-general United States army, + succeeds Burnside in command of Army of the Potomac, 366; + submits plan of campaign to Lincoln, 368; + battle of Chancellorsville, 369, 370; + criticism of, 370; + foresees Lee's northward campaign, 370; + proposes quick march to capture Richmond, 371; + follows Lee, 372; + asks to be relieved, 372; + ordered to reinforce Rosecrans, 388; + reaches Chattanooga, 389; + in battle of Chattanooga, 390-391 + +=Hume, John F.=, moves that Lincoln's nomination be made unanimous, 447 + +=Humphreys, Andrew A.=, brevet major-general United States army, + in recapture of Fort Stedman, 505, 506; + ordered to assist Sheridan, 509 + +=Hunt, Randall=, tendered cabinet appointment, 164 + +=Hunter, David=, brevet major-general, United States army, + asked to assist Fremont, 235, 236; + ordered to relieve Fremont, 243; + order of emancipation, 327; + experiment with negro soldiers, 348; + declared an outlaw by Confederate War Department, 350 + +=Hunter, R.M.T.=, United States senator, Confederate Secretary of State, + appointed peace commissioner, 482; + at Hampton Roads conference, 482-485 + + +=Iles, Elijah=, captain Illinois Volunteers, commands company in + Black Hawk War, 33 + +=Illinois=, State of, organized as Territory, 1809, 19; + admitted as State, 1818, 19; +legislative schemes of internal improvement, 44, 45; + capital removed to Springfield, 45; + political struggles over slavery, 45, 46; + Lincoln-Douglas senatorial campaign in, 118-125; + ratifies Thirteenth Amendment, 474, 475 + +=Island No. 10=, Tennessee, fortifications at, 269, 270; + surrender of, 274 + + +=Jackson, Andrew=, seventh President of the United States, + gives impetus to system of party caucuses and conventions, 52 + +=Jackson, Claiborne F.=, governor of Missouri, + attempts to force Missouri secession, 202-204; + flight to Springfield, Missouri, 234 + +=Jackson, Thomas Jonathan ("Stonewall")=, Confederate lieutenant-general, + Shenandoah valley campaign, 305, 306; + mentioned, 328; + killed at Chancellorsville, 369 + +=Jaquess, James F.=, D.D., colonel United States Volunteers, + visits to the South, 461, 462; + interview with Jefferson Davis, 462 + +=Jewett, William Cornell=, letter to Greeley, 458 + +=Johnson, Andrew=, seventeenth President of the United States, + in thirty-seventh Congress, 217; + telegram about East Tennessee, 259; + retains seat in Senate, 419; + appointed military governor of Tennessee, 420; + begins work of reconstruction, 428; + nominated for Vice-President, 448, 449; + popular and electoral votes for, 470; + disapproves Sherman's agreement with Johnston, 523; + proclamation of amnesty, 526; + plot to murder, 535; + rejoicing of radicals on his accession to the Presidency, 545; + takes oath of office, 545 + +=Johnson, Herschel V.=, candidate for Vice-President, 1860, 152 + +=Johnston, Albert Sidney=, Confederate general, + council with Hardee and Beauregard, 267; + killed at Pittsburg Landing, 273 + +=Johnston, Joseph E.=, quartermaster-general United States army, + Confederate general, member of Congress, joins Confederacy, 196, 208; + understanding with Beauregard, 215, 216; + joins Beauregard at Bull Run, 228; + opinion of battle of Bull Run, 228; + retrograde movement, 297; + defeats McClellan at Fair Oaks, 302; + succeeds Bragg, 395; + strength of, in spring of 1864, 405; + superseded by Hood, 407; + again placed in command, 416, 501; + interview with Davis, 520; + begins negotiations with Sherman, 520; + meetings with Sherman, 521, 522; + agreement between them, 522; + agreement disapproved at Washington, 523; + surrender of, 524 + +=Johnston, Sarah Bush=, marries Thomas Lincoln, 10; + improves the condition of his household, 10; + tells of Lincoln's studious habits, 13 + +=Jones, Thomas=, assists Booth and Herold, 542, 543 + +=Judd, Norman B.=, minister to Prussia, member of Congress, + nominates Lincoln for President, 1860, 149; + member of Lincoln's suite, 173 + + +=Kansas=, State of, slavery struggle in, 113-115; + Lecompton Bill defeated in Congress, 117 + +=Kearsarge=, the, Union cruiser, battle with the _Alabama_, 525 + +=Kelly, Benjamin F.=, brevet major-general United States Volunteers, + dash upon Philippi, 225 + +=Kentucky=, State of, action concerning secession, 201, 204; + legislature asks Anderson for help, 254; + public opinion in, regarding slavery, 473 + +=Kilpatrick, Judson=, brevet major-general United States army, + minister to Chili, with Sherman on march to the sea, 411 + +=Kirkpatrick=, defeated for Illinois legislature 1832, 34 + +=Knights of Golden Circle=, extensive organization of, 360, 361; + plans and failures of, 360-362; + projected revolution in Northwestern States, 466 + +=Know-Nothing Party=, principles of, 101, 102; + nominates Millard Fillmore for President, 1856, 102 + + +=Lamon, Ward H.=, accompanies Lincoln on night journey to Washington, 174 + +=Lane, Joseph=, brevet major-general United States army, governor, + United States senator candidate for Vice-President in 1860, 153; + attempt to arm negroes, 348 + +=Leavitt, Humphrey H.=, member of Congress, + judge United States Circuit Court, + denies motion for habeas corpus for Vallandigham, 358 + +=Lecompton Constitution=, adopted in Kansas, 115; + defeated in Congress, 117 + +=Lee, Robert E.=, colonel United States army, + Confederate general, captures John Brown, 134; + enters service of Confederacy, 196, 197, 208; + concentrates troops at Manassas Junction, 215; + sends troops into West Virginia, 224; + attacks McClellan near Richmond, 302; + campaign into Maryland, 314; + captures Harper's Ferry, 315; + battle of Antietam, 315; + retreats across the Potomac, 316; + battle of Chancellorsville, 369; + resolves on invasion of the North, 370; + crosses the Potomac, 371, 372; + battle of Gettysburg, 372-374; + retreats across the Potomac, 375, 377; + strength and position of his army, 397; + battle of the Wilderness, 398; + Spottsylvania Court House, 398, 399; + Cold Harbor, 399; + defense of Petersburg, 400-402; + sends Early up the Shenandoah valley, 403; + despatch about rations for his army, 481; + made general-in-chief, 500; + assumes command of all the Confederate armies, 502; + attempt to negotiate with Grant, 502, 503; + conference with Davis, 504; + attempt to break through Grant's lines, 504-506; + number of men under his command in final struggle, 507; + takes command in person, 507; + attacks Warren, 507; + battle of Five Forks, 507-509; + makes preparations to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond, 509; + begins retreat, 510; + surrender of Richmond, 510; + reaches Amelia Court House, 510; + starts toward Lynchburg, 511; + reply to generals advising him to surrender, 512; + correspondence with Grant, 512, 513; + surrender of, 513-515; + size of army surrendered by, 524 + +=Letcher, John=, member of Congress, governor of Virginia, + orders seizure of government property, 194 + +=Lincoln, Abraham=, sixteenth President of the United States, + born February 12, 1800, 3, 6; + goes to A B C schools, 6; + early schooling in Indiana, 10-13; + home studies and youthful habits, 13-19; + manages ferry-boat, 15; + flatboat trip to New Orleans, 15, 16; + employed in Gentryville store, 16; + no hunter, 17; + kills wild turkey, 17, 18; + emigrates to Illinois, March 1, 1830, 20; + leaves his father's cabin, 21; + engaged by Denton Offutt, 21; + builds flatboat and takes it to New Orleans, 22, 23; + incident at Rutledge's Mill, 22; + returns to New Salem, 23; + election clerk, 23, 24; + clerk in Offutt's store, 24; + wrestles with Jack Armstrong, 25; + candidate for legislature, 1832, 29; + address "To the Voters of Sangamon County," 29, 30; + volunteers for Black Hawk War, 32; + elected captain of volunteer company, 32; + mustered out and reenlists as private, 32, 33; + finally mustered out, 33; + returns to New Salem, 33; + defeated for legislature, 33; + enters into partnership with Berry, 35; + sells out to the Trent brothers, 36; + fails, but promises to pay his debts, 36; + surveying instruments sold for debt, 36; + "Honest old Abe," 37; + appointed postmaster of New Salem, 37; + made deputy surveyor, 39, 40; + candidate for legislature, 1834, 41, 42; + elected to legislature, 43; + begins study of law, 44; + admitted to practice, 44; + removes to Springfield and forms law partnership with J.T. Stuart, 44; + reelected to legislature, 44; + services in legislature, 44-48; + manages removal of State capital to Springfield, 45; + Lincoln-Stone protest, 47; + vote for, for Speaker of Illinois House, 48; + his methods in law practice, 49; + notes for law lecture, 49-51; + his growing influence, 52; + guest of William Butler, 53; + intimacy with Joshua F. Speed, 53; + engaged to Anne Rutledge, 54; + her death, 54; + his grief, 55; + courtship of Mary Owens, 55-60; + member of "Long Nine," 61, 62; + debate with Douglas and others, 1839, 62, 63; + meets and becomes engaged to Mary Todd, 63; + engagement broken, 64; + his deep melancholy, 64; + letter to Stuart, 64; + visit to Kentucky, 64; + letters to Speed, 64, 65; + "Lost Townships" letters, 66; + challenged by Shields, 66; + prescribes terms of the duel, 67; + duel prevented, 68; + letter to Speed, 68; + marriage to Mary Todd, November 4, 1842, 68, 69; + children of, 69; + partnership with Stuart dissolved, 69, 70; + law partnership with S.T. Logan, 70; + declines reelection to legislature, 70; + letter to Speed, 71; + letter to Martin Morris, 71-73; + letter to Speed, 73; + presidential elector, 1844, 73; + letters to B.F. James, 74; + elected to Congress, 1846, 75; + service and speeches in Congress, 76-90; + votes for Wilmot Proviso, 79; + presidential elector in 1840 and 1844, 80; + favors General Taylor for President, 80-83; + letters about Taylor's nomination, 80-82; + letters to Herndon, 81-83; + speeches for Taylor, 83; + bill to prohibit slavery in District of Columbia, 86; + letters recommending office-seekers, 87-89; + letter to W.H. Herndon, 90, 91; + letter to Speed, 91, 92; + letter to Duff Green, 92; + applies for commissionership of General Land Office, 92; + defends Butterfield against political attack, 92; + refuses governorship of Oregon, 93; + indignation at repeal of Missouri Compromise, 94, 95; + advocates reelection of Richard Yates to Congress, 96; + speech at Illinois State Fair, 96; + debate with Douglas at Peoria, 96-99; + agreement with Douglas, 99; + candidate for United States Senate before Illinois legislature, 1855, 99; + withdraws in favor of Trumbull, 100; + letter to Robertson, 100, 101; + speech at Bloomington convention, 1856, 103; + vote for, for Vice-President, 1856, 104; + presidential elector, 1856, 105; + speeches in campaign of 1856, 105; + speech at Republican banquet in Chicago, 106, 107; + speech on Dred Scott case, 110-112; + nominated for senator, 118, 119; + "House divided against itself" speech, 119, 120, 127, 128; + Lincoln-Douglas joint debate, 121-125; + defeated for United States Senate, 125; + analysis of causes which led to his defeat, 126, 127; + letters to H. Asbury and A.G. Henry, 127; + letter to A.L. Pierce and others, 130, 131; + speech in Chicago, 131, 132; + letter to M.W. Delahay, 132; + letter to Colfax, 132, 133; + letter to S. Galloway, 133; + Ohio speeches, 133, 134; + criticism of John Brown raid, 134, 135; + speeches in Kansas, 136, 137; + Cooper Institute speech, 137-140; + speeches in New England, 140; + letter to T.J. Pickett, 145; + candidate for presidential nomination, 1860, 145; + letters to N.B. Judd, 145, 146; + nominated for President, 1860, 149-151; + speech at Decatur convention, 153, 154; + daily routine during campaign, 158, 159; + letters during campaign, 159; + elected President, 160; + his cabinet program, 161-163; + letter to Seward offering cabinet appointment, 163; + offers Bates and Cameron cabinet appointments, 163; + summons Chase to Springfield, 163; + withdraws offer to Cameron, 163; + editorial in Springfield "Journal," 164; + offers cabinet appointments to Gilmer, Hunt, and Scott, 164; + letters to W.S. Speer and G.D. Prentiss, 164, 165; + correspondence with Alexander H. Stephens, 165, 166; + letter to Gilmer, 166; + letter to Washburne, 166, 167; + writes his inaugural, 167, 168; + journey to Washington, 168-174; + farewell address at Springfield, 169; + speeches on journey to Washington, 169-171; + consultation with Judd, 173; + night journey to Washington, 173, 174; + visits of ceremony, 179, 180; + first inauguration of, 180-182; + inaugural address, 180-182; + calls council to consider question of Sumter, 182, 183; + signs order for relief of Sumter, 184; + answer to Seward's memorandum of April 1, 1861, 187; + instructions to Seward, 1865, 187; + notice to Governor Pickens, 188; + issues call for 75,000 volunteers, 192; + assumes responsibility for war measures, 195; + opinion against dispersing Maryland legislature, 198, 199; + authorizes Scott to suspend writ of habeas corpus, 199; + action in Merryman case, 200; + institutes blockade, 205; + calls for three years' volunteers, 206; + appoints Charles Francis Adams minister to England, 211; + modifies Seward's despatch of May 21, 212; + his immense duties, 212, 213; + calls council of war, 215; + message to Congress, July 4, 1861, 218-220; + postpones decision about slaves, 222, 223; + receives news of defeat at Bull Run, 229; + letter to Hunter, 235; + letter to Fremont, 237, 238; + letter to Browning, 238-240; + sends Cameron to visit Fremont, 242; + letter to General Curtis about Fremont, 242, 243; + draft of despatch about Trent affair, 247, 248; + welcomes McClellan to Washington, 250; + orders retirement of General Scott, 253; + memorandum to McClellan, 253; + his grasp of military problems, 255, 256; + memorandum after battle of Bull Run, 256; + interest in East Tennessee, 256, 257; + personally urges on Congress the construction of railroad + in East Tennessee, 257, 258; + letter to Buell, 258, 259; + telegrams and letters to Buell and Halleck, 262-264, 268, 269; + places Halleck in command of Department of the Mississippi, 271; + calls councils of war, 288, 289; + General War Order No. 1, 290; + Special War Order No. 1, 291; + letter to McClellan about plan of campaign, 291; + interview with Stanton, 293, 294; + interview with McClellan, 295; + President's General War Orders No. 2 and No. 3, 295; + receives news of fight between _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_, 296; + relieves McClellan from command of all troops except + Army of the Potomac, 298; + orders McDowell to protect Washington, 299; + letter to McClellan, 299, 300; + letter to McClellan, 303, 304; + visit to General Scott, 306; + assigns General Pope to command of Army of Virginia, 306; + orders Burnside and Halleck to reinforce McClellan, 307; + letter to governors of free States, 307, 308; + accepts 300,000 new troops, 308; + letters to McClellan, 308; + visit to Harrison's Landing, 308; + appoints Halleck general-in-chief, 309; + his dispassionate calmness in considering McClellan's conduct, 311; + asks McClellan to use his influence with Pope's officers, 313; + places McClellan in command of defenses of Washington, 313; + orders reinforcements to McClellan, 316; + telegram to McClellan, 316; + visit to Antietam, 316, 317; + directions and letter to McClellan, 317-319; + removes him from command, 319; + letter to Bancroft, 321; + reference to slavery in message to Congress, December 3, 1861, 321, 322; + offers Delaware compensated abolishment, 322, 323; + special message of March 6, 1862, proposing joint + resolution favoring gradual abolishment, 323, 324; + letter to McDougall, 324; + interview with delegations from border slave States, 324, 325; + signs bill for compensated emancipation in District of Columbia, 326; + letter to Chase about Hunter's order of emancipation, 327; + proclamation revoking Hunter's order, 327, 328; + second interview with border State delegations in Congress, 329-331; + conversation with Carpenter about emancipation, 331, 332; + reads draft of first emancipation proclamation to cabinet, 331, 332; + tells Seward and Welles of his purpose to issue emancipation + proclamation, 332; + letter to Reverdy Johnson, 334; + letter to Cuthbert Bullitt, 334, 335; + letter to Horace Greeley, 335-337; + interview with Chicago clergymen, 337-339; + issues preliminary emancipation proclamation, 339-341; + annual message of December 1, 1862, 341, 342; + issues final emancipation proclamation, January 1, 1863, 342-346; + letter to A.G. Hodges, 346, 347; + letters about arming negroes, 350; + speech about Fort Pillow massacre, 351, 352; + interview with Frederick Douglass, 352; + letter to Governor Seymour, 356; + action in case of Vallandigham, 358, 359; + suspends privilege of writ of habeas corpus, 360; + attitude toward Knights of the Golden Circle, 361; + appoints Burnside to command Army of the Potomac, 363; + telegram to Burnside, and letter to Halleck about Burnside, 365; + letter to Burnside, 366; + relieves Burnside and appoints Hooker to succeed him, 366; + letter to Hooker, 366-368; + criticism on Hooker's plan of campaign, 368; + continued belief in Hooker, 370; + instructions to Hooker, 370, 371; + telegrams to Hooker, 371; + appoints Meade to command Army of the Potomac, 372; + urges Meade to active pursuit of Lee, 375; + letter to Meade, 375, 376; + Gettysburg address, 376, 377; + letter to Grant, 384, 385; + orders Rosecrans to advance, 385, 386; + note to Halleck, 388; + telegram to Rosecrans, 388; + orders reinforcements to Rosecrans, 388; + signs bill making Grant lieutenant-general, 393; + address on presenting his commission, 393, 394; + letter to Grant, 396; + under fire, 403; + letter to Sherman, 412, 413; + appoints military governors for Tennessee, Louisiana, + Arkansas, and North Carolina, 419; + his theory of "reconstruction," 419; + message to Congress, July 4, 1861, 419; + letter to Cuthbert Bullitt, 420, 421; + circular letter to military governors, 421, 422; + letter to Governor Shepley, 422; + letter to General Banks, 423; + references to reconstruction in message to Congress, + December 8, 1863, 424; + amnesty proclamation, December 8, 1863, 424; + letter to General Banks, 424, 425; + letters to General Steele, 427, 428; + letters to Johnson, 428, 429; + letter to Drake and others, 430-432; + revokes Fremont's proclamation freeing slaves, 432; + letter to General Schofield, 433; + directs Stanton to issue order regulating raising + of colored troops, 434, 435; + letter to H.W. Hoffman, 435, 436; + Democrats and Fremont Republicans criticize + his action on slavery, 437, 438; + relations with his cabinet, 438, 439; + attitude toward Chase, 439-441, 444; + letter to Chase, 441; + letter to F.A. Conkling and others, 443; + sentiment in favor of his reelection, 443, 444; + letter to Washburne about second term, 444; + letters to General Schurz, 444, 445; + instructions to office-holders, 445; + speeches during campaign, 445; + renominated for President, 447, 448; + refuses to intimate his preference for Vice-President, 448, 449; + indorsement on Nicolay's letter, 448, 449; + reply to committee of notification, 450; + letter accepting nomination, 450, 451; + his attitude toward the French in Mexico, 451, 452; + opposition to, in Congress, 454; + on Davis's reconstruction bill, 454-456; + proclamation of July 8, 1864, 456; + accepts Chase's resignation, 457; + nominates David Tod to succeed him, 457; + substitutes name of W.P. Fessenden, 457, 458; + correspondence with Greeley, 458-460; + criticized because of Niagara conference, 460, 461; + draft of letter to C.D. Robinson, 461; + indorsement on Jaquess's application to go South, 462; + answer to Raymond's proposition, 463; + interview with John T. Mills, 464, 465; + memorandum, August 23, 1864, 466; + speech on morning after election, 469, 470; + popular and electoral votes for, 470; + summing up of results of the election, 470; + suggests key-note of Morgan's opening speech before Baltimore + convention, 471; + message to Congress, December 6, 1864, 471, 472, 476-478; + answer to serenade, 474, 475; + opinion on ratification of Thirteenth Amendment, 475; + two constitutional amendments offered to the + people during his administration, 476; + gives Blair permission to go South, 478; + letter to Blair in reply to Jefferson Davis, 481; + sends Major Eckert to meet peace commissioners, 482; + instructions to Seward, 483; + instructions to Grant, 483; + goes to Fortress Monroe, 484; + conference with peace commissioners, 484, 485; + pressure upon him to dismiss Montgomery Blair, 487, 489; + personal regard for the Blairs, 488; + letter to Stanton, 488; + lecture to cabinet, 489; + requests resignation of Blair, 489; + nominates Chase for chief justice, 490, 491; + opinion of Chase, 490, 491; + offers attorney-generalship to Holt and Speed, 491; + offers cabinet appointment to Governor Morgan, 492; + appoints Hugh McCulloch Secretary of the Treasury, 492; + indorsements on Usher's resignation, 492; + his plans for the future, 492, 493; + submits to cabinet draft of joint resolution offering + the South $400,000,000, 493; + his second inauguration, 493-496; + the second inaugural, 494-496; + letter to Weed, 497; + his literary rank, 497; + last public address, 498; + despatch to Grant, March 3, 1865, 503, 504; + at City Point, 506; + telegraphs Grant, "Let the thing be pressed," 511; + visit to Richmond, 517, 518; + interviews with John A. Campbell, 519; + gives permission for meeting of Virginia legislature, 519; + regret of army for, 529; + return to Washington, 530; + last cabinet meeting, 531, 532; + 14th of April, 532, 533, 536-540; + danger from assassination, 533, 534; + interest in the theater, 536; + attends Ford's Theater, 536, 537; + death of, 538-540; + his death prevents organized rejoicing at downfall of rebellion, 544; + mourning for, 544-548; + feeling of radicals at death of, 545; + funeral ceremonies of, in Washington, 545, 546; + funeral journey to Springfield, Illinois, 546, 547; + burial at Springfield, 547, 548; + his character and career, 549-555; + his place in history, 555 + +=Lincoln, Abraham=, grandfather of the President, + emigrates from Virginia to Kentucky, 3, 4; + killed by Indians, 4 + +=Lincoln, Edward Baker=, son of President Lincoln, birth of, 69; + death of, 69 + +=Lincoln, Isaac=, settles on Holston River, 5 + +=Lincoln, Josiah=, uncle of the President, + goes to fort for assistance against Indians, 4 + +=Lincoln, Mary=, aunt of the President, 4 + +=Lincoln, Mary Todd=, wife of the President, engagement to Lincoln, 63, 64; + writes "Lost Townships" letters, 66; + marriage to Lincoln, November 4, 1842, 68, 69; + children of, 69; + death of, 69; + accompanies Mr. Lincoln to Washington, 168; + drive with her husband, April 14, 1865, 532; + invites friends to attend Ford's Theater, 536; + attends theater with her husband, 538; + at Lincoln's death-bed, 539 + +=Lincoln, Mordecai=, uncle of the President + defends homestead against Indians, 4; + inherits his father's lands, 4 + +=Lincoln, Nancy=, aunt of the President, 4 + +=Lincoln, Nancy Hanks=, mother of the President, + marries Thomas Lincoln, June 12, 1806, 5; +teaches her husband to sign his name, 5; + birth of daughter, 5; + birth of Abraham, son of, 6; + death of, 9 + +=Lincoln, Robert Todd=, son of the President, + Secretary of War, minister to England, birth of, 69; + public services, 69; + accompanies Mr. Lincoln to Washington, 168; + on Grant's staff, 517; + with his father April 14, 1865, 532; + at Lincoln's death-bed, 540 + +=Lincoln, Samuel=, ancestor of the President, emigrates to America, 3 + +=Lincoln, Sarah=, sister of the President, born, 5; + goes to school, 6 + +=Lincoln, Sarah Bush Johnston=. See _Johnston, Sarah Bush_ + +=Lincoln, Thomas=, father of the President, 3; + narrowly escapes capture by Indians, 4; + learns carpenter's trade, 5; + marries Nancy Hanks, June 12, 1806, 5; + daughter of, born, 5; + removes to Rock Spring Farm, 5, 6; + Abraham, son of, born, 6; + buys farm on Knob Creek, 6; + emigrates to Indiana, 7, 8; + death of his wife, 9; + marries Sally Bush Johnston, 10; + emigrates to Illinois, 20 + +=Lincoln, Thomas=, son of President Lincoln, birth of, 69; + death of, 69; + accompanies Mr. Lincoln to Washington, 168 + +=Lincoln, William Wallace=, son of President Lincoln, birth of, 69; + death of, 69, 293; + accompanies Mr. Lincoln to Washington, 168 + +=Lloyd, John M.=, keeps tavern at Surrattsville, Maryland, 536 + +=Logan, Stephen T.=, at Springfield, Illinois, 52; + law partnership with Lincoln, 70; + defeated for Congress, 91 + +="Long Nine,"= a power in Illinois legislature, 61 + +=Longstreet, James=, Confederate lieutenant-general, + besieges Burnside at Knoxville, 391; + retreats toward Virginia, 391; + reports conversation with Ord, 503; + in final defense of Richmond, 509 + +=Louisiana=, State of, military governor appointed for, 419; + election for members of Congress, 422; + contest over slavery clause in new constitution, 422, 423; + election of State officers in, 425, 426; + adopts new constitution abolishing slavery, 426; + slavery in, throttled by public opinion, 473; + ratifies Thirteenth Amendment, 475 + +=Lovejoy, Elijah P.=, murder of, 46 + +=Lovell, Mansfield=, Confederate major-general, + evacuates New Orleans, 285; + sends men and guns to Vicksburg, 286 + +=Lyon, Nathaniel=, brigadier-general United States Volunteers, + service in Missouri, 202-204; + killed at Wilson's Creek, 234, 235 + +=Lyons, Richard Bickerton Pemell=, baron, afterward earl, + British minister at Washington, + instructed to demand apology for _Trent_ affair, 246 + + +=McClellan, George B.=, major-general, general-in-chief, + United States army, orders concerning slaves, 221; + commissioned by Governor Dennison, 224; + his previous career, 224; + quick promotion of, 224; + successes in western Virginia, 224, 225; + ordered to Washington, 229; + his ambition, 249-251; + organizes Army of the Potomac, 250, 251; + his hallucinations, 251, 252; + quarrel with General Scott, 251, 252; + expresses contempt for the President, 252; + answer to President's inquiry, 253; + illness of, 253; + instructions to Buell, 258-260; + unwilling to promote Halleck, 270; + attends council of war, 289; + explains plan of campaign to Stanton, 290; + letter to Stanton, 292; + revokes Hooker's authority to cross lower Potomac, 294; + council of his officers votes in favor of water route, 295; + at gathering of officials to discuss news of fight + between _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_, 296; + occupies abandoned rebel position, 297; + calls council of corps commanders, 298; + relieved from command of all troops save Army of the Potomac, 298; + arrives at Fortress Monroe, 299; + siege of Yorktown, 301; + his incapacity and hallucination, 302-304; + retreat to James River, 302; + letter to Stanton, 303; + protests against withdrawal of Army of the Potomac, 309; + reaches Alexandria, 311; + suggests leaving Pope to his fate, 311; + telegram to Pope's officers, 313; + in command of defenses of Washington, 313; + follows Lee into Maryland, 314; + learns Lee's plans, 315; + battle of Antietam, 315; + forces under his command, 317, 318; + removed from command, 319; + mentioned, 328, 329; + adopted by Democrats for presidential candidate, 355, 438; + nominated for President, 467; + letter of acceptance, 468; + electoral votes for, 470; + resigns from the army, 470 + +=McClernand, John A.=, member of Congress, + major-general United States Volunteers at Springfield, Illinois, 52 + +=McCulloch, Ben=, Confederate brigadier-general, defeat at Pea Ridge, 271 + +=McCulloch, Hugh=, Secretary of the Treasury, + enters Lincoln's cabinet, 492 + +=McDougall, James A.=, member of Congress, + United States senator, at Springfield, Illinois, 52 + +=McDowell, Irvin=, brevet major-general United States army, + fears junction of Johnston and Beauregard, 216; + advances against Beauregard, 226; + battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, 226-229; + advises movement on Manassas, 289; + ordered by Lincoln to protect Washington, 299, 305; + ordered to form junction with Shields and Fremont, 306; + in Army of Virginia, 310 + +=McLean, John=, justice United States Supreme Court, + vote for, in Chicago convention, 149 + +=McNamar, John=, engaged to Anne Rutledge, 54 + +=Magoffin, Beriah=, governor of Kentucky, + efforts in behalf of secession, 201 + +=Magruder, John B.=, brevet lieutenant-colonel United States army, + Confederate major-general, joins the Confederacy, 196; + opposes McClellan with inferior numbers, 301 + +=Maine=, State of, admitted as State, 1820, 19 + +=Mallory, S.R.=, United States senator, + Confederate Secretary of the Navy, + writes proposition of armistice dictated + by Davis and signed by Johnston, 521 + +=Malvern Hill=, Virginia, battle of, July 1, 1862, 302 + +=Marcy, R.B.=, brevet major-general United States army, + McClellan's chief of staff, 294 + +=Marshall, Charles=, Confederate colonel, + present at Lee's surrender, 513 + +=Maryland=, State of, secession feeling in, 193; + arrest and dispersion of its legislature, 199; + refuses offer of compensated abolishment, 434; + emancipation party in, 434; + abolishes slavery, 435, 436; + slavery in, throttled by public opinion, 473; + ratifies Thirteenth Amendment, 474 + +=Mason, James M.=, United States senator, + Confederate commissioner to Europe, interview with John Brown, 134; + goes to Baltimore, 197; + capture of, 246-249 + +=Matthews, J.=, burns Booth's letter, 537 + +=Maximilian (Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph)=, + Archduke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico, + established by Napoleon III in Mexico, 451 + +=Maynard, Horace=, member of Congress, + minister to Turkey, telegram about East Tennessee, 259; + elected to Congress, 419 + +=Meade, George G.=, major-general United States army, + succeeds Hooker in command of Army of the Potomac, 372; + battle of Gettysburg, 372-374; + pursuit of Lee, 375, 377; + offers to give up command of Army of the Potomac, 394; + continued in command, 395; + reports surrender of Richmond, 510; + ordered to pursue Lee, 510; + pursuit of Lee, 511; + ordered to disregard Sherman's truce, 523 + +=Meigs, Montgomery C.=, brevet major-general + and quartermaster-general United States army, + at gathering of officials to discuss news of + battle between _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_, 296 + +=Memphis=, Tennessee, river battle at, 286 + +=Merrimac=, the, Confederate ironclad, + battle with _Monitor_, 278-282 + +=Merryman, John=, arrest of, 199 + +=Minnesota=, the, Union steam frigate, + in fight between _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_, 280 + +=Missouri=, State of, admitted as State, 1821, 19; + action concerning secession, 201-204; + provisional State government established, 418; + struggle over slavery, 430-434; + adopts ordinance of emancipation, 434; + resolution in Assembly favoring Lincoln's renomination, 444; + votes for Grant in Baltimore convention, 447; + slavery in, throttled by public opinion, 473 + +=Missouri Compromise=, repeal of, 94, 95 + +=Mobile Bay=, Alabama, battle of, August 5, 1864, 468, 525 + +=Monitor=, the, Union ironclad, battle with _Merrimac_, 279-282 + +=Montgomery=, Alabama, capital of Confederacy removed from, + to Richmond, 207 + +=Moore, Thomas O.=, governor of Louisiana, + arms free colored men, 348, 349 + +=Morgan, Edwin D.=, governor of New York, + United States senator, opens Republican national convention, 1864, 446; + declines cabinet appointment, 492 + +=Morris, Achilles=, elected to Illinois legislature in 1832, 34 + +=Morrison, James L.D.=, desires commissionership + of General Land Office, 92 + +=Mudd, Samuel=, assists Booth and Herold, 542; + imprisoned, 544 + +=Mulligan, James A.=, brevet brigadier-general + United States Volunteers, captured by Price, 241 + +=Murfreesboro=, Tennessee, battle of, + December 31, 1862, to January 3, 1863, 380 + + +=Napoleon III=, colonial ambitions of, 211; + establishes Maximilian in Mexico, 451 + +=Nashville=, Tennessee, battle of, December 15, 16, 1864, 410 + +=Neale, T.M.=, commands troops in Black Hawk War, 31, 32; + defeated for Illinois legislature, 1832, 34 + +=Negro soldiers=, experiments with, early in the war, 348; + governor of Louisiana arms free blacks, 348, 349; + reference to, in emancipation proclamation, 349, 350; + Lincoln's interest in, 350; + attitude of Confederates toward, 350, 351; + massacre of, at Fort Pillow, 351; + President's conversation with Frederick Douglass + about retaliation, 352; + Stanton's order regulating raising of, 435; + Republican national platform claims protection of laws of war for, 446; + take part in second inauguration of Lincoln, 493, 494; + Jefferson Davis's recommendation concerning slaves in rebel army, 501; + assist in restoring order in Richmond, 517; + in Lincoln's funeral procession, 546. + See _Slavery_ and _Emancipation_ + +=Nelson, William=, lieutenant-commander United States navy, + major-general United States Volunteers, occupies Nashville, 270 + +=New Orleans=, Louisiana, capture of, 283-285; + Confederate negro regiment in, 348, 349; + Union sentiment in, 420 + +=New Salem=, Illinois, town of, 22-26 + +=New York City=, draft riots in, 356, 357; + funeral honors to Lincoln in, 546, 547 + +=Nicolay, John G.=, Lincoln's private secretary, 158; + accompanies Mr. Lincoln to Washington, 168; + in attendance at Baltimore convention, 448, 449; + letter to Hay, 448 + +=North Carolina=, State of, joins Confederacy, 200, 204; + military governor appointed for, 419 + +=Offutt, Denton=, engages Lincoln to take flatboat to New Orleans, 21; + disappears from New Salem, 35 + +=O'Laughlin, Michael=, in conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, 534; + imprisoned, 544 + +=Ord, Edward O.C.=, brevet major-general United States army, + conversation with Longstreet, 503 + +=Owens, Mary S.=, Lincoln's attentions to, correspondence with + and proposal of marriage to, 55-60 + + +=Palfrey, F.W.=, Confederate brigadier-general, + statement about strength of Army of the Potomac, 315 + +=Parke, John G.=, brevet major-general United States army, + in recapture of Fort Stedman, 505, 506; + in assault at Petersburg 509 + +=Patterson, Robert=, major-general Pennsylvania militia, + turns troops toward Harper's Ferry, 209; + part in campaign against Manassas, 216; + orders concerning slaves, 220, 221; + failure at Harper's Ferry, 228 + +=Paulding, Hiram=, rear-admiral United States navy, + burns Norfolk navy-yard, 278 + +=Pea Ridge=, Arkansas, battle of, 271 + +=Pemberton, John C.=, Confederate lieutenant-general, + surrenders Vicksburg, 383 + +=Pendleton, George H.=, member of Congress minister to Prussia, + nominated for Vice-President, 467 + +=Pendleton, William N.=, Confederate brigadier-general, + advises Lee to surrender 512 + +=Perryville=, Kentucky, battle of, October 8, 1862, 379 + +=Peter, Z.=, defeated for Illinois legislature, 1832, 34 + +=Petersburg=, Virginia, operations against, 400-402, 507-510; + evacuation of, April 2, 1865, 510 + +=Phelps, John S.=, member of Congress, appointed military + governor of Arkansas, 420 + +=Phelps, J.W.=, brigadier-general United States Volunteers, + mentioned in letter of Lincoln, 334; + declared an outlaw by Confederate War Department, 350 + +=Philippi=, West Virginia, battle of, June 3, 1861, 214, 225 + +=Phillips, Wendell=, letter to Cleveland convention, 442 + +=Pickens, Francis W.=, member of Congress, minister to Russia, + governor of South Carolina, fires on _Star of the West_, 178 + +=Pickett, George E.=, Confederate major-general, in battle of Five + Forks, 507, 508 + +=Pierce, Franklin=, fourteenth President of the United States, + recognizes bogus laws in Kansas, 113; + appoints governors for Kansas, 113, 114 + +=Pillow, Gideon J.=, Confederate major-general, + stationed at Columbus, 254; + escapes from Fort Donelson, 268 + +=Pinkerton, Allen=, detective work of, 173 + +=Pittsburg Landing=, Tennessee, battle of, + April 6, 7, 1862, 272-274 + +=Polk, James K.=, eleventh President of the United States, + sends treaty of peace with Mexico to Senate, 79 + +=Pomeroy, Samuel C.=, United States senator, secret circular of, 440 + +=Pope, John=, brevet major-general United States army, + sent to New Madrid, 270; + capture of Island No. 10, 274; + proceeds to Fort Pillow, 274; + joins Halleck, 274; + assigned to command Army of Virginia, 306; + assumes command of Army of Virginia 310; + second battle of Bull Run, 310, 311; + despatch announcing his defeat, 312; + relieved from command of Army of the Potomac, 314 + +=Porter, David D.=, admiral United States navy, + commands mortar flotilla in expedition with Farragut, 282-287; + in second expedition to Vicksburg, 287; + in operations about Vicksburg, 382, 383; + visits Richmond with Lincoln, 517, 518 + +=Porterfield, G.A.=, Confederate colonel, routed at Philippi, 225 + +=Port Hudson=, Louisiana, siege and surrender of, 383, 384 + +=Port Royal=, South Carolina, expedition against, 245, 246 + +=Powell, Lewis=, _alias_ Lewis Payne, in conspiracy + to assassinate Lincoln, 534; + assigned to murder Seward, 535; + attack upon Seward, 540, 541; + escape and capture of, 541, 542; + execution of, 544 + +=Price, Sterling=, Confederate major-general retreat + to Springfield, Missouri, 234; + captures Mulligan, 241; + retreats toward Arkansas, 269; + defeat at Pea Ridge, 271 + +=Pritchard, Benjamin D.=, brevet brigadier-general + United States Volunteers, captures Jefferson Davis, 526 + + +=Quinton, R.=, defeated for Illinois legislature 1832, 34 + + +=Rathbone, Henry R.=, brevet colonel United States army, + attends Ford's Theater with Mrs. Lincoln and Miss Harris, 536; + wounded by Booth, 538, 539 + +=Raymond, Henry J.=, member of Congress letter to Lincoln, 462, 463; + visits Washington, 463 + +=Reconstruction=, in West Virginia and Missouri, 418, 419; + Lincoln's theory of, 419; + in Louisiana, 420-426; + in Arkansas, 426, 427; + in Tennessee, 428, 429; + opposition in Congress to Lincoln's action concerning, 454; + Henry Winter Davis's bill prescribing method of, 454; + Lincoln's proclamation of, July 8, 1864, 456; + Wade-Davis manifesto, 456, 457 + +=Republican Party=, formation of, 102, 103; + nominates Fremont and Dayton, 1856, 103, 104; + national convention of, 1860, 144-151; + candidates in 1860, 152; + campaign of, 1860, 153-160; + Fremont faction denounces Lincoln's attitude on slavery, 438; + the Chase faction, 439-441; + national convention of, 1864, 446-449; + gloomy prospects of, 462-466: success in elections of, 1864, 469, 470 + +=Retaliation,= rebel threats of, 350, 351; + cabinet action on Fort Pillow massacre, 352; + conversation between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass about, 352 + +=Reynolds,= John, governor of Illinois, issues call + for volunteers for Black Hawk War, 31, 32 + +=Richmond,= Virginia, becomes capital of Confederate States, 207; + panic in, at rumors of evacuation, 481; + high prices in, 481; + excitement created by Blair's visits, 481, 482; + alarm at Grant's advance, 500; + surrender of, April 3, 1865, 510; + burning of, 515, 516 + +=Rich Mountain,= Virginia, battle of, July 11, 1861, 225 + +=Riney, Zachariah,= teacher of President Lincoln, 6 + +=Roanoke,= the, Union steam frigate, in fight + between _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_, 280 + +=Robinson, E.,= defeated for Illinois legislature, 1832, 34 + +=Rodgers, John,= rear-admiral United States navy, + takes part in Port Royal expedition, 245, 246 + +=Romine, Gideon,= merchant at Gentryville, 9 + +=Rosecrans, William S.,= brevet major-general United States army, + success at Rich Mountain, 225; + succeeds Buell in Kentucky, 380; + battle of Murfreesboro, 380; + Iuka and Corinth, 380; + drives Bragg to Chattanooga, 385; + Chattanooga and Chickamauga, 386-388; + relieved from command, 388, 389; + dilatory movements delay reconstruction in Tennessee, 428 + +=Russell, Lord John,= British minister for foreign affairs, + interview with Charles Francis Adams, 211 + +=Rutledge, Anne,= engagement to Lincoln, 54; + death of, 54 + + +=Savannah,= Georgia, occupied by Sherman, December 21, 1864, 412 + +=Schofield, J.M.,= brevet major-general, general-in-chief, + United States army, ordered to join Sherman, 414; + joins Sherman 417 + +=Schurz, Carl,= major-general United States Volunteers, + United States senator, + Secretary of the Interior, asks permission to take part + in presidential campaign, 444 + +=Scott Dred,= case of, 108, 109 + +=Scott, Robert E.,= tendered cabinet appointment 164 + +=Scott, Winfield,= lieutenant-general United States army, + warning to Lincoln about plot in Baltimore, 172; + charged with safety of Washington, 172; + attempt to reinforce Anderson, 178; + advises evacuation of Sumter, 183; + orders Washington prepared for a siege, 194; + report to President Lincoln, 194, 195; + offers Lee command of seventy-five regiments, 196; + orders Lyon to St. Louis, 202; + loyalty of, 208; + occupies Cairo, Illinois, 210; + military problem before, 210; + plan of campaign 215, 216, 231, 232; + refuses to credit news of defeat at Bull Run, 228, 229; + welcomes McClellan to Washington, 250; + quarrel with McClellan, 251, 252; + retirement of, 251-253; + rank as lieutenant-general, 393; + attends Lincoln's funeral in New York, 547 + +=Seaton, William W.,= mayor of Washington approves + Lincoln's bill abolishing slavery in District of Columbia, 87 + +=Secession,= South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi Alabama, + Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas join the movement, 175, 176; + action of central cabal, 177; + sentiment in Maryland, 193, 194; + Virginia passes ordinance of, 194; + Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas join the movement, 200; + sentiment in Delaware, 201; + in Kentucky, 201; + in Missouri, 201-204; + numerical strength of, 204. See _Confederate States of America_ + +=Seddon, James A.,= member of Congress, Confederate + Secretary of War, resignation of, 501 + +=Sedgwick, John,= major-general United States Volunteers, + crosses Rappahannock and takes Fredericksburg, 368, 369 + +=Seven Days' Battles,= 302, 306, 307 + +=Seward, Augustus H.,= brevet colonel United States army, + stabbed by Powell, _alias_ Payne, 541 + +=Seward, Frederick W.,= Assistant Secretary of State, + visits Lincoln in Philadelphia, 172; + wounded by Powell, _alias_, Payne, 540, 541 + +=Seward, William H.,= United States senator, Secretary of State, + desires reelection of Douglas to United States Senate, 125; + candidate for presidential nomination, 1860, 144; + votes for, in Chicago convention, 149-151; + accepts cabinet appointment, 163; + transmits offers of cabinet appointments, 164; + suggestions to Lincoln about journey to Washington, 168; + warning to Lincoln about plot in Baltimore, 172, 173; + meets Lincoln at railway station in Washington, 174; + appointed Secretary of State, 182; + reply to Confederate commissioners, 183; + reply to Judge Campbell, 183; + memorandum of April 1, 1861, 184-187; + opinion of Lincoln, 187; + despatch of May 21, 211; + friendship for Lord Lyons, 247; + despatch in _Trent_ affair, 249; + at gathering of officials to discuss news of _Monitor_ + and _Merrimac_, 296; + goes to New York with President's letter, 307; + Lincoln tells him of coming emancipation proclamation, 332; + suggests postponement of emancipation proclamation, 332; + attitude toward the French in Mexico, 451, 452; + agrees with President against making proffers of peace to Davis, 463; + proclaims ratification of Thirteenth Amendment, 475; + goes to Hampton Roads, 483; + relations with Montgomery Blair, 488; + plot to murder, 535; + attacked by Powell, _alias_ Payne, 540, 541 + +=Seymour, Horatio=, governor of New York, opposition to the draft, 355-357; + correspondence with Lincoln, 356; + notifies McClellan of his nomination, 468 + +=Shepley, G.F.=, brigadier-general United States Volunteers, + military governor of Louisiana, orders election + for members of Congress, 422; + orders registration of loyal voters, 422, 423 + +=Sheridan, Philip H.=, lieutenant-general, general-in-chief, + United States army, operations in Shenandoah valley, 403, 404; + succeeds McClellan, 470; + in Shenandoah valley, 502; + reaches City Point, 506; + advance to Five Forks, 507; + reports situation to Grant, 507; + battle of Five Forks, 508; + ordered to get on Lee's line of retreat, 509, 510; + despatch to Grant, 511; + captures Appomattox Station, 512; + despatch to Grant, 512 + +=Sherman, John=, member of Congress, Secretary of the Treasury, + United States senator, + candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives, 141 + +=Sherman, William Tecumseh=, lieutenant-general, + general-in-chief United States army, sent to Nashville, 254; + succeeds Anderson, 254; + interview with Cameron, 255; + asks to be relieved, 255; + in operations about Vicksburg, 381, 382; + reaches Chattanooga, 389; + in battle of Chattanooga, 390, 391; + conference with Grant, 395; + master in the West, 395; + Meridian campaign, 405, 406; + concentrates troops at Chattanooga, 406; + march on Atlanta, 408, 468; + truce with Hood, 408; + divides his army, 409; + march to the sea, 410-412; + telegram to President Lincoln, 412; + proposes to march through the Carolinas, 414; + from Savannah to Goldsboro, 414-417; + visit to Grant, 417; + march northward, 502; + visit to Lincoln and Grant, 506; + admiration for Grant and respect for Lee, 520; + enters Raleigh, 521; + receives communication from Johnston, 521; + meetings with Johnston, 521, 522; + agreement between them, 522; + agreement disapproved at Washington, 523; + report to Grant, 523, 524; + receives Johnston's surrender, 524; + effect of his march through the South, 524; + sent against E. Kirby Smith, 526; + soldiers of, in grand review, 528 + +=Shields, James=, United States senator, brigadier-general + United States Volunteers, at Springfield, Illinois, 52; + auditor of Illinois, 65; + challenges Lincoln to a duel, 66-68; + ordered to form junction with McDowell and Fremont, 306 + +=Short, James=, buys Lincoln's surveying instruments + and restores them to him, 36 + +=Simpson, M.=, Bishop of the Methodist Church, + oration at Lincoln's funeral, 548 + +=Slavery=, agitation in Illinois, 45, 46; + Lincoln-Stone protest, 47; + Lincoln's bill to abolish, in District of Columbia, 85-87; + repeal of Missouri Compromise, 94, 95; + Peoria debate of Lincoln and Douglas, 96-98; + Lincoln's Chicago banquet speech, 106, 107; + Dred Scott case, 108-112; + pro-slavery reaction, 113; + slavery agitation in Kansas, 113-117; + Lincoln's "House divided against itself" speech, 119, 120, 127, 128; + Lincoln-Douglas joint debate, 121-125; + John Brown raid, 134, 135; + Lincoln's speeches in Kansas and the East, 136-140; + pro-slavery demands of Democratic leaders, 141, 142; + attitude of political parties upon, in 1860, 152, 153; + "corner-stone" theory of the Confederate States, 179; + dream of the conspirators, 197, 204; + dread of slave insurrections in the South, 220, 221; + action of Union commanders about, 220-223; + Fremont's proclamation, 236-238; + Lincoln to Browning about Fremont's proclamation, 238-240; + President's interview with border State delegations, 257, 258, 324, 325; + references to, in Cameron's report, 320; + in Lincoln's message of December 3, 1861, 321, 322; + Delaware offered compensated abolishment, 322, 323; + Lincoln's special message to Congress, March 6, 1862, 323, 324; + President's letter to McDougall, 324; + Congress passes bill for compensated emancipation + in District of Columbia, 325, 326; + bill in Congress to aid emancipation in Delaware, Maryland, + Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, 326; + Lincoln revokes Hunter's order, 327, 328; + measures relating to, in Congress, 1862, 329; + President's second interview with border State delegations, 329-331; + Lincoln reads first draft of emancipation proclamation to + cabinet, 331, 332; + President's interview with Chicago clergymen, 337-339; + President issues preliminary emancipation proclamation, 339-341; + annual message of December 1, 1862, on, 341, 342; + President issues final emancipation proclamation, 342-346; + President's views on, 346, 347; + arming of negro soldiers, 348-350; + instructions from War Department about slaves, 349; + contest over slavery clause in new Louisiana constitution, 423; + slavery abolished in Louisiana, 426; + abolished in Arkansas, 427; + abolished in Tennessee, 429; + abolished in Missouri, 434; + abolished in Maryland, 435, 436; + attitude of Democratic party on, 437, 438; + Republican national platform favors constitutional + amendment abolishing, 446; + fugitive-slave law repealed, 457; + constitutional amendment prohibiting, in United States, 471-476; + public opinion on, in certain States, 473; + two constitutional amendments offered during Lincoln's term, 475, 476; + Lincoln's draft of joint resolution offering South $400,000,000, 493; + decline in value of slave property in the South, 501; + effect on Lincoln's character, 551. + See _Emancipation_ and _Negro soldiers_ + +=Slidell, John=, minister to Mexico, United States senator, + Confederate commissioner to Europe, capture of, 246-249; + last instructions from Confederate Secretary of State to, 501, 502 + +=Smith, Caleb B.=, member of Congress, Secretary of the Interior, + judge United States District Court, + appointed Secretary of the Interior, 182; + signs cabinet protest, 311, 312 + +=Smith, E. Kirby=, Confederate general, + commands forces west of the Mississippi, 525; + surrender of, 526, 527 + +=Smith, Melancton=, rear-admiral United States navy, + at gathering of officials to discuss fight between _Monitor_ + and _Merrimac_, 296 + +=Smith, William F.=, brevet major-general United States army, + service at Chattanooga 389 + +=Spain=, joint expedition to Mexico, 451 + +=Spangler, Edward=, imprisoned for complicity in Booth's plot, 544 + +=Speed, James=, Attorney-General, appointed Attorney-General, 491 + +=Speed, Joshua F.=, intimacy with Lincoln, 53; + Lincoln's letters to, 64, 65, 68; + marriage, 65 + +=Spottsylvania=, Virginia, battle of, May 8-19, 1864, 398, 399 + +=Springfield=, Illinois, its ambition, 26; + first newspaper, 26; + becomes capital of Illinois, 45, 52; + in 1837-39, 53; + revival of business in, 61; + society in, 62; + Lincoln's speech of farewell at, 169; + funeral honors to Lincoln in, 547, 548 + +=Stanley, Edward=, member of Congress, appointed military + governor of North Carolina, 420 + +=Stanton, Edwin M.=, Attorney-General, Secretary of War, + succeeds Cameron as Secretary of War, 289; + his efficiency, 289, 290; + interview with the President, 293, 294; + at gathering of officials to discuss news of _Monitor_ + and _Merrimac_, 296; + conveys President's reply to McClellan's plan of campaign, 298; + indignation at McClellan, 311; + draws up and signs memorandum of protest against continuing + McClellan in command, 311; + instruction about slaves, 349; + faith in Hooker, 370; + anxiety for Lincoln during Early's raid, 403; + order regulating raising of colored troops, 435; + orders suppression of two New York newspapers and arrest + of their editors, 453, 454; + agrees with President against making proffers of peace to Davis, 463; + sends Halleck's letter to President, 488; + shows Lincoln Grant's despatch transmitting Lee's overtures, 503; + disapproves Sherman's agreement with Johnston, 523; + at Lincoln's death-bed, 540 + +=Star of the West=, merchant vessel, unsuccessful attempt + to reinforce Fort Sumter, 178 + +=Steele, Frederick=, brevet major-general United States army, + marches from Helena to Little Rock, Arkansas, 427; + assists reconstruction in Arkansas, 427 + +=Stephens, Alexander H.=; member of Congress, + Confederate Vice-President, correspondence with Lincoln, 165, 166; + elected Vice-President Confederate States of America, 179; + "corner-stone" theory, 179; + signs military league, 197; + appointed peace commissioner, 482; + at Hampton Roads conference, 482-485 + +=Stevens, Thaddeus=, member of Congress, criticism of joint + resolution offering compensated emancipation, 325 + +=St. Lawrence=, the, in fight between _Monitor_ + and _Merrimac_, 280 + +=Stone, Charles P.=, brigadier-general United States Volunteers, + report about danger to Lincoln in Baltimore, 172, 173 + +=Stone, Dan=, member of Illinois legislature, + protest with Lincoln against resolutions on slavery, 47 + +=Stone, Dr. Robert K.=, at Lincoln's death-bed, 539, 540 + +=Stringham, Silas H.=, rear-admiral United States navy, + commands Hatteras expedition, 245 + +=Stuart, John T.=, major Illinois Volunteers, member of Congress, + reenlists as private in Black Hawk War, 33; + elected to Illinois legislature in 1832, 34; + reelected in 1834, 43; + encourages Lincoln to study law, 44; + at Springfield, Illinois, 52; + elected to Congress, 69, 70 + +=Surratt, John H.=, in conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, 534; + deposits arms in tavern at Surrattsville, 536; + escape to Canada, subsequent capture and trial, 544 + +=Surratt, Mrs. Mary E.=, in conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, 534; + visits tavern at Surrattsville, 536; + fate of, 541, 542, 544 + +=Swaney=, teacher of President Lincoln, 12 + +=Swett, Leonard=, favors Holt for Vice-President, 448 + + +=Taney, Roger B.=, chief justice of the Supreme Court + of the United States, opinion in Dred Scott case, 109; + action in Merryman case, 199, 200; + death of, 490 + +=Taylor, E.D.=, elected to Illinois legislature in 1832, 34 + +=Taylor, Richard=, Confederate lieutenant-general, + surrenders to Canby, 525, 527 + +=Taylor, Zachary=, twelfth President of the United States, + nominated for President, 80, 81; + elected President, 87 + +=Tennessee=, the, Confederate ram, in battle of Mobile Bay, 525 + +=Tennessee=, State of, joins Confederacy, 200, 204; + military governor appointed for, 419; + secession usurpation in, 420; + delay of reconstruction in, 428; + organization of State government and abolishment of slavery, 429; + public opinion in, regarding slavery, 473; + ratifies Thirteenth Amendment, 475 + +=Terry, Alfred H.=, brevet major-general United States army, + communicates with Sherman, 416 + +=Texas=, State of, ratifies Thirteenth Amendment, 475 + +=Thatcher, Henry K.=, rear-admiral United States navy, + receives surrender of Farrand, 525 + +=Thirteenth Amendment=, joint resolution proposing, 471-475; + ratification of, 475 + +=Thomas, George H.=, major-general United States army, + ordered to oppose Zollicoffer, 254; + victory over Zollicoffer, 265; + at battle of Chickamauga, 387; + succeeds Rosecrans at Chattanooga, 389; + in battle of Chattanooga, 390, 391; + sent by Sherman to defend Tennessee, 409; + Franklin and Nashville, 410; + threatens Confederate communications from Tennessee, 502 + +=Thompson, Jacob=, member of Congress, Secretary of the Interior, + agent of Confederate government in Canada, 361; + his visionary plans, 361, 362; + account at Montreal Bank, 544 + +=Thompson, Samuel=, colonel Illinois Volunteers, + commands regiment in Black Hawk War, 32 + +=Tod, David=, minister to Brazil, governor of Ohio, + declines nomination for Secretary of the Treasury, 457 + +=Todd, Mary=, see _Lincoln, Mary Todd_ + +=Totten, Joseph G.=, brevet major-general United States army, + at gathering of officials to discuss news of fight of _Monitor_ + and _Merrimac_, 296 + +=Treat, Samuel H.=, United States district judge, + at Springfield, Illinois, 52 + +=Trent Brothers=, buy store of Lincoln and Berry, 36 + +=Trent=, the, British mail-steamer, overhauled + by the _San Jacinto_, 246 + +=Trumbull, Lyman=, member of Congress, United States senator, + at Springfield, Illinois, 52; + elected to United States Senate, 1855, 100 + +=Turnham, David=, lends Lincoln "Revised Statutes of Indiana," 14 + + +=Usher, John P.=, Secretary of the Treasury, resigns from cabinet, 492 + + +=Vallandigham, Clement L.=, member of Congress, + interview with John Brown, 134; + arrest and banishment of, 358; + head of Knights of Golden Circle, etc., 360, 361; + at Democratic national convention, 467, 468 + +=Van Bergen=, sues Lincoln for debt, 36, 41 + +=Vandalia=, Illinois, removal of State capital from, + to Springfield, 45, 52 + +=Van Dorn, Earl=, Confederate major-general, defeat at Pea Ridge, 271 + +=Varuna=, the, sunk in expedition against New Orleans, 285 + +=Vicksburg=, Mississippi, fortifications of, 287; + surrender of, July 4, 1863, 376, 383; + situation of 381; + operations against, 381-383 + +=Victoria=, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, + proclamation of neutrality, 211; + kindly feelings toward United States, 247 + +=Vienna Station=, ambush at, 214 + +=Virginia=, State of, passes ordinance of secession, 194; + in the Confederacy, 204; + ratifies Thirteenth Amendment, 475 + + +=Wade, Benjamin F.=, United States senator, + signs Wade-Davis manifesto, 456 + +=Walker, Leroy Pope=, Confederate Secretary of War + and brigadier-general, speech at Montgomery, 197 + +=Walker, Robert J.=, United States senator Secretary + of the Treasury, appointed governor of Kansas, 114; + letter to Buchanan 114, 115; + resigns, 117 + +=Warren, Gouverneur K.=, brevet major-general United + States army, attacked by Lee, 507 + +=Washburne, Elihu B.=, member of Congress, + minister to France, meets Lincoln at railway station in Washington, 174 + +=Washington City=, cutoff from the North, 194-197; + communication restored, 197; + fortifications of, 208, 209; + threatened by Early, 403; + grand review of Union army in, 527-529 + +=Washington, George=, first President of the United States, + rank of lieutenant-general, 393; + size of his armies compared with Lee's, 524; + his place in United States history, 555 + +=Weitzel, Godfrey=, brevet major-general United States army, + receives surrender of Richmond, 510; + sets about work of relief, 516 + +=Welles, Gideon=, Secretary of the Navy, + appointed Secretary of the Navy, 182; + approves course of Captain Wilkes, 246; + at gathering of officials to discuss news of fight + between _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_, 296; + refuses to sign cabinet protest, 311, 312; + Lincoln tells him of coming emancipation proclamation, 332 + +=West Virginia=, State of, formation of, 200, 201; + true to the Union, 204; + effect on, of McClellan's campaign, 225; + admission to the Union, 418; + slavery in throttled by public opinion, 473 + +=Whig Party=, first national convention of, 28; + nominates Henry Clay, 28; + convention of 1860, 143, 144 + +=White, Albert S.=, member of Congress, United States senator, + judge of District Court of Indiana, + reports bill to aid emancipation in Delaware, + Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, 326 + +=Whitesides, Samuel=, general Illinois Volunteers, + reenlists as private in Black Hawk War, 33 + +=Wide Awakes=, origin and campaign work of, 155, 156 + +=Wilderness=, Virginia, battle of, May 5, 6, 1864, 398 + +=Wilkes, Charles=, rear-admiral United States navy, + capture of the _Trent_, 246-249 + +=Wilmington=, North Carolina, occupation of, February 22, 1865, 525 + +=Wilson, James H.=, brevet major-general United States army, + cavalry raid, and defeat of Forrest, 524, 525 + +=Wilson's Creek=, Missouri, battle of, August 10, 1861, 235 + +=Wise, Henry A.=, minister to Brazil; + governor of Virginia, Confederate brigadier-general desires + Douglas's reelection to United States Senate, 126; + interview with John Brown, 134 + +=Worden, John L.=, rear-admiral United States navy, + commands the _Monitor_, 282 + +=Wright, Horatio G.=, brevet major-general United States army, + sent to Washington 403; + in recapture of Fort Stedman, 505, 506; + in assault at Petersburg, 508, 509 + + +=Yates, Richard=, member of Congress, governor of Illinois, + United States senator Lincoln advocates his reelection, 96; + commissions Grant, 265; + appoints J.F. Jaquess colonel of volunteer regiment, 461 + +=Yorktown=, Virginia, siege of, April 5 to May 3, 1862, 301 + + +=Zollicoffer, Felix K.=, member of Congress, + Confederate brigadier-general, in eastern Kentucky, 254; + defeated by Thomas, 265 + + + * * * * * + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln, by John G. Nicolay + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A SHORT LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN *** + +***** This file should be named 16332.txt or 16332.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/3/3/16332/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Chuck Greif and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** + |