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diff --git a/old/52412-0.txt b/old/52412-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 48604e3..0000000 --- a/old/52412-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6334 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Abraham Lincoln and the Abolition of -Slavery in the United States, by Charles Godfrey Leland - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Abraham Lincoln and the Abolition of Slavery in the United States - -Author: Charles Godfrey Leland - -Release Date: June 25, 2016 [EBook #52412] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ABRAHAM LINCOLN, ABOLITION OF SLAVERY *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Wayne Hammond and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: A. Lincoln] - - - - - Makers of History. - - ABRAHAM LINCOLN - AND THE - ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN - THE UNITED STATES - - BY - CHARLES GODFREY LELAND - - AUTHOR OF “HANS BREITMANN’S BALLADS,” “THE EGYPTIAN SKETCH BOOK,” - ETC., ETC. - - NEW YORK - H. M. CALDWELL COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - - - - COPYRIGHT BY - G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS. - 1879 - - - - -PUBLISHERS’ NOTE. - - -In issuing this second edition of Mr. Leland’s biography, the -publishers have taken occasion to correct a few errors in dates and -proper names, and in citations from documents, that had crept into the -first edition. - -The book was prepared during the author’s residence abroad, where he -did not have at hand for reference all the authorities needed, and as -it was stereotyped in London the above oversights were not at once -detected. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -I make no apology for adding another “Life of Abraham Lincoln” to -the many already written, as I believe it impossible to make such an -example of successful perseverance allied to honesty, as the great -President gave, too well known to the world. And as I know of no other -man whose life shows so perfectly what may be effected by resolute -self-culture, and adherence to good principles in spite of obstacles, -I infer that such an example cannot be too extensively set before all -young men who are ambitious to do _well_ in the truest sense. There -are also other reasons why it should be studied. The life of Abraham -Lincoln during his Presidency is simply that of his country--since he -was so intimately concerned with every public event of his time, that -as sometimes happens with photographs, so with the biography of Lincoln -and the history of his time, we cannot decide whether the great -picture was enlarged from the smaller one, or the smaller reduced from -a greater. His career also fully proves that extremes meet, since in no -despotism is there an example of any one who ever governed so great a -country so thoroughly in detail as did this Republican of Republicans, -whose one thought was simply to obey the people. - -It is of course impossible to give within the limits of a small book -all the details of a busy life, and also the history of the American -Emancipation and its causes; but I trust that I have omitted little of -much importance. The books to which I have been chiefly indebted, and -from which I have borrowed most freely, are the lives of Lincoln by W. -H. Lamon, and by my personal friends H. J. Raymond and Dr. Holland; and -also the works referring to the war by I. N. Arnold, F. B. Carpenter, -L. P. Brockett, A. Boyd, G. W. Bacon, J. Barrett, Adam Badeau, and F. -Moore. - - C. G. L. - - _June, 1879._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. PAGE - Birth of Abraham Lincoln--The Lincoln Family--Abraham’s - first Schooling--Death of Mrs. Lincoln, and the new - “Mother”--Lincoln’s Boyhood and Youth--Self-Education-- - Great Physical Strength--First Literary Efforts--Journey - to New Orleans--Encouraging Incident, 9 - - - CHAPTER II. - Lincoln’s Appearance--His First Public Speech--Again at New - Orleans--Mechanical Genius--Clerk in a Country Store--Elected - Captain--The Black Hawk War--Is a successful Candidate for the - Legislature--Becomes a Storekeeper, Land Surveyor, and - Postmaster--His First Love--The “Long Nine”--First Step towards - Emancipation, 30 - - - CHAPTER III. - Lincoln settles at Springfield as a Lawyer--Candidate for the - office of Presidential Elector--A Love Affair--Marries Miss - Todd--Religious Views--Exerts himself for Henry Clay--Elected - to Congress in 1846--Speeches in Congress--Out of Political - Employment until 1854--Anecdotes of Lincoln as a Lawyer, 53 - - CHAPTER IV. - Rise of the Southern Party--Formation of the Abolition and the Free - Soil Parties--Judge Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill--Douglas - defeated by Lincoln--Lincoln resigns as Candidate for - Congress--Lincoln’s Letter on Slavery--The Bloomington Speech--The - Fremont Campaign--Election of Buchanan--The Dred-Scott - Decision, 64 - - CHAPTER V. - Causes of Lincoln’s Nomination to the Presidency--His Lectures in - New York, &c.--The First Nomination and the Fence Rails--The - Nomination at Chicago--Elected President--Office-seekers and - Appointments--Lincoln’s Impartiality--The South determined to - Secede--Fears for Lincoln’s Life, 78 - - CHAPTER VI. - A Suspected Conspiracy--Lincoln’s Departure for Washington--His - Speeches at Springfield and on the road to the National - Capital--Breaking out of the Rebellion--Treachery of President - Buchanan--Treason in the Cabinet--Jefferson Davis’s - Message--Threats of Massacre and Ruin to the North--Southern - Sympathisers--Lincoln’s Inaugural Address--The Cabinet--The Days - of Doubt and of Darkness, 88 - - CHAPTER VII. - Mr. Seward refuses to meet the Rebel Commissioners--Lincoln’s - Forbearance--Fort Sumter--Call for 75,000 Troops--Troubles in - Maryland--Administrative Prudence--Judge Douglas--Increase of - the Army--Winthrop and Ellsworth--Bull Run--General - M‘Clellan, 102 - - CHAPTER VIII. - Relations with Europe--Foreign Views of the War--The - Slaves--Proclamation of Emancipation--Arrest of Rebel - Commissioners--Black Troops, 117 - - CHAPTER IX. - Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-two--The Plan of the War, and - Strength of the Armies--General M‘Clellan--The General Movement, - January 27th, 1862--The brilliant Western Campaign--Removal of - M‘Clellan--The _Monitor_--Battle of Fredericksburg--Vallandigham - and Seymour--The _Alabama_--President Lincoln declines all - Foreign Mediation, 154 - - CHAPTER X. - Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-three--A Popular Prophecy--General - Burnside relieved and General Hooker appointed--Battle of - Chancellorsville--The Rebels invade Pennsylvania--Battle of - Gettysburg--Lincoln’s Speech at Gettysburg--Grant takes - Vicksburg--Port Hudson--Battle of Chattanooga--New York - Riots--The French in Mexico--Troubles in Missouri, 147 - - CHAPTER XI. - Proclamation of Amnesty--Lincoln’s Benevolence--His - Self-reliance--Progress of the Campaign--The Summer of - 1864--Lincoln’s Speech at Philadelphia--Suffering in the - South--Raids--Sherman’s March--Grant’s Position--Battle of - the Wilderness--Siege of Petersburg--Chambersburg--Naval - Victories--Confederate Intrigues--Presidential Election--Lincoln - Re-elected--Atrocious Attempts of the Confederates, 172 - - CHAPTER XII. - The President’s Reception of Negroes--The South opens Negotiations - for Peace--Proposals--Lincoln’s Second Inauguration--The Last - Battle--Davis Captured--End of the War--Death of Lincoln--Public - Mourning, 203 - - CHAPTER XIII. - President Lincoln’s Characteristics--His Love of Humour--His - Stories--Pithy Sayings--Repartees--His Dignity, 233 - - INDEX, 245 - - - - -LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - Birth of Abraham Lincoln--The Lincoln Family--Abraham’s - first Schooling--Death of Mrs. Lincoln, and the new - “Mother”--Lincoln’s Boyhood and Youth--Self-Education--Great - Physical Strength--First Literary Efforts--Journey to New - Orleans--Encouraging Incident. - - -Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, on the 12th day of February, -1809. The log-cabin which was his birth-place was built on the south -branch of Nolin’s Creek, three miles from the village of Hodgensville, -on land which was then in the county of Hardin, but is now included -in that of La Rue. His father, Thomas Lincoln, was born in 1778; his -mother’s maiden name was Nancy Hanks. The Lincoln family, which appears -to have been of unmixed English descent, came to Kentucky from Berks -County, Pennsylvania, to which place tradition or conjecture asserts -they had emigrated from Massachusetts. But they did not remain long in -Pennsylvania, since they seem to have gone before 1752 to Rockingham, -County Virginia, which state was then one with that of Kentucky. -There is, however, so much doubt as to these details of their early -history, that it is not certain whether they were at first emigrants -directly from England to Virginia, an offshoot of the historic Lincoln -family in Massachusetts, or of the highly respectable Lincolns of -Pennsylvania.[1] This obscurity is plainly due to the great poverty and -lowly station of the Virginian Lincolns. “My parents,” said President -Lincoln, in a brief autobiographic sketch,[2] “were both born of -undistinguished families--second families, perhaps, I should say.” -To this he adds that his paternal grandfather was Abraham Lincoln, -who migrated from Rockingham, County Virginia, to Kentucky, “about -1781 or 2,” although his cousins and other relatives all declare -this grandsire’s name to have been Mordecai--a striking proof of the -ignorance and indifference of the family respecting matters seldom -neglected. - -This grandfather, Abraham or Mordecai, having removed to Kentucky, “the -dark and bloody ground,” settled in Mercer County. Their house was -a rough log-cabin, their farm a little clearing in the midst of the -forest. One morning, not long after their settlement, the father took -Thomas, his youngest son, and went to build a fence a short distance -from the house, while the other brothers, Mordecai and Josiah, were -sent to a field not far away. They were all intent upon their work, -when a shot from a party of Indians in ambush was heard. The father -fell dead. Josiah ran to a stockade, or settlement, two or three miles -off; Mordecai, the eldest boy, made his way to the house, and, looking -out from a loop-hole, saw an Indian in the act of raising his little -brother from the ground. He took deliberate aim at a silver ornament on -the breast of the Indian, and brought him down. Thomas sprang towards -the cabin, and was admitted by his mother, while Mordecai renewed his -fire at several other Indians who rose from the covert of the fence, -or thicket. It was not long before Josiah returned from the stockade -with a party of settlers; but the Indians had fled, and none were found -but the dead one, and another who was wounded, and had crept into the -top of a fallen tree. Mordecai, it is said, hated the Indians ever -after with an intensity which was unusual even in those times. As Allan -Macaulay, in “Waverley,” is said to have hunted down the Children of -the Mist, or as the Quaker Nathan, in Bird’s romance of “Nick of the -Woods,” is described as hunting the Shawnese, so we are told this -other avenger of blood pursued his foes with unrelenting, unscrupulous -hatred. For days together he would follow peaceable Indians as they -passed through the settlements, in order to get secret shots at -them.[3] - -Mordecai, the Indian-killer, and his brother, Josiah, remained in -Virginia, and grew up to be respectable, prosperous men. The younger -brother, Thomas, was always “idle, thriftless, poor, a hunter, and -a rover.” He exercised occasionally in a rough way the calling of a -carpenter, and, wandering from place to place, began at different -times to cultivate the wilderness, but with little success, owing -to his laziness. Yet he was a man of great strength and vigour, and -once “thrashed the monstrous bully of Breckinridge County in three -minutes, and came off without a scratch.” He was an inveterate talker, -or popular teller of stories and anecdotes, and a Jackson Democrat in -politics, which signified that he belonged to the more radical of the -two political parties which then prevailed in America. In religion, he -was, says Lamon, who derived his information from Mr. W. H. Herndon, -“nothing at times, and a member of various denominations by turns.” In -1806, he lived at Elizabethtown, in Hardin County, Kentucky, where, in -the same year and place, he married Nancy Hanks: the exact date of the -marriage is unknown. It is said of this young woman that she was a tall -and beautiful brunette, with an understanding which, by her family -at least, was considered wonderful. She could read and write--as rare -accomplishments in those days in Kentucky backwoods as they still are -among the poor whites of the South or their Western descendants.[4] -In later life she was sadly worn by hard labour, both in the house -and fields, and her features were marked with a melancholy which was -probably constitutional, and which her son inherited. - -It is to be regretted that President Abraham Lincoln never spoke, -except with great reluctance, of his early life, or of his parents. -As it is, the researches of W. H. Herndon and others have indicated -the hereditary sources of his chief characteristics. We know that the -grandfather was a vigorous backwoodsman, who died a violent death; -that his uncle was a grim and determined manslayer, carrying out for -years the blood-feud provoked by the murder of his parent; that his -mother was habitually depressed, and that his father was a favourite -of both men and women, though a mere savage when irritated, fond of -fun, an endless storyteller, physically powerful, and hating hard work. -Out of all these preceding traits, it is not difficult to imagine -how the giant Abraham came to be inflexible of purpose and strong of -will, though indolent--why he was good-natured to excess in his excess -of strength--and why he was a great humourist, and at the same time a -melancholy man. - -It should be remembered by the reader that the state of society in -which Abraham Lincoln was born and grew up resembled nothing now -existing in Europe, and that it is very imperfectly understood even -by many town-dwelling Americans. The people around him were all poor -and ignorant, yet they bore their poverty lightly, were hardly aware -of their want of culture, and were utterly unconscious of owing the -least respect or deference to any human being. Some among them were, -of course, aware of the advantages to be derived from wealth and -political power; but the majority knew not how to spend the one, and -were indifferent to the other. Even to this day, there are in the -South and South-West scores of thousands of men who, owning vast -tracts of fertile land, and gifted with brains and muscle, will not -take the pains to build themselves homes better than ordinary cabins, -or cultivate more soil than will supply life with plain and unvaried -sustenance. The only advantage they have is the inestimable one, -if properly treated, of being free from all trammels save those of -ignorance. To rightly appreciate the good or evil qualities of men -moulded in such society, requires great generosity, and great freedom -from all that is conventional. - -Within the first few years of her married life, Nancy Hanks Lincoln -bore her husband three children. The first was a daughter, named Sarah, -who married at fifteen, and died soon after; the second was Abraham; -and the third Thomas, who died in infancy.[5] The family were always -wretchedly poor, even below the level of their neighbours in want; and -as the father was indolent, the wife was obliged to labour and suffer. -But it is probable that Mrs. Lincoln, who could read, and Thomas, who -attributed his failure in life to ignorance, wished their children to -be educated. Schools were, of course, scarce in a country where the -houses are often many miles apart. Zachariah Riney, a Catholic priest, -was Abraham’s first teacher; his next was Caleb Hazel. The young -pupil learned to read and write in a few weeks; but in all his life, -reckoning his instruction by days, he had only one year’s schooling. - -When Thomas Lincoln was first married (1806), he took his wife to -live in Elizabethtown, in a wretched shed, which has since been used -as a slaughter-house and stable. About a year after, he removed to -Nolin’s Creek. Four years after the birth of Abraham (1809), he again -migrated to a more picturesque and fertile place, a few miles distant -on Knob Creek. Here he remained four years, and though he was the -occupant of over 200 acres of good land, never cultivated more than a -little patch, “being satisfied with milk and meal for food.” When his -children went to school they walked eight miles, going and returning, -having only maize bread for dinner. In 1816, the father, after having -sold his interest in the farm for ten barrels of whiskey and twenty -dollars, built himself a crazy flat-boat, and set sail alone on the -Ohio, seeking for a new home. By accident, the boat foundered, and -much of the cargo was lost; but Thomas Lincoln pushed on, and found a -fitting place to settle in Indiana, near the spot on which the village -of Gentryville now stands. It was in the untrodden wilderness, and -here he soon after brought his family, to live for the first year in -what is called a half-faced camp, or a rough hut of poles, of which -only three sides were enclosed, the fourth being open to the air. In -1817, Betsy Sparrow, an aunt of Mrs. Lincoln, and her husband, Thomas, -with a nephew named Dennis Hanks, joined the Lincolns, who removed to -a better house, if that could be called a house which was built of -rough logs, and had neither floor, door, nor window. For two years they -continued to live in this manner. Lincoln, a carpenter, was too lazy -to make himself the simplest furniture. They had a few three-legged -stools; the only bed was made in a singular manner. Its head and one -side were formed by a corner of the cabin, the bed-post was a single -crotch cut from the forest. Laid upon this crotch were the ends of two -hickory poles, whose other extremities were placed in two holes made in -the logs of the wall. On these sticks rested “slats,” or boards rudely -split from trees with an axe, and on these slats was laid a bag filled -with dried leaves. This was the bed of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, and -into it--when the skins hung at the cabin entrance did not keep out the -cold--little Abraham and his sister crept for warmth.[6] Very little is -recorded of the childhood of the future President. He was once nearly -drowned in a stream, and when eight years of age shot a wild turkey, -which, he declared in after life, was the largest game he had ever -killed--a remarkable statement for a man who had grown up in a deer -country, where buck-skin formed the common material for clothing, and -venison hams passed for money. One thing is at least certain--that, -till he was ten years old, the poor boy was ill-clad, dirty, and -ill-used by his father. He had, however, learned to write. - -In 1818, a terrible but common epidemic, known in Western America as -the milk-fever, broke out in Indiana, and within a few days Thomas -and Betsy Sparrow and Mrs. Lincoln all died. They had no medical -attendance, and it was nine months before a clergyman, named David -Elkin, invited by the first letter which Abraham ever wrote, came one -hundred miles to hold the funeral service and preach over the graves. -Strange as it may seem, the event which is universally regarded as the -saddest of every life, in the case of Abraham Lincoln led directly to -greater happiness, and to a change which conduced to the development -of all his better qualities. Thirteen months after the death of Nancy -Lincoln, Thomas married a widow, Mrs. Johnston, whom he had wooed -ineffectually in Kentucky when she was Miss Sally Bush. She was a woman -of sense, industrious, frugal, and gifted with a pride which inspired -her to lead a far more civilised life than that which satisfied poor -Tom Lincoln. He had greatly exaggerated to her the advantages of his -home in Indiana, and she was bitterly disappointed when they reached -it. Fortunately, she owned a stock of good furniture, which greatly -astonished little Abraham and Sarah and their cousin Dennis. “She set -about mending matters with great energy, and made her husband put -down a floor, and hang windows and doors.” It was in the depth of -winter, and the children, as they nestled in the warm beds she had -provided, enjoying the strange luxury of security from the cold winds -of December, must have thanked her from the depths of their hearts. -She had brought a son and two daughters of her own, but Abraham and -his sister had an equal place in her affections. They were half naked, -and she clad them; they were dirty, and she washed them; they had been -ill-used, and she treated them with motherly tenderness. In her own -language, she “made them look a little more human.”[7] - -This excellent woman loved Abraham tenderly, and her love was warmly -returned. After his death she declared to Mr. Herndon--“I can say -what not one mother in ten thousand can of a boy--Abe never gave me a -cross look, and never refused, in fact or appearance, to do anything I -requested him; nor did I ever give him a cross word in all my life. -His mind and mine--what little I had--seemed to run together. He was -dutiful to me always. Abe was the best boy I ever saw, or ever expect -to see.” “When in after years Mr. Lincoln spoke of his ‘saintly mother’ -and of his ‘angel of a mother,’ he referred to this noble woman, -who first made him feel ‘like a human being’--whose goodness first -touched his childish heart, and taught him that blows and taunts and -degradation were not to be his only portion in the world.” And if it -be recorded of George Washington that he never told a lie, it should -also be remembered of Abraham Lincoln, who carried his country safely -through a greater crisis than that of the Revolutionary War,[8] that he -always obeyed his mother. - -Abraham had gone to school only a few weeks in Kentucky, and Mrs. -Lincoln soon sent him again to receive instruction. His first teacher -in Indiana was Hazel Dorsey; his next, Andrew Crawford. The latter, in -addition to the ordinary branches of education, also taught “manners.” -One scholar would be introduced by another, while walking round the -log schoolroom, to all the boys and girls, taught to bow properly, -and otherwise acquire the ordinary courtesies of life. Abraham -distinguished himself in spelling, which has always been a favourite -subject for competition in rural America, and he soon began to write -short original articles, though composition formed no part of the -studies. It was characteristic of the boy that his first essays were -against cruelty to animals. His mates were in the habit of catching -the box-turtles, or land-terrapins, or tortoises, and putting live -coals on their backs to make them walk, which greatly annoyed Abraham. -All who knew him, in boyhood or in later life, bear witness that this -tenderness was equal to his calm courage and tremendous physical -strength. The last school which he attended for a short time, and to -reach which he walked every day nine miles, was kept by a Mr. Swaney. -This was in 1826. - -Abraham was now sixteen years of age, and had grown so rapidly that -he had almost attained the height which he afterwards reached of six -feet four inches. He was very dark, his skin was shrivelled even in -boyhood by constant exposure, and he habitually wore low shoes, a -linsey-woolsey shirt, a cap made from the skin of a raccoon or opossum, -and buckskin breeches, which were invariably about twelve inches too -short for him. When not working for his father, he was hired out as a -farm-labourer to the neighbours. His cousin, John Hanks, says--“We -worked barefoot, grubbed it, ploughed, mowed, and cradled together.” - -All who knew him at this time testify that Abraham hated hard-work, -though he did it well--that he was physically indolent, though -intellectually very active--that he loved to laugh, tell stories, and -joke while labouring--and that he passed his leisure moments in hard -study or in reading, which he made hard by writing out summaries of -all he read, and getting them by heart. He would study arithmetic at -night by the light of the fire, and cipher or copy with a pencil or -coal on the wooden shovel or on a board. When this was full, he would -shave it off with his father’s drawing-knife, and begin again. When -he had paper, he used it instead; but in the frequent intervals when -he had none, the boards were kept until paper was obtained. Among the -first books which he read and thoroughly mastered were “Æsop’s Fables,” -“Robinson Crusoe,” Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress,” a “History of the -United States,” Weem’s “Life of Washington,” and “The Revised Statutes -of Indiana.” From another work, “The Kentucky Preceptor,” a collection -of literary extracts, he is said by a Mrs. Crawford, who knew him well, -to have “learned his school orations, speeches, and pieces to write.” -The field-work, which Abraham Lincoln disliked, did not, however, -exhaust his body, and his mind found relief after toil in mastering -anything in print.[9] It is not unusual to see poor and ignorant youths -who are determined to “get learning,” apply themselves to the hardest -and dryest intellectual labour with very little discrimination of any -difference between that and more attractive literature, and it is -evident that young Lincoln worked in this spirit. There is no proof -that his memory was by nature extraordinary--it would rather seem that -the contrary was the case, from the pains which he took to improve -it. During his boyhood, any book had to him all the charm of rarity; -perhaps it was the more charming because most of his friends believed -that mental culture was incompatible with industry. “Lincoln,” said -his cousin, Dennis Hanks, “was lazy--a very lazy man. He was always -reading, scribbling, writing, ciphering, writing poetry, and the like.” -It is evident that his custom of continually exercising his memory on -all subjects grew with his growth and strengthened with his strength. -By the time he was twenty-five, he had, without instruction, made -himself a good lawyer--not a mere “case-practitioner,” but one who -argued from a sound knowledge of principles. It is said that when he -began to read Blackstone, he thoroughly learned the first forty pages -at one sitting. There is also sufficient proof that he had perfectly -mastered not only “Euclid’s Geometry,” but a number of elementary -scientific works, among others one on astronomy. And many anecdotes -of his later life prove that he learned nothing without thinking it -over deeply, especially in all its relations to his other acquisitions -and its practical use. If education consists of mental discipline and -the acquisition of knowledge, it is idle to say that Abraham Lincoln -was uneducated, since few college graduates actually excelled him in -either respect. These facts deserve dwelling on, since, in the golden -book of self-made men, there is not one who presents a more encouraging -example to youth, and especially to the poor and ambitious, than -Abraham Lincoln. He developed his memory by resolutely training it--he -brought out his reasoning powers as a lawyer by using his memory--he -became a fluent speaker and a ready reasoner by availing himself of -every opportunity to speak or debate. From the facts which have been -gathered by his biographers, or which are current in conversation among -those who knew him, it is most evident that there seldom lived a man -who owed so little to innate genius or talents, in comparison to what -he achieved by sheer determination and perseverance. - -When Abraham was fifteen or sixteen, he began to exercise his memory -in a new direction, by frequenting not only religious but political -meetings, and by mounting the stump of a tree the day after and -repeating with great accuracy all he had heard. It is said that he -mimicked with great skill not only the tones of preachers and orators, -but also their gestures and facial expressions. Anything like cruelty -to man or beast would always inspire him to an original address, in -which he would preach vigorously against inflicting pain. Wherever he -spoke an audience was sure to assemble, and as this frequently happened -in the harvest-field, the youthful orator or actor was often dragged -down by his angry father and driven to his work. His wit and humour, -his inexhaustible fund of stories, and, above all, his kind heart, made -him everywhere a favourite. Women, says Mr. Lamon, were especially -pleased, for he was always ready to do any kind of work for them, such -as chopping wood, making a fire, or nursing a baby. Any family was glad -when he was hired to work with them, since he did his work well, and -made them all merry while he was about it. In 1825, he was employed by -James Taylor as a ferry-man, to manage a boat which crossed the Ohio -and Anderson’s Creek. In addition to this he worked on the farm, acted -as hostler, ground corn, built the fires, put the water early on the -fire, and prepared for the mistress’s cooking. Though he was obliged to -rise so early, he always studied till nearly midnight. He was in great -demand when hogs were slaughtered. For this rough work he was paid 31 -cents (about 16d.) a-day. Meanwhile, he became incredibly strong. He -could carry six hundred pounds with ease; he once picked up some huge -posts which four men were about to lift, and bore them away with little -effort. Men yet alive have seen him lift a full barrel of liquor and -drink from the bung-hole. “He could sink an axe,” said an old friend, -“deeper into wood than any man I ever saw.” He was especially skilled -in wrestling, and from the year 1828 there was no man, far or near, who -would compete with him in it.[10] From his boyhood, he was extremely -temperate. Those who have spoken most freely of his faults admit that, -in a country where a whiskey-jug was kept in every house, Lincoln never -touched spirits except to avoid giving offence. His stepmother thought -he was temperate to a fault. - -Meanwhile, as the youth grew apace, the neighbouring village of -Gentryville had grown with him. Books and cultivated society became -more accessible. The great man of the place was a Mr. Jones, the -storekeeper, whose shop supplied all kinds of goods required by -farmers. Mr. Jones took a liking to young Lincoln, employed him -sometimes, taught him politics, giving him deep impressions in favour -of Andrew Jackson, the representative of the Democratic party, and -finally awoke Abraham’s ambition by admiring him, and predicting that -he would some day be a great man. Another friend was John Baldwin, -the village blacksmith, who was, even for a Western American wag, -wonderfully clever at a jest, and possessed of an inexhaustible fund of -stories. It was from John Baldwin that Lincoln derived a great number -of the quaint anecdotes with which he was accustomed in after years -to illustrate his arguments. His memory contained thousands of these -drolleries; so that, eventually, there was no topic of conversation -which did not “put him in mind of a little story.” In some other -respects, his acquisitions were less useful. Though he knew a vast -number of ballads, he could not sing one; and though a reader of Burns, -certain of his own satires and songs, levelled at some neighbours who -had slighted him, were mere doggerel, wanting every merit, and very -bitter. But, about 1827, he contributed an article on temperance and -another on American politics to two newspapers, published in Ohio. -From the praise awarded by a lawyer, named Pritchard, to the political -article, it would appear to have been very well written. Even in this -first essay in politics, Lincoln urged the principle by which he became -famous, and for which he died--adherence to the constitution and the -integrity of the American Union. - -In March, 1828, Abraham Lincoln was hired by Mr. Gentry, the proprietor -of Gentryville, as “bow-hand,” and “to work the front oars,” on a -boat going with a cargo of bacon to New Orleans. This was a trip of -1800 miles, and then, as now, the life of an Ohio and Mississippi -boatman was full of wild adventure. One incident which befel the -future President was sufficiently strange. Having arrived at a -sugar-plantation six miles below Baton Rouge, the boat was pulled in, -and Lincoln, with his companion, a son of Mr. Gentry, went to sleep. -Hearing footsteps in the night, they sprang up, and saw that a gang -of seven negroes were coming on board to rob or murder. Seizing a -hand-spike, Lincoln rushed towards them, and as the leader jumped on -the boat, knocked him into the water. The second, third, and fourth, as -they leaped aboard, were served in the same way, and the others fled, -but were pursued by Lincoln and Gentry, who inflicted on them a severe -beating. In this encounter, Abraham received a wound the scar of which -he bore through life. It is very probable that among these negroes who -would have taken the life of the future champion of emancipation, there -were some who lived to share its benefits and weep for his death.[11] - -It was during this voyage, or about this time, that two strangers paid -Abraham half a silver dollar each for rowing them ashore in a boat. -Relating this to Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, he said--“You may -think it was a very little thing, but it was a most important incident -in my life. I could scarcely believe that I, a poor boy, had earned a -dollar in less than a day. I was a more hopeful and confident being -from that time.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - Lincoln’s Appearance--His First Public Speech--Again at New - Orleans--Mechanical Genius--Clerk in a Country Store--Elected - Captain--The Black Hawk War--Is a successful Candidate for - the Legislature--Becomes a Storekeeper, Land-Surveyor, and - Postmaster--His First Love--The “Long Nine”--First Step towards - Emancipation. - - -In 1830, Thomas Lincoln had again tired of his home, and resolved to -move Westward. This time he did not change without good reason: an -epidemic had appeared in his Indiana neighbourhood, which was besides -generally unhealthy. Therefore, in the spring, he and Abraham, with -Dennis Hanks and Levi Hall, who had married one of Mrs. Lincoln’s -daughters by her first husband, with their families, thirteen in all, -having packed their furniture on a waggon, drawn by four oxen, took -the road for Illinois. After journeying 200 miles in fifteen days, -Thomas Lincoln settled in Moron County, on the Sangamon River, about -ten miles west of Decatur. Here they built a cabin of hewn timber, with -a smoke-house for drying meat, and a stable, and broke up and fenced -fifteen acres of land. - -Abraham Lincoln was now twenty-one, and his father had been a hard -master, taking all his wages. He therefore, after doing his best -to settle the family in their new home, went forth to work for -himself among the farmers. One George Cluse, who worked with Abraham -during the first year in Illinois, says that at that time he was -“the roughest-looking person he ever saw: he was tall, angular, and -ungainly, and wore trousers of flax and tow, cut tight at the ankle -and out at the knees. He was very poor, and made a bargain with Mrs. -Nancy Miller to split 400 rails for every yard of brown jean, dyed with -walnut bark, that would be required to make him a pair of trousers.” - -Thomas Lincoln found, in less than a year, that his new home was the -most unhealthy of all he had tried. So he went Westward again, moving -to three new places until he settled at Goose Nest Prairie, in Coles -County, where he died at the age of seventy-three, “as usual, in debt.” -From the time of his death, and as he advanced in prosperity, Abraham -aided his stepmother in many ways besides sending her money. It was -at Decatur that he made his first public speech, standing on a keg. -It was on the navigation of the Sangamon River, and was delivered -extemporaneously in reply to one by a candidate for the Legislature, -named Posey. - -During the winter of 1831, a trader, named Denton Offutt, proposed to -John Hanks, Abraham Lincoln, and John D. Johnston, his stepmother’s -son, to take a flat-boat to New Orleans. The wages offered were very -high--fifty cents a day to each man, and sixty dollars to be divided -among them at the end of the trip. After some delay, the boat, loaded -with corn, pigs, and pork, sailed, but just below New Salem, on the -Sangamon, it stuck on a dam, but was saved by the great ingenuity of -Lincoln, who invented a novel apparatus for getting it over. This seems -to have turned his mind to the subject of overcoming such difficulties -of navigation, and in 1849 he obtained a patent for “an improved method -of lifting vessels over shoals.” The design is a bellows attached to -each side of the hull, below the water-line, to be pumped full of air -when it is desired to lift the craft over a shoal. The model, which is -eighteen or twenty inches long, and which is now in the Patent Office -at Washington, appears to have been cut with a knife from a shingle -and a cigar-box.[12] John Hanks, apparently a most trustworthy and -excellent man, declared that it was during this trip, while at New -Orleans, Lincoln first saw negroes chained, maltreated, and whipped. -It made a deep impression on his humane mind, and, years after, he -often declared that witnessing this cruelty first induced him to think -slavery wrong. At New Orleans the flat-boat discharged its cargo, and -was sold for its timber. Lincoln returned on a steamboat to St. Louis, -and thence walked home. He had hardly returned, before he received a -challenge from a famous wrestler, named Daniel Needham. There was a -great assembly at Wabash Point, to witness the match, where Needham was -thrown with so much ease that his pride was more hurt than his body. - -In July, 1831, Abraham again engaged himself to Mr. Offutt, to take -charge of a country store at New Salem. While awaiting his employer, -an election was held, and a clerk was wanted at the polls. The -stranger, Abraham, being asked whether he was competent to fill the -post, said, “I will try,” and performed the duties well. This was the -first public official act of his life; and as soon as Offutt’s goods -arrived, Lincoln, from a day-labourer, became a clerk, or rather -salesman, in which capacity he remained for one year, or until the -spring of 1832, when his employer failed. Many incidents are narrated -of Lincoln’s honesty towards customers during this clerkship--of his -strict integrity in trifles--his bravery when women were annoyed by -bullies--and of his prowess against a gang of ruffians who infested and -ruled the town. He is said to have more than once walked several miles -after business hours to return six cents, or some equally trifling -sum, when he had been overpaid. It is very evident that he managed -all matters with so much tact as to make fast friends of everybody, -and was specially a favourite of the men with whom he fought. It was -now that he began to cultivate popularity, quietly, but with the same -determination which he had shown in acquiring knowledge. To his credit -be it said, that he effected this neither by flattery nor servility, -but by making the most of his good qualities, and by inducing respect -for his honesty, intelligence, and bravery. It is certain that, during -a year, Mr. Offutt was continually stimulating his ambition, and -insisting that he knew more than any man in the United States, and -would some day be President. Lincoln himself knew very well by this -time of what stuff many of the men were made who rose in politics, and -that, with a little luck and perseverance, he could hold his own with -them. When out of the “store,” he was always busy, as of old, in the -pursuit of knowledge. He mastered the English grammar, remarking that, -“if that was what they called a science, he thought he could subdue -another.” A Mr. Green, who became his fellow-clerk, declares that his -talk now showed that he was beginning to think of “a great life and -a great destiny.” He busied himself very much with debating clubs, -walking many miles to attend them, and for years continued to take the -“Louisville Journal,” famous for the lively wit of its editor, George -D. Prentice, and for this newspaper he paid regularly when he had -not the means to buy decent clothing. From this time his life rapidly -increases in interest. It is certain that, from early youth, he had -quietly determined to become great, and that he thoroughly tested his -own talents and acquirements before entering upon politics as a career. -His chief and indeed his almost only talent was resolute perseverance, -and by means of it he passed in the race of life thousands who were his -superiors in genius. Among all the biographies of the great and wise -and good among mankind, there is not one so full of encouragement to -poor young men as that of Abraham Lincoln, since there is not one which -so illustrates not only how mere personal success may be attained, but -how, by strong will and self-culture, the tremendous task of guiding -a vast country through the trials of a civil war may be successfully -achieved. - -In the spring of 1832, Mr. Offutt failed, and Lincoln had nothing to -do. For some time past, an Indian rebellion, led by the famous Black -Hawk, Chief of the Sac tribe, had caused the greatest alarm in the -Western States. About the beginning of this century (1804-5), the Sacs -had been removed west of the Mississippi; but Black Hawk, believing -that his people had been unjustly exiled, organised a conspiracy -which for a while embraced nine of the most powerful tribes of the -North-West, and announced his intention of returning and settling in -the old hunting-grounds of his people on the Rock River. He was a man -of great courage and shrewdness, skilled as an orator, and dreaded -as one gifted with supernatural power, combining in his person the -war-chief and prophet. But the returning Indians, by committing great -barbarities on the way, caused such irritation and alarm among the -white settlers, that when Governor Reynolds of Illinois, issued a -call for volunteers, several regiments of hardy frontiersmen were at -once formed. Black Hawk’s allies, with the exception of the tribe of -the Foxes, at once fell away, but their desperate leader kept on in -his course. Among the companies which volunteered was one from Menard -County, embracing many men from New Salem. The captain was chosen by -vote, and the choice fell on Lincoln. He was accustomed to say, when -President, that nothing in his life had ever gratified him so much as -this promotion; and this may well have been, since, to a very ambitious -man, the first practical proofs of popularity are like the first -instalment of a great fortune paid to one who is poor. - -Though he was never in an actual engagement during this campaign, -Lincoln underwent much hunger and hardship while it lasted, and at -times had great trouble with his men, who were not only mere raw -militia, but also unusually rough and rebellious. One incident of the -war, however, as narrated by Lamon, not only indicates that Abraham -Lincoln was sometimes in danger, but was well qualified to grapple with -it. - -“One day, during these many marches and countermarches, an old Indian, -weary, hungry, and helpless, found his way into the camp. He professed -to be a friend of the whites; and, although it was an exceedingly -perilous experiment for one of his colour, he ventured to throw himself -upon the mercy of the soldiers. But the men first murmured, and then -broke out into fierce cries for his blood. “We have come out to fight -Indians,” they said, “and we intend to do it.” The poor Indian, now -in the extremity of his distress and peril, did what he should have -done before--he threw down before his assailants a soiled and crumpled -paper, which he implored them to read before taking his life. It was -a letter of character and safe conduct from General Cass, pronouncing -him a faithful man, who had done good service in the cause for which -this army was enlisted. But it was too late; the men refused to read -it, or thought it a forgery, and were rushing with fury upon the -defenceless old savage, when Captain Lincoln bounded between them and -their appointed victim. “Men,” said he, and his voice for a moment -stilled the agitation around him, “this must not be done--he must not -be shot and killed by us.” “But,” said some of them, “the Indian is a -spy.” Lincoln knew that his own life was now in only less danger than -that of the poor creature that crouched behind him. During this scene, -the towering form and the passion and resolution in Lincoln’s face -produced an effect upon the furious mob. They paused, listened, fell -back, and then sullenly obeyed what seemed to be the voice of reason as -well as authority. But there were still some murmurs of disappointed -rage, and half-suppressed exclamations which looked towards vengeance -of some kind. At length one of the men, a little bolder than the rest, -but evidently feeling that he spoke for the whole, cried out--“This -is cowardly on your part, Lincoln!” “If any man think I am a coward, -let him test it,” was the reply. “Lincoln,” responded a new voice, -“you are larger and heavier than we are.” “This you can guard against; -choose your weapons,” returned the Captain. Whatever may be said -of Mr. Lincoln’s choice of means for the preservation of military -discipline, it was certainly very effectual in this case. There was no -more disaffection in his camp, and the word “coward” was never coupled -with his name again. Mr. Lincoln understood his men better than those -who would be disposed to criticise his conduct. He has often declared -himself that “his life and character were both at stake, and would -probably have been lost, had he not at that supremely critical moment -forgotten the officer and asserted the man.” The soldiers, in fact, -could not have been arrested, tried, or punished; they were merely -wild backwoodsmen, “acting entirely by their own will, and any effort -to court-martial them would simply have failed in its object, and made -their Captain seem afraid of them.” - -During this campaign, Lincoln made the acquaintance of a lawyer--then -captain--the Hon. T. Stuart, who had subsequently a great influence -on his career. When the company was mustered out in May, Lincoln at -once re-enlisted as a private in a volunteer spy company, where he -remained for a month, until the Battle of Bad Axe, which resulted in -the capture of Black Hawk, put an end to hostilities. This war was not -a remarkable affair, says J. G. Holland, but it was remarkable that the -two simplest, homeliest, and truest men engaged in it afterwards became -Presidents of the United States--namely, General, then Colonel, Zachary -Taylor and Abraham Lincoln. - -It has always been usual in the United States to urge to the utmost -the slightest military services rendered by candidates for office. -The absurd degree to which this was carried often awoke the satire of -Lincoln, even when it was at his own expense. Many years after, he -referred thus humorously to his military services[13]:-- - -“By the way, Mr. Speaker, did you know I was a military hero? Yes, -sir, in the days of the Black Hawk war I fought, bled, and came away. -Speaking of General Cass’s career reminds me of my own. I was not at -Sullivan’s defeat, but I was about as near to it as Cass was to Hull’s -surrender, and, like him, I saw the place soon after. It is quite -certain that I did not break my sword, for I had none to break;[14] but -I bent my musket pretty badly on one occasion. If Cass broke his sword, -the idea is he broke it in desperation. I bent the musket by accident. -If General Cass went in advance of me in picking whortleberries, I -guess I surpassed him in charges upon the wild onions. If he saw any -live fighting Indians, it was more than I did; but I had a great many -bloody struggles with the mosquitoes, and, although I never fainted -from loss of blood, I certainly can say I was often very hungry.” - -The soldiers from Sangamon County arrived home just ten days before the -State election, and Lincoln was immediately applied to for permission -to place his name among the candidates for the Legislature.[15] He -canvassed the district, but was defeated, though he received the -almost unanimous vote of his own precinct. The young man had, however, -made a great advance even by defeat, since he became known by it as -one whose sterling honesty had deserved a better reward. Lincoln’s -integrity was, in this election, strikingly evinced by his adherence -to his political principles; had he been less scrupulous, he would not -have lost the election. At this time there were two great political -parties--the Democratic, headed by Andrew Jackson, elected President -in 1832, and that which had been the Federalist, but which was rapidly -being called Whig. The Democratic party warred against a national bank, -paper money, “monopolies” or privileged and chartered institutions, -a protective tariff, and internal improvements, and was, in short, -jealous of all public expenditure which could tend to greatly enrich -individuals. Its leader, Jackson, was a man of inflexible determination -and unquestionable bravery, which he had shown not only in battle, but -by subduing the incipient rebellion in South Carolina, when that state -had threatened to nullify or secede from the Union. Lincoln’s heart -was with Jackson; he had unbounded admiration for the man, but he -knew that the country needed internal improvements, and in matters of -political economy inclined to the Whigs. - -After returning from the army, he went to live in the house of W. H. -Herndon, a most estimable man, to whose researches the world owes -nearly all that is known of Lincoln’s early life and family, and who -was subsequently his law-partner. At this time the late Captain thought -of becoming a blacksmith, but as an opportunity occurred of buying a -store in New Salem on credit, he became, in company with a man named -Berry, a country merchant, or trader. - -He showed little wisdom in associating himself with Berry, who proved -a drunkard, and ruined the business, after a year of anxiety, leaving -Lincoln in debt, which he struggled to pay off through many years of -trouble. It was not until 1849 that the last note was discharged. His -creditors were, however, considerate and kind. While living with Mr. -Herndon, Lincoln began to study law seriously. He had previously read -Blackstone, and by one who has really mastered this grand compendium -of English law the profession is already half-acquired. He was still -very poor, and appears to have lived by helping a Mr. Ellis in his -shop, and to have received much willing aid from friends, especially -John T. Stuart, who always cheerfully supplied his wants, and lent him -law-books. - -About this time, Lincoln attracted the attention of a noted Democrat, -John Calhoun, the surveyor of Sangamon County, who afterwards became -famous as President of the Lecompton Council in Kansas, during the -disturbances between the friends and opponents of slavery prior to the -admission of the state. He liked Lincoln, and, wanting a really honest -assistant, recommended him to learn surveying, lending him a book for -the purpose. In six weeks he had qualified himself, and soon acquired a -small private business. - -On the 7th May, 1833, Lincoln was appointed postmaster at New Salem. -As the mail arrived but once a-week, neither the duties nor emoluments -of the office were such as to greatly disturb or delight him. He is -said, indeed, to have kept the letters in his hat, being at once, in -his own person, both office and officer. The advantages which he gained -were opportunities to read the newspapers, which he did aloud to the -assembled inhabitants, and to decipher letters for all who could not -read. All of this was conducive, in a creditable way, to notoriety -and popularity, and he improved it as such. In the autumn of 1834, a -great trouble occurred. His scanty property, consisting of the horse, -saddle, bridle, and surveyor’s instruments by which he lived, were -seized under a judgment on one of the notes which he had given for “the -store.” But two good friends, named Short and Bowlin Greene, bought -them in for 245 dollars, which Lincoln faithfully repaid in due time. -It is said that he was an accurate surveyor, and remarkable for his -truthfulness. He never speculated in lands, nor availed himself of -endless opportunities to profit, by aiding the speculations of others. - -Miserably poor and badly clad, Lincoln, though very fond of the society -of women, was sensitive and shy when they were strangers. Mr. Ellis, -the storekeeper for whom he often worked, states that, when he lived -with him at the tavern, there came a lady from Virginia with three -stylish daughters, who remained a few weeks. “During their stay, I -do not remember Mr. Lincoln ever eating at the same table where they -did. I thought it was on account of his awkward appearance and wearing -apparel.” There are many anecdotes recorded of this kind, showing at -this period his poverty, his popularity, and his kindness of heart. -He was referee, umpire, and unquestioned judge in all disputes, -horse-races, or wagers. One who knew him in this capacity said of -him--“He is the fairest man I ever had to deal with.” - -In 1834, Lincoln again became a successful candidate for the -Legislature of Illinois, receiving a larger majority than any other -candidate on the ticket. A friend, Colonel Smoot, lent him 200 dollars -to make a decent appearance, and he went to the seat of government -properly dressed, for, perhaps, the first time in his life. During the -session, he said very little, but worked hard and learned much. He was -on the Committee for Public Accounts and Expenditures, and when the -session was at an end, quietly walked back to his work. - -Lamon relates, at full length, that at this time Lincoln was in love -with a young lady, who died of a broken heart in 1835, not, however, -for Lincoln, but for another young man who had been engaged to, and -abandoned her. At her death, Lincoln seemed for some weeks nearly -insane, and was never the same man again. From this time he lost -his youth, and became subject to frequent attacks of intense mental -depression, resulting in that settled melancholy which never left him. - -In 1836, he was again elected to the Legislature. Political excitement -at this time ran high. The country was being settled rapidly, and -people’s minds were wild with speculation in lands and public works, -from which every man hoped for wealth, and which were to be developed -by the legislators. Lincoln’s colleagues were in an unusual degree -able men, and the session was a busy one. It was during the canvass of -1836 that he made his first really great speech. He had by this time -fairly joined the new Whig party, and it was in reply to a Democrat, -Dr. Early, that he spoke. From that day he was recognised as one of the -most powerful orators in the state. - -The principal object of this session, in accordance with the popular -mania, was internal improvements, and to this subject Lincoln had been -devoted for years. The representatives from Sangamon County consisted -of nine men of great influence, every one at least six feet in height, -whence they were known as the Long Nine. The friends of the adoption of -a general system of internal improvements wished to secure the aid of -the Long Nine, but the latter refused to aid them unless the removal of -the capital of the state from Vandalia to Springfield should be made -a part of the measure. The result was that both the Bill for removal -and that for internal improvements, involving the indebtedness of the -state for many millions of dollars, passed the same day. Lincoln was -the leader in these improvements, and “was a most laborious member, -instant in season and out of season for the great measures of the Whig -party.”[16] At the present day, though grave doubts may exist as to -the expediency of such reckless and radical legislation, there can be -none as to the integrity or good faith of Abraham Lincoln. He did not -enrich himself by it, though it is not impossible that, in legislation -as in land-surveying, others swindled on his honesty. - -It was during this session that Lincoln first beheld Stephen Douglas, -who was destined to become, for twenty years, his most formidable -opponent. Douglas, from his diminutive stature and great mind, was -afterwards popularly known as the Little Giant. Lincoln merely recorded -his first impressions of Douglas by saying he was the least man he ever -saw. This legislation of 1836-37 was indeed of a nature to attract -speculators, whether in finance or politics. Within a few days, it -passed two loans amounting to 12,000,000 dollars, and chartered 1,300 -miles of railway, with canals, bridges, and river improvements in full -proportion. The capital stock of two banks was increased by nearly -5,000,000 dollars, which the State took, leaving it to the banks to -manage the railroad and canal funds. Everything was undertaken on a -colossal and daring scale by the legislators, who were principally -managed by the Long Nine, who were in their turn chiefly directed by -Lincoln. The previous session had been to him only as the green-room -in which to prepare himself for the stage. When he made this his first -appearance in the political _ballet_, it was certainly with such a -leap as had never before been witnessed in any beginner. The internal -improvement scheme involved not only great boldness and promptness in -its execution, but also a vast amount of that practical business talent -in which most “Western men” and Yankees are instinctively proficient. -With all this, there was incessant hard work and great excitement. -Through the turmoil, Lincoln passed like one in his true element. He -had at last got into the life to which he had aspired for years, and -was probably as happy as his constitutional infirmity of melancholy -would permit. He was, it is true, no man of business in the ordinary -sense, but he understood the general principles of business, and was -skilled in availing himself in others of talents which he did not -possess. - -During this session, he put on record his first anti-slavery protest. -It was, in the words of Lamon, “a very mild beginning,” but it required -uncommon courage, and is interesting as indicating the principle -upon which his theory of Emancipation was afterwards carried out. At -this time the whole country, North as well as South, was becoming -excited concerning the doctrines and practices of the small but very -rapidly-growing body of Abolitionists, who were attacking slavery -with fiery zeal, and provoking in return the most deadly hatred. The -Abolitionist, carrying the Republican theory to its logical extreme, -insisted that all men, white or black, were entitled to the same -political and social rights; the slave-owners honestly believed that -society should consist of strata, the lowest of which should be -bondmen. The Abolitionist did not recognise that slavery in America, -like serfdom in Russia, had developed into culture a country which -would, without it, have remained a wilderness; nor did the slave -theorists recognise that a time must infallibly come when both systems -of enforced labour must yield to new forms of industrial development. -The Abolitionists, taking their impressions from the early English -and Quaker philanthropists, thought principally of the personal wrong -inflicted on the negro; while the majority of Americans declared, with -equal conviction, that the black’s sufferings were not of so much -account that white men should be made to suffer much more for them, -and the whole country be possibly overwhelmed in civil war. Even at -this early period of the dispute, there were, however, in the old -Whig party, a few men who thought that the growing strife was not -to be stopped simply by crushing the Abolitionists. But while they -would gladly have seen the latter abate their furious zeal, they also -thought that slavery might, with propriety, be at least checked in -its progress, since they had observed, with grave misgiving, that -wherever it was planted, only an aristocracy flourished, while the poor -white men became utterly degraded. Such were the views of Abraham -Lincoln--views which, in after years, led, during the sharp and bitter -need of the war, to the formation of the theory of Emancipation for the -sake of the Country, as opposed to mere Abolition for the sake of the -Negro, which had had its turn and fulfilled its mission. - -The feeling against the Abolitionists was very bitter in Illinois. -Many other states had passed severe resolutions, recommending -that anti-slavery agitation be made an indictable offence, or a -misdemeanour; and in May, 1836, Congress declared that all future -“abolition petitions” should be laid on the table without discussion. -But when the Legislature of Illinois took its turn in the fashion, and -passed resolutions of the same kind, Abraham Lincoln presented to the -House a protest which he could get but one man, Dan Stone, to sign. -Perhaps he did not want any more signatures, for he was one of those -who foresaw to what this cloud, no larger than a man’s hand, would -in future years extend, and was willing to be alone as a prophet. The -protest was as follows:-- - - _March 3, 1837._ - - The following protest was presented to the House, which was - read and ordered to be spread on the journals, to wit:-- - - 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 reason for entering this protest. - - (Signed) DAN STONE. - - A. LINCOLN. - - _Representatives from the County of Sangamon._ - -This was indeed a very mild protest, but it was the beginning of that -which, in after years, grew to be the real Emancipation of the negro. -Never in history was so fine an end of the wedge succeeded by such a -wide cleaving bulk. Much as Lincoln afterwards accomplished for the -abolition of slavery, he never, says Holland, became more extreme -in his views than the words of this protest intimate. It was during -this session also that he first put himself in direct opposition -to Douglas by another protest. The Democrats, in order to enable the -_aliens_--virtually the Irishmen--in their state to vote on six months’ -residence, passed a Bill known as the Douglas Bill, remodelling the -judiciary in such a way as to secure judges who would aid them. Against -this, Lincoln, E. D. Baker, and others protested vigorously, but -without avail. Both of these protests, though failures at the time, -were in reality the beginnings of the two great principles which led to -Lincoln’s great success, and the realisation of his utmost ambition. -During his life, defeat was always a step to victory. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - Lincoln settles at Springfield as a Lawyer--Candidate for the - Office of Presidential Elector--A Love Affair--Marries Miss - Todd--Religious Views--Exerts himself for Henry Clay--Elected - to Congress in 1846--Speeches in Congress--Out of Political - Employment until 1854--Anecdotes of Lincoln as a Lawyer. - - -Abraham Lincoln’s career was now clear. He was to follow the law for -a living, as a step to political eminence. And as the seat of State -Government was henceforth to be at Springfield, he determined to -live where both law and politics might be followed to the greatest -advantage, since it was in Springfield that, in addition to the State -Courts, the Circuit and District Courts of the United States sat. He -obtained his license as an attorney in 1837, and commenced his practice -in the March of that year. He entered into partnership with his friend, -J. T. Stewart, and lived with the Hon. W. Butler, who was of great -assistance to him in the simple matter of living, for he was at this -time as poor as ever. During 1837, he delivered several addresses in -which there was a strong basis of common sense, though they were fervid -and figurative to extravagance, as suited the tastes of his hearers. In -these speeches he predicted the great struggle on which the country -was about to enter, and that it would never be settled by passion but -by reason--“cold, calculating, unimpassioned reasoning, which must -furnish all the materials for our future defence and support.” He also -distinguished himself in debate and retort, so that ere long he became -unrivalled, in his sphere, in ready eloquence. From this time, for -twenty years, he followed his great political rival, Douglas, seeking -every opportunity to contend with him. From 1837 he concerned himself -little with the politics of his state, but entered with zeal into the -higher interests of the Federal Union. - -In 1840, Lincoln was a candidate for the office of Presidential elector -on the Harrison ticket, and made speeches through a great part of -Illinois. Soon after, he again became involved in a love affair, which, -through its perplexities and the revival of the memory of his early -disappointment, had a terrible effect upon his mind. He had become -intimate with a Mr. Speed, who remained through life his best friend. -For a year he was almost a lunatic, and was taken to Kentucky by Mr. -Speed, and kept there until he recovered. It was for this reason that -he did not attend the Legislature of 1841-42. It is very characteristic -of Lincoln that, from boyhood, he never wanted true friends to aid him -in all his troubles. - -Soon after his recovery, Lincoln became engaged to Miss Mary Todd. -This lady was supposed to be gifted as a witty and satirical writer, -though it must be admitted that the specimens of her literary capacity, -exhibited in certain anonymous contributions to the newspapers, show -little talent beyond the art of irritation. Several of these were -levelled at a politician named James Shields, an Irishman, who, -being told that Lincoln had written them, sent him a challenge. -The challenge was accepted, but the duel was prevented by mutual -friends. Lincoln married Miss Todd on the 4th November, 1842. This -marriage, which had not been preceded by the most favourable omens, -was followed by a singular misfortune. In 1843, Lincoln was a Whig -candidate for Congress, but was defeated. “He had a hard time of it, -and was compelled to meet accusations of a strange character. Among -other things, he was charged with being an aristocrat, and with having -deserted his old friends, the people, by marrying a proud woman on -account of her blood and family. This hurt him keenly,” says Lamon, -“and he took great pains to disprove it.” Other accusations, equally -frivolous, relative to his supposed religion or irreligion, also -contributed to his defeat. - -On this much-vexed subject of Lincoln’s religious faith, or his want -of it, something may here be said. In his boyhood, when religious -associations are most valuable in disciplining the mind, he had never -even seen a church, and, as he grew older, his sense of humour and -his rude companions prevented him from being seriously impressed by -the fervid but often eccentric oratory of the few itinerant preachers -who found their way into the backwoods. At New Salem, he had read -“Volney’s Ruins” and the works of Thomas Paine, and was for some time -a would-be unbeliever. It is easy to trace in his youthful irreligion -the influence of irresistible causes. As he grew older, his intensely -melancholy and emotional temperament inclined him towards reliance in -an unseen Providence and belief in a future state; and it is certain -that, after the unpopularity of freethinkers had forced itself upon his -mind, the most fervidly passionate expressions of piety began to abound -in his speeches. In this he was not, however, hypocritical. From his -childhood, Abraham Lincoln was possessed even to unreason with the idea -that whatever was absolutely popular, was founded on reason and right. -He was a Republican of Republicans, faithfully believing that whatever -average common sense accepted must be followed.[17] His own personal -popularity was at all times very great. One who knew him testifies -that, when the lawyers travelling the judicial circuit of Illinois -arrived at the villages where trials were to be held, crowds of men and -women always assembled to welcome Abraham Lincoln. - -Lincoln himself had a great admiration for Henry Clay. In 1844, he went -through Illinois delivering speeches and debating and speaking, or, as -it is called in America, “stumping” for him, and he even extended his -labours into Indiana. It was all in vain, and Clay’s defeat was a great -blow to Lincoln.[18] At this time, though he withdrew from politics -in favour of law, he began to think seriously of getting a seat in -Congress. His management of this affair indicates forcibly his entire -faith in party-right, and his principle of _never_ advancing beyond his -party. Of all the men of action known to history as illustrating great -epochs, there never was a more thorough man of action than Lincoln, but -the brain which inspired his action was always that of the people. - -Through all his poverty, Lincoln was always just and generous. In -1843, while living with his wife for four dollars a-week, at a country -tavern, he gave up a promissory-note for a large fee to an impoverished -client who, after the trial, had lost a hand. He paid all his own -debts, and generously aided his stepmother and other friends. - -In 1846, Lincoln accepted the nomination for Congress. His Democratic -opponent was Peter Cartwright, a celebrated pioneer Methodist preacher. -It is a great proof of Lincoln’s popularity that he was elected by an -unprecedented majority, though he was the only Whig Congressman from -Illinois. At this session, his almost life-long adversary, Douglas, -took a place in the Senate. Both houses shone with an array of great -and brilliant names, and Lincoln, as the only representative of his -party from his state, was in a critical and responsible situation. But -he was no novice in legislation, and he acquitted himself bravely. He -became a member of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, and -in that capacity made his first speech. He found it as easy a matter -to address his new colleagues as his old clients. “I was about as -badly scared,” he wrote to W. J. Herndon, “and no worse, as when I -speak in court.” During this session, the United States were at war -with Mexico, and Lincoln was, with his party, in a painful dilemma. -They were opposed to the principle of the war, since they detested -forcible acquisition of territory, and it was evident that Mexico was -wanted by the South to extend the area of slavery. Yet they could -not, in humanity, withhold supplies from the army in Mexico while -fighting bravely. So Lincoln denounced the war, and yet voted the -supplies--an inconsistency creditable to his heart, but which involved -him in trouble with his constituents. But he struck the Administration -a severe blow in what was really his first speech before the whole -House. President Polk having declared, in a Message, that “the Mexicans -had invaded our territory, and shed the blood of our citizens on -our own soil,” Lincoln introduced what were called the famous “spot -resolutions,” in which the President was invited in a series of -satirical yet serious questions to indicate the spot where this outrage -had been committed. - -Lincoln was very busy this year. The Whig National Convention was to -nominate a candidate for President on the 1st June, and he was to be -one of its members. On July 27th, he delivered, in Congress, a speech -as remarkable in some respects for solid sense and shrewdness as it -was in others for eccentric drollery and scathing Western retorts. -The second session, 1848-49, was quieter. At one time he proposed, as -a substitute for a resolution that slavery be at once abolished by -law in the district of Columbia, another, providing that the owners -be paid for their slaves. If he did little in this session to attract -attention, he made for himself a name, and was known as a powerful -speaker and a rising man; but, after returning to Springfield, though -a Whig President had been elected, and his own reputation greatly -increased, he was thrown out of political employment until the year -1854. He made great efforts to secure the office of Commissioner of -the General Land Office, but failed. President Fillmore, it is true, -offered him the Governorship of Oregon, but Mrs. Lincoln induced him to -decline it. - -In 1850, his friends wished to nominate him for Congress, but he -positively refused the honour. It is thought that he wished to -establish himself in his profession for the sake of a support for his -family, or that he had entered into a secret understanding with other -candidates for Congress, who were to nominally oppose each other, but -in reality secure election in turn by excluding rivals.[19] But it -is most probable that he clearly foresaw at this time the tremendous -struggle which was approaching between North and South, and wished -to prepare himself for some great part in it. To engage in minor -political battles and be defeated, as would probably be the case in his -district, where his war-vote in Congress was still remembered to his -disadvantage, would have seriously injured his future prospects of -every kind. He said, in 1850, to his friend Stuart--“The time will come -when we must all be Democrats or Abolitionists. When that time comes, -my mind is made up. The slavery question can’t be compromised.” - -Many interesting anecdotes of Lincoln’s legal experiences at this time -have been preserved. In his first case, at Springfield, he simply -admitted that all laws and precedents were in favour of his opponent, -and, having stated them in detail, left the decision to the Court. He -would never take an unjust, or mean, or a purely litigious case. When -retained with a colleague, named Swett, to defend a man accused of -murder, Lincoln became convinced of his client’s guilt, and said to -his associate--“You must defend him--I cannot.” Mr. Swett obtained an -acquittal, but Lincoln would take no part of the large fee which was -paid. On one occasion, however, when one of his own friends of boyhood, -John Armstrong, was indicted for a very atrocious murder, Lincoln, -moved by the tears and entreaties of the aged mother of the prisoner, -consented to plead his cause. It having been testified that, when -the man was murdered, the full moon was shining high in the heavens, -Lincoln, producing an almanac, proved that, on the night in question, -there was in fact no moon at all. Those who were associated with him -for years declare that they never knew a lawyer who was so moderate -in his charges. Though he attained great reputation in his profession, -the highest fee he ever received was 5,000 dollars. His strength lay -entirely in shrewd common sense, in quickly mastering all the details -of a case, and in ready eloquence or debate, for he had very little -law-learning, and was averse to making researches. But his rare genius -for promptly penetrating all the difficulties of a legal or political -problem, which aided him so much as President, enabled him to deal -with juries in a masterly manner. On one occasion, when thirty-four -witnesses swore to a fact on one side, and exactly as many on the -other, Mr. Lincoln proposed a very practical test to the jury--“If you -were going to _bet_ on this case,” he said, “on which side would you -lay a picayune?”[20] - -Any poor person in distress for want of legal aid could always find a -zealous friend in Lincoln. On one occasion, a poor old negro woman came -to him and Mr. Herndon, complaining that her son had been imprisoned -at New Orleans for simply going, in his ignorance, ashore, thereby -breaking a disgraceful law which then existed, forbidding free men of -colour from other states to enter Louisiana. Having been condemned -to pay a fine, and being without money, the poor man was about to -be sold for a slave. Messrs. Lincoln and Herndon, finding law of no -avail, ransomed the prisoner out of their own pockets. In those days, a -free-born native of a Northern state could, if of African descent, be -seized and sold simply for setting foot on Southern soil. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - Rise of the Southern Party--Formation of the Abolition and - the Free Soil Parties--Judge Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska - Bill--Douglas defeated by Lincoln--Lincoln resigns as Candidate - for Congress--Lincoln’s Letter on Slavery--The Bloomington - Speech--The Fremont Campaign--Election of Buchanan--The - Dred-Scott Decision. - - -The great storm of civil war which now threatened the American -Ship of State had been long brewing. Year by year the party of -slave-owners--small in number but strong in union, and unanimously -devoted to the acquisition of political power--had progressed, until -they saw before them the possibility of ruling the entire continent. -To please them, the nation, after purchasing, had admitted as slave -territory the immense regions of Louisiana and Florida, and in their -interests a war had been waged with Mexico. But, so early as 1820, the -North, alarmed at the incredible progress of slave-power, and observing -that wherever it was established white labour was paralysed, and that -society resolved itself at once into a small aristocracy, with a large -number of blacks and poor whites who were systematically degraded,[21] -attempted to check its territorial extension. There was a contest, -which was finally settled by what was known as the Missouri Compromise, -by which it was agreed that Missouri should be admitted as a slave -state, but that in future all territory North and West of Missouri, -above latitude 36° 30´, should be for ever free.[22] - -[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.] - -While the inhabitants of the Eastern and Western States applied -themselves to every development of industrial pursuits, art, and -letters, the Southerners lived by agricultural slave-labour, and were -entirely devoted to acquiring political power. The contest was unequal, -and the result was that, before the Rebellion, the slave-holders--who, -with their slaves, only constituted one-third of the population of the -United States--had secured _two_-thirds of all the offices--civil, -military, or naval--and had elected two-thirds of the Presidents. -Law after law was passed, giving the slave-holders every advantage, -until Governor Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, declared in Congress that -slavery should pour itself abroad, and have no limit but the Southern -Ocean. He also asserted that the best way to meet or answer Abolition -arguments was _with death_. His house was afterwards, during the war, -used for a negro school, under care of a New England Abolitionist. -Large pecuniary rewards were offered by Governors of slave states for -the persons--_i.e._, the lives--of eminent Northern anti-slavery men. -Direct efforts were made to re-establish the slave-trade between -Africa and the Southern States. - -In 1839 the Abolition party was formed, which advocated the total -abolition of slavery. This was going too far for the mass of the North, -who hoped to live at peace with the South. But still there were many -in both the Whig and Democratic parties who wished to see the advance -of the slave power checked; and their delegates, meeting at Buffalo -in June, 1848, formed the Free Soil party, opposed to the further -extension of slavery, which rapidly grew in power. The struggle became -violent. When the territory acquired by war from Mexico was to be -admitted to the Union in 1846, David Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, offered -a proviso to the Bill accepting the territory, to the effect that -slavery should be unknown in it. There was a fierce debate for two -years over this proviso, which was finally rejected. The most desperate -legislation was adopted to make California a slave state, and when -she decided by her own will to be free, the slave-holders opposed her -admission to the Union. Finally, in 1850, the celebrated Compromise -Measures were adopted. These were to the effect that California should -be admitted free--that in New Mexico and Utah the people should decide -for themselves as to slavery--and that such of Texas as was above -latitude 36° 30´ should be free. To this, however, was tacked a new -and more cruel fugitive slave law,[23] apparently to humiliate and -annoy the free states, and to keep irritation alive. - -But, on the 4th January, 1854, Judge Douglas introduced into the -Senate of the United States a Bill known as the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, -proposing to set aside the Missouri Compromise. This was passed, after -a tremendous struggle, on May 22nd and the slave-party triumphed. Yet -it proved their ruin, for it was the first decisive step to the strife -which ended in civil war. It eventually destroyed Mr. Douglas, its -originator. He is said to have repented the deed; and when it became -evident that the Union was aroused, and that the Republican would be -the winning party, Douglas went over to it. “He had long before invoked -destruction on the ruthless hand which should disturb the compromise, -and now he put forth his own ingenious hand to do the deed and to -take the curse, in both of which he was eminently successful.” He was -defeated by the honester and wiser Lincoln, and died a disappointed man. - -To suit the slave-party, it was originally agreed, in 1820, that in -future they, though so greatly inferior in number, should have half -the territory of the Union. But as they found in time that population -increased most rapidly in the free territories, the compromise of -1850 was arranged, by which the inhabitants of the new states were -to decide for themselves in the matter. The result was an immediate -and terrible turmoil. The legitimate dwellers in Kansas were almost -all steady, law-abiding farmers who hated slavery. But, from Missouri -and the neighbouring slave states, there was poured in, by means of -committees and funds raised in the South, a vast number of “Border -ruffians,” or desperadoes, who would remain in Kansas only long -enough to vote illegally, or to rob and ravage, and then retire. The -North, on the other hand, exasperated by these outrages, sent numbers -of emigrants to Kansas to support the legitimate settlers, and the -result was a virtual civil war, which was the more irritating because -President Buchanan did all in his power to aid the Border ruffians, -and crush the legitimate settlers. Day by day it became evident that -the Kansas-Nebraska Bill had been passed for the purpose of enabling -the South to quit the Union, and ere long this was openly avowed by -the slave-holding press and politicians. The entire North was now -fiercely irritated. Judge Douglas, returning westwards, tried to speak -at Chicago, but was hissed down. At the state fair in Springfield, -Illinois, Oct. 4th, 1854, he spoke in defence of the Nebraska Bill, but -was replied to by Lincoln “with such power as he had never exhibited -before.” He was no longer the orator he had been, “but a newer and -greater Lincoln, the like of whom no one in that vast multitude had -ever heard.” “The Nebraska Bill,” says W. H. Herndon, “was shivered, -and, like a tree of the forest, was torn and rent asunder by hot bolts -of truth.” Douglas was crushed, and his brief reply was a spiritless -failure. From this time forth, Lincoln’s speeches were as unexceptional -in form as they were vigorous and logical. Never was there a man of -whom it could be said with so much truth that he always rose to the -occasion, however great, however unprecedented its demands on his power -might be. - -From Springfield Lincoln followed Douglas to Peoria, where he -delivered, in debate, another great speech. Not liking slavery in -itself, Lincoln was willing to let it alone under the old compromise, -but he would never suffer its introduction to new territories, and he -made it clear as day that Douglas, by opening the flood-gate of slavery -on free soil, had let loose a torrent which, if unchecked, would sweep -everything to destruction. He had previously, at Springfield, disclosed -the fallacy of Douglas’s “great principle” by a single sentence. “I -admit that the emigrant to Kansas is competent to govern himself, but -I deny his right to govern any other person without that person’s -consent.” Such arguments were overwhelming, and Douglas, the Giant of -the West and the foremost politician in America, felt that he had met -his master at his own peculiar weapons--oratory and debate. He sent for -Lincoln, and proposed that both should refrain from speaking during the -campaign, and Lincoln, conscious of superior strength, agreed. Douglas -did speak once more, however, but Lincoln remained silent. - -At the end of this campaign, Lincoln was elected to the Legislature -of Illinois. As the Legislature was about to elect a United States -Senator, Lincoln resigned to become a candidate. But at the -election--there being three candidates--Lincoln, finding that by -resigning he could make it sure that an _anti_-Nebraska man (Judge -Trumbull) could be elected, and that there was some uncertainty as to -his own success, resigned, in the noblest manner, in favour of his -principles and party. It had been the ambition of his life to become a -United States Senator. The result of this sacrifice, says Holland, was -that, when the Republican party was soon after regularly organised, -Lincoln became their foremost man. - -Meanwhile, the strife in Kansas grew more desperate. One Governor after -another was appointed to the state, for the express purpose of turning -it over to slavery; but the outrageous frauds practised at the election -were too much for Mr. Reeder and his successor, Shannon, and even for -his follower, Robert J. Walker, a man not over-scrupulous. Walker, like -many other Democrats, adroitly turned with the tide, but too late. - -During 1855, the old parties were breaking up, and the new Republican -one was gathering with great rapidity. Two separate governments or -legislatures had formed in Kansas, one manifestly and boldly fraudulent -in favour of slavery, and the other settled at Topeka, headed by -Governor Reeder, consisting of legitimate settlers. At this time, Aug. -24th, 1855, Lincoln wrote to his friend Speed a letter, in which he -discussed slavery with great shrewdness. In answer to the standing -Southern argument, that slavery did not concern Northern people, and -that it was none of their business, he replied-- - -“In 1841, you and I had together a tedious low-water trip on a -steamboat, from Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember as well as I -do that, from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio, there were on board -ten or a dozen slaves shackled with irons. That sight was a continual -torment to me, and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, -or any other slave-border. It is not fair for you to assume that I -have no interest in a thing which has, and continually exercises, the -power of making me miserable. You ought rather to appreciate how much -the great body of the Northern people do crucify their feelings, in -order to maintain their loyalty to the Constitution and the Union. I do -oppose the extension of slavery, because my judgment and feelings so -prompt me; and I am under no obligations to the contrary. If for this -you and I must differ, differ we must.” - -On May 29th, 1856, Lincoln attended a meeting at Bloomington, Illinois, -where, with his powerful assistance, the Republican party of the state -was organised, and delegates were appointed to the National Republican -Convention which was to be held on the 17th of the following month -at Philadelphia. The speech which he made on this occasion was of -extraordinary power. From this day he was regarded by the Republicans -of the West as their leader. Therefore, in the Republican National -Convention of 1856, at Philadelphia, the Illinois delegation presented -his name for the Vice-Presidency. He received a complimentary vote of -110 votes, the successful candidate, Dayton, having 259. This, however, -was his formal introduction to the nation. At this convention, John -C. Fremont, a plausible political pretender, was nominated for the -Presidency. As a candidate for Presidential elector, Lincoln again took -the field. He made a thorough and energetic canvass, and his greatly -improved powers of oratory now manifested themselves. Probably no man -in the country, says Lamon, discussed the main questions at issue -in a manner more original and persuasive. Buchanan, the Democratic -candidate, was elected by a small majority. The Republican vote was -largely increased by many offensive and inhuman enforcements of the -fugitive slave law,[24] for it seemed at this time as if the South had -gone mad, and was resolved to do all in its power to irritate the North -into war. - -On March 4th, 1857, Buchanan, the last Slave-President, was -inaugurated, and, a few days after, Judge Taney, of the Supreme Court, -rendered the famous “Dred Scott” decision relative to a fugitive negro -slave of that name, to the effect that a man of African slave descent -could not be a citizen of the United States--that the prohibition of -slavery was unconstitutional, and that it existed by the Constitution -in all the territories. Judge Taney, in fact, declared that the negro -had no rights which the white man was bound to respect. “Against the -Constitution--against the memory of the nation--against a previous -decision--against a series of enactments--he decided that the slave -is property, and that the Constitution upholds it against every other -property.”[25] This decision was regarded as an outrage even by many -old Democrats. In the same year the slavery-party in Kansas passed, by -fraud and violence, the celebrated Lecompton Constitution, upholding -slavery. By this time, Judge Douglas, the author of all this mischief, -wishing to be re-elected to the Senate, and finding that there was no -chance for him as a pro-slavery candidate, was suddenly seized with -indignation at the Lecompton affair, which he pronounced an outrage. -The result was the division of the Democratic party. He then made -a powerful speech at Springfield, defending his course with great -shrewdness, but it was, as usual, blown to the winds by a reply from -Lincoln. Douglas suddenly became a zealous “Free Soiler,” after the -manner admirably burlesqued by “Petroleum Nasby,”[26] when that worthy -found it was necessary to become an anti-slavery man to keep his -post-office. At this time Douglas made his famous assertion that he did -not care whether slavery was voted up or down; and in the following -year, April 30th, 1858, Congress passed the English Bill, by which the -people of Kansas were offered heavy bribes in land if they would accept -the Lecompton Constitution, but which the people rejected by an immense -majority. - -On the 16th June, 1858, a Republican State Convention at Springfield -nominated Lincoln for the Senate, and on the 17th he delivered a bold -speech, soon to be known far and wide as the celebrated “House divided -against itself” speech. It began with these words-- - -“If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we -could then better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far -on into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed -object and confident promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. -Under the operation of that policy, that agitation had not only not -ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease -until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. ‘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 the 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. - -“Have we no tendency to the latter condition? Let any one who doubts -carefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination--piece -of machinery, so to speak--compounded of the Nebraska doctrine and the -Dred Scott decision. Let him consider not only what work the machinery -is adapted to do, and how well adapted, but also let him study the -history of its construction, and trace, if he can, or rather fail, if -he can, to trace the evidences of design and concert of action among -its chief master-workers from the beginning.” - -These were awful words to the world, and with awe were they received. -Lincoln was the first man among the “moderates” who had dared to speak -so plainly. His friends were angry, but in due time this tremendous -speech had the right effect, for it announced the truth. Meanwhile, -Lincoln and Douglas were again paired together as rivals, and at one -place the latter put to his adversary a series of questions, which -were promptly answered. In return, Lincoln gave Douglas four others, by -one of which he was asked if the people of a United States territory -could in any lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the United -States, exclude slavery from its limits? To which Douglas replied that -the people of a territory _had_ the lawful means to exclude slavery by -legislative action. This reply brought Douglas into direct antagonism -with the pro-slavery men. He hoped, by establishing a “platform” of his -own, to head so many Democrats that the Republicans would welcome his -accession, and make him President. But Lincoln, by these questions, -and by his unyielding attacks, weakened him to his ruin. It is true -that Judge Douglas gained his seat in the Senate, but it was by an old -and unjust law in the Legislature, as Lincoln really had four thousand -majority. - -The speeches which Lincoln delivered during this campaign, and which -were afterwards published with those of Douglas, were so refined and -masterly that many believed they had been revised for him by able -friends. But from this time all his oratory indicated an advance in all -respects. He was now bent on great things. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - Causes of Lincoln’s Nomination to the Presidency--His Lectures - in New York, &c.--The first Nomination and the Fence Rails--The - Nomination at Chicago--Elected President--Office-seekers and - Appointments--Lincoln’s Impartiality--The South determined to - Secede--Fears for Lincoln’s Life. - - -It is an almost invariable law of stern equity in the United States, -as it must be in all true republics, that the citizen who has -distinguished himself by great services must not expect really great -rewards. The celebrity which he has gained seems, in a commonwealth, -where all are ambitious of distinction, to be sufficient recompense. -It is true that at times some overwhelming favourite, generally a -military hero, is made an exception; but there are few very ambitious -civilians who do not realise that a prophet is without great honour -in his own country. Other instances may occur where aspiring men have -carefully concealed their hopes, and of such was Abraham Lincoln. -Perhaps his case is best stated by Lamon, who declares that he had all -the requisites of an available candidate for the Presidency, chiefly -because he had not been sufficiently prominent in national politics -to excite the jealousies of powerful rivals. In order to defeat one -another, these rivals will put forward some comparatively unknown man, -and thus Lincoln was greatly indebted to the jealousy with which Horace -Greeley, a New York politician, regarded his rival, W. H. Seward. -Lincoln’s abilities were very great, “but he knew that becoming modesty -in a great man was about as needful as anything else.” Therefore, -when his friend Pickett suggested that he might aspire to the Chief -Magistracy, he replied, “I do not think I am fit for the Presidency.” - -But he had friends who thought differently, and in the winter of -1859, Jackson Grimshaw, Mr. Hatch, the Secretary of State, and -Messrs. Bushnell, Judd, and Peck, held a meeting, and, after a little -persuasion, induced Lincoln to allow them to put him forward as a -candidate for the great office. In October, 1859, Lincoln received -an invitation from a committee of citizens to give a lecture in New -York.[27] He was much pleased with this intimation that he was well -known in “the East,” and wrote out with great care a political address, -which, when delivered, was warmly praised by the newspapers, one of -which, the “Tribune,” edited by Horace Greeley, declared that no man -ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York -audience. The subject of the discourse was most logical, vigorous, -and masterly comment upon an assertion which Judge Douglas had made, -to the effect that the framers of the Constitution had understood -and approved of slavery. No better vindication of the rights of the -Republican party to be considered as expressing and carrying out in -all respects the opinions of Washington and of the framers of the -Constitution, was ever set forth. From New York he went to New England, -lecturing in many cities, and everywhere verifying what was said of -him in the “Manchester Mirror,” that he spoke with great fairness, -candour, and with wonderful interest. “He did not abuse the South, -the Administration, or the Democrats. He is far from prepossessing in -personal appearance, and his voice is disagreeable, yet he wins your -attention and good-will from the start. His sense of the ludicrous -is very keen, and an exhibition of that is the clincher of all his -arguments--not the ludicrous acts of persons, but ludicrous ideas. -Hence he is never offensive, and steals away willingly into his train -of belief persons who were opposed to him. For the first half-hour his -opponents would agree with every word he uttered, and from that point -he began to lead them off, little by little, until it seemed as if he -had got them all into his fold.” - -Lincoln was now approaching with great rapidity the summit of his -wishes. On May 9th and 10th the Republican State Convention met -at Springfield for the purpose of nominating a candidate for the -Presidency, and it is said that Lincoln did not appear to have had -any idea that any business relative to himself was to be transacted. -For it is unquestionable that, while very ambitious, he was at the -same time remarkably modest. When he went to lecture in New York, and -the press reporters asked him for “slips,” or copies of his speech, he -was astonished, not feeling sure whether the newspapers would care to -publish it. At this Convention, he was “sitting on his heels” in a back -part of the room, and the Governor of Illinois, as soon as the meeting -was organised, rose and said--“I am informed that a distinguished -citizen of Illinois, and one whom Illinois will ever delight to honour, -is present, and I wish to move that this body invite him to a seat on -the stand.” And, pausing, he exclaimed, “Abraham Lincoln.” There was -tremendous applause, and the mob seizing Lincoln, raised him in their -arms, and bore him, sturdily resisting, to the platform. A gentleman -who was present said--“I then thought him one of the most diffident and -worst-plagued men I ever saw.” The next proceeding was most amusing -and characteristic, it being the entrance of “Old John Hanks,” with -two fence-rails bearing the inscription--_Two Rails from a lot made -by Abraham Lincoln and John Hanks in the Sangamon bottom in the year -1830_. The end was that Lincoln was the declared candidate of his state -for the Presidency. - -But there were other candidates from other states, and at the great -Convention in Chicago, on May 16th, there was as fierce intriguing -and as much shrewdness shown as ever attended the election of a Pope. -After publishing the “platform,” or declaration of the principles of -the Republican party--which was in the main a stern denunciation of -all further extension of slavery--with a declaration in favour of -protection, the rights of foreign citizens, and a Pacific railroad, -the Convention proceeded to the main business. It was soon apparent -that the real strife lay between W. H. Seward, of New York, and Abraham -Lincoln. It would avail little to expose all the influences of trickery -and enmity resorted to by the friends of either candidate on this -occasion--suffice it to say that, eventually, Lincoln received the -nomination, which was the prelude to the most eventful election ever -witnessed in America. What followed has been well described by Lamon. - -“All that day, and all the day previous, Mr. Lincoln was at -Springfield, trying to behave as usual, but watching, with nervous -anxiety, the proceedings of the Convention as they were reported -by telegraph. On both days he played a great deal at fives in a -ball-alley. It is probable that he took this physical mode of working -off or keeping down the excitement that threatened to possess him. -About nine o’clock in the morning, Mr. Lincoln came to the office of -Lincoln and Herndon. Mr. Baker entered, with a telegram which said the -names of the candidates had been announced, and that Mr. Lincoln’s -had been received with more applause than any other. When the news of -the first ballot came over the wire, it was apparent to all present -that Mr. Lincoln thought it very favourable. He believed if Mr. Seward -failed to get the nomination, or to come very near it, on the first -ballot, he would fail altogether. Presently, news of the second ballot -arrived, and then Mr. Lincoln showed by his manner that he considered -the contest no longer doubtful. ‘I’ve got him,’ said he. When the -decisive despatch at length arrived, there was great commotion. Mr. -Lincoln seemed to be calm, but a close observer could detect in his -countenance the indications of deep emotion. In the meantime, cheers -for Lincoln swelled up from the streets, and began to be heard through -the town. Some one remarked, ‘Mr. Lincoln, I suppose now we will soon -have a book containing your life.’ ‘There is not much,’ he replied, ‘in -my past life about which to write a book, as it seems to me.’ Having -received the hearty congratulations of the company in the office, he -descended to the street, where he was immediately surrounded by Irish -and American citizens; and, so long as he was willing to receive it, -there was great hand-shaking and felicitating. ‘Gentlemen,’ said the -great man, with a happy twinkle in his eye, ‘you had better come up -and shake my hand while you can; honours elevate some men, you know.’ -But he soon bethought him of a person who was of more importance to -him than all this crowd. Looking towards his house, he said--‘Well, -gentlemen, there is a little short woman at our house who is probably -more interested in this despatch than I am; and, if you will excuse me, -I will take it up and let her see it.’” - -The division caused by Douglas in the Democratic party to further his -own personal ambition, utterly destroyed its power for a long time. -The result was a division--one convention nominating Judge Douglas for -the Presidency, with Mr. Johnson, of Georgia, as Vice-President; and -the other, John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, with Joseph Lane, of -Oregon, for the second office. Still another party, the Constitutional -Union party, nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of -Massachusetts, for President and Vice-President. Thus there were four -rival armies in the political field, soon to be merged into two in real -strife. On Nov. 6th, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of -the United States, receiving 1,857,610 votes; Douglas had 1,291,574; -Breckinridge, 850,082; Bell, 646,124. Of all the votes really cast, -there was a majority of 930,170 against Lincoln--a fact which was -afterwards continually urged by the Southern party, which called him -the Minority President. But when the electors who are chosen to elect -the President met, they gave Lincoln 180 votes; Breckinridge, 72; Bell, -30; while Douglas, who might, beyond question, have been the successful -candidate had he been less crafty, received only 12. The strife between -him and Lincoln had been like that between the giant and the hero in -the Norse mythology, wherein the two gave to each other riddles, on the -successful answers to which their lives depended. Judge Douglas strove -to entrap Lincoln with a long series of questions which were easily -eluded, but one was demanded of the questioner himself, and the answer -he gave to it proved his destruction. - -The immediate result of Lincoln’s election was such a rush of hungry -politicians seeking office as had never before been witnessed. As -every appointment in the United States, from the smallest post-office -to a Secretaryship, is in the direct gift of the President, the -newly-elected found himself attacked by thousands of place-hunters, -ready to prove that they were the most deserving men in the world for -reward; and if they did not, as “Artemus Ward” declares, come down the -chimneys of the White House to interview him, they at least besieged -him with such pertinacity, and made him so thoroughly wretched, that -he is said to have at last replied to one man who insisted that it was -really to his exertions that the President owed his election--“If that -be so, I wonder you are not ashamed to look me in the face for getting -me into such an abominable situation.” - -From his own good nature, and from a sincere desire to really deserve -his popular name of Honest Old Abe, Lincoln determined to appoint -the best men to office, irrespective of party. Hoping against hope -to preserve the Union, he would have given place in his Cabinet to -Southern Democrats as well as to Northern Republicans. But as soon as -it was understood that he was elected, and that the country would have -a President opposed to the extension of slavery, the South began to -prepare to leave the Union, and for war. It was in vain that Lincoln -and the great majority of his party made it clear as possible that, -rather than see the country destroyed by war and by disunion, they -would leave slavery as it was. This did not suit the views of the -“rule-or-ruin” party of the South; and as secession from the Federal -Union became a fixed fact, their entire press and all their politicians -declared that their object was not merely to build up a Southern -Confederacy, but to legislate so as to destroy the industry of the -North, and break the old Union into a thousand conflicting independent -governments. Therefore, Lincoln, in intending to offer seats in the -Cabinet to Alexander H. Stephens, James Guthrie, of Kentucky, and -John A. Gilmer, of North Carolina, made--if sincere--a great mistake, -though one in every way creditable to his heart and his courtesy. The -truth was, that the South had for four years unanimously determined -to secede, and was actually seceding; while the North, which had -gone beyond the extreme limits of endurance and of justice itself to -conciliate the South, could not believe that fellow-countrymen and -brothers seriously intended war. For it was predetermined and announced -by the Southern press that, unless the Federal Government would make -concessions beyond all reason, and put itself in the position of a -disgraced and conquered state, there must be war. - -As the terrible darkness began to gather, and the storm-signals to -appear, Lincoln sought for temporary relief in visiting his stepmother -and other old friends and relatives in Coles County. The meeting with -her whom he had always regarded as his mother was very touching; it was -the more affecting because she, to whom he was the dearest on earth, -was under an impression, which time rendered prophetic, that he would, -as President, be assassinated. This anticipation spread among his -friends, who vied with one another in gloomy suggestions of many forms -of murder--while one very zealous prophet, who had fixed on poison as -the means by which Lincoln would die, urged him to take as a cook from -home “one among his own female friends.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - A Suspected Conspiracy--Lincoln’s Departure for Washington--His - Speeches at Springfield and on the road to the National - Capital--Breaking out of the Rebellion--Treachery of - President Buchanan--Treason in the Cabinet--Jefferson Davis’s - Message--Threats of Massacre and Ruin to the North--Southern - Sympathisers--Lincoln’s Inaugural Address--The Cabinet--The - Days of Doubt and of Darkness. - - -It was unfortunate for Lincoln that he listened to the predictions of -his alarmed friends. So generally did the idea prevail that an effort -would be made to kill him on his way to Washington, that a few fellows -of the lower class in Baltimore, headed by a barber named Ferrandina, -thinking to gain a little notoriety--as they actually did get some -money from Southern sympathisers--gave out that they intended to -murder Mr. Lincoln on his journey to Washington. Immediately a number -of detectives was set to work; and as everybody seemed to wish to -find a plot, a plot was found, or imagined, and Lincoln was persuaded -to pass privately and disguised on a special train from Harrisburg, -Pennsylvania, to Washington, where he arrived February 23rd, 1861. -Before leaving Springfield, he addressed his friends at the moment of -parting, at the railway station, in a speech of impressive simplicity. - - “FRIENDS,--No one who has never been placed in a - like position can understand my feelings at this hour, nor - the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting. For more than - a quarter of a century I have lived among you, and during - all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your - hands. Here I have lived from youth until now I am an old man; - here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed; here all - my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. To - you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All - the strange, chequered past seems now to crowd upon my mind. - To-day I leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than - that which devolved upon Washington. Unless the great God who - assisted him shall be with me and aid me, I must fail; but if - the same omniscient mind and almighty arm that directed and - protected him shall guide and support me, I shall not fail--I - shall succeed. Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may - not forsake us now. To Him I commend you all. Permit me to ask - that with equal sincerity and faith you will invoke His wisdom - and guidance for me. With these few words I must leave you, for - how long I know not. Friends, one and all, I must now bid you - an affectionate farewell.” - -It may be observed that in this speech Lincoln, notwithstanding his -conciliatory offers to the South, apprehended a terrible war, and that -when speaking from the heart he showed himself a religious man. If he -ever spoke in earnest it was on this occasion. One who had heard him a -hundred times declared that he never saw him so profoundly affected, -nor did he ever utter an address which seemed so full of simple and -touching eloquence as this. It left his audience deeply affected; -but the same people were more deeply moved at his return. “At eight -o’clock,” says Lamon, “the train rolled out of Springfield amid the -cheers of the populace. Four years later, a funeral train, covered with -the emblems of splendid mourning, rolled into the same city, bearing -a corpse, whose obsequies were being celebrated in every part of the -civilised world.” - -Lincoln made several speeches at different places along his route -from Springfield to Philadelphia, and in all he freely discussed the -difficulties of the political crisis, expressing himself to the effect -that there was really no danger or no crisis, since he was resolved, -with all the Union-loving men of the North, to grant the South all -its rights. But these addresses were not all sugar and rose-water. At -Philadelphia he said-- - - “Now, in my view of the present aspect of affairs, there - need be no bloodshed or war. There is no necessity for it I - am not in favour of such a course; and I may say in advance, - that there will be no blood shed, unless it be forced upon - the Government, and then it will be compelled to act in - self-defence.” - -Lincoln had declared that the duties which would devolve upon him -would be greater than those which had devolved upon any American since -Washington. During this journey, the wisdom, firmness, and ready tact -of his speeches already indicated that he would perform these duties -of statesmanship in a masterly manner. He was received courteously by -immense multitudes; but at this time so very little was known of him -beyond the fact that he was called Honest Old Abe the Rail-splitter, -and that he had sprung from that most illiterate source, a poor -Southern backwoods family, that even his political friends went to hear -him with misgivings or with shame. There was a general impression that -the Republican party had gained a victory by truckling to the mob, and -by elevating one of its roughest types to leadership. And the gaunt, -uncouth appearance of the President-elect fully confirmed this opinion. -But when he spoke, it was as if a spell had been removed; the disguise -of Odin fell away, and people knew the Great Man, called to struggle -with and conquer the rebellious giants--a hero coming with the right -strength at the right time. - -It was at this time that the conspiracy, which had been preparing in -earnest for thirty years, and which the North for as many years refused -to suspect, had burst forth. South Carolina had declared that if -Lincoln was elected she would secede, and on the 17th December, 1860, -she did so, true to her word if not to her duty. In quick succession -six States followed her, “there being little or no struggle, in those -which lay upon the Gulf, against the wild tornado of excitement in -favour of rebellion.” “In the Border States,” says Arnold--“in -Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Missouri--there -was, however, a terrible contest.” The Union ultimately triumphed in -Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, while the rebels carried Tennessee -with great difficulty. Virginia seceded on April 17th, 1861, and North -Carolina on the 20th of May. Everything had for years been made ready -for them. President Buchanan, who preceded Lincoln--a man of feeble -mind, and entirely devoted to the South--had either suffered the rebels -to do all in their power to facilitate secession, or had directly -aided them. The Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, who became a noted -rebel, had for months been at work to paralyse the Northern army. He -ordered 115,000 muskets to be made in Northern arsenals at the expense -of the Federal Government, and sent them all to the South, with vast -numbers of cannon, mortars, ammunition, and munitions of war. The army, -reduced to 16,000 men, was sent to remote parts of the country, and as -the great majority of its officers were Southern men, they of course -resigned their commissions, and went over to the Southern Confederacy. -Howell Cobb of Georgia, afterwards a rebel general, was Secretary of -the Treasury, and, as his contribution to the Southern cause, did his -utmost, and with great success, to cause ruin in his department, to -injure the national credit, and empty the treasury. In fact, the whole -Cabinet, with the supple President for a willing tool, were busy for -months in doing all in their power to utterly break up the Government, -to support which they had pledged their faith in God and their honour -as gentlemen. Linked with them in disgrace were all those who, after -uniting in holding an election for President, refused to abide by its -results. On the 20th Nov., 1860, the Attorney-General of the United -States, Jer. S. Black, gave, as his aid to treason, the official -opinion that “Congress had no right to carry on war against any State, -either to prevent a threatened violation of the Constitution, or to -enforce an acknowledgment that the Government of the United States was -supreme;” and to use the words of Raymond, “it soon became evident -that the President adopted this theory as the basis and guide of his -executive action.” - -On the night of January 5th, 1861, the leading conspirators, Jefferson -Davis, with Senators Toombs, Iverson, Slidell, Benjamin, Wigfall, and -others, held a meeting, at which it was resolved that the South should -secede, but that all the seceding senators and representatives should -retain their seats as long as possible, in order to inflict injury to -the last on the Government which they had officially pledged themselves -to protect. At the suggestion probably of Mr. Benjamin, all who -retired were careful to draw not only their pay, but also to spoil the -Egyptians by taking all the stationery, documents, and “mileage,” or -allowance for travelling expenses, on which they could lay their hands. -Only two of all the Slave State representatives remained true--Mr. -Bouligny from New Orleans, and Andrew J. Hamilton from Texas. When -President Lincoln came to Washington, it was indeed to enter a house -divided against itself, tottering to its fall, its inner chambers a -mass of ruin. - -The seven States which had seceded sent delegates, which met at -Montgomery, Alabama, February 4th, 1861, and organised a government -and constitution similar to that of the United States, under -which Jefferson Davis was President, and Alexander H. Stephens -Vice-President. No one had threatened the new Southern Government, and -at this stage the North would have suffered it to withdraw in peace -from the Union, so great was the dread of a civil war. But the South -did not want peace. Every Southern newspaper, every rebel orator, was -now furiously demanding of the North the most humiliating concessions, -and threatening bloodshed as the alternative. While President Lincoln, -in his Inaugural Address, spoke with the most Christian forbearance of -the South, Jefferson Davis, in his, assumed all the horrors of civil -war as a foregone conclusion. He said, that if they were permitted -to secede quietly, all would be well. If forced to fight, they could -and would maintain their position by the sword, and would avail -themselves to the utmost of the liberties of war. He expected that -the North would be the theatre of war, but no Northern city ever felt -the rebel sword, while there was not one in the South which did not -suffer terribly from the effects of war. Never in history was the awful -curse _Væ victis_ so freely invoked by those who were destined to be -conquered. - -It was characteristic of Lincoln to illustrate his views on all -subjects by anecdotes, which were so aptly put as to present in a few -words the full force of his argument. Immediately after his election, -when the world was vexed with the rumours of war, he was asked what he -intended to do when he got to Washington? “That,” he replied, “puts me -in mind of a little story. There was once a clergyman, who expected -during the course of his next day’s riding to cross the Fox River, at -a time when the stream would be swollen by a spring freshet, making -the passage extremely dangerous. On being asked by anxious friends if -he was not afraid, and what he intended to do, the clergyman calmly -replied, ‘I have travelled this country a great deal, and I can assure -you that I have no intention of trying to cross Fox River _until I get -to it_.’” The dangers of the political river which Mr. Lincoln was to -cross were very great. It is usual in England to regard the struggle -of the North with the South during the Rebellion as that of a great -power with a lesser one, and sympathy was in consequence given to the -so-called weaker side. But the strictest truth shows that the Union -party, what with the Copperheads, or sympathisers with the South, at -home, and with open foes in the field, was never at any time much more -than equal to either branch of the enemy, and that, far from being the -strongest in numbers, it was as one to two. Those in its ranks who -secretly aided the enemy were numerous and powerful. The Union armies -were sometimes led by generals whose hearts were with the foe; and for -months after the war broke out, the entire telegraph service of the -Union was, owing to the treachery of officials, entirely at the service -of the Confederates. - -It must be fairly admitted, and distinctly borne in mind, that the -South had at least good apparent reason for believing that the -North would yield to any demands, and was so corrupt that it would -crumble at a touch into numberless petty, warring States, while the -Confederacy, firm and united, would eventually master them all, and -rule the Continent. For years, leaders like President Buchanan had -been their most submissive tools; and the number of men in the North -who were willing to grant them everything very nearly equalled that -of the Republican party. From the beginning they were assured by the -press and leaders of the Democrats, or Copperheads, that they would -soon conquer, and receive material aid from Northern sympathisers. And -there were in all the Northern cities many of these, who were eagerly -awaiting a breaking-up of the Union, in order that they might profit -by its ruin. Thus, immediately after the secession of South Carolina, -Fernando Wood, Mayor of New York, issued a proclamation, in which he -recommended that it should secede, and become a “free city.” All over -the country, Democrats like Wood were looking forward to revolutions -in which something might be picked up, and not a few really spoke of -the revival of titles of nobility. All of these prospective governors -of lordly Baratarias avowed sympathy with the South. It was chiefly by -reliance on these Northern sympathisers that the Confederacy was led to -its ruin. President Lincoln found himself in command of a beleagured -fortress which had been systematically stripped and injured by his -predecessor, a powerful foe storming without, and nearly half his men -doing their utmost to aid the enemy from within. - -On the 4th March, 1861, Lincoln took the oath to fulfil his duties as -President, and delivered his inaugural address. In this he began by -asserting that he had no intention of interfering with slavery as it -existed, or of interfering in any way with the rights of the South, -and urged that, by law, fugitive slaves must be restored to their -owners. In reference to the efforts being made to break up the Union, -he maintained that, by universal law and by the Constitution, the union -of the States must be perpetual. “It is safe to assert,” he declared, -“that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for -its own termination.” With great wisdom, and in the most temperate -language, he pointed out the impossibility of any _government_, in the -true sense of the word, being liable to dissolution because a party -wished it. One party to a contract may violate or break it, but it -requires all to lawfully rescind it. - - “I therefore consider that, in view of the Constitution and the - laws, the Union is unbroken; and to the extent of my ability, I - shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins - upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in - all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on - my part; and I shall perform it as far as practicable, unless - my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the - requisite means, or in some authoritative manner direct the - contrary.” - -He asserted that the power confided to him would be used to hold and -possess all Government property and collect duties; but went so far -in conciliation as to declare, that wherever hostility to the United -States 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 the people for that object. -Where the enforcement of such matters, though legally right, might be -irritating and nearly impracticable, he would deem it better to forego -for a time the uses of such offices. He pointed out that the principle -of secession was simply that of anarchy; that to admit the claim of a -minority would be to destroy any government; while he indicated with -great intelligence the precise limits of the functions of the Supreme -Court. And he briefly explained the impossibility of a divided Union -existing, save in a jarring and ruinous manner. “Physically speaking,” -he said, “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. Why should there not -be,” he added, “a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the -people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our present -differences, is either party without faith of being in the right? If -the Mighty Ruler of Nations, with His eternal truth and justice, be on -your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that -justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great tribunal of -the American people.” - -It has been well said that this address was the wisest utterance of the -time. Yet it was, with all its gentle and conciliatory feelings, at -once misrepresented through the South as a malignant and tyrannical -threat of war; for to such a pitch of irritability and arrogance had -the entire Southern party been raised, that any words from a Northern -ruler, not expressive of the utmost devotion to their interests, seemed -literally like insult. It was not enough to promise them to be bound by -law, when they held that the only law should be their own will. - -To those who lived through the dark and dreadful days which preceded -the outburst of the war, every memory is like that of one who has -passed through the valley of the shadow of death. It was known that -the enemy was coming from abroad; yet there were few who could really -regard him as an enemy, for it was as when a brother advances to slay -a brother, and the victim, not believing in the threat, rises to throw -himself into the murderer’s arms. And vigorous defence was further -paralysed by the feeling that traitors were everywhere at work--in the -army, in the Cabinet, in the family circle. - -President Lincoln proceeded at once to form his Cabinet. It consisted -of William H. Seward--who had been his most formidable competitor -at the Chicago Convention--who became Secretary of State; Simon -Cameron--whose appointment proved as discreditable to Mr. Lincoln as -to the country--as Secretary of War; Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of -the Treasury; Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy; Caleb B. Smith, -Secretary of the Interior; Montgomery Blair, Postmaster-General; and -Edward Bates, Attorney-General. It was well for the President that -these were all, except Cameron, wise and honest men, for the situation -of the country was one of doubt, danger, and disorganisation. In -Congress, in every drawing-room, there were people who boldly asserted -and believed in the words of a rebel, expressed to B. F. Butler--that -“the North could not fight; that the South had too many allies there.” -“You have friends,” said Butler, “in the North who will stand by you as -long as you fight your battles in the Union; but the moment you fire -on the flag, the Northern people will be a unit against you. And you -may be assured, if war comes, slavery _ends_.” Orators and editors in -the North proclaimed, in the boldest manner, that the Union must go to -fragments and ruin, and that the only hope of safety lay in suffering -the South to take the lead, and in humbly following her. The number of -these despairing people--or Croakers, as they were called--was very -great; they believed that Republicanism had proved itself a failure, -and that on slavery alone could a firm government be based. Open -treason was unpunished; it was boldly said that Southern armies would -soon be on Northern soil; the New Administration seemed to be without a -basis; in those days, no men except rebels seemed to know what to do. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - Mr. Seward refuses to meet the Rebel Commissioners--Lincoln’s - Forbearance--Fort Sumter--Call for 75,000 Troops--Troubles in - Maryland--Administrative Prudence--Judge Douglas--Increase of - the Army--Winthrop and Ellsworth--Bull Run--General M‘Clellan. - - -It was on the 12th of March, 1861, that the rebel or Confederate -States sent Commissioners to the United States to adjust matters in -reference to secession. Mr. Seward refused to receive them, on the -ground that they _had not withdrawn_ from the Union, and were unable to -do so unless it were by the authority of a National Convention acting -according to the Constitution of the United States. On the 9th of April -the Commissioners left, declaring in a letter that “they accepted the -gage of battle.” As yet there was no decided policy in the North, and -prominent Democrats like Douglas were not in favour of compelling the -seceding States to remain. Mr. Everett was preaching love, forgiveness, -and union, while the Confederate Government was seizing on “all the -arsenals, forts, custom-houses, post-offices, ships, ordnance, and -material of war belonging to the United States, within the seceding -States.” In fact, the South knew exactly what it meant to do, and was -doing it vigorously, while the North was entirely undecided. In the -spring of 1861, Congress had adjourned without making any preparation -for the tremendous and imminent crisis. - -But the entire South had not as yet seceded. The Border States were not -in favour of war. In the words of Arnold, “to arouse sectional feeling -and prejudice, and secure co-operation and unanimity, it was deemed -necessary to precipitate measures and bring on a conflict of arms.” It -was generally felt that the first blood shed would bring all the Slave -States into union. The anti-war party was so powerful in the North, -that it now appears almost certain that, if President Lincoln had -proceeded at once to put down the rebellion with a strong hand, there -would have been a counter-rebellion in the North. For not doing this he -was bitterly blamed, but time has justified him. By his forbearance, -Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were undoubtedly kept in the Federal -Union. His wisdom was also shown in two other respects, as soon as -it was possible to do so. There had existed for years in New York an -immense slave-trading business, headed by a Spaniard named Juarez. -Vessels were bought almost openly, and Government officials were bribed -to let these pirates loose. This infamous traffic was very soon brought -to an end, so far as the United States were concerned. Another task, -which was rapidly and well performed, was the “sifting out” of rebels, -or rebel sympathisers, from Government offices, where they abounded -and acted as spies. Even General Scott, an old man full of honour, who -was at the head of the army, though true to the Union, was Southern by -sympathy and opposed to coercion, and most of the officers of the army -were like him in this respect. - -The refusal of Mr. Seward to treat with the rebel government was -promptly made the occasion for the act of violence which was to unite -the Confederacy. There was, near Charleston, South Carolina, a fort -called Sumter, held for the United States by Major Robert Anderson, a -brave and loyal man. On the 11th of April, 1861, he was summoned to -surrender the fort to the Confederate Government, which he refused to -do. As he was, however, without provisions, it was eventually agreed, -on the 12th April, that he should leave the fort by noon on the 15th. -But the rebels, in their impatience, could not wait, and they informed -him that, unless he surrendered within one hour, the fort would be -bombarded. This was done, and, after a bombardment of thirty-three -hours, bravely borne, the Major and his band of seventy men were -obliged to surrender. - -It is true that this first firing on the American flag acted like -the tap of the drum, calling all the South to arms in a frenzy, -and sweeping away all the remnants of attachment to the old Union -lingering in it. The utmost hopes of the rebel leaders were for the -time fully realised. But the North was, to their amazement, not -paralysed or struck down, nor did the Democratic sympathisers with -the South arise and crush “Lincoln and his minions.” On the contrary, -the news of the fall of Sumter was “a live coal on the heart of the -American people;” and such a tempest of rage swept in a day over -millions, as had never before been witnessed in America. Those who -can recall the day on which the news of the insult to the flag was -received, and how it was received, have the memory of the greatest -conceivable outburst of patriotic passion. For a time, all party -feelings were forgotten; there was no more thought of forgiveness, or -suffering secession; the whole people rose up and cried out for war. - -Hitherto, the press had railed at Lincoln for wanting a policy; and yet -if he had made one step towards suppressing the rebels, “a thousand -Northern newspapers would have pounced upon him as one provoking war.” -Now, however, his policy was formed, shaped, and made glowing hot by -one terrible blow. On April 15th, 1861, he issued a proclamation, -announcing that, as the laws of the United States were being opposed, -and the execution thereof obstructed in South Carolina, Georgia, -Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations -too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial -proceedings, he, the President of the United States, called forth the -militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number -of 75,000, in order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the -laws to be duly executed. In strong contrast to the threats of general -slaughter, and conflagration of Northern cities, so freely thrown out -by Jefferson Davis, President Lincoln declared that, while the duty -of these troops would be to repossess the forts and property taken -from the Union, “in every event the utmost care will be observed, -consistently with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any -destruction of or interference with property, or any disturbance of -peaceful citizens, in any part of the country.” He also summoned an -extraordinary session of Congress to assemble on the 4th of July, 1861. - -This proclamation awoke intense enthusiasm, “and from private persons, -as well as by the Legislature, men, arms, and money were offered -in unstinted profusion in support of the Government. Massachusetts -was first in the field; and on the first day after the issue of the -proclamation, the 6th Regiment started from Boston for the national -capital. Two more regiments departed within forty-eight hours. The 6th -Regiment, on its way to Washington, on the 19th April, was attacked -by a mob in Baltimore, carrying a secession flag, and several of its -members were killed.” This inflamed to a higher point the entire North; -and Governor Hicks, of Maryland, and Mayor Brown, of Baltimore, urged -it on President Lincoln that, “for prudential reasons,” no more troops -should be sent through Baltimore. This Governor Hicks had, during the -previous November, written a letter, in which he regretted that his -state could not supply the rebel states with arms more rapidly, and -expressed the hope that those who were to bear them would be “good men -to kill Lincoln and his men.” But by adroitly shifting to the wind, he -“became conspicuously loyal before spring, and lived to reap splendid -rewards and high honours under the auspices of the Federal Government, -as the most patriotic and devoted Union-man in Maryland.” Yet as -one renegade is said to be more zealous than ten Turks, it cannot -be denied that, after Governor Hicks became a Union-man, he worked -bravely, and his efficiency in preserving Maryland from seceding was -only inferior to that of the able Henry Winter Davis. This Governor -Hicks had suggested to President Lincoln that the controversy between -North and South might be referred to Lord Lyons, the British Minister, -for arbitration. To these requests the President replied, through Mr. -Seward, that as General Scott deemed it advisable, and as the chief -object in bringing troops was the defence of Washington, he made no -point of bringing them through Baltimore. But he concluded with these -words-- - - “The President cannot but remember that there has been a time - in the history of our country when a General of the American - Union, with forces destined for the defence of its capital, was - not unwelcome anywhere in the State of Maryland. - - “If eighty years could have obliterated all the other noble - sentiments of that age in Maryland, the President would be - hopeful, nevertheless, that there is one that would for ever - remain there and everywhere. That sentiment is, that no - domestic contention whatever that may arise among the parties - of this republic ought in any case to be referred to any - foreign arbitrament, least of all to the arbitrament of a - European monarchy.” - -It is certain that by this humane and wise policy, which many -attributed to cowardice, President Lincoln not only prevented much -bloodshed and devastation, but also preserved the State of Maryland. -In such a crisis harshly aggressive measures in Maryland would have -irritated millions on the border, and perhaps have promptly brought the -war further north. As it was, peace and order were soon restored in -Baltimore, when the regular use of the highway through that city was -resumed. - -On the 19th April, 1861, the President issued another proclamation, -declaring the blockade of the ports of the seceding states. This was -virtually an answer to one from Jefferson Davis, offering letters of -marque to all persons who might desire to aid the rebel government, and -enrich themselves, by depredations upon the rich and extended commerce -of the United States. It may be remarked that the first official -words of Jefferson Davis were singularly ferocious, threatening fire, -brigandage, and piracy, disguised as privateering, in all their -terrors; while his last act as President was to run away, disguised as -an old woman, in his wife’s waterproof cloak, and carrying a bucket of -water--thus typifying in his own person the history of the rebellion -from its fierce beginning to its ignominious end. - -It may be doubted if there was in those wild days in all North America -one man who to such wise forbearance added such firmness and moral -courage as President Lincoln manifested. By it he preserved Maryland, -Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, and, if moderation could have -availed, he might have kept Virginia. Strange as it seems, while the -seceding states were threatening officially, and hastening to carry -out, all the outrages of war, the Legislature of Virginia resolved -that President Lincoln’s mild message announced a policy of tyranny -and “coercion;” and, in spite of the gentlest letter of explanation -ever written by any ruler who was not a coward, the state marched out -of the Union with drums beating and flags flying. “Thenceforth,” says -Holland, “Virginia went straight towards desolation. Its ‘sacred soil’ -was from that hour devoted to trenches, fortifications, battle-fields, -military roads, camps, and graves.” She firmly believed that all the -fighting would be done on Northern soil; but in another year, over a -large part of her territory, which had been covered with fertile farms -and pleasant villages, there were roads five miles wide. - -At this time, there occurred an interesting private incident in -Lincoln’s life. His old adversary, Judge Douglas, whom he warmly -respected as a brave adversary, had passed his life in pandering to -slavery, and, as regards the war, had been the political Mephistopheles -who had made all the mischief. But when Sumter was fired on, all that -was good and manly in his nature was aroused, and he gave all his -support to his old enemy. “During the brief remainder of his life, his -devotion to the cause of his country was unwearied. He was done with -his dreams of power,” but he could yet do good. He was of service in -inducing great numbers of Democrats, who still remained pro-slavery men -in principle, to fight for the Union. - -Four years to an hour after the memorable reconciliation between Judge -Douglas and President Lincoln, the latter was killed by the rebel -Booth. “Both died,” says Holland, “with a common purpose--one in the -threatening morning of the rebellion, the other when its sun had just -set in blood; and both sleep in the dust of that magnificent state, -almost every rod of which, within a quarter of a century, had echoed -to their contending voices, as they expounded their principles to the -people.” - -Judge Douglas had warned the President, in the hour of their -reconciliation, that, instead of calling on the country for 75,000 -men, he should have asked for 200,000. “You do not know the dishonest -purposes of those men as I do,” he had impressively remarked. In a -few days, it was evident that the rebellion was assuming colossal -proportions, and therefore President Lincoln, on May 3rd, issued -another call for 42,000 three-year volunteers, and ordered the addition -of 22,114 officers and men to the regular army, and 18,000 seamen to -the navy. This demand was promptly responded to, for the draft had as -yet no terrors. On the 18th of April, a plot had been discovered by -which the secessionists in Washington, aided by Virginia, hoped to fire -the city, seize the President and Cabinet, and all the machinery of -government. By prompt action, this plan was crushed. A part of it was -to burn the railway bridges, and make the roads impassable, and this -was successfully executed. Yet, in the face of this audacious attack, -the Democratic press of the North and the rebel organs of the South -continued to storm at the President for irritating the secessionists, -declaring that “coercion” or resistance of the Federal Government to -single states was illegal. But at this time several events occurred -which caused great anger among loyal men: one was the loss of the great -national armoury at Harper’s Ferry, and also of Gosport Navy Yard, -with 2000 cannon and several large ships. Owing to treachery, this -navy yard, with about 10,000,000 dollars’ worth of property, was lost. -Another incident was the death of Colonel Ellsworth. This young man, -who had been a law student under Mr. Lincoln, was the introducer of the -Zouave drill. For many weeks, a rebel tavern-keeper in Alexandria, in -sight of Washington, had insulted the Government by keeping a secession -flag flying. On the 24th May, when General Mansfield advanced into -Virginia, Ellsworth was sent with 13,000 troops to Alexandria. Here his -first act was to pull down the rebel flag. On descending, Jackson shot -him dead, and was himself promptly shot by private Brownell. Two days -previous, the first considerable engagement of the war had occurred at -Big Bethel, and here Major Winthrop, a young Massachusetts gentleman of -great bravery and distinguished literary talent, was killed. The grief -which the deaths of these well-known young men excited was very great. -They were among the first victims, and their names remain to this day -fresh in the minds of all who were in the North during the war. The -funeral of Ellsworth took place from the White House, Mr. Lincoln--who -was affected with peculiar sorrow by his death--being chief mourner. - -During this month the war was, to a degree, organised. As soon as -Washington was made safe, Fortress Monroe, the “water-gateway” of -Virginia, was reinforced. Cairo, Illinois, commanding the junction of -the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, was occupied, and Virginia and North -Carolina were efficiently blockaded. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, -the District of Columbia, and a part of Virginia, were divided into -three military departments, and on the 10th May another was formed, -including the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, under charge -of General Geo. B. M‘Clellan. The object of this department was to -maintain a defensive line on the Ohio River from Wheeling to Cairo. - -In the month of July, 1861, the rebels, commanded by General -Beauregard, threatened Washington, being placed along Bull Run Creek, -their right resting on Manassas, and their left, under General -Johnston, on Winchester. They numbered about 35,000. It was determined -to attack this force, and drive it from the vicinity of Washington. -Both sides intended this to be a great decisive battle, and it was -generally believed in the North that it would end the war. Government -had been supplied with men and money beyond its demands, and the -people, encouraged by Mr. Seward’s opinion that the war would last only -sixty days, were as impatient now to end the rebellion by force as they -had been previously to smother it by concessions. There were few who -predicted as Charles A. Dana did to the writer, on the day that war -was declared--that it would last “not less than three, nor more than -six or seven years.” On the 16th July, the Federal army, commanded by -General M’Dowell, marched forth, and the attack, which was at first -successful, was made on the 21st. But the reinforcements which Johnston -received saved him, and a sudden panic sprung up among the Federal -troops, which resulted in a headlong retreat, with 480 killed and 1000 -wounded. The army was utterly beaten, and it was only the Confederates’ -ignorance of the extent of their own success which saved Washington. -It was the darkest day ever witnessed in the North, when the telegraph -announced the shameful defeat of the great army of the Union. Everyone -had anticipated a brilliant victory; but yet the news discouraged no -one. The writer that day observed closely the behaviour of hundreds -of men as they came up to the bulletin-board of the New York _Times_, -and can testify that, after a blank look of grief and amazement, they -invariably spoke to this effect, “It’s bad luck, but we must try it -again.” The effect, in the words of Raymond, was to rouse still higher -the courage and determination of the people. In twenty-four hours, the -whole country was again fierce and fresh for war. Volunteers streamed -by thousands into the army, and efforts were promptly made to establish -Union forces at different places around the rebel coast. This was the -beginning of the famous Anaconda, whose folds never relaxed until -they strangled the rebellion. Between the 28th August and the 3rd of -December, Fort Hatteras, Port Royal in South Carolina, and Ship Island, -near New Orleans, were occupied. Preparations were made to seize on -New Orleans; and, by a series of masterly movements, West Virginia, -Kentucky, and Missouri, which had been in a painful state of conflict, -were secured to the Union. Virginia proper had seceded with a flourish -of States Rights. Her Western portion recognised the doctrine so far as -to claim its right to leave the mother-state and return to the Union. -This was not done without vigorous fighting by Generals Rosencranz and -Morris, to whom the credit of both organising and acting is principally -due, although General M‘Clellan, by a clever and Napoleonic despatch, -announcing victory, attracted to himself the chief glory. General -M‘Clellan had previously, in Kentucky, favoured the recognition of -that state as neutral territory, as the rebels wished him to do--an -attempt which Lincoln declared “would be disunion completed, if -once entertained.” On the 1st Nov., 1861, General Scott, who had -hitherto commanded the armies of the Union, asked for and obtained his -discharge, and was succeeded by General M‘Clellan. “If,” as Holland -remarks, “he had done but little before to merit this confidence, if -he did but little afterwards to justify it, he at least served at that -time to give faith to the people.” For three months he organised and -supervised his troops with the talent which was peculiar to him--that -of preparing great work for greater minds to finish. His photograph -was in every album, and on every side were heard predictions that he -would be the Napoleon, the Cæsar, the Autocrat of all the Americas. -The Western Continent would be, after all, the greatest country in the -world, and the greatest man in it was to be “Little Mac.” He was not -as yet known by his great botanical _nom de guerre_ of the Virginian -Creeper. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - Relations with Europe--Foreign Views of the War--The - Slaves--Proclamation of Emancipation--Arrest of Rebel - Commissioners--Black Troops. - - -With so much to call for his care in the field, President Lincoln was -not less busy in the Cabinet. The relations of the Federal Government -with Europe were of great importance. “The rebels,” says Arnold, -with truth, “had a positive, vigorous organisation, with agents all -over Europe, many of them in the diplomatic service of the United -States.” They were well selected, and they were successful in creating -the impression that the Confederacy was eminently “a gentleman’s -government”--that the Federal represented an agrarian mob led by -demagogues--that Mr. Lincoln was a vulgar, ignorant boor--and that the -war itself was simply an unconstitutional attempt to force certain -states to remain under a tyrannical and repulsive rule. The great -fact that the South had, in the most public manner, proclaimed that -it seceded _because the North would not permit the further extension -of slavery_, was utterly ignored; and the active interference of the -North with slavery was ostentatiously urged as a grievance, though, -by a strange inconsistency, it was deemed expedient by many foreign -anti-slavery men to withdraw all sympathy for the Federal cause, on the -ground that its leaders manifested no eagerness to set the slaves free -until it became a matter of military expediency. Thus the humane wisdom -and moderation, which inspired Lincoln and the true men of the Union -to overcome the dreadful obstacles which existed in the opposition of -the Northern democrats to Emancipation, was most sophistically and -cruelly turned against them. To a more cynical class, the war was but -the cleaning by fire of a filthy chimney which should have been burnt -out long before, and its Iliad in a nutshell amounted to a squabble -which concerned nobody save as a matter for amusement. And there were, -finally, not a few--to judge from the frank avowal of a journal of -the highest class--who looked forward with joy to the breaking up of -the American Union, because “their sympathies were with men, not with -monsters, and Russia and the United States are simply giants among -nations.” All this bore, in due time, its natural fruit. Whether people -were to blame for this want of sympathy, considering the ingenuity with -which Southern agents fulfilled their missions, is another matter. -Time, which is, happily, every day modifying old feelings, cannot -change truths. And it cannot be denied that hostilities had hardly -begun, and that only half the Slave States were in insurrection, when -the English and French Governments, acting in concert, recognised the -government at Montgomery as an established belligerent power. As to -this recognition, Mr. Charles F. Adams, the United States Minister -to England, was instructed by Mr. Seward to the effect that it, if -carried out, must at once suspend all friendly relations between the -United States and England. When, on June 15th, the English and French -ministers applied to Mr. Seward for leave to communicate to him their -instructions, directing them to recognise the rebels as belligerents, -he declined to listen to them. The United States, accordingly, -persisted until the end in regarding the rebellion as a domestic -difficulty, and one with which foreign governments had no right to -interfere. At the present day, it appears most remarkable that the two -great sources of encouragement held out to the rebels--of help from -Northern sympathisers, and the hope of full recognition by European -powers--proved in the end to be allurements which led them on to ruin. -Had it not been for the defeat at Bull Run, slavery would perhaps -have still existed; and but for the hope of foreign aid, the South -would never have been so utterly conquered and thoroughly exhausted -as it was. It must, however, be admitted that the irritation of the -Union-men of the North against England at this crisis was carried much -too far, since they did not take fully into consideration the very -large number of their sincere friends in Great Britain who earnestly -advocated their cause, and that among these were actually the majority -of the journalists. To those who did not understand American politics -in detail, the spectacle of about one-third of the population, even -though backed by constitutional law, opposing the majority, seemed to -call for little sympathy. And if the motto of Emancipation for the -sake of the white man offended the American Abolitionists, who were -unable to see that it was a _ruse de guerre_ in their favour, it is -not remarkable that the English Abolitionists should have been equally -obtuse. - -A much more serious trouble than that of European indifference -soon arose in the negro question. There were in the rebel states -nearly 4,000,000 slaves. In Mr. Lincoln’s party, the Republican, -were two classes of men--the Abolitionists, who advocated immediate -enfranchisement of all slaves by any means; and the much larger number -of men who, while they were opposed to the extension of slavery, and -would have liked to see it _legally_ abolished, still remembered -that it was constitutional. Slave property had become such a sacred -thing, and had been legislated about and quarrelled over to such an -extent, that, even among slavery-haters, it was a proof of honest -citizenship to recognise it. Thus, for a long time after the war had -begun, General M‘Clellan, and many other officers like him, made it a -point of returning fugitive slaves to their rebel masters. These slaves -believed “the Yankees” had come to deliver them from bondage. “They -were ready to act as guides, to dig, to work, to fight for liberty,” -and they were welcomed, on coming to help their country in its need, by -being handed back to the enemy to be tortured or put to death. So great -were the atrocities perpetrated in this way, and so much did certain -Federal officers disgrace themselves by hunting negroes and truckling -to the enemy, that a bill was soon passed in Congress, declaring it was -no part of the duty of the soldiers of the United States to capture -and return fugitive slaves. About the same time, General B. F. Butler, -of the Federal forces, shrewdly declared that slaves were legally -property, but that, as they were employed by their masters against the -Government, they might be seized as _contraband of war_, which was -accordingly done; nor is it recorded that any of the slaves who were by -this ingenious application of law confined within the limits of freedom -ever found any fault with it. From this time, during the war, slaves -became popularly known as contrabands. - -It should be distinctly understood that there were now literally -millions of staunch Union people, who, while recognising the evils of -slavery, would not be called Abolitionists, because slavery was as -yet _legal_, and according to that constitution which they properly -regarded as the very life of all for which were fighting. And they -would not, for the sake of removing the sufferings of the blacks, -bring greater misery on the whites. Badly as the South had behaved, it -was still loved, and it was felt that Abolition would bring ruin on -many friends. But as the war went on, and black crape began to appear -on Northern bell-handles, people began to ask one another whether it -was worth while to do so much to uphold slavery, even to conciliate -the wavering Border States. Step by step, arguments were found for -the willing at heart but unwilling to act. On the 1st January, 1862, -the writer established in Boston a political magazine, called “The -Continental Monthly,” the entire object of which was expressed in the -phrase, _Emancipation for the sake of the white man_, and which was -published solely for the sake of preparing the public mind for, and -aiding in, Mr. Lincoln’s peculiar policy with regard to slavery. As -the writer received encouragement and direction from the President and -more than one member of the Cabinet, but especially from Mr. Seward, -he feels authorised, after the lapse of so many years, to speak -freely on the subject. He had already, for several months, urged -the same principles in another and older publication (the New York -“Knickerbocker”). The “Continental” was quite as bitterly attacked -by the anti-slavery press as by the pro-slavery; but it effected its -purpose of aiding President Lincoln, and the editor soon had the -pleasure of realising that many thousands were willing to be called -Emancipationists who shrunk from being classed as Abolitionists. - -In this great matter, the President moved with a caution which cannot -be too highly commended. He felt and knew that the emancipation of -the slaves was a great and glorious thing, not to be frittered away -by the action of this or that subordinate, leaving details of its -existence in every direction to call for infinite legislation. It is -true that for a time he temporised with “colonisation;” and Congress -passed a resolution that the United States ought to co-operate with -any state which might adopt a gradual emancipation of slavery, placing -600,000 dollars at the disposition of the President for an experiment -at colonisation. Some money was indeed spent in attempts to colonise -slaves in Hayti, when the project was abandoned. But this was really -delaying to achieve a definite purpose. On August 22nd, 1862, in reply -to Horace Greeley, Mr. Lincoln wrote:-- - - “My paramount object is to save the Union, and not to either - save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without - freeing any slave, I would do it; if I could save it by freeing - all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing - some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.... I have - here stated my purpose according to my views of official duty, - _and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal - wish, that all men everywhere could be free_.” - -He had, meanwhile, his troubles with the army. On May 9th, 1862, -General Hunter issued an order, declaring the slaves in Georgia, -Florida, and South Carolina to be for ever free; which was promptly -and properly repudiated by the President, who was at the time urging -on Congress and the Border States a policy of gradual emancipation, -with compensation to loyal masters. General Hunter’s attempt at such -a crisis to take the matter out of the hands of the President, was a -piece of presumption which deserved severer rebuke than he received in -the firm yet mild proclamation in which Lincoln, uttering no reproof, -said to the General--quoting from his Message to Congress-- - - “I beg of you a calm and enlarged consideration of the signs - of the times, ranging, if it may be, far above partisan and - personal 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?” - -General J. C. Fremont, commanding the Western Department, which -comprised Missouri and a part of Kentucky, had also issued an -unauthorised order (August 31st, 1861), proclaiming martial law -in Missouri, and setting the slaves, if rebels, free; which error -the President at once corrected. This was taken off by a popular -caricature, in which slavery was represented as a blackbird in a -cage, and General Fremont as a small boy trying to let him out, while -Lincoln, as a larger boy, was saying, “That’s _my_ bird--let him -alone.” To which General Fremont replying, “But you said you wanted him -to be set free,” the President answers, “I know; but _I’m_ going to let -him out--not you.” - -To a deputation from all the religious denominations in Chicago, urging -immediate emancipation, the President replied, setting forth the -present inexpediency of such a measure. But, meanwhile, he prepared a -declaration that, on January 1st, 1863, the slaves in all states, or -parts of states, which should then be in rebellion, would be proclaimed -free. By the advice of Mr. Seward, this was withheld until it could -follow a Federal victory, instead of seeming to be a measure of mere -desperation. Accordingly, it was put forth--September 22nd, 1862--five -days after the battle of Antietam had defeated Lee’s first attempt at -invading the North, and the promised proclamation was published on the -1st January following. The text of this document was as follows:-- - - 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 for ever, free; and - the Executive Government of the United States, including the - naval and military authority thereof, will recognise 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 this 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 countervailing 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 Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and - Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are left for the present - 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 recognise 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-defence; - and I recommend to them that, in all cases where allowed, they - labour 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 favour of - Almighty God. - - In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the - seal of the United States to be affixed. - - L. S. 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, - - By the President, - - ABRAHAM LINCOLN. - - WILLIAM H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_. - - A true copy, with the autograph signatures of the President and - the Secretary of State. - - JOHN G. NICOLAY, - - _Priv. Sec. to the President_. - -The excitement caused by the appearance of the proclamation of -September 22nd, 1862, was very great. The anti-slavery men rejoiced -as at the end of a dreadful struggle; those who had doubted became at -once strong and confident. Whatever trials and troubles might be in -store, all felt assured, even the Copperheads or rebel sympathisers, -that slavery was virtually at an end. The newspapers teemed with -gratulations. The following poem, which was the first written on -the proclamation, or on the day on which it appeared, and which was -afterwards published in the “Continental Magazine,” expresses the -feeling with which it was generally received. - - -THE PROCLAMATION.--SEPT. 22, 1862. - - Now who has done the greatest deed - Which History has ever known? - And who in Freedom’s direst need - Became her bravest champion? - Who a whole continent set free? - Who killed the curse and broke the ban - Which made a lie of liberty?-- - You, Father Abraham--you’re the man! - - The deed is done. Millions have yearned - To see the spear of Freedom cast - The dragon roared and writhed and burned: - You’ve smote him full and square at last - O Great and True! _you_ do not know-- - You cannot tell--you cannot feel - How far through time your name must go, - Honoured by all men, high or low, - Wherever Freedom’s votaries kneel. - - This wide world talks in many a tongue-- - This world boasts many a noble state; - In all your praises will be sung-- - In all the great will call you great. - Freedom! where’er that word is known-- - On silent shore, by sounding sea, - ‘Mid millions, or in deserts lone-- - Your noble name shall ever be. - - The word is out, the deed is done, - The spear is cast, dread no delay; - When such a steed is fairly gone, - Fate never fails to find a way. - Hurrah! hurrah! the track is clear, - We know your policy and plan; - We’ll stand by you through every year; - Now, Father Abraham, you’re our man. - -The original draft of the proclamation of Emancipation was purchased by -Thos. B. Bryan, of Chicago, for the Sanitary Commission for the Army, -held at Chicago in the autumn of 1863. As it occurred to the writer -that official duplicates of such an important document should exist, he -suggested the idea to Mr. George H. Boker, subsequently United States -Minister to Constantinople and to St. Petersburg, at whose request -the President signed a number of copies, some of which were sold for -the benefit of the Sanitary Fairs held in Philadelphia and Boston -in 1864, while others were presented to public institutions. One of -these, bearing the signatures of President Lincoln and Mr. Seward, -with the attesting signature of John Nicolay, Private Secretary to -the President, may be seen hanging in the George the Third Library in -the British Museum. This document is termed by Mr. Carpenter, in his -history of the proclamation, “the third great State paper which has -marked the progress of Anglo-Saxon civilisation. First is the Magna -Carta, wrested by the barons of England from King John; second, the -Declaration of Independence; and third, worthy to be placed upon the -tablets of history by the first two, Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of -Emancipation.” - -On the 7th November, Messrs. J. M. Mason and John Slidell, Confederate -Commissioners to England and France, were taken from the British mail -steamer _Trent_ by Commodore Wilkes, of the American frigate _San -Jacinto_. There was great rejoicing over this capture in America, and -as great public irritation in England. War seemed imminent between the -countries; but Mr. Lincoln, with characteristic sagacity, determined -that so long as there was no recognition of the rebels as a nation, -not to bring on a war. “One war at a time,” he said. In a masterly -examination of the case, Mr. Seward pointed out the fact that “the -detention of the vessel, and the removal from her of the emissaries -of the rebel Confederacy, was justifiable by the laws of war, and the -practice and precedents of the British Government itself; but that, -in assuming to decide upon the liability of these persons to capture, -instead of sending them before a legal tribunal, where a regular -trial could be had, Captain Wilkes had departed from the rule of -international law uniformly asserted by the American Government, and -forming part of its most cherished policy.” The Government, therefore, -cheerfully complied with the request of the British Government, and -liberated the prisoners. No person at all familiar with American law -or policy could doubt for an instant that this decision expressed the -truth; but the adherents of the Confederacy, with their sympathisers, -everywhere united in ridiculing President Lincoln for cowardice. Yet -it would be difficult to find an instance of greater moral courage and -simple dignity, combined with the exact fulfilment of what he thought -was “just right,” than Lincoln displayed on this occasion. The wild -spirit of war was by this time set loose in the North, and it was felt -that foreign enemies, though they might inflict temporary injury, -would soon awake a principle of union and of resistance which would -rather benefit than injure the country. In fact, this new difficulty -was anything but intimidating, and the position of President Lincoln -was for a time most embarrassing. But he could be bold enough, and -sail closely enough to the law when justice demanded it. In September, -1861, the rebels in Maryland came near obtaining the passage of an -act of secession in the Legislature of that state. General M‘Clellan -was promptly ordered to prevent this by the arrest of the treasonable -legislators, which was done, and the state was saved from a civil -war. Of course there was an outcry at this, as arbitrary and -unconstitutional. But Governor Hicks said of it, in the Senate of the -United States, “I believe that arrests, and arrests alone, saved the -State of Maryland from destruction.” - -When Mr. Lincoln had signed the Proclamation of Emancipation, he -said, “Now we have got the harpoon fairly into the monster slavery, -we must take care that, in his extremity, he does not shipwreck the -country.” But the monster only roared. The rebel Congress passed a -decree, offering freedom and reward to any slave who would kill a -Federal soldier; but it is believed that none availed themselves of -this chivalric offer. On the contrary, ere long there were brought into -the service of the United States nearly 200,000 black troops, among -whom the loss by all causes was fully one-third--a conclusive proof -of their bravery and efficiency. Though the Confederates knew that -their fathers had fought side by side with black men in the Revolution -and at New Orleans, and though they themselves raised negro regiments -in Louisiana, and employed them against the Federal Government, they -were furious that such soldiers should be used against themselves, -and therefore in the most inhuman manner put to death, or sold into -slavery, every coloured man captured in Federal uniform. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-two--The Plan of the War, and - Strength of the Armies--General M‘Clellan--The General - Movement, January 27th, 1862--The brilliant Western - Campaign--Removal of M‘Clellan--The _Monitor_--Battle - of Fredericksburg--Vallandigham and Seymour--The - _Alabama_--President Lincoln declines all Foreign Mediation. - - -The year 1861 had been devoted rather to preparation for war than to -war itself; for every day brought home to the North the certainty that -the struggle would be tremendous--that large armies must fight over -thousands of miles--and that to conquer, men must go forth not by -thousands, but by hundreds of thousands, and endure such privations, -such extremes of climate, as are little known in European warfare. -But by the 1st Dec., 1861, 640,000 had been enrolled. The leading -features of the plan of war were an entire blockade of the rebel coast, -the military control of the border Slave States, the recovery of the -Mississippi river, which is the key of the continent, and, finally, the -destruction of the rebel army in Virginia, which continually threatened -the North, and the conquest of Richmond, the rebel capital. General -M‘Clellan had in the army of the Potomac, which occupied Washington and -adjacent places, more than 200,000 men, well armed and disciplined. In -Kentucky, General Buell had over 100,000. The rebel force opposed to -General M‘Clellan was estimated at 175,000, but is now known to have -been much less. General M‘Clellan made little use of the spy-service, -and apparently cared very little to know what was going on in the -enemy’s camp--an indifference which before long led him into several -extraordinary and ridiculous blunders. As Commander-in-Chief, General -M‘Clellan had control over Halleck, Commander of the Department of the -West, while General Burnside commanded in North Carolina, and Sherman -in South Carolina. - -But though General M‘Clellan had, as he himself said, a “real army, -magnificent in material, admirable in discipline, excellently equipped -and armed, and well officered,” and though his forces, were double -those of the enemy, he seemed to be possessed by a strange apathy, -which, at the time, was at first taken for prudence, but which is -perhaps now to be more truthfully explained by the fact that this -former friend of Jefferson Davis, and ardent admirer of Southern -institutions, was at heart little inclined to inflict great injury on -the enemy, and was looking forward to playing the _rôle_ which has -led so many American politicians to their ruin--of being the great -conciliator between the North and South. Through the autumn and winter -of 1861-62, he did literally nothing beyond writing letters to the -President, in which he gave suggestions as to the manner in which the -country should be governed, and asked for more troops. All the pomp -and style of a grand generalissimo were carefully observed by him; -his personal camp equipage required twenty-four horses to draw it--a -marvellous contrast to the rough and ready General Grant, who started -on his vigorous campaign against Vicksburg with only a clean shirt -and a tooth-brush. Before long, notwithstanding the very remarkable -personal popularity of General M‘Clellan, the country began to murmur -at his slowness; and while the President was urging and imploring him -to do something, the malcontents through the North began to blame the -Administration for these delays. It was said to be doing all in its -power to crush M‘Clellan, to keep him from advancing, and to protract -the war for its own political purposes. - -[Illustration: GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT.] - -Weary with the delay, President Lincoln (January 27th, 1862) issued a -war order, to the effect that, on the 22nd February, 1862, there should -be a general movement of all the land and naval forces against the -enemy, and that all commanders should be held to strict responsibility -for the execution of this duty. In every quarter, save that of the army -of the Potomac, this was at once productive of energetic movements, -hard fighting, and splendid Union victories. On the 6th November, -General U. S. Grant had already taken Belmont, which was the first step -in his military career, and on January 10th, Colonel Garfield defeated -Humphrey Marshall at Middle Creek, Kentucky, while on January 19th, -General G. H. Thomas gained a victory at Mill Spring over the rebel -General Zollikoffer. The rebel positions in Tennessee and Kentucky -were protected by Forts Henry and Donelson. In concert with General -Grant, Commodore Foote took Fort Henry, while General Grant attacked -Fort Donelson. After several days’ fighting, General Buckner, in -command, demanded of General Grant an armistice, in which to settle -terms of surrender. To this General Grant replied, “No terms except -unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to -move immediately on your works.” General Buckner, with 15,000 men, -at once yielded. From this note, General U. S. Grant obtained the -name of “Unconditional Surrender Grant.” These successes obliged the -rebels to leave Kentucky, and Tennessee was thus accessible to the -Federal forces. On the 15th February, General Mitchell, of General -Buell’s army, reached Bowling Green, executing a march of forty miles -in twenty-eight hours and a-half, performing, meanwhile, incredible -feats in scaling a frozen steep pathway, a position of great strength, -and in bridging a river. On the 24th February, the Union troops seized -on Nashville, and on February 8th, Roanoke Island, North Carolina, -with all its defences, was captured by General Burnside and Admiral -Goldsborough. In March and April, Newbern, Fort Pulaski, and Fort -Mason were taken from the rebels. On the 6th, 7th, and 8th of March -was fought the great battle of Pea Ridge, in Arkansas, by Generals -Curtis and Sigel, who had drawn General Price thither from Missouri. -In this terrible and hard-contested battle the Confederates employed a -large body of Indians, who, however, not only scalped and shamefully -mutilated Federal troops, but also the rebels themselves. On the 7th -April, General Pope took the strong position, Island No. 10, in the -Mississippi, capturing with it 5000 prisoners and over 100 heavy siege -guns. These great and rapid victories startled the rebels, who had been -taught that the Northern foe was beneath contempt. They saw that Grant -and Buell were rapidly gaining the entire south-west. They gathered -together as large an army as possible, under General Albert S. Johnson -and Beauregard, and the opposing forces fought, April 6th, the battle -of Shiloh. Beauregard, with great sagacity, attacked General Grant with -overwhelming force before Buell could come up. “The first day of the -battle was in favour of the rebels, but night brought Buell, and the -morrow victory, to the Union army.” The shattered rebel army retreated -into their strong works at Corinth, but “leaving the victors almost as -badly punished as themselves.” General Halleck now assumed command of -the Western army, succeeding General Hunter. On the 30th May, Halleck -took Corinth, capturing immense quantities of stores and a line of -fortifications fifteen miles long, but was so dilatory in his attack -that General Beauregard escaped, and transferred his army to aid the -rebels in the East. For these magnificent victories, President Lincoln -published a thanksgiving proclamation. - -But while these fierce battles and great victories went on in the -West, and commanders and men became alike inured to hardship and hard -fighting, the splendid army of the Potomac had done nothing beyond -digging endless and useless trenches, in which thousands found their -graves. The tangled and wearisome correspondence which for months -passed between President Lincoln and General M‘Clellan is one of the -most painful episodes of the war. The President urged action. General -M‘Clellan answered with excuses for inaction, with many calls for more -men, and with repartees. At one time, when clamorous for more troops, -he admitted that he had over 38,000 men absent on furlough--which -accounted for his personal popularity with his soldiers. “He wrote -more despatches, and General Grant fewer, than any General of the -war.” Meanwhile, he was building up a political party for himself in -the army, and among the Northern malcontents, who thought it wrong -to coerce the South. When positively ordered to march, or to seize -different points, he replied with protests and plans of his own. After -the battle of Antietam, September 16th, 1862, President Lincoln again -urged M‘Clellan to follow the retreating Confederates, and advance on -Richmond. “A most extraordinary correspondence ensued, in which the -President set forth with great clearness the conditions of the military -problem, and the advantages that would attend a prompt movement by -interior lines towards the rebel capital.” In this correspondence, -Lincoln displays not only the greatest patience under the most -tormenting contradictions, but also shows a military genius and a clear -intelligence of what should be done which indicate the greatness and -versatility of his mind. He was, to the very last, kind to M‘Clellan, -and never seems to have suspected that the General “whose inactivity -was to some extent attributable to an indisposition to inflict great -injury upon the rebels,” was scheming to succeed him in his office, and -intriguing with rebel sympathisers. When at last the country would no -longer endure the ever-writing, never-fighting General, he removed him -from command (November 7th, 1862), and appointed General Burnside in -his place. “This whole campaign,” says Arnold, “illustrates Lincoln’s -patience, forbearance, fidelity to, and kindness for, M‘Clellan. His -misfortunes, disastrous as they were to the country, did not induce the -President to abandon him. Indeed, it was a very difficult and painful -thing for him ever to give up a person in misfortune, even when those -misfortunes resulted from a man’s own misconduct.” But though he spoke -kindly of General M‘Clellan, Mr. Lincoln could not refrain from gently -satirising the dilatory commander. Once he remarked that he would “very -much like to borrow the army any day when General M‘Clellan did not -happen to be _using it_, to see if he could not do something with it.” - -On the 9th March, an incident occurred which forms the beginning of -a new era in naval warfare. The rebels had taken possession of the -steam frigate _Merrimac_ at Norfolk, and covered her with iron armour. -Sailing down the James river, she destroyed the frigates _Cumberland_ -and _Congress_, and was about to attack the _Minnesota_, when, by -strange chance, “there came up the bay a low, turtle-like nondescript -object, bearing two heavy guns, with which she attacked the _Merrimac_ -and saved the fleet.” This was the _Monitor_, built by the celebrated -engineer Ericsson. - -There were many in the South, during the war, who schemed, or at least -talked over, the assassination of President Lincoln. On one occasion, -when he learned from a newspaper that a conspiracy of several hundred -men was forming in Richmond for the purpose of taking his life, he -smiled and said, “Even if true, I do not see what the rebels would gain -by killing me.... Everything would go on just the same. Soon after I -was nominated, I began to receive letters threatening my life. The -first one or two made me a little uncomfortable, but I came at length -to look for a regular instalment of this kind of correspondence in -every week’s mail. Oh! there is nothing like getting _used_ to things.” - -General Burnside, who accepted with reluctance the command of the army -(November 8th, 1862), was a manly and honourable soldier, but not more -fortunate than his predecessor. Owing to a want of proper understanding -and action between himself and Generals Halleck, Meigs, and Franklin, -the battle of Fredericksburg, begun on the 11th December, 1862, was -finally fought on the 15th January, the Union army being defeated with -a loss of 12,000 men. The spirit of insubordination, of delay, and of -ill-fortune which attended M‘Clellan, seemed to have descended as a -heritage on the army of the Potomac. - -On May 3rd, 1861, President Lincoln had, in an order addressed to the -Commander of the Forces on the Florida coast, suspended the writ of -_habeas corpus_. The right to do so was given him by the Constitution; -and in time of war, when the very foundations of society and life -itself are threatened, common sense dictates that spies, traitors, -and enemies may be imprisoned by military power. _Inter arma silent -leges_--law must yield in war. But that large party in the North, -which did not believe that anything was legal which coerced the -Confederacy, was furious. On the 27th May, 1861, General Cadwalader, by -the authority of the President, refused to obey a writ issued by Judge -Taney--“the Judge who pronounced the Dred-Scott decision, the greatest -crime in the judicial annals of the Republic”--for the release of a -rebel prisoner in Fort M’Henry. The Chief Justice declared that the -President could not suspend the writ, which was a virtual declaration -that it was illegal to put a stop to the proceedings of the thousands -of traitors in the North, many of whom, like the Mayor of New York, -were in high office. In July, 1862, Attorney-General Black declared -that the President had the right to arrest aiders of the rebellion, -and to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ in such cases. It was by -virtue of this suspension that the rebel legislators of Maryland had -been arrested, and the secession of the state prevented (September -16th, 1862). The newspapers opposed to Mr. Lincoln attacked the -suspension of the writ with great fierceness. But such attacks never -ruffled the President. On one occasion, when the Copperhead press was -more stormy than usual, he said it reminded him of two newly-arrived -Irish emigrants who one night were terribly alarmed by a grand chorus -of bull-frogs. They advanced to discover the “inimy,” but could not -find him, until at last one exclaimed, “And sure, Jamie, I belave it’s -just nothing but a _naise_” (noise). Arrests continued to be made; -among them was that of Clement L. Vallandigham, a member of Congress -from Ohio, who, in a political canvass of his district, bitterly -abused the Administration, and called on his leaders to resist the -execution of the law ordering the arrest of persons aiding the enemy. -For this he was properly arrested by General Burnside (May 4th, 1863), -and, having been tried, was sentenced to imprisonment; but President -Lincoln modified his sentence by directing that he should be sent -within the rebel lines, and not be allowed to return to the United -States till after the close of the war. This trial and sentence created -great excitement, and by many Vallandigham was regarded as a martyr. -A large meeting of these rebel sympathisers was held in Albany, at -which Seymour, the Governor of New York, presided, when the conduct of -President Lincoln was denounced as establishing military _despotism_. -At this meeting, the Democratic or Copperhead party of New York, while -nominally professing a desire to preserve the Union, took the most -effectual means to destroy it by condemning the right of the President -to punish its enemies. These resolutions having been sent to President -Lincoln, he replied by a letter in which he discussed at length, and in -a clear and forcible style, the constitutional provision for suspension -of the writ, and its application to the circumstances then existing. -Many such meetings were held, condemning the Emancipation Proclamation -and the sentence of Vallandigham. Great complaint was made that the -President did not act on his own responsibility in these arrests, but -left them to the discretion of military commanders. In answer, the -President issued a proclamation meeting the objections. At the next -state election, Mr. Vallandigham was the Democratic candidate for -Governor, but was defeated by a majority of 100,000. - -The year 1862 did not, any more than 1861, pass without foreign -difficulties. Mr. Adams, the American minister in London, had -remonstrated with the British Government to stop the fitting out of -rebel privateers in English ports. These cruisers, chief among which -were the _Alabama_, _Florida_, and _Georgia_, avoiding armed ships, -devoted themselves to robbing and destroying defenceless merchantmen. -The _Alabama_ was commanded by a Captain Semmes, who, while in the -service of the United States, had written a book in which he vigorously -attacked, as wicked and piratical, the system of privateering, being -one of the first to oppose that which he afterwards practised. Three -weeks before the “290,” afterwards the _Alabama_ escaped from the -yard of the Messrs. Laird at Birkenhead (July, 1862), the British -Government was notified of the character of the vessel, and warned that -it would be held responsible for whatever damage it might inflict on -American commerce. The _Alabama_, however, escaped, the result being -incalculable mischief, which again bore evil fruit in later days. - -In the same year the Emperor of the French made an offer of mediation -between the Federal and Confederate Governments, intimating that -separation was “an extreme which could no longer be avoided.” The -President, in an able reply (February 6th, 1863), pointed out the -great recaptures of territory from the Confederates which had taken -place--that what remained was held in close blockade, and very properly -rejected the proposition that the United States should confer on -terms of equality with armed rebels. He also showed that several of -the states which had rebelled had already returned to the Union. This -despatch put an end to all proposals of foreign intervention, and was -of great use in clearly setting forth to the partisans of the Union the -unflinching and determined character of their Government, and of the -man who was its Executive head. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-three--A Popular Prophecy--Gen. - Burnside relieved and Gen. Hooker appointed--Battle of - Chancellorsville--The Rebels invade Pennsylvania--Battle - of Gettysburg--Lincoln’s Speech at Gettysburg--Grant takes - Vicksburg--Port Hudson--Battle of Chattanooga--New York - Riots--The French in Mexico--Troubles in Missouri. - - -There was, during the rebellion, a popular rhyme declaring that -“In Sixty-one, the war begun; in Sixty-two, we’ll put it through; -in Sixty-three, the nigger’ll be free; in Sixty-four, the war’ll -be o’er--and Johnny come marching home.” The predictions were -substantially fulfilled. On January 1st, 1863, nearly 4,000,000 -slaves who had been merchandise became men in the sight of the law, -and the war, having been literally “put through” with great energy, -was beginning to promise a definite success to the Federal cause. -But the Union owed this advance less to its own energy than to the -great-hearted, patient, and honest man who was at its head, and who -was more for his country and less for himself than any one who had -ever before waded through the mud of politics to so high a position. -That so tender-hearted a man should have been so firm in great trials, -is the more remarkable when we remember that his gentleness often -interfered with justice. When the rebels, by their atrocities to the -black soldiers who fell into their hands, caused him to issue an order -(July 30th, 1863), declaring that “for every soldier of the United -States killed in violation of the laws of war a rebel soldier shall be -executed, and for every one sold into slavery a rebel soldier shall be -placed at hard labour,” it seemed as if vigorous retaliation was at -last to be inflicted. “But,” as Ripley and Dana state, “Mr. Lincoln’s -natural tender-heartedness prevented him from ever ordering such an -execution.” - -Lincoln having discovered in the case of M‘Clellan that incompetent or -unlucky generals could be “relieved” without endangering the country, -General Burnside, after the disaster of Fredericksburg, was set aside -(January 24th, 1863), and General Joseph Hooker appointed in his place -to command the army of the Potomac. From the 27th of April, General -Hooker advanced to Kelly’s Ford, and thence to Chancellorsville. A -force under General Stoneman had succeeded in cutting the railroad in -the rear of the rebels, so as to prevent their receiving reinforcements -from Richmond, General Hooker intending to attack them flank and rear. -On the 2nd May, he met the enemy at Chancellorsville, where, after -a terrible battle, which continued with varying success for three -days, he was compelled to withdraw his army to the north bank of the -Rappahannock, having lost nearly 18,000 men. The rebel loss was also -very large. General Stonewall Jackson was killed through an accidental -shot from one of his own men. Inspired by this success, the Confederate -General Lee resolved to move into the enemy’s country. On the 9th June, -he advanced north-west to the valley of the Shenandoah. On the 13th, -the rebel General Ewell, with a superior force, attacked and utterly -defeated General Milroy at Winchester. On the 14th July, the rebel army -marched into Maryland, with the intention of invading Pennsylvania. A -great excitement sprung up in the North. In a few days the President -issued a proclamation, calling for 120,000 troops from the states -most in danger. They were promptly sent, and, in addition to these, -thousands formed themselves into improvised companies and hurried off -to battle--for in those days almost every man, at one time or another, -had a turn at the war, the writer himself being one of those who went -out in this emergency. The danger was indeed great, and had Lee been -the Napoleon which his friends thought him, he might well enough have -advanced to Philadelphia. That on one occasion three of his scouts came -within sight of Harrisburg I am certain, having seen them with my own -eyes, though no one then deemed it credible. But two years after, when -I mentioned it to a wounded Confederate Colonel who had come in to -receive parole in West Virginia, he laughed, and assured me that, on -the day of which I spoke, three of his men returned, boasting that they -had been in sight of Harrisburg, but that, till he heard my story, he -had never believed them. And this was confirmed by another Confederate -officer who was with him. On the evening of that day on which I saw the -scouts, there was a small skirmish at Sporting Hill, six miles south -of Harrisburg, in which two guns from the artillery company to which I -belonged took part, and this was, I believe, the only fighting which -took place so far north during the war. - -And now there came on the great battle of Gettysburg, which proved to -be the turning-point of the whole conflict between North and South. For -our army, as soon as the rebels advanced north, advanced with them, -and when they reached Hagerstown, Maryland, the Federal headquarters -were at Frederick City, our whole force, as Raymond states, being thus -interposed between the rebels and Baltimore and Washington. On that -day, General Hooker was relieved from command of the army, and General -Meade appointed in his place. This was a true-hearted, loyal soldier -and gallant gentleman, but by no means hating the rebels so much at -heart as to wish to “improve them all away from the face of the earth,” -as General Birney and others of the sterner sort would have gladly -done. General Meade at once marched towards Harrisburg, upon which -the enemy was also advancing. On the 1st July, Generals Howard and -Reynolds engaged the Confederates near Gettysburg, but the foe being -strongly posted, and superior in numbers, compelled General Howard to -fall back to Cemetery Hill, around which all the corps of the Union -army soon gathered. About three o’clock, July 2nd, the rebels came down -in terrible force and with great fury upon the 3rd Corps, commanded by -General Sickles, who soon had his leg shot off. As the corps seemed -lost, General Birney, who succeeded him, was urged to fall back, but -he, as one who knew no fear--being a grim fanatic--held his ground -with the most desperate bravery till reinforced by the 1st and 6th -Corps. The roar of the cannon in this battle was like the sound of a -hundred thunderstorms, when, at one o’clock on the 3rd July, the enemy -opened an artillery fire on us from 150 guns for two hours, we replying -with 100; and I have been assured that, on this occasion, the wild -rabbits, losing all fear of man in their greater terror at this horrid -noise, ran for shelter, and leaped into the bosoms of the gunners. -Now the battle raged terribly, as it did the day before, when General -Wadsworth, of New York, went into fight with nearly 2000 men and came -out with 700. Hancock was badly wounded. The rebels fought up to the -muzzles of our guns, and killed the artillery horses, as many can well -remember. And the fight was hand-to-hand when Sedgwick came up with his -New Yorkers, who, though they had marched thirty-two miles in seventeen -hours, dashed in desperately, hurrahing as if it were the greatest -frolic in the world. And this turned the fight. The rebel Ewell now -attacked the right, which had been weakened to support the centre, and -the fighting became terrible; but the 1st and 6th again came to the -rescue, and drove them back, leaving great heaps of dead. Of all the -soldiers I ever found these New Yorkers the most courteous in camp and -the gayest under privations or in battle. On the 4th July, General -Slocum made an attack at daybreak on Ewell, who commanded Stonewall -Jackson’s men, but Ewell, after a desperate resistance, was at length -beaten. - -The victory was complete, but terrible. On the Union side were 23,000 -killed, wounded, and missing, and the losses of the rebels were even -greater, General Lee leaving in our hands 13,621 prisoners. Lee was -crushed, but General Meade, in the words of Arnold, “made no vigorous -pursuit. Had Sheridan or Grant commanded in place of Meade, Lee’s army -would never have recrossed the Potomac.” It is said that President -Lincoln was greatly grieved at this oversight, and once, when asked -if at any time the war might have been sooner terminated by better -management, he replied, “Yes, at Malvern Hill, where M‘Clellan failed -to command an immediate advance upon Richmond; at Chancellorsville, -when Hooker failed to reinforce Sedgwick; and at Gettysburg, when Meade -failed to attack Lee in his retreat at the bend of the Potomac.” - -It is said that General Meade did not know, until long after Lee had -crossed (July 14th, 1863), or late in the morning, that he had done so. -Now I knew, as did all with me, at two o’clock the day before (July -13th), when General Lee would cross. We knew that we could not borrow -an axe from any country house, because the rebels had taken them all -to make their bridge with; for I myself went to several for an axe, -and could not get one. During the night, I was awake on guard within a -mile or very little more of the crossing, and could hear the thunder -and rattle of the rebel ambulances and caissons in headlong haste, -and the groans of the wounded, to whom the rebels gave little care. -If General Meade knew nothing of all this, there were hundreds in his -army who did. But the truth is, that as General Meade was one who would -never strike a man when he was down, so, in the entire chivalry of his -nature, he would not pursue a flying and conquered foe. This was to be -expected from one who was the Sidney of our war, and yet it was but -mistaken policy for an enemy which wore ornaments made of the bones of -Federal soldiers, whose women abused prisoners, and whose programme, -published before the war began, advocated the shooting of pickets. Such -a foe requires a Cromwell, and in Grant they got him. - -During this summer of 1863, a part of the battle-field was bought by -the State of Pennsylvania, and kept for a burial-ground for those -who had fallen in the fight. On November 19th, 1863, it was duly -consecrated with solemn ceremonies, on which occasion President Lincoln -made a brief address, which has been thought, perhaps not without -reason, to be the finest ever delivered on such an occasion. - - “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon - 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 the 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 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 so far - nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to - the great task remaining before us--that from these honoured - dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they - here gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here - highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain--that - the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom--and - that the Government of the people, by the people, and for the - people, shall not perish from the earth.” - -These simple yet grand words greatly moved his hearers, and among the -thousands could be heard sobs and broken cheers. On this occasion, -Edward Everett, “New England’s most polished and graceful orator,” also -spoke. And this was the difference between them--that while Everett -made those present think only of him living in their admiration of his -art, the listeners forgot Lincoln, and wept in thinking of the dead. -But it is to Mr. Everett’s credit that on this occasion, speaking to -the President, he said, “Ah! Mr. Lincoln, how gladly would I exchange -my hundred pages to have been the author of your twenty lines.” - -Meanwhile, the army of the West had been far from idle. The great -Mississippi, whose arms reach to sixteen states, was held by the -rebels, who thus imprisoned the North-West. Those who ask why the -Confederacy was not allowed to withdraw in peace, need only look at the -map of North America for an answer. And to President Lincoln belongs -specially the credit of having planned the great campaign which freed -the Mississippi. He was constantly busy with it; “his room,” says -Arnold, “was ever full of maps and plans; he marked upon them every -movement, and no subordinate was at all times so completely a master -of the situation.” He soon appreciated the admirable qualities of the -unflinching Grant, and determined that he should lead this decisive -campaign in the West. General Grant had many enemies, and some of them -accused him of habits of intemperance. To one of these, endeavouring to -thus injure the credit of the General, President Lincoln said, “_Does_ -Grant get drunk?” “They say so,” was the reply. “Are you _quite_ sure -he gets drunk?” “Quite.” There was a pause, which the President broke -by gravely exclaiming, “I wonder where he buys his whiskey!” “And why -do you want to know?” was the astonished answer. “Because if I did,” -replied Mr. Lincoln, “I’d send a barrel or two of it round to some -other Generals I know of.” - -In January, 1863, Generals M‘Clernand and Sherman, commanding the army -of the Mississippi, acting with the fleet under command of Admiral -Porter, captured Arkansas Post, with 7000 prisoners and many cannon. -On the 2nd February, General Grant arrived near Vicksburg. His object -was to get his army below and behind this city, and the difficulties -in the way were enormous, as the whole vicinity of the place “was a -network of bayous, lakes, marshes, and old channels of streams.” For -weeks the untiring Grant was baffled in his efforts to cut a channel -or find a passage, so as to approach the city from the ridge in the -rear. He was, as Washburne said, “terribly in earnest.” He had neither -horse, nor servant, nor camp chest, nor for days even a blanket. He -fared like the commonest soldier under his command, partaking the -same rations, and sleeping on the ground under the stars. After many -failures, the General, “with a persistence which has marked his whole -career, conceived a plan without parallel in military history for its -boldness and daring.” This was briefly to march his army to a point -below Vicksburg, “then to run the bristling batteries of that rebel -Gibraltar, exposed to its hundreds of heavy guns, with his transports, -and then to cross the Mississippi below Vicksburg, and, returning, -attack that city in the rear.” The crews of the very frail Mississippi -steamboats, aware of the danger, with one exception, refused to go. -But when Grant called for volunteers, there came from his army such -numbers of pilots, engineers, firemen, and deck-hands, that he had to -select by lot those who were to sail on this forlorn hope. And they -pressed into the desperate undertaking with such earnestness, that -great numbers offered all their money for a chance in this lottery of -death, as much as 100 dollars in United States currency being offered -and refused by those who had had the luck to get what seemed to be a -certainty to lose their lives. And these men truly rode into the jaws -of death, believing long beforehand that there was very little hope -for any one to live. Into the night they sailed in dead silence, and -then, abreast of the city, there came from the batteries such a blaze -of fire and such a roar of artillery as had seldom been seen or heard -in the war. The gunboats fired directly on the city; the transports -went on at full speed, and the troops were landed. But this was only -the first step in a tremendous drama. The battle at the taking of Fort -Gibson was the next. Now Grant found himself in the enemy’s country, -between two fortified cities, with two armies, greatly his superior in -numbers, against him. Then followed battle after battle, and “rapid -marches, brilliant with gallant charges and deeds of heroic valour, -winning victories in quick succession--at Raymond on the 12th, at -Jackson the capital of Mississippi on the 14th, at Baker’s Creek on -the 16th, at Big Block River on the 17th, and finally closing with -driving the enemy into Vicksburg, and completely investing the city.” -The whole South was in terror, and Jefferson Davis sent messages -far and wide, imploring every rebel to hasten to Vicksburg. It was -all in vain. After desperately assaulting the city without success, -Grant resolved on a regular siege. “Then, with tireless energy, with -sleepless vigilance night and day, with battery and rifle, with trench -and mine, the army made its approaches, until the enemy, worn out with -fatigue, exhausted of food and ammunition, and driven to despair, -finally laid down their arms,” Grant sternly refusing, as was his wont, -any terms to the conquered. By this capture, with its accompanying -engagements, the rebels lost 37,000 prisoners and 10,000 killed and -wounded. The joy which this victory excited all through the Union was -beyond description. President Lincoln wrote to General Grant a letter -which was creditable to his heart. In it he frankly confessed that -Grant had understood certain details better than himself. “I wish to -make personal acknowledgment,” he said, “that you were right and I was -wrong.” - -In this war the rebels set the example of greatly encouraging irregular -cavalry and guerillas, having always an idea that the Northern army -would be exterminated in detail by sharp-shooters, and cut to pieces -with bowie-knives. This, more than any other cause, led to their own -ruin, for all such troops in a short time became mere brigands, preying -on friends as well as foes. On both sides there were dashing raids, -and at first the rebels, having better cavalry, had the best of it. -But as the war went on, there were great changes. Cavalry soldiers -from horses often came to mules, or even down to their own legs; -while infantry, learning that riding was easier than walking, and -horse-stealing as easy as either, transformed themselves into cavalry, -without reporting the change to the general in command, and if they -had done so, the chances are ten to one he and all his staff would -have been found mounted on just such unpaid-for steeds. If the rebels -Ashley, Morgan, and Stewart set fine examples in raiding, they were -soon outdone by Phil Sheridan and Kilpatrick--who was as good an orator -as soldier, and who once, when surprised by the rebels, fought and won -a battle in his shirt--or Custer and Grierson, Dahlgren and Pleasanton. -Of this raiding and robbing it may be truly said that, while the South -taught the trick, it did, after all, but nibble at the edges of the -Northern cake, while the Federals sliced theirs straight through. - -General Banks, who had succeeded General Butler in the Department of -the Gulf, invested Port Hudson. The siege lasted until May 8th, and -during the attack, the black soldiers, who had been slaves, fought with -desperate courage, showing no fear whatever. In America we had been -so accustomed to deny all manliness to the negro, that few believed -him capable of fighting, though many thought otherwise near Nashville -in 1864, when they saw whole platoons of black soldiers lying dead -in regular rows, just as they had been shot down facing the enemy. -Even the common soldiers opposed the use of black troops, until the -idea rose slowly on their minds that a negro was not only as easy to -hit as a white man, but much more likely to attract a bullet from -the chivalry. As I once heard a soldier say, “I used to be opposed -to having black troops, but yesterday, when I saw ten cart-loads of -dead niggers carried off the field, I thought it better they should be -killed than I.” Of this tender philanthropy, which was willing to let -the negro buy a place in the social scale at the expense of his life, -there was a great deal in the army, especially among the Union-men of -the South-West, who, while brave as lions or grizzly bears, were yet -prudent as prairie-dogs, as all true soldiers should be. This charge -of the Black Regiment at Port Hudson was made the subject of a poem by -George H. Boker, which became known all over the country. - - “Now,” the flag-sergeant cried, - “Though death and hell betide, - Let the whole nation see - If we are fit to be - Free in this land; or bound - Down, like the whining hound-- - Bound with red stripes of pain - In our old chains again!” - Oh, what a shout there went - From the Black Regiment! - “Freedom!” their battle-cry-- - “Freedom! or leave to die!” - Ah! and _they meant_ the word - Not as with us ’tis heard. - Not a mere party shout, - They gave their spirits out; - Trusted the end to God, - And on the gory sod - Rolled in triumphant blood. - Glad to strike one free blow, - Whether for weal or woe; - Glad to breathe one free breath, - Though on the lips of death. - This was what “Freedom” lent - To the Black Regiment. - - Hundreds on hundreds fell; - But they are resting well; - Scourges and shackles strong - Never shall do them wrong. - Oh, to the living few, - Soldiers, be just and true; - Hail them as comrades tried, - Fight with them side by side; - Never, in field or tent, - Scorn the Black Regiment. - -On the 9th July, Port Hudson surrendered to General Banks, yielding -over 5000 prisoners and fifty pieces of artillery. And now, from -the land of snow to the land of flowers, the whole length of the -Mississippi was once more beneath the old flag, and _free_. - -Meanwhile, there was hard fighting in Tennessee. After a battle at -Murfreesboro’, and the seizure of that place, the Union General -Rosencranz (January 5th, 1863) remained quiet, till, in June, he -compelled General Bragg to retreat across the Cumberland Mountains -to Chattanooga. By skilful management, he compelled the Confederates -to evacuate this town. They had thus been skilfully drawn from East -Tennessee, which was occupied by General Burnside. Both Rosencranz and -the rebel Bragg were now largely reinforced, the former by General -Hooker. At Vicksburg, Grant had taken 37,000 prisoners, which he had -set free on parole, on condition that they should not fight again -during the war; but these men were promptly sent to reinforce Bragg. -September 19, these opposing forces began the battle of Chicamauga, in -which the Union troops achieved a dearly-bought victory, though the -enemy retreated by night. The Federal loss was 16,351 killed, wounded, -and missing; that of the rebels, as stated in their return, was 18,000. - -October 19th, 1863, General Grant assumed full command of the -Departments of Tennessee, the Cumberland, and Ohio, Thomas holding -under him the first, and Sherman the second. After the desperate -battle of Chicamauga, Thomas followed Rosencranz to Chattanooga, and -the rebels invested the place. In October, Rosencranz was relieved. -Grant arrived on the 18th, and found the enemy occupying the steep -and rocky Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, on whose summit they -sat like eagles. Grant had under him General Thomas, the invincible -Sheridan, Hooker--who, as a hard-fighting corps-commander, was without -an equal--Howard and Blair. This battle of Chattanooga, in which the -Union army charged with irresistible strength, and the storming of -Lookout Mountain, formed, as has been said, the most dramatic scene of -the war. There was desperate fighting above the clouds, and advancing -through the mist, made denser by the smoke of thousands of guns. The -Union loss in this battle was 5286 killed and wounded, and 330 missing; -that of the Confederates about the same, but losing in prisoners 6242, -with forty cannon. Thus Tennessee was entirely taken, in gratitude for -which President Lincoln issued a proclamation, appointing a day of -thanksgiving for this great victory. - -In the July of this year, John Morgan, the guerilla, made a raid, -with 4000 men, into Ohio--not to fight, but to rob, burn, and murder. -He did much damage; but before he could recross the river, his men -were utterly routed, and the pious Colonel Shackelford announced in -a despatch, “By the blessing of Almighty God, I have succeeded in -capturing General John Morgan, Colonel Chike, and the remainder of the -command.” President Lincoln, when informed soon after of the death of -this cruel brigand, said, “Well, I wouldn’t crow over anybody’s death, -but I can take this as resignedly as any dispensation of Providence.” - -A draft for militia had been ordered (March 3rd, 1863), and passed -with little trouble, save in New York, where an immense number of the -dangerous classes and foreigners of the lowest order, headed by such -demagogues as Fernando Wood, sympathised with the South, and controlled -the elections. There was a wise and benevolent clause in this draft, -which exempted from conscription any one who would pay to Government -300 dollars. The practical result of this clause was that plenty of -volunteers were always ready to go for this sum, which fixed the -price of a substitute and prevented fraud; and in all the wards, the -inhabitants, by making up a joint fund, were able to exempt any dweller -in the ward from service, as there were always poor men enough glad to -go for so much money. But in New York the mob was stirred up to believe -that this was simply an exemption for the rich, and a terrible riot -ensued, which was the one effort made by the Copperheads during the -war to assist their Confederate friends by violence. During the four -days that it lasted, the most horrible outrages were committed, chiefly -upon the helpless blacks of the city, though many houses belonging -to prominent Union-men were burned or sacked. As all the troops had -been sent away to defend the Border and repel the rebels, there was -no organised force to defend the city. After the first day the draft -was forgotten, and thousands of the vilest wretches of both sexes gave -themselves up simply to plunder, outrage, and murder. The mob attacked -the coloured half-orphan asylum, in which nearly 800 black children -were sheltered, and set fire to it, burning thirty of the children -alive, and sadly abusing the rest. Insane with cruelty, they caught and -killed every negro they could find. In one case, they hung a negro, -and then kindled a fire under him. This riot was stirred up by rebel -agents, who hoped to make a diversion in the free states in favour of -their armies, and influence the elections. It did cause the weakening -of the army of Meade, since many troops were promptly sent back to New -York. There was also a riot in Boston, which was soon repressed. The -rebels, while following out the recommendation of Jefferson Davis, -had gone too far, even for his interest. He had urged pillage and -incendiarism; but the Copperheads of New York found out that a mob once -in motion plunders friend and foe indiscriminately. The Governor of New -York, Seymour, was in a great degree responsible for all these outrages -by his vigorous opposition to the draft, and by the feeble tone of -his remonstrances, which suggested sympathy and encouragement for the -rioters. The arrival of troops at once put a stop to the riots. - -One of the most annoying entanglements of 1863 for the Government -of the United States was the presence of a French army in Mexico, -ostensibly to enforce the rights of French citizens there, but in -reality to establish the Archduke Maximilian as its emperor. It was -given out that permanent occupation was not intended; but as it -became apparent to Mr. Dayton, our Minister at Paris, that the French -actually had in view a kingdom in Mexico, and as it had always been -an understood principle of American diplomacy that the United States -would avoid meddling in European affairs, on condition that no European -Government should set up a kingdom on our continent, the position of -our Administration was thus manifested-- - - “The United States have neither the right nor the disposition - to intervene by force on either side in the lamentable war - which is going on between France and Mexico. On the contrary, - they practise, in regard to Mexico, in every phase of that war, - the non-intervention which they require all foreign powers to - observe in regard to the United States. But, notwithstanding - this self-restraint, this Government knows full well that the - inherent normal opinion of Mexico favours a government there, - republican in its form and domestic in its organisation, in - preference to any monarchical institutions to be imposed from - abroad. This Government knows also that this normal opinion of - the people of Mexico resulted largely from the influence of - popular opinion in this country, and is continually invigorated - by it. The President believes, moreover, that this popular - opinion of the United States is just in itself, and eminently - essential to the progress of civilisation on the American - continent, which civilisation, it believes, can and will, if - left free from European resistance, work harmoniously together - with advancing refinement on the other continents.... Nor is - it necessary to practise reserve upon the point that if France - should, upon due consideration, determine to adopt a policy in - Mexico adverse to the American opinion and sentiments which I - have described, that policy would probably scatter seeds which - would be fruitful of jealousies which might ultimately ripen - into collision between France and the United States and other - American republics.” - -The French Government was anxious that the United States should -recognise the Government of Maximilian, but its unfriendly and -unsympathetic disposition towards the Federal Government was perfectly -understood, and “the action of the Administration was approved of by -the House of Representatives in a resolution of April 4th, 1864.” - -Eighteen hundred and sixty-three had, however, much greater political -trouble, the burden of which fell almost entirely on President -Lincoln. The Emancipation principles were not agreeable to the most -ultra Abolitionists, who were willing at one time to let the South -secede rather than be linked to slavery, and who at all times, in -their impatience of what was undeniably a terrible evil, regarded -nothing so much as the welfare of the slaves. Time has since shown -that Emancipation, which in its broad views included the interests of -both white and black, was by far the wisest for both. In Missouri, -these differences of opinion were fomented by certain occurrences -into painful discord among the Union-men. In 1861, General Fremont, -having military command of the state, proclaimed that he assumed the -administrative power, thus entirely superseding the civil rulers. -General Fremont, it will be remembered, also endeavoured, by freeing -the slaves, to take to himself functions belonging only to the -President. He, like General M‘Clellan, affected great state, and before -his removal (November 2nd, 1863), was censured by the War Office for -lavish and unwarranted expenditures, which was significant indeed in -the most extravagantly expensive war of modern times. Fremont’s removal -greatly angered his friends, especially the Germans. On the other hand, -General Halleck, who succeeded General Hunter--who had been _locum -tenens_ for only a few days after Fremont’s removal--made bad worse -by excluding fugitive slaves from his lines. All this was followed by -dissensions between General Gamble, a gradual Emancipationist, and -General Curtis, who had been placed in command (September 19th, 1863) -when the states of Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas were formed into a -military district. During the summer, the Union army being withdrawn -to Tennessee, Kansas and Missouri were overrun by bands of guerillas, -under an infamous desperado named Colonel Quantrill, whose sole aim -was robbery, murder, and outrage, and who made a speciality of burning -churches. This brigand, acting under Confederate orders, thus destroyed -the town of Lawrence, Kansas. For this, Government was blamed, and -the dissensions grew worse. Therefore, General Curtis was removed, -and General Schofield put in his place, which gave rise to so many -protests, that President Lincoln, at length fairly roused, answered one -of these remonstrances as follows:-- - - “It is very painful to me that you in Missouri can not or will - not settle your factional quarrel among yourselves. I have been - tormented with it beyond endurance, for months, by both sides. - Neither side pays the least respect to my appeals to your - reason. I am now compelled to take hold of the case. - - “A. LINCOLN.” - -These unreasonable quarrels lasted for a long time, and were finally -settled by the appointment of General Rosencranz. No fault was found -with General Schofield--in fact, in his first order, General Rosencranz -paid a high tribute to his predecessor, for the admirable state in -which he found the business of the department. So the difficulties -died. In the President’s letter to General Schofield, when appointed, -he had said, “If both factions, or neither, abuse you, you will -probably be about right. Beware of being assailed by one and praised -by the other.” Judged by his own rule in this case, says Holland, the -President was as nearly right as he could be, for both sides abused him -thoroughly. It may be added that, having scolded him to their hearts’ -content, and declared him to be a copy of all the Neros, Domitians, and -other monsters of antiquity, the Missouri Unionists all wheeled into -line and voted unanimously for him at the next Presidential election, -as if nothing had happened. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - Proclamation of Amnesty--Lincoln’s Benevolence--His - Self-reliance--Progress of the Campaign--The Summer of - 1864--Lincoln’s Speech at Philadelphia--Suffering in the - South--Raids--Sherman’s March--Grant’s Position--Battle of - the Wilderness--Siege of Petersburg--Chambersburg--Naval - Victories--Confederate Intrigues--Presidential - Election--Lincoln Re-elected--Atrocious attempts of the - Confederates. - - -The American political year begins with the meeting of Congress, which -in 1863 assembled on Monday, December 7th. On the 9th, President -Lincoln sent to both Houses a message, in which he set forth the -principal events of the year, as regarded the interests of the American -people. The previous day he had issued a proclamation of amnesty to all -those engaged in the rebellion, who “should take an oath to support, -protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the union -of the states under it, with the Acts of Congress passed during the -rebellion, and the proclamations of the President concerning slaves.” -From this amnesty those were excepted who held high positions in the -civil or military service of the rebels, or who had left similar -positions in the Union to join the enemy. It also declared that -whenever, in any of the rebel states, a number of persons, not less -than one-tenth of the qualified voters, should take this oath and -establish a state government which should be republican, it should -be recognised as the government of the state. On the 24th March, he -issued a proclamation following this, in which he defined more closely -the cases in which rebels were to be pardoned. He allowed personal -application to himself in all cases. Mr. Lincoln was of so gentle a -disposition that he seldom refused to sign a pardon, and a weeping -widow or orphan could always induce him to pardon even the worst -malefactors. The manner in which he would mingle his humorous fancies, -not only with serious business, but with almost tragic incidents, was -very peculiar. Once a poor old man from Tennessee called to beg for -the life of his son, who was under sentence of death for desertion. He -showed his papers, and the President, taking them kindly, said he would -examine them, and answer the applicant the next day. The old man, in an -agony of anxiety, with tears streaming, cried, “To-morrow may be too -late! My son is under sentence of death. _It must be done now, or not -at all._” The President looked sympathetically into the old man’s face, -took him by the hands, and pensively said, “_That_ puts me in mind of a -little story. Wait a bit--I’ll tell it.” - -“Once General Fisk of Missouri was a Colonel, and he despised swearing. -When he raised his regiment in Missouri, he proposed to his men that -he should do all the profanity in it. They agreed, and for a long -time not a solitary swear was heard among them. But there was an old -teamster named John Todd, who, one day when driving his mules over a -very bad road, and finding them unusually obstinate, could not restrain -himself, and burst into a tremendous display of ground and lofty -swearing. This was overheard by the Colonel, who at once brought John -to book. ‘Didn’t you promise,’ he said, indignantly, ‘that I was to do -all the swearing of the regiment?’ ‘Yes, I did, Colonel,’ he replied; -‘but the truth is, the swearing had to be done then, or not at all--and -you weren’t there to do it.’ Well,” concluded Mr. Lincoln, as he took -up a pen, “it seems that this pardon has to be done now, or not at all, -like Todd’s swearing; and, for fear of a mistake,” he added, with a -kindly twinkle in his eye, “I guess we’ll do it at once.” Saying this, -he wrote a few lines, which caused the old man to shed more tears when -he read them, for the paper held the pardon of his son. Once, and once -only, was President Lincoln known to sternly and promptly refuse mercy. -This was to a man who had been a slave-trader, and who, after his term -of imprisonment had expired, was still kept in jail for a fine of 1000 -dollars. He fully acknowledged his guilt, and was very touching in his -appeal on paper, but Lincoln was unmoved. “I could forgive the foulest -murder for such an appeal,” he said, “for it is my weakness to be too -easily moved by appeals for mercy; but the man who could go to Africa, -and rob her of her children, and sell them into endless bondage, with -no other motive than that of getting dollars and cents, is so much -worse than the most depraved murderer, that he can never receive pardon -at my hands. No; he may rot in jail before he shall have liberty by -any act of mine.” On one occasion, when a foolish young fellow was -condemned to death for not joining his regiment, his friends went with -a pardon, which they begged the President to sign. They found him -before a table, of which every inch was deeply covered with papers. -Mr. Lincoln listened to their request, and proceeded to another table, -where there was room to write. “Do you know,” he said, as he held the -document of life or death in his hand, “that table puts me in mind of -a little story of the Patagonians. They open oysters and eat them, and -throw the shells out of the window till the pile gets higher than the -house, and then”--he said this, writing his signature, and handing them -the paper--“_they move_.” - -Holland tells us that, in a letter to him, a personal friend of the -President said, “I called on him one day in the earlier part of -the war. He had just written a pardon for a young man who had been -sentenced to be shot for sleeping at his post as sentinel. He remarked, -as he read it to me, “I could not think of going into eternity with the -blood of that poor young man on my skirts.” Then he added, “It is not -to be wondered at that a boy raised on a farm, probably in the habit -of going to bed at dark, should, when required to watch, fall asleep; -and I cannot consent to shoot him for such an act.” This story has a -touching continuation in the fact that the dead body of this youth was -found among the slain on the field of Fredericksburg, wearing next his -heart a photograph of the great President, beneath which was written, -_God bless President Lincoln_. Once, when a General went to Washington -to urge the execution of twenty-four deserters, believing that the -army was in danger from the frequency of desertion, President Lincoln -replied, “General, there are already too many weeping widows in the -United States. For God’s sake, don’t ask me to add to the number, for I -won’t do it.” - -It is certain that every man who knew anything of the inner workings of -American politics, or of Cabinet secrets, during the war, will testify -that no President ever did so much himself, and relied as little on -others, as Lincoln. The most important matters were decided by him -alone. He would listen to his Cabinet, or to anybody, and shrewdly -avail himself of information or of ideas, but no human being ever had -the slightest personal _influence_ on him. Others might look up the -decisions and precedents, or suggest the legal axioms for him, but he -invariably managed the case, though with all courtesy and deference to -his diplomatic junior counsel. He was brought every day into serious -argument with the wisest, shrewdest, and most experienced men, both -foreign and American, but his own intelligence invariably gave him -the advantage. And it is not remarkable that the man who had been too -much for Judge Douglas should hold his own with any one. While he was -President, his wonderful powers of readily acquiring the details of -any subject were thoroughly tested, and as President, he perfected the -art of dealing with men. One of his French biographers, amazed at the -constantly occurring proofs of his personal influence, assures his -readers that, “during the war, Lincoln showed himself an organiser of -the first class. A new Carnot, he created armies by land and navies -by sea, raised militia, appointed generals, directed public affairs, -defended them by law, and overthrew the art of maritime war by building -and launching his terrible monitors. He showed himself a finished -diplomatist, and protected the interests of every one. His success -attested the mutual confidence of people and President in their common -patriotism. The emancipation of the slaves crowned his grand policy.” -If some of these details appear slightly exaggerated, it must be borne -in mind that all this and more appears to be literally true to any -foreigner who, in studying Lincoln’s life, learns what a prodigious -amount of work was executed by him, and to what a degree he impressed -his own mind on everything. He either made a shrewd remark or told a -story with every signature to any remarkable paper, and from that day -the document, the deed, and the story were all remembered in common. - -On the 1st February, 1864, the President issued an order for a draft -for 500,000 men, to serve for three years or during the war, and (March -14th) again for 200,000 men for service in the army and navy. On the -26th February, 1864, General Grant, in the words of the President, -received “the expression of the nation’s approbation for what he had -done, and its reliance on him for what remained to do in the existing -great struggle,” by being appointed Lieutenant-General of the army of -the United States.[28] It was owing to Mr. Lincoln that General Grant -received the full direction of military affairs, limited by no annoying -conditions. He at once entered on a vigorous course of action. “The -armies of Eastern Tennessee and Virginia,” says Brockett, “were heavily -increased by new levies, and by an effective system of concentration; -and from the Pacific to the Mississippi it soon became evident that, -under the inspiration of a great controlling mind, everything was -being placed in condition for dealing a last effective blow at the -already tottering Confederacy.” The plan was that Sherman should -take Atlanta, Georgia, and then, in succession, Savannah, Columbia, -Charleston, Wilmington, and then join Grant. Thomas was to remain in -the South-West to engage with Hood and Johnston, while Grant, with his -Lieutenants, Meade, Sheridan, and Hancock, were to subdue General Lee -and capture Richmond, the rebel capital. - -[Illustration: LINCOLN VISITING THE ARMY.] - -But, notwithstanding the confidence of the country in General Grant, -and the degree to which the Confederacy had been compressed by the -victories of 1863, the summer of 1864 was the gloomiest period of the -war since the dark days of 1862. In spite of all that had been done, it -seemed as if the war would never end. The Croakers, whether Union-men -or Copperheads,[29] made the world miserable by their complaints. And -it is certain that, in the words of General Badeau, “the political and -the military situation of affairs were equally grave. The rebellion -had assumed proportions that transcend comparison. The Southern people -seemed all swept into the current, and whatever dissent had originally -existed among them, was long since, to outside apprehension, swallowed -up in the maelstrom of events. The Southern snake, if scotched, was not -killed, and seemed to have lost none of its vitality. In the Eastern -theatre of war, no real progress had been made during three disastrous -years. Gettysburg had saved Philadelphia and Washington, but even -this victory had not resulted in the destruction of Lee; for in the -succeeding January, the rebel chief, with undiminished legions and -audacity, still lay closer to the national capital than to Richmond, -and Washington was in nearly as great danger as before the first Bull -Run.” General Grant’s first steps, though not failures, did little to -encourage the North. It is true that, advancing on the 3rd of May, -and fighting terribly every step from the Rapidan to the James, he -“had indeed flanked Lee’s army from one position after another, until -he found himself, by the 1st June, before Richmond--but he had lost -100,000 men! Here the enemy stood fast at bay.” The country promptly -made up his immense losses; but by this time there was a vacant chair -in almost every household, and the weary of waiting exclaimed every -hour, “How long, O Lord! how long?” - -Two things, however, were contributing at this time to cheer the North. -The lavish and extravagant manner in which the Government gave out -contracts to support its immense army, and the liberality with which -it was fed, clothed, and paid, though utterly reprehensible from an -economical point of view, had at least the good effect of stimulating -manufactures and industry. In the gloomiest days of 1861-2, when -landlords were glad to induce respectable tenants to occupy their -houses rent-free, and poverty stared us all in the face, the writer had -predicted, in the “Knickerbocker” and “Continental” Magazines, that, -in a short time, the war would bring to the manufacturing North such a -period of prosperity as it had never experienced, while in the South -there would be a corresponding wretchedness. The prediction, which was -laughed at, was fulfilled to the letter. Before the end of the war, -there was a blue army coat not only on every soldier, but on almost -every other man in America, for the rebels clad themselves from our -battle-fields, and, in some mysterious manner, immense quantities of -army stores found their way into civilian hands. All over the country -there was heard not only the busy hum of factories, but the sound -of the hammer, as new buildings were added to them. Paper-money was -abundant, and speculation ran riot. All this made a grievous debt; but -it is certain that the country got its money’s worth in confidence and -prosperity. When, however, despite this, people began to be downcast, -certain clergymen, with all the women, organised on an immense scale a -Sanitary Commission, the object of which was to contribute comforts -to the soldiers in the field. To aid this benevolent scheme, enormous -“Sanitary Fairs” were held in the large cities, and these were carried -out in such a way that everybody was induced to contribute money or -personal exertions in their aid. These fairs, in mere magnitude, -were almost like the colossal _Expositions_ with which the world has -become familiar, but were more varied as regards entertainment. That -of Philadelphia was the Great Central Sanitary Fair, where Mr. Lincoln -and his wife were present, on the 16th of June, 1864. Here I saw Mr. -Lincoln for the first time. The impression which he made on me was -that of an American who is reverting to the Red Indian type--a very -common thing, indeed, in the South-West among pure-blooded whites. His -brown complexion and high cheek-bones were very Indian. And, like the -Indian chiefs, he soon proved that he had the gift of oratory when he -addressed the multitude in these words-- - - “I suppose that this toast is intended to open the way for - me to say something. War at the best is terrible, and this - of ours, in its magnitude and duration, is one of the most - terrible the world has ever known. It has destroyed property, - destroyed life, and ruined homes. It has produced a national - debt and a taxation unprecedented in the history of the - country. It has caused mourning among us until the heavens may - almost be said to be hung in black. And yet it continues. It - has had accompaniments not before known in the history of the - world--I mean the Sanitary and Christian Commissions with their - labours for the relief of the soldiers, and these fairs, first - begun at Chicago, and next held in Boston, Cincinnati, and - other cities. The motives and objects that lie at the bottom - of them are worthy of the most that we can do for the soldier - who goes to fight the battles of his country. From the tender - hand of woman, very much is done for the soldier, continually - reminding him of the care and thought for him at home. The - knowledge that he is not forgotten is grateful to his heart. - Another view of these institutions is worthy of thought. They - are voluntary contributions, giving proof that the national - resources are not at all exhausted, and that the national - patriotism will sustain us through all. It is a pertinent - question, When is this war to end? I do not wish to name a day - when it will end, lest the end should not come at any given - time. We accepted this war, and did not begin it. We accepted - it for an object, and when that object is accomplished, the - war will end; and I hope to God that it never will end until - that object is accomplished. Speaking of the present campaign, - General Grant is reported to have said, ‘I am going to fight - it out on this line if it takes all summer.’ This war has - taken three years; it was begun, or accepted, upon the line - of restoring the national authority over the whole national - domain; and for the American people, as far as my knowledge - enables me to speak, I say we are going through on this line - if it takes three years more. I have not been in the habit of - making predictions in regard to the war, but now I am almost - tempted to hazard one. I will. It is that Grant is this - evening in a position, with Meade, and Hancock of Pennsylvania, - whence he can never be dislodged by the enemy until Richmond is - taken. If I shall discover that General Grant may be greatly - facilitated in the capture of Richmond by briefly pouring to - him a large number of armed men at the briefest notice, will - you go? (Cries of “Yes.”) Will you march on with him? (Cries of - “Yes, yes.”) Then I shall call upon you when it is necessary. - Stand ready, for I am waiting for the chance.” - -The hint given in this speech was better understood when, during the -next month, a call was made for 500,000 more men. These Sanitary Fairs, -and the presence of Mr. Lincoln, greatly revived the spirits of the -Union party. They had learned by this time that their leader was not -the vulgar Boor, Ape, or Gorilla which the Southern and Democratic -press persisted to the last in calling him, but a great, kind-hearted -man, whose sympathy for their sorrows was only surpassed by the genius -with which he led them out of their troubles. The writer once observed -of Dr. George M‘Clellan, father of the General, that while no surgeon -in America equalled him in coolness and daring in performing the most -dangerous operations, no woman could show more pity or feeling than he -would in binding up a child’s cut finger; and, in like manner, Abraham -Lincoln, while calmly dealing at one time with the ghastly wounds of -his country, never failed to tenderly aid and pity the lesser wounds of -individuals. - -But if the North was at this season in sorrow, those in the South had -much greater cause to be so, and they all deserved great credit for the -unflinching manner in which they endured their privations. From the -very beginning, they had wanted many comforts; they were soon without -the necessaries of civilised life. They manufactured almost nothing, -and for such goods as came in by blockade-running enormous prices were -paid. The upper class, who had made the war, were dependent on their -servants to a degree which is seldom equalled in Europe; and, like -those ants which require ant-slaves to feed them, and to which their -Richmond “sociologists” had pointed as a natural example, they began -to starve as their sable attendants took unto themselves the wings of -Freedom and flew away. In their army, desertion and straggling were so -common, that the rebel Secretary of War reported that the effective -force was not more than half the men whose names appeared on the rolls. -Their paper-money depreciated to one-twentieth its nominal value. There -were great failures of crops in the South; the Government made constant -seizures of provisions and cattle; and as the war had been confined to -their own territory, the population were harried by both friend and foe. - -Events were now in progress which were destined to utterly ruin the -Confederacy. These were the gigantic Northern incursions, which, -whether successful or not in their strategic aims, exhausted the -country, and set the slaves free by thousands. Early in February, -General Gillmore’s attempt to establish Union government in Florida -had failed. So, too, did Sherman, proceeding from Vicksburg, and -Smith, leaving Memphis, fail in their plan of effecting a junction, -although the destruction which they caused in the enemy’s country was -enormous. In the same month, Kilpatrick made a raid upon Richmond, -which was eminently successful as regarded destroying railways and -canals. In March, General Banks undertook an expedition to the Red -River, of which it may be briefly said that he inflicted much damage, -but received more. In April, Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi, held by -the Union General Boyd, was treacherously captured by the rebel General -Forrest, by means of a flag of truce. After the garrison of 300 white -men and 350 black soldiers, with many women and children, had formally -surrendered and given up their arms, a horrible scene of indiscriminate -murder ensued. A committee of investigation, ordered by Congress, -reported that “men, women, and little children were deliberately shot -down and hacked to pieces with sabres. Officers and men seemed to vie -with each other in the devilish work. They entered the hospitals and -butchered the sick. Men were nailed by their hands to the floors and -sides of buildings, and then the buildings set on fire.” Some negroes -escaped by feigning death, and by digging out from the thin covering of -earth thrown over them for burial. The rebel press exulted over these -barbarities, pleading the terrible irritation which the South felt at -finding her own slaves armed against her. Investigation proved that -this horrible massacre was in pursuance of a pre-conceived policy, -which had been deliberately adopted in the hope of frightening out -of the Union service not only negroes, but loyal white Southerners. -From the beginning of the war, the rebels were strangely persuaded -that _they_ had the privilege of inflicting severities which should -not be retaliated upon them. Thus at Charleston, in order to check -the destructive fire of the Union guns, they placed Northern officers -in chains within reach of the shells, and complacently notified our -forces that they had done so. Of course an equal number of rebel -officers of equal rank were at once exposed to the Confederate fire, -and this step, which resulted in stopping such an inhuman means of -defence, was regarded with great indignation by the South. But it was -no unusual thing with rebels to kill helpless captives. A horrible -instance occurred (April 20th, 1864) at the capture of Fort Plymouth, -N. C., where white and black troops were murdered in cold blood after -surrendering. These deeds filled the country with horror, and Mr. -Lincoln, who was “deeply touched,” publicly avowed retaliation, which -he never inflicted. - -The advance of Sherman towards the sea was not exactly what Jefferson -Davis predicted (September 22nd, 1864) it would be. Sherman’s force, -he said, “would meet the fate of the army of the French Empire in -the retreat from Moscow. Our cavalry will destroy his army ... and -the Yankee General will escape with only a body-guard.” The events -of this march are thus summed up by Holland. Sherman was opposed by -Johnston, who, with a smaller army, had the advantage of very strong -positions and a knowledge of the country, he moving towards supplies, -while Sherman left his behind him. The Federal General flanked -Johnston out of his works at Buzzard’s Roost; and then, fighting and -flanking from day to day, he drove him from Dalton to Atlanta. To -do this he had to force “a difficult path through mountain defiles -and across great rivers, overcoming or turning formidable entrenched -positions, defended by a veteran army commanded by a cautious and -skilful leader.” At Atlanta, Johnston was superseded by Hood, and Hood -assumed the offensive with little luck, since in three days he lost -half his army, and then got behind the defences of Atlanta. Here he -remained, surrounded by the toils which Sherman was weaving round him -with consummate skill, and which, as Sherman admits in his admirably -written report,[30] were patiently and skilfully eluded. But on the -2nd September, Atlanta fell into Sherman’s hands. The aggregate loss -of the Union army from Chattanooga to Atlanta was in all more than -30,000--that of the rebels above 40,000. Then Sherman proposed to -destroy Atlanta and its roads, and, sending back his wounded, to move -through Georgia, “smashing things to the sea.” And this he did most -effectually. Hood retreated to Nashville, where he was soon destined to -be conquered by Thomas. - -On the 12th November, Sherman began his march. The writer has heard -soldiers who were in it call it a picnic. In a month he passed -through to Savannah, which was held by 15,000 men; by the 20th it was -taken; and on the 21st General Sherman sent to President Lincoln this -despatch, “I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift the city of -Savannah, with 150 guns, plenty of ammunition, and about 25,000 bales -of cotton.” In this march he carried away more than 10,000 horses and -mules, and set free a vast number of slaves. Then, turning towards the -North, the grand North-Western army co-operated with Grant, “crushing -the fragments of the rebellion between the opposing forces.” - -Meanwhile, Hood, subdued by Sherman, had, with an army of nearly -60,000 men, advanced to the North, where he was followed by General -Thomas. On November 20th, Hood, engaging with Schofield, who was under -Thomas, was defeated in a fierce and bloody battle at Franklin, in -which he lost 6000 men. On the 15th December, the battle of Nashville -took place, and lasted two days, the rebels being utterly defeated, -though they fought with desperate courage. They lost more than 4000 -prisoners, fifty-three pieces of artillery, and thousands of small arms. - -The close of December, 1864, found the Union armies in this -position--“Sheridan had defeated Early in the Shenandoah Valley; -Sherman was at Savannah, organising further raids up the coast; Hood -was crushed; Early’s army was destroyed; Price had been routed in -Missouri; Cawley was operating for the capture of Mobile; and Grant, -with the grip of a bull-dog, held Lee in Richmond.” The Union cause was -greatly advanced, while over all the South a darkness was gathering as -of despair. And yet, with indomitable pluck, they held out for many a -month afterwards. And “there was discord in the councils of the rebels. -They began to talk of using the negroes as soldiers. The commanding -General demanded this measure; but it was too late. Lee was tied, and -Sherman was turning his steps towards him, and, among the leaders of -the rebellion, there was a fearful looking-out for fatal disasters.” -Yet, with the inevitable end full in view, the Copperhead party, now -openly led by M‘Clellan, continued to cry for “peace at any price,” and -clamour that the South should be allowed to go its way, and rule the -country. - -We have seen how Grant, now at the head of the entire national army -of 700,000 men, had planned in council with Sherman the great Western -campaign, and its result. After this arrangement, he returned to -Virginia, to conduct in person a campaign against Lee. A letter which -he received at this time from President Lincoln, and his answer, are -equally honourable to both. That from Lincoln was as follows:-- - - “EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, - - “_April 30th, 1864_. - - “Not expecting to see you 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 plans I neither know nor seek to know. You - are vigilant and self-reliant; and, pleased with this, I wish - not to obtrude any restraints or constraints upon you.... If - there be anything wanting which it is in 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. - - “A. LINCOLN.” - -General Grant, in his reply, expressed in the most candid manner his -gratitude that, from his first entrance into the service till the day -on which he wrote, he had never had cause for complaint against the -Administration or Secretary of War for embarrassing him in any way; -that, on the contrary, he had been astonished at the readiness with -which everything had been granted; and that, should he be unsuccessful, -the fault would not be with the President. The manliness, honesty, and -simple gratitude manifest in Grant’s letter, render it one of the most -interesting ever written. While M‘Clellan was in command, Mr. Lincoln -found it necessary to supervise; after Grant led the army, he felt that -no direction was necessary, and that an iron wheel must have a smooth -way. To some one inquiring curiously what General Grant intended to do, -Mr. Lincoln replied, “When M‘Clellan was in the hole, I used to go up -the ladder and look in after him, and see what he was about; but, now -this new man, Grant, has pulled up the ladder and _hauled the hole in_ -after him, I can’t tell what he is doing.” - -On May 2nd, 1864, Grant marched forward, and on the next night crossed -the Rapidan river. On May 5th began that terrible series of engagements -known as the Battle of the Wilderness, which lasted for five days. -During this conflict the Union General Wadsworth and the brave -Sedgwick, the true hero of Gettysburg, were killed. Fifty-four thousand -five hundred and fifty-one men were reported as killed, wounded, or -missing on the Union side, from May 3rd to June 15th; Lee’s losses -being about 32,000. There was no decisive victory, but General Lee was -obliged to gradually yield day by day, while Grant, with determined -energy, flanked him until he took refuge in Richmond. At this time -there was fearful excitement in the North, great hope, and greater -grief, but more resolve than ever. President Lincoln was in great -sorrow for such loss of life. When he saw the lines of ambulances miles -in length coming towards Washington, full of wounded men, he would -drive with Mrs. Lincoln along the sad procession, speaking kind words -to the sufferers, and endeavouring in many ways to aid them. One day -he said, “This sacrifice of life is dreadful; but the Almighty has not -forsaken me nor the country, and we shall surely succeed.” - -Though the inflexible Grant had no idea of failure, and though his -losses were promptly supplied, he was in a very critical position, -where a false move would have imperilled the success of the whole -war. On the 12th June, finding that nothing could be gained by -directly attacking Lee, he resolved to assail his southern lines of -communications. He soon reached the James river, and settled down to -the siege of Petersburg. - -Sherman had opened his Atlanta campaign as soon as Grant had -telegraphed to him that he had crossed the Rapidan. At the same time, -he had ordered Sigel to advance through the Shenandoah towards Stanton -(Va.), and Crook to come up the Kanawha Valley towards Richmond, but -both were defeated, while Butler, though he inflicted great damage on -the enemy, instead of capturing Petersburg, was himself “sealed up,” -as Grant said. “All these flanking movements having failed, and Lee -being neither defeated in the open field nor cut off from Richmond, the -great problem of the war instantly narrowed itself down to the siege -of Petersburg, which Grant began, and which, as it will be seen, long -outlasted the year. Meanwhile, terrible injury was daily inflicted on -the rebels in Virginia, by the numerous raiding and flanking parties -which, whether conquering or conquered, destroyed everything, sweeping -away villages and forests alike for firewood, as I well know, having -seen miles of fences burned. - -“On May 18th, just after the bloody struggle at Spottsylvania, a -spurious proclamation, announcing that Grant’s campaign was closed, -appointing a day of fasting and humiliation, and ordering a new draft -for 400,000 men, appeared in the New York ‘World’ and ‘Journal of -Commerce,’ newspapers avowedly hostile to the Administration. The other -journals, knowing that this was a forgery, refused to publish it. By -order of the President, the offices of these two publications were -closed; and, this action being denounced as an outrage on the liberty -of the press, Governor Seymour attempted to have General Dix and -others indicted for it.” The real authors of the forgery were two men -named Howard and Mallison, their object being stock-jobbing purposes. - -When General Sigel was defeated, he was relieved by General Hunter, -who, at first successful, was at last obliged to retreat before the -rebel Early, with very great loss. This placed Hunter in such a -position that he could not protect Washington. Early, finding himself -unopposed, crossed Maryland, plundered largely, fought several battles -with the militia, burned private houses, destroyed the trains on the -Washington and Baltimore railroads, and threatened both cities. Then -there was great anxiety in the North, for just at that time Grant was -in the worst of his great struggle. But when Early was within two miles -of Baltimore, he was confronted by the 6th Corps from the Potomac, the -19th from Louisiana, and large forces from Pennsylvania, and driven -back. During this retreat, he committed a great outrage. Having entered -Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a peaceful, unfortified town, he demanded -100,000 dollars in gold, to be paid within an hour, and as the money -could not be obtained, he burned the place. Meanwhile, Sheridan had -made his famous raid round Lee’s lines, making great havoc with rebel -stores and lines of transit, but in no manner infringing on the rules -of honourable warfare. - -During July, 1864, Admiral Farragut, of the Union navy, with a -combination of land and sea forces, attacked Mobile. A terrible -conflict ensued, resulting in the destruction of a rebel fleet, the -capture of the famous armour-ship _Tennessee_, four forts, and many -guns and prisoners. This victory was, however, the only one of any -importance gained during this battle-summer. It effectually closed one -more port. But the feeling of depression was now so great in the North, -owing to the great number of deaths in so many families, that President -Lincoln, by special request of the Congress--which adjourned July 4th, -1864--issued a proclamation, appointing a day of fasting and prayer. -But two days after, public sorrow was “much alleviated,” says Raymond, -“by the news of the sinking of the pirate _Alabama_” (June 19th) by the -_Kearsage_, commanded by Winslow. Yet for all the grief and gloom which -existed, the Union-men of America were never so obstinately determined -to resist. The temper of the time was perfectly shown in a pamphlet by -Dr. C. J. Stille of Philadelphia, entitled, “How a Free People conduct -a long War,” which had an immense circulation, and which pointed out -in a masterly manner that all wars waged by a free people for a great -principle have progressed slowly and involved untiring vigour. And -President Lincoln, when asked what we should do if the war should last -for years, replied, “We’ll keep pegging away.” In short, the whole -temper of the North was now that of the Duke of Wellington, when he -said at Waterloo, “Hard pounding this, gentlemen; but we’ll see who can -pound the longest.” - -During the summer of 1864, two self-styled agents of the Confederate -Government appeared at Clifton, Canada, in company with W. Cornell -Jewett, whom Raymond terms an irresponsible and half-insane adventurer, -and George Sanders, described as a political vagabond. Arnold states -that expeditions to rob and plunder banks over the border, and to -fire Northern cities, were subsequently clearly traced to them; “and -that there is evidence tending to connect them with crimes of a -still graver and darker character.” These men were employed by the -Confederate Government, to be acknowledged or repudiated according -to the success of their efforts. They induced Horace Greeley to aid -them in negotiating for peace, and he wrote to President Lincoln as -follows--“I venture to remind you that our bleeding, bankrupt, almost -dying country, also longs for peace; shudders at the prospect of fresh -conscriptions, of further wholesale devastations, and of new rivers of -human blood. I fear, Mr. President, you do not realise how intensely -the people desire any peace, consistent with the national integrity and -honour.” - -To Mr. Lincoln, who firmly believed that the best means of attaining -peace was to conquer it, such language seemed out of place. Neither -did he believe that these agents had any direct authority, as proved to -be the case. After an embarrassing correspondence, the President sent -to these “commissioners” a message, to the effect that any proposition -embracing the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, -and the abandonment of slavery, would be received by the Government -of the United States if coming from an authority that can control the -armies now at war with the United States. In answer to this, the agents -declared, through Mr. Greeley, that it precluded negotiation, and -revealed in the end that the purpose of their proceedings had been to -influence the Presidential election. As it was, many were induced to -believe that Mr. Lincoln, having had a chance to conclude an honourable -peace, had neglected it. - -Meanwhile, Mr. Lincoln had the cares of a Presidential campaign on his -hands. Such an election, in the midst of a civil war which aroused -everywhere the most intense and violent passions, was, as Arnold -wrote, a fearful ordeal through which the country must pass. At a -time when, of all others, confidence in their great leader was most -required, all the slander of a maddened party was let loose upon him. -General M‘Clellan, protesting that personally he was in favour of -war, became the candidate of those whose watchword was “Peace at any -price,” and who embraced all those who sympathised with the South -and with slavery. Their “platform” was simply a treasonable libel on -the Government, declaring that, “under the _pretence_ of the military -necessity of a war-power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution -itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and -private rights alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the -country essentially impaired; and that justice, humanity, liberty, -and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a -cessation of hostilities.” - -It was, therefore, distinctly understood that the question at stake -in this election was, whether the war should be continued. The -ultra-Abolition adherents of General Fremont were willing to see a -pro-slavery President elected rather than Mr. Lincoln, so great was -their hatred of him and of Emancipation, and they therefore nominated -their favourite, knowing that he could not be elected, but trusting -to divide and ruin the Lincoln party. But this movement came to -an inglorious end. A portion of the Republican party offered the -nomination for the Presidency to General Grant, which that honourable -soldier promptly declined in the most straightforward manner. As the -election drew on, threats and rumours of revolution in the North -were rife, and desperate efforts were made by Southern emissaries to -create alarm and discontent. But such thorough precautions were taken -by the Government, that the election was the quietest ever known, -though a very heavy vote was polled. On the popular vote, Lincoln -received 2,223,035; M‘Clellan, 1,811,754. The latter carried only -three states--New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky, while all the others -which held an election went to Lincoln. The total number admitted -and counted of electoral votes was 233, of which Lincoln and Johnson -(Vice-President) had 212, and M‘Clellan and Pendleton 21. - -Of this election, the President said, in a speech (November 10th, -1864)-- - - “So long as I have been here, I have not willingly planted a - thorn in any man’s bosom. While I am duly sensible to the high - compliment of a re-election, and duly grateful, as I trust, - to Almighty God for having directed my countrymen to a right - conclusion, as I think, for their good, it adds nothing to my - satisfaction that any other man may be disappointed by the - result. May I ask those who have not differed with me to join - with me in this spirit towards those who have?” - -Those who yet believe that the rebels were in the main chivalric and -honourable foes, may be asked what would they have thought of the -French, if, during the German war, they had sent chests of linen, -surcharged with small-pox venom, into Berlin, under charge of agents -officially recognised by Government? What would they have thought of -Germany, if official agents from that country had stolen into Paris and -attempted to burn the city. Yet both of these things were attempted -by the agents of the Confederate _Government_--not by unauthorised -individuals. On one night, fires were placed in thirteen of the -principal hotels of New York, while, as regards incendiarism, plots -were hatched from the beginning in the South to treacherously set fire -to Northern cities, to murder their public men, and otherwise make -dishonourable warfare, the proof of all this being in the avowals and -threats of the Southern newspapers. Immediately after the taking of -Nashville by Thomas, the writer, with a friend, occupied a house in -that town which had belonged to a rebel clergyman, among whose papers -were found abundant proof that this reverend incendiary had been -concerned in a plot to set fire to Cincinnati. - -In connection with these chivalric deeds of introducing small-pox and -burning hotels, must be mentioned other acts of the rebel agents, -sent by their Government on “detached service.” On the 19th October, -a party of these “agents” made a raid into St. Albans, Vermont, -where they robbed the banks, and then retreated into Canada. These -men were, however, discharged by the Canadian Government; the money -which they had stolen was given up to them, as Raymond states, “under -circumstances which cast great suspicion upon prominent members of -the Canadian Government.” The indignation which this conduct excited -in the United States is indescribable, and the Canadian Government, -recognising their mistake, re-arrested such of the raiders as had not -made their escape. But the American Government, finding that they had -few friends beyond the frontier, properly established a strict system -of passports for all immigrants from Canada. - -The year 1864 closed under happy auspices. “The whole country had come -to regard the strength of the rebellion as substantially broken.” -There were constant rumours of peace and reconciliation. The rebels, -in their exhaustion, were presenting the most pitiable spectre of a -sham government. The whole North was crowded with thousands of rebel -families which would have starved at home. They were not molested; but, -as I remember, they seemed to work the harder for that to injure the -Government and Northern people among whom and upon whom they lived, -being in this like the teredo worms, which destroy the trunk which -shelters and feeds them. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - The President’s Reception of Negroes--The South opens - Negotiations for Peace--Proposals--Lincoln’s Second - Inauguration--The Last Battle--Davis Captured--End of the - War--Death of Lincoln--Public Mourning. - - -The political year of 1865 began with the assemblage of Congress -(December 5th, 1864). The following day, Mr. Lincoln sent in his -Message. After setting forth the state of American relations with -foreign Governments, he announced that the ports of Fernandina, -Norfolk, and Pensacola had been opened. In 1863, a Spaniard named -Arguelles, who had been guilty of stealing and selling slaves, had -been handed over to the Cuban Government by President Lincoln, and -for this the President had been subjected to very severe criticism. -In the Message he vindicated himself, declaring that he had no doubt -of the power and duty of the Executive under the law of nations to -exclude enemies of the human race from an asylum in the United States. -He showed an enormous increase in industry and revenue, a great -expansion of population, and other indications of material progress; -thus practically refuting General Fremont’s shameless declaration that -Lincoln’s “administration had been, politically and financially, a -failure.” On New Year’s Day, 1865, the President, as was usual, held -a reception. The negroes--who waited round the door in crowds to see -their great benefactor, whom they literally worshipped as a superior -being, and to whom many attributed supernatural or divine power--had -never yet been admitted into the White House, except as servants. But -as the crowd of white visitors diminished, a few of the most confident -ventured timidly to enter the hall of reception, and, to their extreme -joy and astonishment, were made welcome by the President. Then many -came in. An eye-witness wrote of this scene as follows--“For nearly two -hours Mr. Lincoln had been shaking the hands of the white ‘sovereigns,’ -and had become excessively weary--but here his nerves rallied at the -unwonted sight, and he welcomed this motley crowd with a heartiness -that made them wild with exceeding joy. They laughed and wept, and wept -and laughed, exclaiming through their blinding tears, ‘God bless you!’ -‘God bless Abraham Lincoln!’ ‘God bress Massa Linkum!’” - -It was usual with Louis the XI. to begin important State negotiations -by means of vagabonds of no faith or credibility, that they might be -easily disowned if unsuccessful; and this was precisely the course -adopted by Davis and his Government when they employed Jewett and -Saunders to sound Lincoln as to peace. A more reputable effort was -made in February, 1865, towards the same object. On December 28th, -1864, Mr. Lincoln had furnished Secretary F. P. Blair with a pass to -enter the Southern lines and return, stipulating, however, that he -should in no way treat politically with the rebels. But Mr. Blair -returned with a message from Jefferson Davis, in which the latter -declared his willingness to enter into negotiations to secure peace -to _the two countries_. To which Mr. Lincoln replied that he would -be happy to receive any agent with a view to securing peace to _our -common country_. On January 29th, the Federal Government received an -application from A. H. Stephens, the Confederate Vice-President, R. -M. T. Hunter, President of the rebel Senate, and A. J. Campbell, the -rebel Secretary of War, to enter the lines as _quasi_-commissioners, -to confer with the President. This was a great advance in dignity -beyond Saunders and Jewett. Permission was given for the parties -to hold a conference on the condition that they were not to land, -which caused great annoyance to the rebel agents, who made no secret -of their desire to visit Washington. They were received on board -a steamboat off Fortress Monroe. By suggestion of General Grant, -Mr. Lincoln was personally present at the interview. The President -insisted that three conditions were indispensable--1. Restoration -of the national authority in all the states; 2. Emancipation of -the slaves; and 3. Disbanding of the forces hostile to Government. -The Confederate Commissioners suggested that if hostilities could -be suspended while the two Governments united in driving the French -out of Mexico, or in a war with France, the result would be a better -feeling between the South and North, and the restoration of the Union. -This proposition--which, to say the least, indicated a lamentable -want of gratitude to the French Emperor, who had been anxious from -the beginning to recognise the South and destroy the Union, and who -would have done so but for the English Government--was rejected by Mr. -Lincoln as too vague. During this conference, Mr. Hunter insisted that -a constitutional ruler could confer with rebels, and adduced as an -instance the correspondence of Charles I. with his Parliament. To which -Mr. Lincoln replied that he did not pretend to be versed in questions -of history, but that he distinctly recollected that Charles I. _lost -his head_. Nothing was agreed upon. But, as Mr. Stephens declared, -Jefferson Davis coloured the report of this meeting so as to crush the -great Southern peace-party. He began by stating that he had received -a written notification which satisfied him that Mr. Lincoln wished to -confer as to peace, when the truth was that Lincoln had forbidden Mr. -Blair to open any such negotiation. And having, by an inflammatory -report, stirred up many people to hold “blackflag” meetings and -“fire the Southern heart,” he said of the Northern men in a public -speech--“We will teach them that, when they talk to us, they talk to -their masters.”[31] Or, as it was expressed by a leading Confederate -journal--“A respectful attitude, _cap in hand_, is that which befits a -Yankee when speaking to a Southerner.” - -On January 31st, the House of Representatives passed a resolution -submitting to the Legislatures of all the states a constitutional -amendment entirely abolishing slavery, which had already passed the -Senate (April 8th, 1864). On the 4th March, 1865, Mr. Lincoln was -inaugurated for a second time. Four years before, when the same -ceremony was performed, he was the least known and the most hated -man who had ever been made President. Since then a tremendous storm -had darkened the land, and now the sky, growing blue again, let the -sunlight fall on his head, and the world saw what manner of man he was. -And such a day this 4th of March literally was, for it began with so -great a tempest that it was supposed the address must be delivered in -the Senate Chamber instead of the open air. But, as Raymond writes, -“the people had gathered in immense numbers before the Capitol, in -spite of the storm, and just before noon the rain ceased, the clouds -broke away, and, as the President took the oath of office, the blue sky -appeared, a small white cloud, like a hovering bird, seemed to hang -above his head, and the sunlight broke through the clouds, and fell -upon him with a glory afterwards felt to have been an emblem of the -martyr’s crown which was so soon to rest upon his head.” Arnold and -many others declare that, at this moment, a brilliant star made its -appearance in broad daylight, and the incident was regarded by many as -an omen of peace. As I have myself seen in America a star at noon-day -for two days in succession, I do not doubt the occurrence, though I do -not remember it on this 4th of March. The inaugural address was short, -but remarkable for vigour and a very conciliatory spirit. He said-- - - “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 avoid 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.... 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 population were slaves, who constituted a peculiar and - powerful interest. All knew that this interest was the cause - of the war. To strengthen and perpetuate this interest was the - object for which the insurgents would rend the Union by war, - while the Government claimed right to no more than restrict - the territorial enlargement of it.... Both parties 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 prayer 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 offences, for it must - needs be that offences come, but woe unto the man by whom the - offence cometh.’ If we shall suppose that American slavery is - one of these offences 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 offence 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 250 years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until - every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be requited by - another drawn with the sword, as was said 3000 years ago, so - it must still be said the judgments of the Lord are true and - righteous altogether. With malice toward no one, 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 orphans, to do all - which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among - ourselves, and with all nations.” - -If there was ever a sincere utterance on earth expressive of deeply -religious faith, in spirit and in truth, it was in this address. And at -this time not only President Lincoln, but an extraordinary number of -people were inspired by a deeply earnest faith and feelings which few -can _now_ realise. Men who had never known serious or elevated thoughts -before, now became fanatical. The death of relatives in the war, the -enormous outrages inflicted by the rebels on prisoners, the system -of terrorism and cruelty which they advocated, had produced on the -Northern mind feelings once foreign to it, and they were now resolved -to go on, “in God’s name, and for this cause,” to the bitter end. -With the feeling of duty to God and the Constitution and the Union, -scores on scores of thousands of men laid down their lives on the -battle-field. And it was characteristic of the South that, having from -the beginning all the means at their command of cajoling, managing, and -ruling the North, as easily as ever a shepherd managed sheep, they, -with most exemplary arrogance, took precisely the course to provoke all -its resistance. Soldiers who had not these earnest feelings generally -turned into bounty-jumpers--men who took the premium for enlisting, and -deserted to enlist again--or else into marauders or stragglers. But the -great mass were animated by firm enthusiasm. I have been in several -countries during wild times, and have seen in a French revolution -courage amounting to delirium, but never have I seen anything like the -zeal which burned in every Union heart during the last two years of the -war of Emancipation. - -On the 6th March, 1865, Mr. Fessenden, the Secretary of the Treasury, -voluntarily resigned, and Mr. Hugh M‘Culloch was appointed in his -place. This was the only change in the Cabinet. On the 11th March, -the President issued a proclamation, pardoning all deserters from the -army, on condition that they would at once return to duty. This had the -effect of bringing in several thousands, who materially aided the draft -for 300,000, which was begun on the 15th March, 1865. - -And now the Southern Confederacy was rapidly hurrying down a darkening -road to ruin--nor was it even destined to perish with honour, and -true to its main principle; for, in their agony, its leaders even -looked to the despised negro for help. It was proposed to the rebel -Congress--and the measure was defeated by only one vote--that every -negro who would fight for the Confederacy should be set free; which -amounted, as Raymond declares, and as many rebels admitted, to a -practical abandonment of those ideas of slavery for whose supremacy the -rebellion had been set on foot. Of this proposition President Lincoln -said--“I have in my life heard many arguments why the negroes ought -to be slaves, but if they will fight for those who would keep them in -slavery, it will be a better argument than any I have yet heard. He who -would fight for that, ought to be a slave.” - -The beginning of the end was now approaching. Early in February, Grant -advanced in person with four corps, with the object of establishing his -position near the Weldon road. After several days’ fighting, the Union -forces were in a position four miles in advance. On the 25th March, -1865, the rebels desperately assaulted and captured Fort Stedman, -a very important position near Petersburg; but the Union reserves -speedily retook it. General Grant was now afraid lest Lee should -escape, “and combine with Johnston, in which case a long campaign, -consuming most of the summer, might become necessary.” - -On the 30th March, 1865, Grant attacked Lee, “with the army of the -Potomac, in front, while the army of the James forced the enemy’s right -flank, and Sheridan, with a large cavalry force, distracting Lee’s -attention by a blow at the junction of the South-side, Richmond, and -Danville railroads, suddenly wheeled, struck the South-side railroad -within ten miles of Petersburg, and, tearing it up as he went, fell -upon the rebel left flank.” During this time, and the four days which -ensued, there was much resolute and brilliant strategy, desperate -and rapid flanking, hard fighting, and personal heroism. It was the -perfection of war, and it was well done by both adversaries. Now -Petersburg was completely at the mercy of the national armies. During -the tremendous cannonading of Saturday night, April 1st, 1865, Lee, -in dire need, called for Longstreet to aid him. “Then,” in the words -of Arnold, “the bells of Richmond tolled, and the drums beat, calling -militia, citizens, clerks, everybody who could carry arms, to man the -lines from which Longstreet’s troops were retiring.” At early dawn -on Sunday, April 2nd, 1865, Grant ordered a general assault along -the entire line, and this, the last grand charge of the war, carried -everything decisively before it. Away the rebel lines rushed in full -retreat. At eleven a.m. of that eventful Sunday, Jefferson Davis, in -church, received a despatch from Lee, saying Petersburg and Richmond -could no longer be held. He ran in haste from church, and left the city -by the Danville railroad. During the night, Richmond and Petersburg -were both evacuated, the rebels first setting fire to the principal -buildings in Richmond, being urged by the desperate intention of making -another Moscow of their last city. The flames were, with difficulty, -put out by Weitzel’s cavalry. His regiment of black troops was the -first to enter the stronghold of slavery, its band playing “John -Brown’s Body.” - -Lee, who had lost 18,000 prisoners and 10,000 in killed and wounded, -or half his force, fled with the remainder, in the utmost disorder, -toward Lynchburg. But he had not the merciful Meade in command after -him this time, but a man of blood and iron, “who was determined then -and there to make an end of it.” “Grant’s object,” says Raymond, “in -the whole campaign, had been, not Richmond, but Lee’s army; for that he -pushed forward, regardless of the captured cities which lay behind him, -showing himself as relentless in pursuit as he had been undaunted in -attack.”[32] - -President Lincoln immediately went to the front and to Richmond the -day after it was taken. He entered quietly without a military guard, -accompanied only by his son, Admiral Porter, and the sailors who had -rowed him up. But the negroes soon found out that he was there, and -came rushing, with wild cries of delight, to welcome him. This scene -has been described as inexpressibly touching. The poor creatures, now -knowing, for the first time, that they were really free, came, their -eyes streaming with tears, weeping aloud for joy, shouting or dancing -with delight, and crying, without exception, in long chorus, “Glory, -glory, glory to God!” These people, who had acquired, as it were, in an -instant that freedom which they prized far above wealth, or aught else -on earth, found only in religious enthusiasm vent for their feelings. - -It was at Grant’s suggestion that President Lincoln had so promptly -visited Richmond, to which he again returned on April 6th, 1865. -Meanwhile, the entire North and West was in a frenzy of delight. Those -who can recall it will always speak of it as such an outburst of joyful -excitement as they can hardly expect to take part in again. Cannon -roared and bells were rung from the Atlantic to the Pacific; drums beat -and trumpets sounded, no longer for war, but for gladness of peace. -There was such gratulation and hurrahing for happiness, and such kindly -greeting among strangers, that it seemed as if all the world were one -family at a merry-making. And, in every family, relatives and friends -began to get ready for husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, or lovers, -for all knew that, in a few days, more than a million of Union soldiers -would return home. For, at last, _the war was over_. The four years of -sorrow and suspense were at an end. - -Meanwhile, Grant was hunting Lee with headlong haste. The rebel army -was cut off from its supplies and starving, its cattle falling dead, -“its men falling out of the ranks by thousands, from hunger and -fatigue.” Fighting desperately, flanked at every turn, on April 6th, -1865, Lee was overtaken by Sheridan and Meade at Deatonville, and met -with a crushing defeat. On Sunday, April 9th, 1865, he was compelled -to surrender to Grant on terms which, as Arnold rightly states, were -very liberal, magnanimous, and generous. The whole of Lee’s army were -allowed to return home on condition that they would not take up arms -again against the United States--not a difficult condition for an -enemy which made no scruple of immediately putting its paroled men -into the field, without regard to pledge or promise, as had happened -with the 37,000 Vicksburg prisoners. This stipulation gave much -dissatisfaction to the Union army. On the 26th April, 1865, General -Johnston surrendered his army to Sherman, not before the latter had -blundered sadly in offering terms on conditions which were entirely -beyond his powers to grant. Johnston finally obtained the same -conditions as Lee. The other rebel forces soon yielded--General Howell -Cobb surrendering to General Wilson in Georgia, on the 20th April; Dick -Taylor surrendering all the forces west of the Mississippi to General -Canby, to whom General Kirby Smith also surrendered on May 26th. On the -11th day of May, Jefferson Davis, flying in terror towards the sea, was -captured at Irwinsville, Georgia, by the 4th Michigan Regiment. He was -attired at the time as a woman, wearing his wife’s waterproof cloak, -and with a woman’s shawl drawn over his head. Those who captured him -say he was carrying a water-bucket. A rebel officer who was with him -admits that he was in a loose wrapper, and that a Miss Howell fastened -the shawl on to disguise him, but declares he was followed by a servant -with a bucket.[33] It has been vigorously denied that Davis was thus -disguised as a woman; but the affidavit of the colonel who captured -him, and the clumsy attempt of the rebel officer to establish the -contrary, effectually prove it. On the 4th October, 1864, Mr. Davis, -speaking of “the Yankees,” declared that “the only way to make spaniels -civil is to whip them.” A few months only had elapsed, and this man who -spoke of Northerners as of dogs, was caught by them running away as an -old woman with a tin pail. This was the end of the Great Rebellion. - -Mr. Raymond declares that “the people had been borne on the top of -a lofty wave of joy ever since Sheridan’s victory; and the news of -Lee’s surrender, with Lincoln’s return to Washington, intensified -the universal exultation.” On the 10th April, 1865, an immense crowd -assembled at the White House, which was illuminated, as “the whole city -also was a-blaze with bonfires and waving with flags.” And on this -occasion, so inspired with joy soon to be turned to the deepest grief -which ever fell on the nation, Lincoln delivered his last address. -Hitherto he had always spoken with hope, but never without pain; after -he had for once lifted his voice in joy he never spoke again. In this -address he did not exult over the fallen, but discussed the best method -of reconstruction, or how to bring the revolted states again into the -Union as speedily and as kindly as possible. - -No time was lost in relieving the nation from the annoyances attendant -on war. Between the 11th April, 1865, and the 15th, proclamations -were issued, declaring all drafting and recruiting to be stopped, -with all purchases of arms and supplies, removing all military -restrictions upon trade and commerce, and opening the blockaded ports. -The promptness with which the army returned to peaceful pursuits was, -considering its magnitude, unprecedented in history. The grand army -mustered over 1,200,000 men. The population of the twenty-three loyal -states, including Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland--which latter state -furnished soldiers for both sides, from a population of 3,025,745--was -22,046,472, and this supplied the aggregate, reduced to a three years’ -standard, of 2,129,041 men, or fourteen and a-half per cent. of the -whole population. Ninety-six thousand and eighty-nine died from wounds, -184,331 from disease--total, 280,420--the actual number being more. -The cost of the war to the United States was 3,098,233,078 dollars, -while the States expended in bounties, or premiums to recruits, -500,000,000 dollars. The blacks furnished their fair proportion of -soldiers, and, if suffering and death be a test of courage, a much -greater proportion of bravery than the whites, as of 178,975 black -troops, 68,178 perished. - -Mr. Lincoln’s last speech was entirely devoted to a kind consideration -of the means by which he might restore their privileges to the rebels; -and his last story was a kindly excuse for letting one escape. It was -known that Jacob Thompson, a notorious Confederate, meant to escape -in disguise. The President, as usual, was disposed to be merciful, -and to permit the arch-rebel to pass unmolested, but his Secretary -urged that he should be arrested as a traitor. “By permitting him -to escape the penalties of treason,” remarked the Secretary, “you -sanction it.” “Well,” replied Mr. Lincoln, “that puts me in mind of a -little story. There was an Irish soldier last summer who stopped at a -chemist’s, where he saw a soda-fountain. ‘Misther Doctor,’ he said, -‘give me, plase, a glass ov soda-wather--and if ye can put in a few -drops of whiskey unbeknown to anyone, I’ll be obleeged till yees.’ -Now,” continued Mr. Lincoln, “if Jake Thompson is permitted to go away -unknown to anyone, where’s the harm? _Don’t_ have him arrested.” - -And now the end was drawing near. As the taper which has burned almost -away flashes upwards, as if it would cast its fire-life to heaven, so -Abraham Lincoln, when his heart was for once, and once only, glad and -light, perished suddenly. During the whole war he had been hearing from -many sources that his life was threatened. There were always forming, -in the South, Devoted Bands and Brotherhoods of Death, sanctioned by -the Confederate Congress, whose object was simply arson, robbery, and -murder in the North. Many have forgotten, but I have not, what appeared -in the rebel newspapers of those days, or with what the detective -police of the North were continually busy. The deeds of Beal and -Kennedy,[34] men holding commissions from the authorities of Richmond -for the purpose, showed that a government could stoop to attempt to -burn hundreds of women and children alive, and throw railway trains -full of peaceable citizens off the track. It is to the credit of the -North that, in their desire for reconciliation, the question as to -who were the instigators and authorisers of Lincoln’s death was never -pushed very far. The world was satisfied with being told that the -murderer was a crazy actor, and the rebels eagerly caught at the idea. -But years have now passed, and it is time that the truth should be -known. As Dr. Brockett declares, a plot, the extent and ramifications -of which have never yet been fully made known, had long been formed to -assassinate the President and the prominent members of the Cabinet. -“Originating in the Confederate Government, this act, with others, such -as the attempt to fire New York, ... was confided to an association -of army officers, who, when sent on these errands, were said to be -on ‘detached service.’” There is _direct proof_ of Booth’s actual -consultation with officers known to belong to this organisation, during -Lee’s retreat from Gettysburg. The assassination of the President was -a thing so commonly talked of in the South as to excite no surprise. -A reward was actually offered in one of the Southern papers for “the -murder of the President, Vice-President, and Secretary Seward.” Now -when such an offer is followed by such an attempt, few persons would -deny the connection. It is true that there were, even among the most -zealous Union-men at this time, some whose desire to acquire political -influence in the South, and be regarded as conciliators, was so great, -that they hastened to protest, as zealously as any rebels, that the -Confederate Government had no knowledge of the plot. Perhaps from the -depths of Mr. Jefferson Davis’s inner conscience there may yet come -forth some tardy avowal of the truth. When that gentleman was arrested, -he protested that he had done nothing for which he could be punished; -but when he heard, in answer, that he might be held accountable for -complicity in the murder of President Lincoln, he was silent and seemed -alarmed. But the almost conclusive proof that the murder was carried -out under the sanction and influence of high authorities, may be found -in the great number of people who were engaged in it, and the utter -absence among them of those guiding minds which invariably direct -conspiracies. When on one night a great number of hotels were fired in -New York, the Copperhead press declared that it was done by thieves. -But the Fire Marshal of Philadelphia, who was an old detective, said -that common incendiaries like burglars never worked in large parties. -It was directed by higher authority. Everything in the murder of -President Lincoln indicated that the assassin and his accomplices were -tools in stronger hands. The rebellion had failed, but the last blow of -revenge was struck with unerring Southern vindictiveness. After all, -as a question of mere morality, the exploits of Beal and Kennedy show -that the Confederate Government had authorised deeds a hundred times -more detestable than the simple murder of President Lincoln. Political -enthusiasm might have induced thousands to regard Lincoln as a tyrant -and Booth as a Brutus; but the most fervent madness of faction can -never apologise for burning women and children alive, or killing them -on railways. - -[Illustration: FORD’S THEATRE, WHERE PRESIDENT LINCOLN WAS -ASSASSINATED.] - -It was on Good Friday, the 14th of April, the anniversary of Major -Anderson’s evacuation of Fort Sumter, “the opening scene of the -terrible four years’ civil war,” that President Lincoln was murdered -while sitting in a box at a theatre in Washington. The assassin, John -Wilkes Booth, was the son of the celebrated actor. He was twenty-seven -years of age, and utterly dissipated and eccentric. He was a thorough -rebel, and had often exhibited a nickel bullet with which he declared -he meant to shoot Lincoln, but his wild and unsteady character had -prevented those who heard the threats from attaching importance to -them. It had been advertised that President Lincoln and many prominent -men would be present at a performance. General Grant, who was to have -been of their number, had left that afternoon for Philadelphia. During -the day, the assassin and his accomplices, who were all perfectly -familiar with the theatre, had carefully made every preparation for the -murder. The entrance to the President’s box was commanded by a door, -and in order to close this, a piece of wood was provided, which would -brace against it so firmly that no one could enter. In order to obtain -admission, the spring-locks of the doors were weakened by partially -withdrawing the screws; so that, even if locked, they could present no -resistance. Many other details were most carefully arranged, including -those for Booth’s escape. He had hired a fine horse, and employed one -Spangler, the stage carpenter, to watch it. This man had also prepared -the scenes so that he could readily reach the door. In the afternoon he -called on Vice-President Johnson, sending up his card, but was denied -admission, as that gentleman was busy. It is supposed to have been an -act intended to cast suspicion upon Mr. Johnson, who would be Lincoln’s -successor. At seven o’clock, Booth, with five of his accomplices, -entered a saloon, where they drank together in such a manner as to -attract attention. All was ready. - -President Lincoln had, during the day, held interviews with many -distinguished men, and discussed great measures. He had consulted with -Colfax, the Speaker of the House, as to his future policy towards the -South, and had seen the Minister to Spain, with several senators. At -eleven o’clock he had met the Cabinet and General Grant, and held a -most important conference. “When it adjourned, Secretary Stanton said -he felt that the Government was stronger than it had ever been;” and -after this meeting he again conversed with Mr. Colfax and several -leading citizens of his own state. His last remarks in reference to -public affairs expressed an interest in the development of California, -and he promised to send a telegram in reference to it to Mr. Colfax -when he should be in San Francisco. As I have, however, stated with -reference to Jacob Thompson, his own last act was to save the life, -as he supposed, of a rebel, while the last act of the rebellion was to -take his own. - -At nine o’clock, Lincoln and his wife reached the crowded theatre, -and were received with great applause. Then the murderer went to his -work. Through the crowd in the rear of the dress circle, patiently -and softly, he made his way to the door opening into the dark narrow -passage leading to the President’s box. Here he showed a card to the -servant in attendance, saying that Mr. Lincoln had sent for him, and -the man, nothing doubting, admitted him. He entered the vestibule, -and secured the door behind him by bracing against it the piece of -board already mentioned. He then drew a small silver-mounted Derringer -pistol, which he held in his right hand, having a long double-edged -dagger in his left. All in the box were absorbed in watching the actors -on the stage, except President Lincoln, who was leaning forward, -holding aside the flag-curtain of the box with his left hand, with -his head slightly turned towards the audience. At this instant Booth -passed by the inner door into the box, and stepping softly behind the -President, holding the pistol over the chair, shot him through the back -of the head. The ball entered on the left side behind the ear, through -the brain, and lodged just behind the right eye. President Lincoln -made no great movement--his head fell slightly forward, and his eyes -closed. He seemed stunned. - -As the report of the pistol rang through the house, many of the -audience supposed it was part of some new incident introduced into -the play. Major Rathbone, who was in the box, saw at once what had -occurred, and threw himself on Booth, who dropped the pistol, and freed -himself by stabbing his assailant in the arm, near the shoulder. The -murderer then rushed to the front of the box, and, in a sharp loud -voice, exclaiming, _Sic semper tyrannis_--the motto of Virginia--leaped -on the stage below. As he went over, his spur caught in the American -flag which Mr. Lincoln had grasped, and he fell, breaking his leg; but, -recovering himself, he rose, brandishing the dagger theatrically, and, -facing the audience, cried in stage-style, “The South is avenged,” and -rushed from the theatre. He pushed Miss Laura Keene, the actress, out -of his way, ran down a dark passage, pursued by Mr. Stewart, sprung to -his saddle, and escaped. Mrs. Lincoln had fainted, the excited audience -behaved like lunatics, some attempting to climb up the pillars into the -box. Through Miss Keene’s presence of mind, the gas was turned down, -and the crowd was turned out. And in a minute after, the telegraph had -shot all over the United States the news of the murder. - -[Illustration: HOUSE WHERE THE PRESIDENT DIED.] - -The President never spoke again. He was taken to his home, and died -at twenty minutes after seven the next morning. He was unconscious from -the moment he was shot. - -As the vast crowd, mad with grief, poured forth, weeping and lamenting, -they met with another multitude bringing the news that Secretary -Seward, lying on his sick-bed, had been nearly murdered. A few days -before, he had fractured his arm and jaw by falling from a carriage. -While in this condition, an accomplice of Booth’s, named John Payne -Powell, tried to enter the room, but was repulsed by Mr. Seward’s son, -who was at once knocked down with the butt of a pistol. Rushing into -the room, Payne Powell stabbed Mr. Seward three times, and escaped, but -not before he had wounded, while fighting desperately, five people in -all. - -During the night, there was fearful excitement in Washington. Rumours -were abroad that the President was murdered--that all the members of -the Cabinet had perished, or were wounded--that General Grant had -barely escaped with his life--that the rebels had risen, and were -seizing on Washington--and that all was confusion. The reality was -enough to warrant any degree of doubt and terror. There had been, -indeed, a conspiracy to murder all the leading members of Government. -General Grant had escaped by going to Philadelphia. It is said that -this most immovable of men, when he heard that President Lincoln was -dead, gravely took the cigar from his mouth and quietly said, “Then I -must go at once to Washington. I shall yet have time to take my family -to Bordertown, and catch the eleven o’clock train.” - -Efforts have been made by both parties to confine all the guilt of this -murder to Booth alone, and to speak of him as a half-crazed lunatic -actor. As the facts stand, the murder had long been threatened by the -Southern press, and was apprehended by many people. Booth had so many -accomplices, that they expected between them to kill the President, -Vice-President, and all the Cabinet. And yet, with every evidence of a -widespread conspiracy which had numbers of ready and shrewd agents in -the theatre, on the road, and far and wide, even the most zealous Union -writers have declared that all this plot had its beginning and end in -the brain of a lunatic! It so happened that, just at this time, the -North, weary of war and willing to pardon every enemy, had no desire -to be vindictive. When Jefferson Davis was tried, Mr. Greeley eagerly -stepped forward to be his bail, and there were many more looking to -reconstruction and reconciliation--or to office--and averse to drive -the foe to extremes. Perhaps they were right; for in great emergencies -minor interests must be forgotten. It was the Union-men and the victors -who were now nobly calling for peace at any price and forgiveness. But -one thing is at least certain. From a letter found April 15th, 1865, -in Booth’s trunk, it was shown that the murder was planned before the -4th of March, but fell through then because the accomplices refused to -go further _until Richmond could be heard from_. So it appears that, -though Booth was regarded as the beginning and end of the plot, and -solely accountable, yet his tools actually refused to obey him until -they had heard from Richmond, the seat of the Rebel Government. This -was written by Secretary Stanton to General Dix on April 15th, in -the interval between the attack on Lincoln and his death. The entire -execution of the plot evidently depended upon _news from Richmond_, and -not upon Booth’s orders. - -Booth himself, escaping across the Potomac, “found, for some days, -shelter and aid among the rebel sympathisers of Lower Maryland.” He -was, of course, pursued, and, having taken refuge in a barn, was -summoned to surrender. This he refused to do, and was then shot dead -by a soldier named Boston Corbett, whom I have heard described as a -fanatic of the old Puritan stamp. In the words of Arnold, Booth did not -live to betray the men who set him on. And I can testify that there was -nowhere much desire to push the inquiry _too_ far. Booth had been shot, -the leading Union politicians were busy at reconstruction, and the -war was at an end. But, as Arnold declares, Booth and his accomplices -were but the wretched tools of the real conspirators, and it remains -uncertain whether the conspirators themselves will ever in this world -be dragged to light. - -The next day, April 15th, 1865, the whole nation knew the dreadful -news, and there was such universal sadness as had never been known -within the memory of man. All was gloom and mourning; men walked in -the public places, and wept aloud as if they had been alone; women sat -with children on the steps of houses, wailing and sobbing. Strangers -stopped to converse and cry. I saw in that day more of the human heart -than in all the rest of my life. I saw in Philadelphia a great mob -surging idly here and there between madness and grief, not knowing what -to do. Somebody suggested that the Copperheads were rejoicing over the -murder--as they indeed were--and so the mob attacked their houses, but -soon gave it over, out of very despondency. By common sympathy, every -family began to dress their houses in mourning, and to hang black stuff -in all the public places; “before night, the whole nation was shrouded -in black.” That day I went from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. This latter -town, owing to its factories and immense consumption of bituminous -coal, seems at any time as if in mourning; but on that Sunday -afternoon, completely swathed and hung in black, with all the world -weeping in a drizzling rain, its dolefulness was beyond description. -Among the soldiers, the grief was very great; but with the poor -negroes, it was absolute--I may say that to them the murder was in -reality a second crucifixion, since, in their religious enthusiasm, -they literally believed the President to be a Saviour appointed by -God to lead them forth to freedom. To this day there are negro huts, -especially in Cuba, where Lincoln’s portrait is preserved as a hidden -fetish, and as the picture of the Great Prophet who was not killed, but -only taken away, and who will come again, like King Arthur, to lead his -people to liberty. At Lincoln’s funeral, the weeping of the coloured -folk was very touching. - -It was proposed that President Lincoln should be buried in the vault -originally constructed for Washington in the Capitol. This would have -been most appropriate; but the representatives from Illinois were very -urgent that his remains should be taken to his native state, and this -was finally done. So, after funeral services in Washington, the body -was borne with sad processions from city to city, through Maryland, -Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. -At Philadelphia it lay in state in the hall where the Declaration -of Independence had been signed. “A half-million of people were in -the streets to do honour to all that was left of him who, in that -same hall, had declared, four years before, that he would sooner -be assassinated than give up the principles of the Declaration of -Independence. He _had_ been assassinated because he would not give -them up.” - -This death-journey, with its incidents, was very touching. It showed -beyond all question that, during his Presidency, the Illinois -backwoodsman had found his way to the hearts of the people as no man -had ever done. He had been with them in their sorrows and their joys. -Those who had wept in the family circle for a son or father lost in the -war, now wept again the more because the great chief had also perished. -The last victim of the war was its leader. - -The final interment of the body of President Lincoln took place at -Oak Ridge Cemetery, in Springfield, Illinois. Four years previously, -Abraham Lincoln had left a little humble home in that place, and gone -to be tried by the people in such a great national crisis as seldom -falls to any man to meet. He had indeed “crossed Fox River” in such a -turmoil of roaring waters as had never been dreamed of. And, having -done all things wisely and well, he passed away with the war, dying -with its last murmurs. - -[Illustration: THE LINCOLN MONUMENT, SPRINGFIELD, ILL.] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - President Lincoln’s Characteristics--His Love of Humour--His - Stories--Pithy Sayings--Repartees--His Dignity. - - -Whatever the defects of Lincoln’s character were, it may be doubted -whether there was ever so great a man who was, on the whole, so good. -Compared to his better qualities, these faults were as nothing; yet -they came forth so boldly, owing to the natural candour and manliness -on which they grew, that, to petty minds, they obscured what was grand -and beautiful. It has been very truly said, that he was the most -remarkable product of the remarkable possibilities of American life. -Born to extreme poverty, and with fewer opportunities for culture than -are open to any British peasant, he succeeded, by sheer perseverance -and determination, in making himself a land-surveyor, a lawyer, a -politician, and a President. And it is not less evident that even his -honesty was the result of _will_, though his kind-heartedness came by -nature. What was most remarkable in him was his thorough Republicanism. -He was so completely inspired with a sense that the opinions and -interests common to the community are right, that to his mind common -sense assumed its deepest meaning as a rule of the highest justice. -When the whole land was a storm of warring elements, and in the -strife between States’ Rights and National Supremacy all precedents -were forgotten and every man made his own law, then Abraham Lincoln, -watching events, and guided by what he felt was really the sense of the -people, sometimes leading, but always following when he could, achieved -Emancipation, and brought a tremendous civil war to a quiet end. - -Abraham Lincoln was remarkably free from jealousy or personal hatred. -His honesty in all things, great or small, was most exemplary. In -appointing men, he was more guided by the interests of the country or -their fitness than by any other consideration, and avoided favouritism -to such an extent that it was once said, in reference to him, that -honesty was undoubtedly good policy, but it was hard that an American -citizen should be excluded from office because he had, unfortunately, -at some time been a friend of the President. Owing to this principle, -he was often accused of ingratitude, heartlessness, or indifference. -Mr. Lincoln had a quick perception of character, and liked to give -men credit for what they understood. Once, when his opinion was -asked as to politics, he said, “You must ask Raymond about that; -in politics, he is my lieutenant-general.”[35] The manner in which -Lincoln became gradually appreciated was well expressed in the London -“Saturday Review,” after his death, when it said that, “during the -arduous experience of four years, Mr. Lincoln constantly rose in -general estimation by calmness of temper, by an intuitively logical -appreciation of the character of the conflict, and by undisputed -sincerity.” - -Mr. Lincoln was habitually very melancholy, and, as is often the case, -sought for a proper balance of mind in the humour of which he had such -a rare appreciation. When he had a great duty on hand, he would prepare -his mind for it by reading “something funny.” As I write this, I am -kindly supplied with an admirable illustration by Mr. Bret Harte. One -evening the President, who had summoned his Cabinet at a most critical -juncture, instead of proceeding to any business, passed half-an-hour in -reading to them the comic papers of Orpheus C. Kerr (office-seeker), -which had just appeared. But at last, when more than one gentleman -was little less than offended at such levity, Mr. Lincoln rose, laid -aside the book, and, with a most serious air, as of one who has brought -his mind to a great point, produced and read the slips containing the -Proclamation of Emancipation, and this he did with an earnestness and -feeling which were electric, moving his auditors as they had seldom -been moved. By far the best work of humour produced during the war, if -it be not indeed the best work of purely American humour ever written, -was the Petroleum V. Nasby papers. F. B. Carpenter relates that, on -the Saturday before the President left Washington to go to Richmond, -he had a most wearisome day, followed by an interview with several -callers on business of great importance. Pushing everything aside, he -said--“Have you seen the ‘Nasby Papers’?” “No, I have not,” was the -answer; “what are they?” “There is a chap out in Ohio,” returned the -President, “who has been writing a series of letters in the newspapers -over the signature of Petroleum V. Nasby. Some one sent me a collection -of them the other day. I am going to write to Petroleum to come down -here, and I intend to tell him, if he will communicate his talent to -me, I will swap places with him.” Thereupon he arose, went to a drawer -in his desk, and taking out the letters, he sat down and read one to -the company, finding in their enjoyment of it the temporary excitement -and relief which another man would have found in a glass of wine. The -moment he ceased, the book was thrown aside, his countenance relapsed -into its habitual serious expression, and business was entered upon -with the utmost earnestness. The author of these “Nasby Papers” was -David R. Locke. After Mr. Lincoln’s death, two comic works, both -well thumbed, indicating that they had been much read, were found in -his desk. One was the “Nasby Letters,” and the other “The Book of -Copperheads,” written and illustrated by myself and my brother, the -late Henry P. Leland. This was kindly lent to me by Mr. M’Pherson, -Clerk of the House of Representatives, that I might see how thoroughly -Mr. Lincoln had read it. Both of these works were satires on that party -in the North which sympathised with the South. - -Men of much reading, and with a varied knowledge of life, especially -if their minds have somewhat of critical culture, draw their materials -for illustration in conversation from many sources. Abraham Lincoln’s -education and reading were not such as to supply him with much unworn -or refined literary illustration, so he used such material as he -had--incidents and stories from the homely life of the West. I have -observed that, in Europe, Scotchmen approach most nearly to Americans -in this practical application of events and anecdotes. Lincoln excelled -in the art of putting things aptly and concisely, and, like many old -Romans, would place his whole argument in a brief droll narrative, the -point of which would render his whole meaning clear to the dullest -intellect. In their way, these were like the illustrated proverbs known -as fables. Menenius Agrippa and Lincoln would have been congenial -spirits. However coarse or humble the illustration might be, Mr. -Lincoln never failed to convince even the most practised diplomatists -or lawyers that he had a marvellous gift for grasping rapidly all the -details of a difficulty, and for reducing this knowledge to a practical -deduction, and, finally, for presenting the result in a concisely -humorous illustration which impressed it on the memory. - -Mr. Lincoln was in a peculiar way an original thinker, without being -entirely an originator, as a creative genius is. His stories were -seldom or never his own inventions; hundreds of them were well known, -but, in the words of Dr. Thompson, “however common his ideas were -to other minds, however simple when stated, they bore the stamp of -individuality, and became in some way his own.” During his life, and -within a few months after his death, I made a large MS. collection of -Lincolniana. Few of the stories were altogether new, but most were -original in application. It is said that, being asked if a very stingy -neighbour of his was a man of _means_, Mr. Lincoln replied that he -ought to be, for he was about the _meanest_ man round there. This may -or may not be authentic, but it is eminently Lincolnian. So with the -jests of Tyll Eulenspiegel, or of any other great droll; he invariably -becomes the nucleus of a certain kind of humour. - -Unconsciously, Abraham Lincoln became a great proverbialist. Scores of -his pithy sayings are current among the people. “In giving freedom -to the slave, we assure freedom to the free,” is the sum-total of -all the policy which urged Emancipation for the sake of the white -man. “This struggle of to-day is for a vast future also,” expressed -a great popular opinion. “We are making history rapidly,” was very -flattering to all who shared in the war. “If slavery is not wrong, -_nothing_ is wrong,” spoke the very extreme of conviction. The whole -people took his witty caution “not to swap horses in the middle of a -stream.” When it was always urged by the Democrats that emancipation -implied amalgamation, he answered--“I do not understand that because -I do not want a negro woman for a slave, I must necessarily want her -for a wife.” This popular Democratic shibboleth, “How would you like -your daughter to marry a negro?” was keenly satirised by Nasby. I have -myself known a Democratic procession in Philadelphia to contain a car -with a parcel of girls dressed in white, and the motto, “Fathers, -protect us from Black Husbands.” To which the Republican banner simply -replied, “_Our_ Daughters do not want to marry Black Husbands.” - -Abraham Lincoln was always moderate in argument. Once, when Judge -Douglas attempted to parry an argument by impeaching the veracity of a -senator whom Mr. Lincoln had quoted, he answered that the question was -not one of veracity, but simply one of argument. He said--“Euclid, by -a course of reasoning, proves that all the angles in a triangle are -equal to two right angles; now, would you undertake to disprove that -assertion by calling Euclid a liar?” - -“I never did invent anything original--I am only a _retail dealer_,” -is very characteristic of Mr. Lincoln. He was speaking of the stories -credited to him, and yet the modesty of the remark, coupled with the -droll distinction between original wholesale manufacturers and retail -dealers, is both original and quaint. - -Mr. Lincoln was very ingenious in finding reasons for being merciful. -On one occasion, a young soldier who had shown himself very brave -in war, and had been severely wounded, after a time deserted. Being -re-captured, he was under sentence of death, and President Lincoln was -of course petitioned for his pardon. It was a difficult case; the young -man deserved to die, and desertion was sadly injuring the army. The -President mused solemnly, until a happy thought struck him. “Did you -say he was once badly wounded?” he asked of the applicant for a pardon. -“He was.” “Then, as the Scripture says that in the shedding of blood is -the remission of sins, I guess we’ll have to let him off this time.” - -When Mr. Lincoln was grossly and foolishly flattered, as happened -once in the case of a gushing “interviewer,” who naïvely put his own -punishment into print, he could quiz the flatterer with great ingenuity -by apparently falling into the victim’s humour. When only moderately -praised, he retorted gently. Once, when a gentleman complimented him -on having no vices, such as drinking or smoking, “That is a doubtful -compliment,” answered Mr. Lincoln. “I recollect once being outside a -stage-coach in Illinois, when a man offered me a cigar. I told him -I had no vices. He said nothing, but smoked for some time, and then -growled out, ‘It’s my opinion that people who have no vices have plaguy -few virtues.’” - -President Lincoln was not merely obliging or condescending in allowing -every one to see him; in his simple Republicanism, he believed that -the people who had made him President had a right to talk to him. -One day a friend found him half-amused, half-irritated. “You met an -old lady as you entered,” he said. “Well, she wanted me to give her -an order for stopping the pay of a Treasury clerk who owes her a -board-bill of seventy dollars.” His visitor expressed surprise that he -did not adopt the usual military plan, under which every application -to see the general commanding had to be filtered through a sieve of -officers, who allowed no one to take up the chief’s time except those -who had business of sufficient importance. “Ah yes,” the President -replied, “such things may do very well for you military people, with -your arbitrary rule. But the office of a President is a very different -one, and the affair is very different. For myself, I feel, though the -tax on my time is heavy, that no hours of my day are better employed -than those which thus bring me again into direct contact with the -people. All serves to renew in me a clearer and more vivid image of -that great popular assemblage out of which I sprung, and to which, at -the end of two years, I must return.” To such an extreme did he carry -this, and such weariness did it cause him, that, at the end of four -years, he who had been one of the strongest men living, was no longer -strong or vigorous. But he always had a good-natured story, even for -his tormentors. Once, when a Kentucky farmer wanted him at a critical -period of the Emancipation question to exert himself and turn the -whole machinery of government to aid him in recovering two slaves, -President Lincoln said this reminded him of Jack Chase, the captain of -a western steamboat. It is a terrible thing to steer a boat down the -roaring rapids, where the mistake of an inch may cause wreck, and it -requires the extreme attention of the pilot. One day, when the boat was -plunging and wallowing along the boiling current, and Jack at the wheel -was using all care to keep in the perilous channel, a boy pulled his -coat-tail and cried, “Say, Mister Captain! I wish you’d stop your boat -a minute. _I’ve lost my apple overboard._” - -In self-conscious “deportment,” Mr. Lincoln was utterly deficient; in -true unconscious _dignity_, he was unsurpassed. He would sit down on -the stone-coping outside the White House to write on his card the -directions by which a poor man might be relieved from his sorrow, -looking as he did so as if he were sitting on the pavement; or he -would actually lie down on the grass beside a common soldier, and go -over his papers with him, while his carriage waited, and great men -gathered around; but no man ever dared to be impertinent, or unduly -familiar with him. Once an insolent officer accused him to his face of -injustice, and he arose, lifted the man by the collar, and carried him -out, kicking. But this is, I believe, the only story extant of any one -having treated him with insolence. - -Hunting popularity by means of petty benevolence is so usual with -professional politicians, that many may suspect that Lincoln was not -unselfish in his acts of kindness. But I myself know of one instance of -charity exercised by him, which was certainly most disinterested. One -night, a poor old man, whose little farm had been laid waste during the -war, and who had come to Washington, hoping that Government would repay -his loss, found himself penniless in the streets of the capital. A -person whom I know very well saw him accost the President, who listened -to his story, and then, writing something on a piece of paper, gave -it to him, and with it a ten-dollar note. The President went his way, -and my acquaintance going up to the old man, who was deeply moved, -asked him what was the matter. “I thank God,” said the old man, using -a quaint American phrase, “that there are some _white_ people[36] in -this town. I’ve been tryin’ to get somebody to listen to me, and nobody -would, because I’m a poor foolish old body. But just now a stranger -listened to all my story, and give me this here.” He said this, showing -the money and the paper, which contained a request to Secretary Stanton -to have the old man’s claim investigated at once, and, if just, -promptly satisfied. When it is remembered that Lincoln went into office -and out of it a poor man, or at least a very poor man for one in his -position, his frequent acts of charity appear doubly creditable. - -Whatever may be said of Lincoln, he was always simply and truly _a good -man_. He was a good father to his children, and a good President to the -people, whom he loved as if they had been his children. America and the -rest of the world have had many great rulers, but never one who, like -Lincoln, was so much one of the people, or who was so sympathetic in -their sorrows and trials. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - -[FROM THE NEW YORK EVENING POST, AUGUST 16, 1867.] - -HIS LECTURE AT THE COOPER INSTITUTE IN 1860. - - _To the Editor of The Evening Post_: - -In October, 1859, Messrs. Joseph H. Richards, J. M. Pettingill, and -S. W. Tubbs called on me at the office of the Ohio State Agency, 25 -William Street, and requested me to write to the Hon. Thomas Corwin -of Ohio, and the Hon. Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, and invite them to -lecture in a course of lectures these young gentlemen proposed for the -winter in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn. - -I wrote the letters as requested, and offered as compensation for -each lecture, as I was authorized, the sum of $200. The proposition -to lecture was accepted by Messrs. Corwin and Lincoln. Mr. Corwin -delivered his lecture in Plymouth Church, as he was on his way to -Washington to attend Congress; Mr. Lincoln could not lecture until -late in the season, and the proposition was agreed to by the gentlemen -named, and accepted by Mr. Lincoln, as the following letter will show: - - “DANVILLE, ILLINOIS, _November 13, 1859_. - - “JAMES A. BRIGGS, ESQ. - - “DEAR SIR: Yours of the 1st inst., closing with my - proposition for compromise, was duly received. I will be on - hand, and in due time will notify you of the exact day. I - believe, after all, I shall make a political speech of it. You - have no objection? - - “I would like to know in advance, whether I am also to speak in - New York. - - “Very, very glad your election went right. - - “Yours truly, - - “A. LINCOLN. - - “P.S.--I am here at court, but my address is still at - Springfield, Ill.” - -In due time Mr. Lincoln wrote me that he would deliver the lecture, -a political one, on the evening of the 27th of February, 1860. This -was rather late in the season for a lecture, and the young gentlemen -who were responsible were doubtful about its success, as the expenses -were large. It was stipulated that the lecture was to be in Plymouth -Church, Brooklyn; I requested and urged that the lecture should be -delivered at the Cooper Institute. They were fearful it would not pay -expenses--$350. I thought it would. - -In order to relieve Messrs. Richards, Pettingill, and Tubbs of all -responsibility, I called upon some of the officers of “The Young Men’s -Republican Union,” and proposed that they should take Mr. Lincoln, -and that the lecture should be delivered under their auspices. They -respectfully declined. - -I next called upon Mr. Simeon Draper, then president of “The Draper -Republican Union Club of New York,” and proposed to him that his -“Union” take Mr. Lincoln and the lecture, and assume the responsibility -of the expenses. Mr. Draper and his friends declined, and Mr. Lincoln -was left on the hands of “the original Jacobs.” - -After considerable discussion, it was agreed on the part of the young -gentlemen that the lecture should be delivered in the Cooper Institute, -if I would agree to share one-fourth of the expenses, if the sale of -the tickets (25 cents) for the lecture did not meet the outlay. To -this I assented, and the lecture was advertised to be delivered in the -Cooper Institute, on the evening of the 27th of February. - -Mr. Lincoln read the notice of the lecture in the papers, and, without -any knowledge of the arrangement, was somewhat surprised to learn -that he was first to make his appearance before a New York audience, -instead of a Plymouth Church audience. A notice of the proposed lecture -appeared in the New York papers, and the _Times_ spoke of him “as a -lawyer who had some local reputation in Illinois.” - -At my personal solicitation MR. WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT presided -as chairman of the meeting, and introduced Mr. Lincoln for the first -time to a New York audience. - -The lecture was a wonderful success; it has become a part of the -history of the country. Its remarkable ability was everywhere -acknowledged, and after the 27th of February the name of Mr. Lincoln -was a familiar one to all the people of the East. After Mr. Lincoln -closed his lecture, Mr. David Dudley Field, Mr. James W. Nye, Mr. -Horace Greeley, and myself were called out by the audience and made -short speeches. I remember of saying then, “One of three gentlemen -will be our standard-bearer in the presidential contest of this year: -the distinguished Senator of New York, Mr. Seward; the late able and -accomplished Governor of Ohio, Mr. Chase; or the ‘Unknown Knight’ who -entered the political lists against the Bois Guilbert of Democracy on -the prairies of Illinois in 1858, and unhorsed him--Abraham Lincoln.” -Some friends joked me after the meeting as not being a “good prophet.” -The lecture was over--all the expenses were paid, and I was handed by -the gentlemen interested the sum of $4.25 as my share of the profits, -as they would have called on me if there had been a deficiency in the -receipts to meet the expenses. - -Immediately after the lecture, Mr. Lincoln went to Exeter, N. H., to -visit his son Robert, then at school there, and I sent him a check for -$200. Mr. Tubbs informed me a few weeks ago that after the check was -paid at the Park Bank he tore it up; but that he would give $200 for -the check if it could be restored with the endorsement of “A. Lincoln,” -as it was made payable to the order of Mr. Lincoln. - -After the return of Mr. Lincoln to New York from the East, where he -had made several speeches, he said to me, “I have seen what all the -New York papers said about that thing of mine in the Cooper Institute, -with the exception of the New York _Evening Post_, and I would like to -know what Mr. Bryant thought of it;” and he then added, “It is worth a -visit from Springfield, Illinois, to New York to make the acquaintance -of such a man as WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.” At Mr. Lincoln’s -request, I sent him a copy of the _Evening Post_ with a notice of his -lecture. - -On returning from Mr. Beecher’s Church, on Sunday, in company with -Mr. Lincoln, as we were passing the post-office, I remarked to him, -“Mr. Lincoln, I wish you would take particular notice of what a dark -and dismal place we have here for a post-office, and I do it for this -reason: I think your chance for being the next President is equal -to that of any man in the country. When you are President will you -recommend an appropriation of a million of dollars for a suitable -location for a post-office in this city?” With a significant gesture -Mr. Lincoln remarked, “I will make a note of that.” - -On going up Broadway with Mr. Lincoln in the evening, from the Astor -House, to hear the Rev. Dr. E. H. Chapin, he said to me, “When I was -East several gentlemen made about the same remarks to me that you did -to-day about the Presidency; they thought my chances were about equal -to the best.” - - JAMES A. BRIGGS. - -N.B.--The writers of Mr. Lincoln’s Biography have things considerably -mixed about Mr. Lincoln going to the Five Points Mission School, at -the Five Points, in New York, that he found his way there alone, etc., -etc. Mr. Lincoln went there in the afternoon with his old friend -Hiram Barney, Esq., and after Mr. B. had informed Mr. Barlow, the -Superintendent, who the stranger with him was, Mr. Barlow requested -Mr. Lincoln to speak to the children, which he did. I met Mr. Lincoln -at Mr. Barney’s at tea, just after this pleasant, and to him strange, -visit at the Five Points Mission School. - - J. A. B. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - - -[1] Lamon, c. i. p. 1. - -[2] Addressed to J. W. Fell, March, 1872. - -[3] Lamon, p. 7. - -[4] In 1865, I saw many companies and a few regiments “mustered out” in -Nashville, Tennessee. In the most intelligent companies, only one man -in eight or nine could sign his name. Fewer still could read.--C. G. L. - -[5] J. G. Holland, p. 22. - -[6] J. G. Holland, “Life of Lincoln,” p. 28. The children probably -slept on the earth. The writer has seen a man, owning hundreds of -acres of rich bottom land, living in a log-hut, nearly such as is here -described. There was only a single stool, an iron pot, a knife, and a -gun in the cabin, but no bedstead, the occupant and his wife sleeping -in two cavities in the dirt-floor. Such had been their home for years. - -[7] Lamon, vol. i., pp. 31 and 40. Abraham’s father is said by -Dennis Hanks (from whom Mr. Herndon, Lamon’s authority, derived much -information) to have loved his son, but it is certain that, at the same -time, he treated him very cruelly. Hanks admits that he had several -times seen little Abraham knocked headlong from the fence by his -father, while civilly answering questions put by travellers as to their -way. - -[8] W. H. Herndon, who was for many years the law-partner of Abraham -Lincoln, in a letter to me, written not long after the murder of his -old friend, earnestly asserted his opinion that the late President was -a greater man than General Washington, founding his opinion on the -greater difficulties which he subdued.--C. G. L. - -[9] “Abraham’s poverty of books was the wealth of his life.”--J. G. -HOLLAND. - -[10] Lamon, p. 54. - -[11] Holland and Lamon. - -[12] _Vide_ Ripley and Dana’s “Cyclopædia;” also, article from the -Boston “Commercial Advertiser,” cited by Lamon. - -[13] Raymond, “Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln,” p. 25. - -[14] Mr. Lincoln “spoke forgetfully” on this occasion. Owing to the -drunkenness and insubordination of his men, which he could not help, -he was once obliged to carry a wooden sword for two days.--Lamon, p. -104. On a previous occasion, he had been under arrest, and was deprived -of _his sword_ for one day, for firing a pistol within ten steps of -camp.--_Ibid._, p. 103. - -[15] Holland, p. 53. - -[16] Holland passes over the wisdom or unwisdom of these measures -without comment. According to Ford (“History of Illinois”) and Lamon, -the whole state was by them “simply bought up and bribed to support the -most senseless and disastrous policy which ever crippled the energies -of a growing country.” It is certain that, in any country where the -internal resources are enormous and the inhabitants intelligent, -enterprising, and poor, such legislation will always find favour. - -[17] His biographies abound in proof of this. “He believed that a man, -in order to effect anything, should work through organisations of -men.”--Holland, p. 92. It is very difficult for any one not brought -up in the United States to realise the degree to which this idea can -influence men, and determine their whole moral nature. - -[18] It is a matter of regret that, when Lincoln, long after, went to -see his idol and ideal, he was greatly disappointed in him.--Holland, -p. 95. Lamon denies this visit, but does not disprove it. - -[19] Lamon, p. 275, says there can be no doubt that Mr. Lincoln _would_ -have cheerfully made such a dishonourable and tricky agreement, but -inclines to think he did not. It is very doubtful whether the compact, -if it existed at all, was not made simply for the purpose of excluding -the Democrats. - -[20] Holland, p. 82. A picayune is six cents, or 3d. - -[21] There were no free schools in South Carolina until 1852, and it -was a serious crime to teach a negro to read. - -[22] Arnold, “History of Lincoln,” p. 33. - -[23] A law by which slaves who had escaped to free states were returned -to their owners. The writer, as a boy, has seen many cruel instances of -the manner in which the old slave law was carried out. But while great -pains were taken to hunt down and return slaves who had escaped to free -states, there was literally nothing done to return free coloured people -who had been inveigled or carried by force to the South, and there -sold as slaves. It was believed that, at one time, hardly a day passed -during which a free black was not thus entrapped from Pennsylvania. The -writer once knew, in Philadelphia, a boy of purely white blood, but -of dark complexion, who narrowly escaped being kidnapped by downright -violence, that he might be “sent South.” White children were commonly -terrified by parents or nurses with “the kidnappers,” who would black -their faces, and sell them. Even in the Northern cities, there were few -grown-up negro men who had not, at one time or another, been hunted by -the lower classes of whites through the streets in the most incredibly -barbarous manner. - -[24] Arnold, p. 95. - -[25] George Bancroft, “Oration on Lincoln,” pp. 13, 14. - -[26] David R. Locke, who, under the name of Petroleum V. Nasby, wrote -political satires much admired by Mr. Lincoln. - -[27] See Appendix. - -[28] This honour had only been twice conferred before--once on -Washington, and once by brevet on General W. Scott.--Badeau’s “Life of -Grant.” - -[29] Those who sympathised with the South were called Copperheads, -after the deadly and treacherous snake of that name common in the -Western and Southern United States. - -[30] Sherman’s Report, 1865; also, Report of Secretary of War, 1865. - -[31] Stephens’ Statement, Augusta, Georgia, “Chronicle,” June 17th, -1875. Quoted by Dr. Brockett, p. 579. - -[32] It should be said that Meade, under Grant’s orders, was, however, -now one of Lee’s most vigorous pursuers. - -[33] _Vide_ Frank Moore’s “Rebellion Record,” 1864-5--Rumours and -Incidents, p. 9. - -[34] See “Trial and Sentence of Beal and Kennedy,” M’Pherson’s -“Political History,” pp. 552, 553. - -[35] The late Henry J. Raymond, then editor of the New York Times. - -[36] “White people”--civilised, decent, kind-hearted people. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Abolitionism, 49, 66, 122, 126, 168. - - Alabama, 145, 196. - - Anti-slavery protest, 48, 50, 51; - resolutions, 59. - - - Baldwin, John, the smith, 27. - - Barbarities, 186. - - Black regiment, charge of the, 161. - - Black’s (Judge) decision, 93. - - Blockade declared, 108. - - Booth, his plans, 221; - antecedents, 223; - death, 229. - - Border ruffians and outrages, 68, 69, 71. - - Buchanan, President, 92. - - Bull Run, 113, 114. - - Burnside, General, 142. - - - Cabinet, treason in the, 92. - - Chancellorsville, battle of, 148. - - Chattanooga, battle of, 164. - - Clay, Henry, 57. - - Compromises of 1826 and 1850, 66. - - Confederate organisation in Europe, 117; - agents in Canada, 197; - proposals, 205. - - Conspiracies, suspected, 88. - - Copperheads, 96, 179; - book of, 237. - - Colonisation of slaves proposed, 123. - - Cost of the war, 219. - - - Davis, Jefferson, President of Confederacy, 94, 109; - escape of, 217. - - “Dred Scott” decision, 73. - - Douglas, Stephen, 47, 67, 69, 70, 74, 77, 84, 110. - - - Ellsworth and Winthrop, death of, 112. - - Enlistment of coloured troops, 133. - - Exhaustive effects of Northern incursions, 185. - - - Farragut, Admiral, 194. - - Fox River anecdote, 95. - - Fremont, 73, 169. - - - Gettysburg, battle of, 150. - - Gloom of 1864, 179. - - Grant, “Unconditional Surrender,” 137; - daring march, 157; - succession of victories, 158; - last battle, 212; - chase of Lee, 215. - - Greeley, Horace, 79. - - - Hanks, Nancy, 9, 12, 15. - - Hood, General, 188. - - Hooker, General, 187. - - Hicks, Governor, and Maryland, 107, 108. - - - Jackson, death of General Stonewall, 149. - - Johnston, Mrs., Lincoln’s second mother, 18-20. - - Jones of Gentryville, 26. - - - Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 67. - - Kidnapping negroes (note), 67. - - - Lecompton Constitution, 74. - - Lincoln, Mordecai and Abraham, 10. - - Lincoln, Thomas, his character, 12; - his marriage, 15. - - Lincoln, Abraham, his family, 9, 10; - birth and birth-place, 9; - grandfather killed by Indians, 11; - schools, 15; - migrations, 16, 30; - hereditary traits, 13; - poverty and privations, 17; - education, 20; - death of his mother, 18; - acts as ferry-man, 25; - characteristics and habits in youth, 21, 22, 23, 25; - physical strength, 26, 33; - early literary efforts, 27; - temperance, 26; - earns a dollar, 29; - personal appearance, 31; - first public speech, 31; - splitting rails, 31; - postmaster, 43; - Black Hawk Indian war--a captain--quells a mutiny, 35-38; - love affairs, 45, 54; - entrance into political life, 41; - becomes a merchant, and studies law, 42; - surveying studies, 43; - legal experiences, 61, 62, 63; - personal popularity, 57; - elected to legislature, 44, 45, 70; - removal to Springfield, and practice of law, 53; - generosity, 57; - enters Congress--first speech, 58; - Presidential candidate, 54; - declines nomination to the Senate, 70; - “house-divided-against-itself” speech, 75; - nomination for Presidency, 79, 80, 81, 82; - lectures in New York and England, 79, 80, 81; - elected President, 85; - address at Springfield, 89; - inaugural speech, 97; - first Cabinet, 100; - wise forbearance, 103; - his mercy, 172, 175; - second election, 199; - assassination, 225; - death, 227; - funeral procession, 231; - lying in state, 231; - interment, 232; - general summary of character, 233-244; - wit and humour, 240, 241, 242. - - Long Nine, the, 46, 47. - - - Mason and Sliddell affair, 131. - - M‘Clellan, General, 115; - apathy of, 140. - - Merrimac, the, 141. - - Mexican war, 59. - - Mexico, the French in, 167. - - - Nasby, Petroleum V., 236. - - Negroes, reception of, 204. - - - Pea Ridge, battle of, 138. - - Port Hudson, surrender of, 162. - - Privations in the South, 185. - - Proclamation of April 15, 1861, 105. - - Prosperity of the North, 180. - - - Quantrill’s guerillas, 170. - - - Rebellion, breaking out of, 91, 94; - progress of, 111. - - Religion and irreligion, 55, 56. - - Republican party, origin of, 72. - - Richmond, fall of, 213. - - Riot in New York, 165. - - - Sanitary fairs, 182. - - Secession, 86, 87, 93. - - Seward, W. A., refuses to meet the Rebel Commissioners, 102. - - Sherman’s march, 188, 193. - - Shiloh, battle of, 138. - - Slavery--slave trade, 103; - argument against, 71; - slave party, 64, 65. - - Sumter, fall of Fort, 104. - - Surrender of Confederate forces, 216. - - - Tennessee, the campaign in, 163. - - Todd, Mary, 55. - - - Union troops attacked, 106. - - - Virginia’s secession, 109, 115. - - - War, organisation of, 113. - - Wilderness, battle of the, 192. - - Wilmot’s proviso, 66. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Abraham Lincoln and the Abolition of -Slavery in the United States, by Charles Godfrey Leland - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ABRAHAM LINCOLN, ABOLITION OF SLAVERY *** - -***** This file should be named 52412-0.txt or 52412-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/4/1/52412/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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