543. Effects of Victory.—But these dark hours were soon followed by light. First came Farragut’s exploit in taking Mobile; and then, on the 3d of September, followed the stirring news that Sherman had taken Atlanta. The effect was like magic. Seward, in a speech, September 14, said, “Farragut and Sherman have knocked the bottom out of the Chicago [Democratic] nominations.” Then, as a crowning and thrilling inspiration, came the descriptions of Sheridan’s ride (§ [533]) and the complete routing of Early at Fisher’s Hill. A veritable wave of enthusiasm took possession of the North. Lincoln was unanimously renominated, with Andrew Johnson of Tennessee for Vice President; and the election gave them two hundred and twelve votes, as against twenty-one given McClellan, the Democratic candidate.[[255]]
544. Results of the Election.—The result of this election and the Federal victories put new vigor into the Union cause. Recruiting went on rapidly, so that the government in the spring of 1865 had more than a million men under arms. The Confederacy had no such reserve power. It had now lost much more than half of its territory; its sources of supplies were cut off, and its armies were confronted from the south, as well as from the north, by overwhelming forces.
545. Changes in the Cabinet.—Lincoln’s first Cabinet contained not only his rivals for the Republican nomination in 1860, but also a number of representative “War Democrats.” When Stanton, who had always been a Democrat, took the place of Cameron (§ [475]), it was noticed that the Cabinet contained four Democrats and only three Republicans. When reminded of this fact, Lincoln intimated that he counted for something himself, and could perhaps manage to prevent the administration from becoming Democratic. As time went on, there were many complaints in regard to the supposed lack of harmony in the Cabinet; and the Presidential nominating convention of 1864 requested the President to make the body more homogeneous. This resolution was aimed especially at Montgomery Blair of Maryland, who was Postmaster-General, and Edward Bates of Missouri, the Attorney-General. They soon resigned and were succeeded respectively by William Dennison of Ohio, who had been president of the nominating convention, and James Speed, a prominent lawyer from Kentucky. Salmon P. Chase, who had often been much out of harmony with the President, resigned the Secretaryship of the Treasury, and was succeeded by William P. Fessenden of Maine. When Chief Justice Taney, after long and important service, died, on the 12th of October, there was much anxiety in regard to the appointment to the position thus made vacant—the most important in the gift of the President. Among others, Chase was a very prominent candidate, strongly urged by radical Republicans. The President gave no sign of his intentions until December 6, when, without having consulted any one, he sent to the Senate, in his own handwriting, the nomination of Chase to be Chief Justice. The nomination was immediately confirmed without reference to a committee. The changes in the Cabinet and the appointment of Chase gave great satisfaction.
546. The Thirteenth Amendment.—The last important work of Congress in 1864 was the passage of a joint resolution to submit to the states the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which should forever prohibit slavery throughout the United States. The Proclamation of Emancipation afforded no certainty that after the seceding states had been brought back into the Union, they might not legally reëstablish slavery. This could be prevented only by a Constitutional Amendment. Such an Amendment had been offered in April, and had passed the Senate, but had failed in the House to secure the required two-thirds vote. Now, however, it was recalled, and after a long and memorable debate was duly passed in the required manner (January 31, 1865), amid great enthusiasm on the part of Representatives and auditors. The Amendment, however, before it could be operative, had to receive the approval of three-fourths of the states. The President saw that it would probably fail by one vote, and, in order to secure that vote, he procured the admission of the territory of Nevada as a state.[[256]]
References.—Grant’s Memoirs, Vol. II., 177-343, contains the leader’s account of the entire Virginia campaign of 1864; from 344-386, Grant comments on Sherman’s campaign. Sherman’s Memoirs must be consulted for the campaign between Chattanooga and the sea. Rhodes’s History of the United States, Vol. IV., chap, xxiii., gives an admirable account of the political situation. See also various biographies of Lee, especially those by General A. L. Long and General Fitzhugh Lee, as well as the Southern Historical Society Papers and General Joseph E. Johnston’s Narrative of Military Operations. Individual battles are described with great particularity in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, in Dodge’s View, in Old South Leaflets, Vol. III., No. 5, and in Longstreet’s Memoirs of the Civil War in America. See also, for an account of the battle of Mobile, Maclay’s History of the United States Navy, Vol. II., 553-573. For Lincoln’s reëlection, see Stanwood’s Elections, 236-252. See also Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. III., 97, Vol. IV., 247-663; Old South Leaflets, Vol. III., No. 5; Dodge’s View, 270-292, 302-309; J. C. Schwab, The Confederate States of America (1901).
| [245] | The Union losses in the Wilderness were 17,666; at Spottsylvania, 18,399; about the North Anna, 3986; at Cold Harbor, 12,737; in Sheridan’s expeditions, 2141. Total Union losses from the Wilderness to the James, 54,929. See Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. IV., p. 182. The Union armies operating against Richmond from May 24, 1861, to May 5, 1864, lost 143,925 men; between May 5, 1864, and April 9, 1865, 124,390. See Dana, Recollections of the Civil War, p. 211. The Confederate returns have not been preserved, hence their exact losses cannot be given. |
| [246] | Born in New Hampshire, 1818; died, 1893. Graduated at Waterville College (Colby), Maine, 1838; admitted to bar, 1840; became a prominent Democratic politician in Massachusetts; entered Civil War as brigadier general of militia; made major general and given command of the Department of Eastern Virginia; inaugurated policy of holding slaves as “contraband of war”; coöperated with Farragut in capture of New Orleans, 1862; governed the city until December, 1862; commanded Army of the James, 1864; in Congress, as a Republican, 1866–1879, except for the years 1875–1877; was frequently a candidate for the governorship of Massachusetts, and obtained it in 1882. |
| [247] | The Union army, May 1, numbered 98,797; June 1, it had been reënforced to 112,819; August 1, it had 91,675; September 1, 81,758. The Confederate army, April 30, contained 52,992; before June 10, it had been reënforced to 84,328. These figures are from the official reports on file in the War Department. See Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. III., pp. 282-289. |