History for ready reference, Volume 5, Tunnage to Zyp and Supplement

by J. N. Larned

ALSO IN:
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapter 3.
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapters 16-17.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (January-February: Florida).
Unsuccessful Operations.
Battle of Olustee.
"Early in the winter of 1863-64, General Gillmore, commanding
the Department of the South, … resolved upon an expedition
into Florida to take possession of such portions of the
Eastern and Northern sections of the State as could be easily
held by small garrisons. … He afterwards added another detail
to his plan: to assist in bringing Florida back into the
Union, in accordance with the President's Proclamation of
December 8, 1863. This came in time to be regarded by the
opponents of the Administration as the sole purpose of the
expedition, and Mr. Lincoln has received a great deal of
unjust censure for having made a useless sacrifice of life for
a political end. … The expedition to Florida was under the
immediate charge of General Truman Seymour, an accomplished
and gallant officer of the regular army. He landed at
Jacksonville and pushed forward his mounted force 20 miles to
Baldwin. … Gillmore himself arrived at Baldwin on the 9th of
February, and after a full conference and, as he thought,
understanding with Seymour, returned to Jacksonville. … On the
18th he was surprised at receiving a letter from Seymour,
dated the day before, announcing his intention of moving at
once to the Suwanee River without supplies, and asking for a
strong demonstration of the army and navy in the Savannah
River to assist his movement. … Gillmore wrote a peremptory
letter, ordering him to restrict himself to holding Baldwin
and the south prong of the St. Mary's River and occupying
Palatka and Magnolia, and dispatched a staff officer to
Florida with it. He arrived too late.
{3520}
Seymour had made up his mind that there was less risk in going
forward than in staying at Baldwin, and like the brave and
devoted soldier that he was had resolved to take the
responsibility. He marched rapidly out towards Olustee, where
the enemy under General Joseph Finegan was supposed to be, but
came upon them unexpectedly about two miles east of that
place. The forces were equal in numbers, about 5,500 on each
side; the advantage to the Confederates was that they were in
a strong position selected by themselves and ready for the
fight. General J. R. Hawley, who commanded a brigade of
infantry in the battle, says: 'We rushed in, not waiting for
the proper full formation, and were fought in detail.' …
Seymour's attack was constantly repulsed with heavy loss,
until at nightfall he fell back to a new line. He was not
pursued, and retired in good order and unmolested to
Jacksonville. The Union loss was 1861; the Confederate, 940.
This misadventure put an end for the moment to the attempt to
occupy Florida."
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapter 11.
ALSO IN:
S. Jones and J. R. Hawley,
Olustee
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
L. F. Emilio,
History of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers,
chapter 8.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (February-March: Virginia).
Kilpatrick's and Dahlgren's Raid to Richmond.
"Public feeling throughout the North had been greatly excited
by the deplorable condition of the prisoners of war held at
Richmond. Early in the year, before the opening of the great
campaign, some expeditions had been undertaken both from the
Army of the Potomac and from Fortress Monroe, with the
intention of relieving them. On February 27th, Custer, with
1500 horse, had crossed the Rapidan on a feint to the west of
the Confederate army, while Kilpatrick, starting on the
following day, moved down on its opposite flank, by
Spottsylvania Court House, to within 3½ miles of Richmond,
passing its first and second lines of defenses [March], but
being obliged to fall back from its third. Pursued by a force
of the enemy, he was compelled to cross the White House
Railroad and move down the peninsula. A detachment of
Kilpatrick's force, 400 strong, under Colonel Ulric Dahlgren,
leaving the main body at Spottsylvania, had gone to the right
through Louisa and Goochland Counties, intending to cross the
James River and enter Richmond from the south, while
Kilpatrick attacked it on the north. But the river was found
to be too deep to be forded. Dahlgren passed down the north
bank to the fortifications of Richmond, forcing his way
through the outer works, but being repulsed from the inner.
Finding that Kilpatrick's attempt had miscarried, he moved
toward King and Queen Court House; but after crossing the
Mattapony at Dabney's Ferry, he fell into an ambuscade [March
3], his command being scattered, and himself killed. Under a
false pretense that papers were found upon him showing an
intention to set fire to Richmond, and take the lives of Davis
and his cabinet, his corpse was insulted and the place of its
interment concealed. At the time of his death he was but 21
years of age."
J. W. Draper,
History of the American Civil War,
chapter 82 (volume 3).
"The document alleged to have been found upon the person of
Colonel Dahlgren is utterly discredited by the fact that the
signature attached to it cannot possibly be his own, because
it is not his name,—a letter is misplaced, and the real name
Dahlgren is spelled 'Dalhgren'; hence it is undeniable that
the paper is not only spurious, but is a forgery. … It is
entirely certain that no such orders were ever issued by
Colonel Dahlgren."
Admiral J. A. Dahlgren,
Memoirs of Ulric Dahlgren,
pages 233-234.
ALSO IN:
C. C. Chesney,
Essays in Military Biography,
page 185.
B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 3, chapter 10.
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 33.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (March-April).
General Grant in chief command of the whole army.
His plans of campaign.
"Immediate]y after the victories at Chattanooga Mr. Washburne
of Illinois, the devoted friend and firm supporter of General
Grant through good and evil report, introduced a bill in
Congress to revive the grade of lieutenant-general in the
army. The measure occasioned a good deal of discussion. This
high rank had never been conferred on any citizen of the
republic except Washington, who held it for a short time
before his death. It was discontinued for more than half a
century and then conferred by brevet only upon General Scott.
There were those who feared, or affected to fear, that so high
a military rank was threatening to the liberties of the
republic. The great majority of Congress, however, considered
the liberties of the republic more robust than this fear would
indicate, and the bill was finally passed on the 26th cf
February, and received the approval of the President on the
29th of February. … Immediately upon signing the bill the
President nominated Grant to the Senate for the office created
by it. … The Senate immediately confirmed his nomination, and
on the 3d of March the Secretary of War directed him to report
in person to the War Department as early as practicable. … He
started for Washington the next day, but in the midst of his
hurried preparations for departure he found time to write a
letter of the most warm and generous friendship to Sherman."
Grant's commission as Lieutenant-General of the Army of the
United States was formally presented to him by President
Lincoln on the 9th of March. "After the presentation of the
commission a brief conversation took place. General Grant
inquired what special service was expected of him. The
President replied that our country wanted him to take
Richmond; he said our generals had not been fortunate in their
efforts in that direction and asked if the Lieutenant-General
could do it. Grant, without hesitation, answered that he could
if he had the troops. These the President assured him he
should have. There was not one word said as to what route to
Richmond should be chosen. The next day Grant visited General
Meade at the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac at Brandy
Station. … Meade said that it was possible Grant might want an
officer to command the Army of the Potomac who had been with
him in the West, and made especial mention of Sherman. He
begged him if that was the case not to hesitate about making
the change. … Grant assured him that he had no thought of
making any change; and that Sherman could not be spared from
the West. He returned to Washington on the 11th. The next day
he was placed in command of all the armies by orders from the
War Department; but without waiting for a single day to accept
the lavish proffers of hospitality which were showered upon
him, he started West again on the evening of the 11th of
March.
{3521}
In that short time he had utterly changed his views and plans
for the future conduct of the war. He had relinquished the
purpose he had hitherto firmly held of leading the Western
armies on the great campaign to Atlanta and the sea, and had
decided to take the field with the Army of the Potomac. …
Sherman at his request was promoted to command the Military
Division of the Mississippi, McPherson succeeded to Sherman's
command of the Department of the Tennessee, and Logan was
promoted to the command of McPherson's corps." The necessary
arrangements were quickly made. General Sherman assumed his
enlarged command on the 18th of March, and General Grant a few
days later was with the Army of the Potomac. He "established
his headquarters at Culpeper Court House near the end of
March, and spent a month in preparations for the great
campaign which he, in common with the entire North, hoped
would end the war. … The plan of the Lieutenant-General, as
set forth in his report, was extremely simple. So far as
practicable, the armies were to move together, and towards one
common center. Banks was to finish his operations in
Louisiana, and, leaving a small garrison on the Rio Grande,
was to concentrate an army of some 25,000 men, and move on
Mobile. Sherman was to move simultaneously with the other
armies, General Johnston's army being his objective, and the
heart of Georgia his ultimate aim. Sigel, who was in command
in the Shenandoah, was to move to the front in two columns,
one to threaten the enemy in the Valley, the other to cut the
railroads connecting Richmond with the Southwest. Gillmore was
to be brought north with his corps, and in company with
another corps, under W. F. Smith, was to form an army under
General B. F. Butler to operate against Richmond south of the
James. Lee's army was to be the objective point of Meade,
reënforced by Burnside. As to the route by which the Army of
the Potomac was to advance, Grant reserved his decision until
just before he started upon his march. … The two armies lay in
their intrenchments on both sides of the Rapidan. The
headquarters … of Lee [were] at Orange Court House; the Army
of Northern Virginia guarded the south bank of the river for
18 or 20 miles, Ewell commanding the right half, A. P. Hill
the left. The formidable works on Mine Run secured the
Confederate right wing, which was further protected by the
tangled and gloomy thickets of the Wilderness. Longstreet had
arrived from Tennessee with two fine divisions, and was held
in reserve at Gordonsville. The two armies were not so
unequally matched as Confederate writers insist. The strength
of the Army of the Potomac, present for duty equipped, on the
30th of April, was 122,146; this includes the 22,708 of
Burnside's Ninth Corps. The Army of Northern Virginia numbered
at the opening of this campaign not less than 61,953. While
this seems like a great disparity of strength, it must not be
forgotten that the Confederate general had an enormous
advantage of position. The dense woods and the thickly
timbered swamps … were as well known to him as the lines of
his own hand, and were absolutely unknown to his antagonist."
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapters 13-14.
ALSO IN:
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapters 46-47 (volume 2).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (March-May: Louisiana).
The Red River Expedition.
"As the third year began, General Banks conceived the idea
that the trade of Western Louisiana could be opened by the
medium of the Red river, and projected an expedition to take
possession of the country adjacent to its course. This river
is open for navigation by larger vessels, only during the high
water of March and April. Porter was to command the fleet of
twenty of the finest vessels on the Mississippi, and Sherman
was persuaded to lend some of his troops for the purpose. A.
J. Smith was to start from Vicksburg with 10,000 men, while
Banks would proceed up river from New Orleans, with Franklin's
division. Steele from Little Rock was to operate towards
Shreveport to join the main army. General Taylor was in
command of the enemy's forces at Shreveport. The fleet started
up the Red river in company with the transports carrying A. J.
Smith's column. Fort De Russy was captured [March 14], the
enemy retiring before our troops, and Alexandria and
Nachitoches fell into our hands as the joint force advanced.
Banks put in an appearance a week later. There was more or
less skirmishing with the enemy's horse and outposts along the
entire route; and near Mansfield, at Sabine Cross-Roads, the
vanguard met the enemy in force. Sufficient care had not been
taken to keep the several bodies concentrated. It was on Smith
that the attack fell [April 8], and though this general's
record for endurance is of the best, he was nevertheless badly
worsted with a loss of 2,000 men out of 8,000 engaged, and
some twenty guns. Retiring to Pleasant Hill, another stand was
made for the possession of what had been so far gained. … The
fleet had meanwhile reached Grand Écore. High water was coming
to an end, and Porter was obliged to return down river, to
Alexandria. Here it was found that most of the vessels were of
too heavy draught to pass the falls below the town; and the
loss of most of them would have been certain, but for a dam
and waterway ably constructed by Colonel Bailey, an engineer
remarkably fertile in expedients. By means of this device the
fleet was safely floated over. On the retreat, Alexandria was
burned [May 15] by accident, traceable to no particular cause,
though, naturally enough laid by the Confederates to our
spirit of revenge."
T. A. Dodge,
Bird's-Eye View of our Civil war,
chapter 31.
"We prefer not to enter into the bitter discussions to which
this disastrous campaign gave rise on both sides of the line.
A life-long quarrel sprang up between Kirby Smith and Taylor,
between Banks and Porter, while Franklin, Charles P. Stone
(Banks's chief-of-staff), and Albert L. Lee, all of whom
relinquished their commands, added their quota of
misunderstanding and resentment. … The Committee on the
Conduct of the War made an investigation of the matter in the
year 1865, at the time when the antagonism between Mr. Lincoln
and the Radicals in relation to the subject of reconstruction
had assumed an acute form. … The charge was made by the
committee against Banks, that what he had in view was to carry
out measures for the establishment of a State government in
Louisiana, and to afford an egress for cotton and other
products of that region, and that the attention directed to
the accomplishment of these objects exerted an unfavorable
influence on the expedition. … The honorable poverty in which
General Banks has passed his subsequent life is the best
answer to the reckless charges of his enemies."
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapter 11.
ALSO IN:
D. D. Porter,
Naval History of the Civil War,
chapters 41-42.
Report of Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War,
38th Congress, 2d Session, volume 2.
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 33.
R. B. Irwin,
History of the 19th Army Corps,
chapters 23-28.
{3522}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864
(March-October: Arkansas-Missouri).
Last important operations in the West.
Price's raid.
"During the winter of 1863-1864 the forces of Generals Steele
and Blunt held the Arkansas River as a Federal line of
advance. … During this period of inactivity, however, Steele
was making preparations for a vigorous spring campaign. It was
decided that the column under General Banks and the columns
under General Steele from Little Rock and Fort Smith should
converge toward Shreveport, Louisiana. The Federal columns
under Steele left Little Rock and Fort Smith the latter part
of March, moved toward the Southern part of the State, and
after some fighting and manœuvring drove General Price's
forces from Camden, Arkadelphia and Washington. In the midst
of these successful operations, Steele received information
that Banks' army had been defeated and was retreating and that
Price had received reënforcements from Kirby Smith of 5000
infantry and a complement of artillery, and would at once
assume the offensive.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864
(March-May: Louisiana).
Not feeling strong enough to fight the combined Confederate
forces, Steele determined to fall back upon Little Rock. He
had scarcely commenced his retrograde movement when Smith and
Price began to press him vigorously. A retreating fight was
kept up for several days, until the Federal army reached
Jenkins's Ferry on the Saline River," where Smith and Price
made an energetic attack on the Federal army (April 30) and
were repulsed with heavy loss. "After the battle of Jenkins's
Ferry, instead of making preparations to attack the Federal
forces at Little Rock and Fort Smith, Price commenced
organizing his forces for an expedition into Missouri. …
Price's army for the invasion of Missouri numbered some 15,000
men and 20 pieces of artillery before crossing the Arkansas
River, and consisted of three divisions, commanded by Generals
Fagan, Marmaduke and Shelby. … About the 1st of September,
while strong demonstrations were being made against Fort Smith
and Little Rock, Price, with his army, crossed the Arkansas
River about half-way between those points, at Dardanelle, and
marched to the northern part of the State without opposition,
and, in fact, without his movements being definitely known to
General Rosecrans, who then commanded the Department of the
Missouri at St. Louis," to which he had been appointed in
January. At Pilot Knob, where they arrived September 26th, the
Confederates were opposed by General Thomas Ewing, Jr., with a
small force of 1051 men. The fortifications at Pilot Knob were
strong and Ewing held them against the vigorous attacks of
Price throughout the 27th, but evacuated that night, blowing
up the magazine and retreating safely. The Confederate
invaders then marched on St. Louis and attacked the outer
defences of the city, some miles to the south of it, but found
themselves opposed by the veterans of General A. J. Smith's
division, which had been opportunely stopped on its way down
the Mississippi River to join Sherman. Foiled at St. Louis,
Price then moved upon Jefferson City, the State capital, but
was closely pursued and driven off. Advancing westward, he was
met at Lexington, October 20th, by forces from Kansas, under
General Blunt, but forced the latter to retire from the town,
after severe fighting. Thence to Independence his progress was
steadily resisted by Generals Blunt and Curtis, with
volunteers and militia from Kansas. At Independence, on the
22d, Pleasonton's cavalry, of Rosecrans's army, came up and
formed a junction with the forces of Curtis, and the next day
they engaged Price in battle near Westport. "The opposing
armies fought over an area of five or six square miles, and at
some points the fighting was furious. … About the middle of
the afternoon Price's lines began to give way, and by sundown
the entire Confederate army was in full retreat southward
along the State line, closely pursued by the victorious
Federal forces." At the crossing of the Marais des Cygnes
River he lost ten pieces of his artillery and a large number
of prisoners, including Generals Marmaduke and Cabell. "At
Newtonia in south-west Missouri, on the 28th of October, Price
made another stand, and was attacked by the pursuing forces …
and finally driven from the field with heavy loss. This was
next to the severest battle of the campaign. Blunt, and some
of the Missouri troops, continued the pursuit to the Arkansas
River, but Price did not again attempt to make a stand. His
line of march from Westport to Newtonia was strewn with the
debris of a routed army. He crossed the Arkansas River above
Fort Smith with a few pieces of artillery, with his army
demoralized and reduced by captures and dispersion to perhaps
less than 5,000 men. Most of the noted guerrilla bands
followed him from the State. The 'Price raid,' as it was
called in the West, was the last military operation of much
consequence that took place in Missouri and Arkansas. It is
certain that Price lost more than he gained in war material
and that the raid did not tend to strengthen the Confederate
cause in the West."
W. Britton,
Résumé of Military Operations in
Missouri and Arkansas, 1864-1865
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
"In General Price's report occurs the following summary of the
campaign: 'I marched 1,434 miles, fought 43 battles and
skirmishes, captured and paroled over 3,000 Federal officers
and men, captured 18 pieces of artillery, 3,000 stand of
small-arms, 16 stand of colors … and destroyed property to the
cost of $10,000,000. I lost ten pieces of artillery. 2 stand
of colors, 1,000 small arms, while I do not think I lost 1,000
prisoners. … I brought with me at least 5,000 recruits.'"
Editor's note to above.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (April: Tennessee).
The Massacre at Fort Pillow.
After General Sherman's return from his raid to Meridian, and
General William Sooy Smith's return to Memphis, the
Confederate cavalry leader Forrest advanced into Tennessee,
devastating the country. "He captured Jackson in that State,
on the 23d of March, and moving northward, appeared before
Paducah, held by Colonel Hicks with 650 men.
{3523}
His demand for a surrender was accompanied with a threat: 'If
you surrender, you shall be treated as prisoners of war; but
if I have to storm your works, you may expect no quarter:' he
made three assaults, and then retired, having lost 1,500 men.
On the 12th of April he was at Fort Pillow, which was
garrisoned by 19 officers and 538 men, of whom 262 were
negroes. This force was not a part of the army, but a
nondescript body in process of formation, placed there to
cover a trading-post for the convenience of families supposed
to be friendly, or at least not hostile; it had been left in
violation of Sherman's peremptory orders. The attack was made
before sunrise; and after some severe fighting, Major Booth,
the commanding officer of the garrison, was killed. Major
Brodford, who succeeded him, drew the troops from the outer
line of intrenchments into the fort, and continued the contest
until afternoon. A gun-boat which had been co-operating in the
defense, withdrew to cool or clean her guns, and, the fire
slackening, Forrest sent a summons to surrender, and shortly
after a second, demanding that the surrender should be made in
twenty minutes. These terms were declined by Bradford. But
while the negotiations were in progress, the assailants were
stealthily advancing, and gaining such positions that they
could rush upon the fort. Accordingly, as soon as Bradford's
answer was received, they sprang forward. The fort was
instantly carried. Its garrison threw down their arms and
fled, seeking refuge wherever they could. And now was
perpetrated one of the most frightful acts of all recorded
history. The carnage did not cease with the struggle of the
storming, but was continued as a carnival of murder until
night, and renewed again the next morning. Without any
discrimination of color, age, or sex, the fugitives were
dragged from their hiding-places, and cruelly murdered.
Wounded men, who had made a gallant defense, were atrociously
compelled to stand up and be shot; some were burnt in their
tents, some were stabbed. For the black soldiers there was no
mercy. 'They were massacred because they were niggers,' and
the whites 'because they were fighting with niggers.' General
Stephen E. Lee, the superior of Forrest, partly denying and
partly excusing this atrocity, says, 'It is generally conceded
by all military precedent that, when the issue has been fairly
presented and the ability displayed, fearful results are
expected to follow a refusal to surrender. The case under
consideration is almost an extreme one. You had a servile race
armed against their masters, and in a country which had been
desolated by almost unprecedented outrages.' The Committee of
Congress on the Conduct of the War appointed a sub-committee
to go to such places as they might deem necessary, and take
testimony in relation to the Fort Pillow massacre. Their
report presents facts in connection with this massacre of the
deepest atrocity. Men were not only shot in cold blood and
drowned, but were even crucified, buried alive, nailed to the
floors of houses, which were then set on fire. 'No cruelty,'
says this committee, 'which the most fiendish malignity could
devise, was omitted by these murderers.' 'From 300 to 400 men
are known to have been killed at Fort Pillow, of whom at least
300 were murdered in cold blood after the post was in
possession of the rebels, and our men had thrown down their
arms and ceased to offer resistance.' … It should be mentioned
in behalf of General Forrest that one of the witnesses, who
had been rewounded, testified that 'Forrest gave orders to
stop the firing.'"
J. W. Draper,
History of the American Civil War,
chapter 74 (volume 3).
"I arrived off the fort at 6 a. m. on the morning of the 13th
inst. [April]. … About 8 a. m. the enemy sent in a flag of
truce with a proposal from General Forrest that he would put
me in possession of the fort and the country around until 5 p.
m. for the purpose of burying our dead and removing our
wounded, whom he had no means of attending to. I agreed to the
terms proposed. … We found about 70 wounded men in the fort
and around it, and buried, I should think, 150 bodies. … All
the wounded who had strength enough to speak agreed that after
the fort was taken an indiscriminate slaughter of our troops
was carried on by the enemy with a furious and vindictive
savageness which was never equalled by the most merciless of
the Indian tribes. Around on every side horrible testimony to
the truth of this statement could be seen. … Strewn from the
fort to the river bank, in the ravines and hollows, behind
logs and under the brush where they had crept for protection
from the assassins who pursued them, we found bodies
bayoneted, beaten, and shot to death, showing how cold blooded
and persistent was the slaughter of our unfortunate troops."
Report of Acting-Master W. Ferguson,
United States Steamer Silver Cloud
(Official Records, Series 1, volume 32, part 1, page 571).
ALSO IN:
Report of Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
(30th Congress, 1st Session, H. R. Report Number 65).
Comte de Paris,
History of the Civil War in America,
volume 4., book 4, chapter 1.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (April-May: North Carolina).
Exploits of the ram Albemarle.
Surrender of Plymouth.
In the squadron [of the Confederates] we were gladdened by the
success of our iron-clad ram Albemarle, which vessel, under
Captain James B. Cooke, had (after overcoming innumerable
difficulties) succeeded in descending the Roanoke river, April
19th [1864], and dispersing the Federal squadron off Plymouth,
North Carolina. She sunk the steamer Southfield, and drove the
other vessels off; and her presence led to the recapture of
Plymouth by the Confederates. On the 5th of May the Albemarle
started from Plymouth with the small steamer Bombshell in
company, on what was called a secret expedition. I think it
probable the intention was to destroy the wooden men-of-war in
the sounds, and then tow troops in barges to Hatteras and
retake it. If this could have been done the Albemarle would
have had it all her own way, and Roanoke island, Newbern and
other places would again have fallen into the hands of the
Confederates. Shortly after leaving Plymouth the Albemarle
fell in with the Federal squadron, consisting of the steamers
Mattabesett, Sassacus, Wyalusing, Whitehead, Miami, Ceres,
Commodore Hull and Seymour—all under the command of Captain
Melancton Smith, and after a desperate combat was forced to
return to Plymouth."
W. H. Parker,
Recollections of a Naval Officer,
page 339.
ALSO IN:
J. R. Soley,
The Blockade and the Cruisers
(The Navy in the Civil War, volume 1), chapter 4.
D. Ammen,
The Atlantic Coast
(same Series, volume 2), chapter 9.
B. Boynton,
History of the Navy,
volume 2, chapter 36.
{3524}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May: Virginia).
Grant's movement on Richmond.
The Battle of the Wilderness.
"The movement of the Army of the Potomac commenced early on
the morning of the 4th of May, under the immediate direction
and orders of Major-General Mead, pursuant to instructions.
Before night the whole army was across the Rapidan—the Fifth
and Sixth Corps crossing at Germanna Ford, and the Second
Corps at United States' (Ely's) Ford, the cavalry, under
Major-General Sheridan, moving in advance,—with the greater
part of its trains, numbering about 4,000 wagons, meeting with
but slight opposition. The average distance traveled by the
troops that day was about 12 miles. This I regarded as a great
success, and it removed from my mind the most serious
apprehensions I had entertained, that of crossing the river in
the face of an active, large, well-appointed, and ably
commanded army, and how so large a train was to be carried
through a hostile country and protected. Early on the 5th, the
advance corps (the Fifth, Major General G. K. Warren
commanding), met and engaged the enemy outside his
intrenchments near Mine Run. The battle raged furiously all
day, the whole army being brought into the fight as fast as
the corps could be got upon the field, which, considering the
density of the forest and narrowness of the roads, was done
with commendable promptness.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1863
(April-May: Virginia).
General Burnside, with the Ninth Corps, was at the time the
Army of the Potomac moved, left with the bulk of his corps at
the crossing of the Rappahannock River and Alexandria
railroad, holding the road back to Bull Run, with instructions
not to move until he received notice that a crossing of the
Rapidan was secured, but to move promptly as soon as such
notice was received. This crossing he was apprised of on the
afternoon of the 4th. By 6 o'clock of the morning of the 6th
he was leading his corps into action near the Wilderness
Tavern, some of his troops having marched a distance of over
30 miles, crossing both the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers.
Considering that a large proportion (probably two-thirds), of
his command was composed of new troops, unaccustomed to
marches and carrying the accouterments of a soldier, this was
a remarkable march. The battle of the Wilderness was renewed
by us at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 6th, and continued
with unabated fury until darkness set in, each army holding
substantially the same position that they had on the evening
of the 5th. After dark the enemy made a feeble attempt to turn
our right flank, capturing several hundred prisoners and
creating considerable confusion. But the promptness of General
Sedgwick, who was personally present and commanded that part
of our line, soon reformed it and restored order. On the
morning of the 7th reconnaissances showed that the enemy had
fallen behind his intrenched lines, with pickets to the front,
covering a part of the battle-field. From this it was evident
to my mind that the two days' fighting had satisfied him of
his inability to further maintain the contest in the open
field, notwithstanding his advantage of position, and that he
would await an attack behind his works. I therefore determined
to push on and put my whole force between him and Richmond,
and orders were at once issued for a movement by his right
flank. On the night of the 7th the march was commenced toward
Spottsylvania Court House, the Fifth Corps moving on the most
direct road. But the enemy having become apprised of our
movement, and having the shorter line, was enabled to reach
there first."
Gen. U. S. Grant,
Official Report
(Official Records, Series 1, volume 36, part 1, page 18).
The casualties of the Army of the Potomac and Burnside's Ninth
Corps (then not incorporated with it) in the battle of the
Wilderness were "2,265 killed, 10,220 wounded, and 2,902
missing. Total, 15,387. Killed and wounded, 12,485. … The
woods took fire in many places, and it is estimated that 200
of our wounded perished in the flames and smoke. According to
the tabular statement, Part First, 'Medical and Surgical
History of the War,' the casualties in the Army of Northern
Virginia were 2,000 killed, 6,000 wounded, and 3,400 missing.
The authority for this statement is not given, and I do not
find anywhere records of the loss of that army in the
Wilderness. … Both sides lost many valuable officers in this
battle, [including, on the Union side, General Wadsworth]. …
So far as I know, no great battle ever took place before on
such ground. But little of the combatants could be seen, and
its progress was known to the senses chiefly by the rising and
falling sounds of a vast musketry that continually swept along
the lines of battle many miles in length, sounds which at
times approached to the sublime."
A. A. Humphreys,
The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865
(Campaigns of the Civil war, volume 12), chapter 2.
"All the peculiar advantages of the Army of the Potomac were
sacrificed in the jungle-fighting into which they were thus
called to engage. Of what use here were the tactical skill and
the perfection of form, acquired through long and patient
exercise; of what use here the example and the personal
influence of a Hays or a Hancock, a Brooke or a Barlow? How
can a battle be fitly ordered in such a tangle of wood and
brush, where troops can neither be sent straight to their
destination nor seen and watched over, when, after repeatedly
losing direction and becoming broken into fragments in their
advance through thickets and jungles, they at last make their
way up to the line of battle, perhaps at the point they were
designed to reinforce, perhaps far from it? … It will never
cease to be an object of amazement to me that, with such a
tract in prospect, the character of it being known, in
general, to army headquarters through the Chancellorsville
campaign … a supreme effort was not made … to carry the Army
of the Potomac either through these jungles toward Mine Run,
or past it, toward Spottsylvania."
F. A. Walker,
History of the Second Army Corps,
chapter 13.
ALSO IN:
E. M. Law, A. S. Webb, and others,
The Wilderness Campaign
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapters 50-51 (volume 2).
W. Swinton,
The Twelve Decisive Battles of the War,
chapter 9.
A. L. Long,
Memoirs of Robert E. Lee,
chapter 17.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May: Virginia).
Sheridan's raid to Richmond.
"When the Army of the Potomac emerged from the Wilderness,
Sheridan was sent to cut Lee's communications. This was the
first of the remarkable raids of that remarkable leader, in
Virginia, and, though short, was a destructive one. He took
with him a greater portion of the cavalry led by Merritt,
Gregg and Wilson, and, cutting loose from the army, he swept
over the Po and the Ta, crossed the North Anna on the 9th, and
struck the Virginia Central railway at Beaver Dam Station,
which he captured.
{3525}
He destroyed ten miles of the railway; also its rolling stock,
with a million and a half of rations, and released 400 Union
prisoners, on their way to Richmond from the Wilderness. There
he was attacked in flank and rear by General J. E. B. Stuart
and his cavalry, who had pursued him from the Rapid Anna
[Rapidan], but was not much impeded thereby. He pushed on,
crossed the South Anna at Ground-squirrel Bridge, and at
daylight on the morning of the 11th, captured Ashland Station,
on the Fredericksburg road, where he destroyed the railway
property, a large quantity of stores, and the road itself for
six miles. Being charged with the duty of not only destroying
these roads, but of menacing Richmond and communicating with
the army of the James, … Sheridan pressed on in the direction
of the Confederate capital, when he was confronted by Stuart
at Yellow Tavern, a few miles north of Richmond, where that
able leader, having made a swift circuitous march, had
concentrated all of his available cavalry. Sheridan attacked
him at once, and, after a sharp engagement, drove the
Confederates toward Ashland, on the north fork of the
Chickahominy, with a loss of their gallant leader, who, with
General Gordon, was mortally wounded. Inspirited by this
success, Sheridan pushed along the now open turnpike toward
Richmond, and made a spirited dash upon the outer works.
Custer's brigade carried them at that point and made 100
prisoners. As in the case of Kilpatrick's raid, so now, the
second line of works were too strong to be carried by cavalry.
The troops in and around the city had rallied for their
defense, and in an attack the Nationals were repulsed. Then
Sheridan led his command across the Chickahominy, at Meadow
Bridge, where he beat off a considerable force of infantry
sent out from Richmond, and who attacked him in the rear,
while another force assailed his front. He also drove the foe
on his front, when he destroyed the railway bridge there, and
then pushed on southward to Haxall's Landing, on the James
River, where he rested three days and procured supplies. Then,
by way of White House and Hanover Court House, he leisurely
returned to the Army of the Potomac, which he rejoined on the
25th of May."
B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 3, chapter 11.
ALSO IN:
P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 1, chapters 18-19.
H. B. McClellan,
Life and Campaigns of Major-General J. E. B. Stuart,
chapter 20.
J. B. Jones,
A Rebel War Clerk's Diary,
volume 2, pages 202-208.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May: Virginia).
Grant's movement upon Richmond: Spottsylvania Court House.
The Bloody Angle.
"Throughout the entire day succeeding this first great
conflict [in The Wilderness], General Lee remained quiet,
watching for some movement of his adversary. His success in
the preliminary struggle had been gratifying, considering the
great disproportion of numbers, but he indulged no expectation
of a retrograde movement across the Rapidan, on the part of
General Grant. He expected him rather to advance, and
anxiously awaited some development of this intention. There
were no indications of such a design up to the night of the
7th, but at that time, to use the words of a confidential
member of Lee's staff, 'he all at once seemed to conceive the
idea that his enemy was preparing to forsake his position, and
move toward Hanover Junction via the Spottsylvania
Court-House, and, believing this, he at once detailed
Anderson's division with orders to proceed rapidly toward the
court-house. General Anderson commenced his march about nine
o'clock at night, when the Federal column was already upon its
way. A race now began for the coveted position, and General
Stuart, with his dismounted sharp-shooters behind improvised
breastworks, harassed and impeded the Federal advance, at
every step, throughout the night. This greatly delayed their
march, and their head of column did not reach the vicinity of
Spottsylvania Court-House until past sunrise. General Warren,
leading the Federal advance, then hurried forward, followed by
General Hancock, when suddenly he found himself in front of
breastworks, and was received with a fire of musketry. Lee had
succeeded in interposing himself between General Grant and
Richmond. On the same evening the bulk of the two armies were
facing each other on the line of the Po. … General Lee had
taken up his position on the south bank of one of the four
tributaries of the Mattapony. These four streams are known as
the Mat, Ta, Po, and Nye Rivers, and bear the same relation to
the main stream that the fingers of the open hand do to the
wrist. General Lee was behind the Po, which is next to the
Nye, the northern-most of these water-courses. Both were
difficult to cross, and their banks heavily wooded. It was now
to be seen whether, either by a front attack or a turning
movement, General Grant could oust his adversary, and whether
General Lee would stand on the defensive or attack. All day,
during the 9th, the two armies were constructing breastworks
along their entire fronts, and these works, from the Rapidan
to the banks of the Chickahominy, remain yet [1871] in
existence. On the evening of this day a Federal force was
thrown across the Po, on the Confederate left, but soon
withdrawn; and on the 10th a similar movement took place near
the same point, which resulted in a brief but bloody conflict,
during which the woods took fire, and many of the assaulting
troops perished miserably in the flames. The force was then
recalled, and, during that night and the succeeding day,
nothing of importance occurred, although heavy skirmishing and
an artillery-fire took place along the lines. On the morning
of the 12th, at the first dawn of day, General Grant made a
more important and dangerous assault than any yet undertaken
in the campaign. This was directed at a salient on General
Lee's right centre, occupied by Johnson's division of Ewell's
corps, and was one of the bloodiest and most terrible
incidents of the war. For this assault [made by three
divisions of Hancock's corps] General Grant is said to have
selected his best troops. These advanced in a heavy charging
column, through the half-darkness of dawn, passed silently
over the Confederate skirmishers, scarcely firing a shot, and,
just as the first streak of daylight touched the eastern
woods, burst upon the salient, which they stormed at the point
of the bayonet. The attack was a complete surprise, and
carried everything before it. The Southern troops, asleep in
the trenches, woke to have the bayonet thrust into them, to be
felled with clubbed muskets, and to find the works apparently
in secure possession of the enemy before they could fire a
shot.
{3526}
Such was the excellent success of the Federal movement, and
the Southern line seemed to be hopelessly disrupted. Nearly
the whole of Johnson's division were taken prisoners—the
number amounting to more than 3,000—and 18 pieces of artillery
fell into the hands of the assaulting column. The position of
affairs was now exceedingly critical; and, unless General Lee
could reform his line at the point, it seemed that nothing was
left him but an abandonment of his whole position. The Federal
army had broken his line; was pouring into the opening; and,
to prevent him from concentrating at the point to regain
possession of the works, heavy attacks were begun by the enemy
on his right and left wings. It is probable that at no time
during the war was the Southern army in greater danger of a
bloody and decisive disaster. At this critical moment General
Lee acted with the nerve and coolness of a soldier whom no
adverse event can shake. … Line of battle was promptly formed
a short distance in rear of the salient then in the enemy's
possession, and a fierce charge was made by the Southerners,
under the eye of Lee, to regain it. … The word ferocious best
describes the struggle which followed. It continued throughout
the entire day, Lee making not less than five distinct
assaults in heavy force to recover the works. The fight
involved the troops on both flanks, and was desperate and
unyielding. The opposing flags were at times within only a few
yards of each other, and so incessant and concentrated was the
fire of musketry that a tree of about 18 inches in diameter
was cut down by bullets, and is still preserved, it is said,
in the city of Washington, as a memorial of this bloody
struggle. The fighting only ceased several hours after dark.
Lee had not regained his advanced line of works, but he was
firmly rooted in an interior and straighter line, from which
the Federal troops had found it impossible to dislodge him."
J. E. Cooke,
Life of General Robert E. Lee,
part 8, chapter 4.
"For the distance of nearly a mile, amid a cold, drenching
rain, the combatants [on the 12th, at the salient] were
literally struggling across the breastworks. They fired
directly into each other's faces, bayonet thrusts were given
over the intrenchments; men even grappled their antagonists
across the piles of logs and pulled them over, to be stabbed
or carried to the rear as prisoners. … Never before, since the
discovery of gunpowder, had such a mass of lead been hurled
into a space so narrow as that which now embraced the scene of
combat. Large standing trees were literally cut off and
brought to the ground by infantry fire alone; their great
limbs whipped into basket stuff that could be woven by the
hand of a girl. … If any comparisons can be made between the
sections involved in that desperate contest, the fiercest and
deadliest fighting took place at the west angle, ever
afterwards known as 'The Bloody Angle.' … All day the bloody
work went on. … The trenches had more than once to be cleared
of the dead, to give the living a place to stand. All day
long, and even into the night, the battle lasted, for it was
not till twelve o'clock, nearly twenty hours after the command
'Forward' had been given to the column at the Brown House,
that the firing died down, and the Confederates, relinquishing
their purpose to retake the captured works, began in the
darkness to construct a new line to cut off the salient."
F. A. Walker,
History of the Second Army Corps,
chapter 15.
General Humphreys estimates Grant's losses in killed and
wounded on the 12th at 6,020; missing 800. Lee's losses that
day in killed, wounded and prisoners he concludes to have been
between 9,000 and 10,000. His estimate of losses on the 10th
is 4,100 (killed and wounded) on the Union side, and 2,000 on
the Confederate side. Major General John Sedgwick, commanding
the Sixth Army Corps, was killed in the skirmishing of the
9th.
A. A. Humphreys,
The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865,
chapter 3.
ALSO IN:
C. N. Galloway,
Hand to Hand Fighting at Spotsylvania
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 36.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May: Virginia).
Grant's movement upon Richmond:
from Spottsylvania to the Chickahominy.
"The lines of Spottsylvania remained still intact, and General
Grant, who might easily have turned the position and manœuvred
his antagonist out of it, seemed bent on carrying it by direct
attack. Accordingly, during the succeeding week [after the
battle of the 12th], various movements of corps were made from
flank to flank, in the endeavor to find a spot where the lines
could be broken. These attempts were skilfully met at every
point—the Confederates extending their line to correspond
with the shiftings of the army; so that wherever attack was
essayed, the enemy bristled out in breastworks, and every
partial assault made was repulsed. Day by day Grant continued
to throw out towards the left, in the hope of overlapping and
breaking in the Confederate right flank: so that from
occupying, as the army did on its arrival, a line extending
four or five miles to the northwest of Spottsylvania
Courthouse, it had at the end of ten days assumed a position
almost due east of that place, the left resting at a distance
of four miles at Massaponax Church. After twelve days of
effort, the carrying of the position was seen to be hopeless;
and General Grant, abandoning the attempt, resolved by a
turning operation to disengage Lee from a position seen to be
unassailable. Preparations for this movement were begun on the
afternoon of the 19th; but the enemy, observing these,
retarded its execution by a bold demonstration against the
Union right. … This attack somewhat disconcerted the
contemplated movement, and delayed it till the following
night, May 20th, when the army, moving by the left, once more
took up its march towards Richmond. Before the lines of
Spottsylvania the Army of the Potomac had for twelve days and
nights engaged in a fierce wrestle, in which it had done all
that valor may do to carry a position by nature and art
impregnable. … Language is inadequate to convey an impression
of the labors, fatigues, and sufferings of the troops. … Above
40,000 men had already fallen in the bloody encounters of the
Wilderness and Spottsylvania [General Humphreys—in 'Virginia
Campaign of 1864 and 1865,' page 117—makes the total of
killed and wounded from May 5 to 21, to be 28,207, and the
entire losses of the army, including the missing and the sick
sent back to Washington, 37,335]. … The exhausted army began
to lose its spirit.
{3527}
It was with joy, therefore, that it at length turned its back
upon the lines of Spottsylvania. … The two armies once fairly
on the march … neither … seems to have sought to deal the
other a blow … and both headed, as for a common goal, towards
the North Anna. … The advances of the 21st and 22d brought the
different corps [of the Army of the Potomac], which had moved
on parallel roads at supporting distance, within a few miles
of the North Anna River. Resuming the march on the morning of
Monday, May 23d, the army in a few hours reached the northern
bank of that stream. But it was only to descry its old enemy
planted on the opposite side." Warren's corps crossed the
river at Jericho Ford without resistance, but was furiously
assailed late in the afternoon and held its ground, taking
nearly 1,000 prisoners. The left column, under Hancock, forced
a passage in the face of the enemy, carrying a bridge by
storm. But nothing was gained by these successes. "While Lee,
after the passage of Hancock on the left, threw his right wing
back from the North Anna, and on the passage of Warren on the
right threw back his left wing, he continued to cling with his
centre to the river; so that … his army took up a very
remarkable line in the form of an obtuse-angled triangle. …
The game of war seldom presents a more effectual checkmate
than was here given by Lee; for after Grant had made the
brilliantly successful passage of the North Anna, the
Confederate commander, thrusting his centre between the two
wings of the Army of the Potomac, put his antagonist at
enormous disadvantage, and compelled him, for the
reenforcement of one or the other wing, to make a double
passage of the river. The more the position of Lee was
examined, the more unpromising attack was seen to be; and
after passing the two following days in reconnoissances, and
destroying some miles of the Virginia Central Railroad,
General Grant determined to withdraw across the North Anna and
take up a new line of advance. The withdrawal from the North
Anna was begun at dark of the 26th of May, when the Second,
Fifth and Sixth Corps retired by different bridges to the
north bank. … The Second Corps held position till the morning
of the 27th, when it covered the rear. From the North Anna the
line of march of the army made a wide circuit eastward and
then southward to pass the Pamunkey. This river is formed by
the confluence of the North and South Anna; and the Pamunkey
in turn uniting with the Mattapony forms the York River,
emptying into Chesapeake Bay. Thus the successful passage of
the Pamunkey would not only dislodge Lee from the lines of the
North and South Anna, but would bring the army in
communication with a new and excellent water-base." The
crossing of the Pamunkey, at and near Hanovertown, was
accomplished without difficulty on the 27th and 28th, "and the
routes to White House, at the head of York River, being opened
up, the army was put in communication with the ample supplies
floated by the waters of Chesapeake Bay. Grant's new turning
movement was met by a corresponding retrograde movement on the
part of Lee, and as he fell back on a direct line less than
half the distance of the great detour made by the Army of the
Potomac, it was not remarkable that, on crossing the Pamunkey,
the Confederate force was again encountered, ready to accept
the gage of battle. Lee assumed a position in advance of the
Chickahominy. … The region in which the army was now operating
revived many reminiscences in the minds of those who had made
the Peninsular Campaign under McClellan. … Gaines' Mill and
Mechanicsville were within an hour's ride; Fair Oaks could be
reached in a two hours' trot; Richmond was ten miles off. …
Reconnoissances showed Lee to be in a very strong position
covering the approaches to the Chickahominy, the forcing of
which it was now clear must cost a great battle."
W. Swinton,
Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac,
part 11, chapters 3-5.
ALSO IN:
A. Badeau,
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant,
chapters 18-19 (volume 2).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May: Virginia).
The Co-operative movement of the Army of the James.
In the plan and arrangement of General Grant's campaign,

General Butler, commanding at Fortress Monroe, was instructed
"to collect all the forces of his command that could be spared
from garrison duty estimated at not less than 20,000, and
operate on the south side of James river, Richmond being his
objective. To his force 10,000 men from South Carolina, under
Gillmore, were to be added. He was ordered to take City Point
as soon as notification of movement was given, and fortify it.
By this common advance from the Rapidan and Fortress Monroe
the two armies would be brought into co-operation. … As
arranged, Butler moved from Fortress Monroe on May 4th,
Gillmore having joined him with the 10th Corps. The next day
he occupied, without opposition, both City Point and Bermuda
Hundred, his movement being a complete surprise. On the 7th he
made a reconnoissance against the Richmond and Petersburg
Railroad, destroying a portion of it after some fighting. On
the night of the 9th he received dispatches from Washington
informing him that Lee was retreating to Richmond and Grant in
pursuit. He had, therefore, to act with caution, fearing that
he might have Lee's whole army on his hands. On the evening of
the 13th and morning of the 14th he carried a portion of the
enemy's first line of defenses at Drury's Bluff, or Fort
Darling. The time thus consumed from the 6th left no
possibility of surprising and capturing Richmond and
Petersburg, enabling, as it did, Beauregard to collect his
forces in North and South Carolina, and bring them to the
defense of these places. On the 16th the Confederates attacked
Butler in his position in front of Drury's Bluff, forced him
back into his entrenchments between the forks of James and
Appomattox Rivers [in the district called Bermuda Hundred],
and, intrenching strongly in his front, not only covered the
railroads and city, but completely neutralized his forces. …
Butler's army being confined at Bermuda Hundred, most of the
re-enforcements from the South were now brought against the
Potomac Army. In addition to this, probably not less than
15,000 men, under Breckenridge, arrived from the Western part
of Virginia. The position of Bermuda Hundred being easy to
defend, Grant, leaving only enough to secure what had heen
gained, took from it all available forces under W. F. Smith,
and joined them to the Army of the Potomac."
J. W. Draper,
History of the American Civil War,
volume 3, pages 368 and 382-385.
ALSO IN:
A. A. Humphreys,
The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865,
chapter 5.
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 36, part 2.
{3528}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May: Georgia).
Sherman's Movement upon Atlanta: Johnston's Retreat.
Sherman now held command of the three armies of the Tennessee,
the Cumberland, and the Ohio, having McPherson, Thomas and
Schofield for their subordinate commanders, respectively. The
main army of the rebellion in the West, Joe Johnston
commanding, was at Dalton, northern Georgia, confronting
Thomas at Chattanooga. "Grant and Sherman had agreed to act in
concert. While the former should thrust Lee back upon
Richmond, his late lieutenant was to push Johnston towards
Atlanta. And Banks was to transfer his forces from New Orleans
to Mobile and thence move towards and join hands with the
Western armies. Sherman devoted his earliest energies to the
question of transportation and railroads. Baggage was reduced
to the lowest limits, the higher officers setting the example.
Actual supplies and fighting-material were alone to be
carried. Luxuries were to be things of the past; comforts to
be forgotten. War's stern reality was to be each one's lot.
Probably no officer in such high command ever lived so
entirely from hand to mouth as did Sherman and his military
family during the succeeding campaigns. The entire equipment
of his army head-quarters would have shamed the shabbiest
regimental outfit of 1861. Spring was to open with a general
advance. It was agreed to put and keep the Confederates on the
defensive by a policy of constant hammering. Bragg had been
removed to satisfy public opinion in the South, but was
nominally called to Richmond to act as Mr. Davis'
chief-of-staff. Johnston, as commander of the Department, had
personally undertaken to hold head against Sherman. But the
fact that he possessed neither the President's good will nor
that of his new adviser, militated much against a happy
conduct of the campaign. Sherman's forces occupied a front
sixteen miles in advance of Ringgold, just south of
Chattanooga. McPherson and the Army of the Tennessee was on
his right with 25,000 men and 100 guns. Thomas and the Army of
the Cumberland held the centre with 60,000 men and 130 guns.
Schofield and the Army of the Ohio formed the left wing. His
command was 15,000 men and 30 guns. This grand total of
100,000 men and 260 guns formed an army of as good stuff as
ever bore arms, and the confidence of the leader in his men
and of the men in their leader was unbounded. Johnston himself
foresaw the necessity of a strictly defensive campaign, to
which his far from sanguine character, as well as his judgment
as to what the existing conditions demanded, made him
peculiarly suited. Counted after the same fashion as Sherman's
army, Johnston had some 75,000 men. … He intrenched every step
he took; he fought only when attacked; he invited battle only
when the conditions were largely in his favor. Subsequent
events showed how wise beyond his critics he could be. Sherman
took the measure of the intrenchments at Dalton with care,
and, though he outnumbered his antagonist, preferred not to
hazard an engagement at such odds when he might force one on
better ground. This conduct shows in strong contrast with
Grant's, when the latter first met his opponent at this same
moment in Virginia. Sherman despatched McPherson towards
Resaca, on the railroad in Johnston's rear, with instructions
to capture the town if possible. Combined with this flanking
movement, a general advance was made upon the Confederate
lines, and after tactical manœuvring of several days in front
of Rocky Face Ridge, Johnston concluded to retire from his
stronghold. McPherson had strangely failed to seize Resaca,
though an excellent chance had offered, and at this place the
Confederate army took up its new stand. … Sherman faced his
antagonist on the line of Camp Creek in front of Resaca, with
his right flank resting on the Oostanaula. From this position
he operated by unintermitted tapping upon Johnston's defences
at constantly varying points, without, however, bringing on a
general engagement [though the losses were 2,747 Union and
2,800 Confederate]. … Sherman's uniform tactics during this
campaign, varied indefinitely in details, consisted, as will
be seen, in forcing the centre of the army upon Johnston's
lines, while with the right and left he operated upon either
flank as chance or ground best offered. Johnston did not
propose to hazard an engagement unless all conditions were in
his favor. He attempted a stand at Adairsville, twenty miles
south of Resaca, but shortly withdrew to Kingston and
Cassville. Each captain manœuvred for a chance to fight the
other at a disadvantage. … From Cassville, Johnston retired
across the Etowah. So far this campaign had been one of
manœuvres. Neither combatant had suffered material loss. Like
two wrestlers, as yet ignorant of each other's strength or
quickness, they were sparring for a hold. … The Union army was
growing skillful. Local difficulties multiplied many fold by
bad maps and hostile population were overcome in considerable
measure by an able corps of topographical engineers. … Bridges
were uniformly burned and railroads wrecked by the retreating
Confederates. To save delays in rebuilding, so far as
possible, trestles were fitted in the rear to a scale with
interchangeable timbers, so that bridges could be constructed
with a speed never before dreamed of. No sooner had the
Confederates put torch to a bridge, than a new one arose as by
magic, and the whistle of the locomotive always followed hard
upon the heels of the army."
T. A. Dodge,
Bird's-Eye View of our Civil War,
chapters 42-43.
ALSO IN:
W. T. Sherman,
Memoirs,
chapter 15 (volume 2).
T. B. Van Horn,
History of the Army of the Cumberland,
chapters 25-28 (volume 2).
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 38, part 1.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May-June: Virginia).
Grant's Movement upon Richmond: The Battle of Cold Harbor.
"The passage of [the Pamunkey] had been completed on May 28,
and then, after three days of marching, interspersed with the
usual amount of fighting, the army found itself again
confronted by Lee's main line on the Totopotomoy. The
operations which followed were known as the battle of Cold
Harbor. On the afternoon of May 31st, Sheridan, who was on the
left flank of the army, carried, with his cavalry, a position
near the old well and cross roads known as Old Cold Harbor,
and, with his men dismounted behind rough breast-works, held
it against Fitzhugh Lee until night. To this point, during the
night, marched the van·guard of the Army of the Potomac. …
About 9 the next day (June 1st) the head of the column reached
Sheridan's position, and the cavalry was withdrawn.
{3529}
The enemy, who had been seriously threatening Sheridan,
withdrew from our immediate front within their lines and
awaited us, occupying a strong outer line of intrenchments in
front of our center, somewhat in advance of their main
position, which included that on which the battle of Gaines'
Mill had been fought two years before. It covered the
approaches to the Chickahominy, which was the last formidable
obstacle we had to meet before standing in front of the
permanent works of Richmond. A large detachment, composed of
the Eighteenth Corps and other troops from the Army of the
James, under General W. F. Smith, had disembarked at White
House on the Pamunkey, and was expected to connect that
morning with the Sixth Corps at Cold Harbor. A mistake in
orders caused an unnecessary march and long delay. In the
afternoon, however, Smith was in position on the right of the
Sixth Corps. Late in the afternoon both corps assaulted. The
attack was made vigorously and with no reserves. The outer
line in front of the right of the Sixth and the left of the
Eighteenth was carried brilliantly, and the enemy was forced
back, leaving several hundred prisoners in our hands. … This
left the well and the old tavern at Cold Harbor in our rear,
and brought us in front of the most formidable position yet
held by the enemy. In front of him was a wooded country,
interspersed with clearings here and there, sparsely
populated, and full of swamps. Before daylight the Army of the
Potomac stood together once more almost within sight of the
spires of Richmond, and on the very ground where, under
McClellan, they had defended the passage of the river they
were now endeavoring to force. On the 2d of June our
confronting line, on which the burden of the day must
necessarily fall, consisted of Hancock on the left, Wright in
the center, and Smith on the right. Warren and Burnside were
still farther to the right, their lines refused, or drawn
back, in the neighborhood of Bethesda Church, but not
confronting the enemy. … No reconnoissance had been made other
than the bloody one of the evening before. Everyone felt that
this was to be the final struggle. No further flanking marches
were possible. Richmond was dead in front. No further wheeling
of corps from right to left by the rear; no further dusty
marches possible on that line, even 'if it took all summer.'
The general attack was fixed for the afternoon of the 2d, and
all preparations had been made, when the order was
countermanded and the attack postponed until half-past four
the following morning. Promptly at the hour named on the 3d of
June the men moved from the slight cover of the rifle-pits,
thrown up during the night, with steady, determined advance,
and there rang out suddenly on the summer air such a crash of
artillery and musketry as is seldom heard in war. No great
portion of the advance could be seen from any particular
point, but those of the three corps that passed through the
clearings were feeling the fire terribly. Not much return was
made at first from our infantry, although the fire of our
batteries was incessant. The time of actual advance was not
over eight minutes. In that little period more men fell
bleeding as they advanced than in any other like period of
time throughout the war. A strange and terrible feature of
this battle was that as the three gallant corps moved on
[necessarily diverging, the enemy's line forming an arc of a
circle, with its concave side toward them] each was enfiladed
while receiving the full force of the enemy's direct fire in
front. … At some points the slashings and obstructions in the
enemy's front were reached. Barlow, of Hancock's corps, drove
the enemy from an advanced position, but was himself driven
out by the fire of their second line. R. O. Tyler's brigade
(the Corcoran Legion) of the same corps swept over an advance
work, capturing several hundred prisoners. One officer alone;
the colonel of the 164th New York [James P. McMahon], seizing
the colors of his regiment from the dying color-bearer as he
fell, succeeded in reaching the parapet of the enemy's main
works, where he planted his colors and fell dead near the
ditch, bleeding from many wounds. Seven other colonels of
Hancock's command died within those few minutes. No troops
could stand against such a fire, and the order to lie down was
given all along the line. At points where no shelter was
afforded, the men were withdrawn to such cover as could be
found, and the battle of Cold Harbor, as to its result at
least, was over. … Shortly after midday came the order to
suspend for the present all further operations, and directing
corps commanders to intrench, 'including their advanced
positions,' and directing also that reconnoissances be made,
'with a view to moving against the enemy's works by regular
approaches'. … When night came on the groans and moaning of
the wounded, all our own, who were lying between the lines,
were heart-rending. Some were brought in by volunteers from
our intrenchments, but remained for three days uncared for
beneath the hot summer suns and the unrefreshing dews of the
sultry summer nights. … An impression prevails in the popular
mind, and with some reason perhaps, that a commander who sends
a flag of truce asking permission to bury his dead and bring
in his wounded, has lost the field of battle. Hence the
reluctance upon our part to ask a flag of truce. In effect it
was done at last on the evening of the third day after the
battle, when, for the most part, the wounded needed no further
care and our dead had to be buried almost where they fell."
M. T. McMahon,
Cold Harbor
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
"According to the report of the Medical Director, Surgeon
McParlin, the wounded brought to the hospitals from the battle
of the 3d of June numbered 4,517. The killed were at least
1,100. The wounded brought to the hospitals from the battle of
the 1st of June were 2,125; the killed were not less than 500.
The wounded on the 1st and 3d of June were, therefore, 6,642,
and the killed not less than 1,600; but, adopting the number
of killed and missing furnished General Badeau from the
Adjutant General's office, 1,769 killed, 1,537 missing
(many—most, indeed—of them, no doubt, killed), we have 8,411
for the killed and wounded, and for the total casualties,
9,948."
A. A. Humphreys,
The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865
(Campaigns of the Civil War),
page 191.
"I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor
was ever made. … At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was
gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained. Indeed,
the advantages other than those of relative losses, were on
the Confederate side. … This charge seemed to revive their
hopes temporarily; but it was of short duration. The effect
upon the Army of the Potomac was the reverse. When we reached
the James River, however, all effects of the battle of Cold
Harbor seemed to have disappeared."
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapter. 55 (volume 2).
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 36.
{3530}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May-June: Virginia).
The Campaigning in the Shenandoah Valley, and
Sheridan's raid to Trevillian Station.
"In the spring of 1864, the Department of West Virginia, which
included the Shenandoah Valley, was under the command of
Major-General Franz Sigel. A large portion of his forces was
in the Kanawha region, under Brigadier-General George Crook. …
In opening his Virginia campaign, Lieutenant-General Grant
directed Sigel to form two columns, whereof one, under Crook,
should break the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad at the New
River bridge, and should also, if possible, destroy the
salt-works at Saltville; while the other column, under Sigel
himself, proceeding up the Shenandoah Valley, was to distract
attention from Crook by menacing the Virginia Central Railroad
at Staunton."
G. E. Pond,
The Shenandoah Valley in 1864
(Campaigns of the Civil War, volume 11),
chapter 2.
"Early in May, General Sigel entered the Valley with a force
of 10,000 or 12,000 men [6,000 or 7,000, according to Pond, as
above], and proceeded to advance toward Staunton. The Valley
at that time was occupied only by a small force under General
Imboden, which was wholly inadequate for its defence. General
Breckenridge was therefore withdrawn from South-Western
Virginia to oppose Sigel. On the 15th of May, Breckenridge
with a force of 3,000 men [4,600 to 5,000—Pond] encountered
Sigel at Newmarket and defeated him and compelled him to
retire behind Cedar Creek. The cadets of the Virginia Military
Institute formed a portion of Breckenridge's division, and
behaved with distinguished gallantry. … After the battle of
Newmarket Breckenridge was withdrawn from the Valley to
reinforce Lee … in the neighborhood of Hanover Junction. In
the meantime Crook and Averill had reached the Virginia and
Tennessee Railroad, where they inflicted some damage, but were
compelled to retire by a force sent against them by General
Sam Jones. They then proceeded to join the main column
operating in the Valley. After the battle of Newmarket, Sigel
was relieved by General David Hunter, who was instructed by
General Grant to advance upon Staunton, thence to
Charlottesville, and on to Lynchburg if circumstances favored
that movement. Breckenridge having been withdrawn, General W.
E. Jones was ordered to the Valley to oppose Hunter, who
slowly advanced, opposed by Imboden with an almost nominal
force. About the 4th of June, Imboden was joined by General
Jones in the neighborhood of Harrisonburg with a force of
between 3,000 and 4,000 men, which he had hastily collected in
Southwestern Virginia. … Although greatly outnumbered, he
[Jones] engaged Hunter near Port Republic [at the village of
Piedmont, which gives its name to the battle], where he was
defeated and killed. … After the fall of Jones, McCauslin
opposed Hunter with gallantry and vigor, but his small force
was no match for the greatly superior force against which he
contended. The affairs in the Valley now began to attract the
attention of the commanding generals of both armies. It was
evident that if Hunter could succeed in taking Lynchburg and
breaking up the canal and Central Railroad, it would only be
necessary to tap the Richmond and Danville and the Petersburg
and Weldon railroads to complete a line of circumvallation
around Richmond and Petersburg. On the 7th of June General
Grant detached General Sheridan, with a large cavalry force,
with instructions to break up the Central Railroad between
Richmond and Gordonsville, then proceed to the James River and
Kanawha Canal, break that line of communication with Richmond,
and then to co-operate with Hunter in his operations against
Lynchburg. About the same time General Lee sent General
Breckenridge with his division, 2,500 strong, to occupy
Rockfish Gap of the Blue Ridge to deflect Hunter from
Charlottesville and protect the Central Railroad as far as
practicable. A few days later General Early was detached by
General Lee to oppose Hunter, and take such other steps as in
his judgment would tend to create a diversion in favor of
Richmond. General Sheridan, in compliance with his
instructions, proceeded by a circuitous route to strike the
railroad somewhere in the neighborhood of Gordonsville. This
movement was, however, discovered by General Hampton, who,
with a considerable force of cavalry encountered Sheridan on
the 12th of June at Travillians [or Trevillian's] Station.
After much severe and varied fighting Sheridan was defeated,
and in order to escape was obliged to make a night-retreat.
[In his 'Memoirs,' Sheridan claims the victory, having forced
Hampton back and taken 500 prisoners; but learning that Hunter
would not meet him, as expected, at Charlottesville, he turned
back to rejoin Grant south of Richmond]. … This was one of the
most masterly and spirited cavalry engagements of the war.
Hunter, finding Rockfish Gap occupied in force, was unable to
comply with that part of his instructions which directed him
to Charlottesville. He therefore continued his march up the
Valley, with the view of reaching Lynchburg by way of some one
of the passes of the Blue Ridge south of the James River. In
the neighborhood of Staunton he was joined by Crook and
Averill, increasing his force to about 20,000 men, including
cavalry and artillery. From Staunton he advanced by way of
Lexington and Buchanan, burning and destroying everything that
came in his way, leaving a track of desolation rarely
witnessed in the course of civilized warfare." Before Hunter's
arrival at Lynchburg, General Early, who withdrew his corps
(formerly Stonewall Jackson's, and lately commanded by Ewell),
from Richmond on the 13th of June, had reached that city and
was prepared to defend it. "Hunter, finding himself
unexpectedly confronted by Early, relinquished his intended
attack upon the city and sought safety in a rapid
night-retreat."
A. L. Long,
Memoirs of Robert E. Lee,
chapter 18.
ALSO IN:
P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 1. chapter 21.
{3531}

Map of the Atlanta Campaign. Page 331.
{3532}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May-September: Georgia).
Sherman's Movement upon Atlanta: New Hope Church.
Kenesaw.
Peach Tree Creek.
The siege and capture of the city.
From Cassville, for reasons given in his memoirs, Johnston
continued his retreat behind the next spur of mountains to
Allatoona. "Pausing for a few days," writes General Sherman,
"to repair the railroad without attempting Allatoona, of which
I had personal knowledge acquired in 1844, I resolved to push
on toward Atlanta by way of Dallas; Johnston quickly detected
this, and forced me to fight him, May 25th-28th, at New Hope
Church, four miles north of Dallas, with losses of 3,000 to
the Confederates and 2,400 to us. The country was almost in a
state of nature—with few or no roads, nothing that a European
could understand; yet the bullet killed its victim there as
surely as at Sevastopol. Johnston had meantime picked up his
detachments, and had received reënforcements from his rear
which raised his aggregate strength to 62,000 men, and
warranted him in claiming that he was purposely drawing us far
from our base, and that when the right moment should come he
would turn on us and destroy us. We were equally confident,
and not the least alarmed. He then fell back to his position
at Marietta, with Brush Mountain on his right, Kenesaw his
center and Lost Mountain his left. His line of ten miles was
too long for his numbers, and he soon let go his flanks and
concentrated on Kenesaw. We closed down in battle array,
repaired the railroad up to our very camps, and then prepared
for the contest. Not a day, not an hour, not a minute was
there a cessation of fire. Our skirmishers were in absolute
contact, the lines of battle and the batteries but little in
rear of the skirmishers; and thus matters continued until June
27th, when I ordered a general assault, with the full
cooperation of my great lieutenants, Thomas, McPherson and
Schofield, as good and true men as ever lived or died for
their country's cause; but we failed, losing 3,000 men to the
Confederate loss of 630. Still, the result was that within
three days Johnston abandoned the strongest possible position
and was in full retreat for the Chattahoochee River. We were
on his heels; skirmished with his rear at Smyrna Church on the
4th day of July, and saw him fairly across the Chattahoochee
on the 10th, covered and protected by the best line of field
intrenchments I have ever seen, prepared long in advance. … We
had advanced into the enemy's country 120 miles, with a
single-track railroad, which had to bring clothing, food,
ammunition, everything requisite for 100,000 men and 23,000
animals. The city of Atlanta, the gate city, opening the
interior of the important State of Georgia, was in sight; its
protecting army was shaken but not defeated, and onward we had
to go. … We feigned to the right, but crossed the
Chattahoochee by the left, and soon confronted our enemy
behind his first line of intrenchments at Peach Tree Creek,
prepared in advance for this very occasion. At this critical
moment the Confederate Government rendered us most valuable
service. Being dissatisfied with the Fabian policy of General
Johnston, it relieved him, and General Hood was substituted to
command the Confederate army [July 18]. Hood was known to us
to be a 'fighter' … and I confess I was pleased at this
change. … I was willing to meet the enemy in the open country,
but not behind well-constructed parapets. Promptly, as
expected, General Hood sallied from his Peach Tree line on the
20th of July, about midday, striking the Twentieth Corps
(Hooker), which had just crossed Peach Tree Creek by
improvised bridges. The troops became commingled and fought
hand to hand desperately for about four hours, when the
Confederates were driven back within their lines, leaving
behind their dead and wounded. These amounted to 4,796 men, to
our loss of 1,710. We followed up and Hood fell back to the
main lines of the city of Atlanta. We closed in, when again
Hood, holding these lines with about one-half his force, with
the other half made a wide circuit by night, under cover of
the woods, and on the 22d of July enveloped our left flank 'in
air,' a movement that led to the hardest battle of the
campaign. He encountered the Army of the Tennessee—skilled
veterans who were always ready to fight, were not alarmed by
flank or rear attacks, and met their assailants with heroic
valor. The battle raged from noon to night, when the
Confederates, baffled and defeated, fell back within the
intrenchments of Atlanta. Their losses are reported 8,499 to
ours of 8,641; but among our dead was McPherson, the commander
of the Army of the Tennessee. While this battle was in
progress, Schofield at the center and Thomas on the right made
efforts to break through the intrenchments at their fronts,
but found them too strong to assault. The Army of the
Tennessee was then shifted, under its new commander (Howard),
from the extreme left to the extreme right, to reach if
possible, the railroad by which Hood drew his supplies, when,
on the 28th of July, he repeated his tactics of the 22d,
sustaining an overwhelming defeat, losing 4,632 men to our
700. These three sallies convinced him that his predecessor,
General Johnston, had not erred in standing on the defensive.
Thereafter the Confederate army in Atlanta clung to its
parapets. I never intended to assault these, but gradually
worked to the right to reach and destroy his line of supplies,
because soldiers, like other mortals, must have food. Our
extension to the right brought on numerous conflicts, but
nothing worthy of note, till about the end of August I
resolved to leave one corps to protect our communications to
the rear, and move with the other five to a point (Jonesboro')
on the railroad 20 miles below Atlanta, not fortified. This
movement was perfectly strategic, was successful, and resulted
in our occupation of Atlanta, on the 2d of September, 1864.
The result had a large effect on the whole country, at the
time, for solid and political reasons. I claim no special
merit to myself, save that I believe I followed the teachings
of the best masters of the 'science of war' of which I had
knowledge. … But I had not accomplished all, for Hood's army,
the chief 'objective,' had escaped. Then began the real
trouble. We were in possession of Atlanta, and Hood remained
at Lovejoy's Station, 30 miles south-east, on the Savannah
Railroad, with an army of about 40,000 veterans inured to war,
and with a fair amount of wagons to carry his supplies,
independent of the railroads."
W. T. Sherman and others,
Atlanta
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
ALSO IN:
W. T. Sherman,
Memoirs,
chapters 15-18 (volume 2).
J. D. Cox,
Atlanta
(Campaigns of the Civil War, volume 9),
chapters 7-16.
C. C. Chesney,
The Atlanta Campaign
(Fort. Rev., Nov. 1895).
J. E. Johnston,
Narrative,
chapters 9-11.
Official Records,
series 1, volume 38.
J. B. Hood,
Advance and Retreat,
chapters 12-13.
{3533}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (May-November).
The Twentieth Presidential Election.
Renomination and Re-election of Abraham Lincoln.
"Preparations for the nomination of candidates had begun to be
made, as usual, early in the spring of 1864. Some who saw most
clearly the necessities of the future, had for some months
before expressed themselves strongly in favor of the
renomination of President Lincoln. But this step was contested
with great warmth and activity by prominent members of the
political party by which he had been nominated and elected
four years before. Nearly all the original Abolitionists and
many of the more decidedly anti-slavery members of the
Republican party were dissatisfied, that Mr. Lincoln had not
more rapidly and more sweepingly enforced their extreme
opinions. Many distinguished public men resented his rejection
of their advice, and many more had been alienated by his
inability to recognize their claims to office. The most
violent opposition came from those who had been most
persistent and most clamorous in their exactions. And as it
was unavoidable that, in wielding so terrible and so absolute
a power in so terrible a crisis, vast multitudes of active and
ambitious men should be disappointed in their expectations of
position and personal gain, the renomination of Mr. Lincoln
was sure to be contested by a powerful and organized effort.
At the very outset this movement acquired consistency and
strength by bringing forward the Honorable S. P. Chase,
Secretary of the Treasury, a man of great political boldness
and experience, and who had prepared the way for such a step
by a careful dispensation of the vast patronage of his
department, as the rival candidate. But it was instinctively
felt that this effort lacked the sympathy and support of the
great mass of the people, and it ended in the withdrawal of
his name as a candidate by Mr. Chase himself. The National
Committee of the Union Republican party had called their
convention, to be held at Baltimore, on the 8th of June."
Those who opposed Mr. Lincoln's nomination issued a call for a
convention to be held at Cleveland, Ohio, on the 31st of May.
The Cleveland Convention, attended by about 150 persons, put
in nomination General John C. Fremont, for President, and
General John Cochrane, of New York, for Vice President.
"General Fremont's letter of acceptance was dated June 4th.
Its main scope was an attack upon Mr. Lincoln for
unfaithfulness to the principles he was elected to defend, and
upon his administration for incapacity and selfishness. … He
intimated that if the Baltimore convention would nominate
anyone but Mr. Lincoln he would not stand in the way of a
union of all upon the nominee. … The Convention, the
nomination and the letter of acceptance, fell dead upon the
popular feeling [and Fremont withdrew his candidacy in
September]. … The next form which the effort to prevent Mr.
Lincoln's nomination and election took was an effort to bring
forward General Grant as a candidate." But this was decisively
checked by General Grant, himself. The Convention at
Baltimore, when it assembled on the 8th of June, showed no
hesitation in nominating Abraham Lincoln for reelection, and
it associated with him, Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, as its
candidate for Vice President. The National Convention of the
Democratic party was held at Chicago, beginning August 29th,
The second resolution which it adopted in its platform
declared that, "after four years of failure to restore the
Union by the experiment of war … justice, humanity, liberty
and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made
for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate
convention of the States or other peaceable means, to the end
that, at the earliest practicable moment, peace may be
restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States." On
this issue, having nominated General George B. McClellan for
President, and George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, for Vice
President, the opponents of the war went to the country in the
election, in November, and were overwhelmingly defeated. "Of
all the States which voted on that day, General McClellan
carried but three—New Jersey, Delaware and Kentucky."
H. J. Raymond,
Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln,
chapter 18.
The electoral vote was for Lincoln 212, for McClellan 21. The
popular vote cast was, for Lincoln 2,213,665, for McClellan,
1,802,237. Many of the States had made provision for taking
the votes of soldiers in the field, and the army vote was
116,887 for Lincoln against 33,748 for McClellan.
E. Stanwood,
History of Presidential Elections,
chapter 21.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (June).
Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Laws.
At every session of Congress from 1861 to 1864 ineffectual
attempts were made in the Senate and in the House of
Representatives to accomplish the repeal of the Fugitive Slave
Laws of 1793 and 1850. It was not until June of the latter
year that the necessary bill was passed—by the House on the
6th, by a vote of 82 to 57, and by the Senate on the 22d by 27
to 12. The President approved it on the 28th, and it became a
law.
H. Wilson,
History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,
volume 3, chapter 29.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (June).
Revenue Measures.
The War Tariff and Internal Taxes.
See TARIFF LEGISLATION: A. D. 1861-1864 (UNITED STATES).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (June).
The destruction of the Alabama by the Kearsarge.
See ALABAMA CLAIMS: A. D. 1862-1864.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (June: Virginia).
Grant's movement to the south of James River.
The Siege of Petersburg.
"In consequence of the check at Cold Harbor, a restlessness
was becoming general among the people, which the government in
vain pretended not to notice. … Public opinion, shaken in its
confidence, already began to listen to the sinister
interpretations of the opposition journals, when, in the last
half of June, it learned that the lieutenant: general had
boldly crossed the James and laid siege before Petersburg. …
This passage of the James was … a very fine movement, as ably
executed as it was boldly conceived. It inaugurated a new
phase in the campaign. … Henceforth, the battering not having
produced the expected effect, Grant was about to try the
resources of military science, and give precedence to
strategic combinations. In the first place, he took his
measures so well to conceal his intentions from the enemy that
the latter did not recognize the character of the movement
until it was already executed. Warren was ordered to occupy
Lee's attention by the menace of an advance on Richmond from
the direction of White Oak Swamp, while Smith (W. F.)
reëmbarked from White House to return to Bermuda Hundred, and
Hancock, with the Second Corps, would be transferred to the
right bank of the James by a flotilla of large steamers
collected at Wilcox Landing for that purpose.
{3534}
At the same time, a bridge of boats was thrown across a little
below, where there were thirteen fathoms of water in the
channel, and where the river was more than 2,000 feet broad.
The Fifth and Sixth Corps crossed over on the bridge. Grant
hoped to get hold of Petersburg by a 'coup de main.' If he had
succeeded, the fall of Richmond would have soon followed in
all probability. Unfortunately, delays occurred and
contretemps which caused the opportunity to fail and
completely modified the course of events. General Smith (W.
F.), after having carried the first line, which was defended
by militia only, did not know how to take advantage of his
first success. Proceeding methodically and cautiously, where
it was, above all, necessary to act with vigor and promptness,
he put off the serious work until the next morning. Hancock,
in his turn, debarked on the right bank, did not receive the
order to march on Petersburg until he had been delayed to wait
for rations which were behind-hand, and went astray in his
march owing to false indications on a map which had been sent
to him as correct. In short, he lost precious hours in the
afternoon of June 15, and on the morning of the 16th it was
too late; Lee's troops had arrived. Nevertheless, the
intrenchments thrown up hastily by the enemy were not so
formidable that they might not be carried. In the morning, a
fresh attack, with Birney's and Gibbon's divisions, met with
some success, but with no decisive results. In the afternoon,
the Ninth Corps having arrived, the attempt was renewed on a
greater scale, and it ended by carrying the line at sundown,
after a hard fight and considerable loss. On the next morning,
a new assault, always by the Second Corps, supported by the
Ninth. The enemy lost more ground and a redoubt of importance.
In the evening, he succeeded in surprising the intrenchments
which Burnside had taken from him. All these fights were not
without cost; the loss of that day alone, on our side,
amounted to 4,000 men. The Confederates defended the ground
step by step, with such determination, only to gain the time
necessary to finish a stronger and better selected line, on
the hills immediately around the city. They retired to these
lines in the following night, and during the whole of the 18th
they sustained in them a series of attacks which met with no
success. From that day, the siege of Petersburg was resolved
upon, and regular works were begun. It must be remarked that
this siege was not a siege, properly speaking. The place was
never even invested. It lies 22 miles south of Richmond, on
the right, bank of the Appomattox, eight miles southwest of
City Point, where that river empties into the James, and where
the new base of supplies of the army was naturally
established. So that we had turned Richmond to put ourselves
across a part of the enemy's communications with the South,
and directly threaten the rest. These communications were: the
railroads to Norfolk, Weldon and Lynchburg, and the Jerusalem
and Boydton roads, all ending at Petersburg. Besides these,
the Confederate capital had only the James River Canal, to the
west, and the Dansville railroad, to the south. The latter did
not extend beyond the limits of Virginia, but it crossed the
Lynchburg railroad at Burksville, which doubled its resources.
If, then, we succeeded in enveloping Petersburg only on the
right bank of the Appomattox, the population and the
Confederate army would be reduced to draw all their supplies
from Richmond by a single-track railroad. To accomplish that
was our effort; to prevent it, the enemy's: that was the point
towards which all the operations of the siege were directed
for nine months. On the day on which we finally succeeded,
Petersburg and Richmond fell at the same blow, and the whole
structure of the rebellion crumbled with these two cities."
R. de Trobriand,
Four Years with the Army of the Potomac,
chapter 28.
ALSO IN:
F. A. Walker,
History of the Second Army Corps,
chapters 19-23.
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapter 56 (volume 2).
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 40.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (July).
The Greeley and the Jaques-Gilmore Peace Missions.
"Two abortive efforts to open a door to accommodation between
the belligerents were made during this gloomy period. One of
these originated with certain Confederates then in Canada, one
of whom wrote [July 5, 1864] to the author of this work
[Horace Greeley], averring that Messrs. Clement C. Clay, of
Alabama, James P. Holcombe, of Virginia, and George N. Sanders
(the writer) would proceed to Washington in the interest of
Peace, if full protection were accorded them. Being otherwise
confidentially assured that the two former had full powers
from Richmond, Mr. Greeley forwarded the application to
President Lincoln, urging that it be responded to, and
suggesting certain terms of reunion and peace which he judged
might be advantageously proffered to the Rebels, whether they
should be accepted or rejected. … The 'Plan of Adjustment,'
which he suggested that the President might advantageously
offer," contemplated the restoration of the Union, abolition
of slavery, with $400,000,000 paid in compensation to the
slave states, and complete amnesty for all political offenses.
"The President hereupon saw fit—alike to the surprise and the
regret of his correspondent—to depute him to proceed to
Niagara, and there communicate with the persons in question.
He most reluctantly consented to go, but under a
misapprehension which insured the failure of the effort in any
event. Though he had repeatedly and explicitly written to the
President that he knew nothing as to what the Confederates in
Canada might or would propose as a basis of adjustment … it
was expected on the President's part that he was virtually and
substantially to negotiate and settle the basis of a
pacification with them; so that their visit to Washington was,
in effect, to be the result, and not the possible occasion, of
adjustment und peace. … The whole matter thus terminated in
failure and disappointment, with some exasperation on the
Rebel side, and very decided condemnation on the part of the
opposition. … Happily, another negotiation—even more irregular
and wholly clandestine—had simultaneously been in progress at
Richmond, with a similar result. Rev. Colonel James F. Jaques,
73d Illinois, with Mr. J. R. Gilmore, of New York, had, with
President Lincoln's knowledge, but without his formal
permission, paid a visit to the Confederate capital on a Peace
errand; being allowed to pass through the lines of both armies
for the purpose.
{3535}
Arrived in Richmond they addressed a joint letter to Judah P.
Benjamin, Secretary of State, requesting an interview with
President Davis, which was accorded; and a long, familiar,
earnest colloquy ensued, wherein the Confederate chief
presented his ultimatum in these terms: … The North was mad
and blind; it would not let us govern ourselves; and so the
war came; and now it must go on till the last man of this
generation falls in his tracks, and his children seize his
musket and fight our battle, unless you acknowledge our right
to self-government. We are not fighting for Slavery, we are
fighting for Independence; and that or extermination we will
have'. … Thus it was not only incontestably settled but
proclaimed, through the volunteered agency of two citizens,
that the War must go on until the Confederacy should be
recognized as an independent power, or till it should be
utterly, finally overthrown. The knowledge of this fact was
worth more than a victory to the National cause."
H. Greeley,
The American Conflict,
volume 2, chapter 30.
ALSO IN:
E. McPherson,
Political History of the United States
during the Great Rebellion,
pages 301-307.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (July: Virginia-Maryland.)
Early in the Shenandoah Valley.
His invasion of Maryland and approach to Washington.
"… [General Jubal Anderson] Early had forced Hunter into the
Kanawha region far enough to feel assured that Lynchburg could
not again be threatened from that direction;
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (MAY-JUNE: VIRGINIA).
[Early then] united to his own corps General John C.
Breckenridge's infantry division and the cavalry of Generals
J. H. Vaughn, John McCausland, B. T. Johnson, and J. D.
Imboden, which heretofore had been operating in southwest and
western Virginia under General Robert Ransom, Jr., and with
the column thus formed, was ready to turn his attention to the
lower Shenandoah Valley. At Early's suggestion General Lee
authorized him to move north at an opportune moment, cross the
upper Potomac into Maryland and threaten Washington. … By
rapid marching Early reached Winchester on the 2d of July, and
on the 4th occupied Martinsburg, driving General Sigel out of
that place the same day that Hunter's troops, after their
fatiguing retreat through the mountains, reached Charlestown,
West Virginia. Early was thus enabled to cross the Potomac
without difficulty, when, moving around Harper's Ferry,
through the gaps of the South Mountain, he found his path
unobstructed till he reached the Monocacy, where Ricketts's
division of the Sixth Corps, and some raw troops that had been
collected by General Lew Wallace, met and held the
Confederates till the other reinforcements that had been
ordered to the capital from Petersburg could be brought up.
Wallace contested the line of the Monocacy with obstinacy, but
had to retire finally toward Baltimore. The road was then open
to Washington, and Early marched to the outskirts and began
against the capital the demonstrations [July 11-12] which were
designed to divert the Army of the Potomac from its main
purpose in front of Petersburg. Early's audacity in thus
threatening Washington had caused some concern to the
officials in the city, but as the movement was looked upon by
General Grant as a mere foray which could have no decisive
issue, the Administration was not much disturbed till the
Confederates came in close proximity. Then was repeated the
alarm and consternation of two years before, fears for the
safety of the capital being magnified by the confusion and
discord existing among the different generals in Washington
and Baltimore; and the imaginary dangers vanished only with
the appearance of General Wright, who with the Sixth Corps and
one division of the Nineteenth Corps, pushed out to attack
Early as soon as he could get his arriving troops in hand, but
under circumstances that precluded celerity of movement; and
as a consequence the Confederates escaped with little injury,
retiring across the Potomac to Leesburg, unharassed save by
some Union cavalry that had been sent out into Loudoun County
by Hunter, who in the meantime had arrived at Harper's Ferry
by the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. From Leesburg Early
retired through Winchester toward Strasburg, but when the head
of his column reached this place he found that he was being
followed by General Crook with the combined troops of Hunter
and Sigel only, Wright having returned to Washington under
orders to rejoin Meade at Petersburg. This reduction of the
pursuing force tempting Early to resume the offensive, he
attacked Crook at Kernstown, and succeeded in administering
such a check as to necessitate this general's retreat to
Martinsburg, and finally to Harper's Ferry. Crook's withdrawal
restored to Early the line of the upper Potomac, so,
recrossing this stream, he advanced again into Maryland, and
sending McCausland on to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, laid that
town in ashes [July 30] leaving 3,000 non-combatants without
shelter or food. … This second irruption of Early and his
ruthless destruction of Chambersburg led to many
recommendations on the part of General Grant looking to a
speedy elimination of the confusion then existing among the
Union forces along the upper Potomac, but for a time the
authorities at Washington would approve none of his
propositions. … Finally the manœuvres of Early and the raid to
Chambersburg compelled a partial compliance, though Grant had
somewhat circumvented the difficulty already by deciding to
appoint a commander for the forces in the field that were to
operate against Early. On the 31st of July General Grant
selected me as this commander. … On the evening of August 1, I
was relieved from immediate duty with the Army of the Potomac,
but not from command of the cavalry as a corps organization. I
arrived at Washington on the 4th of August, and the next day
received instructions from General Halleck, to report to
General Grant at Monocacy Junction, whither he had gone direct
from City Point, in consequence of a characteristic despatch
from the President indicating his disgust with the confusion,
disorder and helplessness prevailing along the upper Potomac,
and intimating that Grant's presence there was necessary."
P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 1, chapter 23.
ALSO IN:
G. E. Pond,
The Shenandoah Valley in 1864,
chapters 4-6.
F. Sigel,
Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
{3536}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (July: Virginia).
The siege of Petersburg: The Mine.
"Burnside's corps held a position directly in front of
Petersburg, including a point where our lines, owing to the
nature of the ground, had been pushed up to within 150 yards
of the enemy's, where a fort projected beyond their average
front. Under this fort a mine had been run from a convenient
ravine or hollow within our lines, which was entirely screened
from the enemy's observation; and this mine would seem to have
been completed not only without countermining by the Rebels,
but without being even suspected by them; though a report of
its existence (probably founded on the story of some deserter
or prisoner) was printed in one of the Richmond journals. All
being ready, the morning of July 30th was fixed for springing
the mine; which was to be instantly followed, of course, by
the opening of our guns all along the front, and by an assault
at the chasm opened in the enemy's defences by the explosion.
… The explosion took place; hoisting the fort into the air,
annihilating its garrison of 300 men, and leaving in its stead
a gigantic hollow or crater of loose earth, 150 feet long by
some 60 wide and 25 to 30 deep. Instantly, our guns opened all
along the front; and the astounded enemy may well have
supposed them the thunders of doom. But it was indispensable
to success that a column of assault should rush forward
instantly and resolutely, so as to clear the chasm and gain
the crest before the foe should recover from his surprise;
and, on this vital point failure had already been secured. The
9th corps, as then constituted, was not that from which any
commanding general would have selected a storming party; yet
because it was Burnside's mine, his corps was, without
discussion, allowed to furnish the column of assault. His
inspecting officer had reported that, of its four divisions,
that composed of Blacks was fittest for this perilous service;
but Grant, discrediting this, had directed that one of the
three White divisions should be chosen. Thereupon, the leaders
of these divisions were allowed to cast lots to see which of
them should go in—or rather which two of them should stay
out—and the lot fell on the 1st, Brigadier-General Ledlie—and
no man in the army believed this other than the worst choice
of the three. … Several minutes passed—precious, fatal
minutes!—before Ledlie's division, clearing with difficulty
the obstacles in its path—went forward into the chasm, and
there stopped, though the enemy at that point were still
paralyzed and the deciding crest completely at our mercy. Then
parts of Burnside's two remaining White divisions (Potter's
and Wilcox's) followed; but once in the crater, Ledlie's men
barred the way to a farther advance, and all huddled together,
losing their formation and becoming mixed up; General Potter
finally extricating himself, and charging toward the crest;
but with so slender a following that he was soon obliged to
fall back. Two hours were thus shamefully squandered, while
the Rebels recovering their self-possession, were planting
batteries on either side, and mustering their infantry in an
adjacent ravine; and now—when more men in the crater could
only render the confusion more hopeless and magnify the
disaster—Burnside threw in his Black division; which, passing
beyond and rather to the right of the crater, charged toward
the crest, but were met by a fire of artillery and musketry
which speedily hurled them back into the crater, where all
order was lost, all idea of aught beyond personal safety
abandoned, while the enemy's shells and balls poured into it
like hail, rendering it an arena of unresisted slaughter. … A
first Rebel assault on our unfortunates was repulsed in sheer
desperation; and thousands of course took the risk of darting
out of the death-trap and racing at top speed to our lines;
but our loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was 4,400;
while that of the enemy, including 300 blown up in the fort,
was barely 1,000."
H. Greeley,
The American Conflict,
volume 2, pages 590-591.
ALSO IN:
W. H. Powell and others,
The Battle of the Petersburg Crater
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
A. Woodbury,
Burnside and the 9th Army Corps,
part 4, chapter 5.
A. A. Humphreys,
The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865,
chapter 9.
Report of Joint Commission on the Conduct of the War,
38th Congress, 2d Session: volume 1.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (August: Virginia).
The Siege of Petersburg: Fighting for the Weldon Road.
Battle of Reams's Station.
The Dutch Gap Canal.
"Taking advantage of the absence of many of Lee's troops from
Petersburg, Grant made a vigorous movement for securing
possession of the Weldon road, not more than three miles from
the left flank of his lines on the Jerusalem plank road. This
movement was made by Warren, with the Fifth Corps, on the
morning of the 18th of August, and at noon he reached the
coveted railway without opposition, where he left Griffin to
hold the point seized, while with the divisions of Ayres and
Crawford he moved toward Petersburg. He had marched but a
short distance when a division of Confederates suddenly and
heavily fell upon his flank. … Warren held the ground he had
gained at a cost of 1,000 men killed, wounded and prisoners."
The next day (August 19), Lee sent Hill with a heavy force to
drive Warren from the road, and the attempt, desperately made,
was nearly successful, but not quite. Two days later it was
repeated, and the Confederates were repulsed with a loss of
1,200 men. "In his entire movement for the possession of the
road Warren lost, in killed, wounded and missing, 4,450 men.
He now rendered his position almost impregnable, and General
Lee was compelled to see one of his most important lines of
communication wrested from him. On the day of Warren's Victory
[August 21], Hancock, who … had been called from the north
bank of the James [where an unsuccessful demonstration towards
Richmond had been made from Deep Bottom], and who had moved
with part of his corps rapidly toward the Weldon road, in the
rear of Warren, struck that highway north of Reams's Station,
and destroyed the track to that point and some miles south of
it. He formed an intrenched camp at Reams's," and was attacked
there on the 25th by Hill with such determination that he was
forced back to a rear line, "where the troops had been
rallied, and when night fell Hancock withdrew from Reams's
Station. He had lost in the fight 2,400 of his 8,000 men, and
five guns; 1,700 of the men were made prisoners. Hill's loss
was but little less, and he, too, withdrew from Reams's. But
this disaster did not loosen Warren's hold upon the Weldon
road. … For about a month after the battle of Reams's Station
there was comparative quiet along the lines of the opposing
armies. … A strong party of colored soldiers had been set to
work by General Butler on the north side of the James, under
cover of a battery on that side mounting 100-pounder Parrott
guns, in digging a canal across the narrow isthmus of a
peninsula formed by a sharp bend in the river, called Farrar's
Island.
{3537}
By this canal it was intended to secure a nearer base of
operations against Richmond, and afford a passage for the
National war vessels, by which they might flank several
important works of the Confederates." The Dutch Gap Canal, as
it was called, did not prove successful, the necessary depth
of water never being secured during the war, though the canal
has been brought into use since.
B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 3, chapter 13.
ALSO IN:
P. S. Michie,
Dutch Gap Canal
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4, page 575).
O. B. Willcox,
Actions on the Weldon Railroad
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4, page 568).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (August: Alabama).
The Battle of Mobile Bay.
Capture of Confederate forts and fleet.
"After the capitulation of Vicksburg the vessels of the
so-called Gulf Squadron which had been cruising on the lower
Mississippi and its tributaries were in part joined to the
Upper Squadron, under the command of Admiral Porter. The
remainder were recalled to their duties on the outside
blockade. Admiral Farragut was now free to turn his whole
attention to the coast of the Gulf, whither he returned in
January, 1864, after a well-earned rest at the North. Mobile
was now the principal port in the possession of the
Confederates in this quarter, and earnestly did the Admiral
desire to attack and reduce the forts at the entrance of the
bay. But troops were required to invest the forts after the
fleet had passed them, and at this moment it seemed that there
were no troops to be spared. It was also much to be desired
that at least a few monitors should be added to the fleet, but
neither were these as yet available. So the time wore on;
winter passed into spring and spring into summer, but still
the attack was not made. This delay was of incalculable
advantage to the enemy, enabling him to complete his
preparations. The Confederate force afloat in Mobile Bay was
commanded by Admiral Franklin Buchanan. … This force consisted
of only four vessels, but they nevertheless made an important
addition to the defences of the place. Three of them were only
paddle-wheel gun-boats … while the fourth was the iron-clad
ram Tennessee … the most formidable vessel that the
Confederates had ever built. … The City of Mobile lies at the
head of a long bay, which is about 20 miles wide at its lower
end. The greater portion of the bay is very shallow, too
shallow even for vessels of moderate draft. The entrance lies
between a long sandspit … and a shoal. … The ship-channel
between the shoals, five miles in length, is perhaps half a
mile wide at its narrowest point. Two forts guarded the
passage,—on the right hand Fort Morgan, on Mobile Point, and
on the left Fort Gaines, on Dauphin Island. … In addition to
the land and naval defences, additional protection had been
given by obstructions in the water. A line of piles ran out
from Fort Gaines, which was continued nearly across the main
ship-channel by a triple line of torpedoes. The eastern end of
the row of torpedoes was marked by a red buoy, and between the
buoy and Fort Morgan the channel had been left open for
blockade runners. The open space, only 100 yards wide, lay
directly under the guns of the fort, and it was through this
narrow passage that Admiral Farragut intended to carry his
fleet. The ships were gradually assembled toward the latter
part of July. The Admiral's plan of action was simple, but in
the highest degree effective. His fleet consisted of four
monitors and fourteen wooden vessels, seven of the latter
large and seven small. The wooden vessels were arranged in
pairs, as at Port Hudson, each of the larger vessels having a
smaller one lashed to her port side, so that if one was
disabled the engines of the other would carry both past the
forts. The four monitors were placed in a flanking column
inshore, between the fleet and Fort Morgan. … At six o'clock
on the morning of the 5th of August the fleet started with the
flood tide. The Admiral took up his position in the port main
rigging of the Hartford, so that he might have a good post of
observation. [According to accounts given by officers who were
on board the Hartford, Admiral Farragut climbed the rigging,
after the battle began, in order to get above the thickest of
the smoke, and Captain Drayton sent a man to lash him where he
stood, so that, if wounded, he might not fall to the deck]. …
Above the fort, and just beyond the obstructions, lay the
Confederate ram Tennessee and her three attendant gunboats. …
Soon after half-past six the Tecumseh [the leading monitor]
fired the first two shots at Fort Morgan. For half an hour
after this, the ships advanced in silence. Then the fort
opened on the Brooklyn, and presently the whole line of
vessels was hotly engaged. Their concentrated fire kept down
that of the enemy, and all seemed at this time to be going
well with the fleet. The Tecumseh, though all the while
advancing, was now silent, reserving her fire for the
Tennessee, which lay beyond the obstructions. Captain Craven
saw the red buoy, but it seemed so close to the beach that he
thought there must have been a mistake in his orders; and
altering his course, he headed straight for the Tennessee,
passing to the westward of the buoy right over the line of
torpedoes. Suddenly there came a frightful explosion; the huge
mass of iron gave a lurch first to one side, then to the
other; her bow made one downward plunge, her screw was seen
for a moment revolving high in air, and she sank to the bottom
of the channel. Of 120 men on board only 21 were saved. … From
the Brooklyn, leading the main column, something was now
descried in the water ahead which resembled torpedo-buoys, and
the sloop, with the Octorara lashed to her side, suddenly
stopped, and in a moment they were backing down on the vessels
astern of them. The bows of the two ships turned, falling off
towards the fort, so that they blocked up the channel. The
Hartford, the Admiral's flag-ship, which was next astern, also
stopped to prevent a collision, but she was drifting fast with
the Metacomet toward the two vessels ahead, and the Richmond
and Port Royal were close upon them, followed by the others.
At that moment it seemed as if nothing could save the vessels
of the fleet from being thrown into hopeless confusion, massed
together as they were directly under the guns of the fort. It
was in that moment, at the crisis of the battle, that the calm
and dauntless spirit of the Admiral rose to its greatest
height. … 'Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!'
came the command, in clear, ringing tones from the Admiral's
place in the rigging.
{3538}
In a moment the Hartford had turned, and dashing with the
Metacomet past the Brooklyn, rushed straight over the barrier.
Snap, snap, went the primers of the torpedoes under the bottom
of the ship,—the officers and men could hear them,—but no
explosion followed, and the Hartford passed safely into the
waters above. Meanwhile the four ships lay entangled under
Fort Morgan. A collision seemed inevitable, but Captain
Jenkins of the Richmond, an officer of cool head and splendid
courage, backed away from the others, and began a furious
cannonade on the fort with his whole broadside, driving the
enemy out of the water-batteries. The Brooklyn was by this
means able to recover, and presently she steamed ahead,
followed by the Richmond and the rest of the fleet. … No
sooner was the battle with the fort over than a new battle
began with the Tennessee. The moment that the ships had fairly
entered the bay, the Confederate ram … came charging down the
whole line, taking each vessel in turn," but doing no serious
injury to any. On the arrival of the monitors, which had
lagged behind, "the Tennessee took refuge under the guns of
the fort, and the fleet rejoined the Hartford, now four miles
up the bay." Meantime the Hartford and the Metacomet had
disposed of two of the Confederate gunboats: the Selma, which
surrendered, and the Gaines, which had been run ashore and set
on fire. The third, the Morgan, took shelter, with the
Tennessee, near the fort. "The Hartford had by this time come
to anchor, and her crew went to breakfast. The other ships
gradually joined her. But the battle was not yet over. It was
now a little before nine o'clock, and suddenly the Tennessee
was reported approaching." In the battle which ensued, the
stout iron-clad was rammed repeatedly by the Monongahela, the
Lackawanna, the Hartford and the Ossipee, and pounded by the
terrible guns of the monitor Chickasaw, until, with her
commander wounded, her tiller-chains and smoke stack gone, her
port shutters jammed, and her armor starting from the frame,
she raised the white flag. "A few days later the forts
surrendered, and Mobile, as a Confederate port, ceased to
exist. The fall of the city did not come about until some time
afterward; indeed no immediate attempt was made upon it, for
the capture of the forts and the occupation of Mobile Bay
served every purpose of the Federal Government."
J. R. Soley,
The Sailor Boys of '61,
chapter 13.
"This great victory cost the Union fleet 335 men. … The losses
in the rebel fleet were 10 killed and 16 wounded—confined to
the Tennessee and Selma—and 280 prisoners taken. The loss in
the forts is unknown."
Loyal Farragut,
Life of David Glasgow Farragut,
chapter 27.
ALSO IN:
J. O. Kinney and J. D. Johnston;
Farragut at Mobile Bay,
and
The Ram Tennessee at Mobile Bay,
(Battles and Leaders, volume 3).
A. T. Mahan,
The Gulf and Inland Waters
(The Navy in the Civil War, volume 3),
chapter 8.
A. T. Mahan,
Admiral Farragut,
chapter 10.
Official Records,
Series 1, volume 39.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (August-October: Virginia).
Sheridan's Victories in the Shenandoah Valley.
Winchester.
Fisher's Hill.
Cedar Creek.
The famous Ride.
"The events of July showed the urgent need of unity of command
in Northern Virginia, and the lieutenant-general, in August,
consolidated these four departments [of Washington, the
Susquehanna, West Virginia and the Middle Department] into
one, named the Middle Military Division, under General Hunter.
That officer, however, before entering on the proposed
campaign, expressed a willingness to be relieved, and General
P. H. Sheridan, who had been transferred from the Army of the
Potomac to the command of the forces in the field under
Hunter, was appointed in his stead." General Sheridan was
appointed to the command on the 7th of August, and took the
field with an effective force (which included the Sixth and
Nineteenth Corps) of 40,000 men, 10,000 being cavalry. "His
operations during that month and the fore part of September
were mainly confined to manœuvres having for their object to
prevent the Confederates from gaining the rich harvests of the
Shenandoah Valley. But after once or twice driving Early
southward to Strasburg, he each time returned on his path
towards Harper's Ferry. General Grant had hesitated in
allowing Sheridan to take a real initiative, as defeat would
lay open to the enemy the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania
before another army could be interposed to check him. Finding,
however, while on a personal visit to General Sheridan, in the
month of September, that that officer expressed great
confidence of success, he authorized him to attack. At this
time the Confederate force held the west bank of Opequan
Creek, covering Winchester; and the Union force lay in front
of Berryville, twenty miles south of Harper's Ferry. The
situation of the opposing armies was peculiar: each threatened
the communications of the other, and either could bring on a
battle at any time. It would appear that General Early had
designed assuming the offensive." He made a movement which
General Sheridan was prompt to take advantage of, on the
morning of September 19th, and a battle ensued—known as the
battle of Winchester, but some times called the battle of
Opequan Creek—which resulted in a victory for the latter. "It
is due to state that there was a great disparity in the
numbers engaged—Early's force consisting of 8,500 muskets and
3,000 sabres, while Sheridan's strength was thrice that of the
aggregate Confederate force. Sheridan's preponderance in horse
enabled him to extend far beyond and overlap the Confederate
left, and when, after several hours of indecisive fighting
between the infantry, a general advance was, at four P. M.,
made by the whole line, the cavalry, by an impetuous charge,
carried the fortified heights: the Confederates … broke in
confusion, retiring from the field and through Winchester,
with the Union forces in pursuit. Night, however, prevented
Sheridan from following up the victory, among the trophies of
which were 2,500 prisoners, five pieces of artillery, and nine
battle-flags. … After his defeat at Winchester, Early did not
pause in his southward retreat till he reached Fisher's Hill,
near Strasburg, 30 miles south of Winchester. This is a very
defensible position, commanding the débouché of the narrow
Strasburg valley between the north fork of the Shenandoah
River and the North Mountain. On these obstacles Early rested
his flank. In front of this position Sheridan arrived on the
morning of the 22d and formed his force for a direct attack,
while he sent Torbert with two divisions of cavalry by the
parallel Luray Valley, to gain New Market, 20 miles in Early's
rear. After much manœuvring, and several ineffectual efforts
to force the position, an attack of cavalry was made from the
right.
{3539}
Under cover of this mask a corps of infantry was moved to that
flank, and by an impetuous assault carried the Confederate
left resting on the North Mountain. A general attack in front
then disrupted Early's whole line, and the Confederates
retired in great disorder, leaving behind 16 pieces of
artillery and several hundred prisoners. … Early's retreat was
not stayed until he reached the lower passes of the Blue
Ridge, whither he retired with a loss of half his army.
Sheridan, after pushing the pursuit as far as Staunton, and
operating destructively against the Virginia Central Railroad,
returned and took position behind Cedar Creek near Strasburg.
Previously to abandoning the country south of Strasburg, it
was laid waste by the destruction of all barns, grain, forage,
farming implements, and mills. The desolution of the
Palatinate by Turenne was not more complete. On the withdrawal
of Sheridan, Early, after a brief respite, and being
re-enforced by Kershaw's division of infantry and 600 cavalry
from Lee's army, again marched northward down the Valley, and
once more ensconced himself at Fisher's Hill. Sheridan
continued to hold position on the north bank of Cedar Creek.
Nothing more important than cavalry combats, mostly favorable
to the Federal arms, took place, until the 19th of October,
when Early assumed a bold offensive that was near giving him a
victory as complete as the defeat he had suffered. … The army
was, at this time, temporarily under the command of General
Wright—Sheridan being absent at Washington. The position held
by the Union force was too formidable to invite open attack,
and Early's only opportunity was to make a surprise. This that
officer now determined on, and its execution was begun during
the night of the 18-19th of October." A flanking column,
"favored by a heavy fog … attained, unperceived, the rear of
the left flank of the Union force, formed by Crook's Corps …
and rushed into the camp—the troops awaking only to find
themselves prisoners. To rally the men in their bewilderment
was impossible, and Crook's Corps, being thoroughly broken up,
fled in disorder, leaving many guns in the hands of the enemy.
As soon as this flank attack was developed, Early, with his
other column, emerged from behind the hills west of Cedar
Creek, and crossing that stream, struck directly the troops on
the right of Crook. This served to complete the disaster, and
the whole Union left and centre became a confused mass,
against which the Confederates directed the captured artillery
(18 guns), while the flanking force swept forward to the main
turnpike. Such was the scene on which the light of day dawned.
The only force not yet involved in the enemy's onset was the
Sixth Corps, which by its position was somewhat in rear. With
this General Ricketts quickly executed a change of front,
throwing it forward at right angles to its former position,
and firmly withstood the enemy's shock. Its chief service was,
however, to cover the general retreat which Wright now
ordered, as the only practicable means of reuniting his force.
… At the first good position between Middletown and Newtown,
Wright was able to rally and reform the troops, form a compact
line, and prepare either to resist further attack, or himself
resume the offensive. It was at this time, about half-past ten
A. M., that General Sheridan arrived upon the field from
Winchester, where he had slept the previous night. Hearing the
distant sounds of battle rolling up from the south, Sheridan
rode post to the front, where arriving, his electric manner
had on the troops a very inspiriting effect. General Wright
had already brought order out of confusion and made
dispositions for attack. … A counter-charge was begun at three
o'clock in the afternoon. … A large part of Early's force, in
the intoxication of success, had abandoned their colors and
taken to plundering the abandoned Federal camps. The refluent
wave was as resistless as the Confederate surge had been. …
The retreat soon became a rout. … In the pursuit all the
captured guns were retaken and 23 in addition, The captures
included, besides, near 1,500 prisoners. … With this defeat of
Early all operations of moment in the Shenandoah forever
ended," and most of the troops on both sides were recalled to
the main field of operations, at Petersburg.
W. Swinton,
Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac,
chapter 12, part 8.
ALSO IN:
P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 2, chapters 1-4.
G. E. Pond,
The Shenandoah Valley in 1864,
chapters 7-13.
M. M. Granger,
The Battle of Cedar Creek
(Sketches of War History, Ohio Commandery,
L. L. of the United States, volume 3).
W. Merritt,
Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley.
J. A. Early,
Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
R. B. Irwin,
History of the 19th Army Corps,
chapters 33-34.
H. C. King,
The Battle of Cedar Creek
(Personal Recollections of the War:
New York Com. L. L. of the United States).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (September-October: Georgia)
Atlanta cleared of its former inhabitants.
Sherman's Preparations for the March to the Sea.
Hood's Raid to the rear.
"During the month of September, Sherman's army remained
grouped about Atlanta. … The Army of the Cumberland, under
Major-General Thomas, held Atlanta; the Army of the Tennessee,
commanded by Major-General Howard, was at East Point; and the
Army of the Ohio occupied Decatur. … Sherman now determined to
make Atlanta exclusively a military post. On the 4th of
September he issued the following orders: 'The city of Atlanta
belonging exclusively for warlike purposes, it will at once be
vacated by all except the armies of the United States and such
civilian employes as may be retained by the proper departments
of the Government.' … This order fell upon the ears of the
inhabitants of Atlanta like a thunderbolt." To a remonstrance
addressed to him by the mayor and two councilmen of the city,
he replied: "We must have peace, not only at Atlanta, but in
all America. To secure this we must stop the war that now
desolates our once happy and favored country. To stop the war,
we must defeat the rebel armies that are arrayed against the

laws and Constitution, which all must respect and obey. To
defeat these armies, we must prepare the way to reach them in
their recesses. … My military plans make it necessary for the
inhabitants to go away, and I can only renew my offer of
services to make their exodus in any direction as easy and
comfortable as possible. … War is cruelty and you cannot
refine it; and those who brought war on our country deserve
all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. … You
might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against
these terrible hardships of war." A truce of ten days was
arranged, during which "446 families were moved south,
comprising 705 adults, 860 children and 79 servants, with an
average of 1,651 pounds of furniture and household goods of
all kinds to each family."
S. M. Bowman and R. B. Irwin,
Sherman and his Campaigns,
chapter 18.
{3540}
"Gen. Hood, meanwhile, kept his forces in the neighborhood of
Jonesboro, receiving his supplies by the Macon road. His army
numbered about 40,000 men, exclusive of the Georgia militia;
and, as if to show that no immediate offensive movement was
contemplated, the latter were withdrawn from him by Governor
Brown soon after the evacuation of Atlanta. … To allow their
principal Southern army to rust in inactivity, was not however
the intention of the rebel authorities. … Something must be
done, and that speedily, to arrest the progress of the Federal
army, or Georgia and perhaps the Gulf States, would be
irretrievably lost. … The whole army of General Hood, it was
decided, should rapidly move in a compact body to the rear of
Atlanta, and, after breaking up the railroad between the
Chattahoochee and Chattanooga, push on to Bridgeport and
destroy the great railroad bridge spanning the Tennessee river
at that place. Should this be accomplished, Atlanta would be
isolated from Chattanooga, and the latter in turn isolated
from Nashville, and General Sherman, cut off from his primary
and secondary bases, would find Atlanta but a barren conquest
to be relinquished almost as soon as gained, and would be
obliged to return to Tennessee. Atlanta would then fall from
lack of provisions, or in consequence of the successful
attacks of the Georgia militia. In connection with this
movement, General Forrest, confessedly their ablest cavalry
officer, was already operating in Southern Tennessee. … A week
sufficed to complete General Hood's arrangements, and by the
2d of October his army was across the Chattahoochee and on the
march to Dallas, where the different corps were directed to
concentrate. At this point he was enabled to threaten Rome and
Kingston, as well as the fortified places on the railroad to
Chattanooga; and there remained open, in case of defeat, a
line of retreat southwest into Alabama. From Dallas he
advanced east toward the railroad, and, on the 4th, captured
the insignificant stations of Big Shanty and Ackworth,
effecting a thorough destruction of the road between the two
places. He also sent a division under General French to
capture the Federal post at Allatoona Pass, where he had
ascertained that a million and a half of rations for the
Federal army were stored, on which he probably depended to
replenish his commissariat. … General Sherman, … immediately
upon hearing that General Hood had crossed the Chattahoochee,
… despatched General Corse with reënforcements to Rome, which
he supposed the enemy were aiming at. During the previous week
he had sent General Thomas with troops to Nashville to look
after Forrest. His bridges having meanwhile been carried away
by a freshet which filled the Chattahoochee, he was unable to
move his main body until the 4th, when three pontoons were
laid down, over which the armies of the Cumberland, the
Tennessee, and the Ohio crossed, and took up their march in
the direction of Marietta, with 15 days' rations. The 20th
corps, General Slocum, was left to garrison Atlanta. Learning
that the enemy had captured Big Shanty and Ackworth, and were
threatening Allatoona, and alive to the imperative necessity
of holding the latter place, General Sherman at once
communicated by signals instruction to General Corse at Rome
to reënforce the small garrison and hold the defences until
the main body of the Federal army could come to his
assistance. Upon receiving the message General Corse placed
900 men on the cars, and reached Allatoona before the attack
of French. With this addition the garrison numbered 1,700 men,
with six guns. Early on the morning of the 5th, General
French, with 7,000 troops, approached Allatoona, and summoned
the Federal commander, 'in order to save the unnecessary
effusion of blood,' to make an immediate surrender; to which
the latter replied: 'I shall not surrender, and you can
commence the unnecessary effusion of blood whenever you
please.' The battle opened at 8 A. M., and was waged hotly
until 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Driven from fort to fort,
until they reached their last defence, the garrison fought
with an obstinacy and desperation worthy of the great stake
for which they contended. Their general was wounded early in
the action, but relaxed in no degree his efforts to repel the
enemy. … During the heat of the contest General Sherman
reached the summit of Kenesaw Mountain, whence he repeatedly
signalled to General Corse to hold out to the last. The
announcement of approaching succor animated the garrison to
renewed exertions, and they threw back the assaulting columns
of the enemy again and again, finally compelling them to
retire, beaten and disheartened, in the direction of Dallas.
Their retreat was hastened by the rapid approach of Stanley's
(4th) corps from the direction of Pine Mountain. The enemy
left 700 to 800 killed, wounded and prisoners in the hands of
the Federals, and their total loss must have exceeded 1,000.
The garrison lost 600 men. The town of Allatoona was reduced
to a mere wreck by the [severe fire of the enemy, and all the
Federal artillery and cavalry horses were killed; but the
valuable stores were saved, and the fort and pass held. The
only important injury done by the rebels, was the destruction
of six or seven miles of railroad between Big Shanty and
Allatoona, which General Sherman immediately commenced to
repair. For several days subsequent to the fight at Allatoona,
General Sherman remained in the latter place, watching the
movements of Hood, who, he suspected, would march for Rome,
and thence toward Bridgeport, or else to Kingston. … General
Hood, however, crossing the Etowah and avoiding Rome, moved
directly north, and on the 12th Stuart's corps of his army
appeared in front of Resaca, the defences of which were held
by Colonel Weaver with 600 men and three pieces of artillery.
… No serious attack was made upon the garrison, the enemy
being more intent upon destroying the railroad toward Dalton
than wasting their time or strength upon the reduction of a
post, the possession of which they wisely considered would be
of no particular advantage to them. … Meanwhile the rebel
army, pursuing its devastating march north, reached Dalton on
the 14th. … The 14th and 15th were employed by the enemy in
continuing the destruction of the railroad as far as Tunnel
Hill. …
{3541}
The approach of the Federal columns now warned General Hood to
move off to the west, and the 16th found him in full retreat
for Lafayette, followed by General Sherman. … From Lafayette
the enemy retreated in a southwesterly direction into Alabama
through a broken and mountainous country, but scantily
supplied with food for man or beast; and passing through
Summerville, Gaylesville, and Blue Pond, halted at Gadsdens,
on the Coosa River, 75 miles from Lafayette. Here he paused
for several days, receiving a few reënforcements brought up by
General Beauregard, who had on the 17th assumed command of the
Confederate military division of the West. … General Hood
still retained his special command, subject to the supervision
or direction of General Beauregard, and his army, after
remaining a few days in Gadsden, moved, about the 1st of
November, for Warrington, on the Tennessee River, 30 miles
distant. General Sherman meanwhile remained at Gaylesville,
which place his main body reached about the 21st, watching the
enemy's movements. … Whatever … might be the final result of
Hood's flanking movement, it had entirely failed to interrupt
the Federal communications to a degree that would compel the
evacuation of Atlanta. … In the light of subsequent events it
would now appear that General Sherman, making only a show of
following his adversary, deliberately lured him into Northern
Alabama, for the purpose of pursuing an uninterrupted march
with his own army through the heart of Georgia. The
ill-advised plan of General Hood had given him the very
opportunity which he desired, and he prepared at once to avail
himself of it."
W. J. Tenney,
Military and Naval History in the United States,
chapter 45.
ALSO IN:
J. D. Cox,
Atlanta
(Campaigns of the Civil war, volume 9),
chapter 17.
W. T. Sherman,
Memoirs,
chapter 19 (volume 2).
T. B. Van Horne,
Life of Major-General George H. Thomas,
volume 2, chapter 12.
J. B. Hood,
Advance and Retreat,
chapter 15.
Official Records,
1st Series, volume 39.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (October).
Admission of Nevada into the Union.
See NEVADA: A. D. 1848-1864.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (October).
Report on secret disloyal associations in the North.
Knights of the Golden Circle, etc.
"During more than a year past [this report bears date October
8, 1864], it has been generally known to our military
authorities that a secret and treasonable organization,
affiliated with the Southern Rebellion, and chiefly military
in its character, has been rapidly extending itself throughout
the West. A variety of agencies … have been employed, and
successfully, to ascertain its nature and extent, as well as
its aims and its results; and, as this investigation has led
to the arrest, in several States, of a number of its prominent
members, as dangerous public enemies, it has been deemed
proper to set forth in full the acts and purposes of this
organization. … This secret association first developed itself
in the West in the year 1862, about the period [August] of the
first conscription of troops, which it aimed to obstruct and
resist. Originally known in certain localities as the 'Mutual
Protection Society,' the 'Circle of Honor,' or the 'Circle' or
'Knights of the Mighty Host,' but more widely as the 'Knights
of the Golden Circle,' it was simply an inspiration of the
Rebellion, being little other than an extension, among the
disloyal and disaffected at the North, of the association of
the latter name, which had existed for some years at the South
[see GOLDEN CIRCLE, KNIGHTS OF], and from which it derived all
the chief features of its organization. During the Summer and
Fall of 1863, the Order, both at the North and South,
underwent some modifications as well as a change of name. In
consequence of a partial exposure which had been made of the
signs and ritual of the Knights of the Golden Circle, Sterling
Price had instituted, as its successor in Missouri, a secret
political association, which he called the Corps de Belgique,
or Southern League, his principal coadjutor being Charles L.
Hunt, of St. Louis, then Belgian Consul at that city. …
Meanwhile, also, there had been instituted at the North, in
the autumn of 1863, by sundry disloyal persons, prominent
among whom were Vallandigham and P. C. Wright, of New York, a
secret, Order intended to be general throughout the country …
and which was termed, and has since been widely known as the
O. A. K., or 'Order of American Knights.' … The secret signs
and character of the Order having become known to our military
authorities, further modifications in the ritual and forms
were introduced, and its name was finally changed to that of
the O. S. L., or 'Order of the Sons of Liberty,' or the
'Knights of the Order of the Sons of Liberty.' These later
changes are represented to have been first instituted … in May
last [1864], but the new name was at once generally adopted
throughout the West, though in some localities the association
is still better known as the 'Order of American Knights.'
Meanwhile, also, the Order has received certain local
designations. In parts of Illinois it has been called at times
the 'Peace Organization,' in Kentucky the 'Star Organization,'
and in Missouri the 'American Organization;' these, however,
being apparently names used outside of the lodges of the
Order. Its members have also been familiarly designated as
'Butternuts' by the country people of Illinois, Indiana, and
Ohio. … The 'Temples' or 'Lodges' of the Order are numerously
scattered through the States of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio,
Missouri, and Kentucky. They are also officially reported as
established, to a less extent, in Michigan and the other
Western States, as well as in New York, Pennsylvania, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland,
Delaware, and Tennessee. … It has been asserted by delegates
to the Supreme Council of February last, that the number was
there represented to be from 800,000 to 1,000,000; but
Vallandigham, in his speech last summer at Dayton, Ohio,
placed it at 500,000, which is probably much nearer the true
total. … Although the Order has, from the outset, partaken of
the military character, it was not till the summer or fall of
1863 that it began to be generally organized as an armed
body.' … In March last the entire armed force of the Order
capable of being mobilized for effective service was
represented to be 340,000 men."
J. Holt,
Judge Advocate General's Report on Secret Associations
and Conspiracies against the Government.
ALSO IN:
E. McPherson,
Political History of the United States
during the Great Rebellion,
appendix, pages 445-454.
J. A. Logan,
The Great Conspiracy,
page 499, and appendix chapter B.
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapter 1.
See, also, COPPERHEADS.
{3542}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (October).
The St. Albans Raid.
"Along the Northern border … the rebel agents, sent thither on
'detached service' by the Rebel Government, were active in
movements intended to terrify and harass the people. On the
19th of October, a party of them made a raid into St. Albans,
Vermont, robbing the banks there, and making their escape
across the lines into Canada with their plunder, having killed
one of the citizens in their attack. Pursuit was made, and
several of the marauders were arrested in Canada. Proceedings
were commenced to procure their extradition [which were
protracted until after the close of the war]. … The Government
received information that this affair was but one of a
projected series, and that similar attempts would be made all
along the frontier. More than this, there were threats,
followed by actual attempts, to set fire to the principal
Northern cities."
H. J. Raymond,
Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln,
page 611.
ALSO IN:
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapter 1.
Correspondence relating to the Fenian Invasion
and the Rebellion of the Southern States
(Ottawa, 1869), pages 117-138.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (October: North Carolina).
The destruction of the ram Albemarle.
The ram Albemarle, which had proved in the spring so dangerous
an antagonist to the blockading vessels in the North Carolina
Sounds, was still lying at Plymouth, in the Roanoke River, and
another attack from her was feared by the fleet.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864
(APRIL-MAY: NORTH CAROLINA).
"She was finally destroyed by a brave young lieutenant,
William B. Cushing, who blew her up with a torpedo. Though
only twenty years old, he was one of the most daring officers
in the navy, and he had become noted for his fearlessness in
the expeditions in the sounds and rivers of North Carolina.
One dark night (October 27) he set out from the fleet in a
steam launch—a long open boat used by naval vessels—with a
crew of thirteen officers and men. The launch was fitted with
a torpedo which could be run out forward on the end of a long
boom so as to be thrust under the vessel to be attacked.
Cushing got within sixty feet of the Albemarle before his boat
was seen. The guards then shouted the alarm, rang the boat's
bell, and began firing their muskets at the launch. There was
a raft of logs thirty feet wide around the Albemarle to
protect her from just such attacks, but Cushing ran the bow of
the launch upon the logs, lowered the boom so that the torpedo
came right under the side of the vessel, and fired it. At the
same moment a shot from one of the great guns of the ram
crashed through the launch, and it was overwhelmed by a flood
of water thrown up by the explosion of the torpedo. The
Confederates called out to Cushing to surrender, but he
refused, and ordering his men to save themselves as they best
could, he sprang into the water amid a shower of musket balls
and swam down the river. He succeeded in reaching the shore,
almost exhausted, and hid himself during the next day in a
swamp, where he was cared for by some negroes. From them he
heard that the Albemarle had been sunk by his torpedo. The
next night he found a small boat in a creek, paddled in it
down the river, and before midnight was safe on board one of
the vessels of the fleet. Only one other man of the party
escaped, all the rest being either drowned or captured. The
Albemarle being thus put out of the way, Plymouth was
recaptured a few days afterward."
J. D. Champlin, Jr.
Young Folks' History of the War for the Union,
chapter 33.
ALSO IN:
W. B. Cushing, E. Holden, and others,
The Confederate Ram Albemarle
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (November: Tennessee).
Hood's advance Northward.
The Battle of Franklin.
When General Sherman started on his march to the sea General
Thomas was left to oppose Hood. "The force Thomas had for this
purpose was curiously small, considering how formidable Hood's
army had been in the Atlanta Campaign, and still was. All
Thomas had for immediate field service were the Fourth and
Twenty-Third Corps, numbering together about 22,000 infantry,
and also about 3,000 cavalry. These troops were sent to
Pulaski, Tennessee, in command of General Schofield, Thomas,
himself remaining at Nashville. A little after the middle of
November, 1864, Hood crossed the Tennessee River and
inaugurated his campaign by a flank movement. He made a rapid
march upon Columbia, with the view of getting in behind
Schofield, who was at Pulaski. But Schofield retired to
Columbia in time to frustrate Hood's plans. The two armies
remained in close proximity to each other at Columbia until
November 28th, when Hood made another skilfully-planned flank
movement … to Spring Hill, in rear of Schofield. Again Hood
was foiled. … General Thomas at Nashville wanted the
Confederates held back as long as possible, in order that he
might have time to receive there his expected reinforcement of
A. J. Smith's corps. It was, therefore, Schofield's duty to
check Hood's advance as long as he could. … He started General
Stanley, with a division of 5,000 men, and a great part of his
artillery, to Spring Hill (12 miles north of Columbia) early
in the morning. He put two other divisions on the road. He
held one division in front of Columbia, and prevented the
enemy from crossing the river during the entire day, and also
that night. Stanley reached Spring Hill in time to prevent
Hood from occupying that place. He skirmished and fought with
Hood's advance troops at Spring Hill during the afternoon of
November 29th. … Schofield … accomplished exactly what he
believed he could accomplish. He held back his enemy at
Columbia with one hand and fenced off the blow at Spring Hill
with the other. … The beneficial result of all this bold
management of Schofield, November 29th, was apparent the next
day in the battle of Franklin. Hood fought that great battle
practically without his artillery. He only had the two
batteries which he took with him on his detour to Spring Hill.
Those two he used. … But his vast supply of artillery had all
been detained at Columbia too long to be of any service at the
time and place it was most needed. … The Federal troops left
Spring Hill in the night for Franklin, ten miles distant.
Early in the morning of November 30th they began to arrive at
Franklin, and were placed in position covering the town. Early
the same morning the Confederates moved up from Spring Hill,
following hard upon the rearmost of the Federals. …
{3543}
General Stanley says, in his official report: 'From one
o'clock until four in the evening, the enemy's entire force
was in sight and forming for attack. Yet, in view of the
strong position we held, and reasoning from the former course
of the rebels during the campaign, nothing appeared so
improbable as that they would assault.'" The assault was made,
however, with a terrible persistency which proved the ruin of
Hood's army, for it failed. "The Confederate loss in this
dreadful battle can be estimated from data given. There is
good authority for stating the killed at 1,750. The usual
proportion of killed and wounded is four or five to one. This
would make the killed and wounded not less than 7,000 or
8,000. The attacking force numbered full 20,000. … Hood's loss
was, indeed, more than one-third of the attacking force. The
Federal loss was much smaller, being 1,222 killed and wounded.
… One of the features of this battle was the enormous
expenditure of ammunition [100 wagon loads] in the short time
of its duration. … The expenditure of so much ammunition
produced a dense smoke, which hung over the field, and brought
on sudden darkness, like an eclipse. So noticeable was this
phenomenon, it is mentioned in all the official reports. … In
the darkness of the night the battle ended. The Confederates
desisted, and the Federal line became quiet. … In their front,
and so near that the outstretched hand could almost reach
them, were thousands of men in the agonies of death. The wail
that went up from that field as the thunder of the battle
ceased can never be forgotten by those who heard it. … The
[Federal] troops were quietly withdrawn before midnight. A
silent rapid march brought them to Nashville the next morning,
and weary with fighting and marching they bivouacked in the
blue grass pastures under the guns of Fort Negley."
T. Speed,
The Battle of Franklin
(Sketches of War History,
Ohio Commandery L. L. of the United States, volume 3).
ALSO IN:
T. B. Van Horne,
Life of General George H. Thomas,
chapter 13.
J. B. Hood,
Advance and Retreat,
chapters 10-17.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (November-December: Georgia).
Sherman's March to the Sea.
"It was at Alatoona, probably, that Sherman first realized
that, with the forces at his disposal, the keeping open of his
line of communications with the North would be impossible if
he expected to retain any force with which to operate
offensively beyond Atlanta.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864
(September-October: Georgia).
He proposed, therefore, to destroy the roads back to
Chattanooga, when all ready to move, and leave the latter
place garrisoned. … Sherman thought Hood would follow him,
though he proposed to prepare for the contingency of the
latter moving the other way while he was moving south, by
making Thomas strong enough to hold Tennessee and Kentucky. I
myself [writes General Grant] was thoroughly satisfied that
Hood would go north, as he did. On the 2d of November I
telegraphed Sherman authorizing him definitely to move
according to the plan he had proposed: that is, cutting loose
from his base, giving up Atlanta and the railroad back to
Chattanooga. … Atlanta was destroyed so far as to render it
worthless for military purposes before starting, Sherman
himself remaining over a day to superintend the work and see
that it was well done. Sherman's orders for this campaign were
perfect. Before starting, he had sent back all sick, disabled
and weak men, retaining nothing but the hardy, well-inured
soldiers to accompany him on his long march in prospect. … The
army was expected to live on the country. … Each brigade
furnished a company to gather supplies of forage and
provisions for the command to which they belonged. … The skill
of these men, called by themselves and the army 'bummers,' in
collecting their loads and getting back to their respective
commands, was marvellous."
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapter 59 (volume 2).
All preparations being completed, General Sherman caused the
foundries, mills and shops of every kind in Rome to be
destroyed on the 10th of November, and "started on the 12th
with his full staff from Kingston to Atlanta. … As Sherman
rode towards Atlanta that night he met railroad trains going
to the rear with furious speed. He was profoundly impressed
with the strange aspect of affairs: two hostile armies
marching in opposite directions, each in the full belief that
it was achieving a final and conclusive result in the great
war. 'I was strongly inspired,' he writes, 'with a feeling
that the movement on our part was a direct attack upon the
rebel army and the rebel capital at Richmond, though a full
thousand miles of hostile country intervened; and that for
better or worse it would end the war.' The result was a
magnificent vindication of this soldierly intuition. His army
consisted in round numbers of 60,000 men, the most perfect in
strength, health, and intelligence that ever went to war. He
had thoroughly purged it of all inefficient material, sending
to the rear all organizations and even all individuals that he
thought would be a drag upon his celerity or strength. His
right wing, under Howard, consisted of the Fifteenth Corps,
commanded by Osterhaus, in the absence of John A. Logan; and
the Seventeenth Corps, commanded by Frank P. Blair, Jr. The
left wing, commanded by Slocum, comprised the Fourteenth
Corps, under Jeff. C. Davis, and the Twentieth Corps, under A.
S. Williams. In his general orders he had not intimated to the
army the object of their march. 'It is sufficient for you to
know,' he said, 'that it involves a departure from our present
base and a long, difficult march to a new one.' His special
field orders are a model of clearness and conciseness. The
habitual order of march was to be, wherever practicable, by
four roads as nearly parallel as possible, and converging at
points to be indicated from time to time. There was to be no
general train of supplies; behind each regiment should follow
one wagon and one ambulance; a due proportion of wagons for
ammunition and provision behind each brigade; the separate
columns were to start at seven in the morning and make about
fifteen miles a day. The army was to subsist liberally on the
country; forage parties, under the command of discreet
officers, were to gather near the routes traveled whatever was
needed by the command, aiming to keep in the wagons a reserve
of at least ten days' provisions; soldiers were strictly
forbidden to enter dwellings of inhabitants or commit
trespasses; the power to destroy mills, houses, cotton gins,
etc., was intrusted to corps commanders alone.
{3544}
No destruction of property was to be permitted in districts
where the army was unmolested; but relentless devastation was
ordered in case of the manifestation of local hostility by the
shooting of soldiers or the burning of bridges. … Precisely at
seven o'clock on the morning of the 16th of November the great
army started on its march. A band struck up the anthem of
'John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave'; the
soldiers caught up the refrain, and, to the swelling chorus of
'Glory, Hallelujah,' the great march was begun. The month that
followed will always remain to those 60,000 men the most
romantic and inspiring memory of their lives. The weather was
favorable all the way; to veterans the marches were of
reasonable length; the work of destroying the Southern
railroads was so easy to their experienced hands that it
hardly delayed the day's march. With the exception of the
affair on the 22d of November, when P. J. Phillips with a
division of Smith's Georgia troops attacked C. C. Walcutt's
Brigade, which was marching as the rear-guard of the right
wing at Griswoldville, and met with a severe repulse, and a
series of cavalry fights between Wheeler and Kilpatrick near
'Waynesboro', there was no fighting to do between Atlanta and
Savannah. A swarm of militia and irregular cavalry hung, it is
true, about the front and flank of the marching army, but were
hardly a source of more annoyance than so many mosquitoes
would have been. The foragers brought in every evening their
heterogeneous supplies from the outlying plantations, and
although they had to defend themselves every day from
scattered forces of the enemy, the casualties which they
reported each evening were insignificant. The utmost efforts
of Sherman and his officers to induce the negroes to remain
quietly at home were not entirely successful. The promise of
freedom which was to come to them from the victory of the
Union cause was too vague and indefinite to content them. …
The simple-hearted freedmen gathered in an ever-increasing
cloud in rear of the army; and when the campaign was over they
peopled the sea-islands of Georgia and furnished, after the
war, the principal employment of the Freedmen's Commission.
The march produced an extraordinary effervescence throughout
the Confederacy. If words could avail anything against heavy
battalions, Sherman would have been annihilated in his first
day's march. … As Sherman drew near to Milledgeville on the
23d of November the Georgia Legislature passed an act to levy
the population en masse; but this act of desperate legislation
had no effect in checking the march of the 'Yankees,' and the
Governor, State officers, and Legislature fled in the utmost
confusion as Sherman entered the place. The Union general
occupied the Executive Mansion for a day; some of the soldiers
went to the State House, organized themselves into a
constituent assembly, and after a spirited mock-serious
debate, repealed the ordinance of secession. Sherman took the
greatest possible pains to prevent any damage to the city and
marched out on the 24th on the way to Millen. … Finding it
impossible to stop him, the Georgia State troops by sharp
marching had made their way directly to the vicinity of
Savannah, where Sherman himself arrived and invested the city
from the Savannah to the little Ogeechee River, on the 10th of
December."
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 9, chapter 20.
On the 13th, Fort McAllister, which commanded the Ogeechee
River, was stormed and taken by Hazen's division, and
communication was opened with Admiral Dahlgren, and with
General Foster, the Union commander at Port Royal. On the
17th, General Hardee, the Confederate commander at Savannah,
refused a demand for the surrender of the city, but on the
night of the 20th he escaped, with his forces, and on the 22d
General Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln: "I beg to
present to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with
150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; also about 25,000
bales of cotton."
ALSO IN:
J. D. Cox,
The March to the Sea
(Campaigns of the Civil War, volume 10),
chapter 3.
O. O. Howard, and others,
Sherman's March
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
W. T. Sherman,
Memoirs,
chapter 20 (volume 2).
G. W. Nichols,
The Story of the Great March.
W. B. Hazen,
Narrative of Military Service,
chapters 21-22.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (December: Tennessee).
The Battle of Nashville and the destruction of Hood's army.
After the battle of Franklin Hood went forward to Nashville,
with his badly shaken army, and invested that place.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (NOVEMBER: TENNESSEE).
Thomas was strongly fortified, and quietly took his time to
make ready before striking his audacious antagonist, unmoved
by repeated demands for an advance, from the War Office, the
President, and General Grant. "With all just confidence in
Thomas' ability, the entire North insisted on instant action,
and Grant finally ordered Thomas either to move upon Hood at
once or else turn over the command to Schofield. Thomas
quietly replied that he would cheerfully do the latter, if
directed, but would not attack Hood until he was satisfied
that the time was ripe. He desired both favorable weather and
to increase his force of mounted men. But the enemy was
devastating a considerable part of Tennessee and was forcing
all the young men into their ranks; and everyone was fearful
of a repetition of Bragg's march to the Ohio in 1862. Logan
was finally ordered to Nashville to supplant Thomas. But
before he could reach the ground, Thomas had struck his blow.
His preparations had been two weeks before substantially
completed. Small detachments were at Murfreesboro',
Chattanooga, and along the railroad. This latter had been,
however, interrupted by Hood for a number of days. A heavy
storm of sleet and ice had made the country almost impassable
and would render the operations of the attacking party
uncertain. Thomas had made up his mind to wait for clearing
weather. Finally came sunshine and with it Thomas' advance.
Hood lay in his front, with Stewart on his left, Lee in the
centre and Cheatham on the right, while a portion of Forrest's
cavalry was operating out upon his left. He had some 44,000
men, but his check and heavy losses at Franklin had seriously
impaired the 'morale' of his army as well as thinned his
ranks. Hood could, however, not retreat. He was committed to a
death-struggle with Thomas. It was his last chance as a
soldier. The Union general had placed A. J. Smith on his
right, the Fourth corps in the centre, and Schofield on the
left. He advanced on Hood, bearing heavily with his right,
while sharply demonstrating with his left. The position of the
Confederate Army had placed A. J. Smith's corps obliquely to
their general line of battle, an advantage not to be
neglected.
{3545}
Smith pushed in, later supported by Schofield, and
successively capturing the field-works erected by the enemy's
main line and reserves, disastrously crushed Hood's left
flank. Meanwhile Wood was making all but equal headway against
Hood's right, and the first day closed with remarkable success
for the amount of loss sustained. Still this was not victory.
The morrow might bring reverse. Hood's fight promised to be
with clenched teeth. Hood seriously missed Forrest, whom he
had detached on a raiding excursion and without whose cavalry
his flanks were naked. Cheatham he moved during the night over
from the right to sustain his left, which had proved the
weaker wing. On the morning of the next day he lay intrenched
upon the hills back of his former line, with either flank
somewhat refused. Thomas sent Wilson with his cavalry to work
his way unobserved around the extreme left flank thus thrown
back. At 4 P. M. a general assault was made all along the
line. Upon our left, Wood's advance did not meet with success.
On the right, however, A. J. Smith's onset, concentrated at
the salient of Hood's left centre, proved heavy enough to
break down the Confederate defense. Sharply following up his
successes, allowing no breathing time to the exultant troops,
Smith pushed well home, and overcoming all resistance, drove
the enemy in wild confusion from the field. Meanwhile Wilson's
troopers, dismounted, fell upon the Confederate flank and rear
and increased the wreck tenfold. This advantage again enabled
Wood to make some headway, and with renewed joint effort the
rout of the enemy became overwhelming. Almost all organization
was lost in Hood's army as it fled across the country towards
Franklin. Pursuit was promptly undertaken, but though
seriously harassed, Hood saved himself beyond the Tennessee
river with the remnants of his army. Thomas' losses were 3,000
men, Hood's were never officially given, but our trophies
included 4,500 prisoners and 53 guns. Thomas had settled all
adverse speculation upon his slowness in attacking Hood by the
next to annihilation he wrought when he actually moved upon
him. No army was so completely overthrown during our war."
T. A. Dodge,
Bird's-Eye View of our Civil War,
chapter 58.
ALSO IN:
T. B. Van Horne,
History of the Army of the Cumberland,
chapter 35 (volume 2).
W. Swinton,
The Twelve Decisive Battles of the War,
chapter 11.
J. D. Cox,
The March to the Sea, Franklin and Nashville
(Campaigns of the Civil War, volume 10),
chapters 6-7.
H. Stone,
Repelling Hood's Invasion
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
H. Coppée,
General Thomas,
chapter 11-12.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864-1865
(December-January: North Carolina).
The Capture of Fort Fisher.
"In the latter part of 1864 two ports only, Wilmington and
Charleston, remained to the Confederates. … The northward
march of Sherman would cut off Charleston, too, so that the
Confederates would have to abandon it. The National government
now desired to complete its work by capturing Fort Fisher, and
thus finally shutting off the Confederacy from all
communication with the foreign world. The accomplishment of
this task was in no wise easy. … The army and navy co-operated
in the attempts to reduce Fort Fisher. There were more than 50
men-of-war tossing on the waves before the lowering sea-front
of the work. Six thousand five hundred men were in the
military force. They were in command of General B. F. Butler,
whom we saw last in New Orleans. The General's active and
ingenious mind conceived a plan for destroying the fort
without sacrificing a single Federal soldier. He procured an
old gun-boat, painted it white and otherwise disguised it, so
as to look like a blockade-runner, stored 250 tons of
gunpowder in its hold with fuses penetrating every part, ran
the craft in within 1,500 feet of the works and exploded it.
Butler expected that the shock would demolish the seaward face
of the fort altogether, and perhaps bury the guns under great
masses of sand, but in this he was mistaken, for the heavy
bastions were not in the least disturbed by the shock. … The
navy then took its turn, and for some hours the heavy vessels
of Admiral Porter's fleet poured so rapid and well aimed a
fire upon the work, that the garrison were driven from their
guns, and only the occasional report of a heavy cannon told
that the fort was still tenanted. But secure in their heavy
bomb-proofs, the garrison minded the storm of shells and solid
shot no more than the well-housed farmer heeds a hailstorm. It
was very clear that Fort Fisher could not be taken at long
range. … The original plan had contemplated an assault as soon
as the fire of the fleet should have silenced the guns of the
fort, and in pursuance of this 700 men had been landed from
the army transports. But the weather was too rough to permit
of landing more troops that day, and the next morning General
Butler concluded that Fort Fisher was impregnable, withdrew
his men already landed, and sailed away, greatly to the
disgust of the navy. This was on the 25th of December, 1864.
The chagrin of the whole North over the failure of the
expedition was so great that it was speedily determined to
renew the attempt. January 13th saw a new Federal force, this
time under command of General A. H. Terry, landing on the
shore of the sandy neck of land above the fort. … At early
dawn of the 15th the attack was begun. The ships arranged in a
great semicircle poured their fire upon the fort, dismantling
guns, driving the garrison to the bomb-proofs, and mowing down
the stockade. A line of sharp-shooters, each carrying a shovel
in one hand and a gun in the other, spring out from Terry's
most advanced lines, rush forward to within 175 yards of the
fort and dig pits for their protection before the Confederates
can attack them. Then the sharpshooters and the navy occupy
the attention of the enemy, while Curtis's brigade dashes
forward and digs a trench within 500 yards of the fort. By
this time too a party of 2,000 sailors and marines has been
landed from the fleet. They are to storm the sea-wall of the
fort while the army attacks its landward face. Suddenly the
thunder of the naval artillery is stilled. There is a moment
of silence, and then the shrill scream of the whistles rises
from every steamer in the fleet. It is the signal for the
assault. The sailors on the beach spring to their feet and
dash forward at a rapid run; they fire no shot, for they carry
no guns. Cutlasses and pistols, the blue-jackets' traditional
weapons, are their only arms. Toward the other side of the
fort came Terry's troops. … The fate of the naval column is
quickly determined. Upon it is concentrated the fire of the
heaviest Confederate batteries, Napoleon guns, Columbiads, and
rifles shotted with grape and cannister.
{3546}
The blue-jackets, unable to reply to this murderous fire, and
seeing their companions falling fast around them, waver, halt,
and fall back to the beach, throwing themselves upon the
ground to escape the enemy's missiles. But though repulsed
they have contributed largely to the capture of the fort.
While the chief attention of Confederates has been directed
toward them, the troops have been carrying all before them on
the other front. Colonel Lamb turns from his direction of the
defense against the naval column to see three Union flags
waving over other portions of the work. … The Confederates
were determined, even desperate. Long after the fort was
virtually in the hands of its captors they stubbornly clung to
a bomb-proof. Finally they retreated to Battery Buchanan and
there maintained themselves stoutly until late at night when,
all hope being at an end, they surrendered themselves, and the
National victory was complete."
W. J. Abbot,
Battle-Fields and Victory,
chapter 15.
ALSO IN:
D. D. Porter,
Naval History of the Civil War,
chapters 49-51.
W. Lamb and T. O. Selfridge, Jr.,
The Capture of Fort Fisher
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (January).
Congressional adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment.
"On the last day of [January, 1865] … one of the grandest
events of the century was witnessed in the House of
Representatives in the final passage of the Constitutional
Amendment [the Thirteenth] forever prohibiting slavery.
Numerous propositions on the subject had been submitted, but
the honor of drafting the one adopted belongs to Lyman
Trumbull, who had introduced it early in the first session of
this Congress. It passed the Senate on the 8th of April, 1864,
only six members voting against it, … but failed in the House
on the 15th of June following. It now came up on the motion of
Mr. Ashley to reconsider this vote. Congress had abolished
slavery in the District of Columbia, and prohibited it in all
the Territories. It had repealed the Fugitive Slave law, and
declared free all negro soldiers in the Union armies and their
families; and the President had played his grand part in the
Proclamation of Emancipation. But the question now to be
decided completely overshadowed all others. The debate on the
subject had been protracted and very spirited. … The time for
the momentous vote had now come, and no language could
describe the solemnity and impressiveness of the spectacle
pending the roll-call. The success of the measure had been
considered very doubtful, and depended upon certain
negotiations, the result of which was not fully assured, and
the particulars of which never reached the public. The anxiety
and suspense during the balloting produced a deathly
stillness, but when it became certainly known that the measure
had prevailed the cheering in the densely-packed hall and
galleries surpassed all precedent and beggared all
description. Members joined in the general shouting, which was
kept up for several minutes, many embracing each other, and
others completely surrendering themselves to their tears of
joy. It seemed to me I had been born into a new life."
G. W. Julian,
Political Recollections,
chapter 11.
"The Joint Resolution passed [the House of Representatives, on
the 31st of January], 119 to 56, 8 not voting, 10 Democrats
voting aye. … It was the greatest day the House had ever seen,
nor is it likely ever to see a greater."
O. J. Hollister,
Life of Schuyler Colfax,
page 245.
The Thirteenth Amendment, which was ratified before the close
of the year by three-fourths of the States, and its embodiment
in the Constitution of the United States proclaimed by the
Secretary of State on the 18th of December, 1865, is as
follows:
"Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any
place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation."
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (February).
The Hampton Roads Peace Conference.
"Several informal attempts at opening negotiations for the
termination of hostilities were made in the course of this
Winter—Honorable Francis P. Blair, of Maryland, visiting
Richmond twice on the subject, with the consent, though not by
the request, of President Lincoln. At length, upon their
direct application, Messrs. Alex. H. Stephens, John A.
Campbell, and Robert M. T. Hunter, were permitted to pass
General Grant's lines before Petersburg, and proceed to
Fortress Monroe; where [on board a steamer in Hampton Roads]
they were met by Gov. [Secretary of State] Seward, followed by
President Lincoln; and a free, full conference was had."
H. Greeley,
The American Conflict,
volume 2, chapter 30.
Secretary Seward first went to meet the three Confederate
Commissioners, with the following letter of instructions from
President Lincoln, dated January 31, 1865: "Honorable William
H. Seward, Secretary of State: You will proceed to Fortress
Monroe, Virginia, there to meet and informally confer with
Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell, on the basis of my
letter to F. P. Blair, Esq., of January 18, 1865, a copy of
which you have. You will make known to them that three things
are indispensable, to wit:
1. The restoration of the national authority throughout all
the States.
2. No receding by the executive of the United States on the
slavery question from the position assumed thereon in the late
annual message to Congress, and in preceding documents.
3. No cessation of hostilities short of an end of the war and
the disbanding of all forces hostile to the government.
You will inform them that all propositions of theirs, not
inconsistent with the above, will be considered and passed
upon in a spirit of sincere liberality. You will hear all they
may choose to say, and report it to me. You will not assume to
definitely consummate anything. Yours, etc., Abraham Lincoln."
Two days later, the President followed him, persuaded by a
telegram from General Grant to meet the Commissioners
personally. In a subsequent message to the Senate, Mr. Lincoln
reported the results of the conference as follows: "On the
morning of the 3d, the three gentlemen, Messrs. Stephens,
Hunter, and Campbell, came aboard of our steamer, and had an
interview with the Secretary of State and myself, of several
hours' duration. No question of preliminaries to the meeting
was then and there made or mentioned. No other person was
present; no papers were exchanged or produced; and it was, in
advance, agreed that the conversation was to be informal and
verbal merely.
{3547}
On our part the whole substance of the instructions to the
Secretary of State, hereinbefore recited, was stated and
insisted upon, and nothing was said inconsistent therewith;
while, by the other party, it was not said that in any event
or on any condition, they ever would consent to reunion; and
yet they equally omitted to declare that they never would so
consent. They seemed to desire a postponement of that
question, and the adoption of some other course first which,
as some of them seemed to argue, might or might not lead to
reunion; but which course, we thought, would amount to an
indefinite postponement. The conference ended without result."
A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, pages 644-649.
ALSO IN:
B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 3, chapter 20.
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 10, chapter 6.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (February: South Carolina).
Evacuation of Charleston by the Confederates.
Federal occupation of the City.
While General Hardee, with 14,000 men, waited at Charleston
for the expected coming of General Sherman to attack that
city, the latter pursued a movement which made Charleston
untenable and shook it like a ripened apple into the hands of
General Gillmore, who was waiting at the gates. The
Confederates evacuated the city in haste and with reckless
disorder, and it was occupied by the Federal troops on the
morning of the 18th of February. The following is the report
of Colonel A. G. Bennett, who was the first to enter the city:
"On the morning of February the 18th I received information
that led me to believe the defences and lines guarding the
city of Charles·ton had been deserted by the enemy. I
immediately proceeded to Cummings Point, from whence I sent a
small boat in the direction of Fort Moultrie, which boat, when
40 yards east from Fort Sumter, was met by a boat from
Sullivan's Island, containing a full corps of band musicians
abandoned by the enemy. These con·firmed my belief of an
evacuation. I had no troops that could be available under two
hours, as, except in a few pontoon boats, there were no means
whatever of landing troops near the enemy's works or into the
city. I directed Major Hennessy to proceed to Fort Sumter and
there replace our flag. The flag was replaced over the
southeast angle of Fort Sumter at 9 o'clock A. M. I now pushed
for the city, stopping at Fort Ripley and Castle Pinckney,
from which works Rebel flags were hauled down and the American
flag substituted. … I landed at Mill's wharf, Charleston, at
10 o'clock A. M. where I learned that a part of the enemy's
troops yet remained in the city, while mounted patrols were
out in every direction applying the torch and driving the
inhabitants before them. I at once addressed to the Mayor of
the city force consisted of five officers and the armed crews of two
small boats, comprising in all 22 men. Both officers and men
volunteered to advance from the wharf into the city; but no
reenforcements being in sight, I did not deem it expedient to
move on. Public buildings, stores, warehouses, private
dwellings, shipping, etc., were burning and being fired by
armed Rebels, but with the force at my disposal it was
impossible to save the cotton and other property. While
awaiting the arrival of my troops at Mill's wharf, a number of
explosions took place. The Rebel commissary depot was blown
up, and with it is estimated that not less than 200 human
beings—most of whom were women and children—were blown to
atoms. These people were engaged in procuring food for
themselves and their families by permission from the Rebel
military authorities. … Observing a small boat sailing toward
the bay under a flag of truce, I put off to it, and received
from a member of the common council a letter [from the Mayor,
announcing the evacuation of the city by the Confederate
military authorities]. … The deputation sent to convey the
above letter represented to me that the city was in the hands
of either the Rebel soldiery or the mob. They entreated of me
in the name of humanity to interpose my military authority and
save the city from utter destruction. … Two companies of the
52d Pennsylvania regiment and about 30 men of the 3d Rhode
Island volunteer heavy artillery having landed, I proceeded
with them to the citadel. I here established my headquarters,
and sent small parties in all directions with instructions to
impress negroes wherever found, and to make them work the fire
apparatus, until all fires were extinguished."
A. G. Bennett,
Report, February 24, 1865
(quoted in Tenney's Military and Naval History
of the Rebellion, chapter 49).
At noon on the 14th of April, 1865, the fourth anniversary of
the lowering of the flag of the United States at Fort Sumter,
it was formally raised by General Anderson over the ruins of
the fort, with impressive ceremonies, in which many visitors
from the North took part. An address was delivered on the
occasion by the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865
(February-March: The Carolinas).
Sherman's march from Savannah to Goldsboro.
The burning of Columbia.
The Battle of Bentonsville.
"By the middle of January, a lodgment had been effected in
South Carolina [at Pocotaligo, on the railroad between
Savannah and Charleston], and Sherman had his whole army once
more in hand as a moving column. He had no idea of wasting
time on either Charleston or Augusta, but he determined to
play upon the fears of the rebels, and compel them to retain a
force to protect those places. … Accordingly he gave out with
some ostentation that he was moving upon either Charles·ton or
Augusta. Early in January the heavy winter rains set in,

rendering the roads almost impassable. … This flood delayed
the departure of the column for quite two weeks. … On the 1st
of February, the army designed for the active campaign from
Savannah northward was again 60,000 strong; and, as before,
was composed of two wings, the right under Howard and the left
under Slocum. Kilpatrick was once more chief of cavalry.
Sixty-eight guns accompanied the command. The wagons were
2,500 in number, and carried an ample supply of ammunition for
one great battle, forage for a week, and provisions for twenty
days. For fresh meat Sherman depended on beeves driven on the
hoof, and such cattle, hogs, and poultry as might be gathered
on the march. … Sherman … started on his northward march on
the 1st of February. On that day his right wing was south of
the Salkehatchie river, and his left still struggling in the
swamps of the Savannah, at Sister's Ferry. … The division
generals led their columns through the swamps, the water up to
their shoulders, crossed over to the pine land beyond, and
then, turning upon the rebels who had opposed the passage,
drove them off in utter disorder.
{3548}
All the roads northward had been held for weeks by Wheeler's
cavalry, and details of negro laborers had been compelled to
fell trees and burn bridges to impede the national march.
Sherman's pioneers, however, removed the trees, and the heads
of columns rebuilt the bridges before the rear could close up,
and the rebels retreated behind the Edisto river at
Branchville. … Sherman determined to waste no time on
Branchville, which the enemy could no longer hold, and turned
his columns directly north upon Columbia, where it was
supposed the rebels would concentrate. Attempts were made to
delay him at the crossings of the rivers; there were numerous
bridge-heads with earth or cotton parapets to carry, and
cypress swamps to cross; but nothing stayed his course. On the
13th, he learned that there was no enemy in Columbia except
Hampton's cavalry. Hardee, at Charleston, took it for granted
that Sherman was moving upon that place, and the rebels in
Augusta supposed that they were Sherman's object; so
Charleston and Augusta were protected, while Columbia was
abandoned to the care of the cavalry." With little or no
resistance, Sherman entered the capital of South Carolina on
the 17th of February. "Hampton had ordered all cotton, public
and private, to be moved into the streets and fired. Bales
were piled up everywhere, the rope and bagging cut, and the
tufts of cotton blown about by the wind, or lodged in the
trees and against the houses, presented the appearance of a
snow-storm. Some of these piles of cotton were burning in the
heart of the town. Sherman, meanwhile, had given orders to
destroy the arsenals and public property not needed by his
army, as well as railroad stations and machines, but to spare
all dwellings, colleges, schools, asylums, and 'harmless
private property'; and the fires lighted by Hampton were
partially subdued by the national soldiers. But before the
torch had been put to a single building by Sherman's order,
the smouldering fires set by Hampton were rekindled by the
wind and communicated to the buildings around. About dark the
flames began to spread, and were soon beyond the control of
the brigade on duty in the town. An entire division was now
brought in, but it was found impossible to check the
conflagration, which by midnight had become quite
unmanageable. It raged till about four A. M. on the 18th, when
the wind subsided, and the flames were got under control. …
Beauregard, meanwhile, and the rebel cavalry, had retreated
upon Charlotte, in North Carolina, due north from Columbia;
and on the 20th and 21st Sherman followed as far as Winnsboro.
… At Winnsboro, however, Sherman turned his principal columns
northeastward towards Goldsboro, still 200 miles away. Heavy
rains again impeded his movements … and it was not till the 3d
of March that the army arrived at Cheraw. At this point large
quantities of guns and ammunition were captured, brought from
Charleston under the supposition that here, at least, they
would be secure. Hardee had moved due north from Charleston by
his only remaining railroad, through Florence, but only
reached Cheraw in time to escape with his troops across the
Pedee river, just before Sherman arrived. … Having secured the
passage of the Pedee … Sherman had but little uneasiness about
the future. … On the 11th of March, Fayetteville was reached,
and Sherman had traversed the entire extent of South Carolina.
On the 12th, he sent a dispatch to Grant, the first since
leaving the Savannah. … On the 15th of March, the command
began its march for Goldsboro." The scattered Confederate
forces were now getting together and General Johnston had been
put in command of them. "Sherman estimated the entire rebel
force at 37,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry; but only Hardee,
with 10,000 infantry and one division of cavalry, was in the
immediate front." On the 15th Hardee was encountered at
Averysboro, where he attempted to check Sherman's advance
while Johnston concentrated in the rear. Some sharp fighting
occurred, in which Sherman lost 77 men killed and 477 wounded.
Hardee reported his loss at 500. In the morning he had
disappeared. "From Averysboro both wings turned eastward by
different roads, and on the night of the 18th of March the
army was within 27 miles of Goldsboro, and only five from
Bentonsville. The columns were now about ten miles apart." At
Bentonsville, on the 19th, Slocum's wing was attacked by
Johnston, who had marched his whole command with great
rapidity, hoping to "overwhelm Sherman's left flank before it
could be relieved by its co-operating column." But Slocum held
his ground that day against six distinct assaults, and the
next day Sherman brought his whole army into position. He did
not push the enemy, however, either on the 20th or on the
21st, being uncertain as to Johnston's strength. During the
night of the 21st the latter retreated. "The total national
loss was 191 killed, and 1,455 wounded and missing. Johnston
states his losses to have been 223 killed, 1,467 wounded, and
653 missing; but Sherman captured 1,621 prisoners. Sherman
admits that he committed an error in not overwhelming his
enemy. Few soldiers, however, are great enough to accuse
themselves of an error, and fewer still but might accuse
themselves of greater ones than can ever be laid at Sherman's
door. At daybreak on the 22d … the army moved to Goldsboro,
where Schofield had already arrived.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 1865
(FEBRUARY-MARCH: NORTH CAROLINA).
… Thus was concluded one of the longest and most important
marches ever made by an organized army in civilized war."
A. Badeau,
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant,
chapter 31 (volume 3).
At Columbia, "I observed, as I passed along the street, that
many shops had been gutted, and that paper, rags, and litter
of all kinds lay scattered on the floors, in the open
doorways, and on the ground outside. I was told on good
authority that this had been done by the Confederate troops
before our arrival. It was a windy day, and a great deal of
loose cotton had been blown about and caught on the fences and
in the branches of the shade trees along the street. It has
been said that this had something to do with spreading the
fire which afterward took place. I think this very doubtful. …
I have never doubted that Columbia was deliberately set on
fire in more than a hundred places. No one ordered it, and no
one could stop it. The officers of high rank would have saved
the city if possible; but the army was deeply imbued with the
feeling that as South Carolina had begun the war she must
suffer a stern retribution."
W. B. Hazen,
Narrative of Military Service,
chapters 23-25.
{3549}
"I disclaim on the part of my army any agency in this fire,
but, on the contrary, claim that we saved what of Columbia
remains unconsumed."
Sherman's Official Report
(Rebellion Record, volume 11).
ALSO IN:
S. M. Bowman and R. B. Irwin,
Sherman and his Campaigns,
chapters 26-29.
H. W. Slocum and W. Hampton,
Sherman's March and The Battle of Bentonville
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865
(February-March: North Carolina).
Occupation of Wilmington.
Battle of Kinston.
Junction with Sherman at Goldsboro.
On the 9th of February, General Schofield, transferred from
the west, arrived at Fort Fisher with Cox's division of the
Twenty-third Corps, and took command of the newly created
Department of North Carolina. Advancing on Wilmington, the
Confederates, under Hoke, retreating before him, he occupied
that city on the 22d. This accomplished, General Cox was sent
to Newberne to take command of forces ordered there, and to
open communication thence by railroad with Goldsboro,
preparatory to the arrival of General Sherman at that point.
In the prosecution of this undertaking, he fought the battle
of Kinston, March 10, repelling a fierce attack by Bragg with
the forces which were being collected against Sherman: "After
Bragg's retreat, Schofield steadily pressed the work of
rebuilding the railway. Kinston was occupied on March 14th."
On the 21st Schofield entered Goldsboro, "and there, in a
couple of days more, was reassembled the grand army under
Sherman, whose march from Savannah had been quite as
remarkable as the former one from Atlanta to the sea."
J. D. Cox,
The March to the Sea
(Campaigns of the Civil War),
chapter 9.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (February-March: Virginia).
Sheridan's destroying march through Central Virginia.
Battle of Waynesborough.
"The last campaign against Lee may be said to have been
inaugurated when General Sheridan started with his cavalry
from Winchester, Virginia, on the 27th of February, 1865, with
a sort of carte blanche of destruction as to the enemy's
supply depots and communications. The general's instructions
looked to his crossing the James River above Richmond, and his
possible junction with the command of General Sherman
somewhere in North Carolina; but the swollen condition of the
James and the destruction of the bridges prevented his
crossing. … General Sheridan's command on this expedition
consisted of the first cavalry division, under Brevet
Major-General Wesley Merritt, and the third cavalry division,
under Brevet Major-General George A. Custer, to whose division
was added one brigade of the cavalry of the old army of West
Virginia, under Colonel Capehart. … They left Winchester on a
damp, disagreeable morning. … But the spirits of the bold
dragoons were not dampened, and they felt lively enough to
push on to Waynesborough to the camp of General Jubal Early,
late of the Confederacy, upon whom the brilliant Custer fell
with his division, and soon had his guns, and men, and
'materiel,' and would have had him but that he had sufficient
presence of mind to absent his person when he found how things
were going. This was General Early's last appearance in public
life. … Early's command at Waynesborough being now dispersed
or captured, … General Sheridan proceeded to occupy
Charlottesville. … Then on again toward Lynchburg and the
James River. … When it was found impossible to cross the James
River, attention was for a while directed to the demolition of
the James River and Kanawha Canal. … When the ingenious
destruction corps could devise no further damage here, the
command turned off to try its hand upon a railroad or two. All
the time the rains had descended—the flood-gates of the clouds
were up and the water kept pouring through. … Although nothing
short of a flotilla seemed likely to ride out the storm, the
cavalry rode on hopefully, and came safely to harbor at the
White House, on the Pamunkey, where supplies were furnished
them, and where the March winds blew them dry again. …
Immediately upon his arrival at this depot, General Sheridan
reported to General Grant, at City Point, for orders."
With General Sheridan in Lee's Last Campaign;
by a Staff Officer,
chapter 2.
ALSO IN:
G. E. Pond,
The Shenandoah Valley in 1864,
chapter 14.
A. Badeau,
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant,
chapter 31 (volume 3).
P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 2, chapter 4.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (March).
Emancipation of the families of colored soldiers.
"The President in his annual message, December, 1863, had
estimated the colored soldiers in the service at 'nearly
100,000.' They were mostly from the border States, and the
slaves of loyal masters. While they were fighting the battles
of the country, their masters, who were generally opposed to
their enlistment, could sell into perpetual slavery their
wives and children. To deter slaves from enlisting, or to
punish them when they did enlist, slave-masters made
merchandise of the wives and children of colored soldiers, and
often sold them into a harsher bondage. To put an end to a
practice so cruel, unjust, injurious, and dishonorable to the
country, Mr. Wilson introduced into the Senate on the 8th of
January [1864], in his bill to promote enlistments, a
provision declaring that when any man or boy of African
descent, owing service or labor in any State, under its laws,
should be mustered into the military or naval service of the
United States, he, and his mother, wife, and children, should
be forever free." The bill was warmly debated and its
supporters did not succeed in bringing it to a vote during
that session of Congress. At the next session, on the 13th of
December, 1864, Mr. Wilson introduced a joint resolution "to
make free the wives and children of persons who had been, or
might be, mustered into the service of the United States."
This passed the Sen·ate a few days later, by a vote of 27 to
10; was passed by the House on the 22d of February, 1865, and
signed by the President on the 3d of March.
H. Wilson,
History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,
volume 3, chapter 30.
{3550}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (March).
President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.
"The days of the Confederacy were evidently numbered. Only the
last blow remained to be struck. Then Lincoln's second
inauguration came [March 4, 1865], and with it his second
inaugural address. Lincoln's famous 'Gettysburg speech has
been much and justly admired. But far greater, as well as far
more characteristic, was that inaugural in which he poured out
the whole devotion and tenderness of his great soul. It had
all the solemnity of a father's last admonition and blessing
to his children before he lay down to die. … No American
President had ever spoken words like these to the American
people. America never had a President who found such words in
the depth of his heart."
C. Schurz,
Abraham Lincoln: an Essay,
pages 103-104.
The following is the text of the Inaugural Address:
"Fellow-countrymen: At this second appear·ing to take the oath
of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an
extended address than there was at the first. Then a
statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued,
seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four
years, during which public declarations have been constantly
called forth on every point and phase of the great contest
which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies
of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The
progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is
as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust,
reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope
for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. On
the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all
thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war.
All dreaded it—all sought to avert it. While the inaugural
address was being delivered from this place, devoted
altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents
were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to
dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both
parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather
than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war
rather than let it perish. And the war came. One-eighth of the
whole population were colored slaves, not distributed
generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part
of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful
interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause
of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this
interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend
the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right
to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it.
Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the
duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated
that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even
before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an
easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding.
Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each
invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that
any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing
their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us
judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could
not be answered—that of neither has been answered fully. The
Almighty has his own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of
offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to
that man by whom the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that
American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the
providence of God, must needs come, but which, having
continued through his appointed time, he now wills to remove,
and that he gives to both North and South this terrible war,
as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we
discern therein any departure from those divine attributes
which the believers in a living God always ascribe to him?
Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty
scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that
it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's 250
years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop
of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn
with the sword, as was said 3,000 years ago, so still it must
be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.' With malice toward none; with charity for all;
with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,
let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the
nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves,
and with all nations."
A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, pages 656-657.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (March-April: Virginia).
The Flanking of Lee's lines.
Battle of Five Forks.
Final assault at Petersburg and Confederate retreat.
"One of the most anxious periods of my experience during the
rebellion," wrote General Grant, "was the last few weeks
before Petersburg. I felt that the situation of the
Confederate army was such that they would try to make an
escape at the earliest practicable moment, and I was afraid,
every morning, that I would awake from my sleep to hear that
Lee had gone, and that nothing was left but a picket line. … I
was naturally very impatient for the time to come when I could
commence the spring campaign, which I thoroughly believed
would close the war. … Sherman was anxious that I should wait
where I was until he could come up, and make a sure thing of
it; but I had determined to move as soon as the roads and
weather would admit of my doing so. I had been tied down
somewhat in the matter of fixing any time at my pleasure for
starting, until Sheridan, who was on his way from the
Shenandoah Valley to join me, should arrive, as both his
presence and that of his cavalry were necessary to the
execution of the plans which I had in mind. However,
[Sheridan] having arrived at White House on the 19th of March,
I was enabled to make my plans. … It is now known that early
in the month of March Mr. Davis and General Lee had a
consultation about the situation of affairs in and about
Richmond and Petersburg, and they both agreed that these
places were no longer tenable for them, and that they must get
away as soon as possible. They, too, were waiting for dry
roads, or a condition of the roads which would make it
possible to move. General Lee, in aid of his plan of escape,
and to secure a wider opening to enable them to reach the
Danville road with greater security than he would have in the
way the two armies were situated, determined upon an assault
upon the right of our lines around Petersburg." The assault
was made by General Gordon early in the morning of March 25th,
and Fort Stedman, with three contiguous batteries, were taken
by surprise. The captured fort and batteries were soon
recovered, however, and the Confederate troops who entered
them were made prisoners.
{3551}
"This effort of Lee's cost him about 4,000 men, and resulted
in their killing, wounding and capturing about 2,000 of ours.
… The day that Gordon was making dispositions for this attack
(24th of March) I issued my orders for the movement to
commence on the 29th. Ord, with three divisions of infantry
and Mackenzie's cavalry, was to move in advance on the night
of the 27th, from the north side of the James River, and take
his place on our extreme left, 30 miles away. … Ord was at his
place promptly. Humphreys and Warren were then on our extreme
left with the 2d and 5th corps. They were directed on the
arrival of Ord, and on his getting into position in their
places, to cross Hatcher's Run and extend out west toward Five
Forks, the object being to get into a position from which we
could strike the South Side Railroad and ultimately the
Danville Railroad. There was considerable fighting in taking
up these new positions for the 2d and 5th corps, in which the
Army of the James had also to participate somewhat, and the
losses were quite severe. This was what was known as the
battle of White Oak Road. … The 29th of March came, and
fortunately, there having been a few days free from rain, the
surface of the ground was dry, giving indications that the
time had come when we could move. On that day I moved out with
all the army available after leaving sufficient force to hold
the line about Petersburg. It soon set in raining again,
however, and in a very short time the roads became practically
impassable for teams, and almost so for cavalry. … It became
necessary … to build corduroy roads every foot of the way as
we advanced, to move our artillery upon, The army had become
so accustomed to this kind of work, and were so well prepared
for it, that it was done very rapidly. The next day, March
30th, we had made sufficient progress to the south-west to
warrant me in starting Sheridan with his cavalry over by
Dinwiddie with instructions to then come up by the road
leading north-west to Five Forks, thus menacing the right of
Lee's line, … The column moving detached from the army still
in the trenches was, excluding the cavalry, very small. The
forces in the trenches were themselves extending to the left
flank. Warren was on the extreme left when the extension
began, but Humphreys was marched around later and thrown into
line between him and Five Forks. My hope was that Sheridan
would be able to carry Five Forks, get on the enemy's right
flank and rear, and force them to weaken their centre to
protect their right, so that an assault in the centre might be
successfully made. General Wright's corps had been designated
to make this assault, which I intended to order as soon as
information reached me of Sheridan's success. … Sheridan moved
back to Dinwiddie Court-House on the night of the 30th, and
then took a road leading northwest to Five Forks. He had only
his cavalry with him. Soon encountering the rebel cavalry he
met with a very stout resistance. He gradually drove them back
however until in the neighborhood of Five Forks. Here he had
to encounter other troops, besides those he had been
contending with, and was forced to give way. In this condition
of affairs he notified me of what had taken place and stated
that he was falling back toward Dinwiddie gradually and
slowly, and asked me to send Wright's corps to his assistance.
I replied to him that it was impossible to send Wright's corps
… and that I would send Warren. Accordingly orders were sent
to Warren to move at once that night (the 31st) to Dinwiddie
Court-House and put himself in communication with Sheridan as
soon as possible, and report to him. He was very slow in
moving, some of his troops not starting until after 5 o'clock
next morning. … Warren reported to Sheridan about 11 o'clock
on the 1st, but the whole of his troops were not up so as to
be much engaged until late in the afternoon. … Sheridan
succeeded by the middle of the afternoon or a little later in
advancing up to the point from which to make his designed
assault upon Five Forks itself. He was very impatient to make
the assault and have it all over before night, because the
ground he occupied would be untenable for him in bivouac
during the night. … It was at this junction of affairs that
Sheridan wanted to get Crawford's division in hand, and he
also wanted Warren. He sent staff officer after staff officer
in search of Warren, directing that general to report to him,
but they were unable to find him. At all events Sheridan was
unable to get that officer to him. Finally he went himself. He
issued an order relieving Warren and assigning Griffin to the
command of the 5th corps. The troops were then brought up and
the assault successfully made. … It was dusk when our troops
under Sheridan went over the parapets of the enemy. The two
armies were mingled together there for a time in such manner
that it was almost a question which one was going to demand
the surrender of the other. Soon, however, the enemy broke and
ran in every direction; some 6,000 prisoners, besides
artillery and small-arms in large quantities, falling into our
hands. … Pursuit continued until about 9 o'clock at night,
when Sheridan halted his troops, and knowing the importance to
him of the part of the enemy's line which had been captured,
returned. … This was the condition which affairs were in on
the night of the 1st of April. I then issued orders for an
assault by Wright and Parke at 4 o'clock on the morning of the
2d." The assault was successfully made, and the outer works of
Petersburg were soon in the hands of the National troops.
Early in the morning of the 3d the enemy evacuated Petersburg
and Grant and Meade took possession of the city. The following
day they were visited there by President Lincoln, who had been
at City Point for a week, or more, watching the course of
events.
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapters 63-65 (volume 2).
ALSO IN:
P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 2, chapters 5-6.
A. A. Humphreys,
The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865,
chapters 12-13.
H. Porter,
Five Forks and the Pursuit of Lee
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
R. de Trobriand,
Four years with the Army of the Potomac,
chapter 34.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April 11).
President Lincoln's last public address.
His view of Reconstruction in Louisiana.
On the evening of the 11th of April, a great multitude of
people gathered about the White House, to convey their
congratulations to the President and to signify their joy at
the sure prospect of peace. Mr. Lincoln came out and spoke to
them, expressing first his participation in their gladness,
and then turning to discuss briefly the criticism which had
opened upon his policy of reconstruction, as practically
illustrated in Louisiana.
{3552}
He spoke of his message and proclamation of December, 1863
(quoted above); of the approval given to them by every member
of his cabinet; of the entire silence at the time of all who
had become critics and objectors since action under the plan
had been taken in Louisiana. He then went on as follows: "When
the message of 1863, with the plan before mentioned, reached
New Orleans, General Banks wrote me that he was confident that
the people, with his military cooperation, would reconstruct
substantially on that plan. I wrote to him and some of them to
try it. They tried it, and the result is known. Such has been
my only agency in getting up the Louisiana government. As to
sustaining it, my promise is out, as before stated. But as bad
promises are better broken than kept, I shall treat this as a
bad promise, and break it whenever I shall be convinced that
keeping it is adverse to the public interest; but I have not
yet been so convinced. I have been shown a letter on this
subject, supposed to be an able one, in which the writer
expresses regret that my mind has not seemed to be definitely
fixed on the question whether the seceded States, so called,
are in the Union or out of it. It would perhaps add
astonishment to his regret were he to learn that since I have
found professed Union men endeavoring to make that question, I
have purposely forborne any public expression upon it. As
appears to me, that question has not been, nor yet is, a
practically material one, and that any discussion of it, while
it thus remains practically immaterial, could have no effect
other than the mischievous one of dividing our friends. As
yet, whatever it may hereafter become, that question is bad as
the basis of a controversy, and good for nothing at all—a
merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree that the seceded
States, so called, are out of their proper practical relation
with the Union, and that the sole object of the government,
civil and military, in regard to those States is to again get
them into that proper practical relation. I believe that it is
not only possible, but in fact easier, to do this without
deciding or even considering whether these States have ever
been out of the Union, than with it. Finding themselves safely
at home, it would be utterly immaterial whether they had ever
been abroad. Let us all join in doing the acts necessary to
restoring the proper practical relations between these States
and the Union, and each forever after innocently indulge his
own opinion whether in doing the acts he brought the States
from without into the Union, or only gave them proper
assistance, they never having been out of it. The amount of
constituency, so to speak, on which the new Louisiana
government rests, would be more satisfactory to all if it
contained 50,000, or 30,000, or even 20,000, instead of only
about 12,000, as it does. It is also unsatisfactory to some
that the elective franchise is not given to the colored man. I
would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the very
intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as soldiers.
Still, the question is not whether the Louisiana government,
as it stands, is quite all that is desirable. The question is,
will it be wiser to take it as it is and help to improve it,
or to reject and disperse it? Can Louisiana be brought into
proper practical relation with the Union sooner by sustaining
or by discarding her new State government? Some 12,000 voters
in the heretofore slave State of Louisiana have sworn
allegiance to the Union, assumed to be the rightful political
power of the State, held elections, organized a State
government, adopted a free-State constitution, giving the
benefit of public schools equally to black and white, and
empowering the legislature to confer the elective franchise
upon the colored man. Their legislature has already voted to
ratify the constitutional amendment recently passed by
Congress, abolishing slavery throughout the nation. These
12,000 persons are thus fully committed to the Union and to
perpetual freedom in the State—committed to the very things,
and nearly all the things, the nation wants—and they ask the
nation's recognition and its assistance to make good their
committal. Now, if we reject and spurn them, we do our utmost
to disorganize and disperse them. We, in effect, say to the
white man: You are worthless or worse; we will neither help
you, nor be helped by you. To the blacks we say: This cup of
liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your lips we
will dash from you, and leave you to the chances of gathering
the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and undefined
when, where, and how. If this course, discouraging and
paralyzing both white and black, has any tendency to bring
Louisiana into proper practical relations with the Union, I
have so far been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary,
we recognize and sustain the new government of Louisiana, the
converse of all this is made true. We encourage the hearts and
nerve the arms of the 12,000 to adhere to their work, and
argue for it, and proselyte for it, and fight for it, and feed
it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The
colored man, too, in seeing all united for him, is inspired
with vigilance, and energy, and daring, to the same end. Grant
that he desires the elective franchise, will he not attain it
sooner by saving the already advanced steps toward it than by
running backward over them? Concede that the new government of
Louisiana is only to what it should be as the egg is to the
fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than
by smashing it. Again, if we reject Louisiana we also reject
one vote in favor of the proposed amendment to the national
Constitution. To meet this proposition it has been argued that
no more than three-fourths of those States which have not
attempted secession are necessary to validly ratify the
amendment. I do not commit myself against this further than to
say that such a ratification would be questionable, and sure
to be persistently questioned, while a ratification by
three-fourths of all the States would be unquestioned and
unquestionable. I repeat the question: Can Louisiana be
brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner
by sustaining or by discarding her new State government? What
has been said of Louisiana will apply generally to other
States. And yet so great peculiarities pertain to each State,
and such important and sudden changes occur in the same State,
and withal so new and unprecedented is the whole case that no
exclusive and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to
details and collaterals. Such exclusive and inflexible plan
would surely become a new entanglement. Important principles
may and must be inflexible. In the present situation, as the
phrase goes, it may be my duty to make some new announcement
to the people of the South. I am considering, and shall not
fail to act when satisfied that action will be proper."
A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, pages 673-675.
{3553}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April: Virginia).
The abandonment of Richmond and retreat of Lee.
Battle of Sailor's Creek.
Surrender at Appomattox Court House.
"The success of the Federal army in breaking the lines of
Petersburg had rendered the retreat of the Confederate force
imperative. An effort to hold Richmond with every line of
communication with the South broken or in imminent danger
would have been madness. But by abandoning his works and
concentrating his army, which still amounted to about 30,000
men, General Lee might retire to some natural stronghold in
the interior, where the defensible features of the country
would enable him to oppose Grant's formidable host until he
could rally strength to strike an effective blow. This course
was at once decided upon, and early on the morning of the 2d
of April, Lee sent a despatch to the Government authorities at
Richmond informing them of the disastrous situation of affairs
and of the necessity of his evacuating Petersburg that night.
Orders were also sent to the forces north of the James to move
at once and join him, while all the preparations necessary for
the evacuation of Richmond, both as the seat of government and
as a military post, were expeditiously made. There was,
indeed, no time to be lost. … By midnight the evacuation was
completed. … As the troops moved noiselessly onward in the
darkness that just precedes the dawn, a bright light like a
broad flash of lightning illumined the heavens for an instant;
then followed a tremendous explosion. 'The magazine at Fort
Drewry is blown up,' ran in whispers through the ranks, and
again silence reigned. Once more the sky was overspread by a
lurid light, but not so fleeting as before. It was now the
conflagration of Richmond that lighted the night-march of the
soldiers, and many a stout heart was wrung with anguish at the
fate of the city and its defenceless inhabitants. The burning
of public property of little value had given rise to a
destructive fire that laid in ashes nearly one-third of the
devoted city. … The retreat of Lee's army did not long remain
unknown to the Federals. The explosion of the magazine at Fort
Drewry and the conflagration of Richmond apprised them of the
fact, and they lost no time in taking possession of the
abandoned works and entering the defenceless cities. On the
morning of the 3d of April the mayor of Richmond surrendered
the city to the Federal commander in its vicinity, and General
Weitzel took immediate possession. He at once proceeded to
enforce order and took measures to arrest the conflagration,
while with great humanity he endeavored to relieve the
distressed citizens. … As soon as Grant became aware of Lee's
line of retreat he pushed forward his whole available force,
numbering 70,000 or 80,000 men, in order to intercept him on
the line of the Richmond and Danville Railroad. Sheridan's
cavalry formed the van of the pursuing column, and was closely
followed by the artillery and infantry. Lee pressed on as
rapidly as possible to Amelia Court-house, where he had
ordered supplies to be deposited for the use of his troops on
their arrival. … The hope of finding a supply of food at this
point, which had done much to buoy up the spirits of the men,
was destined to be cruelly dispelled. Through an unfortunate
error or misapprehension of orders the provision-train had
been taken on to Richmond without unloading its stores at
Amelia Court-house. … It was a terrible blow alike to the men
and to their general. … The only chance remaining to the Army
of Northern Virginia was to reach the hill-country without
delay. Yet here it was detained by the error of a railroad
official, while the precious minutes and hours moved
remorselessly by. … Yet no murmur came from the lips of the
men to the ear of their commander, and on the evening of that
unfortunate day [April 5th] they resumed their weary march in
silence and composure. Some small amount of food had been
brought in by the foragers, greatly inadequate for the wants
of the soldiers, yet aiding them to somewhat alleviate the
pangs of hunger. A handful of corn was now a feast to the
weary veterans as they trudged onward through the April night.
… Sheridan's cavalry was already upon the flank of the
Confederate army, and the infantry was following with all
speed. … During the forenoon of [the 6th] the pursuing columns
thickened and frequent skirmishes delayed the march. These
delays enabled the Federals to accumulate in such force that
it became necessary for Lee to halt his advance in order to
arrest their attack till his column could close up, and the
trains and such artillery as was not needed for action could
reach a point of safety. This object was accomplished early in
the afternoon. Ewell's, the rearmost corps in the army, closed
upon those in front at a position on Sailor's Creek, a small
tributary of the Appomattox River. … His corps was surrounded
by the pursuing columns and captured with but little
opposition. About the same time the divisions of Anderson,
Pickett, and Bushrod Johnson were almost broken up, about
10,000 men in all being captured. The remainder of the army
continued its retreat during the night of the 6th, and reached
Farmville early on the morning of the 7th, where the troops
obtained two days' rations, the first regular supplies they
had received during the retreat. At Farmville a short halt was
made to allow the men to rest and cook their provisions. The
effective portion of the Army of Northern Virginia did not now
exceed 10,000 men. This great reduction had been caused by the
disaster of the previous day at Sailor's Creek, by desertions
on the retreat, and by an exhaustion which obliged many to
leave the ranks. Those who still remained by their colors were
veterans whose courage never failed, and who were yet ready to
face any odds. The heads of the Federal columns beginning to
appear about eleven o'clock, the Confederates resumed their
retreat." On the afternoon of the 7th, Lee received a note
from Grant calling upon him to surrender, and replied to it,
asking what terms would be offered. Further notes were
exchanged between the two commanders the following day, while
the retreat continued. Lee hoped to reach Appomattox Court
House and secure supplies that were there, which might enable
him to "push on to the Staunton River and maintain himself
behind that stream until a junction could be made with
Johnston." But when, in the afternoon of April 8th, he reached
the neighborhood of Appomattox Court House, "he was met by the
intelligence of the capture of the stores placed for his army
at the station two miles beyond.
{3554}
Notwithstanding this overwhelming news, he determined to make
one more effort to force himself through the Federal toils
that encompassed him." This attempt was made at three o'clock
on the morning of the 9th of April, General Gordon leading the
attack, which failed. Lee then yielded to his fate, and sent a
flag of truce, asking for an interview with Grant to arrange
terms of surrender. "Grant had not yet come up, and while
waiting for his arrival General Lee seated himself upon some
rails which Colonel Talcott of the Engineers had fixed at the
foot of an apple tree for his convenience. This tree was half
a mile distant from the point where the meeting of Lee and
Grant took place, yet wide-spread currency has been given to
the story that the surrender took place under its shade, and
'apple-tree' jewelry has been profusely distributed from the
orchard in which it grew. About 11 o'clock General Lee,
accompanied only by Colonel Marshall of his staff, proceeded
to the village to meet General Grant, who had now arrived. The
meeting between the two renowned generals took place at the
house of a Mr. McLean at Appomattox Court-house, to which
mansion, after exchanging courteous salutations, they repaired
to settle the terms on which the surrender of the Army of
Northern Virginia should be concluded. … The written
instrument of surrender covered the following points:
Duplicate rolls of all the officers and men were to be made,
and the officers to sign paroles for themselves and their men,
all agreeing not to bear arms against the United States unless
regularly exchanged. The arms, artillery, and public property
were to be turned over to an officer appointed to receive
them, the officers retaining their side-arms and private
horses and baggage. In addition to this, General Grant
permitted every man of the Confederate army who claimed to own
a horse or mule to retain it for farming purposes, General Lee
remarking that this would have a happy effect. … After
completion of these measures General Lee remarked that his men
were badly in need of food, that they had been living for
several days on parched corn exclusively, and requested
rations and forage for 25,000 men. These rations were granted
out of the car-loads of Confederate provisions which had been
stopped by the Federal cavalry. … Three days after the
surrender the Army of Northern Virginia had dispersed in every
direction, and three weeks later the veterans of a hundred
battles had changed the musket and the sword for the
implements of husbandry. … Thousands of soldiers were set
adrift on the world without a penny in their pockets to enable
them to reach their homes. Yet none of the scenes of riot that
often follow the disbanding of armies marked their course."
A. L. Long,
Memoirs of Robert E. Lee,
chapter 21.
"General Grant's behavior at Appomattox was marked by a desire
to spare the feelings of his great opponent. There was no
theatrical display; his troops were not paraded with bands
playing and banners flying, before whose lines the
Confederates must march and stack arms. He did not demand
Lee's sword, as is customary, but actually apologized to him
for not having his own, saying it had been left behind in the
wagon; promptly stopped salutes from being fired to mark the
event, and the terms granted were liberal and generous. 'No
man could have behaved better than General Grant did under the
circumstances,' said Lee to a friend in Richmond. 'He did not
touch my sword; the usual custom is for the sword to be
received when tendered, and then handed back, but he did not
touch mine,' Neither did the Union chief enter the Southern
lines to show himself or to parade his victory, or go to
Richmond or Petersburg to exult over a fallen people, but
mounted his horse and with his staff started for Washington.
Washington, at Yorktown, was not as considerate and thoughtful
of the feelings of Cornwallis or his men. Charges were now
withdrawn from the guns, flags furled, and the Army of the
Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia turned their backs
upon each other for the first time In four long, bloody
years,"
F. Lee,
General Lee,
chapter 15.
ALSO IN:
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapter 65-67.
H. Porter,
The Surrender at Appomattox Court House
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4).
A. Badeau,
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant,
chapter 33-34 (volume 3).
J. W. Keifer,
The Battle of Sailor's Creek
(Sketches of War History,
Ohio Commandery L. L. of the United States, volume 3).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April: Virginia).
President Lincoln at Richmond.
The assembling and dispersing of "the gentlemen who have
acted as the Legislature of Virginia."
Virtual Proclamations of the end of the war.
"President Lincoln had been at City Point and vicinity for
several days before the fall of Richmond, in constant
communication with the General-in-chief, at the front,
receiving dispatches from him and transmitting them instantly
to the Secretary of War, whence they were diffused over the
country, by the telegraph. On the day after Richmond was
evacuated, he went up to that city in Admiral Porter's
flag-ship, the Malvern, Captain Ralph Chandler, with the
Sangamon, several tugs, and 30 small boats, with about 300
men, had already cleared the channel of the river of
torpedoes, and made the navigation comparatively safe. When
near Rocketts, the President and the Admiral left the Malvern,
and proceeded to the city in the commander's gig. With its
crew, armed with carbines, they landed and walked to Weitzel's
quarters, in the late residence of Davis, cheered on the way
by the huzzas and grateful ejaculations of a vast concourse of
emancipated slaves, who had been told that the tall man was
their Liberator. They crowded around him so thickly, in their
eagerness to see him, and to grasp his hand, that a the of
soldiers were needed to clear the way, After a brief rest at
Weitzel's, the President rode rapidly through the principal
streets of Richmond, in an open carriage, and, at near sunset,
departed for City Point. Two days afterward, the President
went to Richmond again, accompanied by his wife, the
Vice-President, and several Senators, when he was called upon
by leading Confederates, several of them members of the rebel
Virginia Legislature, whose chief business was to endeavor to
arrange a compromise whereby the equivalent for submission
should be the security to the Virginia insurgents, as far as
possible, of their political power and worldly possessions.
{3555}
The President was assured by Judge Campbell a member of the
Confederate 'Government' (who, for two years, had been
satisfied, he said, that success was impossible), that the
so-called Virginia Legislature, if allowed to reassemble, with
the Governor, would work for the reconstruction of the Union,
their first step being the withdrawal of the Virginia troops
from the field, on condition that the confiscation of property
in Virginia should not be allowed. Anxious to end the war
without further bloodshed, if possible, and satisfied that the
withdrawal of the Virginia troops—in other words, nearly all
of Lee's army—would accomplish it, he left with General
Weitzel, on his departure from Richmond [April 6], authority
to allow 'the gentlemen who have acted as the Legislature of
Virginia, in support of the rebellion, to assemble at Richmond
and take measures to withdraw the Virginia troops and other
support from resistance to the General Government.' A
safeguard was given. The fugitives returned, with the
Governor, but instead of performing in good faith what had
been promised in their name, they began legislating generally,
as if they were the legal representatives of the people of
Virginia. So soon as notice of this perfidy was given to the
President after his return to Washington, he directed Weitzel
to revoke the safeguard, and allow 'the gentlemen who had
acted as the Legislature of Virginia' to return to private
life. The surrender of Lee had, meanwhile, made the
contemplated action unnecessary. The President was blamed by
the loyal people for allowing these men to assemble with
acknowledged powers; and the Confederates abused him for
dissolving the assembly. The President returned to Washington
City on the day of Lee's surrender, where he was the recipient
of a multitude of congratulations because of the dawn of
peace. On the 11th he issued proclamations, one declaring the
closing, until further notice, of certain ports in the
Southern States, whereof the blockade had been raised by their
capture, respectively; and the other, demanding, henceforth,
for our vessels in foreign ports, on penalty of retaliation,
those privileges and immunities which had hitherto been denied
them on the plea of according equal belligerent rights to the
Republic and its internal enemies. … On the following day an
order was issued from the War Department, which had been
approved by General Grant, putting an end to all drafting and
recruiting for the National army, and the purchase of
munitions of war and supplies; and declaring that the number
of general and staff officers would be speedily reduced, and
all military restrictions on trade and commerce be removed
forthwith. This virtual proclamation of the end of the war
went over the land on the anniversary of the evacuation of
Fort Sumter [April 14], while General Anderson was replacing
the old flag over the ruins of that fortress."
B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 3, chapter 21.
ALSO IN:
H. J. Raymond,
Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln,
chapter 20.
C. C. Coffin,
Late Scenes in Richmond
(Atlantic Monthly, June, 1865).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April 14th).
The Assassination of President Lincoln.
"From the very beginning of his Presidency, Mr. Lincoln had
been constantly subject to the threats of his enemies and the
warnings of his friends. … Although he freely discussed with
the officials about him the possibilities of danger, he always
considered them remote, as is the habit of men
constitutionally brave, and positively refused to torment
himself with precautions for his own safety. He would sum the
matter up by saying that both friends and strangers must have
daily access to him in all manner of ways and places; his life
was therefore in reach of anyone, sane or mad, who was ready
to murder and be hanged for it; that he could not possibly
guard against all danger unless he were to shut himself up in
an iron box, in which condition he could scarcely perform the
duties of a President; by the hand of a murderer he could die
only once; to go continually in fear would be to die over and
over. He therefore went in and out before the people, always
unarmed, generally unattended. … Four years of threats and
boastings, of alarms that were unfounded, and of plots that
came to nothing thus passed away; but precisely at the time
when the triumph of the nation over the long insurrection
seemed assured, and a feeling of peace and security was
diffused over the country, one of the conspiracies, not
seemingly more important than the many abortive ones, ripened
in the sudden heat of hatred and despair. A little band of
malignant secessionists, consisting of John Wilkes Booth, an
actor, of a family of famous players, Lewis Powell, alias
Payne, a disbanded rebel soldier from Florida, George
Atzerodt, formerly a coach maker, but more recently a spy and
blockade runner of the Potomac, David E. Herold, a young
druggist's clerk, Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin,
Maryland secessionists and Confederate soldiers, and John H.
Surratt, had their ordinary rendezvous at the house of Mrs.
Mary E. Surratt, the widowed mother of the last named,
formerly a woman of some property in Maryland, but reduced by
reverses to keeping a small boarding-house in Washington.
Booth was the leader of the little coterie. He was a young man
of twenty-six. … He was a fanatical secessionist; had assisted
at the capture and execution of John Brown, and had imbibed at
Richmond and other Southern cities where he had played, a
furious spirit of partisanship against Lincoln and the Union
party. After the reelection of Mr. Lincoln, which rang the
knell of the insurrection, Booth, like many of the
secessionists North and South, was stung to the quick by
disappointment. He visited Canada, consorted with the rebel
emissaries there, and at last—whether or not at their
instigation cannot certainly be said—conceived a scheme to
capture the President and take him to Richmond. He spent a
great part of the autumn and winter inducing a small number of
loose fish of secession sympathies to join him in this
fantastic enterprise. … There are indications in the evidence
given on the trial of the conspirators that they suffered some
great disappointment in their schemes in the latter part of
March, and a letter from Arnold to Booth, dated March 27,
showed that some of them had grown timid of the consequences
of their contemplated enterprise and were ready to give it up.
He advised Booth, before going further, 'to go and see how it
will be taken in R---d.' But timid as they might be by nature,

the whole group was so completely under the ascendency of
Booth that they did not dare disobey him when in his presence;
and after the surrender of Lee, in an access of malice and rage
which was akin to madness, he called them together and
assigned each his part in the new crime, the purpose of which
had arisen suddenly in his mind out of the ruins of the
abandoned abduction scheme.
{3556}
This plan was as brief and simple as it was horrible. Powell,
alias Payne, the stalwart, brutal, simple-minded boy from
Florida, was to murder Seward; Atzerodt, the comic villain of
the drama, was assigned to remove Andrew Johnson; Booth
reserved for himself the most difficult and most conspicuous
role of the tragedy; it was Herold's duty to attend him as a
page and aid in his escape. Minor parts were assigned to stage
carpenters and other hangers-on, who probably did not
understand what it all meant. Herold, Atzerodt, and Surratt
had previously deposited at a tavern at Surrattsville,
Maryland, owned by Mrs. Surratt, but kept by a man named
Lloyd, a quantity of ropes, carbines, ammunition, and whisky,
which were to be used in the abduction scheme. On the 11th of
April Mrs. Surratt, being at the tavern, told Lloyd to have
the shooting irons in readiness, and on Friday, the 14th,
again visited the place and told him they would probably be
called for that night. The preparations for the final blow
were made with feverish haste; it was only about noon of the
14th that Booth learned the President was to go to Ford's
Theater that night. It has always been a matter of surprise in
Europe that he should have been at a place of amusement on
Good Friday; but the day was not kept sacred in America,
except by the members of certain churches. It was not,
throughout the country, a day of religious observance. The
President was fond of the theater; it was one of his few means
of recreation. It was natural enough that, on this day of
profound national thanksgiving, he should take advantage of a
few hours' relaxation to see a comedy. Besides, the town was
thronged with soldiers and officers, all eager to see him; it
was represented to him that appearing occasionally in public
would gratify many people whom he could not otherwise meet. …
From the moment Booth ascertained the President's intention to
attend the theater in the evening his every action was alert
and energetic. He and his confederates, Herold, Surratt and
Atzerodt, were seen on horseback in every part of the city. He
had a hurried conference with Mrs. Surratt before she started
for Lloyd's tavern. … Booth was perfectly at home in Ford's
Theater, where he was greatly liked by all the employees,
without other reason than the sufficient one of his youth and
good looks. Either by himself or with the aid of his friends
he arranged his whole plan of attack and escape during the
afternoon. He counted upon address and audacity to gain access
to the small passage behind the President's box; once there,
he guarded against interference by an arrangement of a wooden
bar to be fastened by a simple mortice in the angle of the
wall and the door by which he entered, so that the door could
not be opened from without. He even provided for the
contingency of not gaining entrance to the box by boring a
hole in its door, through which he might either observe the
occupants or take aim and shoot. He hired at a livery stable a
small, fleet horse, which he showed with pride during the day
to barkeepers and loafers among his friends. The moon rose
that night at ten o'clock A few minutes before that hour he
called one of the underlings of the theater to the back door
and left him there holding his horse. He then went to a saloon
near by, took a drink of brandy, and, entering the theater,
passed rapidly through the crowd in rear of the dress circle
and made his way to the passage leading to the President's
box. He showed a card to a servant in attendance and was
allowed to pass in. He entered noiselessly, and, turning,
fastened the door with the bar he had previously made ready,
without disturbing any of the occupants of the box, between
whom and himself there yet remained the slight partition and
the door through which he had bored the hole. … Holding a
pistol in one hand and a knife in the other, he opened the box
door, put the pistol to the President's head, and fired;
dropping the weapon, he took the knife in his right hand, and
when Major Rathbone sprang to seize him he struck savagely at
him. Major Rathbone received the blow on his left arm,
suffering a wide and deep wound. Booth, rushing forward, then
placed his left hand on the railing of the box and vaulted
lightly over to the stage. It was a high leap, but nothing to
such a trained athlete. … He would have got safely away but
for his spur catching in the folds of the Union flag with
which the front of the box was draped. He fell on the stage,
the torn flag trailing on his spur, but instantly rose as if
he had received no hurt, though in fact the fall had broken
his leg; he turned to the audience, brandishing his dripping
knife, and shouting the State motto of Virginia, 'Sic Semper
Tyrannis,' and fled rapidly across the stage and out of sight.
Major Rathbone had shouted, 'Stop him!' The cry went out, 'He
has shot the President.' From the audience, at first stupid
with surprise, and afterwards wild with excitement and horror,
two or three men jumped upon the stage in pursuit of the
flying assassin; but he ran through the familiar passages,
leaped upon his horse, which was in waiting in the alley
behind, rewarded with a kick and a curse the call-boy who had
held him, and rode rapidly away in the light of the just risen
moon. The President scarcely moved; his head drooped forward
slightly, his eyes closed. … It was afterward ascertained that
a large derringer bullet had entered the back of the head on
the left side, and, passing through the brain, had lodged just
behind the left eye. By direction of Rathbone and Crawford,
the President was carried to a house across the street and
laid upon a bed in a small room at the rear of the hall, on
the ground floor. … The President had been shot a few minutes
past ten. The wound would have brought instant death to most
men, but his vital tenacity was extraordinary. … At twenty-two
minutes after seven he died. Stanton broke the silence by
saying, 'Now he belongs to the ages.'" At the same hour in
which the President was murdered, an attempt was made by one
of Booth's fellow conspirators to kill the Secretary of State.
Mr. Seward had been thrown from his carriage a few days before
and was prostrated by the serious injuries received.
Pretending to bring a prescription from his physician, the
assassin, Payne, made his way into the sick-room of the
Secretary and stabbed him three times, but not fatally, in the
neck and cheek. Two sons, Frederick and Augustus Seward, were
seriously wounded in defending their father, and a
soldier-nurse who was present struggled bravely with the
assassin, though weaponless, and was stabbed repeatedly.
{3557}
Payne escaped for the time, but was caught a few days later.
Booth made his way to Port Tobacco, and thence across the
Potomac, into Virginia, assisted and concealed by numerous
sympathizers. He eluded his pursuers until the 25th of April,
when he was hunted down by a party of soldiers, while sleeping
in a barn, below Fredericksburg, and, refusing to surrender,
was shot. "The surviving conspirators, with the exception of
John H. Surratt, were tried by a military commission sitting
in Washington in the months of May and June. … Mrs. Surratt,
Payne, Herold, and Atzerodt were hanged on the 7th of July;
Mudd, Arnold, and O'Laughlin were imprisoned for life at the
Tortugas, though the term was afterwards shortened; and
Spangler, the scene shifter at the theater, was sentenced to
six years in jail. John H. Surratt escaped to Canada," and
thence to England. "He wandered over Europe, enlisted in the
Papal Zouaves, deserted and fled to Egypt, where he was
detected and brought back to Washington in 1867. His trial
lasted two months and ended in a disagreement of the jury."
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 10. chapters 14-15.
ALSO IN:
H. J. Raymond,
Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln,
chapter 21.
J. G. Holland,
Life of Lincoln,
chapter 30.
B. P. Poore,
Reminiscences,
volume 2, chapter 15.
B. Pittman,
Report of the Trial of the Conspirators.
Trial of John H. Surratt.
T. M. Harris,
Assassination of Lincoln: a History.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April 15th).
Succession of Andrew Johnson, Vice President, to the Presidency.
"On the day after the assassination, Mr. Johnson, having been
apprised of the event, took the oath of office, at his rooms,
in the presence of the Cabinet, and of several members of
Congress, and was thus quietly inducted into the high position
so summarily vacated by the martyred President. In the few
remarks made on the occasion, as to 'an indication of any
policy which may be pursued,' he said it 'must be left for
development as the administration progresses'; and his own
past course in connection with the Rebellion 'must be regarded
as a guaranty for the future.' To several delegations which
waited upon him he was, however, more explicit. … 'I know it
is easy, gentlemen [he said to a delegation from New
Hampshire], for any one who is so disposed to acquire a
reputation for clemency and mercy. But the public good
imperatively requires a just discrimination in the exercise of
these qualities. … The American people must be taught to know
and understand that treason is a crime. … It must not be
regarded as a mere difference of political opinion. It must
not be excused as an unsuccessful rebellion, to be overlooked
and forgiven.' … It is not surprising, therefore, with
utterances like these, in such seeming harmony with his
antecedents as a Southern Unionist,—antecedents which had
secured his nomination and election to the
Vice-Presidency,—that many were disposed to regard his
advancement to the Presidency at that particular juncture as
but another evidence of Providential favor, if not of Divine
interposition, by which the nation was to be saved from what
many feared might prove Mr. Lincoln's ill-timed leniency and
misplaced confidence. … Such gratulations, however, were of
short continuance. Whatever the cause or design, the new
President soon revealed the change that had taken place and
the purpose to adopt and pursue a policy the exact reverse of
what, with such prompt and unequivocal words, he had
indicated."
H. Wilson,
Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America,
volume 3, chapter 43.
"Johnson was inaugurated at 11 o'clock on the morning of the
15th, and was at once surrounded by radical and conservative
politicians, who were alike anxious about the situation. I
spent most of the afternoon in a political caucus, held for
the purpose of considering the necessity for a new Cabinet and
a line of policy less conciliatory than that of Mr. Lincoln;
and while everybody was shocked at his murder, the feeling was
nearly universal that the accession of Johnson to the
Presidency would prove a godsend to the country. Aside from
Mr. Lincoln's known policy of tenderness to the Rebels, which
now so jarred upon the feelings of the hour, his well-known
views on the subject of reconstruction were as distasteful as
possible to radical Republicans. … On the following day, in
pursuance of a previous engagement, the Committee on the
Conduct of the War met the President at his quarters in the
Treasury Department. He received us with decided cordiality,
and Mr. Wade said to him: 'Johnson we have faith in you. By
the gods, there will be no trouble now in running the
government!'"
G. W. Julian,
Political Recollections,
chapter 11.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April 26th).
General Johnston's surrender.
On the 11th of April, at Smithfield, North Carolina, General
Sherman had news of the surrender of Lee. Entering Raleigh on
the 13th, he received, next day, a communication from the
Confederate General Johnston proposing a truce "to permit the
civil authorities to enter into the needful arrangements to
terminate the existing war." In reply he invited a conference
with Johnston, which occurred on the 17th—the day on which
news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received.
"Sherman said frankly that he could not recognize the
Confederate civil authority as having any existence, and could
neither receive nor transmit to Washington any proposition
coming from them. He expressed his ardent desire for an end to
devastation, and offered Johnston the same terms offered by
Grant to Lee. Johnston replied that he would not be justified
in such a capitulation, but suggested that they might arrange
the terms of a permanent peace. The suggestion pleased General
Sherman; the prospect of ending the war without the shedding
of another drop of blood was so tempting to him that he did
not sufficiently consider the limits of his authority in the
matter." The result was that, on the 18th, Sherman and
Johnston signed a memorandum of agreement which provided for
the disbanding of all the Confederate armies, the recognition
of the State governments of the several States lately forming
the rebel Confederacy, the complete restoration of their old
status in the Union, and complete amnesty to all concerned in
the rebellion. This was forwarded to Washington, and, of
course, it was disapproved, but with an unnecessary
publication of sharp censure of General Sherman, and with
expressions that seemed to imply distrust of the loyalty of
his motives. General Grant was ordered to proceed to General
Sherman's headquarters and to direct further operations.
{3558}
He executed this mission with great delicacy, and his presence
with Sherman was hardly known. The latter held a second
conference with Johnston on the 26th, and there General
Johnston made the surrender of his army on the same terms that
had been granted to Lee.
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 10, chapter 12.
ALSO IN:
W. T. Sherman,
Memoirs,
chapter 23 (volume 2).
J. W. Draper,
History of the American Civil War,
chapter 92 (volume 3).
J. E. Johnston,
Narrative of Military Operations,
chapter 12.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April-May).
The end of the Rebellion.
Fall of Mobile.
Stoneman's Raid.
Wilson's Raid.
Capture of Jefferson Davis.
The final surrenders.
After the surrender of Johnson, "there were still a few
expeditions out in the South that could not be communicated
with, and had to be left to act according to the judgment of
their respective commanders. … The three expeditions which I
had tried so hard to get off from the commands of Thomas and
Canby did finally get off: one under Canby himself, against
Mobile, late in March; that under Stoneman from East Tennessee
on the 20th; and the one under Wilson, starting from Eastport,
Mississippi, on the 22d of March. They were all eminently
successful, but without any good result. Indeed much valuable
property was destroyed and many lives lost at a time when we
would have liked to spare them. … Stoneman entered North
Carolina and then pushed north to strike the Virginia and
Tennessee Railroad. He got upon that road, destroyed its
bridges at different places and rendered the road useless to
the enemy up to within a few miles of Lynchburg. His approach
caused the evacuation of that city about the time we were at
Appomattox, and was the cause of a commotion we heard of
there. He then pushed south, and was operating in the rear of
Johnston's army about the time the negotiations were going on
between Sherman and Johnston for the latter's surrender. In
this raid Stoneman captured and destroyed a large amount of
stores, while 14 guns and nearly 2,000 prisoners were the
trophies of his success. Canby appeared before Mobile on the
27th of March. The city of Mobile was protected by two forts,
besides other intrenchments—Spanish Fort, on the east side of
the bay, and Fort Blakely, north of the city. These forts were
invested. On the night of the 8th of April, the National
troops having carried the enemy's works at one point, Spanish
Fort was evacuated; and on the 9th, the very day of Lee's
surrender, Blakely was carried by assault, with a considerable
loss to us. On the 11th the city was evacuated. … Wilson moved
out [from Eastport, Mississippi] with full 12,000 men, well
equipped and well armed. He was an energetic officer and
accomplished his work rapidly. Forrest was in his front, but
with neither his old-time army nor his old-time prestige. … He
had a few thousand regular cavalry left, but not enough to
even retard materially the progress of Wilson's cavalry. Selma
fell on the 2d of April. … Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and West
Point fell in quick succession. These were all important
points to the enemy by reason of their railroad connections,
as depots of supplies, and because of their manufactories of
war material. … Macon surrendered on the 21st of April. Here
news was received of the negotiations for the surrender of
Johnston's army. Wilson belonged to the military division
commanded by Sherman, and of course was bound by his terms.
This stopped all fighting. General Richard Taylor had now
become the senior Confederate officer still at liberty east of
the Mississippi River, and on the 4th of May he surrendered
everything within the limits of this extensive command.
General E. Kirby Smith surrendered the trans-Mississippi
department on the 26th of May, leaving no other Confederate
army at liberty to continue the war. Wilson's raid resulted in
the capture of the fugitive president of the defunct
confederacy before he got out of the country. This occurred at
Irwinville, Georgia, on the 11th of May. For myself, and I
believe Mr. Lincoln shared the feeling, I would have been very
glad to have seen Mr. Davis succeed in escaping, but for one
reason: I feared that, if not captured, he might get into the
trans-Mississippi region and there set up a more contracted
confederacy. … Much was said at the time about the garb Mr.
Davis was wearing when he was captured. [Mr. Davis, in his own
narrative, and Captain G. W. Lawton, of the 4th Michigan
Cavalry, which made the capture, agree in stating that the
fugitive chief of the Confederacy wore when taken a lady's
'waterproof,' with a shawl over his head and shoulders. Mr.
Davis says that he picked up his wife's waterproof in mistake
for his own when he ran from the tent in which he was
surprised, while camping, and that his wife threw the shawl
over him. Captain Lawton asserts that he carried a tin-pail,
that he affected to be bent with age, and that when he stepped
out Mrs. Davis asked the soldiers at the tent entrance to let
her 'old mother' go to the run for water.] I cannot settle
this question from personal knowledge of the facts; but I have
been under the belief, from information given to me by General
Wilson shortly after the event, that when Mr. Davis learned
that he was surrounded by our cavalry he was in his tent
dressed in a gentleman's dressing gown. Naturally enough, Mr.
Davis wanted to escape, and would not reflect much how this
should be accomplished provided it might be done successfully.
… Every one supposed he would be tried for treason if
captured, and that he would be executed. Had he succeeded in
making his escape in any disguise it would have been adjudged
a good thing afterwards by his admirers."
U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapter 69 (volume 2).
"Davis was taken, via Savannah and the ocean, to Fortress
Monroe; where he was long closely and rigorously imprisoned,
while his family were returned by water to Savannah and there
set at liberty. Secretary Reagan—the only person of
consequence captured with Davis—was taken to Boston, and
confined, with Vice-President Stephens (captured about this
time also in Georgia), in Fort Warren; but each was liberated
on parole a few months thereafter."
H. Greeley,
The American Conflict,
volume 2, chapter 35.
ALSO IN:
Major-General Wilson,
How Jefferson Davis was overtaken.
J. H. Reagan,
Flight and Capture of Jefferson Davis
(in Annals of the War by leading Participants).
G. W. Lawton,
"Running at the Heads"
(Atlantic Monthly, September, 1865).
J. Davis,
Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government,
chapter 54 (volume 2).
C. C. Andrews,
History of the Campaign of Mobile.
{3559}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (May).
Feeling of surrendered Confederate officers.
After the surrender of Johnston, General Jacob D. Cox was put
in command of the military district within which the surrender
occurred, and had charge of the arrangements made for paroling
and disbanding the Confederate forces. In a paper prepared for
the Ohio Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion
of the United States, General Cox has given an interesting
report of conversations which he had in that connection with
General Johnston and General Hardee. Talking with General
Hardee of the war, the latter was asked "what had been his own
expectation as to the result, and when had he himself
recognized the hopelessness of the contest. 'I confess,' said
he, laughing, 'that I was one of the hot Southerners who
shared the notion that one man of the South could whip three
Yankees; but the first year of the war pretty effectually
knocked that nonsense out of us, and, to tell the truth, ever
since that time we military men have generally seen that it
was only a question how long it would take to wear our army
out and destroy it. We have seen that there was no real hope
of success, except by some extraordinary accident of fortune,
and we have also seen that the politicians would never give up
till the army was gone. So we have fought with the knowledge
that we were to be sacrificed with the result we see to-day,
and none of us could tell who would live to see it. We have
continued to do our best, however, and have meant to fight as
if we were sure of success.' … Johnston was very warm in his
recognition of the soldierly qualities and the wonderful
energy and persistence of our army and the ability of Sherman.
Referring to his own plans, he said he had hoped to have had
time enough to have collected a larger force to oppose
Sherman, and to give it a more complete and efficient
organization. The Confederate government had reckoned upon the
almost impassable character of the rivers and swamps to give a
respite till spring—at least they hoped for this. 'Indeed,'
said he, with a smile, 'Hardee here,' giving a friendly nod of
his head toward his subordinate, 'reported the Salkehatchie
Swamps as absolutely impassable; but when I heard that Sherman
had not only started, but was marching through those very
swamps at the rate of thirteen miles a day, making corduroy
road every foot of the way, I made up my mind there had been
no such army since the days of Julius Cæsar.' Hardee
laughingly admitted his mistaken report from Charleston, but
justified it by saying that all precedent was against such a
march, and that he would still have believed it impossible if
he had not seen it done."
J. D. Cox,
The Surrender of Johnston's Army
(Sketches of War History, Ohio Commandery,
Loyal Legion, United States,
volume 2, page 249-256).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (May).
Statistics of the Civil War.
"In a statistical exhibit of deaths in the Union army,
compiled (1885), under the direction of Adjutant-General Drum,
by Joseph W. Kirkley, the causes of death are given as
follows:
Killed in action, 4,142 officers, 62,916 men;
died of wounds received in action, 2,223 officers, 40,789 men,
of which number 99 officers and 1,973 men were prisoners of war;
died of disease, 2,795 officers and 221,791 men, of which
83 officers and 24,783 men were prisoners;
accidental deaths (except drowned), 142 officers and 3,972 men,
of which 2 officers and 5 men were prisoners;
drowned, 106 officers and 4,838 men,
of which 1 officer and 6 men were prisoners;
murdered, 37 officers and 483 men;
killed after capture, 14 officers and 90 men;
committed suicide, 26 officers and 365 men;
executed by United States military authorities, 267 men;
executed by the enemy, 4 officers and 60 men;
died from sunstroke, 5 officers and 308 men, of which 20
men were prisoners;
other known causes, 62 officers and 1,972 men,
of which 7 officers and 312 men were prisoners;
causes not stated, 28 officers and 12,093 men,
of which 9 officers and 2,030 men were prisoners.
Total 9,584 officers, and 349,944 men,
of which 219 officers and 29,279 men were prisoners.
Grand aggregate, 359,528;
aggregate deaths among prisoners, 29,498.
Since 1885 the Adjutant-General has received evidence of the
death in Southern prisons of 694 men not previously accounted
for, which increases the number of deaths among prisoners to
30,192, and makes a grand aggregate of 360,222." Total number
of men furnished to the United States Army and Navy during the
War from the several States and Territories, 2,778,304; of
which number, 2,494,592 were white troops, 101,207 were
sailors and marines, and 178,975 were colored troops. "The
work of mustering out volunteers began April 29th and up to
August 7th 640,806 troops had been discharged; on September
14th the number had reached 741,107, and on November 15th
800,963. On November 22d, 1865, the Secretary of War reported
that Confederate troops surrendered and were released on
parole" to the number of 174,223. Official returns show the
whole number of men enrolled (present and absent) in the
active armies of the Confederacy, as follows:
January 1, 1862, 318,011;
January 1, 1863, 465,584;
January 1, 1864, 472,781;
January 1, 1865, 439,675.
"Very few, if any, of the local land forces, and none of the
naval are included in the tabular exhibit. If we take the
472,000 men in service at the beginning of 1864, and add
thereto at least 250,000 deaths occurring prior to that date,
it gives over 700,000. The discharges for disability and other
causes and the desertions would probably increase the number
(inclusive of the militia and naval forces) to over 1,000,000.
Northern writers have assumed that the Confederate losses
equalled the Union losses; no data exist for a reasonably
accurate estimate."
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War,
volume 4, pages 767-768.
"In the four years of their service the armies of the Union,
counting every form of conflict, great and small, had been in
2,265 engagements with the Confederate troops. From the time
when active hostilities began until the last gun of the war
was fired, a fight of some kind—a raid, a skirmish, or a
pitched battle—occurred at some point on our widely extended
front nearly eleven times per week upon an average. Counting
only those engagements in which the Union loss in killed,
wounded, and missing exceeded 100, the total number was
330,—averaging one every four and a half days. From the
northernmost point of contact to the southernmost, the
distance by any practicable line of communication was more
than 2,000 miles. From East to West the extremes were 1,500
miles apart.
{3560}
During the first year of hostilities—one of preparation on
both sides—the battles were … 35 in number, of which the most
serious was the Union defeat at Bull Run. In 1862 the war had
greatly 'increased in magnitude and intensity, as is shown by
the 84 engagements between the armies. The net result of the
year's operations was highly favorable to the Rebellion. In
1863 the battles were 110 in number—among them some of the
most significant and important victories for the Union. In
1864 there were 73 engagements, and in the winter and early
spring of 1865 there were 28. In fact, 1864-65 was one
continuous campaign. … Not only in life but in treasure the
cost of the war was enormous. In addition to the large
revenues of the Government which had been currently absorbed,
the public debt at the close of the struggle was
$2,808,549,437.55. The incidental losses were innumerable in
kind, incalculable in amount. Mention is made here only of the
actual expenditure of money—estimated by the standard of gold.
The outlay was indeed principally made in paper, but the faith
of the United States was given for redemption in coin—a faith
which has never been tarnished, and which in this instance has
been signally vindicated by the steady determination of the
people. Never, in the same space of time, has there been a
National expenditure so great. … For the three years of the
rebellion, after the first year, our War Department alone
expended $603,314,411.82. $690,391,048.66, and $1,030,690,400
respectively. … At the outbreak of hostilities the Government
discovered that it had no Navy at command. The Secretary, Mr.
Welles, found upon entering his office but a single ship in a
Northern port fitted to engage in aggressive operations. … By
the end of the year 1863 the Government had 600 vessels of war
which were increased to 700 before the rebellion was subdued.
Of the total number at least 75 were ironclad."
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapter 2,
and volume 1, chapter 25.
"Eleven Confederate cruisers figured in the 'Alabama claims'
settlement between the United States and Great Britain. They
were the Alabama, Shenandoah, Florida, Tallahassee, Georgia,
Chickamauga, Nashville, Retribution, Sumter, Sallie and
Boston. The actual losses inflicted by the Alabama
($6,547,609) were only about $60,000 greater than those
charged to the Shenandoah. The sum total of the claims filed
against the eleven cruisers for ships and cargoes was
$17,900,633, all but about $4,000,000 being caused by the
Alabama and Shenandoah. … In the 'Case of the United States' …
it is stated that while in 1860 two-thirds of the commerce of
New York was carried on in American bottoms, in 1863
three-fourths was carried on in foreign bottoms. The transfer
of American vessels to the British flag to avoid capture is
stated thus:
In 1861, vessels 126, tonnage 71,673;
in 1862, vessels 135, tonnage 64,578;
in 1863, vessels 348, tonnage 252,579;
in 1864, vessels 106, tonnage 92,052.
… The cruisers built or purchased in England for the
Confederate navy, were the Florida, Alabama, Shenandoah and
Rappahannock. The latter never made a cruise, and the others
were procured for the government by James D. Bulloch, naval
agent. … He also had constructed in France the armored ram
Stonewall."
J. T. Scharf,
History of the Confederate States Navy,
chapter 26.
See ALABAMA CLAIMS.
"The greatest of all the lessons afforded to humanity by the
Titanic struggle in which the American Republic saved its life
is the manner in which its armies were levied, and, when the
occasion for their employment was over, were dismissed. Though
there were periods when recruiting was slow and expensive, yet
there were others, when some crying necessity for troops was
apparent, that showed almost incredible speed and efficiency
in the supply of men. Mr. Stanton, in his report for 1865,
says: 'After the disasters on the Peninsula in 1862, over
80,000 troops were enlisted, organized, armed, equipped, and
sent into the field in less than a month. Sixty thousand
troops have repeatedly gone to the field within four weeks;
and 90,000 infantry were sent to the armies from the five
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin within
twenty days.'"
J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 10, chapter 17.
See also, PRISONS AND PRISON-PENS, CONFEDERATE.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (May-July).
President Johnson's measures of Reconstruction
in the Insurrectionary States.
"On the 10th of May the President [Andrew Johnson] issued a
proclamation declaring substantially that actual hostilities
had ceased, and that 'armed resistance to the authority of the
Government in the insurrectionary States may be regarded at an
end.' This great fact being officially recognized, the
President found himself face to face with the momentous duty
of bringing the eleven States of the Confederacy into active
and harmonious relations with the Government of the Union. …
An extra session of Congress seemed specially desirable at the
time, and had one been summoned by the President, many of the
troubles which subsequently resulted might have been averted.
… Declining to seek the advice of Congress, in the
embarrassments of his position, President Johnson necessarily
subjected himself to the counsel and influence of his
Cabinet," in which he had made no changes since President
Lincoln's death. Among the members of the cabinet, the one who
succeeded in obtaining ascendancy was Mr. Seward, who had
rapidly recovered from his injuries and resumed the direction
of the Department of State. Mr. Seward "was firmly persuaded
that the wisest plan of reconstruction was the one which would
be speediest; that for the sake of impressing the world with
the strength and the marvelous power of self-government, with
its Law, its Order, its Peace, we should at the earliest
possible moment have every State restored to its normal
relations with the Union. He did not believe that guarantee of
any kind beyond an oath of renewed loyalty was needful. He was
willing to place implicit faith in the coercive power of
self-interest operating upon the men lately in rebellion. … By
his arguments and by his eloquence Mr. Seward completely
captivated the President. He effectually persuaded him that a
policy of anger and hate and vengeance could lead only to evil
results. … The President was gradually influenced by Mr.
Seward's arguments, though their whole tenor was against his
strongest predilections and against his pronounced and public
committals to a policy directly the reverse. … Mr. Seward's
influence was supplemented and enhanced by the timely and
artful interposition of clever men from the South. … He
[President Johnson] was not especially open to flattery, but
it was noticed that words of commendation from his native
section seemed peculiarly pleasing to him. …
{3561}
On the 29th of May … two decisive steps were taken in the work
of reconstruction. Both steps proceeded on the theory that
every act needful for the rehabilitation of the seceded States
could be accomplished by the Executive Department of the
Government. … The first of these important acts of
reconstruction, upon the expediency of which the President and
Mr. Seward had agreed, was the issuing of a Proclamation of
Amnesty and Pardon to 'all persons who have directly or
indirectly participated in the existing Rebellion,' upon the
condition that such persons should take and subscribe an
oath—to be registered for permanent preservation—solemnly
declaring that henceforth they would 'faithfully support,
protect, and defend, the Constitution of the United States and
the union of the States thereunder;' and that they would also
'abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations
which have been made during the existing Rebellion, with
reference to the emancipation of slaves.' … The general
declaration of amnesty was somewhat narrowed in its scope by
the enumeration, at the end of the proclamation, of certain
classes which were excepted from its benefit." Of the thirteen
classes thus excepted, the first six were nearly identical
with those excepted in President Lincoln's proclamation of
December 8, 1863.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1863-1864 (DECEMBER-JULY).
The classes added were: "Seventh, 'All persons who have been,
or are, absentees from the United States for the purpose of
aiding the Rebellion.' … Eighth, 'All officers in the rebel
service who had been educated at the United-States Military or
Naval Academy.' … Ninth, 'All men who held the pretended
offices of governors of States in insurrection against the
United States.' … Tenth, 'All persons who left their homes
within the jurisdiction and protection of the United States,
and passed beyond the Federal military lines into the
pretended Confederate States for the purpose of aiding the
Rebellion.' … Eleventh, 'All persons who have been engaged in
the destruction of the commerce of the United States upon the
high seas … and upon the lakes and rivers that separate the
British Provinces from the United States.' … Twelfth, 'All
persons who, at the time when they seek to obtain amnesty and
pardon, are in military, naval, or civil confinement, as
prisoners of war, or persons detained for offenses of any kind
either before or after conviction.' … Thirteenth, 'All
participants in the Rebellion, the estimated value of whose
taxable property is over $20,000.' … Full pardon was granted,
without further act on their part, to all who had taken the
oath prescribed in President Lincoln's proclamation of
December 8, 1863, and who had thenceforward kept and
maintained the same inviolate. … A circular from Mr. Seward
accompanied the proclamation, directing that the oath might
'be taken and subscribed before any commissioned officer,
civil, military, or naval, in the service of the United
States, or before any civil or military officer of a loyal
State or Territory, who, by the laws thereof, may be qualified
to administer oaths.' Everyone who took the oath was entitled
to a certified copy of it, … and a duplicate, properly
vouched, was forwarded to the State Department. … With these
details complete, a second step of great moment was taken by
the Government on the same day (May 29). A proclamation was
issued appointing William W. Holden provisional governor of
the State of North Carolina. … The proclamation made it the
duty of Governor Holden, 'at the earliest practicable period,
to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary
and proper for assembling a convention—composed of delegates
who are loyal to the United States and no others—for the
purpose of altering or amending the Constitution thereof, and
with authority to exercise, within the limit of said State,
all the powers necessary and proper to enable the loyal people
of the State of North Carolina to restore said State to its
constitutional relations to the Federal Government.' … It was
specially provided in the proclamation that in 'choosing
delegates to any State Convention no person shall be qualified
as an elector or eligible as a member unless he shall have
previously taken the prescribed oath of allegiance, and unless
he shall also possess the qualifications of a voter as defined
under the Constitution and Laws of North Carolina as they
existed on the 20th of May, 1861, immediately prior to the
so-called ordinance of secession.' Mr. Lincoln had in mind, as
was shown by his letter to Governor Hahn of Louisiana, to try
the experiment of negro suffrage, beginning with those who had
served in the Union Army, and who could read and write; but
President Johnson's plan confined the suffrage to white men,
by prescribing the same qualifications as were required in
North Carolina before the war. … A fortnight later, on the
13th of June, a proclamation was issued for the reconstruction
of the civil government of Mississippi, and William L. Sharkey
was appointed provisional governor. Four days later, on the
17th of June, a similar proclamation was issued for Georgia
with James Johnson for provisional governor, and for Texas
with Andrew J. Hamilton for provisional governor. On the 21st
of the same month Lewis E. Parsons was appointed provisional
governor of Alabama, and on the 30th Benjamin F. Perry was
appointed provisional governor of South Carolina. On the 13th
of July the list was completed by the appointment of William
Marvin as provisional governor of Florida. The precise text of
the North Carolina proclamation, 'mutatis mutandis,' was
repeated in each one of those relating to these six States. …
For the reconstruction of the other four States of the
Confederacy different provisions were made." In Virginia, the
so-called "Pierpont government"—see VIRGINIA: A. D. 1861
(JUNE-NOVEMBER)—"the shell of which had been preserved after
West Virginia's separate existence had been recognized by the
National Government, with its temporary capital at Alexandria,
was accepted by President Johnson's Administration as the
legitimate Government of Virginia. All its archives, property,
and effects, as was afterwards said by Thaddeus Stevens, were
taken to Richmond in an ambulance. … A course not dissimilar
to that adopted in Virginia was followed in Louisiana,
Arkansas, and Tennessee. In all of them the so-called
'ten-per-cent' governments established under Mr. Lincoln's
authority were now recognized. … The whole scheme of
reconstruction, as originated by Mr. Seward and adopted by the
President, was in operation by the middle of July, three
months after the assassination of Mr. Lincoln.
{3562}
Every step taken was watched with the deepest solicitude by
the loyal people. The rapid and thorough change in the
President's position was clearly discerned and fully
appreciated. His course of procedure was dividing the
Republican party, and already encouraging the hopes of those
in the North who had been the steady opponents of Mr.
Lincoln's war policy, and of those in the South who had sought
for four years to destroy the Great Republic."
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapters 3-4.
ALSO IN:
S. S. Cox,
Three Decades of Federal Legislation,
chapters 18-20.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (July-December).
Reports of Carl Schurz and General Grant on the condition
of affairs in the lately rebellious States.
In the summer of 1865 the Honorable Carl Schurz was
commissioned by President Johnson to visit the Southern States
and investigate the condition of affairs in them. Mr. Schurz,
on returning from this mission, made a report of the result of
his observations and inquiries, and the conclusions to which
they led him, which was transmitted to the Senate, by the
President, on the 18th of December. The views thus submitted
were summarized at the close of the report, as follows: "I may
sum up all I have said in a few words. If nothing were
necessary but to restore the machinery of government in the
States lately in rebellion in point of form, the movements
made to that end by the people of the south might be
considered satisfactory. But if it is required that the
southern people should also accommodate themselves to the
results of the war in point of spirit, those movements fall
far short of what must be insisted upon. The loyalty of the
masses and most of the leaders of the southern people consists
in submission to necessity. There is, except in individual
instances, an entire absence of that national spirit which
forms the basis of true loyalty and patriotism. The
emancipation of the slaves is submitted to only in so far as
chattel slavery in the old form could not be kept up. But
although the freedman is no longer considered the property of
the individual master, he is considered the slave of society,
and all independent State legislation will share the tendency
to make him such. The ordinances abolishing slavery passed by
the conventions under the pressure of circumstances will not
be looked upon as barring the establishment of a new form of
servitude. Practical attempts on the part of the southern
people to deprive the negro of his rights as a freeman may
result in bloody collisions, and will certainly plunge
southern society into restless fluctuations and anarchical
confusion. Such evils can be prevented only by continuing the
control of the national government in the States lately in
rebellion until free labor is fully developed and firmly
established, and the advantages and blessings of the new order
of things have disclosed themselves. This desirable result
will be hastened by a firm declaration on the part of the
government, that national control in the south will not cease
until such results are secured. Only in this way can that
security be established in the south which will render
numerous immigration possible, and such immigration would
materially aid a favorable development of things. The solution
of the problem would be very much facilitated by enabling all
the loyal and free-labor elements in the south to exercise a
healthy influence upon legislation. It will hardly be possible
to secure the freedman against oppressive class legislation
and private persecution, unless he be endowed with a certain
measure of political power. As to the future peace and harmony
of the Union, it is of the highest importance that the people
lately in rebellion be not permitted to build up another
'peculiar institution' whose spirit is in conflict with the
fundamental principles of our political system; for as long as
they cherish interests peculiar to them in preference to those
they have in common with the rest of the American people,
their loyalty to the Union will always be uncertain. I desire
not to be understood as saying that there are no well-meaning
men among those who were compromised in the rebellion. There
are many, but neither their number nor their influence is
strong enough to control the manifest tendency of the popular
spirit. There are great reasons for hope that a determined
policy on the part of the national government will produce
innumerable and valuable conversions. This consideration
counsels lenity as to persons, such as is demanded by the
humane and enlightened spirit of our times, and vigor and
firmness in the carrying out of principles, such as is
demanded by the national sense of justice and the exigencies
of our situation." With the report of Mr. Schurz, the
President transmitted to the Senate, at the same time, a
letter written by General Grant after making a hurried tour of
inspection in some of the Southern States, during the last
week of November and early in December. General Grant wrote:
"Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the
point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have
left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that
ready obedience to civil authority the American people have
generally been in the habit of yielding. This would render the
presence of small garrisons throughout those States necessary
until such time as labor returns to its proper channel, and
civil authority is fully established. I did not meet anyone,
either those holding places under the government or citizens
of the southern States, who think it practicable to withdraw
the military from the south at present. The white and the
black mutually require the protection of the general
government. There is such universal acquiescence in the
authority of the general government throughout the portions of
country visited by me, that the mere presence of a military
force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain
order. The good of the country, and economy, require that the
force kept in the interior, where there are many freedmen,
(elsewhere in the southern States than at forts upon the
seacoast no force is necessary,) should all be white troops.
The reasons for this are obvious without mentioning many of
them. The presence of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes
labor, both by their advice and by furnishing in their camps a
resort for the freedmen for long distances around. White
troops generally excite no opposition, and therefore a small
number of them can maintain order in a given district. Colored
troops must be kept in bodies sufficient to defend themselves.
It is not the thinking men who would use violence towards any
class of troops sent among them by the general government, but
the ignorant in some places might; and the late slave seems to
be imbued with the idea that the property of his late master
should, by right, belong to him, or at least should have no
protection from the colored soldier.
{3563}
There is danger of collisions being brought on by such causes.
My observations lead me to the conclusion that the citizens of
the southern States are anxious to return to self-government,
within the Union, as soon as possible; that whilst
reconstructing they want and require protection from the
government; that they are in earnest in wishing to do what
they think is required by the government, not humiliating to
them as citizens, and that if such a course were pointed out
they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regretted that
there cannot be a greater commingling, at this time, between
the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those
intrusted with the lawmaking power. … In some instances, I am
sorry to say, the freedman's mind does not seem to be
disabused of the idea that a freedman has the right to live
without care or provision for the future. The effect of the
belief in division of lands is idleness and accumulation in
camps, towns, and cities. In such cases I think it will be
found that vice and disease will tend to the extermination or
great reduction of the colored race. It cannot be expected
that the opinions held by men at the south for years can be
changed in a day, and therefore the freedmen require, for a
few years, not only laws to protect them, but the fostering
care of those who will give them good counsel, and on whom
they rely."
39th Congress, 1st Session,
Senate Ex. Doc. no. 2, pages 45-46, 106-107.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (December).
The end of Slavery.
Proclamation of the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (JANUARY).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865-1866.
The creation of the Freedmen's Bureau.
On the last day of the 38th Congress, March 3, 1865, an Act
was passed to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen
and refugees. It was among the last Acts approved by Mr.
Lincoln, and was designed as a protection to the freedmen of
the South and to the class of white men known as "refugees,"—
driven from their homes on account of their loyalty to the
Union. The Act provided that the Bureau should have
"supervision and management of all abandoned lands, and the
control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from
rebel States, or from any district of country within the
territory embraced in the operations of the army, under such
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the head of the
bureau and approved by the President. The said bureau shall be
under the management and control of a commissioner, to be
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate. … The Secretary of War may direct such issues
of provisions, clothing, and fuel as he may deem needful for
the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute
and suffering refugees and freedmen, and their wives and
children, under such rules and regulations as he may direct. …
The President may, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, appoint an assistant commissioner for each of the
States declared to be in insurrection, not exceeding ten. …
Any military officer may be detailed and assigned to duty
under this act without increase of pay or allowances. … The
commissioner, under the direction of the President, shall have
authority to set apart for the use of loyal refugees and
freedmen such tracts of land, within the insurrectionary
States, as shall have been abandoned, or to which the United
States shall have acquired title by confiscation, or sale, or
otherwise. And to every male citizen, whether refugee or
freedman, as aforesaid, there shall be assigned not more than
40 acres of such land, and the person to whom it is so
assigned shall be protected in the use and enjoyment of the
land for the term of three years, at an annual rent not
exceeding 6 per centum upon the value of said land as it was
appraised by the State authorities in the year 1860. … At the
end of said term, or at any time during said term, the
occupants of any parcels so assigned may purchase the land and
receive such title thereto as the United States can convey. …
On the 20th of May, 1865, Major-General O. O. Howard was
appointed Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. He gave great
attention to the subject of education; and after planting
schools for the freedmen throughout a great portion of the
South, in 1870—five years after the work was begun—he made a
report. It was full of interest. In five years there were
4,239 schools established, 9,307 teachers employed, and
247,333 pupils instructed. In 1868 the average attendance was
89,396; but in 1870 it was 91,398, or 79¾ per-cent. of the
total number enrolled. The emancipated people sustained 1,324
schools themselves, and owned 592 school buildings. The
Freedmen's Bureau furnished 654 buildings for school
purposes."
G. W. Williams,
History of the Negro Race in America,
part 8, chapters 21-22 (volume 2).
As the original act, "by experience, had proved somewhat
inadequate for the ends in view, Congress, in the early part
of February, 1866, submitted an act amendatory … for executive
approval. Its main features consisted in the reservation of
three millions of acres of public land in the South from the
operation of the homestead and pre-emption laws for occupation
by former slaves at a rental to be approved by designated
authorities, an extension of the former means of relief in the
way of food and clothing, and the punishment, by tribunals
composed of the agents and officials of the bureau, of all
persons who should violate the rights under this act of its
designated beneficiaries. … The President, chafing under the
non-admission to their representation in Congress of the
Southern States which under his policy had been restored,
vetoed the bill February 19 on various grounds, among the more
important of which, and the only ones of particular import,
were that the measure violated constitutional guarantees in
that no person by our organic code should be deprived of life,
liberty or property without due process of law, and that
taxation should never be imposed without representation. …
February 21st the bill was again put upon its passage, but not
obtaining a two-thirds vote in the Senate, consequently failed
to become a law. … The third Freedmen's Bureau bill, of July,
1866, was another attempt to amend the original law of March
3, 1865, as to juridical measures for the enforcement thereof,

and to perfect the distribution of the abandoned and
confiscated lands of the South among the blacks. It was much
milder in form than the one vetoed in February of the same
year, as it did not make violations of the proposed law a
criminal offence.
{3564}
It proposed to give jurisdiction of such violations, however,
to military tribunals, made up of the agents and officers of
the bureau, until the Southern States had been restored to
their representation in Congress. … July 16, 1866, the
President vetoed the bill as a matter of course. He could have
pursued no other action without self-contradiction. Congress,
moreover, could not have reasonably expected a different
result. It framed the bill not with an eye for executive
approval, but with regard to its ability to pass it over the
disapproval of that official, which it did on the same day the
veto message was received, thereby making it a law of the
land."
O. Skinner,
The Issues of American Politics,
part 2, chapter 2.
"The law made the agents of this Bureau guardians of freedmen,
with power to make their contracts, settle their disputes with
employers, and care for them generally. The position of Bureau
agent was one of power, of responsibility, capable of being
used beneficently, and sometimes, no doubt, it was; but these
officials were subjected to great temptation. … Nearly every
one of these agents who remained South after reconstruction
was a candidate for office; and many actually became
Governors, Judges, Legislators, Congressmen, Postmasters,
Revenue officers, etc."
H. A. Herbert,
Why the Solid South?
chapter 1.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865-1866 (December-April).
The Reconstruction question in Congress.
The Joint Committee of Fifteen.
The shaping of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The "independent measures of the Executive for reconstruction
were far from giving satisfaction to the Republican party.
Within a few days after the meeting of Congress, in December,
1865, Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, asked leave to introduce a
joint resolution which provided that a committee of fifteen
members should be appointed—nine of whom were to be members of
the House and six to be members of the Senate—for the purpose
of inquiring into the condition of the states which had formed
the so-called Confederate States of America. This committee
was to report whether these states or any of them were
entitled to be represented in either house of Congress. Leave
was given to report at any time, by bill or otherwise, and
until such should be made and finally acted upon by Congress,
no member was to be received into either house from any of
those states. All papers relating to this representation in
Congress were to be referred to this committee without debate.
This resolution was adopted in the House by a vote of—yeas
133, nays 36." In the Senate it received amendments which made
it a concurrent, instead of a joint resolution, and which
struck out the clause relating to the non-admittance of
members from the States in question pending the committee's
report, and also that which required a reference of papers to
the committee without debate.
S. S. Cox,
Three Decades of Federal Legislation,
chapter 18.
The Joint Committee on Reconstruction was constituted by the
appointment (December 14), on the part of the House, of
Thaddeus Stevens, Elihu B. Washburn, Justin S. Morrill, Henry
Grider, John A. Bingham, Roscoe Conkling, George S. Boutwell,
Henry T. Blow, and Andrew J. Rogers; and by the appointment
(December 21), on the part of the Senate, of William Pitt
Fessenden, James W. Grimes, Ira Harris, Jacob M. Howard,.
Reverdy Johnson, and George H. Williams. The most serious
question connected with the problem of reconstruction was that
arising from the great increase of representation in Congress,
and consequent augmentation of political weight and power,
that must necessarily accrue to the lately rebellious States
from the emancipation of their slaves. To this question the
Committee gave their attention first. By an original provision
of the Constitution, representation is based on the whole
number of free persons in each State and three-fifths of all
other persons. "When all become free, representation for all
necessarily follows. As a consequence the inevitable effect of
the rebellion would be to increase the political power of the
insurrectionary States, whenever they should be allowed to
resume their positions as States of the Union. As
representation is by the Constitution based upon population,
your committee [said their report, when made, on the 8th of
June, 1866] did not think it advisable to recommend a change
of that basis. … It appeared to your committee that the rights
of these persons by whom the basis of representation had been
thus increased should be recognized by the general government.
… It did not seem just or proper that all the political
advantages derived from their becoming free should be confined
to their former masters, who had fought against the Union, and
withheld from themselves, who had always been loyal. … Doubts
were entertained whether Congress had power, even under the
amended Constitution, to prescribe the qualifications of
voters in a State, or could act directly on the subject. It
was doubtful, in the opinion of your committee, whether the
States would consent to surrender a power they had always
exercised, and to which they were attached. As the best if not
the only method of surmounting the difficulty, and as
eminently just and proper in itself, your committee came to
the conclusion that political power should be possessed in all
the States exactly in proportion as the right of suffrage
should be granted, without distinction of color or race. This
it was thought would leave the whole question with the people
of each State, holding out to all the advantage of increased
political power as an inducement to allow all to participate
in its exercise." To this conclusion the committee arrived as
early as the 22d of January, when they made a preliminary
report, recommending an amendment to the constitution to the
effect that "Representatives and direct taxes shall be
apportioned among the several States which may be included
within this Union according to their respective numbers,
counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding
Indians not taxed: Provided, That whenever the elective
franchise shall be denied or abridged in any State on account
of race or color, all persons of such race or color shall be
excluded from the basis of representation." Grave objections
were found to the proposed exclusion of the colored race as a
whole from the basis of representation, in case the suffrage
should be denied to any part of it. It was shown, moreover,
that disfranchisement might be practically accomplished on
other grounds than that of race or color and the intended
effect of the constitutional provision evaded.
{3665}
Hence the proposition of the Committee failed in the Senate
(March 9, 1866), though adopted by the House (January 31). On
the 20th of February, the Committee on Reconstruction reported
a concurrent resolution, "That in order to close agitation
upon a question which seems likely to disturb the action of
the Government, as well as to quiet the uncertainty which is
agitating the minds of the people of the eleven States which
have been declared to be in insurrection, no Senator or
Representative shall be admitted into either branch of
Congress from any of said States until Congress shall have
declared such State entitled to such representation." The
House adopted this important concurrent resolution the same
evening. In the Senate it was debated until the 2d of March,
when it was passed by a vote of 29 to 18. On the 30th of April
the Reconstruction Committee reported a joint resolution
embodying a comprehensive amendment to the Constitution,
designed to protect the rights of the freedmen of the South,
as citizens of the United States, and to fix the basis of
representation in Congress, as well as to settle other
questions arising out of the Rebellion. As adopted by Congress
in June, and subsequently ratified by the legislatures of the
necessary number of States this became what appears as the
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866 (JUNE).
"This proposed amendment to the Constitution was accompanied
by two bills, one of which provided that when any State lately
in insurrection should have ratified the amendment, its
Senators and Representatives, if found duly elected and
qualified, should be admitted as members of Congress. The
other bill declared the high ex-officials of the late
Confederacy ineligible to any office under the Government of
the United States."
W. H. Barnes,
History of the 39th Congress,
chapters 3, and 13-19.
ALSO IN:
Report of Joint Committee on Reconstruction,
39th Congress, 1st session.
H. R. Report, number. 30.
A. R. Conkling,
Life and Letters of Roscoe Conkling,
chapter 14.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866.
The Fenian movement and invasion of Canada.
See IRELAND: A. D. 1858-1867;
and CANADA: A. D. 1866-1871.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866 (February).
The French warned out of Mexico.
See MEXICO: A. D.1861-1867.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866 (April).
The passage of the first Civil Rights Bill
over the President's veto.
"Immediately on the reassembling of Congress after the
holidays, January 5, 1866, Mr. Trumbull [in the Senate], in
pursuance of previous notice, introduced a bill 'to protect
all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and
furnish the means of their vindication.' This bill, having
been read twice, was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary." A few days later the bill was reported back from
the Committee, and it came up for discussion on the 29th of
January. On the 1st of February it passed the Senate and went
to the House. In that body it was reported from the Judiciary
Committee on the 1st of March, and debate upon the measure
began. It passed the House, with some amendments, March 13th,
by a vote of 111 to 38. The amendments of the House were
agreed to by the Senate, and it went to the President, who
returned it with an elaborate veto message on the 27th of
March. In the Senate, on the 6th of April, by 33 ayes to 15
nays, and in the House three days later, by 122 affirmative
votes to 41 in the negative, the bill was passed
notwithstanding the veto, and became law. As enacted, the
Civil Rights Bill declared "that all persons born in the
United States and not subject to any foreign Power, excluding
Indians not taxed, are … citizens of the United States; and
such citizens of every race and color, without regard to any
previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime, … shall have the same right in
every State and Territory of the United States to make and
enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to
inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and
personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws
and proceedings for the security of person and property as is
enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like
punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law,
statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary
notwithstanding." Section 2 of the act provided penalties for
its violation. The remaining sections gave to the district and
circuit courts of the United States cognizance of all crimes
and offenses committed against the provisions of the act;
extended the jurisdiction of those courts and enlarged and
defined the powers and duties of the district attorneys,
marshals, deputy marshals and commissioners of the United
States, to that end; made it lawful for the President "to
employ such part of the land or naval forces of the United
States, or of the militia, as shall be necessary to prevent
the violation and enforce the due execution of this act;" and,
finally, provided that "upon all questions of law arising in
any cause under the provisions of this act a final appeal may
be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States."
W. H. Barnes,
History of the 39th Congress,
chapters 9-11.
ALSO IN:
H. Wilson,
History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,
volume 3, chapter 48.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866 (June).
Congressional adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The joint resolution, embodying the important amendment to the
Federal Constitution which became, when ratified, the
Fourteenth Amendment, reported to Congress on the 30th of
April, 1866, by the Joint Committee on Reconstruction was
passed by the House of Representatives on the 10th of May, and
by the Senate on the 8th of June, with amendments which the
House concurred in on the 13th of June.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865-1866 (DECEMBER-APRIL).
Having no constitutional power to veto the resolution,
President Johnson sent a message to Congress on the 22d
expressing his disapproval of it. The proposed constitutional
amendment as it passed both Houses of Congress, and as it
became part of the constitution of the United States by
subsequent ratification of the States, is as follows:
"Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No
State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law; nor deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
{3566}
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several States according to their respective numbers, counting
the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians
not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the
choice of electors for President and Vice President of the
United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and
judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants
of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of
the United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion
which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in
Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold
any office, civil or military, under the United States, or
under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or
as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of
each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United
States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for
payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing
insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But
neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay
any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss
or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations
and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by
appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
W. H. Barnes,
History of the 39th Congress,
chapters 17-18.
ALSO IN:
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapter 9.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866 (July).
Restoration of Tennessee to her
"former, proper, practical relation to the Union."
See TENNESSEE: A. D. 1865-1866.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866 (July).
The New Orleans Riot.
See LOUISIANA: A. D. 1865-1867.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866-1867 (October-March).
The Reconstruction issue before the people.
Congress sustained by the North.
President Johnson and the South.
Rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment by the Southern States.
In the elections of 1866 the canvass turned upon the issue
between Congress and the President concerning Reconstruction,
and the popular verdict was overwhelmingly adverse to the
Presidential policy, while a new Congress was elected far more
Radical in disposition than its predecessor. Every Northern
State was swept by the Republicans, with heavily increased
majorities. Even those "which had been tenaciously Democratic
gave way under the popular pressure. … The aggregate majority
for the Republicans and against the Administration in the
Northern States was about 390,000 votes. In the South the
elections were as significant as in the North, but in the
opposite direction. Wherever Republican or Union tickets were
put forward for State or local offices in the Confederate
States, they were defeated by prodigious majorities. Arkansas
gave a Democratic majority of over 9,000, Texas over 40,000,
and North Carolina 25,000. The border slave States were
divided. Delaware, Maryland and Kentucky gave strong
majorities for the Democrats, while West Virginia and Missouri
were carried by the Republicans. The unhappy indication of the
whole result was that President Johnson's policy had inspired
the South with a determination not to submit to the legitimate
results of the war, but to make a new fight and, if possible,
regain at the ballot-box the power they had lost by war. The
result of the whole election was to give to the Republicans
143 representatives in Congress and to the Democrats but 49."
But when Congress assembled, in December, the President was
found to be inflexibly determined to pursue the line of policy
which he had marked out. In his message he reiterated his
views "with entire disregard of the popular result which had
so significantly condemned him. … The President's position …
excited derision and contempt in the North, but it led to
mischievous results in the South. The ten Confederate States
which stood knocking at the door of Congress for the right of
representation, were fully aware, as was well stated by a
leading Republican, that the key to unlock the door had been
placed in their own hands. They knew that the political
canvass in the North had proceeded upon the basis, and upon
the practical assurance (given through the press, and more
authoritatively in political platforms), that whenever any
other Confederate State should follow the example of
Tennessee, it should at once be treated as Tennessee had been
treated. Yet, when this position had been confirmed by the
elections in all the loyal States, and was, by the special
warrant of popular power, made the basis of future admission,
these ten States, voting upon the Fourteenth Amendment at
different dates through the winter of 1866-67, contemptuously
rejected it. In the Virginia Legislature only one vote could
be found for the Amendment. In the North-Carolina Legislature
only 11 votes out of 148 were in favor of the Amendment. In
the South-Carolina Legislature there was only one vote for the
Amendment. In Georgia only two votes out of 169 in the
Legislature were in the affirmative. Florida unanimously
rejected the Amendment. Out of 106 votes in the Alabama
Legislature only ten could be found in favor of it.
Mississippi and Louisiana both rejected it unanimously. Texas,
out of her entire Legislature, gave only five votes for it,
and the Arkansas Legislature, which had really taken its
action in the preceding October, gave only three votes for the
Amendment. … It was naturally inferred and was subsequently
proved, that the Southern States would not have dared to take
this hostile attitude except with the encouragement and the
unqualified support of the President."
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapter 10-11.
{3567}
"No factor in those elections [of 1866] proved more potential
than the rejection by Southern Legislatures of the pending
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
The clauses on which its acceptance or rejection turned in these assemblies were: Section II., which apportioned
Representatives in Congress upon the basis of the voting
population; and Section II!., which provided that no person
should hold office under the United States who, having taken
an oath as a Federal or state officer to support the
Constitution, had subsequently engaged in the war against the
Union. It was claimed by the friends of the Amendment to be
especially unfair that the South should have representation
for its freedmen and not give them the ballot. The right,
however, of a state to have representation for all its free
inhabitants, whether voters or not, was secured by the
Constitution, and that instrument even allowed three-fifths
representation for slaves. New York, Ohio, and other states
denied the ballot to free negroes; some states excluded by
property qualification and others by educational tests, yet
all enjoyed representation for all their peoples. The reply to
this was that the Constitution ought to be amended because the
South would now have, if negroes were denied the ballot, a
larger proportion of non-voters than the North. Southern
people were slow to see that this was good reason for change
in the Constitution, especially as they believed they were
already entitled to representation, and conceived that they
ought to have a voice in proposing as well as in the
ratification of amendments. Five of the restored states had
already ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, and such
ratification had been counted valid. If they were states, they
were certainly entitled to representation. So they claimed. It
was perhaps imprudent for Southern people at that time to
undertake to chop logic with their conquerors, or indeed to
claim any rights at all. … The insuperable objection, however,
to the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment was to be
found in the clause which required the people of the late
Confederate States to disfranchise their own leaders, to brand
with dishonor those who had led them in peace and in war."
H. A. Herbert,
Why the Solid South?
(Noted Men on the Solid South)
pages 15-16.
In a letter addressed, November 25, 1866, to General Richard
Taylor, lately of the Confederate army, and brother-in-law of
Jefferson Davis, General Grant wrote: "I have talked with
several members of Congress who are classed with the Radicals;
Schenck and Bidwell for instance. They express the most
generous views as to what would be done if the Constitutional
amendments proposed by Congress were adopted by the Southern
States. What was done in the case of Tennessee was an earnest
of what would be done in all cases. Even the disqualification
to hold office imposed on certain classes by one article of
the amendment would, no doubt, be removed at once, except it
might be in the cases of the very highest offenders, such, for
instance, as those who went abroad to aid in the Rebellion,
those who left seats in Congress, etc. All or very nearly all
would soon be restored, and so far as security to property and
liberty is concerned, all would be restored at once. I would
like exceedingly to see one Southern State, excluded State,
ratify the amendments to enable us to see the exact course
that would be pursued. I believe it would much modify the
demands that may be made if there is delay." "But the
President's endeavors did not cease. … He used all the
authority of his office to dissuade the Southerners from
accepting the amendment which the entire North had ratified. …
He converted good feeling and good will on both sides into
discord, and precipitated disasters almost equal to those from
which the State had barely escaped. … This view of Johnson's
conduct was thenceforth steadily maintained by Grant."
A. Badeau,
Grant in Peace,
chapter 5.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866-1867 (December-March).
The Tenure-of-Office Bill.
"Against the early decision of the founders of the Government,
… against the repeatedly expressed judgment of ex-President
Madison, against the equally emphatic judgment of Chief
Justice Marshall, and above all, against the unbroken practice
of the Government for 78 years, the Republican leaders now
determined to deprive the President of the power of removing
Federal officers. Many were induced to join in the movement
under the belief that it was important to test the true
meaning of the Constitution in the premises, and that this
could be most effectively done by directly restraining by law
the power which had been so long conceded to the Executive
Department. To that end Mr. Williams of Oregon, on the first
Monday of December, 1866, introduced a bill 'to regulate the
tenure of civil offices.'"
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, page 270.
"After grave consideration and protracted discussion in both
houses of Congress, the [Tenure-of-Office bill] was passed
near the close of the session. On the 2d of March [1867] the
bill encountered the veto of the President, who saw in the
measure serious interference with the ability of the Executive
to keep his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States. The bill was immediately
passed over the veto without debate. The act thus passed
provides that officers appointed by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate shall hold their offices until their
successors are in like manner appointed and qualified. Members
of the Cabinet hold their offices during the term of the
President by whom they are appointed, and for one month
thereafter, subject to removal by consent of the Senate."
W. H. Barnes,
History of the 39th Congress,
page 560.
Soon after the inauguration of President Grant, in 1868, the
Tenure-of-Office act was so far modified as to practically
release the President from the restraint which it put upon his
power of removal.
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapter 18, and Appendix B.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866-1869.
Organization of the Bureau of Education.
See EDUCATION, MODERN: AMERICA: A. D. 1866-1869.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866-1871.
The Ku-Klux Klan of the Southern States and its outrages.
"It would have been contrary to the experience of mankind,
and an exception to all the teachings of history, if the
social and political revolution which the results of the war
had imposed on the states then recently insurgent had gone
into operation peacefully, harmoniously, and successfully. It
was impossible for such to be the case. The transition was
from a state in which the superiority and domination of the
white race over the colored race existed unquestioned for
centuries. It was to a condition of things in which the most
prominent whites were disfranchised and deprived of the right
to hold public offices. Their late slaves were enfranchised,
and the judicial and other offices were largely filled by
dishonest and unfriendly strangers from the North. What was
worse still, many of these places were filled by ignorant and
brutal negroes. The transition was too sudden and violent. It
was hard to submit to it quietly.
{3568}
No people, least of all such a proud and intolerant people as
that of the South, could see their local governments
transferred from their own hands into the hands of their
former slaves without being goaded into violent resistance.
This resistance took the form, in most of the Southern
States, not of armed opposition to the Federal or the state
governments, but of organized intimidation and terrorism. It
was directed against the colored people and against their
white allies and leaders. It made an objective point of the
agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, ministers of the gospel, and
school teachers,—all adventurers from the North, or men who
had, in quest of fortune, immigrated into these states. All
of these classes were regarded as public or private enemies.
They were designated by the opprobrious title of
'carpet-baggers.' The history of these outrages fills many
volumes of reports made by joint and separate committees of
the two houses of Congress. It is from these volumes, from
reports of military commanders in the South, and from other
official documents, that the following epitome, exhibiting
the lawlessness that prevailed in the Southern States during
the … decade between 1865 and 1875, is made. These documents
are so full of the details of crime and violence, and are so
voluminous, that it is exceedingly difficult to select from
them, or to convey a correct idea of their relations. Very
soon after the close of the Civil War, almost as soon as the
Reconstruction acts were begun to be put in operation, secret
societies were organized in various states of the South.
Their object, either secret or avowed, was to prevent the
exercise of political rights by the negroes. These societies
took various names, such as 'The Brotherhood,' 'The Pale
Faces,' 'The Invisible Empire,' 'The Knights of the White
Camellia'; but all these were finally merged into, or
compounded with, the formidable and dreaded society
denominated the 'Ku-Klux Klan.' Their acts of lawlessness and
cruelty have passed into local and congressional history as
'Ku-Klux outrages.' The State of Virginia was a remarkable
exception to the other states in its exemption from crimes of
this character; while the two neighboring States of North
Carolina and Tennessee furnished, perhaps, more material for
investigation into Ku-Klux outrages than any other portion of
the South. This barbarous and bloodthirsty organization is
said to have originated in 1866. There is no doubt that the
Ku-Klux Klan was organized at first only to scare the
superstitious blacks. It is true that it arose out of the
frivolities of some young Tennesseans. Horrid tales were told
to frighten the negroes from roaming about and pilfering. The
testimony before the committee on that subject, of which the
writer was a member, showed that they daily visited houses
and talked their foolish talk; that they were 'mummicking
about,'—whatever that means. … There is no doubt that
political reasons had their influence after the Ku-Klux were
under way. … Certain it is, that they soon came to be made
use of, in the most arbitrary, cruel, and shocking manner,
for the furtherance of political ends, and for the crushing
out of Republicanism in the Southern States; to which party
the colored people were almost unanimously attached. The
crimes and outrages narrated in these pages had their origin,
almost exclusively, in political causes,—in the effort on the
part of the whites to set at naught the rights of suffrage
guaranteed to the negroes, and to exclude from Federal,
state, county, and local offices all persons whose reliance
for election to such offices was mainly if not altogether, on
negro votes. General Forrest estimated the strength of the
Ku-Klux organization in Tennessee at 40,000. He expressed the
belief that it was still stronger in other states. The
members were sworn to secrecy, under the penalty of death for
breach of fidelity. Their ordinary mode of operation—as
gathered from the mass of evidence—was to patrol the country
at night. They went well armed and mounted. They wore long
white gowns. They masked their faces. Their appearance
terrified the timid and superstitious negroes who happened to
see them as they rode past, and who then regarded them as
ghostly riders. But most frequently they surrounded and broke
into the cabins of the negroes; frightened and maltreated the
inmates; warned them of future vengeance; and probably
carried off some obnoxious negro, or 'carpet-bagger,' whose
fate it was to be riddled with murderous bullets, hung to the
limb of a tree, or mercilessly whipped and tortured, for some
offense, real or imaginary, but generally because he was
active in politics or in negro schools or churches. …
According to the majority report of the Senate select
committee of March 10, 1871, the Ku-Klux associations, by
whatever name known, were instituted in North Carolina in
1867 or 1868. … The report of the Senate committee of the
10th of March, 1871, before referred to, recites a startling
number of Ku-Klux outrages. They embrace whipping,
mutilation, and murder. These cruelties took place in North
Carolina, between December, 1868, and December, 1870. The
report gives some of the horrifying details."
S. S. Cox,
Three Decades of Federal Legislation,
chapters 25-26.
"Senator Scott, in a speech in the Senate, gave as the result
of the investigation that came to his own knowledge, as
follows: In North Carolina, in 14 counties, there were 18
murders and 315 whippings. In South Carolina, 9 counties, 35
murders and 276 other flagrant outrages. In Georgia, 20
counties, 72 murders and 126 whippings. In Alabama, 26
counties, 215 murders and 116 other outrages. In Florida, in
one county alone there were 153 cases of homicide. In
Mississippi, 20 counties, 23 homicides and 76 other cases of
outrage. In 99 counties in different States he found 526
homicides and 2,009 cases of whipping. But the committee state
that in Louisiana alone in the year 1868 there were more than
1,000 murders, and most of them were the result of the
operations of the Ku Klux."
H. Wilson,
History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,
volume 3, chapter 45.
ALSO IN:
Report of Joint Select Committee
(42d Congress, 2d session, Senate Report, number 41).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1867 (January).
Negro Suffrage in the District of Columbia.
As early as the 18th of January, 1866, the House of
Representatives passed a bill extending the suffrage in the
District of Columbia, by striking out the word "white" from
all laws and parts of laws prescribing the qualification of
electors for any office in the District, and declaring that no
person should be disqualified from voting at any election in
the District on account of color.
{3569}
As it was known that the President would veto the bill if sent
to him, the Senate held it until the next session. In
December, 1866, it was called up in that body by Senator
Sumner, and after considerable debate was passed, December
13th. On the 7th of January following it was returned by the
President with his veto, but was passed over the veto by the
Senate (29 to 10) the same day, and by the House (113 to 38)
the day following, thus becoming a law.
W. H. Barnes,
History of the 39th Congress,
chapters 4 and 21.
ALSO IN:
G. W. Julian,
Political Recollections,
chapter 12.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1867 (March).
The Purchase of Alaska.
See ALASKA: A. D. 1867.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1867 (March).
The Military Reconstruction Acts of Congress.
"Congress had declared amply enough how the rebel States
should not be reinstated. Two years after the close of the
war, however, the Union was still unrestored, and while
claiming, under the Constitution, absolute jurisdiction of the
question, Congress had failed to prescribe the terms on which
the Union should be restored. … Both the country and Congress
were at last convinced by the course of events that
affirmative Congressional action was indispensable, involving
the sweeping away of Mr. Johnson's ex-rebel State governments
and the enfranchisement of the emancipated slaves. Mr. Stevens
had been of that opinion ever since the emasculation by the
Senate of the Fourteenth Amendment, as adopted by the House
[which had proposed to exclude from the right to vote for
Representatives in Congress and for Presidential electors,
'until the 4th day of July, in the year 1870, all persons who
voluntarily adhered to the late insurrection, giving it aid
and comfort'], and immediately thereupon proposed a measure
containing the germ of the Military Reconstruction Act. Called
up from time to time, and pressed upon the attention of the
House by Mr. Stevens, it was passed on the 13th day of
February, 1867, after a four weeks' debate upon it in
Committee of the Whole. By the 20th both Houses had agreed
upon it, and passed it. On the 2d day of March the President
returned it to the House with his veto, over which it was at
once passed by both Houses; and with only two days of the
Thirty-ninth Congress to spare, it become law."
O. J. Hollister,
Life of Schuyler Colfax,
chapter 9.
The Military Reconstruction Act set forth in its preamble that
"Whereas, no legal State governments or adequate protection
for life or property now exists in the rebel States
[enumerating all the late Confederate States except
Tennessee]; … and whereas it is necessary that peace and good
order should be enforced in said States until loyal and
republican State governments can be legally established:
therefore, Be it enacted, … That said rebel States shall be
divided into military districts and made subject to the
military authority of the United States, as hereinafter
prescribed; and for that purpose Virginia shall constitute the
first district, North Carolina and South Carolina the second
district, Georgia, Alabama and Florida the third district,
Mississippi and Arkansas the fourth district, and Louisiana
and Texas the fifth district." Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the act
made it the duty of the President to assign to the command of
each of the said districts an officer of the army not below
the rank of brigadier-general, and defined the duties and
powers of such commander, providing for the assignment to him
of an adequate military force. Section 5 provided "That when
the people of any one of said rebel States shall have formed a
constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution
of the United States in all respects, framed by a convention
of delegates elected by the male citizens of said State 21
years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous
condition, who have been resident in said State for one year
previous to the day of such election, except such as may be
disfranchised for participation in the rebellion or for felony
at common law, and when such constitution shall provide that
the elective franchise shall be enjoyed by all such persons as
have the qualifications herein stated for electors of
delegates, and when such constitution shall be ratified by a
majority of the persons voting on the question of ratification
who are qualified as electors for delegates, and when such
constitution shall have heen submitted to Congress for
examination and approval, and Congress shall have approved the
same, and when said State, by a vote of its Legislature
elected under said constitution, shall have adopted the
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed
by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and known as article fourteen,
and when said article shall have become a part of the
Constitution of the United States, said State shall be
declared entitled to representation in Congress, and Senators
and Representatives shall be admitted therefrom on their
taking the oath prescribed by law, and then and thereafter the
preceding sections of this act shall be inoperative in said
State." It was further provided that no person excluded from
office by the Fourteenth Amendment should be a member of the
convention to frame a constitution for any of said rebel
States, and that any civil government which might exist in any
of the said States prior to the admission of its
representatives to Congress should be deemed provisional only,
and subject to the paramount authority of the United States.
"The friends of this measure were dissatisfied with it on the
ground of its incompleteness in not containing provisions for
carrying it into effect in accordance with the purpose of its
framers. … The Fortieth Congress, meeting on the 4th of March,
immediately upon the close of its predecessor, proceeded
without delay to perfect and pass over the President's veto
[March 23, 1867] a bill supplementary to the act to provide
for the more efficient government of the rebel States." By
this supplementary act specific instructions were given as to
the course of procedure to be followed in making a
registration of the voters qualified under the act and in
conducting the elections provided for.
W. H. Barnes,
History of the 39th Congress,
chapter 22.
ALSO IN:
Why the Solid South?
(Noted Men on the Solid South.)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1868 (March-May).
Impeachment and Trial of President Johnson.
"Until the spring of 1866, a year after Mr. Johnson became
President, there was entire harmony between him and his
Cabinet. … No objection was raised even to that part of the
President's first message which treated of the suffrage
question, by any member of the Cabinet. It was in fact
approved by all, and by none more heartily than by Mr.
Stanton. A change took place soon after the Civil Rights bill
became a law over the President's veto, and bitter controversy
arose between the President and Congress.
{3570}
In this controversy, and at its commencement, Mr. Dennison
[Postmaster-general] and Mr. Harlan [Secretary of the
Interior] sided with Congress and tendered their resignations,
which were very reluctantly accepted. They resigned because
they could not heartily sustain the President, but there was
no breach of the social relations which had existed between
them. Mr. Speed [Attorney-general] soon after followed the
example of Dennison and Harlan. Mr. Stanton [Secretary of War]
also sided with Congress, but he did not resign. He was
advised by prominent political and personal friends to
'stick,' and he did so, contrary to all precedent and in
opposition to the judgment of conservative men of his party. …
He attended the Cabinet meetings, not as an adviser of the
President, but as an opponent of the policy to which he had
himself been committed, and the President lacked the nerve to
dismiss him. … In this crisis of his political life, Mr.
Johnson exhibited a want of spirit and decision which
astonished those who were familiar with his antecedents. He
knew when the Tenure-of-Office Bill was before Congress that
the object of its leading supporters was to tie his hands, and
yet he refrained from using them when they were free. … When
he did act he acted unwisely. He retained Mr. Stanton in his
Cabinet when his right to remove him was unquestionable. He
suspended him [August 12, 1867] after the Tenure-of-Office
Bill had become a law, and in accordance with its provisions,
[directing General Grant to act as Secretary of War ad
interim]; and when the Senate refused to approve of the
suspension [January 13, 1868], he issued orders for his
removal and the appointment of Lorenzo Thomas to be Secretary
of War ad interim. If he had tried to give his enemies an
advantage over him, to furnish them with weapons for his own
discomfiture, he could not have done it more effectually. … If
he had removed Mr. Stanton instead of suspending him, and
justified his action on the ground that his control of the
members of his Cabinet was a constitutional right of which he
could not be deprived by Congress, he probably would not have
been impeached. The gist of the charges against him was that
he had violated a law of Congress in removing Mr. Stanton, or
issuing an order for his removal, after the Senate had refused
to sanction his suspension. In the articles of impeachment
there were other charges against the President, the most
serious of which were that he had delivered intemperate,
inflammatory speeches, which were intended to bring into
contempt the Congress of the United States and duly enacted
laws. The speeches made by the President in Cleveland, St.
Louis, and other places in August and September, 1866—in fact,
all his public addresses during his contest with Congress—were
in the worst possible taste, derogatory to himself and to his
high position; but they … did not constitute good ground for
his impeachment; and this was the opinion of the House, which
in January, 1867, after they were made, refused to impeach him
by the decisive vote of 108 to 57. Other causes for his
impeachment were subsequently sought for. His bank account was
examined. His private conduct in Washington was carefully
scrutinized. Men were employed to investigate his public and
private character in Tennessee, but nothing was found to his
discredit. … Nothing was found to justify his impeachment but
the order which he issued for the removal of Mr. Stanton and
his appointment of General Thomas to be Secretary of the War
Department ad interim after the Senate had refused to sanction
Mr. Stanton's suspension." The formal presentment by the House
of Representatives of its Impeachment against the President,
at the bar of the Senate, sitting as a Court of Impeachment,
was made on the 5th day of March, 1868. The answer of the
President was presented on the 23d; the trial opened on
Monday, the 30th of March, and closed on the 26th of May
following. "The trial was a very interesting one, not only to
the people of the United States, but to the people of other
countries. … It was the first instance in the history of
nations of the trial of the head of a government before one of
the branches of the law-making power, sitting as a judicial
tribunal, on charges presented by another. The presiding
officer was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court—the
senators of the respective States were the jury—the House of
Representatives the prosecutor. The managers to conduct the
impeachment for the House were John A. Bingham, George S.
Boutwell, James F. Wilson, Benjamin F. Butler, Thomas
Williams, Thaddeus Stevens and John A. Logan, all members of
the House, all lawyers, and some of them distinguished in the
profession. The President entered his appearance by Henry
Stanbery, Benjamin K. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black, William H.
Evarts, and Thomas A. K. Nelson. William S. Groesbeck, in the
course of the trial, appeared and took part as counsel for the
President in place of Mr. Black." The result of the trial was
a failure of the Impeachment. The senators who voted "guilty"
were 35 in number—being less than two-thirds of the
whole—against 19. Of those who voted in the negative, seven
were Republicans who had steadily opposed the President's
policy; four were Republicans who had adhered to him
throughout; eight were Democrats.
H. McCulloch,
Men and Measures of Half a Century,
chapter 26.
In the opinion of Mr. Blaine, "the sober reflection of later
years has persuaded many who favored Impeachment that it was
not justifiable on the charges made," and that "the President
was impeached for one series of misdemeanors, and tried for
another series."
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapter 14.
ALSO IN:
Trial of Andrew Johnson,
(Published by Order of the Senate), 3 volumes.
Trial of Andrew Johnson,
Congressional Globe, Supplement, 40th Congress, 2d session.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1868.
The Burlingame Treaty with China.
See CHINA: A. D. 1857-1868.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1868 (November).
The Twenty-first Presidential Election.
General Ulysses S. Grant, nominated by the Republican party,
was elected President in November 1868, by 3,012,833 votes of
the people against 2,703,249 votes cast for Horatio Seymour,
ex-Governor of New York, the candidate of the Democratic
party. The electoral vote returned and counted was 214 for
Grant and 80 for Seymour, who carried the States of New York,
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky,
and Oregon. Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was elected Vice
President, over General Frank P. Blair.
E. Stanwood,
History of Presidential Elections,
chapter 22.
{3571}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1868-1870.
Reconstruction complete.
Restoration of all the Southern States
to representation in Congress.
"On the 22d of June, 1868, an act was passed, with the
following preamble and resolution, for the admission of
Arkansas:—'Whereas the people of Arkansas, in pursuance of an
act entitled, An act for the more efficient government of the
Rebel States, passed March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary
thereto, have framed and adopted a constitution of State
government, which is republican, and the legislature of said
State has duly ratified the amendment of the Constitution of
the United States proposed by the XXXIXth Congress, and known
as Article XIV.; Therefore, Be it enacted, etc., that the
State of Arkansas is entitled and admitted to representation
in Congress, as one of the States of the Union, upon the
following fundamental condition.' The 'fundamental condition,'
as finally agreed upon, was, 'That there shall never be in
said State any denial or abridgment of the elective franchise,
or of any other right, to any person by reason or on account
of race or color, except Indians not taxed.' The bill was
vetoed by the President on the 20th, but passed over the veto
on the 22d in the House by the vote of 111 to 31, and in the
Senate by a vote of 30 to 7. On the 25th of June a similar act
was passed admitting the States of North Carolina, South
Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, in
pursuance of a similar preamble, with the conditions that they
should ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, that they should not
deprive 'any citizen, or class of citizens of the State of the
right to vote by the constitution thereof'; and that no person
prohibited from holding office by said Amendment should be
'deemed eligible to any office in either of said States unless
relieved from disability as provided in said amendment'; the
State of Georgia being also required to declare 'null and
void' certain provisions of its constitution, and 'in addition
give the assent of said State to the fundamental condition
herein before imposed on the same.' The bill passed the House,
May 14,—yeas 110, nays 35; in the Senate, June 9,—yeas 31,
nays 5. It was vetoed by the President on the 25th, and
passed, the same day, by both houses, over the Presidential
veto. On the 27th of January, 1870, Virginia was admitted into
the Union by a vote, in the House, of 136 to 58; and in the
Senate by a vote of 47 to 10. The following were the preamble,
oaths, and conditions precedent: 'Whereas the people of
Virginia have framed and adopted a constitution of State
government which is republican; and whereas the legislature of
Virginia, elected under said constitution, has ratified the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the
United States; and whereas the performance of these several
acts in good faith is a condition precedent to a
representation of the State in Congress,' said State should be
admitted to a representation in Congress; with the additional
conditions precedent, however, that the constitution should
never be so amended as to deprive any class of citizens of the
right 'to vote,' 'to hold office,' on account of race, color,
or previous condition of servitude; neither should there be
'other qualifications' required for such reason; nor should
any be deprived of 'school rights or privileges' on such
account. On the 3d of February Mississippi was admitted by a
bill resembling the former in every particular, by
substantially the same vote. On the 30th of March Texas was
readmitted to the Union on a bill very similar, though not
identical with the above. … By this act of Congress the last
of the 'wayward sisters' was brought back and restored to the
family of States, and the fractured Union was, outwardly at
least, repaired. It was ten years, eight months, and twenty
days after South Carolina raised the banner of revolt and led
off in 'the dance of death.'"
H. Wilson,
History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,
volume 3, chapter 44.
ALSO IN:
S. S. Cox,
Three Decades of Federal Legislation,
chapters 27-31.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1868-1876.
The reconstructed government of South Carolina.
See SOUTH CAROLINA: A. D. 1865-1876.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1869.
Negotiation of the Johnson-Clarendon Treaty and
its rejection by the Senate.
See ALABAMA CLAIMS: A. D. 1862-1869.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1869.
Gold Speculation.
Black Friday.
See NEW YORK: A. D. 1869.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1869.
Founding of the Order of Knights of Labor.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1869-1883.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1869-1870.
The Fifteenth Constitutional Amendment.
"The great defect of the Fourteenth Amendment, as freely
charged during its discussion, was its at least tacit
recognition of the right of States to disfranchise the
ex-slaves, should they so elect. True, they could not do it
without sacrificing so much in the basis of their
representation in Congress; but if they were willing to make

that sacrifice, there was nothing in the amendment to prevent
such discrimination. To remedy that defect … it was resolved
to incorporate into the organic law a new provision for their
protection, and to supplement the amendments of the
Constitution already adopted by another. There were
accordingly introduced into both houses, almost
simultaneously, measures for that purpose. … In the House, on
the 11th of January, 1869, Mr. Boutwell reported from the
Committee on the Judiciary a joint resolution proposing an
amendment which provided that the right to vote of no citizen
should be abridged by the United States or any State by reason
of race, color, or previous condition of slavery." The joint
resolution was adopted in the House, 150 affirmative to 42
negative votes, on the 30th of January. Adopted in the Senate
with amendments, by 39 to 16 votes, it went to a Committee of
Conference, on whose report the joint resolution was finally
adopted by both Houses on the 25th of February, and submitted
for ratification to the legislatures of the States, in the
following form:
"Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
State on account of race, color, or previous condition of
servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation."
"The amendment received the votes of 29 States, constituting
the requisite three fourths, and thus became a part of the
organic law. On the 30th of March, 1870, President Grant
communicated the fact to Congress in a special message."
H. Wilson,
History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,
volume 3, chapter 47.
ALSO IN:
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapters 16 and 19.
{3572}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1869-1890.
Recovery of the domination of Whites at the South.
Suppression of the Colored vote.
Prosperity of the Southern States.
"Between 1869 and 1876, the whites had in every Southern State
except South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, regained
control of the government, and in 1876 those three States were
also recovered. The circumstances were different, according to
the character of the population in each State. In some a union
of the moderate white Republicans with the Democrats, brought
about by the disgust of all property holders at the scandals
they saw and at the increase to their burdens as tax-payers,
had secured legitimately chosen majorities, and ejected the
corrupt officials. In some the same result was attained by
paying or otherwise inducing the negroes not to go to the
polls, or by driving them away by threats or actual violence.
Once possessed again of a voting majority, the whites, all of
whom had by 1872 been relieved of their disabilities, took
good care, by a variety of devices, legal and extra-legal, to
keep that majority safe; and in no State has their control of
the government been since shaken. President Hayes withdrew, in
1877, such Federal troops as were still left at the South, and
none have ever since been despatched thither. … With the
disappearance of the carpet-bag and negro governments, the
third era in the political history of the South since the war
began. The first had been that of exclusively white suffrage;
the second, that of predominantly negro suffrage. In the
third, universal suffrage and complete legal equality were
soon perceived to mean in practice the full supremacy of the
whites. To dislodge the coloured man from his rights was
impossible, for they were secured by the Federal Constitution
which prevails against all State action. The idea of
disturbing them was scarcely entertained. Even at the election
of 1872 the Southern Democrats no more expected to repeal the
Fifteenth Amendment than the English Tories expected at the
election of 1874 to repeal the Irish Church Disestablishment
Act of 1869. But the more they despaired of getting rid of the
amendment, the more resolved were the Southern people to
prevent it from taking any effect which could endanger their
supremacy. They did not hate the negro, certainly not half so
much as they hated his white leaders by whom they had been
robbed. 'We have got,' they said, 'to save civilization,' and
if civilization could be saved only by suppressing the
coloured vote, they were ready to suppress it. … The modes of
suppression have not been the same in all districts and at all
times. At first there was a good deal of what is called
'bulldozing,' i. e. rough treatment and terrorism, applied to
frighten the coloured men from coming to or voting at the
polls. Afterwards, the methods were less harsh. Registrations
were so managed as to exclude negro voters, arrangements for
polling were contrived in such wise as to lead the voter to
the wrong place so that his vote might be refused; and, if the
necessity arose, the Republican candidates were counted out,
or the election returns tampered with. 'I would stuff a
ballot-box,' said a prominent man, 'in order to have a good,
honest government;' and he said it in good faith, and with no
sense of incongruity. Sometimes the local negro preachers were
warned or paid to keep their flocks away. … Notwithstanding
these impediments, the negro long maintained the struggle,
valuing the vote as the symbol of his freedom, and fearing to
be re-enslaved if the Republican party should be defeated.
Leaders and organizers were found in the Federal
office-holders, of course all Republicans. … After 1884,
however, when the presidency of the United States passed to a
Democrat, some of these office-holders were replaced by
Democrats and the rest became less zealous. … Their friends at
the North were exasperated, not without reason, for the gift
of suffrage to the negroes had resulted in securing to the
South a larger representation in Congress and in presidential
elections than it enjoyed before the war, or would have
enjoyed had the negroes been left unenfranchised. They argued,
and truly, that where the law gives a right, the law ought to
secure the exercise thereof; and when the Southern men replied
that the negroes were ignorant, they rejoined that all over
the country there were myriads of ignorant voters, mostly
recent immigrants, whom no one thought of excluding.
Accordingly in 1890, having a majority in both Houses of
Congress and a President of their own party, the Republican
leaders introduced a bill subjecting the control of Federal
elections to officers to be appointed by the President, in the
hope of thus calling out a full negro vote, five sixths of
which would doubtless have gone to their party. The measure
appeared to dispassionate observers quite constitutional, and
the mischief it was designed to remedy was palpable. … It
passed the House, but was dropped in the Senate under the
threat of an obstructive resistance by the (then Democratic)
minority. Secure, however, as the dominance of the whites
seems now to be against either Northern legislation or negro
revolt, the Southern people are still uneasy and sensitive on
the subject. … This horror of negro supremacy is the only
point in which the South cherishes its old feelings. Hostility
to the Northern people has almost disappeared. … Just because
they felt that they had fought well, they submitted with
little resentment, and it has become a proverb among them that
the two classes which still cherish bitterness are the two
classes that did not fight,—the women and the clergy. … Not,
however, till the whites regained control between 1870 and
1876, did the industrial regeneration of the country fairly
begin. Two discoveries coincided with that epoch which have
had an immense effect in advancing material prosperity, and
changing the current of men's thoughts. The first was the
exploration of the mineral wealth of the highland core of the
country. … The second discovery was that of the possibility of
extracting oil from the seeds of the cotton plant, which had
formerly been thrown away, or given to hogs to feed on. The
production of this oil has swelled to great proportions,
making the cultivation of cotton far more profitable. … Most
of the crop now raised, which averages eight millions of
bales, and in 1894 was expected to exceed ten millions (being
more than double that which was raised, almost wholly by slave
labour, before the war), is now raised by white farmers; while
the mills which spin and weave it into marketable goods are
daily increasing and building up fresh industrial
communities."
J. Bryce,
The American Commonwealth
(3d edition). chapter 92 (volume 2).
{3573}
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1870.
The Ninth Census.
Total population, 38,558,371 (exceeding that of 1860
by 7,115,049), classed and distributed as follows:
North Atlantic division.
White. Black.
Maine. 624,809 1,606
New Hampshire. 317,697 580
Vermont. 329,613 924
Massachusetts. 1,443,156 13,947
Rhode Island. 212,219 4,980
Connecticut. 527,549 9,668
New York. 4,330,210 52,081
New Jersey. 875,407 30,658
Pennsylvania. 3,456,609 65,294
Total 12,117,269 179,738
South Atlantic division.
Delaware. 102,221 22,794
Maryland. 605,497 175,391
District of Columbia. 88,278 43,404
Virginia. 712,089 512,841
West Virginia. 424,033 17,980
North Carolina. 678,470 391,650
South Carolina. 289,667 415,814
Georgia. 638,926 545,142
Florida. 96,057 91,689
Total 3,635,238 2,216,705
North central division.
Ohio. 2,601,946 63,213
Indiana. 1,655,837 24,560
Illinois. 2,511,096 28,762
Michigan. 1,167,282 11,849
Wisconsin. 1,051,351 2,113
Minnesota. 438,257 759
Iowa. 1,188,207 5,762
Missouri. 1,603,146 118,071
Dakota. 12,887 94
Nebraska. 122,117 789
Kansas. 346,377 17,108
Total 12,698,503 273,080
South central division.
Kentucky. 1,098,692 222,210
Tennessee. 936,119 322,331
Alabama. 521,384 475,510
Mississippi. 382,896 444,201
Louisiana. 362,065 364,210
Texas. 564,700 253,475
Arkansas. 362,115 122,169
Total 4,227,971 2,204,106
Western division.
Montana. 18,306 183
Wyoming. 8,726 183
Colorado. 39,221 456
New Mexico. 90,393 172
Arizona. 9,581 26
Utah. 86,044 118
Nevada. 38,959 357
Idaho. 10,618 60
Washington. 22,195 207
Oregon. 86,929 346
California. 499,424 4,272
Total 910,396 6,380
Grand total. 33,589,377 4,880,009
In addition the census shows 63,199 Chinese, 65 Japanese, and
25,731 civilized Indians, making a total of 38,558,371, as
stated above. In the decade preceding this census the
immigrant arrivals numbered 2,466,752, of which 1,106,970 were
from the British Islands, and 1,073,429 from other parts of
Europe.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1871.
Renewed Negotiations with Great Britain.
The Joint High Commission, the Treaty of Washington
and the Geneva Award.
See ALABAMA CLAIMS: A. D. 1869-1871; 1871; and 1871-1872.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1871.
The first Civil-Service Reform Act.
See CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM IN THE UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1871 (April).
The Force Bill.
At the extra session of Congress, which met March 4, 1871 a
sweeping Act was passed to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment.
"This Act allowed suit in Federal courts by the party injured
against any person who should in any way deprive another of
the rights of a citizen; it made it a penal offence to
conspire to take away from any person the rights of a citizen;
it provided that inability, neglect, or refusal by any State
to suppress such conspiracy, to protect the rights of its
citizens, or to call upon the President for aid, should be
'deemed a denial by such State of the equal protection of the
laws' under the XIVth Amendment; it declared such
conspiracies, if not suppressed by the authorities, 'a
rebellion against the Government of the United States'; it
authorized the President, 'when in his judgment the public
safety shall require it,' to suspend the privilege of the writ
of habeas corpus in any district, and suppress the
insurrection by means of the army and navy; and it excluded
from the jury-box any person 'who shall, in the judgment of
the court, be in complicity with any such combination or
conspiracy.' The authority to suspend the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus was to cease after the end of the next
regular Session of Congress."
A. Johnston,
History of American Politics,
2d edition, page 214.
ALSO IN:
Annual Cyclopœdia, 1871, page 228.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1872.
Decision of the San Juan Water Boundary Question
by the Emperor of Germany.
See SAN JUAN OR NORTHWESTERN WATER-BOUNDARY QUESTION.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1872.
The Twenty-second Presidential Election.
The leading candidates for President in 1872 were General
Grant, nominated for re-election by the main body of the
Republican Party, and Horace Greeley, of New York, put forward
by a revolted section of that party and accepted and supported
by the Democratic Party. "In 1870 the Republican party in
Missouri had split into two parts. The 'Radical' wing wished
to maintain for the present the disqualifications imposed on
the late rebels by the State Constitution during the war; the
'Liberal' wing, headed by B. Gratz Brown and Carl Schurz,
wished to abolish these disqualifications and substitute
'universal amnesty and universal enfranchisement.' Supported
by the Democrats, the Liberal Republicans carried the State,
though opposed by the Federal office-holders and the influence
of the Administration. This success stimulated a reaction in
the National Republican party, many of whose members believed
that the powers of the Federal Government over the local
concerns of the States had already been enforced up to or
beyond constitutional limits, that the various enforcement
Acts were designed rather for the political advancement of
President Grant's personal adherents than for the benefit of
the country, the freedmen, or even of the Republican party;
and that the efforts to police the Southern States by the
force of the Federal Government ought to cease.
{3574}
In the spring of 1871 the Liberal Republicans and Democrats of
Ohio began to show symptoms of common feeling on these
subjects, and during the summer the 'Liberal' movement
continued to develop within the Republican party. January
24th, 1872, the Missouri Liberals issued a call for a National
Convention at Cincinnati in the following May." At the meeting
in Cincinnati the Liberal Republican Convention nominated
Horace Greeley for President, and B. Gratz Brown for Vice
President. The Democratic National Convention which met at
Baltimore, June 9th, adopted these candidates, with the
"platform" on which they were nominated. "A few recalcitrant
Democrats met at Louisville, Kentucky, September 3d, and
nominated Charles O'Conor, of New York, and John Quincy Adams,
of Massachusetts."
A. Johnston,
History of American Politics,
2d edition., chapter 22.
The Prohibitionists put in nomination James Black, of
Pennsylvania, for President, and John Russell, of Michigan,
for Vice President. The Republican nominee for Vice President,
on the ticket with General Grant, was Henry Wilson, of
Massachusetts. The popular vote cast was 3,585,444, or
3,597,132, for Grant, and 2,843,563, or 2,834,125 for Greeley
(according to the return that may be counted from Louisiana,
where two rival returning boards disputed authority with one
another); 29,489 for O'Conor and 5,608 for Black. Mr. Greeley
died on the 29th of November, 1872, before the electoral
colleges cast their vote, the consequence being that the
Democratic votes in the colleges were scattered. The following
is the electoral vote for President as counted by Congress:
Grant, 286; Thomas A. Hendricks, 42; B. Gratz Brown 18;
Charles J. Jenkins 2; David Davis, 1. The votes of Louisiana
and Arkansas were rejected, as were three votes cast in
Georgia for Horace Greeley, deceased.
E. Stanwood,
History of Presidential Elections,
chapter 23.
ALSO IN:
G. W. Julian,
Political Recollections,
chapter 15.
E. McPherson,
Handbook of Politics for 1872 and 1874.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1872-1873.
The Credit Mobilier Scandal.
See CREDIT MOBILIER SCANDAL.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1873.
The so-called "demonetization of silver."
"We have heard a great deal in later years about the
surreptitious demonetization of silver in 1873. There was,
however, vastly too much criticism wasted on the act of 1873;
for the real demonetization of silver in the United States was
accomplished in 1853. It was not the result of accident; it
was a carefully considered plan, deliberately carried into
legislation in 1853, twenty years before its nominal
demonetization by the act of 1873. … In 1853 the single
standard was gold. This was a situation which no one rebelled
against. Indeed, no one seemed to regard it as anything else
than good fortune (except so far as the subsidiary coins had
disappeared). … In the debates it was proposed that, as the
cause of the change in the relative values of gold and silver
was the increased product of gold, the proper remedy should be
to increase the quantity of gold in the gold coins. … There
was no discussion as to how a readjustment of the ratio
between the two metals might be reached, for it was already
decided that only one metal was to be retained. This decision,
consequently, carried us to a point where the ratio between
the two metals was not of the slightest concern. And so it
remained. The United States had no thought about the ratios
between gold and silver thereafter until the extraordinary
fall in the value of silver in 1876. … In the provisions of
the act of 1853 nothing whatever was said as to the silver
dollar-piece. It had entirely disappeared from circulation
years before, and acquiescence in its absence was everywhere
found. No attempt whatever was thereafter made to change the
legal ratio, in order that both metals might again be brought
into concurrent circulation. Having enough gold, the country
did not care for silver. … In 1873 we find a simple legal
recognition of that which had been the immediate result of the
act of 1853, and which had been an admitted fact in the
history of our coinage during the preceding twenty years. In
1853 it had been agreed to accept the situation by which we
had come to have gold for large payments, and to relegate
silver to a limited service in the subsidiary coins. The act
of 1873, however, dropped the dollar piece out of the list of
silver coins. In discontinuing the coinage of the silver
dollar, the act of 1873 thereby simply recognized a fact which
had been obvious to everybody since 1849. It did not introduce
anything new, or begin a new policy. Whatever is to be said
about the demonetization of silver as a fact must center in
the act of 1853. Silver was not driven out of circulation by
the act of 1873, which omitted the dollar of 412½ grains,
since it had not been in circulation for more than twenty-five
years. … The act of February 12, 1873, is known as the act
which demonetized the silver dollar. Important consequences
have been attached to it, and it has even been absurdly
charged that the law was the cause of the commercial crisis of
September, 1873. As if a law which made no changes in the
actual metallic standard in use, and which had been in use
thus for more than twenty' years, had produced a financial
disaster in seven months! To any one who knows of the
influence of credit and speculation, or who has followed the
course of our foreign trade since the Civil War, such a theory
is too absurd to receive more than passing mention. To the
year 1873 there had been coined of 412½-grain dollars for
purposes of circulation, only $1,439,457, and these were
coined before 1806."
J. L. Laughlin,
History of Bimetallism in the United States,
part 1, chapters 5 and 7.
See, also, MONEY AND BANKING: A. D. 1848-1893.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1873.
The Panic.
"The panic of 1873 differed very materially from the other
great panics by which this country has been afflicted. Lack of
capital was the main difficulty in 1837 and 1857. Population
had increased so rapidly that millions of human beings were
out of work, and apprehension spread lest there might not be
food enough to go around. In 1873, however, men were well
employed. Business of all kinds was in excellent condition,
and no one doubted for a moment that there would be plenty for
every man to eat. The excellent condition of trade, in fact,
was the chief factor in the panic of 1873. Everyone was busy,
and wanted money with which to carry on his trade. For two
years before the crash, money had been in great demand.
{3575}
Railroads had recently been built to an extent such as this
country had never known before. Whereas, in 1861, railroad
construction amounted to only 651 miles, in 1871 it reached
the then unprecedented figure of 7,779 miles. This new
mileage, moreover, was mainly in the West, where the immediate
remuneration was but slight. Railroads were being pushed
forward into regions which could not be expected to return an
income for twenty years. The cost of railroad construction in
this country during the five years preceding September, 1873,
was estimated by the Comptroller of the Currency at no less
than $1,700,000,000. The money to pay for this extravagant
building was obtained, not from the earnings of the old
portions of the road, but from enormous issues of railroad
bonds, placed to a large extent among the banks of this
country, but still more among the capitalists of Europe. In
the Northern Pacific Company occurred the most flagrant abuse
of railroad credit the world has ever known. … One after
another of the Western roads defaulted in paying the interest
on its bonds. The result was, that, by the summer of 1873, the
market for new issues of railroad bonds had practically
disappeared. Meantime the banks and bankers of New York were
loaded down with railroad paper. The railroads had borrowed
money for short periods in the expectation that before their
notes fell due they would have raised the money to make
payment by the sale of bonds. A temporary relief was felt, in
June, 1873, through the customary midsummer ease in money. But
this temporary respite only made the difficulty worse. Deluded
by the momentary calm, the New York banks added still further
to their loans. … The year before, money had grown tight early
in September, and the more cautious banks began gradually to
call their loans, fearing that the experience of 1872 might be
renewed. But the rates for money did not noticeably increase,
and the only cause for excitement early in the month was the
failure, on September 8, of the Mercantile Warehouse and
Security Company, owing to advances on bonds of the Missouri,
Kansas & Texas Railroad. This was followed, on the 13th, by
the failure of Kenyon Cox & Co., of which firm Daniel Drew was
a member, caused by loans to the Canada Southern Railroad. By
this time the sky was heavily overcast. Money was now
advancing rapidly, the New York banks were calling loans on
every hand, and new loans on railroad paper were scarcely to
be had at all. Suddenly, on the 18th of September, the tempest
burst. On the morning of that dark day, Jay Cooke, the agent
of the U. S. Government, with some four millions of deposits
from all parts of the country, and his fifteen millions of
Northern Pacific paper, declared his inability to meet his
debts. The report flew down 'the street' with the ferocity of
a cyclone. Railroad shares were thrown upon the market by the
bushel, in utter disregard of their intrinsic value. … Stock
brokers continued to announce their failures all day long.
Nothing seemed able to withstand the shock, and when, on
September 19, the great banking house of Fisk & Hatch went
under, terror became universal. A run was started on the Union
Trust Co., which was believed to have close intimacy with
Vanderbilt's railroads, and on the Fourth National Bank, whose
dealings were largely with Wall street brokers. The panic, was
by this time so general that the banks began to refuse one
another's certified checks, and on the 20th a considerable
number of the New York banks suspended payment. On that day
the Union Trust Co., the National Trust Co., and the National
Bank of the Commonwealth all closed their doors. At 11 o'clock
on the 20th, the New York Stock Exchange, for the first time
in its history, closed its doors, and the Governing Committee
announced that the board would not be opened till further
notice. This high-handed measure caused an outcry for the
moment, but on calmer judgment it was generally conceded that
the measure was a good one. On the evening of that Saturday,
September 20, the Clearing House Association met and adopted a
plan similar to that adopted in the panic of 1857, and in
substance this: Any bank in the Clearing House Association
might deposit with a committee of five persons, to be
appointed for that purpose, an amount of its bills receivable,
or other securities to be approved by the committee, and the
committee were then to issue to that bank certificates of
deposit, bearing interest at 5 per cent. per annum, to an
amount not exceeding 75 per cent. of the securities or bills
receivable so deposited. These certificates could be used in
settlement of balances at the Clearing House for a period not
to extend beyond the 1st of the following November, and they
were to be received by creditor banks during that period
daily, in the proportion which they bore to the aggregate
amount of the debtor balances paid at the Clearing House. The
amount of certificates should not exceed $10,000,000. The
legal tenders belonging to the associated banks were to be
considered and treated as a common fund held for mutual aid
and protection, and the committee were given power to equalize
the same by assessment or otherwise in their discretion. This
scheme, simple as it was, proved of the utmost efficacy in
mitigating the evils that must always follow a distrust among
banks. The lull occasioned by the intervening Sunday was
employed by President Grant and Secretary of the Treasury
Richardson in a visit to New York. All day long they gave
audience to business men at the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
Suggestions of every description were offered as a remedy for
the disease. The most feasible proposition, and that which was
finally adopted, was the purchase of Government bonds. …
Shortly after his return from the Fifth Avenue Hotel,
Secretary Richardson announced his intention to buy Government
bonds, and, in a few days, $13,000,000 of the U. S. greenbacks
were thus absorbed. … On Tuesday, September 30, the Stock
Exchange was once more opened. It was expected on all hands
that this would be the signal for another onslaught. But so
general was this expectation that most persons refrained for
the moment from offering their stocks. As a result, the market
opened a trifle higher than it had closed ten days before. It
continued to advance, moreover, till October 7. On that day a
new decline set in, and on October 14 came a fearful drop,
which carried prices lower than on September 20. From this
reaction there was a gradual improvement till October 31, when
the failure of Hoyt, Sprague & Co., the great mill owners of
Providence and New York, once more shook the market and
brought stocks, on October 31 and November 1, to the lowest
prices of the year.
{3576}
With those prices it became manifest that the panic had
reached its end. Money had already begun to flow to New York
both from Europe and from the West, and the public, tempted by
the excessive decline in stocks, began to purchase freely. The
result was a steady though gradual improvement through the
remainder of the year."
The Panic of 1873
(Banker's Magazine, November, 1891).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1875.
The Whisky Ring.
See WHISKY RING.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1875.
The second Civil Rights Bill and
its declared unconstitutionality.
"Congress, to give full effect to the fourteenth amendment to
the federal Constitution, passed an act in 1875, which
provided that all persons within the jurisdiction of the
United States shall be entitled to the full and equal
enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and
privileges of inns, public conveyances on land and water,
theatres and other places of public amusement, subject only to
the conditions and limitations established by law, and
applicable alike to citizens of every race and color,
regardless of any previous condition of servitude. … In 1883
the act was held unconstitutional. The Fourteenth Amendment,
says Bradley, J., does not 'invest Congress with power to
legislate upon subjects which are within the domain of State
legislation, but to provide modes of relief against State
legislation or State action of the kinds referred to. It does
not authorize Congress to create a code of municipal law for
the regulation of private rights; but to provide modes of
redress against the operation of State laws and the action of
State officers, executive and judicial, when these are
subversive of the fundamental rights specified in the
amendment.' Civil Rights Cases, 109 United States 3."
T. M. Cooley,
Constitutional Limitations which rest upon the
Legislative Power of the States, 6th edition,
pages 733-734 and foot-note.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1876.
Admission of Colorado into the Union.
See COLORADO: A. D. 1806-1876.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1876.
The Sioux War.
Battle of Little Big Horn.
Death of General Custer.
Hostilities with a powerful confederation of Sioux or Dakota
tribes of Indians, in the northwest, were brought about, in
the spring of 1876, by gold discoveries in the Black Hills and
the consequent rush of miners into the Indian reservation. To
subdue the hostile Indians, three military expeditions were
set in motion,—from Fort Fetterman, under General Crook, from
Fort Ellis, in Montana, under General Gibbon, and from
Bismarck, in Dakota, under General Terry. These were to
converge on the upper waters of the Yellowstone, where Sitting
Bull, the able chief of the Sioux, and his camp, in the valley
of the small stream commonly known as the Little Big Horn. The
Sioux warrior used the advantages of his central position like
a Napoleon, striking his assailants in turn, as they came
near, with far stronger forces than they knew him to possess.
Crook was forced back; Gibbon was brought to a halt. Terry
came last on the ground. His command included the famous
Seventh Cavalry,—the regiment of General Custer. In ignorance
of the surprising number of braves which Sitting Bull had
collected, Custer was sent to make a detour and attack the
Indian camp from the rear. Doing so, on the 25th of June, he
rode into a death trap. Five companies of the regiment, with
its heroic commander at their head, were surrounded so
overwhelmingly that not one man escaped. The remaining seven
companies were too far from the others to cooperate in the
attack. They fortified a bluff and held their ground until the
27th, when Terry and Gibbon came to their relief. The Indians
retreated toward the mountains. The campaign was soon resumed,
and prosecuted through the fall and winter, until Sitting Bull
and some of his followers fled into British America and the
remaining hostiles surrendered.
F. Whittaker,
Complete Life of General George A. Custer,
book 8, chapter 4-5.
ALSO IN:
J. F. Finerty,
War Path and Bivouac,
part 1.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1876.
The Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia.
In 1871, the Congress of the United States passed an act to
provide for the commemoration, in 1876, of the centennial
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, by holding an
exhibition, at Philadelphia, "of American and foreign arts,
products, and manufactures." The act created a commission,
composed of one delegate from each state and territory of the
United States, to which commission was committed the
"exclusive control" of the contemplated exhibition; though the
State of Pennsylvania was required to make provision for the
erection of suitable buildings. "To the surprise of those
writers who had contended that there would be no exhibits from
abroad,' there was shown a universal desire on the part of all
nations to co-operate liberally in the World's Fair of 1876.
These different governments appropriated large sums of money,
selected as commissioners men of the highest standing, loaned
to the exhibition their most valuable works of art, and in
every sense indicated a desire on the part of the Old World to
forget the past and to unite itself closely with the future of
the New. Singular as it may seem, there was no disposition on
the part of Congress to facilitate and aid in carrying out
this grand enterprise. The money had to be raised by private
subscription, from all sections of the United States, and it
was only by a determined and persistent effort with Congress
that at last a government loan was secured of $1,500,000,
which loan has been called up by the government and repaid
since that time. The City of Philadelphia appropriated
$1,000,000 and the State of Pennsylvania $1,500,000, and all
other states, notably New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, New
Hampshire, etc., subscribed to the stock issued by the
Centennial Board of Finance. In 1873, the location so well
known as Fairmount Park was selected for the exposition, and
immediate possession given by the City of Philadelphia, free
from all expense or charge, and who also liberally contributed
to the success of the World's Fair 1876 by the erection of two
magnificent bridges over the Schuylkill at a cost of over
$2,500,000, in addition to the various improvements made in
Fairmount Park. … The total number of exhibitors at the
World's Fair 1876 was estimated at 30,864, the United States
heading the list with 8,175; Spain and her colonies, 3,822;
Great Britain and colonies, 3,584; and Portugal, 2,462. …
{3577}
The exhibition opened on the 10th of May, 1876, and from that
time until November 10, 1876, there were admitted a grand
total of 9,910,966 persons, of whom 8,004,274 paid admission
fees amounting to $3,813,724.49."
C. B. Norton,
World's Fairs, chapter 6.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1876-1877.
The Twenty-third Presidential Election and its disputed result.
The Electoral Commission.
Four candidates for the Presidency were named and voted for by
as many different parties in 1876, although the contest of the
election was practically between the Republicans and
Democrats, as in previous years. The former, after a prolonged
struggle of rival factions, put in nomination ex-Governor
Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, with William A. Wheeler, of New
York, for Vice President. The candidates of the Democratic
party were ex-Governor Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, for
President, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, for Vice
President. Before these nominations were made, the Prohibition
Reform party and the party calling itself the Independent, but
popularly known as the "Greenback party," had already brought
candidates into the field. The first named put Green Clay
Smith, of Kentucky and G. T. Stewart, of Ohio, in nomination;
the nominees of the last named were Peter Cooper, of New York,
and Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio. "Thirty-eight States participated
in the election. Colorado had been admitted to the Union in
August, 1876, and, in order to save an additional election,
the choice of electors for that occasion was conferred upon
the legislature. All the other States appointed them by
popular vote. The polls had hardly closed on the day of
election, the 7th of November, when the Democrats began to
claim the presidency. The returns came in so unfavorably for
the Republicans that there was hardly a newspaper organ of the
party which did not, on the following morning, concede the
election of Mr. Tilden. He was believed to have carried every
Southern State, as well as New York, Indiana, New Jersey, and
Connecticut. The whole number of electoral votes was 369. If
the above estimate were correct, the Democratic candidates
would have 203 votes, and the Republican candidates 166 votes.
But word was sent out on the same day from Republican
headquarters at Washington that Hayes and Wheeler were elected
by one majority; that the States of South Carolina, Florida,
and Louisiana had chosen Republican electors. Then began the
most extraordinary contest that ever took place in the
country. The only hope of the Republicans was in the perfect
defence of their position. The loss of a single vote would be
fatal. An adequate history of the four months between the
popular election and the inauguration of Mr. Hayes, would fill
volumes. Space can be given here for only a bare reference to
some of the most important events. Neither party was
over-scrupulous, and no doubt the acts of some members of each
party were grossly illegal and corrupt. … In four States,
South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon, there were
double returns. In South Carolina there were loud complaints
that detachments of the army, stationed near the polls, had
prevented a fair and free election. Although the board of
State canvassers certified to the choice of the Hayes
electors, who were chosen on the face of the returns, the
Democratic candidates for electors met on the day fixed for
the meeting of electors and cast ballots for Tilden and
Hendricks. In Florida there were allegations of fraud on both
sides. The canvassing board and the governor certified to the
election of the Hayes electors, but, fortified by a court
decision in their favor, the Democratic electors also met and
voted. In Louisiana there was anarchy. There were two
governors, two returning boards, two sets of returns showing
different results, and two electoral colleges. In Oregon the
Democratic governor adjudged one of the Republican electors
ineligible, and gave a certificate to the highest candidate on
the Democratic list. The Republican electors, having no
certificate from the governor, met and voted for Hayes and
Wheeler. The Democratic elector, whose appointment was
certified to by the governor, appointed two others to fill the
vacancies, when the two Republican electors would not meet
with him, and the three voted for Tilden and Hendricks. All of
these cases were very complicated in their incidents, and a
brief account which should convey an intelligible idea of what
occurred is impossible. … Thus, for the first and only time in
the history of the country, the election ended in such a way
as to leave the result in actual doubt, and in two States the
number of legal votes given for the electors was in dispute. …
As soon as the electoral votes were cast it became a question
of the very first importance how they were to be counted. It
was evident that the Senate would refuse to be governed by the
22nd joint rule [under which no electoral vote to which any
member of either House objected could be counted unless both
Houses agreed to the counting of it]—in fact the Senate voted
to rescind the rule,—and it was further evident that if the
count were to take place in accordance with that rule it would
result in throwing out electoral votes on both sides on the
most frivolous pretexts. It was asserted by the Republicans
that, under the Constitution, the President of the Senate
alone had the right to count, in spite of the fact that the
joint rule, the work of their party, had assumed the power for
the two Houses of Congress. On the other hand, the Democrats,
who had always denounced that rule as unconstitutional, now
maintained that the right to count was conferred upon
Congress. A compromise became necessary, and the moderate men
on both sides determined to effect the establishment of a
tribunal, as evenly divided politically as might be, which
should decide all disputed questions so far as the
Constitution gave authority to Congress to decide them. The
outcome of their efforts was the Electoral Commission law of
1877," by which a Commission was created, consisting of
fifteen members—the Senate appointing five from its own body,
the House five, and four Associate-Justices of the Supreme
Court, designated in the bill, appointing a fifth from the
same court. The Senators selected were Edmunds, Morton,
Frelinghuysen (Republicans), and Thurman and Bayard
(Democrats). The Representatives were Payne, Hunton, Abbott
(Democrats), and Garfield and Hoar (Republicans). The four
Supreme Court Justices designated by the Act were Clifford,
Field (Democrats), Strong and Miller (Republicans). They
selected for the fifth member of the Commission Justice
Bradley, who was a Republican.
{3578}
"The natural choice of the justices would have been their
associate, David Davis; but he had been ejected only five days
before as senator from Illinois, and it was regarded by him
and by others as improper that he should serve. Thus the
commission consisted of eight Republicans and seven Democrats.
If Judge Davis had been selected, there would have been only
seven Republicans, and the result of the operation of the law
might have been different. … The count had begun on the first
day of February, and the final vote upon Wisconsin was not
reached until the early morning of March 2. As question after
question was decided uniformly in favor of the Republicans, it
became evident to the Democrats that their case was lost. They
charged gross partisanship upon the Republican members of the
Electoral Commission, in determining every point involved in
the dual returns for their own party, though as a matter of
fact there does not seem to have been much room for choice
between the two parties on the score of partisanship. Each
member of the commission favored by his vote that view which
would result in adding to the electoral vote of his own party.
But as the result of the count became more and more certainly
a Republican triumph, the anger of the Democrats arose. Some
of them were for discontinuing the count; and the symptoms of
a disposition to filibuster so that there should be no
declaration of the result gave reason for public disquietude.
But the conservative members of the party were too patriotic
to allow the failure of a law which they had been instrumental
in passing to lead to anarchy or revolution, and they sternly
discountenanced all attempts to defeat the conclusion of the
count. The summing up of the votes [Hayes, 185; Tilden, 184],
was read by Mr. Allison of Iowa, one of the tellers on the
part of the Senate, at a little after four o'clock, on the
morning of the 2d of March, amid great excitement. … Mr. Ferry
thereupon declared Rutherford B. Hayes elected President, and
William A. Wheeler Vice-President, of the United States. The
decision was acquiesced in peaceably by the whole country, and
by men of every party. But the Democrats have never ceased to
denounce the whole affair as a fraud. … It is to be hoped that
the patriotism of the American people and their love of peace
may never again be put to such a severe test as was that of
1876 and 1877." According to the Democratic count, the popular
vote stood:
Tilden, 4,300,590;
Hayes, 4,036,298;
Cooper, 81,737;
Smith, 9,522.
The Republican count gave:
Tilden, 4,285,992;
Hayes, 4,033,768.
E. Stanwood,
History of Presidential Elections,
chapter 24.
ALSO IN:
C. A. O'Neil,
The American Electoral System,
chapters 20-21.
A. M. Gibson,
A Political Crime.
Congressional Record,
volume 5 (1877), parts 1-2.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1877.
Halifax Fishery Award.
See FISHERIES, NORTH AMERICAN: A. D. 1877-1888.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1877-1891.
The Farmers' Alliance.
The Farmers' Alliance "is the outcome of a movement which
first culminated, shortly after the Civil War had ended, in
the formation of the Patrons of Husbandry, or, as they were
more commonly called, 'The Grange,' the object of which
organization was the mutual protection of farmers against the
encroachments of capital. The collapse of the Grange was due
to a mistake it had made in not limiting its membership
originally to those whose interests were agricultural. The
first 'Alliance' was formed in Texas, to oppose the wholesale
buying up of the public lands by private individuals. … For
about ten years the Alliance remained a Southern organization.
In 1887, about ten years after the first local Alliance in
Texas was formed, and five after the State Alliance, the
'Farmers' Union' of Louisiana united with it, under the name
of the 'Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of America.'
Branches were quickly established," in other Southern States.
"Later in the same year, the 'Agricultural Wheel,' a similar
society operating in the States of Arkansas, Missouri,
Kentucky, and Tennessee, was amalgamated with the Alliance,
the new organization being called 'The Farmers' and Laborers'
Union of America.' The spirit of the movement had
simultaneously been embodied in the 'National Farmers'
Alliance' of Illinois, which was started in 1877, and quickly
extended into Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas,
and Dakota. A minor organization, the 'Farmers' Mutual Benefit
Association,' was started in 1887, in the southern part of
Illinois. Finally, in 1889, at a meeting held in St. Louis,
these different bodies were all practically formed into a
union for political purposes, aiming at legislation in the
interests of farmers and laborers; and the present name of the
'Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union' was chosen. … Its
main professed object is the destruction of the money power in
public affairs, and the opposition of all forms of monopoly.
It demands the substitution of legal tender treasury notes for
National bank notes; also an extension of the public currency
sufficient for the transaction of all legitimate business; the
money to be given to the people on security of their land, at
the lowest rates consistent with the cost of making and
handling it. It demands government control, not only of money,
but of the means of transportation and every other public
function."
Quarterly Register of Current History,
volume 1, page 132.
ALSO IN:
F. M. Drew,
The Present Farmers' Movement
(Political Science Quarterly, June, 1891).
See, also,
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1866-1875.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1878.
The Bland Silver Bill.
The act familiarly known as the Bland Bill was passed by
Congress in 1878. "Although the silver dollar of which the
coinage was resumed in 1878 dates back as a coin to the
earlier days of the Republic, its reissue in that year marks a
policy so radically new that the experience of previous years
throws practically no light on its working. The act of 1878
provided for the purchase by the government, each month, of
not less than two million dollars' worth, and not more than
four million dollars' worth, of silver bullion, for coinage
into silver dollars at the rate of 412½ grains of standard
silver (or 371¼ grains of fine silver) for each dollar. The
amount of the purchases, within the specified limits, was left
to the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. As every
Secretary of the Treasury, throughout the period in which the
act was in force, kept to the minimum amount, the practical
result was a monthly purchase of two million dollars' worth of
silver bullion. The act is sometimes described as having
called for a monthly issue of two million silver dollars; but
this was not the exact situation.
{3579}
The amount of silver obtainable with two million dollars
obviously varies according to the price of the metal in terms
of the dollars with which the purchases are made. In February,
1878, when the first purchases were made, those dollars were
the inconvertible United States notes, or greenbacks, worth
something less than their face in gold. … When specie payments
were resumed, on the first of January, 1879, and the
greenbacks became redeemable in gold, the measure of value in
the United States became gold, and the extent of the coinage
of silver dollars under the act of 1878 became simply a
question of how much silver bullion could be bought with two
million dollars of gold. The price of silver in 1878 was, in
terms of gold, not far from a dollar for an ounce of standard
silver. After 1878 it went down almost steadily. … The silver
dollar of 412½ grains contains less than an ounce (480 grains)
of standard silver. The monthly purchase of two million
dollars' worth of silver therefore yielded more than two
million silver dollars, the amount being obviously greater as
the price of silver went lower. On the average, the monthly
yield was not far from two and a half millions of silver
dollars. So much each month, therefore, or thirty millions of
silver dollars a year, was roughly the addition to the
currency of the community from the act of 1878. An important
provision of the act of 1878 was that authorizing the issue of
silver certificates against the deposit of silver dollars. …
The dollars and certificates between them constitute what we
may call the silver currency of the act of 1878. The passage
of that act was due to causes easily described. It was part of
the opposition to the contraction of the currency and the
resumption of specie payments, which forms the most important
episode of our financial history between 1867 and 1879. … No
doubt some additional force was given to the movement in favor
of the use of silver from the desire of the silver-mining
States and their representatives, that the price of the metal
should be kept up through a larger use of it for coinage. But
this element, while sometimes prominent in the agitation, was
not then, as it has not been in more recent years, of any
great importance by itself. The real strength of the agitation
for the wider use of silver as money comes from the conviction
of large masses of the people that the community has not
enough money."
F. W. Taussig,
The Silver Situation in the United States,
part 1.
See, also, MONEY AND BANKING: A. D. 1848-1893.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1880.
The Twenty-fourth Presidential Election.
For the twenty-fourth Presidential election, in 1880, the
Republicans, meeting at Chicago, June 2, named General James
A. Garfield, of Ohio, as its candidate for President and
Chester A. Arthur, of New York, for Vice President. The
so-called Greenback party (which had appeared four years
before, in the election of 1876), meeting at Chicago on the
9th of June, put in nomination, for President, James B. Weaver
of Iowa, and, for Vice President, B. J. Chambers, of Texas.
The main object and principle of the Greenback party was set
forth in the following declarations of its platform: "That the
right to make and issue money is a sovereign power to be
maintained by the people for the common benefit. The
delegation of this right to corporations is a surrender of the
central attribute of sovereignty. … All money, whether
metallic or paper, should be issued and its volume controlled
by the government, and not by or through banking corporations,
and, when so issued, should be a full legal tender for all
debts, public and private. … Legal tender currency [the
greenback notes of the civil-war period] should be substituted
for the notes of the national banks, the national banking
system abolished, and the unlimited coinage of silver, as well
as gold, established by law." The Prohibitionists
(Temperance), in convention at Cleveland, June 17, nominated
Neal Dow, of Maine, for President, and A. M. Thompson, of
Ohio, for Vice President. On the 22d of June, at Cincinnati,
the Democratic party held its convention and nominated General
Winfield S. Hancock, of Pennsylvania, for President, and
William H. English, of Indiana, for Vice President. At the
election, in November, the popular vote cast was 4,454,416 for
Garfield, 4,444,952 for Hancock, 308,578 for Weaver, and
10,305 for Dow. The electoral votes were divided between
Garfield and Hancock, being 214 for the former and 155 for the
latter. Every former slave-state was carried by the Democratic
party, together with New Jersey, California and Nevada.
E. McPherson,
Handbook of Politics for 1880 and 1882.
ALSO IN:
J. C. Ridpath,
Life and Work of James A. Garfield,
chapters 10-11.
J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
chapter 29.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1880.
The Tenth Census.
Total population, 50,155,783 (exceeding that of 1870 by
11,5117,412), classed and distributed as follows:

North Atlantic division.
White. Black.
Maine. 646,852 1,451
New Hampshire. 346,229 685
Vermont. 331,218 1,057
Massachusetts. 1,763,782 18,697
Rhode Island. 269,939 6,488
Connecticut. 610,769 11,547
New York. 5,016,022 65,104
New Jersey. 1,092,017 38,853
Pennsylvania. 4,197,016 85,535
Total 14,273,844 229,417
South Atlantic division.
Delaware. 120,160 26,442
Maryland. 724,693 210,230
District of Columbia. 118,006 59,596
Virginia. 880,858 631,616
West Virginia. 592,537 25,886
North Carolina. 867,242 531,277
South Carolina. 391,105 604,332
Georgia. 816,906 725,133
Florida. 142,605 126,690
Total 4,654,112 2,941,202
North Central division.
Ohio. 3,117,920 79,900
Indiana. 1,938,798 39,228
Illinois. 3,031,151 46,368
Michigan. 1,614,560 15,100
Wisconsin. 1,309,618 2,702
Minnesota. 776,884 1,564
Iowa. 1,614,600 9,516
Missouri. 2,022,826 145,350
Dakota. 133,147 401
Nebraska. 449,764 2,385
Kansas. 952,155 43,107
Total 16,961,423 385,621
{3580}
South Central division.
White. Black.
Kentucky. 1,377,179 271,451
Tennessee. 1,138,831 403,151
Alabama. 662,185 600,103
Mississippi. 479,398 650,291
Louisiana. 454,954 483,655
Texas. 1,197,237 393,384
Arkansas. 591,531 210,666
Total 5,901,315 3,012,701
Western division.
Montana. 35,385 346
Wyoming. 19,437 298
Colorado. 191,126 2,435
New Mexico. 108,721 1,015
Arizona. 35,160 155
Utah. 142,423 232
Nevada. 53,556 488
Idaho. 29,013 53
Washington. 67,199 325
Oregon. 163,075 487
California. 767,181 6,018
Total 1,612,276 11,852
Grand total. 43,402,970 6,580,793
In addition the census shows 105,465 Chinese, 148 Japanese,
and 66,407 civilized Indians, making a total of 50,155,783, as
stated above. The immigrants arriving in the country during
the preceding ten years numbered 2,944,695, of whom 989,163
were from the British Islands and 1,357,801 from other parts
of Europe.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1881.
The brief administration of President Garfield.
His assassination.
"President Hayes had left the new administration a heritage of
hatred from the Stalwart element of the Republican party. It
was President Garfield's chief wish, politically, to heal up
the chasm which the past had opened, and not to recognize one
faction more than another. … The defeat of the Stalwarts at
Chicago, by Garfield, naturally tended to transfer their
hostility from the outgoing to the incoming President."
See STALWARTS AND HALF-BREEDS.
"For months before the inauguration, the embarrassment which
threatened Garfield was foreseen by the country." The
inevitable outbreak of hostilities occurred the moment that
the President made a nomination in New York which was
distasteful to the arrogant Senator from that State, Roscoe
Conkling, who imperiously led the Stalwart forces. This
happened upon the presentation of the name of William H.
Robertson for Collector of the Port of New York. In order to
force a division in the Republican party upon the quarrel
between himself and President Garfield, Senator Conkling
resigned his seat in the Senate of the United States and
presented himself to the Legislature of New York as a
candidate for re-election. He counted, without doubt, upon an
easy triumph, expecting to be returned to Washington, bearing
the mandate of his party, so to speak, and humbling the
President into submissive obedience to his behests. He was
disappointed; his re-election was defeated; but the furious
contest which went on during some weeks, engendered bitter
passions, which had their effect, no doubt, in producing the
awful tragedy that soon ensued. By the end of June the clamor
of the strife had greatly subsided; the Senate had adjourned,
and the weary President made ready to join Mrs. Garfield at
Long Branch, where she was just recovering from a serious
illness. "On the morning of the 2d of July … the President
made ready to put his purpose into execution. Several members
of the Cabinet, headed by Secretary Blaine, were to accompany
him to Long Branch. A few ladies, personal friends of the
President's family, and one of his sons, were of the company;
and as the hour for departure drew near they gathered at the
depot of the Baltimore and Potomac Railway to await the train.
The President and Secretary Blaine were somewhat later than
the rest. … When the carriage arrived at the station at
half-past nine o'clock, the President and Mr. Blaine left it
and entered the ladies' waiting-room, which they passed
through arm in arm. A moment afterwards, as they were passing
through the door into the main room, two pistol shots suddenly
rang out upon the air. Mr. Blaine saw a man running, and
started toward him, but turned almost immediately and saw that
the President had fallen. It was instantly realized that the
shots had been directed with fatal accuracy at the beloved
President. Mr. Blaine sprang toward him, as did several
others, and raised his head from the floor. … A moment after
the assassin was discovered … and, in the middle of B Street,
just outside of the depot, was seized by the policemen and
disarmed. A pistol of very heavy caliber was wrenched out of
his hand, and it became clear that a large ball had entered
the President's body. The assassin gave his name as Charles
Jules Guiteau. … [He] was found to be a mixture of fool and
fanatic, who, in his previous career, had managed to build up,
on a basis of total depravity, a considerable degree of
scholarship. He was a lawyer by profession, and had made a
pretense of practicing in several places—more particularly in
Chicago. … In the previous spring, about the time of the
inauguration, he had gone to Washington to advance a claim to
be Consul-General at Paris. … Hanging about the Executive
Mansion and the Department of State for several weeks, he
seemed to have conceived an intense hatred of the President,
and to have determined on the commission of the crime." The
wounded President lingered for eighty days, during which long
period of suffering there were many alternations of hope and
fear in his case. He died on the 19th of September. His
assassin was tried and executed for the crime, though much
doubt of his sanity exists. The Vice-President, Chester A.
Arthur, became President for the remainder of the term.
J. C. Ridpath,
Life and Work of James A. Garfield,
chapters 12-13.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1882.
Passage of the Edmunds Bill, to suppress Polygamy in Utah.
See UTAH: A. D. 1882-1893.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1883.
Passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Bill.
See CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM IN THE UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1884.
Financial Disasters.
"The month of May, 1884, concludes the prosperous period which
followed the crisis of 1873. During this period the most
gigantic speculations in railroads occurred; the zenith of the
movement was in 1880, and as early as 1881 a retrograde
movement began, only to end in the disasters in question. The
decline in prices had been steady for three years; they had
sunk little by little under the influence of a ruinous
competition, caused by the number of new lines and the
lowering of rates, but above all through the manipulations by
the managers on a scale unexampled until now.
{3581}
In connection with the disasters of May, 1884, the names of
certain speculators who misused other people's money, such as
Ward, of Grant & Ward; Fish, President of the Marine Bank; and
John C. Eno, of the Second National Bank, will long be
remembered. General Grant, who was a silent partner in Ward's
concern, was an innocent sufferer, both in fortune and
reputation."
C. Juglar,
Brief History of Panics,
pages 102-103.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1884.
The Twenty-fifth Presidential Election.
Appearance of the Independents or "Mugwumps."
James G. Blaine, of Maine, and General John A. Logan, of
Illinois, nominated at Chicago, June 3, were the Republican
candidates for President and Vice President, in the election
of 1884. The Democratic National Convention, held, likewise,
at Chicago, July 8, put forward Governor Grover Cleveland, of
New York, as its candidate for President, with Thomas A.
Hendricks, of Indiana, for Vice President. General Benjamin F.
Butler, of Massachusetts, and General A. M. West, of
Mississippi, received double nominations, from the National or
Greenback party and an Anti-Monopoly party (so-called) for
President and Vice President, respectively; while the
Prohibitionists put in nomination John P. St. John, of Kansas,
and William Daniel, of Maryland. The election was an
exceedingly close one, its result turning upon a plurality of
only 1,149 in New York, by which that state was given to
Cleveland, with its 36 electoral votes, securing his election.
The total popular vote counted as follows: Cleveland,
4,874,986; Blaine, 4,851,981; Butler, 175,370; St. John,
150,369. The electoral vote was divided between Cleveland and
Blaine, 219 for the former and 182 for the latter.
E. McPherson,
Hand-book of Politics, 1884 and 1886.
Annual Cyclopœdia, 1884.
"At the presidential election of 1884 a section of the
Republican party, more important by the intelligence and
social position of the men who composed it than by its voting
power, 'bolted' (to use the technical term) from their party,
and refused to support Mr. Blaine. Some simply abstained,
some, obeying the impulse to vote which is strong in good
citizens in America, voted for Mr. St. John, the
Prohibitionist candidate, though well aware that this was
practically the same thing as abstention. The majority,
however, voted against their party for Mr. Cleveland, the
Democratic candidate; and it seems to have been the
transference of their vote which turned the balance in New
York State, and thereby determined the issue of the whole
election in Mr. Cleveland's favour." This group "goes by the
name of Mugwumps. … The name is said to be formed from an
Indian word denoting a chief or aged wise man, and was applied
by the 'straight-out' Republicans to their bolting brethren as
a term of ridicule. It was then taken up by the latter as a
term of compliment; though the description they used formally
in 1884 was that of 'Independent Republicans.' … The chief
doctrine they advocate is … the necessity of reforming the
civil service by making appointments without reference to
party, and a general reform in the methods of politics by
selecting men for Federal, State, and municipal offices, with
reference rather to personal fitness than to political
affiliations."
J. Bryce,
The American Commonwealth (3d edition, revised),
chapter 56, with foot-note (volume 2).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1885-1888.
Termination of the Fishery Articles of the Treaty of Washington.
Renewed controversies.
The rejected Treaty.
See FISHERIES, NORTH AMERICAN: A. D. 1877-1888.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1886-1893.
The Bering Sea controversy and arbitration.
"Four serious international controversies have arisen out of
the rival claims of Russia, Great Britain, Spain, and the
United States to the shores and waters of the northwest coast
of the continent of North America. The first of these was in
consequence of an attempt of the Spanish Government, in 1790,
to prevent the British from trading with the natives of that
coast. It was settled by the Nootka Sound Convention of
October 28, 1790, by which the subjects of both powers enjoyed
equal privileges of trade to all points not already occupied.
The second controversy was the result of an attempt of Russia
in 1821 to prohibit England and the United States from trading
anywhere north of the 51st parallel, or to approach within 100
Italian miles of the coast. Both governments energetically
protested and secured treaties in 1824 and 1825, by which they
retained the right of fishing and of landing on unoccupied
points of that coast. The third controversy was as to the
division of the coast between Great Britain and the United
States, Spain having by the treaties of 1824 and 1825 accepted
the parallel of 54° 40' as her southern boundary. The rival
claims of the two remaining powers, after long diplomatic
discussion, were settled by the treaty of July 17, 1846,
according to which the parallel of 49° was made the dividing
line. By the treaty of March 30, 1867, with Russia, all the
dominions and claims of that country on the continent of North
America and the outlying islands thereof were transferred to
the United States. A further, and still pending, controversy
arose in 1886 through the seizure by United States vessels of
Canadian vessels engaged in the taking of seals in waters not
far distant from the Aleutian Islands. The claim of the United
States was that it had acquired from Russia exclusive rights
in Behring Sea, at least with regard to seal fishing. The
British Government representing the Canadians denied that
there could be any exclusive rights outside three miles off
shore. By an agreement of February 29, 1892, the question has
been submitted to arbitration," the arbitrators to give "a
distinct decision" upon each of the following five points:
"1. What exclusive jurisdiction in the sea now known as the
Behring's Sea, and what exclusive rights in the seal fisheries
therein, did Russia assert and exercise prior and up to the
time of the cession of Alaska to the United States?
2. How far were these claims of jurisdiction as to the seal
fisheries recognized and conceded by Great Britain?
3. Was the body of water now known as the Behring's Sea
included in the phrase 'Pacific Ocean,' as used in the treaty
of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, and what rights, if
any, in the Behring's Sea, were held and exclusively exercised
by Russia after said treaty?
{3562}
4. Did not all the rights of Russia as to the jurisdiction and
as to the seal fisheries in Behring's Sea east of the water
boundary, in the treaty between the United States and Russia
of the 30th of March, 1867, pass unimpaired to the United
States under that treaty?
5. Has the United States any right, and if so, what right, of
protection or property in the fur-seals frequenting the
islands of the United States in Behring's Sea, when such seals
are found outside the ordinary three-mile limit?"
American History Leaflets, no. 6.
The arbitrators to whom these points of the question were
submitted under the treaty were seven in number, as follows:
Justice John M. Harlan, of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and Senator John T. Morgan, of Alabama, appointed by
the United States; Rt. Hon. Lord Hannan, and Sir John S. D.
Thompson, Prime Minister of Canada, appointed by Great
Britain; Senator Baron Alphonse de Courcelles, formerly French
Ambassador at Berlin, appointed by the French government;
Senator Marquis E. Visconti Venosta, appointed by the Italian
government; and Judge Mons. Gregers Gram, Minister of State,
appointed by the government of Sweden. The Court of
Arbitration met at Paris, beginning its sessions on March 23,
1893. The award of the Tribunal, signed on the 15th of August,
1893, decided the five points submitted to it, as follows:
(1) That Russia did not, after 1825, assert or exercise any
exclusive jurisdiction in Bering Sea, or any exclusive rights
in the seal fisheries;
(2) that no such claims on the part of Russia were recognized
or conceded by England;
(3) that the body of water now known as Bering Sea was
included in the phrase "Pacific Ocean," as used in the treaty
of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia, and that no
exclusive rights of jurisdiction in Bering Sea or as to the
seal fisheries there were held or exercised by Russia after
the treaty of 1825;
(4) that all the rights of Russia as to jurisdiction and the
seal fisheries in Bering Sea east of the water boundary did
pass unimpaired to the United States under the treaty of March
30, 1867;
(5) that the United States has not any right of protection or
property in the fur seals frequenting the islands of the
United States in Bering Sea, when such seals are found outside
the ordinary three-mile limit.
Mr. Morgan alone dissented from the decision rendered on the
first and second points, and on the second division of the
third point. Justice Harlan and Mr. Morgan both dissented on
the fifth point. On the fourth point, and on the first
division of the third, the decision was unanimous. These
points of controversy disposed of, the Arbitrators proceeded
to prescribe the regulations which the Governments of the
United States and Great Britain shall enforce for the
preservation of the fur seal. The regulations prescribed
prohibit the killing, capture or pursuit of fur seals, at any
time or in any manner, within a zone of sixty miles around the
Pribilov Islands; prohibit the same from May 1 to July 31 in
all the part of the Pacific Ocean, inclusive of Bering Sea,
which is north of 35° north latitude and eastward of the 180th
degree of longitude from Greenwich till it strikes the water
boundary described in Article I. of the Treaty of 1867 between
the United States and Russia; and following that line up to
Bering Straits; allow only sailing vessels, with licenses, to
take part in fur seal fishing operations, and forbid the use
of nets, firearms and explosives, except as to shot guns
outside of Bering Sea. As promulgated, the Award bore the
signatures of all the Arbitrators.
The Behring Sea Arbitration:
Letters to The Times.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1887-1888.
Tariff Message of President Cleveland.
Attempted revision of the Tariff.
Defeat of the Mills Bill.
See TARIFF LEGISLATION (UNITED STATES): A. D. 1884-1888.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1888.
The Twenty-sixth Presidential election.
President Cleveland was nominated for re-election by the
Democratic National Convention, held at St. Louis, June 5,
with Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, for Vice President. The
Republican Convention, at Chicago, June 19, named Benjamin
Harrison, of Indiana, for President, and Levi P. Morton, of
New York, for Vice President. At Indianapolis, May 30, the
Prohibition party had already put in nomination General
Clinton B. Fisk, of New Jersey, and John A. Brooks, of
Missouri, for President and Vice President, respectively. The
Union Labor Party, convening at Cincinnati, May 15, had
nominated Alson J. Streeter, of Illinois, and Charles E.
Cunningham, of Arkansas; the United Labor Party, a rival
organization, had put forward Robert H. Cowdrey, of Illinois,
and William H. T. Wakefield, of Kansas; and still another
labor ticket had been brought forward in February, at
Washington, where an organization calling itself the
Industrial Reform party, put Albert E. Redstone, of
California, and John Colvin, of Kansas, in nomination. At Des
Moines, Iowa, May 15, the National Equal Rights party had
named a woman for the Presidency, in the person of Mrs. Belva
Lockwood, of Washington, with Alfred H. Love, of Philadelphia,
named for Vice President. Finally, in August, an organization
attempting to revive the American Party of former days,
convening at Washington, presented James L. Curtis, of New
York, for President, and James R. Greer of Tennessee (who
declined the honor) for Vice President. In the ensuing
election, the popular vote was distributed as follows:
Cleveland, 5,540,329;
Harrison, 5,439,853;
Fisk, 249,506;
Streeter, 146,935;
Cowdrey, 2,818;
Curtis, 1,591.
Notwithstanding the greater number of votes cast for Cleveland
(his plurality being 100,476), Harrison was chosen President
by the electoral votes, receiving 233. while 168 were given
for Cleveland.
Appletons Annual Cyclopœdia, 1888,
pages 773-782, and 799-828.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1889-1890.
The opening of Oklahoma.
The Johnstown Flood.
The Pan-American Congress.
Admission of seven new States.
"In the centre of Indian Territory there is a large district
called, in the Indian language, Oklahoma, or the 'Beautiful
Land.' This tract was finally purchased from the Indians by
the United States, early in 1889. On the 22d of April, of that
year, some 50,000 persons were waiting impatiently on the
borders of Oklahoma for President Harrison's signal, giving
them permission to enter and take up lands in the coveted
region. At precisely twelve o'clock noon, of that day, the
blast of a bugle announced that Oklahoma was open to
settlement. Instantly an avalanche of human beings rushed
wildly across the line, each one eager to get the first
chance. Towns made of rough board-shanties and of tents sprang
up in all directions. The chief of these were Oklahoma City
and Guthrie. At the end of four months, the latter had a
population of about 5,000, with four daily papers and six
banks; and arrangements, doubtless since completed, were being
made to start a line of street cars, and light the city with
electricity.
{3583}
A week after the opening of Oklahoma, the centennial
anniversary of the inauguration of Washington, and of the
beginning of our government under the Constitution, was
celebrated in New York City [April 29-May 1]. … In a little
less than a month from that occasion, the most terrible
disaster of the kind ever known in our history occurred (May
31, 1889) in Western Pennsylvania. By the breaking of a dam, a
body of water forty feet high and nearly half a mile in width
swept down through a deep and narrow valley. In less than
fifteen minutes, the flood had traversed a distance of
eighteen miles. In that brief time, it dashed seven towns out
of existence, and ended by carrying away the greater part of
Johnstown. The whole valley at that place was choked with
ruins; at least 5,000 persons lost their lives, and property
worth ten million dollars was utterly destroyed. In the autumn
(October 2, 1889), representatives of the leading governments
of Central and of South America, together with the Republic of
Mexico, met representatives chosen by the United States in a
conference or congress held at Washington. The object of the
congress was to bring about a closer union of the Americas,
for purposes of trade, and of mutual advantage. The delegates
spent six weeks in visiting the principal commercial and
manufacturing cities of the United States. They then returned
to Washington, and devoted the greater part of the remainder
of the year and part of 1890 to the discussion of business."
D. H. Montgomery,
Leading Facts of American History,
sections 390-392.
"An act to provide for the division of Dakota into two States,
and to enable the people of North Dakota, South Dakota,
Montana, and Washington, to form constitutions and State
governments … was approved by President Cleveland, February
22, 1889. This act provided that the Territory of Dakota
should be divided on the line of the seventh standard
parallel. … On the 4th of July, 1889, the four conventions
assembled-for North Dakota at Bismarck, for South Dakota at
Sioux Falls, for Montana at Helena, and for Washington at
Olympia."
F. N. Thorpe,
Recent Constitution-making in the United States
(Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science, September, 1891).
Acceptable constitutions having been framed and adopted in the
several proposed new states, North Dakota and South Dakota
were admitted to the Union by proclamation of President
Harrison, November 3, 1889, Montana, November 8, and
Washington, November 11, in the same year. "Early in the
session of the fifty-first Congress, Wyoming presented her
claims for Statehood, asking for admission to the Union under
the Constitution of September, 1889, which was adopted by the
people on November 5 following. The bill for admission passed
the House of Representatives on March 27, 1890, passed the
Senate on June 27, and received the President's signature on
July 10. By its terms Wyoming became a state from and after
the date of the President's approval." Idaho had previously
been admitted, by a bill which received the President's
signature on the 3d of July, 1890.
Appletons' Annual Cyclopœdia, 1890 and 1889.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1890.
McKinley Tariff Act.
See TARIFF LEGISLATION (UNITED STATES); A. D. 1890.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1890.
The Eleventh Census.
Total population 62,622,250 (exceeding that of 1880 by
12,466,467, classed and distributed as follows;
North Atlantic division.
White. Black.
Maine. 659,263 1,190
New Hampshire. 375,840 614
Vermont. 331,418 937
Massachusetts. 2,215,373 22,144
Rhode Island. 337,859 7,393
Connecticut. 733,438 12,302
New York. 5,923,952 70,092
New Jersey. 1,396,581 47,638
Pennsylvania. 5,148,257 107,596
Total 17,121,981 269,906
South Atlantic division.
Delaware. 140,066 28,386
Maryland . 826,493 215,657
District of Columbia. 154,695 75,572
Virginia. 1,020,122 635,438
West Virginia. 730,077 32,690
North Carolina. 1,055,382 561,018
South Carolina. 462,008 688,934
Georgia. 978,357 858,815
Florida. 224,949 166,180
Total 5,592,149 3,262,690
North Central division.
Ohio. 3,584,805 87,113
Indiana. 2,146,736 45,215
Illinois. 3,768,472 57,028
Michigan. 2,072,884 15,223
Wisconsin. 1,680,473 2,444
Minnesota. 1,296,159 3,683
Iowa. 1,901,086 10,685
Missouri. 2,528,458 150,184
North Dakota. 182,123 373
South Dakota. 327,290 541
Nebraska. 1,046,888 8,913
Kansas. 1,376,553 49,710
Total 21,911,927 431,112
South Central division.
Kentucky. 1,590,462 268,071
Tennessee. 1,336,637 430,678
Alabama. 833,718 678,489
Mississippi. 544,851 742,559
Louisiana. 558,395 559,193
Texas. 1,745,935 488,171
Oklahoma. 58,826 2,973
Arkansas. 818,752 309,117
Total 7,487,576 3,479,251
Western division.
Montana. 127,271 1,490
Wyoming. 59,275 922
Colorado. 404,468 6,215
New Mexico. 142,719 1,956
Arizona. 55,580 1,357
Utah. 205,899 588
Nevada. 39,084 242
Idaho. 82,018 201
Washington. 340,513 1,602
Oregon. 301,758 1,186
California. 1,111,672 11,322
Total 2,870,257 27,081
Grand Total. 54,983,890 7,470,040
{3584}
In addition the census shows 107,475 Chinese, 2,039 Japanese,
and 58,806 civilized Indians, making a total of 62,622,250, as
stated above.
Immigration in the preceding decade rose to 5,246,613 in the
total arrivals, 1,462,839 being from the British Islands and
3,258,743 from other European countries. In the single year
ending June 30, 1890, the immigrants arriving from Europe
numbered 443,225 (273,104 males, 170,121 females), of whom
57,020 were from England; 53,024 from Ireland; 12,041 from
Scotland: 92,427 from Germany; 22,062 from Hungary: 11,073
from Poland; 33,147 from Russia: 51,799 from Italy; 29,632
from Sweden; 11,370 from Norway; 9,366 from Denmark; 6,585
from France.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1890-1893.
The Silver Bill and its effect.
Financial Panic.
Extra Session of Congress.
Repeal of the Sherman Act.
"The act of July 14, 1890 [known as the Sherman Act], repealed
the silver act of 1878, and so brought to a close the precise
experiment tried under that measure. … But the new act … is
even more remarkable than that of 1878. It is unique in
monetary history. It provides that the Secretary of the
Treasury shall purchase each month at the market price four
and a half million ounces of silver bullion. In payment he
shall issue Treasury notes of the United States, in
denominations of between one dollar and one thousand dollars.
These Treasury notes, unlike the old silver certificates, are
a direct legal tender for all debts, public or private, unless
a different medium is expressly stipulated in the contract.
They differ from the silver certificates in another respect;
they are redeemable either in gold or silver coin, at the
discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. The indirect
process of redemption which, as we have seen, was applied to
the silver certificates, is replaced for the new notes by
direct redemption. The avowed object is to keep the silver
money equal to gold, for it is declared to be 'the established
policy of the United States to maintain the two metals at a
parity with each other on the present legal ratio, or such
ratio as may be provided by law.' The act of 1878 is repealed;
but the coinage of two million ounces of silver into dollars
is to be continued for a year (until July 1, 1891). Thereafter
it is directed that only so many silver dollars shall be
coined as may be needed for redeeming any Treasury notes
presented for redemption. Practically, this means that the
coinage shall cease; redemption in silver dollars will not be
called for. The coinage of silver dollars accordingly was
suspended by the Treasury on July 1, 1891; a change which was
the occasion of some vociferous abuse and equally vociferous
praise, but which in reality was of no consequence whatever.
The monthly issues of the new Treasury notes vary, like those
of the old silver certificates, with the price of silver. But
the new issues vary directly with the price of silver, while,
as we have seen, the old issues varied inversely with the
price. The volume of Treasury notes issued is equal to the
market price of four and one half million ounces of silver. If
silver sells at $1. 20 an ounce, the monthly issue of notes
will be $5,400,000; if at $1.00 an ounce, $4,500,000. For a
month or two after the passage of the act, the price of silver
advanced rapidly, and at its highest, in August, 1890, touched
$1.21. But the rise proved to be but temporary. After
September a steady decline set in, and continued almost
without interruption through the rest of 1890, through 1891,
and through 1892. The year 1891 opened with silver at a price
of about $1.00 an ounce; by the close of the year the price
had fallen to about 95 cents. In 1892 a still further and more
marked decline set in, and by the close of the year the price
had gone as low as 85 cents."
F. W. Taussig,
The Silver Situation in the United States,
chapter 6.
"On June 5 [1893] President Cleveland publicly declared his
purpose to call an extra session of Congress to meet in the
first half of September for the consideration of the country's
financial conditions, which seemed critical. On the 26th of
June the authorities of India closed the mints in that empire
to the free coinage of silver. The signs of a panic
immediately multiplied and four days later appeared the
president's proclamation summoning Congress to meet in extra
session August 7. The call was based on the 'perilous
condition in business circles,' which was declared to be
largely the result of a 'financial policy … embodied in unwise
laws, which must be executed until repealed by Congress.' The
issue of this proclamation was the signal for much excitement
among the Populists and in silver-producing circles. Silver
conventions were held in Denver, July 11, and in Chicago,
August 2, in which addresses were made and resolutions adopted
denouncing with much energy any proposition to repeal the
Sherman Act without some provision for the free coinage of
silver, and claiming that the existing financial crisis was a
deliberately devised scheme of British and American bankers,
with President Cleveland as their ally, to bring about the
exclusion of silver from use as money. The president's
message, presented to the houses August 8, brought the
question before Congress. The message embodied an exposition
of what Mr. Cleveland considered the evils of the Sherman Act,
concluding with an earnest recommendation that its purchase
clause be immediately repealed. While still holding that
tariff reform was imperatively demanded, the president
considered that it should be postponed to action on the silver
law. In Congress the silver men, without reference to party
lines, took an attitude of energetic resistance to any project
for unconditional repeal of the purchase clause."
Political Science Quarterly, December, 1893.
In the House, the resistance was soon overcome by strong
pressure of unmistakable public opinion, and the repeal was
carried on the 28th of August. In the Senate the Silver
faction proved so much stronger that it blocked the bill until
the end of October, indifferent to the ruinous effect which
this action was having on the business and the industries of
the country. In September, while the fate of the bill remained
in doubt, the "Banker's Magazine" reported that the doubt had
"aggravated the money stringency, until it absolutely became
impossible for the great majority of business men to obtain
the necessary funds, or credit to transact their affairs. In
this respect, probably, no panic within the memory of the
present generation has been so severe; and yet, it has been
the least violent for one so universal and protracted. But it
is the collapse that follows an acute attack of disease, which
leaves its victim prostrated, after the crisis has been passed,
and which must precede ultimate recovery, by giving time to
restore exhausted strength. …
{3585}
This was different from most panics this country has
experienced, inasmuch as it was strictly an artificial one,
caused by bad legislation, rather than general financial kite
flying, while commercial affairs were seldom, if ever, on a
sounder or safer basis, from the fact that they had, for a
long time, been more free from speculation, with but few
exceptions, than for years. Hence it has been the financial
machinery by which commerce is transacted, rather than
commerce itself, that has been deranged; and, for this reason,
trade will revive much more rapidly when this artificial
pressure is removed, than it has revived after former panics,
which were either purely financial, or commercial, or both, as
the result of wild speculation and general inflation of
prices."
H. A. Pierce,
A Review of Finance and Business
(Banker's Magazine, September, 1893).
The repeal measure was finally carried in the Senate, becoming
law by the President's signature November 1, when a slow
recovery of business confidence began, much retarded and
disturbed, however, by the uncertainty attending expected
action of Congress on tariff and currency questions.
See, also, MONEY AND BANKING: A. D. 1848-1893.
ALSO IN:
L. R. Ehrich,
The Question of Silver,
page 23.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1892.
Chinese Exclusion Act.
A bill "to absolutely prohibit the coming of Chinese persons
into the United States," reported by Mr. Geary, of California,
was passed by the House, April 4, 1892, yeas 179, nays 43, 107
not voting. In the Senate, a substitute, going little further
than to continue the then existing laws for the regulation of
Chinese immigration, was reported from the Committee on
Foreign Relations and adopted. The two bills were referred to
a Conference Committee, with the result that a compromise
measure, slightly modified from the House bill, was passed by
both branches of Congress, on the 3d and 4th of May, and
signed by the President on the 5th. It continues former laws
for ten years. It directs "that any Chinese person or person
of Chinese descent when convicted and adjudged under any of
said laws to be not lawfully entitled to be or remain in the
United States," shall be removed to China, or to such other
country as he may prove to be a subject or citizen of. It
declares that any such person under arrest "shall be adjudged
to be unlawfully within the United States, unless such person
shall establish, by affirmative proof, … his lawful right to
remain in the United States"; and that any such person
"convicted and adjudged to be not lawfully entitled to be or
remain in the United States shall be imprisoned at hard labor
for a period of not exceeding one year, and thereafter removed
from the United States, as hereinbefore provided." The act
denies bail, on an application for a writ of habeas corpus, by
a Chinese person seeking to land in the United States. It
requires all Chinese laborers who were within the limits of
the United States at the time of the passage of the act, and
who were entitled to remain, to obtain certificates of
residence, from district collectors of internal revenue, and
orders the deportation of those who had failed to do so at the
expiration of one year. This extraordinary measure of
exclusion has been commonly known as the "Geary Act."
E. McPherson,
Hand-book of Politics, 1892.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1892.
Settlement of the Alaskan Boundary.
A convention between the governments of the United States and
Great Britain was entered into and ratifications exchanged in
August, 1892, providing for a coincident or joint survey, "as
may in practice be found most convenient," to determine the
boundary line between Alaska and the Canadian provinces.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1892.
Controversy with Chile.
Warlike Presidential Message.
See (in Supplement) CHILE.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1892.
First commissioning of a Papal Delegate.
See PAPACY: A. D. 1892.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1892.
The Twenty-seventh Presidential Election.
Five parties presented candidates in the presidential election
held November 8, 1892—namely: the Democratic, the Republican,
the People's, or Populist, the Prohibitionist, and the
Socialistic Labor. The nominees of the Democratic Party were
Grover Cleveland, for President, and Adlai E. Stevenson, for
Vice President; of the Republican Party, Benjamin Harrison and
Whitelaw Reid, for President and Vice President, respectively;
of the Populist Party, James B. Weaver and James G. Field; of
the Prohibition Party, John Bidwell and James B. Cranfill; of
the Socialistic Labor Party, Simon Wing and Charles H.
Matchett. The dominant Issues in the canvass were the tariff
question and the silver question. "The Democrats named no
electoral tickets in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota,
and Wyoming, but voted for the people's party electors with
the object of taking those States away from the Republicans.
They put out an electoral ticket in Nevada, but still voted
mostly for the Populist electors. In North Dakota also there
was a partial fusion between the Democrats and the People's
party, and in Minnesota a part of the Weaver electoral ticket
was accepted by the Democrats. In Louisiana there was a fusion
of the Republicans and the People's party, each nominating
half of the 8 electors. In Alabama there was a fusion of some
of the Republicans with the People's party. In Texas a
Republican ticket called the Lily White was set up, which
differed from the regular ticket. In Michigan a new electoral
law, which was declared constitutional by the United States
Supreme Court on October 17, 1892, provided for the separate
election of a Presidential elector in each Congressional
district, and in consequence the electoral vote of the State
was divided. In Oregon the name of one of the four electors on
the People's ticket was also placed on the Democratic ticket.
… The total popular vote cast was reported as 12,154,542," of
which Cleveland received 5,556,553; Harrison, 5,175,577;
Weaver, 1,122,045; Bidwell 279,191; Wing, 21,191. The
electoral votes of the States were cast as follows: Cleveland,
277; Harrison, 145; Weaver, 22; giving Cleveland a clear
majority of 110.
Appletons' Annual Cyclopœdia, 1892.
"The most striking feature of the elections was the great
losses of the Republicans in the West. Illinois and Wisconsin
went Democratic by large majorities, California and Ohio were
very close, and Colorado, Idaho, Kansas and Nevada chose
Populist electors. The Democrats carried all the Northern
states generally regarded as doubtful, viz., Connecticut, New
York and Indiana, but they nearly lost Delaware.
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An unusual incident of the result was the division of the
electoral votes in several states, owing to the closeness of
the popular vote. Thus in Ohio one Cleveland elector and in
Oregon one Weaver elector was chosen, the others being
Republican; and in California and North Dakota Mr. Harrison
secured single votes in the same way. From the conditions of
fusion between the Democrats and Populists in the last-named
state, it resulted that one of her three electoral votes was
given to each of the three candidates. In Michigan, under the
district method of choosing electors recently established,
Harrison got nine votes and Cleveland five."
Political Science Quarterly, June, 1893.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1893.
Abandonment of Polygamy by the Mormons.
See UTAH: A. D. 1882-1893.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1893.
Revolution in the Hawaiian Islands and proposed annexation.
See HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1894.
The Wilson Tariff Act.
See TARIFF LEGISLATION (UNITED STATES): A. D. 1894.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1894.
The Strike at Pullman.
The Coxey Movement.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1894.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1894-1895.
Provision for the admission of Utah as a State.
On the 17th of July, 1894, the President, by his signature,
gave effect to a bill which provides for the admission of Utah
to the Union as a State. The admission, however, cannot become
a completed fact before the later part of the year 1895, since
the bill provides for the holding of a convention in March,
1895, to frame a constitution for the proposed new State, and
for submitting such constitution to the people at the election
in November, 1895.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1895.
The Status of Civil-service Reform.
Commissioner Roosevelt's Review.
"In 1883 the civil service law was established at Washington,
and in the larger post-offices and custom-houses throughout
the country, taking in a total of some 14,000 employees. The
great extensions since have all taken place during the last
six years, a period which happens to include my own term of
service with the Commission, so that I write of them at first
hand. In 1889 the railway mail service was added, in 1893 all
the free delivery post-offices, and in 1894 all the smaller
custom-houses and the internal revenue service. Other
important but smaller extensions have been made, and the
larger offices have grown, so that now about 50,000 employees
are under the protection of the law. There are, of course, and
there always must be in a body so large, individual cases
where the law is evaded, or even violated; and as yet we do
not touch the question of promotions and reductions. But,
speaking broadly, and with due allowance for such
comparatively slight exceptions, these 50,000 places are now
taken out of the political arena. They can no longer be
scrambled for in a struggle as ignoble and brutal as the
strife of pirates over plunder; they no longer serve as a vast
bribery chest with which to debauch the voters of the country.
Those holding them no longer keep their political life by the
frail tenure of service to the party boss and the party
machine; they stand as American citizens, and are allowed the
privilege of earning their own bread without molestation so
long as they faithfully serve the public. The classified
service, the service in which the merit system is applied, has
grown fast. It is true that the outside service where the
spoils theories are still applied in all their original
nakedness, has grown only less fast. The number of offices
under the government has increased very rapidly during the
last twenty years; but the growth of the classified service
has been even more rapid, so that a constantly increasing
percentage of the whole is withdrawn from the degrading grasp
of the spoils system. Now, something like a quarter of all the
offices under the federal government in point of numbers,
representing nearly a half in point of salaries, has been put
upon the basis of decency and merit. This has been done by the
action of successive Presidents under the law of 1883, without
the necessity of action by Congress. There still remain some
things that can be done without further legislation. For
instance, the labor force in the navy yards was put on a merit
basis, and removed from the domain of politics, under
Secretary Tracy. This was done merely by order of the
Secretary of the Navy, which order could have been reversed by
his successor, Secretary Herbert. Instead of reversing it,
however, Secretary Herbert has zealously lived up to its
requirements, and has withstood all pressure for the weakening
of the system in the interests of the local party machines and
bosses. It is unsafe to trust to always having Secretaries of
the Navy like Messrs. Tracy and Herbert. The Civil Service
Commission should be given supervision over the laborers who
come under the direction of Cabinet officers. Indeed, all the
laboring force and all the employees of the District of
Columbia employed by the federal government should be put
under the Commission. When this has been done, and when a few
other comparatively slight extensions have been made, all that
can be accomplished by the unaided action of the executive
will have been accomplished. Congress must then itself act by
passing some such bill as that of Senator Lodge in reference
to fourth-class postmasters; by passing some bill in reference
to the consular service on the outlines of that suggested by
Senator Morgan (but giving power to the Civil Service
Commission itself in the matter); and then by providing that
all postmasters and similar officers shall hold office during
good behavior, including as well those nominated by the
President and confirmed by the Senate as those appointed by
the President alone. Of all the offices under the federal
government, not one in a hundred can properly be called
political."
T. Roosevelt,
The Present Status of Civil Service Reform
(Atlantic, February, 1895).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1895.
President Cleveland's Special Message on
the condition of the National Finances.
In a special message to Congress, on the 28th of January,
1895, President Cleveland renewed an earnest appeal which be
had made at the opening of the session, for legislation to
correct the mischievous working of the existing currency
system of the country. The condition of the national finances,
produced by unwise laws, was set forth clearly in this
message, as follows: "With natural resources unlimited in
variety and productive strength, and with a people whose
activity and enterprise seek only a fair opportunity to
achieve national success and greatness, our progress should
not be checked by a false financial policy and a heedless
disregard of sound monetary laws, nor should the timidity and
fear which they engender stand in the way of our prosperity.
{3587}
It is hardly disputed that this predicament confronts us
to-day. Therefore, no one in any degree responsible for the
making and execution of our laws should fail to see a
patriotic duty in honestly and sincerely attempting to relieve
the situation. … The real trouble which confronts us consists
in a lack of confidence, widespread and constantly increasing,
in the continuing ability or disposition of the Government to
pay its obligations in gold. This lack of confidence grows to
some extent out of the palpable and apparent embarrassment
attending the efforts of the Government under existing laws to
procure gold, and to a greater extent out of the impossibility
of either keeping it in the Treasury or canceling obligations
by its expenditure after it is obtained. The only way left
open to the Government for procuring gold is by the issue and
sale of its bonds. The only bonds that can be so issued were
authorized nearly twenty-five years ago, and are not well
calculated to meet our present needs. Among other
disadvantages, they are made payable in coin, instead of
specifically in gold, which, in existing conditions, detracts
largely and in an increasing ratio from their desirability as
investments. It is by no means certain that bonds of this
description can much longer be disposed of at a price
creditable to the financial character of our Government. The
most dangerous and irritating feature of the situation,
however, remains to be mentioned. It is found in the means by
which the Treasury is despoiled of the gold thus obtained
without canceling a single Government obligation and solely
for the benefit of those who find profit in shipping it abroad
or whose fears induce them to hoard it at home. We have
outstanding about five hundred millions of currency notes of
the Government for which gold may be demanded, and, curiously
enough, the law requires that when presented and, in fact,
redeemed and paid in gold, they shall be reissued. Thus the
same notes may do duty many times in drawing gold from the
Treasury; nor can the process be arrested as long as private
parties, for profit or otherwise, see an advantage in
repeating the operation. More than $300,000,000 in these notes
have already been redeemed in gold, and notwithstanding such
redemption they are all still outstanding. Since the 17th day
of January, 1894, our bonded interest-bearing debt has been
increased $100,000,000 for the purpose of obtaining gold to
replenish our coin reserve. Two issues were made amounting to
fifty millions each—one in January and the other in November.
As a result of the first issue there was realized something
more than $58,000,000 in gold. Between that issue and the
succeeding one in November, comprising a period of about ten
months, nearly $103,000,000 in gold were drawn from the
Treasury. This made the second issue necessary, and upon that
more than fifty-eight millions in gold was again realized.
Between the date of this second issue and the present time,
covering a period of only about two months, more than
$69,000,000 in gold have been drawn from the Treasury. These
large sums of gold were expended without any cancellation of
Government obligations or in any permanent way benefiting our
people or improving our pecuniary situation. The financial
events of the past year suggest facts and conditions which
should certainly arrest attention. More than $172,000,000 in
gold have been drawn out of the Treasury during the year for
the purpose of shipment abroad or hoarding at home. While
nearly one hundred and three millions of this amount was drawn
out during the first ten months of the year, a sum aggregating
more than two-thirds of that amount, being about sixty-nine
millions, was drawn out during the following two months, thus
indicating a marked acceleration of the depleting process with
the lapse of time. The obligations upon which this gold has
been drawn from the Treasury are still outstanding and are
available for use in repeating the exhausting operation with
shorter intervals as our perplexities accumulate. Conditions
are certainly supervening tending to make the bonds which may
be issued to replenish our gold less useful for that purpose.
… It will hardly do to say that a simple increase of revenue
will cure our troubles. The apprehension now existing and
constantly increasing as to our financial ability does not
rest upon a calculation of our revenue. The time has passed
when the eyes of investors abroad and our people at home were
fixed upon the revenues of the Government. Changed conditions
have attracted their attention to the gold of the Government.
There need be no fear that we can not pay our current expenses
with such money as we have. There is now in the Treasury a
comfortable surplus of more than $63,000,000, but it is not in
gold, and therefore does not meet our difficulty. I can not
see that differences of opinion concerning the extent to which
silver ought to be coined or used in our currency should
interfere with the counsels of those whose duty it is to
rectify evils now apparent in our financial situation. They
have to consider the question of national credit, and the
consequences that will follow from its collapse. Whatever
ideas may be insisted upon as to silver or bimetallism, a
proper solution of the question now pressing upon us only
requires a recognition of gold as well as silver, and a
concession of its importance, rightfully or wrongfully
acquired, as a basis of national credit, a necessity in the
honorable discharge of our obligations payable in gold, and a
badge of solvency. … While I am not unfriendly to silver, and
while I desire to see it recognized to such an extent as is
consistent with financial safety and the preservation of
national honor and credit, I am not willing to see gold
entirely banished from our currency and finances. To avert