“I was invited to come to the War Office at about 8:30 o'clock that evening. On arriving I was admitted by the Secretary himself. Inside the door I found a sentinel with musket in hand, regularly on duty. I said to the Secretary, 'How is this?' His only reply was: 'It looks warlike, does it not?'
“On entering his private room I found the Chief of Staff to the General of the Army and two other gentlemen. One was a man whom I knew well, the same mentioned by the parties as being the one to take care of Washington city. The other gentleman I had never seen. He was a resident of Washington city, had been a Colonel in the Union army, and was now acting as Adjutant-General and organizer under the former. These men remained during every night in the War Department with the Secretary of War, having spies out in Baltimore and Richmond, as well as in Washington, and knew of every movement that was going on. They also knew of every meeting of leading rebels with the President. I learned that their organization, secretly armed and equipped in Washington, amounted to over 2,000 men, the object of which was not disclosed to the men more than that it was a military organization in favor of the Union, and to be ready on call for any emergency.
“If the President had attempted to carry out his scheme, and any movement had been made from either Baltimore or Richmond, or from any part of any State, the first prisoner would have been the President. The Secretary of War determined that his Department should not go into the hands of any one who would be subservient to any set of conspirators, or the President, who was to be at the head of them.
“I returned home the next day full of alarm for our country. I greatly feared another scene of blood and desolation. I was so worried over the situation that my family thought me ill.
“Gen. Anderson returned that night from Indianapolis, and Henry from near Fayette. I told the General what I had seen and learned. When I told him how the gentleman in charge of the secret forces in Washington seemed to feel, and that he would make the President a prisoner the first thing if any move was made, he remarked:
“'That is the way to do it! Cut off the head the first blow, and the body will soon die.'
“Things went on in this way for a time. The President had copies of telegrams given him from the telegraph office, which were sent from different parts of the country, tendering the services of different organizations of soldiers to the General of the Army. He also discovered in some way that he would be in danger should he attempt the use of force.
“The House of Representatives now presented articles of impeachment against him. This alarmed his co-conspirators, and the embryo rebellion collapsed.
“I have no doubt that if the President at that time had had a General of the Army and a Secretary of War who could have been used by him to further his and his co-conspirators' schemes, within ninety days from the time when I first went to Washington, as stated, this country would have been plunged into another bloody rebellion with an unscrupulous, courageous and desperate man at the head of it, and at the same time in possession of the Capital of the Nation. The country has never known what it escaped and what it owes to those men—the Secretary of War and the General of the Army and his Chief of Staff—for standing as they did against these machinations.”
“Uncle Daniel,” said Dr. Adams, “why was this matter kept so profoundly secret?”