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diff --git a/42315-0.txt b/42315-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..94f16cd --- /dev/null +++ b/42315-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,33797 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42315 *** + +[Frontispiece: Jefferson Davis] + +THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT. + +BY JEFFERSON DAVIS. + +VOLUME II + +NEW YORK: +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, +1, 3, AND 5 BOND STREET. +1881. + +COPYRIGHT BY +JEFFERSON DAVIS, +1881. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +PART IV.--(Continued). + +_THE WAR._ + + +CHAPTER XV. + +Review of 1861.--Summary of Hostile Acts of United States +Government.--Fuller Details of some of them.--Third Session of +Provisional Congress.--Message.--Subjugation of the Southern States +intended.--Obstinacy of the Enemy.--Insensibility of the North as +to the Crisis.--Vast Preparation of the Enemy.--Embargo and +Blockade.--Indiscriminate War waged.--Action of Confederate +Congress.--Confiscation Act of United States Congress.--Declared +Object of the War.--Powers of United States Government.-- +Forfeitures inflicted.--Due Process of Law, how interpreted.--"Who +pleads the Constitution?"--Wanton Destruction of Private Property +unlawful--Adams on Terms of the Treaty of Ghent.--Sectional +Hatred.--Order of President Lincoln to Army Officers in Regard to +Slaves.--"Educating the People."--Fremont's Proclamation.-- +Proclamation of General T. W. Sherman.--Proclamation of General +Halleck and others.--Letters of Marque.--Our Privateers.--Officers +tried for Piracy.--Retaliatory Orders.--Discussion in the British +House of Lords.--Recognition as a Belligerent of the Confederacy.-- +Exchange of Prisoners.--Theory of the United States.--Views of +McClellan.--Revolutionary Conduct of United States Government.-- +Extent of the War at the Close of 1861.--Victories of the Year.-- +New Branches of Manufactures.--Election of Confederate States +President.--Posterity may ask the Cause of such Hostile Actions.-- +Answer. + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +Military Arrangements of the Enemy.--Marshall and Garfield.-- +Fishing Creek.--Crittenden's Report.--Fort Henry; its Surrender.-- +Fort Donelson; its Position.--Assaults.--Surrender.--Losses. + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +Results of the Surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson.--Retreat from +Bowling Green.--Criticism on General A. S. Johnston.--Change of +Plan necessary.--Evacuation of Nashville.--Generals Floyd and +Pillow.--My Letter to General Johnston.--His Reply.--My Answer.-- +Defense of General Johnston.--Battle of Elkhorn.--Topography of +Shiloh. + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +General Buell's March.--Object of General Johnston.--His Force.-- +Advance from Corinth.-Line of Battle.--Telegram.--The Time of the +Battle of Shiloh.--Results of the First Day's Battle.--One +Encampment not taken.--Effects.--Reports on this Failure.--Death +of General Johnston.--Remarks. + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Retirement of the Army.--Remnants of Grant's Army.--Its +Reënforcements.--Strength of our Army.--Strength of Grant's Army.-- +Reorganization.--Corinth.--Advance of General Halleck.--Siege of +Corinth.--Evacuation.--Retreat to Tupelo.--General Beauregard +retires.-General Bragg in Command.--Positions on the Mississippi +River occupied by the Enemy.--New Madrid.--Island No. 10.--Fort +Pillow.--Memphis.--Attack at Hatteras Inlet.--Expedition of the +Enemy to Port Royal.--Expeditions from Port Royal.--System of Coast +Defenses adopted by us.--Fort Pulaski. + + +CHAPTER XX. + +Advance of General McClellan toward Centreville; his Report.--Our +Forces ordered to the Peninsula.--Situation at Yorktown.--Siege by +General McCellan.--General Johnston assigned to Command; his +Recommendation.--Attack on General Magruder at Yorktown.--Movements +of McClellan.--The Virginia.--General Johnston retires.--Delay at +Norfolk.--Before Williamsburg.--Remark of Hancock.--Retreat up the +Peninsula.--Sub-terra Shells used.-Evacuation of Norfolk.--Its +Occupation by the Enemy. + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A New Phase to our Military Problem.--General Johnston's Position.-- +Defenses of James River.--Attack on Fort Drury.--Johnston crosses +the Chickahominy.--Position of McClellan.--Position of McDowell.-- +Strength of Opposing Forces.--Jackson's Expedition down the +Shenandoah Valley.--Panic at Washington and the North.--Movements +to intercept Jackson.--His Rapid Movements.--Repulses Fremont.-- +Advance of Shields.--Fall of Ashby.--Port Republic, Battle of.-- +Results of this Campaign. + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Condition of Affairs.--Plan of General Johnston.--The Field of +Battle at Seven Pines.--The Battle.--General Johnston wounded.-- +Advance of General Sumner.--Conflict on the Right.--Delay of +General Huger.--Reports of the Enemy.--Losses.--Strength of +Forces.--General Lee in Command. + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +The Enemy's Position.--His Intention.--The Plan of Operations.-- +Movements of General Jackson.--Daring and Fortitude of Lee.-- +Offensive-Defensive Policy.--General Stuart's Movement.--Order of +Attack.--Critical Position of McClellan.--Order of Mr. Lincoln +creating the Army of Virginia.--Arrival of Jackson.--Position of +the Enemy.--Diversion of General Longstreet.--The Enemy forced back +south of the Chickahominy.--Abandonment of the Railroad. + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +Retreat of the Enemy.--Pursuit and Battle.-Night.--Further Retreat +of the Enemy.--Progress of General Jackson.--The Enemy at Frazier's +Farm.--Position of General Holmes.--Advance of General Longstreet.-- +Remarkable Features of the Battle.--Malvern Hill.--Our Position.--The +Attack.--Expedition of General Stuart.--Destruction of the Enemy's +Stores.--Assaults on the Enemy.--Retreat to Westover on the James.-- +Siege of Richmond raised.--Number of Prisoners taken.--Strength of our +Forces.--Strength of our Forces at Seven Pines and after.--Strength of +the Enemy. + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +Forced Emancipation.--Purposes of the United States Government at +the Commencement of 1862.--Subjugation or Extermination.--The +Willing Aid of United States Congress.--Attempt to legislate the +Subversion of our Social Institutions.--Could adopt any Measure +Self-Defense would justify.--Slavery the Cause of all Troubles, +therefore must be removed.--Statements of President Lincoln's +Inaugural.--Declaration of Sumner.--Abolition Legislation.--The +Power based on Necessity.--Its Formula.--The System of Legislation +devised.--Confiscation.--How permitted by the Law of Nations.-- +Views of Wheaton; of J. Q. Adams; of Secretary Marcy; of +Chief-Justice Marshall.--Nature of Confiscation and Proceedings.-- +Compared with the Acts of the United States Congress.--Provisions of +the Acts.--Five Thousand Millions of Property involved.--Another +Feature of the Act.--Confiscates Property within Reach.--Procedure +against Persons.--Held us as Enemies and Traitors.--Attacked us +with the Instruments of War and Penalties of Municipal Law.-- +Emancipation to be secured.--Remarks of President Lincoln on signing +the Bill.--Remarks of Mr. Adams compared.--Another Alarming +Usurpation of Congress.--Argument for it.--No Limit to the +War-Power of Congress; how maintained.--The Act to emancipate Slaves +in the District of Columbia.--Compensation promised.--Remarks of +President Lincoln.--The Right of Property violated.--Words of the +Constitution.--The Act to prohibit Slavery in the Territories.-The +Act making an Additional Article of War.-All Officers forbidden to +return Fugitives.--Words of the Constitution.--The Powers of the +Constitution unchanged in Peace or War.--The Discharge of Fugitives +commanded in the Confiscation Act.--Words of the Constitution. + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +Forced Emancipation concluded.--Emancipation Acts of President +Lincoln.--Emancipation with Compensation proposed to Border +States.--Reasons urged for it.--Its Unconstitutionality.--Order of +General Hunter.--Revoked by President Lincoln.--Reasons.--"The +Pressure" on him.--One Cause of our Secession.--The Time to throw +off the Mask at Hand.--The Necessity that justified the President +and Congress also justified Secession.--Men united in Defense of +Liberty called Traitors.--Conference of President Lincoln with +Senators and Representatives of Border States.--Remarks of Mr. +Lincoln.--Reply of Senators and Representatives.--Failure of the +Proposition.--Three Hundred Thousand more Men called for.-- +Declarations of the Antislavery Press.--Truth of our Apprehensions.-- +Reply of President Lincoln.--Another Call for Men.--Further +Declarations of the Antislavery Press.--The Watchword adopted.-- +Memorial of So-called Christians to the President.--Reply of +President Lincoln.--Issue of the Preliminary Proclamation of +Emancipation.--Issue of the Final Proclamation.--The Military +Necessity asserted.--The Consummation verbally reached.--Words of +the Declaration of Independence.--Declarations by the United States +Government of what it intended to do.--True Nature of the Party +unveiled.--Declarations of President Lincoln.--Vindication of the +Sagacity of the Southern People.--His Declarations to European +Cabinets.--Object of these Declarations.--Trick of the Fugitive +Thief.--The Boast of Mr. Lincoln calmly considered. + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +Naval Affairs.--Organization of the Navy Department.--Two Classes +of Vessels.--Experiments for Floating Batteries and Rams.--The +Norfolk Navy-Yard.--Abandonment by the Enemy.--The Merrimac +Frigate made an Ironclad.--Officers.--Trial-Trip.--Fleet of the +Enemy.--Captain Buchanan.--Resolves to attack the Enemy.--Sinks +the Cumberland.--Burns the Congress.--Wounded.--Executive Officer +Jones takes Command.--Retires for the Night.--Appearance of the +Monitor.--The Virginia attacks her.--She retires to Shoal Water.-- +Refuses to come out.--Cheers of English Man-of-war.--Importance of +the Navy-Yard.--Order of General Johnston to evacuate.--Stores +saved.--The Virginia burned.--Harbor Defenses at Wilmington.-- +Harbor Defenses at Charleston.--Fights in the Harbor.--Defenses of +Savannah.--Mobile Harbor and Capture of its Defenses.--The System +of Torpedoes adopted.--Statement of the Enemy.--Sub-terra Shells +placed in James River.--How made.--Used in Charleston Harbor; in +Roanoke River; in Mobile Harbor.--The Tecumseh, how destroyed. + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +Naval Affairs (continued).--Importance of New Orleans.--Attack +feared from up the River.--Preparations for Defense.--Strength of +the Forts.--Other Defenses.-The General Plan.--Ironclads.-- +Raft-Fleet of the Enemy.--Bombardment of the Forts commenced.-- +Advance of the Fleet.--Its Passage of the Forts.--Batteries below +the City.--Darkness of the Night.--Evacuation of the City by +General Lovell on Appearance of the Enemy.--Address of General +Duncan to Soldiers in the Forts.--Refusal to surrender.--Meeting of +the Garrison of Fort Jackson.--The Forts surrendered.--Ironclad +Louisiana destroyed.--The Tugs and Steamers.--The Governor Moore.-- +The Enemy's Ship Varuna sunk.--The McRae.--The State of the City +and its Defenses considered.--Public Indignation.--Its Victims.-- +Efforts made for its Defense by the Navy Department.--The +Construction of the Mississippi. + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +Naval Affairs (continued).--Farragut demands the Surrender of New +Orleans.--Reply of the Mayor.--United States Flag hoisted.--Advent +of General Butler.--Barbarities.--Antecedents of the People.-- +Galveston.--Its Surrender demanded.--The Reply.--Another visit of +the Enemy's Fleet.--The Port occupied.--Appointment of General +Magruder.--Recapture of the Port.--Capture of the Harriet Lane.-- +Report of General Magruder.--Position and Importance of Sabine +Pass.--Fleet of the Enemy.--Repulse by Forty-four Irishmen.-- +Vessels captured.--Naval Destitution of the Confederacy at first.-- +Terror of Gunboats on the Western Rivers.--Their Capture.--The most +Illustrious Example.--The Indianola.--Her Capture.--The Ram +Arkansas.--Descent of the Yazoo River.--Report of her Commander.-- +Runs through the Enemy's Fleet.--Description of the Vessel.--Attack +on Baton Rouge.--Address of General Breckinridge.--Burning of the +Arkansas. + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +Naval Affairs (continued).--Necessity of a Navy.--Raphael Semmes.-- +The Sumter.--Difficulties in creating a Navy.--The Sumter at Sea.-- +Alarm.--Her Captures.--James D. Bullock.--Laird's Speech in the +House of Commons.--The Alabama.--Semmes takes Command.--The Vessel +and Crew.--Goes to Sea.--Banks's Expedition.--Magruder at +Galveston.--The Steamer Hattaras Sunk.--The Alabama not a Pirate.-- +An Aspinwall Steamer ransomed.--Other Captures.--Prizes burned.-- +At Cherbourg.--Fight with the Kearsarge.--Rescue of the Men.-- +Demand of the United States Government for the Surrender of the +Drowning Men.--Reply of the British Government.--Sailing of the +Oreto.--Detained at Nassau.--Captain Maffit.--The Ship Half +Equipped.--Arrives at Mobile.--Runs the Blockade.--Her Cruise.-- +Capture and Cruise of the Clarence.--The Captures of the Florida.-- +Captain C. M. Morris.--The Florida at Bahia.--Seized by the +Wachusett.--Brought to Virginia and sunk.--Correspondence.--The +Georgia.--Cruises and Captures.--The Shenandoah.--Cruises and +Captures.--The Atlanta.--The Tallahassee.--The Edith. + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +Naval Affairs (concluded).--Excitement in the Northern States on the +Appearance of our Cruisers.--Failure of the Enemy to protect their +Commerce.--Appeal to Europe not to help the So-called "Pirates."-- +Seeks Iron-plated Vessels in England.--Statement of Lord Russell.-- +What is the Duty of Neutrals?--Position taken by President +Washington.--Letter of Mr. Jefferson.--Contracts sought by United +States Government.--Our Cruisers went to Sea unarmed.--Mr. Adams +asserts that British Neutrality was violated.--Reply of Lord +Russell.--Rejoinder of Mr. Seward.--Duty of Neutrals relative to +Warlike Stores.--Views of Wheaton; of Kent.--Charge of the Lord +Chief Baron in the Alexandra Case.--Action of the Confederate +Government sustained.--Antecedents of the United States +Government.--The Colonial Commissions.--Build and equip Ships in +Europe.--Captain Conyngham's Captures.--Made Prisoner.-- +Retaliation.--Numbers of Captures.--Recognition of Greece.-- +Recognition of South American Cruisers.--Chief Act of Hostility +charged on Great Britain by the United States Government.--The +Queen's Proclamation: its Effect.--Cause of the United States +Charges.--Never called us Belligerents.--Why not?--Adopts a +Fiction. The Reason.--Why denounce our Cruisers as "Pirates"?-- +Opinion of Justice Greer.--Burning of Prizes.--Laws of Maritime +War.--Cause of the Geneva Conference.--Statement of American +Claims.--Allowance.--Indirect Damages of our Cruisers.--Ships +transferred to British Registers.--Decline of American Tonnage.-- +Decline of Export of Breadstuffs.--Advance of Insurance. + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +Attempts of the United States Government to overthrow States.-- +Military Governor of Tennessee appointed.--Object.--Arrests and +Imprisonments.--Measures attempted.--Oath required of Voters.--A +Convention to amend the State Constitution.--Results.--Attempt in +Louisiana.--Martial Law.--Barbarities inflicted.--Invitation of +Plantations.--Order of General Butler, No. 28.--Execution of +Mumford.--Judicial System set up.--Civil Affairs to be administered +by Military Authority.--Order of President Lincoln for a Provisional +Court.--A Military Court sustained by the Army.--Words of the +Constitution.--"Necessity," the reason given for the Power to create +the Court.--This Doctrine fatal to the Constitution; involves its +Subversion.--Cause of our Withdrawal from the Union.--Fundamental +Principles unchanged by Force.--The Contest is not over; the Strife +not ended.--When the War closed, who were the Victors?--Let the +Verdict of Mankind decide. + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +Further Attempts of the United States Government to overthrow +States.--Election of Members of Congress under the Military Governor +of Louisiana.--The Voters required to take an Oath to support the +United States Government.--The State Law violated.--Proposition to +hold a State Convention; postponed.--The President's Plan for making +a Union State out of a Fragment of a Confederate State.--His +Proclamation.--The Oath required.--Message.--"The War-Power our +Main Reliance."--Not a Feature of the Republican Government in the +Plan.--What are the True Principles?--The Declaration of +Independence asserts them.--Who had a Right to institute a +Government for Louisiana?--Its People only.--Under what Principles +could the Government of the United States do it?--As an Invader to +subjugate.--Effrontery and Wickedness of the Administration.--It +enforces a Fiction.--Attempt to make Falsehood as good as Truth.-- +Proclamation for an Election of State Officers.--Proclamation for a +State Convention.--The Monster Crime against the Liberties of +Mankind.--Proceedings in Arkansas.--Novel Method adopted to amend +the State Constitution.--Perversion of Republican Principles in +Virginia.--Proceedings to create the State of West Virginia.--A +Falsehood by Act of Congress.--Proceedings considered under +Fundamental Principles.--These Acts sustained by the United States +Government.--Assertion of Thaddeus Stevens.--East Virginia +Government.--Such Acts caused Entire Subversion of States.--Mere +Fictions thus constituted. + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +Address to the Army of Eastern Virginia by the President.--Army of +General Pope.--Position of McClellan.--Advance of General +Jackson.--Atrocious Orders of General Pope.--Letter of McClellan on +the Conduct of the War.--Letter of the President to General Lee.-- +Battle of Cedar Run.--Results of the Engagement.--Reënforcements to +the Enemy.--Second Battle of Manassas.--Capture of Manassas +Junction.--Captured Stores.--The Old Battle-Field.--Advance of +General Longstreet.--Attack on him.--Attack on General Jackson.-- +Darkness of the Night.--Battle at Ox Hill.--Losses of the Enemy. + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +Return of the Enemy to Washington.--War transferred to the +Frontier.--Condition of Maryland.--Crossing the Potomac.-- +Evacuation of Martinsburg.--Advance into Maryland.--Large Force of +the Enemy.--Resistance at Boonesboro.--Surrender of Harper's +Ferry.--Our Forces reach Sharpsburg.--Letter of the President to +General Lee.--Address of General Lee to the People.--Position of +our Forces at Sharpsburg.--Battle of Sharpsburg.--Our Strength.-- +Forces withdrawn.--Casualties. + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +Efforts of the Enemy to obtain our Cotton.--Demands of European +Manufacturers.--Thousands of Operatives resorting to the +Poor-Rates.--Complaint of her Majesty's Secretary of State.--Letter +of Mr. Seward.--Promise to open all the Channels of Commerce.-- +Series of measures adopted by the United States.--Act of Congress.-- +Its Provisions.--Its Operation.--Unconstitutional Measures.-- +President Lincoln an Accomplice.--Not authorized by a State of +War.--Case before Chief-Justice Taney.--His Decision.--Expeditions +sent by the United States Government to seize Localities.--An Act +providing for the Appointment of Special Agents to seize Abandoned or +Captured Property.--The Views of General Grant.--Weakening his +Strength One Third.--Our Country divided into Districts, and Federal +Agents Appointed.--Continued to the Close of the War. + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +The Enemy crosses the Potomac and concentrates at Warrenton.-- +Advances upon Fredericksburg.--Its Position.--Our Forces.--The +Enemy crosses the Rappahannock.--Attack on General Jackson.--The +Main Attack.--Repulse of the Enemy on the Right.--Assaults on the +Left.--The Enemy's Columns broke and fled.--Recross the River.-- +Casualties.--Position during the Winter.--The Enemy again crosses +the Rappahannock.--Also crosses at Kelly's Ford.--Converging toward +Chancellorsville, to the Rear of our Position.--Inactivity on our +Front.--Our Forces concentrate near Chancellorsville and encounter +the Enemy.--Position of the Enemy.--Attempt to turn his Right.-- +The Enemy surprised and driven in the Darkness.--Jackson fired upon +and wounded.--Stuart in Command.--Battle renewed.--Fredericksburg +reoccupied.--Attack on the Heights.--Repulse of the Enemy.--The +Enemy withdraws in the Night.--Our Strength.--Losses.--Death of +General Jackson.--Another Account. + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +Relations with Foreign Nations.--The Public Questions.--Ministers +abroad.--Usages of Intercourse between Nations.--Our Action.-- +Mistake of European Nations; they follow the Example of England and +France.--Different Conditions of the Belligerents.--Injury to the +Confederacy with a Single Exception.--These Agreements remained +inoperative.--Extent of the Pretended Blockade.--Remonstrances +against its Recognition.--Sinking Vessels to block up Harbors.-- +Every Proscription of Maritime Law violated by the United States +Government.--Protest.--Addition made to the Law by Great Britain.-- +Policy pursued favorable to our Enemies.--Instances.--Mediation +proposed by France to Great Britain, and Russian Letter of French +Minister.--Reply of Great Britain.--Reply of Russia.--Letter to +French Minister at Washington.--Various Offensive Actions of the +British Government.--Encouraging to the United States.--Hollow +Profession of Neutrality. + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +Advance of General E. K. Smith.--Advance of General Bragg.--Retreat +of General Buell to Louisville.--Battle at Perryville, Kentucky.-- +General Morgan at Hartsville.--Advance of General Rosecrans.-- +Battle of Murfreesboro.--General Van Dorn and General Price.-- +Battle at Iuka.--General Van Dorn.--Battle of Corinth.--General +Little.--Captures at Holly Springs.--Retreat of Grant to Memphis.-- +Operations against Vicksburg.--The Canal.--Concentration.--Raid of +Grierson.--Attack near Port Gibson.--Orders of General Johnston.-- +Reply of General Pemberton.--Baker's Creek.--Big Black Bridge.-- +Retreat to Vicksburg.--Siege.--Surrender.--Losses.--Surrender of +Port Hudson.--Some Movements for its Relief. + + +CHAPTER XL. + +Inactivity in Tennessee.--Capture of Colburn's Expedition.--Capture +of Streight's Expedition.--Advance of Rosecrans to Bridgeport.-- +Burnside in East Tennessee.--Our Force at Chattanooga.--Movement +against Burnside.--The Enemy moves on our Rear near Ringgold.-- +Battle at Chickamauga.--Strength and Distribution of our Forces.-- +The enemy withdraws.--Captures.--Losses.--The Enemy evacuates +Passes of Lookout Mountain.--His Trains captured.--Failure of +General Bragg to pursue.--Reënforcements to the Enemy, and Grant to +command.--His Description of the Situation.--Movements of the +Enemy.--Conflict at Chattanooga. + + +CHAPTER XLI. + +Movement to draw forth the Enemy.--Advance to Culpeper +Court-House.--Cavalry Engagement at Beverly's and Kelly's Fords.-- +Movement against Winchester.--Milroy's Force captured.-- +Prisoners.--The Enemy retires along the Potomac.--Maryland +entered.--Advance into Pennsylvania.--The Enemy driven back toward +Gettysburg.--Position of the Respective Forces.--Battle at +Gettysburg.--The Army Retires.--Prisoners.--The Potomac swollen.-- +No Interruption by the Enemy.--Strength of our Force.--Strength of +the Enemy.--The Campaign closed.--Observations.--Kelly's Ford.-- +Attempt to surprise our Army.--System of Breastworks.--Prisoners. + + +CHAPTER XLII. + +Subjugation of the States of Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, and +Virginia.--Object of a State Government; its Powers are "Just +Powers"; how exercised; its Duty; necessarily sovereign; its Entire +Order; how founded; how destroyed.--The Crime against Constitutional +Liberty.--What is the Government of the United States?--It partakes +of the Nature of a Limited Partnership; its Peaceful Objects.-- +Distinction between the Governments of the States and that of the +United States.--Secession.--The Government of the United States +invades the State; refuses to recognize its Government; thus denies +the Fundamental Principle of Popular Liberty.--Founded a New State +Government based on the Sovereignty of the United States +Government.--Annihilation of Unalienable Rights.--Qualification of +Voters fixed by Military Power.--Condition of the Voter's Oath.-- +Who was the Sovereign in Tennessee?--Case of Louisiana.-- +Registration of Voters.--None allowed to register who could not or +would not take a Certain Oath; its Conditions.--Election of State +Officers.--Part of the State Constitution declared void.--All done +under the Military Force of the United States Government. + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +Subjugation of the Border States, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.-- +A Military Force invades Maryland and occupies Baltimore.--Martial +Law declared.--A Military Order.--Banishment from the State.-- +Civil Government of the State suspended.--Unalienable Rights of the +Citizens invaded.--Arrests of Citizens commenced.--Number.--Case +of John Merryman.--Opinion of Chief-Justice Taney.--Newspapers +seized.--Houses searched for Arms.--Order of Commanding General to +Marshals to put Test to Voters.--The Governor appeals to the +President.--His Reply.--Voters imprisoned.--Statement of the +Governor.--Result of the Election.--State Constitutional +Convention.--Emancipation hardly carried.--First Open _Measures_ in +Kentucky.--Interference at the State Election by the United States +Government.--Voters excluded.--Martial Law declared.--Soldiers +keeping the Polls.--The Vote.--Statement of the Governor.--Attempt +to enroll Able-bodied Negroes.--The Governor visits Washington.-- +The Result.--Arrests, Imprisonment, and Exile of Citizens.-- +Suspension of the Writ of _Habeas Corpus_ by President Lincoln.-- +Interference with the State Election.--Order to the Sheriffs.-- +Proclamation of the Governor.--Enlistment of Slaves.--Emancipation +by Constitutional Amendment.--Violent _Measures_ in Missouri.--The +Governor calls out the Militia.--His Words.--The Plea of the +Invader.--"The Authority of the United States is Paramount," said +President Lincoln.--Bravery of the Governor.--Words of the +Commanding General.--Troops poured into the State.--Proceedings of +the State Convention.--Numberless Usurpations.--Provisional +Governor.-Emancipation Ordinance passed. + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +Subjugation of the Northern States.--Humiliating Spectacle of New +York.--"Ringing of a Little Bell."--Seizure and Imprisonment of +Citizens.--Number seized.--Paper Safeguards of Liberty.--Other +Safeguards.--Suspension of the Writ of _Habeas Corpus_ absolutely +forbidden with One Exception.--How done.--Not able to authorize +another.--Abundant Protective Provisions in New York, but all +failed.--Case of Pierce Butler.--Arrest of Secretary Cameron.--The +President assumes the Responsibility of the Crime.--No Heed given to +the Writ of _Habeas Corpus_ issued by the Court.--The Governor +passive.--Words of Justice Nelson--Prison overflowing.--How +relieved.--Oath required of Applicants for Relief.--Oath declined +by some.--Reasons.--Order forbidding the Employment of Counsel by +Prisoners.--Victims in almost Every Northern State.--Defeat at the +Elections.--Result.--Suit for Damages commenced.--Congress +interferes to protect the Guilty.--State Courts subjugated.--How +suspend _Habeas Corpus_.--Congress violates the Constitution.--What +was New York?--Writ suspended throughout the United States.-What is +"Loyalty"?--Military Domination.--Correspondence between General +Dix and Governor Seymour.--Seizure of Newspapers.--Governor orders +Arrest of Offenders.--Interference with the State Election.--Vote +of the Soldiers.--State Agents arrested.--Provost-Marshals +appointed in Every Northern State.--Their Duties.--Sustained by +Force.--Trials by Military Commission.--Trials at Washington.-- +Assassination of the President.--Trial of Henry Wirz.--Efforts to +implicate the Author.--Investigation of a Committee of Congress as +to Complicity in the Assassination.--Arrest, Trial, and Banishment +of Clement C. Vallandigham.--Assertions of Governor Seymour on the +Case. + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +Inactivity of the Army of Northern Virginia.--Expeditions of Custer, +Kilpatrick, and Dahlgren for the Destruction of Railroads, the +Burning of Richmond, and Killing the Officers of the Government.-- +Repelled by Government Clerks.--Papers on Dahlgren's Body.--Repulse +of Butler's Raid from Bermuda Hundred.--Advance of Sheridan repulsed +at Richmond.--Stuart resists Sheridan.--Stuart's Death.--Remarks +on Grant's Plan of Campaign.--Movement of General Butler.--Drury's +Bluff.--Battle there.--Campaign of Grant in Virginia. + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +General Grant assumes Command in Virginia.--Positions of the +Armies.--Plans of Campaign open to Grant's Choice.--The Rapidan +crossed.--Battle of the Wilderness.--Danger of Lee.--The Enemy +driven back.--Flank Attack.--Longstreet wounded.--Result of the +Contest.--Rapid Flank Movement of Grant.--Another Contest.-- +Grant's Reënforcements.--Hanover Junction.--The Enemy moves in +Direction of Bowling Green.--Crosses the Pamunkey.--Battle at Cold +Harbor.--Frightful Slaughter.--The Enemy's Soldiers decline to +renew the Assault when ordered.--Loss.--Asks Truce to bury the +Dead.--Strength of Respective Armies.--General Pemberton.--The +Enemy crosses the James.--Siege of Petersburg begun. + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +Situation in the Shenandoah Valley.--March of General Early.--The +Object.--At Lynchburg.--Staunton.--His Force.--Enters Maryland.-- +Attack at Monocacy.--Approach to Washington.--The Works.-- +Recrosses the Potomac.--Battle at Kernstown.--Captures.--Outrages +of the Enemy.--Statement of General Early.--Retaliation on +Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.--Battle near Winchester.--Sheridan's +Force routed.--Attack subsequently renewed with New Forces.-- +Incapacity of our Opponent.--Early falls back.--The Enemy +retires.--Early advances.--Report of a Committee of Citizens on +Losses by Sheridan's Orders.--Battle at Cedar Creek.--Losses, +Subsequent Movements, and Captures.--The Red River Campaign.-- +Repulse and Retreat of General Banks.--Capture of Fort Pillow. + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +Assignment of General J. E. Johnston to the Command of the Army of +Tennessee.--Condition of his Army.--An Offensive Campaign +suggested.--Proposed Objects to be accomplished.--General +Johnston's Plans.--Advance of Sherman.--The Strength of the +Confederate Position.--General Johnston expects General Sherman to +give Battle at Dalton.--The Enemy's Flank Movement via Snake Creek +Gap to Resaca.--Johnston falls back to Resaca.--Further Retreat to +Adairsville.--General Johnston's Reasons.--Retreat to Cassville.-- +Projected Engagement at Kingston frustrated.--Retreat beyond the +Etowah River.--Strong Position at Alatoona abandoned.--Nature of +the Country between Marietta and Dallas.--Engagements at New Hope +Church.--Army takes Position at Kenesaw.--Senator Hill's Letter.-- +Death of Lieutenant-General Polk.--Battle at Kenesaw Mountain.-- +Retreat beyond the Chattahoochee.--Results reviewed.--Popular +Demand for Removal of General Johnston.--Reluctance to remove him.-- +Reasons for Removal.--Assignment of General J. B. Hood to the +Command.--He assumes the Offensive.--Battle of Peach-tree Creek.-- +Death of General W. H. T. Walker.--Sherman's Movement to +Jonesboro.--Defeat of Hardee.--Evacuation of Atlanta.--Sherman's +Inhuman Order.--Visit to Georgia.--Suggested Operations.--Want of +coöperation by the Governor of Georgia.--Conference with Generals +Beauregard, Hardee, and Cobb, at Augusta.--Departure from Original +Plan.--General Hood's Movement against the Enemy's Communications.-- +Partial Successes.--Withdrawal of the Army to Gadsden and Movement +against Thomas.--Sherman burns Atlanta and begins his March to the +Sea.--Vandalism.--Direction of his Advance.--General Wheeler's +Opposition.--His Valuable Service.--Sherman reaches Savannah.-- +General Hardee's Command.--The Defenses of the City.--Assault and +Capture of Fort McAlister.--The Results.--Hardee evacuates Savannah. + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + +Exchange of Prisoners.--Signification of the Word "loyal."--Who is +the Sovereign?--Words of President Lincoln.--The Issue for which we +fought.--Position of the United States Government.--Letters of +Marque granted by us.--Officers and Crew First Prisoners of the +Enemy.--Convicted as "Pirates."--My Letter to President Lincoln.-- +How received.--Act of Congress relating to Prisoners.--Exchanges, +how made.-Answer of General Grant.--Request of United States +Congress.--Result.--Commissioners sent.--Agreement.--Disputed +Points.--Exchange arranged.--Order to pillage issued.--General +Pope's Order.--Proceedings.--Letter of General Lee relative to +Barbarities.--Answer of General Halleck.--Case of Mumford.--Effect +of Threatened Retaliation.--Mission of Vice-President Stephens.--A +Failure.--Excess of Prisoners.--Paroled Men.--Proposition made by +us.--No Answer.--Another Arrangement.--Stopped by General Grant.-- +His words, "Put the Matter offensively."--Exchange of Slaves.-- +Proposition of Lee to Grant.--Reply of Grant.--Further Reply.--His +Dispatch to General Butler.--Another Proposition made by us.--No +Answer.--Proposition relative to Sick and Wounded.--Some +exchanged.--The Worst Cases asked for to be photographed.-- +Proposition as to Medicines.--No Answer.--A Final Effort.-- +Deputation of Prisoners sent to Washington.--A Failure.-- +Correspondence between Ould and Butler.--Order of Grant.--Report of +Butler.--Responsibility of Grant for Andersonville.--Barbarities of +the United States Government.--Treatment of our Men in Northern +Prisons.--Deaths on Each Side. + + +CHAPTER L. + +Subjugation the Object of the Government of the United States.--The +only Terms of Peace offered to us.--Rejection of all Proposals.-- +Efforts of the Enemy.--Appearance of Jacques and Gilmore at +Richmond.--Proposals.--Answer.--Commissioners sent to Canada.-- +The Object.--Proceedings.--Note of President Lincoln.--Permission +to visit Richmond granted to Francis P. Blair.--Statement of my +Interview with him.--My Letter to him.--Response of President +Lincoln.--Three Persons sent by me to an Informal Conference.-- +Their Report.--Remarks of Judge Campbell.--Oath of President +Lincoln.--The Provision of the Constitution and his Proclamation +compared.--Reserved Powers spoken of in the Constitution.--What are +they, and where do they exist?--Terms of Surrender offered to our +Soldiers. + + +CHAPTER LI. + +General Sherman leaves Savannah.--His March impeded.--Difficulty In +collecting Troops to oppose him.--The Line of the Salkehatchie.-- +Route of the Enemy's Advance.--Evacuation of Columbia.--Its +Surrender by the Mayor.--Burning the City.--Sherman responsible.-- +Evacuation of Charleston.--The Confederate Forces in North +Carolina.--General Johnston's Estimate.--General Johnston assigned +to the Command.--The Enemy's Advance from Columbia to Fayetteville, +North Carolina.--"Foraging Parties."--Sherman's Threat and +Hampton's Reply.--Description of Federal "Treasure-Seekers" by +Sherman's Aide-de-Camp.--Failure of Johnston's Projected Attack at +Fayetteville.--Affair at Kinston.--Cavalry Exploits.--General +Johnston withdraws to Smithfield.--Encounter at Averysboro.-- +Battles of Bentonville.--Union of Sherman's and Schofield's +Forces.--Johnston's Retreat to Raleigh. + + +CHAPTER LII. + +Siege of Petersburg.--Violent Assault upon our Position.--A Cavalry +Expedition.--Contest near Ream's Station.--The City invested with +Earthworks.--Position of the Forces.--The Mine exploded, and an +Assault made.--Attacks on our Lines.--Object of the Enemy.--Our +Strength.--Assault on Fort Fisher.--Evacuation of Wilmington.-- +Purpose of Grant's Campaign.--Lee's Conference with the +President.--Plans.--Sortie against Fort Steadman.--Movements of +Grant farther to Lee's right.--Army retires from Petersburg.--The +Capitulation.--Letters of Lee. + + +CHAPTER LIII. + +General Lee advises the Evacuation of Richmond.--Withdrawal of the +Troops. The Naval Force.--The Conflagration in Richmond.--Telegram +of Lee to the President.--The Evacuation complete.--The Charge of +the Removal of Supplies intended for Lee's Army.--The Facts.-- +Arrangement with General Lee.--Proclamation.--Reports of Scouts. + + +CHAPTER LIV. + +Invitation of General Johnston to a Conference.--Its Object.--Its +Result.--Provisions on the Line of Retreat.--Notice of President +Lincoln's Assassination.--Correspondence between Johnston and +Sherman.--Terms of the Convention.--Approved by the Confederate +Government.--Rejected by the United States Government.-- +Instructions to General Johnston.--Disobeyed.--Statements of +General Johnston.--His Surrender.--Movements of the President +South.--His Plans.--Order of General E. E. Smith to his Soldiers.-- +Surrender.--Numbers paroled.--The President overtakes his Family.-- +His Capture.--Taken to Hampton Roads, and imprisoned in Fortress +Monroe. + + +CHAPTER LV. + +Number of the Enemy's Forces in the War.--Number of the Enemy's +Troops from Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee.--Cruel +Conduct of the War.--Statements in 1862.--Statements in 1863.-- +Emancipation Proclamation.--Statements in 1864.--General Hunter's +Proceedings near Lynchburg.--Cruelties in Sherman's March through +South Carolina. + + +CHAPTER LVI. + +Final Subjugation of the Confederate States.--Result of the +Contest.--A Simple Process of Restoration.--Rejected by the United +States Government.--A Forced Union.--The President's Proclamation +examined.--The Guarantee, not to destroy.--Provisional Governors.-- +Their Duties.--Voters.--First Movement made in Virginia.-- +Government set up.--Proceedings.--Action of So-called Legislature.-- +Constitutional Amendment.--Case of Dr. Watson.--Civil Rights Bill.-- +Storm brewing.--Congress refuses to admit Senators and Representatives +to Seats.--Committee on "Reconstruction."--Freedmen's Bureau.--Report +of Committee.--Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.--Extent of +Ratification.--Another Step taken by Congress.--Military Commanders +appointed over Confederate States, with Unlimited Powers.-- +Reconstruction by the Bayonet.--Course of Proceedings required.--Two +Governments for Each State.--Major-Generals appointed.--Further Acts +of Congress.--Proceedings commenced by the Major-General at Richmond.-- +Civil Governor appointed.--Military Districts and Sub-districts.-- +Registration.--So-called State Convention.--So-called Legislature.--Its +Action.--Measures required by Congress for the Enfranchisement of +Negroes adopted by the So-called Legislature.--Assertion of Senator +Garret Davis.--State represented in Congress. + + +CHAPTER LVII. + +Final Subjugation of the Confederate States (continued).--Slaves +declared free by Military Commanders in North Carolina.--Provisional +Governor.--Convention.--Military Commander.--Governor-elect turned +out.--His Protest.--Members of Congress admitted.--Proceedings in +South Carolina.--Arrest of Judge Aldrich.--Military Reversal of +Sentence of the Court.--Post Commanders.--Jurors.--Proceedings in +Georgia.--President's Plan.--Plan of Congress enforced.--Other +Events.--Proceedings in Florida.--Rival Conventions.--Plan of +Congress enforced.--Proceedings in Alabama.--Suspension of Bishop +Wilmer by the Military Commander.--Military Authority.--Action of +Congress.--Proceedings in Mississippi.--Constitutionality of the +Act of Congress before the Supreme Court.--Remarks of Chief-Justice +Chase.--Military Arrests.--Removals.--The Chief-Justice of the +State resigns.--The So-called Constitution rejected.--Ames +appointed Governor.--Proceedings in Louisiana.--Plan of Congress +enforced.--Other Measures.--Arkansas.--Texas.--Opinion of the +United States Attorney-General on Military Commanders.--Consequences +that followed the Measures of Congress.--Increase in State Debts.-- +Increase in Frauds and Crimes.--Examples.--Investigating Committees +of Congress.--The Unalienable Rights of Man.--The Sovereignty of +the People and the Supremacy of Law gone. + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + +Jefferson Davis + +General Braxton Bragg + +Davis House, at Richmond + +Lieutenant-General T. J. Jackson + +Members of The Confederate Cabinet + +Lieutenant-General James Longstreet + +General Wade Hampton + +General J. E. Johnston + +General John B. Hood + +Lieutenant-General William J. Hardee + + + + +MAPS. + +Battle-Field of Fort Donelson + +Map used by the Confederate Generals at Shiloh + +Battle of Shiloh + +Port Hudson + +Yorktown and Williamsburg + +Operations in Northern Virginia + +Operations around Richmond and Petersburg + +Battle of Fredericksburg + +Operations in Mississippi + +Operations in Kentucky and Tennessee + +Battle-Field of Chickamauga + +Battle of Gettysburg + +Operations in Georgia and Tennessee + +Fort Fisher + +Petersburg + +Retreat from Richmond and Petersburg + +Operations in Georgia and South Carolina + + + + +PART IV--(Continued). + +THE WAR. + + +CHAPTER XV. + + Review of 1861.--Summary of Hostile Acts of United States + Government.--Fuller Details of some of them.--Third Session of + Provisional Congress.--Message.--Subjugation of the Southern States + intended.--Obstinacy of the Enemy.--Insensibility of the North as + to the Crisis.--Vast Preparation of the Enemy.--Embargo and + Blockade.--Indiscriminate War waged.--Action of Confederate + Congress.--Confiscation Act of United States Congress.--Declared + Object of the War.--Powers of United States Government.-- + Forfeitures inflicted.--Due Process of Law, how interpreted.--"Who + pleads the Constitution?"--Wanton Destruction of Private Property + unlawful--Adams on Terms of the Treaty of Ghent.--Sectional + Hatred.--Order of President Lincoln to Army Officers in Regard to + Slaves.--"Educating the People."--Fremont's Proclamation.-- + Proclamation of General T. W. Sherman.--Proclamation of General + Halleck and others.--Letters of Marque.--Our Privateers.--Officers + tried for Piracy.--Retaliatory Orders.--Discussion in the British + House of Lords.--Recognition as a Belligerent of the Confederacy.-- + Exchange of Prisoners.--Theory of the United States.--Views of + McClellan.--Revolutionary Conduct of United States Government.-- + Extent of the War at the Close of 1861.--Victories of the Year.-- + New Branches of Manufactures.--Election of Confederate States + President.--Posterity may ask the Cause of such Hostile Actions.-- + Answer. + + +The inauguration of the permanent government, amid the struggles of +war, was welcomed by our people as a sign of the independence for +which all their sacrifices had been made, and the increased efforts +of the enemy for our subjugation were met by corresponding +determination on our part to maintain the rights our fathers left us +at whatever cost. We now enter upon those terrible scenes of wrong +and blood in which the government of the United States, driven to +desperation by our successful resistance, broke through every +restraint of the Constitution, of national law, of justice, and of +humanity. But, before commencing this fearful narration, let us sum +up the hostile acts and usurpations committed during the first year. + +Our people had been declared to be combinations of insurrectionists, +and more than one hundred and fifty thousand men had been called to +arms to invade our territory; our ports were blockaded for the +destruction of our regular commerce, and we had been threatened with +denunciation as pirates if we molested a vessel of the United States, +and some of our citizens had been confined in cells to await the +punishment of piracy; one of our States was rent asunder and a new +State constructed out of the fragment; every proposition for a +peaceful solution of pending issues had been spurned. An +indiscriminate warfare had been waged upon our peaceful citizens, +their dwellings burned and their crops destroyed; a law had been +passed imposing a penalty of forfeiture on the owner of any faithful +slave who gave military or naval service to the Confederacy, and +forbidding military commanders to interfere for the restoration of +fugitives; the United States Government had refused to agree to an +exchange of prisoners, and suffered those we had captured to languish +in captivity; it had falsely represented us in every court of Europe, +to defeat our efforts to obtain a recognition from foreign powers; it +had seized a portion of the members of the Legislature of one State +and confined them in a distant military prison, because they were +thought merely to sympathize with us, though they had not committed +an overt act; it had refused all the propositions of another State +for a peaceful neutrality, invaded her and seized important +positions, where not even a disturbance of the peace had occurred, +and perpetrated the most despotic outrages on her people; it rejected +the most conciliatory terms offered for the sake of peace by the +Governor of another State, claimed for itself an unrestricted right +to move and station its troops whenever and wherever its officers +might think it to be desirable, and persisted in its aggressions +until the people were involved in conflicts, and a provisional +government became necessary for their protection. Within the Northern +States, which professed to be struggling to maintain the Union, the +Constitution, its only bond, and the laws made in pursuance of it, +were in peaceful, undisputed existence; yet even there the Government +ruled with the tyrant's hand, and the provisions for the freedom of +speech, freedom of the press, and the personal liberty of the +citizen, were daily violated, and these sacred rights of man +suppressed by military force. + +But some of these hostile actions require here a more specific +consideration. They were the antecedents of oppressive measures which +the enemy strove to enforce upon us during the entire war. + +The third session of the Provisional Congress commenced at Richmond +on July 20, 1861, and ended on August 31st. At the previous session, +a resolution had been passed authorizing the President to cause the +several executive departments, with the archives thereof, to be +removed to Richmond at such time as he might determine prior to July +20th. In my message to the Congress of that date, the cause of +removal was stated to be, that the aggressive movements of the enemy +required prompt, energetic action; that the accumulation of his +forces on the Potomac sufficiently demonstrated that his first +efforts were to be directed against Virginia, and from no point could +necessary measures for her defense and protection be so effectively +provided as from her own capital. My remarks to Congress at this +session were confined to such important facts as had occurred during +the recess, and to the matters connected with the public defense. +"The odious features of the policy and purposes of the Government of +the United States stood revealed; the recent grant of a half million +of men and four hundred millions of dollars by their Congress, was a +confession that their intention was a subjugation of the Southern +States." + +The fact thus briefly presented in the message was established by the +course pursued since the first advent to power of those who had come +into possession of the sword and the purse of the Union. Not only by +the legislation cited was the intent to make war for the purpose of +subjugating the Southern States revealed, but also, and yet more +significantly, was the purpose manifested in the evasion and final +rejection of every proposition of the Southern States for a peaceful +solution of the issues arising from secession. + +Such extreme obstinacy was unnatural, unreasonable, and contrary to +the general precedents of history, except those which resulted in +civil war. This unfavorable indication was also observable in the +original party of abolition. Its intolerance had a violence which +neither truth nor justice nor religion could restrain, and it was +transferred undiluted to their successors. The resistance to the +demands of the States and persistence in aggressions upon them were +the occasion of constant apprehensions and futile warnings of their +suicidal tendency on the part of the statesmen of the period. For +thirty years had patriotism and wisdom pointed to dissolution by this +perverse uncharitableness. Had the North been contending for a +principle only, there would have been a satisfactory settlement, not +indeed by compromising the principle, but by adjusting the manner of +its operation so that only good results should ensue. But when the +contest is for supremacy on one side and self-defense on the other-- +when the aim of the aggressor is "power, plunder, and extended +rule"--there will be no concessions by him, no compromises, no +adjustment of results. The alternative is subjugation by the sword, +or peace by absolute submission. The latter condition could not be +accepted by us. The former was, therefore, to be resisted as best we +might. + +An amazing insensibility seemed to possess a portion of the Northern +people as to the crisis before them. They would not realize that +their purpose of supremacy would be so resolutely resisted; that, if +persisted in, it must be carried to the extent of bloodshed in +sectional war. With them the lust of dominion was stronger than the +sense of justice or of the fraternity and the equal rights of the +States, which the Union was formed to secure, and so they were blind +to palpable results. Otherwise they must have seen, when the remnants +of the old Whig party joined hands with abolitionism, that it was +like a league with the spirit of evil, in which the conditions of the +bond were bestowal of power on one side, and the commission of deeds +meet for disunion on the other. The honest masses should have +remembered that when scheming leaders abandon principle, and adopt +the ideas of dreamers and fanatics, the ladder on which they would +mount to power is one on which they can not return, and upon which it +would be a fatal delusion to follow. + +The reality of armed resistance on our part the North was slow to +comprehend. The division of sentiment at the South on the question of +the _expediency_ of immediate secession, was mistaken for the +existence of a submission party, whereas the division was confined to +expediency, and wholly disappeared when our territory was invaded. +Then was revealed to them the necessity of defending their homes and +liberties against the ruthless assault on both, and then +extraordinary unanimity prevailed. Then, as Hamilton and Madison had +stated, war against the States had effected the deprecated +dissolution of the Union. + +Adjustment by negotiation the United States Government had rejected, +and had chosen to attempt our subjugation. This course, adopted +without provocation, was pursued with a ferocity that disregarded all +the laws of civilized warfare, and must permanently remain a stain +upon the escutcheon of a Government once bright among the nations. +The vast provision made by the United States in the material of war, +the money appropriated, and the men enrolled, furnished a sufficient +refutation to the pretense that they were only engaged in dispersing +rioters, and suppressing unlawful combinations too strong for the +usual course of judicial proceedings. + +Further, they virtually recognized the separate existence of the +Confederate States by an interdictive embargo, and blockade of all +commerce between them and the United States, not only by sea but by +land; not only with those who bore arms, but with the entire +population of the Confederate States. They waged an indiscriminate +war upon all: private houses in isolated retreats were bombarded and +burned; grain-crops in the field were consumed by the torch; and, +when the torch was not applied, careful labor was bestowed to render +complete the destruction of every article of use or ornament +remaining in private dwellings after their female inhabitants had +fled from the insults of brutal soldiers; a petty war was made on the +sick, including women and children, by carefully devised measures to +prevent them from obtaining the necessary medicines. Were these the +appropriate means by which to execute the laws, and in suppressing +rioters to secure tranquillity and preserve a voluntary union? Was +this a government resting on the consent of the governed? + +At this session of the Confederate Congress additional forces were +provided to repel invasion, by authorizing the President to accept +the services of any number of volunteers not exceeding four hundred +thousand men. Authority was also given for suitable financial +measures hereafter stated, and the levy of a tax. An act of +sequestration was also adopted as a countervailing measure against +the operations of the confiscation law enacted by the Congress of the +United States on August 6, 1861. + +This act of the United States Congress, with its complement passed in +the ensuing year, will be considered further on in these pages. One +of the most indicative of the sections, however, provided that, +whenever any person, claimed to be held to labor or service under the +laws of any State, shall be permitted, by the person to whom such +labor or service is claimed to be due, to take up arms against the +United States, or to work, or to be employed in or upon any fort, +intrenchment, etc., or in any military or naval service whatever +against the Government of the United States, the person to whom such +labor is claimed to be due shall forfeit his claim, and, to any +attempt to enforce it, a statement of the facts shall be a sufficient +answer. The President of the United States, in his message of +December 3, 1861, stated that numbers of persons held to service had +been liberated and were dependent on the United States, and must be +provided for in some way. He recommended that steps be taken for +colonizing them at some places in a climate congenial to them. + +As the President and the Congress of the United States had declared +this to be a war for the preservation of the Constitution, it may not +be out of place to see what course they now undertook to pursue under +the pretext of preserving the Constitution of the United States. It +had been conceded in all time that the Congress of the United States +had no power to legislate on slavery in the States, and that this was +a subject for State legislation. It was one of the powers not granted +in the Constitution, but "reserved to the States respectively." [1] +All the powers of the Federal Government were delegated to it by the +States, and all which were reserved were withheld from the Federal +Government, as well in time of war as in peace. The conditions of +peace or war made no change in the powers granted in the +Constitution. The attempt, therefore, by Congress, to exercise a +power of confiscation, one not granted to it, was a mere usurpation. +The argument of forfeiture for treason does not reach the case, +because there could be no forfeiture until after conviction, and the +Constitution says, "No attainder of treason shall work corruption of +blood or forfeiture except during the life of the person +attainted." [2] The confiscation act of 1861 undertook to convict and +sentence without a trial, and entirely to deprive the owner of slaves +of his property by giving final freedom to the slaves. Still further +to show how regardless the United States Government was of the +limitations imposed upon it by the compact of Union, the reader is +referred to the fifth article of the first amendment, being one of +those cases in which the people of the several States, in an +abundance of caution, threw additional protection around rights which +the framers of the Constitution thought already sufficiently guarded. +The last two clauses of the article read thus: No person "shall be +deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; +nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just +compensation." + +Here was a political indictment and conviction by the Congress and +President, with total forfeitures inflicted in palpable violation of +each and of all the cited clauses of the Constitution. + +One can scarcely anticipate such effrontery as would argue that "due +process of law" meant an act of Congress, that judicial power could +thus be conferred upon the President, and private property be +confiscated for party success, without violating the Constitution +which the actors had sworn to support. + +The unconstitutionality of the measure was so palpable that, when the +bill was under consideration, Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, a member of +Congress from Pennsylvania, said: "I thought the time had come when +the laws of war were to govern our action; when constitutions, if +they stood in the way of the laws of war in dealing with the enemy, +had no right to intervene. Who pleads the Constitution against our +proposed action?" [3] This subject is further considered in subsequent +chapters on the measures of emancipation adopted by the United States +Government. + +It is to be remembered in this connection that pillage and the wanton +destruction of private property are not permitted by the laws of war +among civilized nations. When prosecuting the war with Mexico, we +respected private property of the enemy; and when in 1781 Great +Britain, attempting to reduce her revolted American colonies, took +possession of the country round and about Point Comfort (Fortress +Monroe), the homes quietly occupied by the rebellious people were +spared by the armies of the self-asserting ruler of the land. At a +later date, war existed between Great Britain and the independent +States of the Union, during which Great Britain got possession of +various points within the States. At the Treaty of Ghent, 1815, by +which peace was restored to the two countries, it was stipulated in +the first article that all captured places should be restored +"without causing any destruction, or carrying away any of the +artillery or other public property originally captured in the said +forts or places, and which shall remain therein upon the exchange of +the ratifications of this treaty; or any slaves or other private +property." Persistent efforts were made to avoid the return of +deported slaves, and it was attempted to put them in the category of +artillery which had been removed before the exchange of ratification. +Mr. John Quincy Adams, first as United States Minister to England, +and subsequently as United States Secretary of State, conducted with +great vigor and earnestness a long correspondence to maintain the +true construction of the treaty as recognizing and guarding the right +of private property in slaves. In his letter to Viscount Castlereagh, +the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, after explaining +the distinction between "artillery or other public property" and +"slaves or other private property," as used in the treaty, and why it +might be impracticable, if they had been removed, to return the +former, but that the reasons did not apply to the latter, for, he +proceeds to say, "Private property, not having been subject to +legitimate capture with the places, was not liable to the reason of +limitation." In the same letter, Mr. Adams writes: "Merchant-vessels +and effects captured on the high-seas are, by the laws of war between +civilized nations, lawful prize, and by the capture become the +property of the captors. . . . But, as by the same usages of +civilized nations, private property is not the subject of lawful +capture in war upon the land, it is perfectly clear that, in every +stipulation, private property shall be respected; or that, upon the +restoration of places taken during the war, it shall not be carried +away." (See "American State Papers," vol. iv, pp. 122, 123.) +Sectional hostility and party zeal had not then so far undermined the +feeling of fraternity which generated the Union as to make a public +officer construe the Constitution as it might favor or injure one +section or another, and Great Britain was, from a sense of right, +compelled to recognize the wrong done in deporting slaves, the +private property of American citizens. + +On the 4th of December, 1861, the President of the United States +issued an order to the commander-in-chief relative to slaves as above +mentioned, in which he said, "Their arrest as fugitives from service +or labor should be immediately followed by the military arrest of the +parties making the seizure." Had Congress and the President made new +laws of war? + +Although the Government of the United States did not boldly proclaim +the immediate emancipation of all slaves, the tendency of all its +actions was directly to that end. To use a favorite expression of its +leaders, the Northern people were not at that time "educated up to +the point." A revolt from too sudden a revelation of its entire +policy was apprehended. Even as late as July 7, 1862, General +McClellan wrote to the authorities at Washington from the vicinity of +Richmond, "A declaration of radical views, especially upon slavery, +will rapidly disintegrate our armies." Nevertheless, when policy +indicated it, the declaration came, as will be seen hereafter. +Meantime, General Fremont, in command in Missouri, issued a +proclamation on August 31, 1861, declaring the property, real and +personal, of all persons in arms against the United States, or taking +an active part with their enemies, to be confiscated, and their +slaves to be free men. This was subsequently modified to conform to +the terms of the above-mentioned confiscation act. General Thomas W. +Sherman, commanding at Port Royal, in South Carolina, was instructed, +on October 14, 1861, to receive all persons, whether slaves or not, +and give them employment, "assuring all loyal masters that Congress +will provide just compensation to them for the loss of the services +of the persons so employed." To others no relief was to be given. +This was, by confiscation, to punish a class of citizens, in the +emancipation of every slave whose owner rendered support to the +Confederate States. Finally, General Halleck, who succeeded Fremont, +and General Dix, commanding near Fortress Monroe, issued orders not +to permit slaves to come within their lines. They were speedily +condemned for this action, because it put a stop to the current of +emancipation, which will be hereafter narrated. + +Reference has been made to our want of a navy, and the efforts made +to supply the deficiency. The usual resort under such circumstances +to privateers was, in our case, without the ordinary incentive of +gain, as all foreign ports were closed against our prizes, and, our +own ports being soon blockaded, our vessels, public or private, had +but the alternative of burning or bonding their captures. To those +who, nevertheless, desired them, letters of marque were granted by +us, and there was soon a small fleet of vessels composed of those +which had taken out these letters, and others which had been +purchased and fitted out by the Navy Department. They hovered on the +coasts of the Northern States, capturing and destroying their +vessels, and filling the enemy with consternation. The President of +the United States had already declared in his proclamation of April +19th, as above stated, that "any person, who, under the pretended +authority of the said (Confederate) States, should molest a vessel of +the United States, or the persons or cargo on board," should be held +amenable to the laws of the United States for the prevention of +piracy. This was another violation of international law, another +instance of arrogant disregard for universal opinion. The threat, if +meant for intimidation, and to deprive the Confederacy of one of the +usual weapons of war, was unbecoming the head of a Government. To +have executed it upon a helpless prisoner, would have been a crime +intensified by its cowardice. Happily for the United States, the +threat was not executed, but the failure to carry out the declared +purpose was coupled with humiliation, because it was the result of a +notice to retaliate as fully as might need be to stop such a +barbarous practice. To yield to the notice thus served, was a +practical admission by the United States Government that the +Confederacy had become a power among the nations. + +On June 3, 1861, the little schooner Savannah, previously a +pilot-boat in Charleston Harbor and sailing under a commission issued +by authority of the Confederate States, was captured by the United +States brig Perry. The crew were placed in irons and sent to New +York. It appeared, from statements made without contradiction, that +they were not treated as prisoners of war, whereupon a letter was +addressed by me to President Lincoln, dated July 6th, stating +explicitly that, "painful as will be the necessity, this Government +will deal out to the prisoners held by it the same treatment and the +same fate as shall be experienced by those captured on the Savannah; +and, if driven to the terrible necessity of retaliation by your +execution of any of the officers or crew of the Savannah, that +retaliation will be extended so far as shall be requisite to secure +the abandonment of a practice unknown to the warfare of civilized +man, and so barbarous as to disgrace the nation which shall be guilty +of inaugurating it." A reply was promised to this letter, but none +came. Still later in the year the privateer Jefferson Davis was +captured, the captain and crew brought into Philadelphia, and the +captain tried and found guilty of piracy and threatened with death. +Immediately I instructed General Winder, at Richmond, to select one +prisoner of the highest rank, to be confined in a cell appropriated +to convicted felons, and treated in all respects as if convicted, and +to be held for execution in the same manner as might be adopted for +the execution of the prisoner of war in Philadelphia. He was further +instructed to select thirteen other prisoners of the highest rank, to +be held in the same manner as hostages for the thirteen prisoners +held in New York for trial as pirates. By this course the infamous +attempt made by the United States Government to commit judicial +murder on prisoners of war was arrested. + +The attention of the British House of Lords was also attracted to the +proclamation of President Lincoln, threatening the officers and crew +of privateers with the punishment of piracy. It led to a discussion +in which the Earl of Derby said: "He apprehended that, if one thing +was clearer than another, it was that privateering was not piracy; +and that no law could make that piracy, as regarded the subjects of +one nation which was not piracy by the law of nations. Consequently, +the United States must not be allowed to entertain this doctrine, and +to call upon her Majesty's Government not to interfere." The Lord +Chancellor said: "There was no doubt that, if an Englishman engaged +in the service of the Southern States, he violated the laws of his +country and rendered himself liable to punishment, and that he had no +right to trust to the protection of his native country to shield him +from the consequences of his act. But, though that individual would +be guilty of a breach of the law of his own country, he could not be +treated as a pirate, and those who treated him as a pirate would be +guilty of murder." + +The appearance of this little fleet on the ocean made it necessary +for the powers of Europe immediately to define their position +relative to the contending powers. Great Britain, adopting a position +of neutrality, and recognizing both as belligerents, interdicted the +armed ships and privateers of both from carrying prizes into the +waters of the United Kingdom or its colonies. All the other powers +recognized the Confederate States to be belligerents, but closed +their ports against the admission of prizes captured by either +belligerent. + +It is worthy of notice that the United States Government (though it +had previously declined) at this time notified the English and French +Governments that it was now willing to adhere to all the conditions +of the Paris Congress of 1856, provided the clause abolishing +privateers might apply to the Confederate States. The offer, with the +proviso, was honorably declined by both France and England. + +In the matter of the exchange of prisoners, which became important in +consequence of these retaliatory measures, and the number taken by +our troops at Manassas, the people of the Northern States were the +victims of incessant mortification and distress through the +vacillating and cruel conduct of their Government. It based all its +immense military movements on the theory that "the laws of the United +States have been for some time past and now are opposed and the +execution thereof obstructed, . . . by combinations too powerful to +be suppressed" by the ordinary methods. Under this theory the United +States are assumed to be one nation, and the distinctions among them +of States are as little recognized as if they did not exist. This +theory was false, and thereby led its originators into constant +blunders. When the leaders of a government aspire to the acquisition +of absolute, unlimited power, and the sword is drawn to hew the way, +it would be more logical and respectable to declare the laws silent +than to attempt to justify unlawful acts by unwarranted legislation. +If their theory had been true, then their prisoners of war were +insurrectionists and rebels, and guilty of treason, and hanging would +have been the legitimate punishment. Why were they not hung? Not +through pity, but because the facts contradicted the theory. The +"combinations" spoken of were great and powerful States, and the +danger was that the North would be the greater sufferer by our +retaliation. There was no humane course but to exchange prisoners +according to the laws of war. With this the Government of the United +States refused to comply, lest it might be construed into an +acknowledgment of belligerent rights on our part, which would explode +their theory of insurrectionary combinations, tend to restore more +correct views of the rights and powers of the States, and expose in +its true light their efforts to establish the supreme and unlimited +sovereignty of the General Government. The reader may observe the +tenacity with which the authorities at Washington, and, behind them, +the Northern States, clung to this theory. Upon its strict +maintenance depended the success of their bloody revolution to secure +absolute supremacy over the States. Upon its failure, the dissolution +of the Union would have been established; constitutional liberty +would have been vindicated; the hopes of mankind in the modern +institutions of federation fulfilled; and a new Union might have been +formed and held together with a bond of fraternity and not by the +sword, as under the above revolutionary theory. + +By the exchange of prisoners, nothing was conceded except what was +evident to the world--that actual war existed, and that a Christian +people should at least conduct it according to the usages of +civilized nations. But sectional hate and the vain conceit of newly +acquired power led to the idle prophecy of our speedy subjection, and +hence the Government of the United States refused to act as required +by humanity and the usages of civilized warfare. At length, moved by +the clamors of the relatives and friends of the prisoners we held, +and by fears of retaliation, it covertly submitted to abandon its +declared purpose, and to shut its eyes while the exchanges were made +by various commanders under flags of truce. Thus some were exchanged +in New York, Washington, Cairo, and Columbus, Kentucky, and by +General McClellan in western Virginia and elsewhere. On the whole, +the partial exchanges were inconsiderable and inconclusive as to the +main question. The condition at the close of the year 1861, summarily +stated, was that soldiers captured in battle were not protected by +the usage of "exchange," and citizens were arrested without due +process of law, deported to distant States, and incarcerated without +assigned cause. All this by persons acting under authority of the +United States Government, but in disregard of the United States +Constitution, which provides that "no person shall be held to answer +for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or +an indictment of a grand jury, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or +property without due process of law." [4] "The right of the people to +be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against +unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated." [5] These +provisions were of no avail to protect the citizens from the +outrages, because those who derived their authority from the +Constitution used that authority to violate its guarantees. It has +been stated that the rule upon which the United States Government was +conducting affairs was entirely revolutionary. Its efforts to clothe +the Government of the Union with absolute power involved the +destruction of the rights of the States and the subversion of the +Constitution. Hence on every occasion the provisions of the +Constitution afforded no protection to the citizens: their rights +were spurned; their persons were seized and imprisoned beyond the +reach of friends; their houses sacked and burned. If they pleaded the +Constitution, the Government of the Constitution was deaf to them, +unsheathed its sword, and said the Union was at stake; and the +Constitution, which was the compact of union, must stand aside. This +was indeed a revolution. A constitutional government of limited +powers derived from the people was transformed into a military +despotism. The Northern people were docile as sheep under the change, +reminding one of the words of the Psalmist: "All we, like sheep, have +gone astray." + +Posterity may ask with amazement. What cause could there have been +for such acts by a government that was ordained "to form a more +perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, +provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and +secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity"? +Posterity may further ask, Where could a government of limited +powers, constructed only for certain general purposes--and on the +principle that all power proceeds from the people, and that "the +powers not delegated by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the +States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people"-- +find a grant of power, or an authority to perpetrate such injuries +upon the States and the people? As to the first question, it may be +said: There was no external cause for such acts. All foreign nations +were at peace with the United States. No hostile fleets were hovering +on her coasts, nor immense foreign armies threatening to invade her +territory. The cause, if any plausible one existed, was entirely +internal. It lay between it and its citizens. If it had treated them +with injustice and oppression, and threatened so to continue, it had +departed from the objects of its creation, and they had the resulting +right to dissolve it. + +Who was to be the umpire in such a case? Not the United States +Government, for it was the creature of the States; it possessed no +inherent, original sovereignty. The Constitution says, "The powers +not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor +prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States +respectively, or to the people." [6] The umpireship is, therefore, +expressly on the side of the States, or the people. When the State of +South Carolina, through a sovereign convention, withdrew from the +Union, she exercised the umpireship which rightly belonged to her, +and which no other could exercise for her. This involved the +dissolution of the Union, and the extinction of the Government of the +United States so far as she was concerned; but the officers of that +Government, instead of justly acquiescing in that which was +constitutionally and legally inevitable, drew the sword, and resolved +to maintain by might that which had no longer existence by right. A +usurpation thus commenced in wrong was the mother of all the +usurpations and wrongs which followed. The unhallowed attempt to +establish the absolute sovereignty of the Government of the United +States, by the subjugation of States and their people, brought forth +its natural fruit. Well might the victim of the guillotine exclaim, +"O Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!" + +As to the other question--Where could a government of limited powers +find authority to perpetrate such injuries upon its own +constituents?--an answer will be given in succeeding pages. + +Up to the close of the year the war enlarged its proportions so as to +include new fields, until it then extended from the shores of the +Chesapeake to the confines of Missouri and Arizona. Sudden calls from +the remotest points for military aid were met with promptness enough +not only to avert disaster in the face of superior numbers, but also +to roll back the tide of invasion on the border. + +At the commencement of the war the enemy were possessed of certain +strategic points and strong places within the Confederate States. +They greatly exceeded us in numbers, in available resources, and in +the supplies necessary for war. Military establishments had been long +organized, and were complete; the navy and the army, once common to +both, were in their possession. To meet all this we had to create not +only an army in the face of war itself, but also military +establishments necessary to equip and place it in the field. The +spirit of the volunteers and the patriotism of the people enabled us, +under Providence, to grapple successfully with these difficulties. A +succession of glorious victories at Bethel, Manassas, Springfield, +Lexington, Leesburg, and Belmont, checked the invasion of our soil. +After seven months of war the enemy had not only failed to extend +their occupancy of the soil, but new States and Territories had been +added to our confederacy. Instead of their threatened march of +unchecked conquest, the enemy were driven at more than one point to +assume the defensive; and, upon a fair comparison between the two +belligerents, as to men, military means, and financial condition, the +Confederate States were relatively much stronger at the end of the +year than when the struggle commenced. + +The necessities of the times called into existence new branches of +manufactures, and gave a fresh impulse to the activity of those +previously in operation, and we were gradually becoming independent +of the rest of the world for the supply of such military stores and +munitions as were indispensable for war. + +At an election on November 6, 1861, the chief executive officers of +the provisional Government were unanimously chosen to similar +positions in the permanent Government, to be inaugurated on the +ensuing 22d of February, 1862. + + +[Footnote 1: Constitution of the United States, Article X.] + +[Footnote 2: Ibid., Article III, section 3.] + +[Footnote 3: Congress of the United States, July, 1861.] + +[Footnote 4: Constitution of the United States, Article V.] + +[Footnote 5: Ibid., Article IV.] + +[Footnote 6: Constitution of the United States, Article X.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + Military Arrangements of the Enemy.--Marshall and Garfield.-- + Fishing Creek.--Crittenden's Report.--Fort Henry; its Surrender.-- + Fort Donelson; its Position.--Assaults.--Surrender.--Losses. + + +Important changes in the military arrangements of the enemy were made +about this time. Major-General George B. McClellan was assigned to +the chief command of his army, in place of Lieutenant-General Scott, +retired. A Department of Ohio was constituted, embracing the States +of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky east of the Cumberland and +Tennessee Rivers; and Brigadier-General D. C. Buell was assigned to +its command. At the same time. General Henry W. Halleck superseded +General John C. Fremont in command of the United States Department of +the West. General W. T. Sherman was removed from Kentucky and sent to +report to General Halleck. General A. S. Johnston was now confronted +by General Halleck in the West and by General Buell in Kentucky. The +former, with armies at Cairo and Paducah, under Generals Grant and C. +F. Smith, threatened equally Columbus, the key of the lower +Mississippi River, and the water-lines of the Cumberland and the +Tennessee, with their defenses at Forts Donelson and Henry. The right +wing of General Buell also menaced Donelson and Henry, while his +center was directed against Bowling Green, and his left was advancing +against General Zollicoffer at Mill Spring, on the upper Cumberland. +If the last-named position could be forced, the way seemed open to +East Tennessee, by either the Jacksboro or the Jamestown routes, on +the one hand, and to Nashville on the other. At the northeastern +comer of Kentucky there was a force under Colonel Garfield, of Ohio, +opposed to the Confederate force under General Humphrey Marshall. + +The strength of Marshall's force in effective men was about sixteen +hundred. Knowing that a body of the enemy under Colonel Garfield was +advancing to meet him, and that a small force was moving to his rear, +he fell back some fifteen miles, and took position on Middle Creek, +near Prestonsburg. On January 10, 1862, Garfield attacked him. The +firing was kept up, with some intervals, about four hours, and was +occasionally very sharp and spirited. Marshall says in his report: +"The enemy did not move me from any one position I assumed, and at +nightfall withdrew from the field, leaving me just where I was in the +morning. . . . He came to attack, yet came so cautiously that my left +wing never fired a shot, and he never came up sufficiently to engage +my center or left wing." Garfield was said to have fallen back +fifteen miles to Paintsville, and Marshall seven miles, where he +remained two days, then slowly pursued his retreat. He stated his +loss at ten killed and fourteen wounded, and that of the enemy to +have been severe. + +The battle of Fishing Creek has been the subject of harsh criticism, +and I think it will be seen by the report herein inserted that great +injustice has been done to General George B. Crittenden, who +commanded on that occasion. + +In July, 1880, I wrote to him requesting a statement of the affair at +Fishing Creek, and a short time before his decease he complied with +my request by writing as follows: + + "In November, 1862, I assumed, by assignment, the command of a + portion of East Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky, which embraced + the troops stationed at Mill Springs, on the Cumberland River, and + under the command of General Zollicoffer, who, as I understood the + matter, had been stationed there by General Johnston to prevent the + enemy under Schopf, and confronting him on the opposite side of the + river, from crossing and penetrating into Tennessee. Schopf's camp + was at Somerset, on Fishing Creek, a tributary of the Cumberland, + emptying into it a mile above Mill Springs. He was several miles away + from the bank of the Cumberland, so that both the river and creek + intervened between him and General Zollicoffer. While I was detained + in Knoxville, on business connected with my command, I received an + official communication from General Zollicoffer, informing me that he + had crossed the Cumberland by fording, and was fortifying a camp on + the right bank, etc. By the messenger who bore me this communication + I ordered him to recross the river and resume his original position + on the left bank. Early in January, I reached Mill Springs, and + found, to my surprise. General Zollicoffer still on the right bank. + He called on me immediately, and informed me that his messenger who + bore back my order had lost several days in returning, and that when + it was received he supposed that I would arrive almost immediately; + and, hoping to be able to convince me that it would be better to + remain on the right bank, he had postponed crossing until, by a rise + in the river, it had become impossible to do so; that all his + artillery and a large portion of his wagons were on the right bank, + and his only means of transferring them to the other bank were a + small ferry-boat and a very small stem-wheel steamer, entirely + inadequate to the purpose. I was dissatisfied, but, as I knew that + the General had been actuated by pure motives, I accepted his excuse. + Details were promptly placed in the woods, to prepare timber for + flat-boats to transport the artillery and wagons to the left bank of + the river. The weather was execrable, and the men unskilled, so that + the work progressed slowly. + + "Such was the posture of affairs, when, on the 18th of January, I was + informed that General Thomas was approaching with a large force of + all arms, and would encamp that night within a few miles of us. Here + was thrust upon me the very contingency which my order to General + Zollicoffer was intended to obviate. It rained violently throughout + this day until late in the afternoon. It occurred to me that Fishing + Creek must so rise as to render it impossible for Schopf to connect + with Thomas. Acting upon this idea, I summoned a council of superior + officers, and, laying before them the circumstances of the case, + asked their advice. There was not one of them who did not concur with + me in the opinion that Thomas must be attacked immediately, and, if + possible, by surprise; that such attack, if successful merely in + repulsing him, would probably give us time to cross the Cumberland + with artillery and wagons, by means of our boats, then being built. + + "Accordingly, at twelve o'clock in the night, we marched for the + position of the enemy, ascertained to be some six miles away. We had + scarcely taken up the line of march, when the rain began to fall, the + darkness became intense, and the consequent confusion great, so that + day dawned before we reached his position. The attack, as a surprise, + failed: nevertheless, it was promptly made. It rained violently + throughout the action, rendering all the flint-lock guns useless. The + men bearing them were allowed to fall back on the reserve. + + "The action was progressing successfully, when the fall of General + Zollicoffer was announced to me. Apprehending disastrous + consequences, I hastened to the front. My apprehensions were well + founded. I found the line of battle in confusion and falling back, + and, after a vain effort to restore the line, yielded to necessity, + and, by the interposition of the reserve, covered the shattered line + and effected my retreat to camp without loss. + + "I reached camp late in the afternoon. Not long afterward the enemy + opened fire at long range; night coming on, he ceased to fire. The + few shot and shells that fell in the camp so plainly demonstrated the + demoralization of the men, that I doubted, even if I had had rations, + which I had not, whether the camp could have been successfully + defended for twenty-four hours. There was not, and had not been for + some time in the camp, rations beyond the daily need. This state of + affairs was due to the exhaustion of the neighboring country, and the + impracticability of the roads. + + "It became now my sole object to transfer the men with their arms, + the cavalry-horses, and teams to the left bank of the river. This was + successfully accomplished by dawn of the next day. + + "I attributed the loss of the battle, in a great degree, to the + inferiority of our arms and the untimely fall of General Zollicoffer, + who was known and highly esteemed by the men, who were almost all + Tennesseeans. I think I have shown that the battle of Fishing Creek + was a necessity, and that I ought not to be held responsible for that + necessity. As to how I managed it, I have nothing further to say." + +General Crittenden's gallantry had been too often and too +conspicuously shown in battle during the war with Mexico and on the +Indian frontier to admit of question, and the criticism has been +directed solely to the propriety of the attack at Fishing Creek. His +explanation is conclusive against any arraignment of him for the +presence of the troops on the right bank of the Cumberland, or for +his not immediately withdrawing them to the left bank when his +position was threatened. Under these circumstances, to attack one +portion of the enemy, when a junction with the other part could not +be effected, was to act in accordance with one of the best-settled +rules of war. + +The unforeseen accident of renewed rain, with intense darkness, +delayed his march beyond reasonable expectation; and, whereas the +whole force should have reached the enemy's encampment before dawn, +the advance of two regiments only reached there after broad daylight. +To hesitate, would have been to give the enemy time for preparation, +and I think it was wisely decided to attack at once and rely upon the +rear coming up to support the advance; but the rear, encumbered with +their artillery, were so far behind that, though the advance were +successful in their first encounter, they did not receive the +hoped-for support until they had suffered severely, and then the +long-known and trusted commander of the forces there, the gallant and +most estimable Zollicoffer, fell; whence confusion resulted. General +Crittenden had been but a few days with the troops, a disadvantage +which will be readily appreciated. Had the whole force been in +position at early dawn, so as to have surprised the enemy, the plan +would have been executed, and victory would have been the probable +result; after which, Schöpf's force might have been readily disposed +of. But, had the attack done no more than to check the advance of +Thomas until the boats under construction could have been finished, +so as to enable Crittenden to save his artillery and equipments, it +would have justified the attempt. I therefore think the strategy not +only defensible but commendable, and the affair to be ranked with one +of the many brilliant conceptions of the war. The reader will not +fail to remark the evidence which General Crittenden's report affords +of the fallacy of representing the South as having been prepared by +supplying herself with the _materiél_ necessary for war. The heart of +even a noble enemy must be moved at the spectacle of citizens +defending their homes, with muskets of obsolete patterns and +shot-guns, against an invader having all the modern improvements in +arms. The two regiments constituting the advance were Battle's +Twentieth Tennessee and the Fifteenth Mississippi, commanded by +Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Walthall. With dauntless courage they +engaged the whole array of the enemy, and drove him from his first +position. When at length our forces fell back to their intrenched +camp, it was with sullen determination, and the pursuit was so +cautious that whenever it ventured too near it was driven back by our +rear guard. The valiant advance--the Fifteenth Mississippi and +Twentieth Tennessee--bore the burden of the day. The Mississippians +lost two hundred and twenty out of four hundred engaged, and the +Tennesseeans lost half as many, this being about three fourths the +casualties in our force. + +That night General Crittenden crossed his troops over the river, with +the exception of those too badly wounded to travel. He was compelled +to leave his artillery and wagons, not having the means of +transporting them across, and moved with the remnant of his army +toward Nashville. + +Both by General Crittenden and those who have criticised him for +making the attack at Fishing Creek, it is assumed that General +Zollicoffer made a mistake in crossing to the right bank of the +Cumberland, and that thence it resulted as a consequence that General +Johnston's right flank of his line through Bowling Green was +uncovered. I do not perceive the correctness of the conclusion, for +it must be admitted that General Zollicoffer's command was not +adequate to resist the combined forces of Thomas and Schopf, or that +the Cumberland River was a sufficient obstacle to prevent them from +crossing either above or below the position at Mill Springs. General +Zollicoffer may well have believed that he could better resist the +crossing of the Cumberland by removing to the right bank rather than +by remaining on the left. The only difference, it seems to me, would +have been that he could have retreated without the discomfiture of +his force or the loss of his artillery and equipments, but, in either +case, Johnston's right flank would have been alike uncovered. + +To Zollicoffer and the other brave patriots who fell with him, let +praise, not censure, be given; and to Crittenden, let tardy justice +render the meed due to a gallant soldier of the highest professional +attainments, and whose fault, if fault it be, was a willingness to +dare much in his country's service. + +When the State of Tennessee seceded, measures were immediately +adopted to occupy and fortify all the strong points on the +Mississippi, as Memphis, Randolph, Fort Pillow, and Island No. 10. As +it was our purpose not to enter the State of Kentucky and construct +defenses for the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers on her territory, +they were located within the borders of Tennessee, and as near to the +Kentucky line as suitable sites could be found. On these were +commenced the construction of Fort Donelson on the west side of the +Cumberland, and Fort Henry on the east side of the Tennessee, and +about twelve miles apart. The latter stood on the low lands adjacent +to the river about high-water mark, and, being just below a bend in +the river and at the head of a straight stretch of two miles, it +commanded the river for that distance. It was also commanded by high +ground on the opposite bank of the river, which it was intended +should be occupied by our troops in case of a land attack. The power +of ironclad gunboats against land defenses had not yet been shown, +and the low position of the fort brought the battery to the +water-level, and secured the advantage of ricochet firing, the most +effective against wooden ships. + +Fort Donelson was placed on high ground; and, with the plunging fire +from its batteries, was thereby more effective against the ironclads +brought to attack it on the water side. But on the land side it was +not equally strong, and required extensive outworks and a +considerable force to resist an attack in that quarter. + +In September, 1861, Lieutenant Dixon, of the Engineer Corps, was +instructed to make an examination of the works at the two forts. He +reported that Fort Henry was nearly completed. It was built, not at +the most favorable position, but it was a strong work, and, instead +of abandoning it and building at another place, he advised that it +should be completed, and other works constructed on the high lands +just above the fort on the opposite side of the river. Measures for +the accomplishment of this plan were adopted as rapidly as the means +at disposal would allow. + +In relation to Donelson, it was his opinion that, although a better +position might have been chosen for this fortification on the +Cumberland, under the circumstances surrounding the command, it would +be better to retain and strengthen the position chosen. + +General Polk, in a report to General Johnston just previous to the +battle of Shiloh, said: "The principal difficulty in the way of a +successful defense of the rivers, was the want of an adequate force-- +a force of infantry and a force of experienced artillerists." This +was the unavoidable result of the circumstances heretofore related, +but tells only half of the story. To match the vessels of the enemy +(floating forts) we required vessels like theirs, or the means of +constructing them. We had neither. + +The efforts which were put forth to resist the operations on the +Western rivers, for which the United States made such vast +preparations, were therefore necessarily very limited. There was a +lack of skilled labor, of ship-yards, and of materials for +constructing ironclads, which could not be readily obtained or +prepared in a beset and blockaded country. Proposals were considered +both for building gunboats and for converting the ordinary +side-wheel, high-pressure steamboats into gunboats. But the engineer +department, though anxious to avail itself of this means of defense, +decided that it was not feasible. There was not plate-iron with which +to armor a single vessel, and even railroad-iron could not be spared +from its uses for transportation. Unless a fleet could have been +built to match the enemy's, we had to rely on land-batteries, +torpedoes, and marching forces. It was thought best to concentrate +the resources on what seemed practicable. One ironclad gunboat, +however, the Eastport, was undertaken on the Tennessee River, but +under so many difficulties that, after the surrender of Fort Henry, +while still unfinished, it was destroyed, lest it should fall to the +enemy.[7] + +The fleet of gunboats prepared by the United States for the +Mississippi and its tributaries consisted of twelve, seven of which +were iron-clad, and able to resist all except the heaviest solid +shot. The boats were built very wide in proportion to their length, +so that in the smooth river-waters they might have almost the +steadiness of land-batteries when discharging their heavy guns. This +flotilla carried one hundred and forty-three guns, some sixty-four +pounders, some thirty-two pounders, and some seven-inch rifled guns +carrying eighty-pound shells. + +On February 2d General Grant started from Cairo with seventeen +thousand men on transports. Commodore Foote accompanied him with +seven gunboats. On the 4th the landing of the troops commenced three +miles or more below Fort Henry. General Grant took command on the +east bank with the main column, while General Charles F. Smith, with +two brigades of some five to six thousand men, landed on the left +bank, with orders to take the earthwork opposite Fort Henry, known as +Fort Hindman. On the 5th the landing was completed, and the attack +was made on the next day. The force of General Tilghman, who was in +command at Fort Henry, was about thirty-four hundred men. It is +evident that on the 5th he intended to dispute Grant's advance by +land; but on the 6th, before the attack by the gunboats, he changed +his purpose, abandoned all hope of a successful defense, and made +arrangements for the escape of his main body to Fort Donelson, while +the guns of Fort Henry should engage the gunboats. He ordered Colonel +Hindman to withdraw the command to Fort Donelson, while he himself +would obtain the necessary delay for the movement by use of the +battery, and standing a bombardment in Fort Henry. For this purpose +he retained his heavy artillery company--seventy-five men--to work +the guns, a number unequal to the strain and labor of the defense.[8] + +Noon was the time fixed for the attack; but Grant, impeded by the +overflow of water, and unwilling to expose his men to the heavy guns +of the fort, held them back to await the result of the gunboat +attack. In the mean time the Confederate troops were in retreat. Four +ironclads, mounting forty-eight heavy guns, approached and took +position within six hundred yards of the fort, firing as they +advanced. About half a mile behind these came three unarmored +gunboats, mounting twenty-seven heavy guns, which took a more distant +position, and kept up a bombardment of shells that fell within the +works. Some four hundred of the formidable missiles of the ironclad +boats were also thrown into the fort. The officers and men inside +were not slow to respond, and as many as fifty-nine of their shots +were counted as striking the gunboats. On the ironclad Essex a +cannon-ball ranged her whole length; another shot, passing through +the boiler, caused an explosion that scalded her commander, Porter, +and many of the seamen and soldiers on board. + +[Map of the Battlefield of Fort Donelson] + +Five minutes after the fight began, the twenty-four pounder rifled +gun, one of the most formidable in the fort, burst, disabling every +man at the piece. Then a shell exploded at the muzzle of one of the +thirty-two pounders, ruining the gun, and killing or wounding all the +men who served it. About the same moment a premature discharge +occurred at one of the forty-two pounder guns, killing three men and +seriously injuring others. The ten-inch columbiad, the only gun able +to match the artillery of the assailants, was next rendered useless +by a priming-wire that was jammed and broken in the vent. An heroic +blacksmith labored for a long time to remove it, under the full fire +of the enemy, but in vain. The men became exhausted and lost +confidence; and Tilghman, seeing this, in person served a thirty-two +pounder for some fifteen minutes. Though but four of his guns were +disabled, six stood idle for want of artillerists, and but two were +replying to the enemy. After an engagement of two hours and ten +minutes, he ceased firing and lowered his flag. For this soldierly +devotion and self-sacrifice the gallant commander and his brave band +must be honored while patriotism has an advocate and self-sacrifice +for others has a votary. Our casualties were five killed and sixteen +wounded; those of the enemy were sixty-three of all kinds. Twelve +officers and sixty-three non-commissioned officers and privates were +surrendered with the fort. The Tennessee River was thus open, and a +base by short lines was established against Fort Donelson. + +The next movement was a combined attack by land and water upon Fort +Donelson. This fort was situated on the left bank of the Cumberland, +as has been stated, near its great bend, and about forty miles from +the mouth of the river. It was about one mile north of the village of +Dover, where the commissary and quartermaster's supplies were in +depot. The fort consisted of two water-batteries on the hillside, +protected by a bastioned earthwork of irregular outline on the +summit, inclosing about one hundred acres. The water-batteries were +admirably placed to sweep the river approaches, with an armament of +thirteen guns; eight thirty-two pounders, three thirty-two pound +carronade, one ten-inch columbiad, and one rifled gun of thirty-two +pound caliber. The field-work, which was intended for infantry +supports, occupied a plateau about one hundred feet above the river, +commanding and protecting the water-batteries at close musket range. +These works afforded a fair defense against gunboats; but they were +not designed or adapted for resistance to a land attack or investment +by an enemy. + +Generals Pillow and Floyd were ordered with their separate commands +to Fort Donelson. General Buckner also was sent with a division from +Bowling Green; so that the Confederate effective force at the fort +during the siege was between fourteen thousand five hundred and +fifteen thousand men.[9] The force of General Grant was not less than +thirty to thirty-five thousand men. On February 12th he commenced his +movement across from Fort Henry, and the investment of Donelson was +made without any serious opposition. On the 13th General Buckner +reports that "the fire of the enemy's artillery and riflemen was +incessant throughout the day; but was responded to by a well-directed +fire from the intrenchments, which inflicted upon the assailant a +considerable loss, and almost silenced his fire late in the +afternoon." The object of the enemy undoubtedly was to discover the +strength and position of our forces. The artillery-fire was continued +at intervals during the night. Nearly every Confederate regiment +reported a few casualties from the shot and shell which frequently +fell inside of the works. Meanwhile, a gunboat of thirteen guns +arrived in the morning, and, taking a position behind a headland, +fired one hundred and thirty-eight shots, when our one hundred and +twenty-eight pound shot crashed through one of her ports, injuring +her machinery and crippling her. The enemy's fire did no damage to +the fort itself, but a shot disabled a gun and killed Captain Dixon, +a valuable engineer, whose loss was greatly deplored. + +The weather became cold during the night, and a driving snow-storm +prevailed, so that some of the soldiers were frozen, and the wounded +between the lines suffered extremely. The fleet of gunboats under +Commodore Foote arrived, bringing enforcements to the enemy. These +were landed during the night and the next day, which was occupied +with placing them in position. Nevertheless, though no assault was +made, a rambling and ineffective fire was kept up. About 3 P.M. the +commander of the naval force, expecting an easy victory, like that at +Fort Henry, brought his four ironclads, followed by two gunboats, up +to the attack. Each of the ironclads mounted thirteen guns and the +gunboats nine. Any one of them was more than a match for the guns of +the fort. Their guns were eight, nine, and ten inch, three in the bow +of each. Our columbiad and the rifled gun were the only two pieces +effective against the ironclads. The enemy moved directly toward the +water-batteries, firing with great weight of metal. It was the +intention of Commodore Foote to silence these batteries, pass by, and +take a position where he could enfilade the fort with broadsides. The +gunboats opened at a mile and a half distance, and advanced until +within three or four hundred yards. The shot and shell of the fleet +tore up the earthworks, but did no further injury. But the +Confederate guns, aimed from an elevation of not less than thirty +feet by cool and courageous hands, sent their shot with destructive +power, and overcame all the enemy's advantages in number and weight +of guns. The bolts of our two heavy guns went crashing through iron +and massive timbers with resistless force, scattering slaughter and +destruction through the fleet.[10] Hoppin, in his "Life of Commodore +Foote," says: + + "The Louisville was disabled by a shot, which cut away her + rudder-chains, making her totally unmanageable, so that she drifted + with the current out of action. Very soon the St. Louis was disabled + by a shot through her pilot-house, rendering her steering impossible, + so that she also floated down the river. The other two armored + vessels were also terribly struck, and a rifled cannon on the + Carondelet burst, so that these two could no longer sustain the + action; and, after fighting for more than an hour, the little fleet + was forced to withdraw. The St. Louis was struck fifty-nine times, + the Louisville thirty-six times, the Carondelet twenty-six, the + Pittsburg twenty, the four vessels receiving no less than one hundred + and forty-one wounds. The fleet, gathering itself together, and + rendering mutual help to its disabled members, proceeded to Cairo to + repair damages." + +The loss of the enemy was fifty-four killed and wounded. The report +of Major Gilmer, who laid out these works, says: + + "Our batteries were uninjured, and not a man in them killed. The + repulse of the gunboats closed the operations of the day, except a + few scattering shots along the land defenses." + +In consequence of reënforcements to the enemy, the plan of operations +for the next day was determined by the Confederate generals about +midnight. The whole of the left wing of the army except eight +regiments was to move out of the trenches, attack, turn, and drive +the enemy's right until the Wynn's Ferry road, which led to Charlotte +through a good country, was cleared, and an exit thus secured. + +The troops, moving in the small hours of the night over the icy and +broken roads, which wound through the obstructed area of defense, +made slow progress, and delayed the projected operations. At 4 A.M. +on the 15th, Pillow's troops were ready, except one brigade, which +came late into action. By six o'clock, Baldwin's brigade was engaged +with the enemy, only two or three hundred yards from his lines, and +the bloody contest of the day had begun. At one o'clock the enemy's +right was doubled back. The Wynn's Ferry road was cleared, and it +only remained for the Confederates to do one of two things: The first +was, to seize the golden moment and, adhering to the original purpose +and plan of the sortie, move off rapidly by the route laid open by +such strenuous efforts and so much bloodshed; the other depended on +the inspiration of a master-mind, equal to the effort of grasping +every element of the combat, and which should complete the partial +victory by the utter rout and destruction of the enemy. + + "While one or the other alternative seems to have been the only + possible safe solution," says the author of "The Life of Gen. Albert + Sidney Johnston," "the Confederate commander tried neither. A fatal + middle policy was suddenly but dubiously adopted, and not carried + out. The spirit of vacillation and divided counsels prevented that + unity of action which is essential to success. For seven hours the + Confederate battalions had been pushing over rough ground and through + thick timber, at each step meeting fresh troops massed, where the + discomfited regiments rallied. Hence the vigor of assault slackened, + though the wearied troops were still ready and competent to continue + their onward movement. Ten fresh regiments, over three thousand men, + had not fired a musket. But in the turmoil of battle no one knew the + relations of any command to the next, or indeed whether his neighbor + was friend or foe. + + "General Buckner had halted, according to the preconcerted plan, to + allow the army to pass out by the opened road and to cover their + retreat. At this point of the fight, Pillow, finding himself at + Hindman's position, heard of (or saw) preparations by General C. F. + Smith for an assault on the Confederate right; but, whether he + understood this to be the purpose or construed the movement as the + . . . signs of a flight, was left uncertain by his language at the + time. He ordered the regiments which had been engaged to return to the + trenches, and instructed Buckner to hasten to defend the imperiled + point. Buckner, not recognizing him as a superior authorized to + change the plan of battle, or the propriety of such change, refused + to obey, and, after receiving reiterated orders, started to find + Floyd, who at that moment joined him. He urged upon Floyd the + necessity of carrying out the original plan of evacuation. Floyd + assented to this view, and told Buckner to stand fast until he could + see Pillow. He then rode back and saw Pillow, and, hearing his + arguments, yielded to them. Floyd simply says that he found the + movement so nearly executed that it was necessary to complete it. + Accordingly, Buckner was recalled. In the mean time, Pillow's right + brigades were retiring to their places in the trenches, under orders + from the commanders." + +The conflict on the left soon ended. Three hundred prisoners, five +thousand stand of small-arms, six guns, and other spoils of victory, +had been won by our forces. But the enemy, cautiously advancing, +gradually recovered most of his lost ground. It was about 4 P.M. when +the assault on the right was made by General C. F. Smith. The enemy +succeeded in carrying the advanced work, which General Buckner +considered the key to his position. The loss of the enemy during the +siege was four hundred killed, seventeen hundred and eighty-five +wounded, and three hundred prisoners. Our losses were about three +hundred and twenty-five killed and one thousand and ninety-seven +wounded; including missing, it was estimated at fifteen hundred. + +After nightfall a consultation of the commanding officers was held, +and, after a consideration of the question in all its aspects as to +what should be done, it was decided that a surrender was inevitable, +and, that to accomplish its objects, it must be made before the +assault, which was expected at daylight. General Buckner in his +report, says: + + "I regarded the position of the army as desperate, and that the + attempt to extricate it by another battle, in the suffering and + exhausted condition of the troops, was almost hopeless. The troops + had been worn down with watching, with labor, with fighting. Many of + them were frosted by the cold, all of them were suffering and + exhausted by their incessant labors. There had been no regular issue + of rations for several days, and scarcely any means of cooking. The + ammunition was nearly expended. We were completely invested by a + force fully four times the strength of our own." + +The decision to surrender having been made, it remained to determine +by whom it should be made. Generals Floyd and Pillow declared they +would not surrender and become prisoners; the duty was therefore +allotted to General Buckner. Floyd said, "General Buckner, if I place +you in command, will you allow me to draw out my brigade?" General +Buckner replied, "Yes, provided you do so before the enemy act upon +my communication." Floyd said, "General Pillow, I turn over the +command.". General Pillow, regarding this as a mere technical form by +which the command was to be conveyed to Buckner, then said, "I pass +it." Buckner assumed the command, sent for a bugler to sound the +parley, for pen, ink, and paper, and opened the negotiations for +surrender. + +There were but two roads by which it was possible for the garrison to +retire. If they went by the upper road, they would certainly have to +cut through the main body of the enemy; if by the lower road, they +would have to wade through water three feet deep. This, the medical +director stated, would be death to more than one half the command, on +account of the severity of the weather and their physical prostration. + +To cut through the enemy, if effected, would, it was supposed, +involve the loss of three fourths of the command, a sacrifice which, +it was conceded, would not be justifiable. + +The enemy had, in the conflict of the preceding day, gained +possession of our rifle-pits on the right flank, and General Buckner, +an experienced soldier, held that the fort would immediately fall +when the enemy attacked in the morning. General Pillow dissented from +this conclusion, believing that the fort could be defended until +boats could be obtained to convey the garrison across the river, and +also advocated an attempt to cut through the investing lines of the +enemy. Being overruled on both points, he announced his determination +to leave the post by any means available, so as to escape a +surrender, and he advised Colonel N. B. Forrest, who was present, to +go out with his cavalry regiment, and any others he could take with +him through the overflow. General Floyd's brigade consisted of two +Virginia regiments and one Mississippi regiment; these, as before +mentioned, it was agreed that General Floyd might withdraw before the +surrender. Two of the field-officers, Colonel Russell and Major +Brown, of the Mississippi regiment, the twentieth, had been officers +of the First Mississippi Riflemen in the war with Mexico; and the +twentieth, their present regiment, was reputed to be well instructed +and under good discipline. This regiment was left to be surrendered +with the rest of the garrison, under peculiar circumstances, of which +Major Brown, then commanding, gives the following narrative: + + "About twelve o'clock of the night previous to the surrender, I + received an order to report in person at headquarters. On arriving I + met Colonel N. B. Forrest, who remarked: 'I have been looking for + you; they are going to surrender this place, and I wanted you with + your command to go out with me, but they have other orders for you.' + On entering the room. Generals Floyd and Pillow also informed me of + the proposed proceedings. General Floyd ordered me to take possession + of the steamboat-landing with my command; that he had reserved the + right to remove his brigade; that, after having guarded the landing, + my command should be taken aboard the boat; the Virginia regiments, + first crossing to the other side of the river, could make their way + to Clarksville. + + "I proceeded at once with my command to the landing; there was no + steamboat there, but I placed my regiment in a semicircular line so + as to cover the landing-place. About daylight the steamer came down, + landed, and was soon loaded with the two Virginia regiments, they + passing through my ranks. At the same time the General and staff, or + persons claiming to belong to the staff, passed aboard. The boat, + being a small one, was considerably crowded. While the staging of the + boat was being drawn aboard. General Floyd hallooed to me, from the + 'hurricane-roof,' that he would cross the river with the troops + aboard and return for my regiment. But, about the time of the + departure of the boat, General S. B. Buckner came and asserted that + he had turned over the garrison and all the property at sunrise; + that, if the boat was not away immediately, he would be charged by + the enemy with violating the terms of the surrender. I mention this + incident as furnishing, I suppose, the reason why my regiment was + left on the bank of the river. + + "Sorrowfully I gave the necessary orders to stack arms and + surrender. . . . + + "Both morally and materially the disaster was a severe blow to us. + Many, wise after the event, have shown their skill in telling what + all knew afterward, but nobody told before." + + +[Footnote 7: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," by his son.] + +[Footnote 8: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," by his son.] + +[Footnote 9: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," by his son.] + +[Footnote 10: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," by his son.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + Results of the Surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson.--Retreat from + Bowling Green.--Criticism on General A. S. Johnston.--Change of + Plan necessary.--Evacuation of Nashville.--Generals Floyd and + Pillow.--My Letter to General Johnston.--His Reply.--My Answer.-- + Defense of General Johnston.--Battle of Elkhorn.--Topography of + Shiloh. + + +The loss of Forts Henry and Donelson opened the river routes to +Nashville and north Alabama, and thus turned the positions both at +Bowling Green and Columbus. These disasters subjected General +Johnston to very severe criticism, of which we shall take notice +further on in these pages. A conference was held on February 7th by +Generals Johnston, Beauregard (who had been previously ordered to +report to Johnston), and Hardee, as to the future plan of campaign. +It was determined, as Fort Henry had fallen and Donelson was +untenable, that preparations should at once be made for a removal of +the army to Nashville, in rear of the Cumberland River, a strong +point some miles below that city being fortified forthwith to defend +the river from the passage of gunboats and transports. From +Nashville, should any further retrograde movement become necessary, +it would be made to Stevenson, and thence according to circumstances. + +As the possession of the Tennessee river by the enemy separated the +array at Bowling Green from the one at Columbus, Kentucky, they must +act independently of each other until they could be brought together: +the first one having for its object the defense of the State of +Tennessee along its line of operation; and the other, of that part of +the State lying between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi. But, +as the possession of the former river by the enemy rendered the lines +of communication of the army at Columbus liable to be cut at any time +by a movement from the Tennessee River as a base, and an overpowering +force of the enemy was rapidly concentrating from various points on +the Ohio, it was necessary, to prevent such a calamity, that the main +body of the army should fall back to Humboldt, and thence, if +necessary, to Grand Junction, so as to protect Memphis from either +point and still have a line of retreat to the latter place, or to +Grenada, and, if needful, to Jackson, Mississippi. + +Captain Hollins's fleet of improvised gunboats and a sufficient +garrison was to be left at Columbus for the defense of the river at +that point, with transports near at hand for the removal of the +garrison when the position became no longer tenable. + +Every preparation for the retreat was silently made. The defenses of +Bowling Green, originally slight, had been greatly enlarged by the +addition of a cordon of detached forts, mounted with heavy +field-guns; yet the garrison was only sufficiently strong to +withstand an assault, and it was never proposed to submit to a siege. +The ordnance and army supplies were quietly moved southward, and +measures were taken to remove from Nashville the immense stores +accumulated there. Only five hundred men were in the hospital before +the army commenced to retreat, but, when it reached Nashville, five +thousand four hundred out of fourteen thousand required the care of +the medical officers. On February 11th the troops began to move, and +at nightfall on the 16th General Johnston, who had established his +headquarters at Edgeville, on the northern bank of the Cumberland, +saw the last of his wearied columns defile across and safely +establish themselves beyond the river. The evacuation was +accomplished by a force so small as to make the feat remarkable, not +a pound of ammunition nor a gun being lost, and the provisions were +nearly all secured. The first intimation which the enemy had of the +intended evacuation, so far as has been ascertained, was when +Generals Hindman and Breckinridge, who were in advance near his camp, +were seen suddenly to retreat toward Bowling Green. The enemy +pursued, and succeeded in shelling the town, while Hindman was still +covering the rear. Not a man was lost.[11] At the same time +Crittenden's command was brought back within ten miles of Nashville, +and thence to Murfreesboro. + +Scarcely had the retreat to Nashville been accomplished, when the +news of the fall of Donelson was received. The state of feeling which +it produced is described by Colonel Munford, an aide-de-camp of +General Johnston, in an address delivered in Memphis. "Dissatisfaction +was general. Its mutterings, already heard, began to break out in +denunciations. The demagogues took up the cry, and hounded on one +another and the people in hunting down a victim. The public press was +loaded with abuse. The Government was denounced for intrusting the +public safety to hands so feeble. The Lower House of Congress appointed +a select committee to inquire into the conduct of the war in the +Western Department. The Senators and Representatives from Tennessee, +with the exception of Judge Swann, waited upon the President." Their +spokesman, Senator G. A. Henry, stated that they came for and in behalf +of Tennessee to ask for the removal of General A. S. Johnston, and the +assignment of a competent officer to the defense of their homes and +people. It was further stated that they did not come to recommend any +one as the successor; that it was conceded that the President was better +able than they were to select a proper officer, and they only asked that +he would give them a general. + +Painfully impressed by this exhibition of distrust toward an officer +whose place, if vacated, I was sure could not be filled by his equal, +realizing how necessary public confidence was to success, and wounded +by the injustice done to one I had known with close intimacy in peace +and in war, and believed to be one of the noblest men with whom I had +ever been associated, and one of the ablest soldiers I had ever seen +in the field, I paused under conflicting emotions, and after a time +merely answered, "If Sidney Johnston is not a general, the +Confederacy has none to give you." + +On February 17th the rear guard from Bowling Green reached Nashville, +and on the 18th General Johnston wrote to the Secretary of War at +Richmond, saying: + + "I have ordered the army to encamp to-night midway between Nashville + and Murfreesboro. My purpose is to place the force in such a position + that the enemy can not concentrate his superior strength against the + command, and to enable me to assemble as rapidly as possible such + other troops in addition as it may be in my power to collect. The + complete command which their gunboats and transports give them upon + the Tennessee and Cumberland renders it necessary for me to retire my + line between the rivers. I entertain the hope that this disposition + will enable me to hold the enemy for the present in check, and, when + my forces are sufficiently increased, to drive him back." + +The fall of Fort Donelson made a speedy change of his plans +necessary. General Johnston was now compelled to withdraw his forces +from the north bank of the Cumberland, and to abandon the defense of +Nashville; in a word, to evacuate Nashville or sacrifice the army. +Not more than eleven thousand effective men were left to him with +which to oppose General Buell with not less than forty thousand men, +moving by Bowling Green, while another superior force, under General +Thomas, was on the eastern flank; and the armies from Fort Donelson, +with the gunboats and transport, had it in their power to ascend the +Cumberland, so as to interrupt all communication with the south. + +On February 17th and 18th the main body of the command was moved from +Nashville to Murfreesboro, while a brigade remained under General +Floyd to bring on the stores and property upon the approach of the +enemy, all of which would have been saved except for the heavy and +general rains. By the junction of the command of General Crittenden +and the fugitives from Donelson, who were reorganized, the force of +General Johnston was increased to seventeen thousand men. The stores +not required for immediate use were ordered to Chattanooga, and those +which were necessary on the march were ordered to Huntsville and +Decatur. On February 28th the march was commenced for Decatur through +Shelbyville and Fayetteville. Halting at those points for the +purpose, he saved his provisions and stores, removed his depots and +machine-shops, obtained new arms, and finally, at the close of March, +joined Beauregard at Corinth with twenty thousand men, making their +aggregate force fifty thousand. + +Considering the great advantage which the means of transportation +upon the Tennessee and Cumberland afforded the enemy, and the +peculiar topography of the State, General Johnston found that he +could not with the force under his command successfully defend the +whole line against the advance of the enemy. He was, therefore, +compelled to elect whether the enemy should be permitted to occupy +Middle Tennessee, or turn Columbus, take Memphis, and open the valley +of the Mississippi. Deciding that the defense of the valley was of +paramount importance, he therefore crossed the Tennessee and united +with Beauregard. + +The evacuation of Nashville and the evident intention of General +Johnston to retreat still further, created a panic in the public mind +which spread over the whole State. Those who had refused to listen to +his warning voice, when it called them to arms, were loudest in their +passionate outcry at what they considered a base surrender of them to +the mercies of the invader. He was accused of imbecility, cowardice, +and treason. An appeal from every class was made to the President +demanding his removal. Congress took the matter in hand, and, though +the feeling there resulted merely in a committee of inquiry, it was +evident that the case was prejudged. The Confederate House of +Representatives created a special committee "to inquire into the +military disasters at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, and the surrender +of Nashville to the enemy," and as to the conduct, number, and +disposition of the troops under General Johnston. Great feeling was +shown in the debates. + +Generals Floyd and Pillow, the senior officers at Fort Donelson, +after it had been decided to surrender, withdrew, to avoid being made +prisoners. The Secretary of War (Mr. Benjamin) wrote, March 11th, to +General Johnston as follows: + + "The reports of Brigadier-Generals Floyd and Pillow are + unsatisfactory, and the President directs that both these generals be + relieved from command until further orders. In the mean time you will + request them to add to their reports such statements as they may deem + proper on the points submitted. You are further requested to make up + a report, from all the sources of information accessible to you, of + all the particulars connected with the unfortunate affair, which can + contribute to enlighten the judgment of the Executive and of + Congress, and to fix the blame, if blame there be, on those who were + delinquent in duty." + +This state of affairs, under the command of General Johnston, was the +occasion of the following correspondence: + + _Letter from President Davis to General A. S. Johnston._ + + "RICHMOND, _March 12, 1862._ + + "MY DEAR GENERAL: The departure of Captain Wickliffe offers an + opportunity, of which I avail myself, to write you an unofficial + letter. We have suffered great anxiety because of recent events in + Kentucky and Tennessee, and I have been not a little disturbed by the + repetitions of reflections upon yourself. I expected you to have made + a full report of events precedent and consequent to the fall of Fort + Donelson. In the mean time, I made for you such defense as friendship + prompted, and many years of acquaintance justified; but I needed + facts to rebut the wholesale assertions made against you to cover + others and to condemn my administration. The public, as you are + aware, have no correct measure for military operations, and the + journals are very reckless in their statements. + + "Your force has been magnified, and the movements of an army have + been measured by the capacity for locomotion of an individual. + + "The readiness of the people, among whom you are operating, to aid + you in every method, has been constantly asserted; the purpose of + your army at Bowling Green wholly misunderstood; and the absence of + an effective force at Nashville ignored. You have been held + responsible for the fall of Donelson and the capture of Nashville. It + is charged that no effort was made to save the stores at Nashville, + and that the panic of the people was caused by the army. + + "Such representations, with the sad forebodings naturally belonging + to them, have been painful to me, and injurious to us both; but, + worse than this, they have undermined public confidence and damaged + our cause. A full development of the truth is necessary for future + success. + + "I respect the generosity which has kept you silent, but would + impress upon you that the question is not personal but public in its + nature; that you and I might be content to suffer, but neither of us + can willingly permit detriment to the country. As soon as + circumstances will permit, it is my purpose to visit the field of + your present operations; not that I shall expect to give you any aid + in the discharge of your duties as a commander, but with the hope + that my position would enable me to effect something in bringing men + to your standard. With a sufficient force, the audacity which the + enemy exhibits would no doubt give you the opportunity to cut some of + his lines of communication, to break up his plan of campaign, and, + defeating some of his columns, to drive him from the soil as well of + Kentucky as of Tennessee. + + "We are deficient in arms, wanting in discipline, and inferior in + numbers. Private arms must supply the first want; time and the + presence of an enemy, with diligence on the part of commanders, will + remove the second; and public confidence will overcome the third. + General Bragg brings you disciplined troops, and you will find in him + the highest administrative capacity. General E. K. Smith will soon + have in East Tennessee a sufficient force to create a strong + diversion in your favor; or, if his strength can not be made + available in that way, you will best know how to employ it otherwise. + I suppose the Tennessee or the Mississippi River will be the object + of the enemy's next campaign, and I trust you will be able to + concentrate a force which will defeat either attempt. The fleet which + you will soon have on the Mississippi River, if the enemy's gunboats + ascend the Tennessee, may enable you to strike an effective blow at + Cairo; but, to one so well informed and vigilant, I will not assume + to offer suggestions as to when and how the ends you seek may be + attained. With the confidence and regard of many years, I am very + truly your friend, + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + + + _Letter of General Johnston in answer to that above._ + + "DECATUR, ALABAMA, _March 18, 1862._ + + "MY DEAR GENERAL: I received the dispatches from Richmond, with your + private letter by Captain Wickliffe, three days since; but the + pressure of affairs and the necessity of getting my command across + the Tennessee prevented me from sending you an earlier reply. + + "I anticipated all that you have told me as to the censure which the + fall of Fort Donelson drew upon me, and the attacks to which you + might be subjected; but it was impossible for me to gather the facts + for a detailed report, or to spare time which was required to + extricate the remainder of my troops and save the large accumulation + of stores and provisions after that disheartening disaster. + + "I transmitted the reports of Generals Floyd and Pillow without + examining or analyzing the facts, and scarcely with time to read them. + + "When about to assume command of this department, the Government + charged me with the duty of deciding the question of occupying + Bowling Green, Kentucky, which involved not only military but + political considerations. At the time of my arrival at Nashville, the + action of the Legislature of Kentucky had put an end to the latter by + sanctioning the formation of camps menacing Tennessee, by assuming + the cause of the Government at Washington, and by abandoning the + neutrality it professed; and, in consequence of their action, the + occupation of Bowling Green became necessary as an act of + self-defense, at least in the first step. + + "About the middle of September General Buckner advanced with a small + force of about four thousand men, which was increased by the 15th of + October to twelve thousand; and, though accessions of force were + received, it continued at about the same strength until the end of + November--measles and other diseases keeping down the effective + force. The enemy's force then was reported to the War Department at + fifty thousand, and an advance was impossible. No enthusiasm, as we + imagined and hoped, but hostility, was manifested in Kentucky. + Believing it to be of the greatest moment to protract the campaign, + as the dearth of cotton might bring strength from abroad and + discourage the North, and to gain time to strengthen myself by new + troops from Tennessee and other States, I magnified my forces to the + enemy, but made known my true strength to the department and the + Governors of States. The aid given was small. At length, when General + Beauregard came out in February, he expressed his surprise at the + smallness of my force, and was impressed with the danger of my + position. I admitted what was so manifest, and laid before him my + views for the future, in which he entirely concurred, and sent me a + memorandum of our conference, a copy of which I send to you. I + determined to fight for Nashville at Donelson, and gave the best part + of my army to do it, retaining only fourteen thousand men to cover my + front, and giving sixteen thousand to defend Donelson. The force at + Donelson is stated in General Pillow's report at much less, and I do + not doubt the correctness of his statement, for the force at Bowling + Green, which I supposed to be fourteen thousand effective men (the + medical report showing only a little over five hundred sick in the + hospital), was diminished more than five thousand by those who were + unable to stand the fatigue of a march, and made my force on reaching + Nashville less than ten thousand men. I inclose medical director's + report. Had I wholly uncovered my front to defend Donelson, Buell + would have known it, and marched directly on Nashville. There were + only ten small steamers in the Cumberland, in imperfect condition, + only three of which were available at Nashville, while the + transportation of the enemy was great. + + "The evacuation of Bowling Green was imperatively necessary, and was + ordered before, and executed while the battle was being fought at + Donelson. I had made every disposition for the defense of the fort my + means allowed, and the troops were among the best of my forces. The + generals, Floyd, Pillow, and Buckner, were high in the opinion of + officers and men for skill and courage, and among the best officers + of my command. They were popular with the volunteers, and all had + seen much service. No reënforcements were asked. I awaited the event + opposite Nashville. The result of the conflict each day was + favorable. At midnight on the 15th I received news of a glorious + victory; at dawn, of a defeat. + + "My column during the day and night was thrown over the river--a + battery had been established below the city to secure the passage. + Nashville was incapable of defense, from its position, and from the + forces advancing from Bowling Green and up the Cumberland. A rear + guard was left, under General Floyd, to secure the stores and + provisions, but did not completely effect the object. The people were + terrified, and some of the troops were disheartened. The + discouragement was spreading, and I ordered the command to + Murfreesboro, where I managed, by assembling Crittenden's division + and the fugitives from Donelson, to collect an army able to offer + battle. The weather was inclement, the floods excessive, and the + bridges were washed away, but most of the stores and provisions were + saved and conveyed to new depots. This having been accomplished, + though with serious loss, in conformity with my original design, I + marched southward and crossed the Tennessee at this point, so as to + coöperate or unite with General Beauregard for the defense of the + valley of the Mississippi. The passage is almost completed, and the + head of my column is already with General Bragg at Corinth. The + movement was deemed too hazardous by the most experienced members of + my staff; but the object warranted the risk. The difficulty of + effecting a junction is not wholly overcome, but it approaches + completion. Day after to-morrow (the 22d), unless the enemy + intercepts me, my force will be with Bragg, and my army nearly fifty + thousand strong. _This must be destroyed before the enemy can attain + his object._ + + "I have given this sketch, so that you may appreciate the + embarrassment which surrounded me in my attempts to avert or remedy + the disaster of Fort Donelson, before alluding to the conduct of the + generals. + + "When the force was detached, I was in hopes that such disposition + would have been made as would have enabled the forces to defend the + fort or withdraw without sacrificing the army. On the 14th I ordered + General Floyd, by telegraph, 'If he lost the fort, to get his troops + to Nashville.' It is possible that might have been done, but justice + requires us to look at events as they appeared at the time, and not + alone by the light of subsequent information. All the facts in + relation to the surrender will be transmitted to the Secretary of War + as soon as they can be collected, in obedience to his order. It + appears from the information received that General Buckner, being the + junior officer, took the lead in advising the surrender, and that + General Floyd acquiesced, and that they all concurred in the belief + that their force could not maintain the position. All concurred that + it would involve a great sacrifice of life to extricate the command. + Subsequent events show that the investment was not so complete as +their information from their scouts led them to believe. + + "The conference resulted in the surrender. The command was + irregularly transferred, and devolved on the junior general; but not + apparently to avoid any just responsibility or from any want of + personal or moral intrepidity. The blow was most disastrous, and + almost without a remedy. I therefore, in my first report, remained + silent. This silence you were kind enough to attribute to my + generosity. I will not lay claim to the motive to excuse my course. I + observed silence, as it seemed to be the best way to serve the cause + and the country. The facts were not fully known, discontent + prevailed, and criticism and condemnation were more likely to augment + than to cure the evil. I refrained, well knowing that heavy censures + would fall upon me, but convinced that it was better to endure them + for the present, and defer for a more propitious time an + investigation of the conduct of the generals; for, in the mean time, + their services were required and their influence was useful. For + these reasons Generals Floyd and Pillow were assigned to duty, for I + still felt confidence in their gallantry, their energy, and their + devotion to the Confederacy. + + "I have thus recurred to the motives by which I have been governed, + from a deep personal sense of the friendship and confidence you have + always shown me, and from the conviction that they have not been + withdrawn from me in adversity. + + "All the reports requisite for a full official investigation have + been ordered. Generals Floyd and Pillow have been suspended from + command. + + "You mention that you intend to visit the field of operations here. I + hope soon to see you, for your presence would encourage my troops, + inspire the people, and augment the army. To me personally it would + give the greatest gratification. Merely a soldier myself, and having + no acquaintance with the statesmen or leaders of the South, I can not + touch springs familiar to you. Were you to assume command, it would + afford me the most unfeigned pleasure, and every energy would be + exerted to help you to victory and the country to independence. Were + you to decline, still your presence alone would be of inestimable + advantage. + + "The enemy are now at Nashville, about fifty thousand strong, + advancing in this direction by Columbia. He has also forces, + according to the report of General Bragg, landing at Pittsburg, from + twenty-five to fifty thousand, and moving in the direction of Purdy. + + "This army corps, moving to join Bragg, is about twenty thousand + strong. Two brigades, Hindman's and Woods's, are, I suppose, at + Corinth. One regiment of Hardee's division (Lieutenant-Colonel Patton + commanding) is moving by cars to-day (March 20th), and Statham's + brigade (Crittenden's division). The brigade will halt at Iuka, the + regiment at Burnsville; Cleburne's brigade, Hardee's division, except + the regiment, at Burnsville; and Carroll's brigade, Crittenden's + division, and Helm's cavalry, at Tuscumbia; Bowen's brigade at + Courtland; Breckinridge's brigade here; the regiments of cavalry of + Adams and Wharton on the opposite bank of the river; Scott's + Louisiana regiment at Pulaski, sending forward supplies; Morgan's + cavalry at Shelbyville, ordered on. + + "To-morrow Breckinridge's brigade will go to Corinth, then Bowen's. + When these pass Tuscumbia and Iuka, transportation will be ready + there for the other troops to follow immediately from those points, + and, if necessary, from Burnsville. The cavalry will cross and move + forward as soon as their trains can be passed over the + railroad-bridge. I have troubled you with these details, as I can not + properly communicate them by telegram. + + "The test of merit in my profession, with the people, is success. It + is a hard rule, but I think it right. If I join this corps to the + forces of Beauregard (I confess a hazardous experiment), then those + who are now declaiming against me will be without an argument. + + "Your friend, A. S. JOHNSTON." + + +To this letter the following reply was made: + + "RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, _March 26, 1862._ + + "MY DEAR GENERAL: Yours of the 18th instant was this day delivered by + your aide, Mr. Jack. I have read it with much satisfaction. So far as + the past is concerned, it but confirms the conclusions at which I had + already arrived. My confidence in you has never wavered, and I hope + the public will soon give me credit for judgment, rather than + continue to arraign me for obstinacy. + + "You have done wonderfully well, and now I breathe easier in the + assurance that you will be able to make a junction of your two + armies. If you can meet the division of the enemy moving from the + Tennessee before it can make a junction with that advancing from + Nashville, the future will be brighter. If this can not be done, our + only hope is that the people of the Southwest will rally _en masse_ + with their private arms, and thus enable you to oppose the vast army + which will threaten the destruction of our country. + + "I have hoped to be able to leave here for a short time, and would be + much gratified to confer with you, and share your responsibilities. I + might aid you in obtaining troops; no one could hope to do more + unless he underrated your military capacity. I write in great haste, + and feel that it would be worse than useless to point out to you how + much depends on you. + + "May God bless you, is the sincere prayer of your friend, + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + + +Let us now review the events which had brought such unmeasured +censure on General Johnston for some months preceding this +correspondence. We have seen him, with a force numerically much +inferior to that of the enemy in his front, holding the position of +Bowling Green, and, by active operations of detached commands, +keeping up to foe and friend the impression that he had a large army +in position. With self-sacrificing fortitude he remained silent under +reproaches for not advancing to attack the enemy. When Forts Donelson +and Henry were more immediately threatened, he gave reënforcements +from his small command until his own line became more like one of +skirmishers than an intrenched line of battle; and when those forts +were surrendered, and his position became both untenable and useless, +he withdrew in such order and with such skill that his retreat was +unmolested by the enemy. Though he continued to be the subject of +unreasoning vituperation, he sought not to justify himself by blaming +others, or telling what he would have done if his Government had sent +him the arms and munitions he asked for, but which his Government he +learned did not possess. + +There are yet those who, self-assured, demand why Johnston did not go +himself to Donelson and Henry, and why his forces were not there +concentrated. A slight inspection of the map would suffice to show +that, Bowling Green abandoned, the direct road to Nashville would be +open to the advance of Buell's army. Then the forts, if held, would +cease to answer their purpose, and, being isolated, and also between +hostile armies above and below, would be not only valueless but only +temporarily tenable; and of his critics it may be asked, Who else +than himself could, with the small force retained at Bowling Green, +have held the enemy in check so long, and at last have retired +without disaster? + +To collect the widely separated troops of his command so as to form +an army which might offer battle to the invading foe was a problem +which must have been impossible, if the organized armies by which he +was threatened had been guided by a capacity equal to his own. It was +done, and, with the genius of a great soldier, he seized the +opportunity, by the rapid combination of new levies and of forces +never before united, to attack the armies of the enemy in detail +while they were endeavoring to form a junction. + +The Southwestern States presented a field peculiarly favorable for +the application of a new power in war. Deep rivers, with banks +frequently but little elevated above the water, traverse the country. +On these rivers iron-plated steamboats with heavy guns may move with +a rapidity incomparably greater than that of marching armies. It is +as if forts, with armaments, garrison, and stores, were endowed with +locomotion more swift and enduring than that of cavalry. + +The Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers all were in +the field of General Johnston's operations, and at the stage of water +most suited to naval purposes. Apart from the heavy guns which could +thus be brought to bear at interior places upon an army having only +field-artillery, the advantage of rapid transportation for troops and +supplies can hardly be over-estimated. It has been seen how these +advantages were utilized by the enemy at Henry and Donelson, and not +less did they avail him at Shiloh. + +As has been elsewhere explained, the condition of the South did not +enable the Confederacy to meet the enemy on the water except at great +odds. + +If it be asked, "Why did not General Johnston wait until the enemy +marched from the river instead of attacking him at Shiloh or +Pittsburg Landing?" the answer is, "That would have been to delay +until the junction of the enemy's armies had been effected." To fight +them in detail, it was necessary to attack the first where it lay, +backed by its gunboats. That sound judgment and soldierly daring went +hand in hand in this attack the sequel demonstrated. + +Meantime some active operations had taken place in that part of +General Johnston's command west of the Mississippi River. Detached +conflicts with the enemy had been fought by the small forces under +Generals Price and McCulloch, but no definite result had followed. +General Earl Van Dorn had been subsequently assigned to the command, +and assumed it on January 29, 1862. General Curtis was then in +command of the enemy's forces, numbering about twelve thousand men. +He had harassed General Price on his retreat to Fayetteville, +Arkansas, and then had fallen back to Sugar Creek, where he proposed +to make a stand. Van Dorn, immediately on his arrival at the +Confederate camps on Boston Mountain, prepared to attack Curtis. His +first movement, however, was to intercept General Sigel, then at +Bentonville with sixteen thousand men. The want of coöperation in Van +Dorn's forces enabled Sigel to escape. Curtis thus concentrated his +forces at Sugar Creek, and, instead of taking him in detail, Van Dorn +was obliged to meet his entire army. By a circuitous route, he led +Price's army against the enemy's rear, moving McCulloch against the +right flank; but his progress was so slow and embarrassed, that the +enemy heard of it in season to make his dispositions accordingly. + +The battle of Elkhorn, or Pea Ridge, was fought on the morning of +March 5th. Van Dorn reported his force to be fourteen thousand men, +and Curtis puts his force at about ten thousand. Van Dorn, with +Price's division, encountered Carr's division which had already +advanced, but was driven back steadily and with heavy loss. +Meanwhile, McCulloch's command met a division under Osterhaus, and, +after a sharp, quick struggle, swept it away. Pushing forward through +the shrub-oak, his wide-extended line met Sigel's, Asboth's, and +Davis's divisions. Here on the ragged spurs of the hills ensued a +fearful combat. In the crisis of the struggle, McCulloch, dashing +forward to reconnoiter, fell a victim to a sharpshooter. Almost at +the same moment, McIntosh, his second in command, fell while charging +a battery of the enemy with a regiment of Texas cavalry. Without +direction or leader, the shattered lines of our forces left the field +to rally, after a wide circuit, on Price's division. When Van Dorn +heard of this misfortune, he urged his attack, pressing back the +enemy until night closed the bloody combat. Van Dorn's headquarters +were then at Elkhorn Tavern, where the enemy's headquarters had been +in the morning. Each army was now on its opponent's line of +communication. Van Dorn found his troops much disorganized and +exhausted, short of ammunition, and without food, and made his +arrangements to retreat. The wagon-trains and all the men not +effective for the coming battle were started by a circuitous route +for Van Buren. The effectives remained to cover the retreat. The +battle was renewed at 7 A.M., and raged until 10 A.M. The gallant +General Henry Little had the covering line with his own and Rives's +Missouri brigades; this stout rear-guard holding off the whole army +of the enemy. The trains, artillery, and most of the army were by +that time well on the road. The order was given to the Missourians to +withdraw, and "the gallant fellows faced about with cheers" retired +steadily, and encamped ten miles from the battle-field at three +o'clock. There was no real pursuit. The attack had failed. Van Dorn +put his loss at six hundred killed and wounded, and two hundred +prisoners. Curtis reported his loss at two hundred and three killed, +nine hundred and seventy-two wounded, and a hundred and seventy-six +missing--total, thirteen hundred and fifty-one.[12] + +The object of Van Dorn had been to effect a diversion in behalf of +General Johnston. This failed; but the enemy was badly crippled, and +soon fell back to Missouri, of which he still retained possession. + +General Van Dorn was now ordered to join General Johnston by the +quickest route. Yet only one of his regiments arrived in time to be +present at the battle of Shiloh. As has been already stated, General +Beauregard left Nashville on February 14th to take charge in West +Tennessee, and made his headquarters at Jackson, Tennessee, on +February 17th. He was somewhat prostrated by sickness, which +partially disabled him through the campaign. The two grand divisions +of his army were commanded by the able Generals Bragg and Polk. On +March 26th he permanently removed to Corinth. Under his orders the +evacuation of Columbus by General Polk, and the establishment of a +new line resting on New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Humboldt, was +completed. On March 2d Brigadier-General J. P. McCown, an "old army" +officer, was assigned to the command of Island No. 10, forty miles +below Columbus, whither he removed his division. A. P. Stewart's +brigade was sent to New Madrid. At these points some seven thousand +troops were assembled, and the remainder marched under General +Cheatham to Union City. General Polk says: + + "In five days we moved the accumulations of six months, taking with + us all our commissary and quartermaster's stores--an amount + sufficient to supply my whole command for eight months--all our + powder and other ammunition and ordnance stores, excepting a few + shot, and gun-carriages, and every heavy gun in the fort, except two + thirty-two pounders and three carronades in a remote outwork, which + had been rendered useless." + +The movement of the enemy up the Tennessee River commenced on March +10th. General C. F. Smith led the advance, with a new division under +General Sherman. On the 13th Smith assembled four divisions at +Savannah, on the west bank of the Tennessee, at the Great Bend. The +ultimate design was to mass the forces of Grant and Buell against our +army at Corinth. Buell was still in the occupation of Nashville. On +the 16th Sherman disembarked at Pittsburg Landing, and made a +reconnaissance to Monterey, nearly half-way to Corinth. On the next +day General Grant took command. Two more divisions were added, and he +assembled his army near Pittsburg Landing, which was the most +advantageous base for a movement against Corinth. Here it lay +inactive until the battle of Shiloh. + +The Tennessee flows northwest for some distance, until, a little west +of Hamburg, it takes its final bend to the north. Here two small +streams, Owl and Lick Creeks, flowing nearly parallel, somewhat north +of east, from three to five miles apart, empty into the Tennessee. +Owl Creek forms the northern limit of the ridge, which Lick Creek +bounds on the south. These streams, rising some ten or twelve miles +back, toward Corinth, were bordered near their mouths by swamps +filled with backwater from the Tennessee, and impassable except where +the roads crossed them. + +[Map used by the Confederate generals at Shiloh] + +The inclosed space is a rolling table-land, about one hundred feet +above the river-level, with its water-shed lying near Lick Creek, and +either slope broken by deep and frequent ravines draining into two +streams. The acclivities were covered with forests, and often thick +set with undergrowth. Pittsburg Landing, containing three or four +log-cabins, was situated about midway between the mouths of the +creeks, in the narrow morass that borders the Tennessee. It was three +or four miles below Hamburg, six or seven above Savannah, the depot +of the enemy on the right bank, and twenty-two miles from Corinth. +Thus the position of the enemy was naturally strong. With few and +difficult approaches, guarded on either flank by impassable streams +and morasses, protected by a succession of ravines and acclivities, +commanded by eminences to the rear, it seemed safe against attack, +and easy to defend. No defensive works were constructed. + + +[Footnote 11: Colonel R. W. Woolley, In "New Orleans Picayune," March, +1863.] + +[Footnote 12: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," by his son.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + General Buell's March.--Object of General Johnston.--His Force.-- + Advance from Corinth.-Line of Battle.--Telegram.--The Time of the + Battle of Shiloh.--Results of the First Day's Battle.--One + Encampment not taken.--Effects.--Reports on this Failure.--Death + of General Johnston.--Remarks. + + +General Buell, who was to make a junction with General Grant, deemed +it best that his army should march through by land, as it would +facilitate the occupation of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad +through north Alabama, where General Mitchell had been assigned. +Accordingly, Buell commenced his march from Nashville on March 15th, +with a rapid movement of cavalry, followed by a division of infantry, +to seize the bridges. The bridge over Duck River being destroyed, it +was the 31st before his army crossed. His advance arrived at Savannah +on Saturday, April 5th, and our attack on Grant at Pittsburg Landing +was made on the next day, the 6th of April. The advance of General +Buell anticipated his orders by two days, and likewise the +calculations of our commanders. + +It had been the object of General Johnston, since falling back from +Nashville, to concentrate his army at Corinth, and fight the enemy in +detail--Grant first, and Buell afterward. The army of General Polk +had been drawn back from Columbus. The War Department ordered General +Bragg from Pensacola, with his well-disciplined army, to the aid of +Johnston. A brigade was sent by General Lovell from Louisiana, and +Chalmers and Walker were already on the line of the Memphis and +Charleston road with considerable commands. These forces collected at +Corinth, and to them were added such new levies as the Governors had +in rendezvous, and a few regiments raised in response to General +Beauregard's call. General Bragg, in a sketch of the battle of +Shiloh, thus speaks of General Johnston's army: + +[Picture of General Braxton Bragg] + + "In a period of four weeks, fragments of commands from Bowling Green, + Kentucky, under Hardee; Columbus, Kentucky, under Polk; and + Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans, under Bragg, with such new levies + as could be hastily raised, all badly armed and equipped, were united + at and near Corinth, and, for the first time, organised as an army. + It was a heterogeneous mass, in which there was more enthusiasm than + discipline, more capacity than knowledge, and more valor than + instruction. Rifles, rifled and smooth-bore muskets--some of them + originally percussion, others hastily altered from flint-locks by + Yankee contractors, many with the old flint and steel--and shot-guns + of all sizes and patterns, held place in the same regiments. The task + of organizing such a command in four weeks, and supplying it, + especially with ammunition, suitable for action, was simply + appalling. It was undertaken, however, with a cool, quiet + self-control, calling to his aid the best knowledge and talent at his + command, which not only inspired confidence, but soon yielded the + natural fruits of system, order, and discipline." + +This force, about forty thousand of all arms, was divided into four +corps, commanded respectively by Major-Generals Polk, Bragg, and +Hardee, and Brigadier-General Breckinridge. General Beauregard was +second in command under General Johnston. General Beauregard says, "A +want of general officers needful for the proper organization of +divisions and brigades of an army brought thus suddenly together, and +other difficulties in the way of effective organization, delayed the +movements until the night of April 2d." + +About one o'clock on the morning of April 3d preliminary orders were +issued to hold the troops in readiness to move at a moment's notice, +with five days' provisions and a hundred rounds of ammunition. The +orders for march and battle were issued in the afternoon. At that +time General Hardee led the advance, the Third Corps, from Corinth, +by the northernmost route, known as the Ridge road. Bivouacking that +night on the way, he arrived next morning at Mickey's, a house about +eighteen miles from Corinth and four or five miles from Pittsburg. +The Second Corps, under Bragg, marched by the direct road to +Pittsburg through Monterey, which it reached about 11 A.M. on the +4th, and bivouacked that night near Mickey's in the rear of Hardee's +corps. The First Corps, under General Polk, consisted of two +divisions, under Cheatham and Clark. The latter was ordered to follow +Hardee on the Ridge road at an interval of half an hour, and to halt +near Mickey's, so as to allow Bragg's corps to fall in behind Hardee, +at a thousand yards' interval, and form a second line of battle. +Polk's corps was to form the left wing of the third line of battle; +and Breckinridge's reserve the right wing. The other division of +Polk, under Cheatham, was on outpost duty, at and near Bethel, on the +Mobile and Ohio Railroad, about as far from Mickey's as Corinth was. +He was ordered to assemble his forces at Purdy, and pursue the route +to Monterey. He effected his junction on the afternoon of the 5th, +and took position on the left wing of Polk's corps. Breckinridge's +reserve corps moved from Burnsville early on April 4th, by way of +Farmington toward Monterey, distant fourteen miles. It did not effect +its junction with the other corps until late on the afternoon of +Saturday the 5th, being delayed by the rains on Friday and Saturday. +At daylight on the 5th Hardee moved, and by seven o'clock was +sufficiently out of the way to allow Bragg to advance. Before ten +o'clock Hardee's corps had reached the outposts and developed the +lines of the enemy. The corps was immediately deployed into line of +battle about a mile and a half west of Shiloh church, where Lick +Creek and Owl Creek approach most nearly, and are about three miles +apart. Gladden's brigade, of Bragg's corps, was on the right of +Hardee's corps, which was not sufficiently strong to occupy the whole +front. This line extended from creek to creek. Before seven o'clock +Bragg's column was in motion, and the right wing of his line of +battle formed about eight hundred yards in the rear of Hardee's line. +But the division on the left was nowhere to be seen. Even as late as +half-past twelve the missing column had not appeared, nor had any +report from it been received. General Johnston, "looking first at his +watch, then glancing at the position of the sun, exclaimed: 'This is +not _war_! Let us have our horses!' He rode to the rear until he +found the missing column standing stock-still, with its head some +distance out in an open field. General Polk's reserves were ahead of +it, with their wagons and artillery blocking up the road. General +Johnston ordered them to clear the road, and the missing column to +move forward. There was much chaffering among those implicated as to +who should bear the blame. . . . It was about four o'clock when the +lines were completely formed--too late, of course, to begin the +battle then." [13] + +The road was not clear until 2 P.M. General Polk got Clark's division +of his corps into line of battle by four o'clock; and Cheatham, who +had come up on the left, promptly followed. Breckinridge's line was +then formed on Polk's right. Thus was the army arrayed in three lines +of battle late Saturday afternoon.[14] + +The purpose of General Johnston to attack promptly is evinced in the +correspondence already introduced; it is further shown in his +telegram of April 3d, as follows: + + "To the PRESIDENT, _Richmond._ + + "General Buell in motion, thirty thousand strong, rapidly from + Colombia by Clifton to Savannah. Mitchell behind him, with ten + thousand. Confederate forces forty thousand; ordered forward to offer + battle near Pittsburg. + + "Division from Bethel, main body from Corinth, reserve from + Burnsville, converging to-morrow, near Monterey, on Pittsburg. + + "Beauregard second in command, Polk the left, Bragg the center, + Hardee the right wing, Breckinridge the reserve. + + "Hope engagement before Buell can form junction." [15] + +On the 6th of April I sent a telegram as follows: + + "GENERAL A. S. JOHNSTON: Your dispatch of yesterday received. I + hope you will be able to close with the enemy before his two + columns unite." + +[Map: Battle of Shiloh Part II] + +Though much inquiry has been made, I have not been able to recover +that dispatch "of yesterday" the 4th. It was anxiously sought +because, in cipher (private between us), he explained distinctly his +plan of battle, as the previous one had his proposed order of march. +It was in every respect important to attack at the earliest moment +after the advance of Buell's command became known. Every delay diminished +the chances of surprising the enemy, and increased the probability of his +being reënforced. Had the attack been made a day sooner, not only would +Buell's army have been absent, but there would have been no prospect +of their timely arrival; and who can measure the moral effect this +would have produced? It would be useless to review the controversies +as to who was responsible for the confusion and consequent detentions +on the march, the evil of which might have been greater if the +vigilance of the enemy had been equal to his self-sufficiency. + +War has been called a fickle goddess, and its results attributed to +chance. The great soldier of our century said, "Fortune favors the +heavy battalions"; but is it not rather exact calculation than chance +which controls the events of war, and the just determination of the +relation of time, space, and motion in the application of force, +which decides the effective weight of battalions? Had the battle of +Shiloh opened a day sooner, it would have been better; had it been +postponed a day, to attack then would have been impracticable. Had +the several columns moved on different roads, converging toward the +field of battle, the movements of some could not have been obstructed +by others, so that the troops would have been in position and the +battle have been commenced on Saturday morning. The programme and +purpose of General Johnston appear from his dispatch of the 3d, and +from the disappointment evinced by him at the failure of a portion of +the command to be present on the field on the morning of the 5th +(Saturday), as he expected. + +General Bragg, in a monograph on the battle of Shiloh, says: + + "During the afternoon of the 5th, as the last of our troops were + taking position, a casual and partly accidental meeting of general + officers occurred just in rear of our second line, near the bivouac + of General Bragg. The Commander-in-Chief, General Beauregard, General + Polk, General Bragg, and General Breckinridge, are remembered as + present. In a discussion of the causes of the delay and its + incidents, it was mentioned that some of the troops, now in their + third day only, were entirely out of food, though having marched with + five days' rations. General Beauregard, confident our movement had + been discovered by the enemy, urged its abandonment, a return to our + camps for supplies, and a general change of programme. In this + opinion no other seemed fully to concur; and when it was suggested + that 'the enemy's supplies were much nearer, and could be had for the + taking,' General Johnston quietly remarked, 'Gentlemen, we shall + attack at daylight to-morrow.' The meeting then dispersed upon an + invitation of the commanding general to meet at his tent that + evening. At that meeting a further discussion elicited the same + views, and the same firm, decided determination. The next morning, + about dawn of day, the 6th, as the troops were being put in motion, + several generals again met at the camp-fire of the general-in-chief. + The discussion was renewed. General Beauregard again expressing his + dissent; when, rapid firing in the front indicating that the attack + had commenced, General Johnston closed the discussion by remarking: + 'The battle has opened, gentlemen; it is too late to change our + dispositions.' He prepared to move to the front, and his subordinates + promptly joined their respective commands, inspired by his coolness, + confidence, and determination. Few men have equaled him in the + possession and display, at the proper time, of these great qualities + of the soldier." + +The results of the first day of the famous battle thus began are very +summarily presented in the following brief report of General +Beauregard: + + "At 5 A.M., on the 6th instant, a reconnoitering party of the enemy + having become engaged with our advanced pickets, the commander of the + forces gave orders to begin the movement and attack as determined + upon, except that Trabue's brigade of Breckinridge's division was + detached and advanced to support the left of Bragg's corps and line + of battle then menaced by the enemy; and the other two brigades were + directed to advance by the road to Hamburg to support Bragg's right; + and at the same time Maney's regiment of Polk's corps was advanced by + the same road to reënforce the regiment, of cavalry and battery of + four pieces, already thrown forward to watch and guard Grier's, + Tanner's, and Borland's Fords of Lick Creek. + + "Thirty minutes after 5 A.M., our lines and columns were in motion, + all animated evidently by a promising spirit. The front line was + engaged at once, but advanced steadily, followed in due order, with + equal resolution and steadiness, by the other lines, which were + brought successively into action with rare skill, judgment, and + gallantry by the several corps commanders, as the enemy made a stand + with his masses rallied for the struggle for his encampments. Like an + Alpine avalanche our troops moved forward, despite the determined + resistance of the enemy, until after 6 P.M., when we were in + possession of all his encampments between Owl and Lick Creeks but + one; nearly all of his field-artillery, about thirty flags, colors, + and standards, over three thousand prisoners, including a division + commander (General Prentiss), and several brigade commanders, + thousands of small-arms, an immense supply of subsistence, forage, + and munitions of war, and a large amount of means of transportation, + all the substantial fruits of a complete victory--such, indeed, as + rarely have followed the most successful battles, for never was an + army so well provided as that of our enemy. + + "The remnant of his army had been driven in utter disorder to the + immediate vicinity of Pittsburg, under the shelter of the heavy guns + of his iron-clad gunboats, and we remained undisputed masters of his + well-selected, admirably provided cantonments, after our twelve hours + of obstinate conflict with his forces, who had been beaten from them + and the contiguous covert, but only by the sustained onset of all the + men we could bring into action." + +There are two words in this report which, if they could have been +truthfully omitted, it would have been worth to us the surrender of +all "the substantial fruits of a complete victory." It says: "Our +troops moved forward, despite the determined resistance of the enemy, +until after 6 P.M., when we were in possession of all his encampments +between Owl and lick Creeks _but one_." It was that "one" encampment +that furnished a foothold for all the subsequent reënforcements sent +by Buell, and gave occasion for the final withdrawal of our forces; +whereas, if that had been captured, and the "waters of the Tennessee" +reached, as General Johnston designed, it was not too much to expect +that Grant's army would have surrendered; that Buell's forces would +not have crossed the Tennessee; but with a skillful commander, like +Johnston, to lead our troops, the enemy would have sought safety on +the north bank of the Ohio; that Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri +would have been recovered, the Northwest disaffected, and our armies +filled with the men of the Southwest, and perhaps of the Northwest +also. + +Let us turn to reports and authorities. The author of "The Life of +Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston" says: + + "Of the two armies, one was now an advancing, triumphant host, with + arm uplifted to give the mortal blow; the other, a broken, mangled, + demoralized mob, paralyzed and waiting for the stroke. While the + other Confederate brigades, which had shared most actively in + Prentiss's capture, were sending back the prisoners and forming again + for a final attack, two brigades, under Chalmers and Jackson, on the + extreme right, had cleared away all in front of them, and, moving + down the river-bank, now came upon the last point where even a show + of resistance was made. Being two very bold and active brigadiers, + they at once closed with the enemy in their front, crossing a deep + ravine and difficult ground to get at him. Here Colonel Webster, of + Grant's staff, had gathered all the guns he could find from + batteries, whether abandoned or still coherent, and with + stout-hearted men, picked up at random, had prepared a resistance. + Some infantry, similarly constituted, had been got together; and + Ammen's brigade, the van of Nelson's division of Buell's corps, had + landed, and was pushing its way through the throng of pallid + fugitives at the landing to take up the battle where it had fallen + from the hands of Grant and Sherman. It got into position in time to + do its part in checking the unsupported assaults of Chalmers and + Jackson." + +General Chalmers, describing this final attack in his report, says: + + "It was then about four o'clock in the evening, and, after + distributing ammunition, we received orders from General Bragg to + drive the enemy into the river. My brigade, together with that of + Brigadier-General Jackson, filed to the right and formed facing the + river, and endeavored to press forward to the water's edge; but in + attempting to mount the last ridge we were met by a fire from a whole + line of batteries, protected by infantry and assisted by shells from + the gunboats." + +In a subsequent memorandum General Chalmers writes: + + "One more resolute movement forward would have captured Grant and + his whole army, and fulfilled to the letter the battle-plan of the + great Confederate general, who died in the belief that victory was + ours. . . ."--("The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," p. 637.) + +Brigadier-General Jackson, in his report, says: + + "My brigade was ordered to change direction again, face toward + Pittsburg, where the enemy appeared to have made his last stand, and + to advance upon him, General Chalmers's brigade being again on my + right, and extending to the swamp of the Tennessee River. Without + ammunition, and with only their bayonets to rely on, steadily my men + advanced under a heavy fire from light batteries, siege-pieces, and + gunboats. Passing through the ravine, they arrived near the crest of + the opposite hill, upon which the enemy's batteries were, but could + not be urged farther without support. Sheltering themselves against + the precipitous sides of the ravine, they remained under this fire + for some time. Finding an advance without support impracticable, + remaining there under fire useless, and believing that any further + forward movement should have been made simultaneously along our whole + line, I proceeded to obtain orders from General Withers, but, after + seeing him, was ordered by a staff-officer to retire. This order was + communicated to me as coming from General Beauregard." + +General Hardee, who commanded the first line, says in his report: + + "Upon the death of General Johnston, the command having devolved upon + General Beauregard, the conflict was continued until near sunset, and + the advance divisions were within a few hundred yards of Pittsburg, + where the enemy were huddled in confusion, when the order to withdraw + was received. The troops were ordered to bivouac on the field of + battle." + +General Polk's report says: + + "We had one hour or more of daylight still left, were within one + hundred and fifty to four hundred yards of the enemy's position, and + nothing seemed wanting to complete the most brilliant victory of the + war but to press forward and make a vigorous assault on the + demoralized remnant of his forces." + +General Gilmer, the chief engineer of the Confederate States Army, in +a letter to Colonel William Preston Johnston, dated September 17, +1872, writes as follows: + + "It is my well-considered opinion that if your father had survived + the day he would have crushed and captured General Grant's army + before the setting of the sun on the 6th. In fact, at the time your + father received the mortal wound, advancing with General + Breckinridge's command, the day was ours. The enemy having lost all + the strong positions on that memorable field, his troops fell back in + great disorder on the banks of the Tennessee. To cover the confusion, + rapid fires were opened from the gunboats the enemy had placed in the + river; but the shots passed entirely over our devoted men, who were + exultant and eager to be led forward to the final assault, which must + have resulted in a complete victory, owing to the confusion and + general disorganization of the Federal troops. I knew the condition + of General Grant's army at the moment, as I had reached a high, + projecting point on the bank of the river, about a mile above + Pittsburg Landing, and could see the hurried movements to get the + disordered troops across to the right bank. Several thousand had + already passed, and a confused mass of men crowded to the landing to + get on the boats that were employed in crossing. I rode rapidly to + General Bragg's position to report what I had seen, and suggested + that, if he would suspend the fire of his artillery and marshal his + infantry for a general advance, the enemy must surrender. General + Bragg decided to make the advance, and authorized me and other + officers to direct the commanders of the batteries to cease firing. + + "In the midst of the preparations, orders reached General Bragg from + General Beauregard directing the troops to be withdrawn and placed in + camp for the night--the intention being to resume the contest in the + morning. This was fatal, as it enabled General Buell and General + Wallace to arrive on the scene of action; that is, they came up in + the course of the night. Had General Beauregard known the condition + of the enemy as your father knew it when he received the fatal shot, + the order for withdrawal would certainly not have been given, and, + without such order, I know the enemy would have been crushed." [16] + +To General Gilmer's opinion as a scientific engineer, a soldier of +long experience, and a man of resolute will as well as calm judgment, +the greatest respect will be accorded by those who knew him in the +United States Army, as well as his associates in the Confederate Army. + +General Bragg, in his official report, says: + + "As soon as our troops could be again put in motion, the order was + given to move forward at all points and sweep the enemy from the + field. . . . Our troops, greatly exhausted by twelve hours' incessant + fighting without food, mostly responded to the order with alacrity, + and the movement commenced with every prospect of success, though a + heavy battery in our front and the gunboats on our right seemed + determined to dispute every inch of ground. Just at this time an + order was received from the commanding General to withdraw the forces + beyond the enemy's fire." + +In addition to the statements and opinions cited above, I will +introduce from a recent publication by Thomas Worthington, late +colonel of the Forty-sixth Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, two +statements showing the relative condition of the two armies in the +afternoon of the day of battle. It may be proper to say that Colonel +Worthington was regularly educated as a soldier, and had seen service +in Mexico. + +He quotes Colonel Geddes, of the Eighth Iowa Volunteers, as follows: + + "About 3 P.M. all communications with the river (landing) ceased, and + it became evident to me that the enemy was turning the right and left + flanks of our army. . . . About 2 P.M. the whole Union right, + comprising the Forty-sixth Ohio, which had held that flank two hours + or more, was driven back in disorder, and the Confederate flanking + force cut the center off from the landing, as stated by Colonel + Geddes, soon after General Johnston's fall." + +General Beauregard reports as follows: + + "It was after 6 P.M. when the enemy's last position was carried, and + his force finally broke and sought refuge behind a commanding + eminence covering Pittsburg Landing, not more than half a mile + distant, and under the guns of the gunboats, which opened on our + eager columns a fierce and annoying fire with shot and shell of the + heaviest description. Darkness was close at hand. Officers and men + were exhausted by a combat of over twelve hours, without food, and + jaded by the march of the preceding day through mud and water; it + was, therefore, impossible to collect the rich and opportune spoils + of war scattered broadcast on the field left in our possession, and + impracticable to make any effective dispositions for their removal to + the rear. + + "I accordingly established my headquarters at the church of Shiloh, + in the enemy's encampment, with Major-General Bragg, and directed our + troops to sleep on their arms in such positions in advance and rear + as corps commanders should determine, hoping, from news received by a + special dispatch, that delays had been encountered by General Buell + in his march from Columbia, and that his main forces, therefore, + could not reach the field of battle in time to save General Grant's + shattered fugitives from capture or destruction on the following day." + +Such are the representations of those having the best means of +information relative to the immediate causes of the failure to drive +the enemy from his last foothold, and gain possession of it. Some of +the more remote causes of this failure may be noticed. The first was +the death of General Johnston, which is thus described by his son: + + "General Johnston had passed through the ordeal (the charge upon the + enemy) seemingly unhurt. His noble horse was shot in four places; + his clothes were pierced by missiles; his boot-sole was cut and torn + by a Minie ball; but, if he himself had received any severe wound, he + did not know it. At this moment Governor Harris rode up from the + right, elated with his own success, and with the vindication of his + Tennesseeans. After a few words. General Johnston sent him with an + order to Colonel Statham, which, having delivered, he speedily + returned. In the mean time knots and groups of Federal soldiers kept + up an angry discharge of firearms as they retreated upon their + supports, and their last line, now yielding, delivered volley after + volley as they retreated. By the chance of war a Minie ball from one + of these did its fatal work As General Johnston, on horseback, sat + there, knowing that he had crushed in the arch which had so long + resisted the pressure of his forces, and waiting until they could + collect sufficiently to give the final stroke, he received a mortal + wound. It came in the moment of victory and triumph from a flying + foe. It smote him at the very instant when he felt the full + conviction that the day was won." + +His wound consisted in the cutting of the artery that runs down +through the thigh and divides at the knee, and passes along the +separate bones of the lower part of the leg. The wound was just above +the division or branch of the artery. It was fatal only because the +flow of blood was not stopped by a tourniquet. The narrative +continues: + + "General Beauregard had told General Johnston that morning as he rode + off, that if it should be necessary to communicate with him or for + him to do anything, he would be found in his ambulance in bed. + Governor Harris, knowing this, and how feeble General Beauregard's + health was, went first to his headquarters--just in the rear of + where the army had deployed into line the evening before. Beauregard + and his staff were gone on horseback in the direction of Shiloh + Church. He found them there. The Governor told General Beauregard + that General Johnston had been killed. Beauregard expressed regret, + and then remarked, 'Everything else seems to be going on well on the + right.' Governor Harris assented. 'Then,' said Beauregard, 'The + battle may as well go on.' The Governor replied that he certainly + thought it ought. He offered his services to Beauregard, and they + were courteously accepted. General Beauregard then remained where he + was, waiting the issue of events." [17] + +Sidney Johnston fell in sight of victory; the hour he had waited for, +the event he had planned for, had arrived. His fame was vindicated, +but far dearer than this to his patriotic spirit was it with his +dying eyes to behold his country's flag, so lately drooping in +disaster, triumphantly advancing. In his fall the great pillar of the +Southern Confederacy was crushed, and beneath its fragments the best +hope of the Southwest lay buried. A highly educated and richly +endowed soldier, his varied experience embraced also civil affairs, +and his intimate knowledge of the country and people of the Southwest +so highly qualified him for that special command that it was not +possible to fill the place made vacant by his death. Not for the +first time did the fate of an army depend upon a single man, and the +fortunes of a country hang, as in a balance, on the achievements of a +single army. To take an example far from us, in time and place, when +Turenne had, after months of successful manoeuvring, finally forced +his enemy into a position which gave assurance of victory, and had +marshaled his forces for a decisive battle, he was, when making a +preliminary reconnaissance, killed by a chance shot; then his +successor, instead of attacking, retreated, and all which the one had +gained for France, the other lost. + +To take another example, not quite so conclusive, it was +epigrammatically said by Lieutenant Kingsbury, when writing of the +battle of Buena Vista, that if the last shot, fired at the close of +the second day's conflict, had killed General Taylor, the next +morning's sun would have risen upon the strange spectacle of two +armies in full retreat from each other, the field for which they had +fought being in the possession of neither. What material consequences +would have flowed from the supposed event--how the Mexican people +would have been inspired by the retreat of our army, how far it would +have brought out all their resources for war, and to what extent +results might have been thereby affected--are speculative inquiries +on a subject from which time and circumstance have taken the interest +it once possessed. + +The extracts which have been given sufficiently prove that, when +General Johnston fell, the Confederate army was so fully victorious +that, had the attack been vigorously pressed, General Grant and his +army would before the setting of the sun have been fugitives or +prisoners. + +As our troops drew near to the river, the gunboats of the enemy +became ineffective, because to fire over the bank required such +elevation of the guns that the shot and shell passed high over the +heads of our men, falling far away in the rear. + +General Polk described the troops in advance for that reason as quite +safe from the fire of the gunboats, though it might seem terrible to +those far in the rear, and expressed the surprise and regret he felt +at the order to retire. + +Grant's army being beaten, the next step of General Johnston's +programme should have followed, the defeat of Buell's and Mitchell's +forces as they successively came up, and a return by our victorious +army through Tennessee to Kentucky. The great embarrassment had been +the want of good military weapons; these would have been largely +supplied by the conquest hoped for, and, in the light of what had +occurred, not unreasonably anticipated. + +What great consequences would have ensued must be matter of +conjecture, but that the people of Kentucky and Missouri generously +sympathized with the South was then commonly admitted. Our known want +of preparation for war and numerical inferiority may well have caused +many to doubt the wisdom of our effort for independence, and to these +a signal success would have been the makeweight deciding their course. + +I believe that again in the history of war the fate of an army +depended on one man; and more, that the fortunes of a country hung by +the single thread of the life that was yielded on the field of +Shiloh. So great was my confidence in his capacity for organization +and administration, that I felt, when he was assigned to the +Department of the West, that the undeveloped power of that region +would be made sufficient not only for its own safety, but to +contribute support if need be to the more seriously threatened East. + +There have been various suppositions as to the neglect of the wound +which caused General Johnston's death. My own opinion, founded upon +the statements of those who were near him, and upon my long +acquaintance with him and close observation of him under trying +circumstances, is, that his iron nerve and extraordinary +concentration of mind made him regardless of his wound, in the fixed +purpose to dislodge the enemy from his last position, and, while thus +struggling to complete the victory within his grasp, he unheedingly +allowed his life-blood to flow away. + +It often happens that men do not properly value their richest gifts +until taken away. Those who had erroneously and unjustly censured +Johnston, convicted of their error by the grandeur of his revealed +character, joined in the general lamentation over his loss, and +malignity even was silenced by the devoted manner of his death. My +estimation of him was based on long and intimate acquaintance; +beginning in our youth, it had grown with our growth without check or +variation, and, when he first arrived in Richmond, was expressed to +some friends yet living, in the wish that I had the power, by +resigning, to transfer to him the Presidency of the Confederate +States. + + +[Footnote 13: Colonel Munford's address at Memphis.] + +[Footnote 14: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," by his son.] + +[Footnote 15: Original in the possession of Colonel W. P. Johnston.] + +[Footnote 16: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," pp. 635, 636.] + +[Footnote 17: "The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston," p. 616.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + Retirement of the Army.--Remnants of Grant's Army.--Its + Reënforcements.--Strength of our Army.--Strength of Grant's Army.-- + Reorganization.--Corinth.--Advance of General Halleck.--Siege of + Corinth.--Evacuation.--Retreat to Tupelo.--General Beauregard + retires.-General Bragg in Command.--Positions on the Mississippi + River occupied by the Enemy.--New Madrid.--Island No. 10.--Fort + Pillow.--Memphis.--Attack at Hatteras Inlet.--Expedition of the + Enemy to Port Royal.--Expeditions from Port Royal.--System of Coast + Defenses adopted by us.--Fort Pulaski. + + +At the ensuing nightfall our victorious army retired from the front +and abandoned its vantage-ground on the bluffs, which had been won at +such a cost of blood. The enemy thereby had room and opportunity to +come out from their corner, reoccupy the strong positions from which +they had been driven, and dispose their troops on much more favorable +ground. Called off by staff-officers, who gave no specific +instructions, our brigades, according to circumstances, bivouacked on +the battle-field, marched to the rear, or made themselves comfortable +on the profuse spoils of the enemy's encampments. General Buell says: + + "Of the army of not less than fifty thousand effective men, which + Grant had on the west bank of the Tennessee River, not more than five + thousand were in ranks and available on the battlefield at nightfall + on the 6th, exclusive of Lew Wallace's division, say eight thousand + five hundred men that only came up during the night. The rest were + either killed, wounded, captured, or scattered in inextricable and + hopeless confusion for miles along the banks of the river." + +In addition to the arrival of Wallace's division, the entire +divisions of Nelson and Crittenden got across the river during the +night, and by daylight that of McCook began to arrive; all but the +first named belonged to Buell's army. The work of reorganization of +fragments of Grant's force also occupied the night. In the morning +the arrival of reënforcements to the enemy continued. + +On the morning of the 7th the enemy advanced about six o'clock, and +opened a heavy fire of musketry and artillery, such as gave assurance +that the reënforcements had arrived, to anticipate which the battle +of the 6th had been fought. A series of combats ensued, in which the +Confederates showed their usual valor; but, after the junction had +been effected between Grant and Buell, which Johnston's movement was +made to prevent, our force was unequal to resist the combined armies, +and retreat was a necessity. + +The field return of the Army of Mississippi before and after the +battle of Shiloh was as follows: infantry and artillery, effective +before the battle, 35,953; cavalry, 4,382; total, 40,335. Infantry +and artillery, effective after the battle, 25,555; cavalry, 4,081; +total, 29,636. Difference, 10,699. Casualties in battle: killed, +1,728; wounded, 8,012; missing, 959. + +The effective force of General Grant's army engaged in the battles of +April 6th and 7th at Shiloh was 49,314; reënforcements of General +Buell, 21,579; total, 70,893. The casualties in the battle of April +6th in Grant's force were as follows: killed, 1,500; wounded, 6,634; +missing, 3,086; total, 11,220; leaving, for duty on the 7th, 59,673. + +On April 9th Major-General H. W, Halleck left St. Louis and proceeded +to Pittsburg Landing to assume command of the enemy's forces in the +field. A reorganization was made, in which General Grant's divisions +formed the right wing, those of General Buell the center, and those +of General Pope, brought from the west side of the Mississippi, the +left wing; and an advance on Corinth was commenced. + +Corinth, the position from which our forces had advanced to Shiloh or +Pittsburg Landing, and to which they had now retired, was a small +village in the northeast corner of the State of Mississippi. It was +ninety miles east of Memphis and twenty or twenty-two west of the +Tennessee River. The Memphis and Charleston Railroad ran from west to +east through it, and the Mobile and Ohio road from south to north. +The country between it and the Tennessee River was quite rugged, +broken into ridges, and covered with a heavy forest. The position +itself was flat, the water poor. Being the point at which two +principal railroads crossed, it served admirably for the +concentration of our forces. + +Corinth was a strategic point of importance, and it was intended to +be held as long as circumstances would permit; but it was untenable +in the face of a largely superior force, owing to the ease with which +the railroad communications in the rear could be cut by the enemy's +cavalry. The small streams and contiguous flats in its front formed +some obstacles which were not passed by the enemy until after the +retreat of our army. The defenses were slight, consisting of +rifle-pits and earthworks of little elevation or strength. + +The movement of General Halleck against this position commenced from +Pittsburg Landing on April 28th with a force exceeding eighty-five +thousand effectives. On May 3d he had reached within eight miles of +Corinth, and on the 21st his batteries were within three miles. This +slow progress was probably the result of a conviction that our force +was very large, rather than of the bad state of the roads. So great +were his precautions, that every night his army lay in an intrenched +camp, and by day it was assailed by skirmishers from our army in more +or less force. + +General Sherman, in his report of May 30th, says: + + "My division has constructed seven distinct intrenched camps since + leaving Shiloh, the men working cheerfully and well all the time, + night and day. Hardly had we finished one camp before we were called + on to move forward and build another. But I have been delighted at + this feature in the character of my division, and take this method of + making it known. Our intrenchments near Corinth and at Russell's, + each built substantially in one night, are stronger works of art than + the much-boasted forts of the enemy at Corinth." + +The line of railroad on the north and east had been cut by the enemy, +and an attempt made on the south. But so well was his apprehension of +our strength maintained, that he continued his intrenched approaches +until within one thousand yards of our main works. + +General Sherman says: + + "By 9 A.M. of the 29th our works were substantially done, and our + artillery in position, and at 4 P.M. the siege-train was brought + forward. . . . So near was the enemy that we could hear the sound of + his drums and sometimes of voices in command; and the railroad-cars + arriving and departing at Corinth were easily distinguished. For some + days and nights cars have been arriving and departing very + frequently, especially in the night; but last night (the 29th) more + so than usual, and my suspicions were aroused. Before daybreak I + instructed the brigade commanders and the field-officer of the day to + feel forward as far as possible; but all reported the enemy's pickets + still in force in the dense woods to our front. But about 6 A.M. a + curious explosion, sounding like a volley of large siege-pieces, + followed by others, singly, and in twos and threes, arrested our + attention, and soon after a large smoke arose from the direction of + Corinth, when I telegraphed to General Halleck to ascertain the + cause. He answered that he could not explain it, but ordered me to + advance my division and feel the enemy, if still in my front. I + immediately put in motion two regiments of each brigade, by different + roads, and soon after followed with the whole division--infantry, + artillery, and cavalry. General M. L. Smith's brigade moved rapidly + down the main road, entering the first redoubt of the enemy at 7 A.M. + It was completely evacuated, and by 8 A.M. all my division was at + Corinth and beyond." + +The force of General Beauregard was less than forty-five thousand +effective men. He estimated that of the enemy to be between +eighty-five and ninety thousand men. All the troops of the enemy in +reserve in Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois were brought +forward, except the force of Curtis, in Arkansas, and placed in front +of our position. No definite idea of their number was formed. In the +opinion of Beauregard, a general attack was not to be hazarded; but +on May 3d an advance was made to attack the corps of General Pope, +when only one of his divisions was in position, and that gave way so +rapidly it could not be overtaken. Again, on May 9th, an advance was +made, hoping to surprise the enemy. But a division, which should have +been in position at three o'clock in the morning, or early dawn, was +detained until three in the afternoon by the mistakes of the guide. +The enemy thus became informed of the movement, and no surprise could +be effected. General Beauregard commenced the removal of his sick, +preparatory to an evacuation, on May 26th; on the next day +arrangements for falling back were made, and the work completed on +the 29th. So complete was the evacuation, that not only was the army +successfully withdrawn, but also every piece of ordnance, only a +quantity of damaged ammunition being left behind. The retreat was +continued to Tupelo, without any serious conflict with the enemy; but +during the retreat seven locomotives were reported to be lost by the +burning of a bridge, and a number of cars, most of which were loaded +with stores, were ordered to be burned. + +On June 14th orders were sent to General Bragg, from Richmond, to +proceed to Jackson, Mississippi, and temporarily to assume command of +the department then under command of General Lovell. The order +concluded as follows: + + "After General Magruder joins, your further services there may be + dispensed with. The necessity is urgent and absolute. + + "J. DAVIS." + +On application to General Beauregard for the necessary order, he +replied: + + "You can not possibly go. My health does not permit me to remain in + charge alone here. This evening my two physicians were insisting that + I should go away for one or two weeks, furnishing me with another + certificate for that purpose, and I had concluded to go--intending + to see you to-morrow on the subject, and leave you in command." + +The certificate of the physicians was as follows: + + "HEADQUARTERS, WESTERN DEPARTMENT, + + "TUPELO, _June 14, 1862._ + + "We certify that, after attendance on General Beauregard for the past + four months, and treatment of his case, in our professional opinion + he is incapacitated physically for the arduous duties of his present + command, and we urgently recommend rest and recreation. + + "R. L. Brodie, Surgeon, P. A. C. S. + + "Sam Choppin, Surgeon, P. A. C. S." + +These facts were telegraphed to me at once by General Bragg. Soon +after, I sent a second dispatch to him, renewing the order, and +expressing my surprise that he should have hesitated to obey, when +the original order stated "the necessity is urgent and absolute." +Before this second dispatch was received by General Bragg, General +Beauregard had transferred the command to him, and had departed for +Bladen Springs. General Bragg thus describes the subsequent +proceedings: + + "Prepared to move, I telegraphed back to the President that the + altered conditions induced me to await his further orders. In reply + to this, I was immediately notified by telegraph of my assignment to + the 'permanent command of the army,' and was directed to send General + Van Dorn to execute my first instructions." + +From this statement it appears--1. That General Beauregard was not, +as has been alleged, harshly deprived of his command, but that he +voluntarily surrendered it, after being furnished with medical +certificates of his physical incapacity for its arduous duties. 2. +That he did not even notify his Government, still less ask permission +to retire. 3. That the order, assigning another to the command he had +abandoned, could not be sent through him, when he had departed and +gone to a place where there was no telegraph, and rarely a mail. 4. +That it is neither customary nor proper to send orders to the +commander of an army through a general on sick-leave; and in this +case it would have been very objectionable, as a similar order had +just been sent and disobeyed. + +Meanwhile some other events had occurred in the Western Department +which should be mentioned. The movement of the forces of the enemy up +the Tennessee River, as has been stated, thus flanking some of our +positions on the Mississippi River, was followed by his fitting out a +naval fleet to move down that river. This fleet, consisting of seven +ironclads and one gun-boat, ten mortar-boats, each carrying a +thirteen-inch mortar, a coal-barge, two ordnance-steamers, and two +transports with troops, left Cairo on March 14th, and arrived at +Hickman that evening. A small force of our cavalry left upon its +approach. Columbus, as has been stated, had previously been evacuated +by our forces and occupied by the enemy. In the morning the fleet +continued down toward Island No. 10. This island is situated in that +bend of the river which touches the border of Tennessee, a few miles +further up the river than New Madrid, although nearly southeast of +that point. + +In the latter part of February a large force of the enemy under +Major-General Pope left Commerce, Missouri, and moved south about +fifty miles to New Madrid, with the object of capturing that place. +Aided by the gunboats of Commander Hollins, our small force repulsed +the assaults of the enemy three times, but such was the disparity of +numbers that it soon became manifest that our forces could not +successfully hold the position, and it was evacuated on the night of +March 13th. Its defenses consisted of two earthworks, in which about +twenty guns were mounted. These were spiked and rendered unfit for +use. + +The bombardment of Island No. 10, above described, commenced on March +15th, and was continued night and day. Up to April 1st the enemy +fired several thousand thirteen-inch and rifle shells. On March 17th +a general attack with five gunboats and four mortar-boats was made, +and continued nine hours, without any serious result. Finally, the +forces of the enemy were greatly increased, and began to occupy both +banks of the river, and also the river above and below the island, +when a portion of our force retired, and about April 7th the +remainder surrendered. + +The fleet, on April 12th, proceeded next to Fort Pillow, about a +hundred and eighty miles below Island No. 10, and a bombardment was +commenced on the next day. This was continued without effect until +the night of June 4th, when both Forts Pillow and Randolph, the +latter some twelve miles below the former, were evacuated--these +positions having become untenable in consequence of the withdrawal of +our forces from Corinth and the adjacent portion of Tennessee. + +Nothing now remained to oppose the enemy's fleet but our gunboats at +Memphis, which were, say, seventy miles farther down the river. The +gallantry and efficiency displayed by our improvised river navy at +New Madrid and Island No. 10 gave rise to hopes scarcely justified by +the number of our vessels or their armament. Our boats had fewer guns +than those of the enemy, and they were less substantially +constructed, but their officers and crews took counsel of their +country's need rather than of their own strength. They manfully +engaged the enemy, and disabled one of his rams, but after an hour's +conflict were compelled to retire. + +The possession of Memphis being no longer disputed, its occupation by +the enemy promptly followed. + +At an early period of the war the Government of the United States +organized some naval and military expeditions, with a view to capture +our harbors, to occupy an extensive tract of country in their +vicinity, and especially to obtain possession of a portion of our +cotton-crop. The first movement of this kind was by a fleet of naval +vessels and transports which appeared off Hatteras Inlet on August +27, 1861. This inlet is a gap in the sandy barrier that lines the +coast of North Carolina about eighteen miles southwest of Cape +Hatteras. It was the principal entrance to Pamlico Sound, a large +body of water lying between the sandy beach and the mainland. The +channel of the entrance had about seven feet of water, and was +protected by two small forts constructed on the sand. Our forces were +under the command of Captain Samuel Barron, an officer of +distinction, formerly in the United States Navy. After a short +bombardment, which developed the strength of the enemy and his own +comparative weakness, he capitulated. + +A much larger fleet of naval vessels and transports, carrying fifteen +thousand men, appeared off the harbor of Port Royal, South Carolina, +on November 4, 1861. This harbor is situated midway between the +cities of Charleston and Savannah. It is a broad estuary, into which +flow some two or three streams, the interlacing of which with creeks +forms a group of numerous islands. The parish, of which these are the +greater part, constituted the richest agricultural district in the +State; its staples being sea-island cotton and rice. The principal +defenses were Fort Walker, a strong earthwork on Hilton Head, and +Fort Beauregard on Philip's Island. The attack was made by the enemy +on the 7th, by a fleet consisting of eight steamers and a +sloop-of-war in tow. Some of the steamers were of the first class, as +the Wabash and the Susquehanna. The conflict continued for four +hours, when the forts, because untenable, were abandoned. + +In the early part of 1862 several reconnaissances were sent out from +Port Royal, and subsequently an expedition visited Darien and +Brunswick in Georgia, and Fernandina, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine +in Florida. Its design was to take and keep under control this line +of seacoast, especially in Georgia. Some small steamers and other +vessels were captured, and some ports were occupied. + +The system of coast defenses which was adopted and the preparations +which had been at that time made by the Government to resist these +aggressions of the enemy should be stated. By reference to the +topography of our coast, it will be seen that, in the State of North +Carolina, are Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, penetrating far into the +interior; then the Cape Fear River, connecting with the ocean by two +channels, the southwest channel being defended by a small inclosed +fort and a water-battery. On the coast of South Carolina are +Georgetown and Charleston Harbors. A succession of islands extends +along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, separated from the +mainland by a channel which is navigable for vessels of moderate +draft from Charleston to Fernandina, Florida. There are fewer +assailable points on the Gulf than on the Atlantic. Pensacola, +Mobile, and the mouth of the Mississippi were defended by works that +had hitherto been regarded as sufficiently strong to repulse any +naval attack that might be made upon them. Immediately after the +bombardment of Fort Sumter, the work of improving the seacoast +defense was begun and carried forward as rapidly as the limited means +of the Government would permit. + +The work that was now done has been so summarily and satisfactorily +described by General A. L. Long, chief of artillery, in a paper +contributed to the Southern Historical Society, that I avail myself +of a few extracts:[18] + + "Roanoke Island and other points on Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds were + fortified. Batteries were established on the southeast entrance of + Cape Fear River, and the works on the southwest entrance + strengthened. Defenses were constructed at Georgetown, and at all + assailable points on the northeast coast of South Carolina. The works + of Charleston Harbor were greatly strengthened by earthworks and + floating batteries. The defenses from Charleston down the coast of + South Carolina and Georgia were confined chiefly to the islands and + salient points bearing upon the channels leading inland. Defensive + works were erected at all important points along the coast. Many of + the defenses, being injudiciously located and hastily erected, + offered but little resistance to the enemy when attacked. These + defeats were not surprising, when we take into consideration the + inexperience of the engineers, and the long line of seacoast to be + defended. As soon as a sufficient naval force had been collected, an + expedition under the command of General E. F. Butler was sent to the + coast of North Carolina, and captured several important points. A + second expedition, under Admiral Dupont and General Thomas W. + Sherman, was sent to make a descent on the coast of South Carolina. + On the 7th of November Dupont attacked the batteries that were + designed to defend Port Royal harbor, as stated above, and almost + without resistance carried them and gained possession of Port Royal. + This is the best harbor in South Carolina, and is the strategic key + to all the South Atlantic coast. Later, Burnside captured Roanoke + Island, and established himself in eastern North Carolina without + resistance. The rapid fall of Roanoke Island and Port Royal Harbor + struck consternation into the hearts of the inhabitants along the + entire coast. The capture of Port Royal gave to the Federals the + entire possession of Beaufort Island, which afforded a secure place + of rest for the army, while the harbor gave a safe anchorage for the + fleet. Beaufort Island almost fills a deep indenture in the main + shore, being separated the greater part of its extent by a narrow + channel, which is navigable its entire circuit. Its northern + extremity extends to within a few miles of the Charleston and + Savannah Railroad. The main road from Port Royal to Pocotaligo + crosses the channel at this point. The evacuation of Hilton Head, on + the southwestern extremity of Beaufort Island, followed the capture + of Port Royal. This exposed Savannah, only about twenty-five miles + distant, to an attack from that direction. At the same time, the + Federals having command of Helena Bay, Charleston was liable to be + assailed from North Edisto or Stono Inlet, and the railroad could + have been reached without opposition by the route from Port Royal to + Pocotaligo. + + "Such was the state of affairs when General Lee reached Charleston, + about December 1, 1861, to assume the command of the Department of + North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. His vigorous mind at once + comprehended the situation, and, with his accustomed energy, he met + the difficulties that presented themselves. Directing fortifications + to be constructed on the Stono and the Edisto and the Combahee, he + fixed his headquarters at Coosawhatchee, the point most threatened, + and directed defenses to be erected opposite Hilton Head, and on the + Broad and Salkehatchie, to cover Savannah. These were the points + requiring immediate attention. He superintended in person the works + overlooking the approach to the railroad from Port Royal, and soon + infused into his troops a part of his own energy. The works he had + planned rose with magical rapidity. A few days after his arrival at + Coosawhatchee, Dupont and Sherman sent their first reconnaissance in + that direction, which was met and repulsed by shots from the newly + erected batteries; and now, whether the Federals advanced toward the + railroad or turned in the direction of Charleston or Savannah, they + were arrested by our batteries. The people, seeing the Federals + repulsed at every point, regained their confidence, and with it their + energy. + + "The most important points being now secured against immediate + attack, the General proceeded to organize a system of seacoast + defense different from that which had been previously adopted. He + withdrew the troops and material from those works which had been + established on the islands and salient points which he could not + defend to a strong interior line, where the effect of the Federal + naval force would be neutralized. After a careful reconnaissance of + the coast, he designated such points as he considered it necessary to + fortify. The most important positions on this extensive line were + Georgetown, Charleston, Pocotaligo, Coosawhatchee, and Savannah. + Coosawhatchee, being central, could communicate with either + Charleston or Savannah in two or three hours by railroad, and in case + of an attack they could support each other. The positions between + Coosawhatchee and Savannah, and those between the former and + Charleston, could be reënforced from the positions contiguous to + them; there was thus a defensive relation throughout the entire line, + extending from Winyaw Bay to the mouth of St. Mary's River, in + Georgia, a distance of about two hundred miles. These detached and + supporting works covered a most important agricultural country, and + sufficed to defend it from the smaller expeditions made against that + region. + + "About March 1st the gunboats of the enemy entered the Savannah River + by way of the channel leading from Hilton Head. Our naval force was + too weak to dispute the possession with them, and they thus cut off + the communication of Fort Pulaski with the city. Soon after, the + enemy landed a force, under General Gillmore, on the opposite side of + the fort. By April 1st they had powerful batteries in position, and + on that day opened fire on the fort. Having no hope of succor, Fort + Pulaski, after striking a blow for honor, surrendered with about five + hundred men." [19] + + +[Footnote 18: "Seacoast Defenses of the Carolinas and Georgia."] + +[Footnote 19: General A. L. Long, in Historical Society Papers.] + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + Advance of General McClellan toward Centreville; his Report.--Our + Forces ordered to the Peninsula.--Situation at Yorktown.--Siege by + General McCellan.--General Johnston assigned to Command; his + Recommendation.--Attack on General Magruder at Yorktown.--Movements + of McClellan.--The Virginia.--General Johnston retires.--Delay at + Norfolk.--Before Williamsburg.--Remark of Hancock.--Retreat up the + Peninsula.--Sub-terra Shells used.-Evacuation of Norfolk.--Its + Occupation by the Enemy. + + +In a previous chapter the retreat of our army from Centreville has +been described, and reference has been made to the anticipation of +the commanding general, J. E. Johnston, that the enemy would soon +advance to attack that position. Since the close of the war we have +gained information not at that time to us attainable, which shows +that, as early as the 31st of January, 1862, the commanding General +of the enemy's forces presented to his President an argument against +that line of operations, setting forth the advantages of a movement +by water-transports down the Chesapeake into the Rappahannock; and +that in the following February, by the direction of President +Lincoln, General McClellan held a council with twelve of the generals +of that army, who decided in favor of the movement by way of +Annapolis, and thence to the Rappahannock, to which their President +gave his assent. When General McClellan, then in the city of +Washington, heard that our army had retired, he ordered a general +movement of his troops toward the position we had lately occupied. A +detachment was sent to make reconnaissance as far as the line of the +Rappahannock, by which it was ascertained that our troops had passed +beyond that river. His account of this movement was given in the +following report: + + "FAIRFAX COURT-HOUSE, _March 11, 1862,_ 8.30 P.M. + + "I have just returned from a ride of more than forty miles. Have + examined Centreville, Union Mills, Blackburn's Ford, etc. The rebels + have left all their positions, and, from the information obtained + during our ride to-day, I am satisfied that they have fallen behind + the Rapidan, holding Fredericksburg and Gordonsville. Their movement + from here was very sudden. They left many wagons, some caissons, + clothing, ammunition, personal baggage, etc. Their winter-quarters + were admirably constructed, many not yet quite finished. The works at + Centreville are formidable; more so than at Manassas. Except the + turnpike, the roads are horrible. The country entirely stripped of + forage and provisions. Having fully consulted with General McDowell, + I propose occupying Manassas with a portion of Banks's command, and + then at once throwing all forces I can concentrate upon the line + agreed upon last week. The Monitor justifies this course. I + telegraphed this morning to have the transports brought to + Washington, to start from there. I presume you will approve this + course. Circumstances may keep me out here some little time + longer.[20] + + "G. B. MCCLELLAN, _Major-General_. + + "Hon. E. M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_." + +The reference to the Monitor is to be explained by the condition +previously made in connection with the proposition of going to +Fortress Monroe, that the Merrimac, our Virginia, should first be +neutralized. The order to bring the "transports" to Washington was +due to the fact that they had not dared to run by our batteries on +the Potomac, and intended to avoid them by going to Annapolis for +embarkation. The withdrawal of our batteries from the banks of the +Potomac had removed the objection to going down that river, and the +withdrawal of our forces across the Rappahannock was fatal to the +programme of landing on that river, and marching to Richmond before +our forces could be in position to resist an attack on the capital. +Notwithstanding the assurance given that the destruction of railroads +and bridges proved that our army could not intend to advance, +apprehension was still entertained of an attack upon Washington. + +As soon as we ascertained that the enemy was concentrating his forces +at Fortress Monroe, to advance upon our capital by that line of +approach, all our disposable force was ordered to the Peninsula, +between the James and York Rivers, to the support of General John B. +Magruder, who, with a force of seven to eight thousand men, had, by +availing himself of the Warwick River, a small stream which runs +through a low, marshy country, from near Yorktown to the James River, +constructed an intrenched line across the Peninsula, and with equal +skill and intrepidity had thus far successfully checked every attempt +to break it, though the enemy was vastly superior in numbers to the +troops under General Magruder's command. Having a force entirely +inadequate to occupy and defend the whole line, over thirteen miles +long, he built dams in the Warwick River, so as to form pools, across +which the enemy, without bridges, could not pass, and posted +detachments at each dam to prevent the use of them by attacking +columns of the enemy. To defend the left of his line, where the +stream became too small to present a serious obstacle to the passage +of troops, redoubts were constructed, with curtains connecting them. + +Between Yorktown and Gloucester Point, on the opposite shore, the +York River is contracted to less than a mile in width, and General +Magruder had constructed batteries at both places, which, by their +cross fire, presented a formidable obstacle to the accent of ordinary +vessels. The fortifications at Norfolk and the navy-yard, together +with batteries at Sewell's Point and Craney Island, in conjunction +with the navy, offered means of defense against any attempt to land +troops on the south side of James River. After the first trial of +strength with our Virginia, there had been an evident disinclination +on the part of the enemy's vessels to encounter her, so that, as long +as she floated, the deep water of the roads and mouth of James River. +was not likely to be invaded by ships of war. + +As a second line of defense, a system of detached works had been +constructed by General Magruder near to Williamsburg, where the width +of the Peninsula, available for the passage of troops, was only three +or four miles. The advantage thus secured to his forces, if they +should be compelled to retreat, will be readily appreciated. I am not +aware that torpedoes had been placed in York River to prevent the +entrance of the enemy's vessels; indeed, at that time, but little +progress had been made in the development of that means of harbor and +river defense. General Rains, as will be seen hereafter, had matured +his invention of sensitive fuse-primers for sub-terra shells, and +proposed their use for floating torpedoes. Subsequently he did much +to advance knowledge in regard to making torpedoes efficient against +the enemy's vessels. + +Such was the condition of the Virginia Peninsula between the York and +James Rivers when General McClellan embarked the mass of the army he +commanded in northern Virginia and proceeded to Fortress Monroe; and +when the greater part of our army, under the command of General J. E. +Johnston, was directed to move for the purpose of counteracting this +new plan of the enemy. + +Early in April, General McClellan had landed about one hundred +thousand men at or near Fortress Monroe.[21] At this time General +Magruder occupied the lower Peninsula with his force of seven or +eight thousand men. Marshes, creeks, and dense wood gave to that +position such advantage that, in his report, made at a subsequent +period, he expressed the belief that with twenty or twenty-five +thousand men he could have held it against any supposable attack. +When McClellan advanced with his immense army, Magruder fell back to +the line of Warwick River, which has been imperfectly described, and +there checked the enemy; and the vast army of invasion, repulsed in +several assaults by the most heroic conduct of our troops, commenced +a siege by regular approaches. After the first advance of the enemy, +General Magruder was reënforced by some troops from the south side of +James River and General Wilcox's brigade, which had been previously +detached from the army under General Johnston. On the 9th of April +General Magruder's command, thus reënforced, amounted to about twelve +thousand. On that day General Early joined with his division from the +Army of Northern Virginia. It had gone by rail to Richmond and thence +down the York and James Rivers in vessels towed by tugs--except the +trains and artillery, which moved by land. This division had about +eight thousand officers and men for duty. General Magruder's force +was thus increased to about twenty thousand. This was the first +detachment from the Army of Northern Virginia which arrived on the +Peninsula. + +General McClellan, in a cipher dispatch of the 7th of April, two days +previous, informed Secretary Stanton that prisoners stated that +General J. E. Wharton (no doubt, Johnston) had the day before arrived +in Yorktown with strong reënforcements, and adds: "It seems clear +that I shall have the whole force of the enemy on my hands, probably +not less than one hundred thousand men, and possibly more. . . . When +my present command all joins, I shall have about eighty-five thousand +men for duty, from which a large force must be taken for guards, +escort, etc." After some remarks about the strength of our +intrenchments, and his conviction that the great battle which would +decide the existing contest would be fought there, he urges as +necessary for his success that there should be an attack on the rear +of Gloucester Point, and adds: "My present strength will not admit of +a detachment for this purpose without materially impairing the +efficiency of this column. Commodore Goldsborough thinks the work too +strong for his available vessels, unless I can turn Gloucester." [22] + +In the cipher dispatch of the 7th of April to President Lincoln, +General McClellan acknowledges a telegram of the previous day, and +adds, "In reply, I have the honor to state that my entire force for +duty only amounts to about eighty-five thousand men." [23] He then +mentions the fact that General Wool's command is not under his +orders, etc. + +Subsequent correspondence clearly shows that General McClellan would +not risk making a detachment from his army to turn the position at +Gloucester Point, and that the navy would not attempt to operate +against the battery at that place. He therefore urgently pressed for +reënforcements to act on the north side of York River. + +General Magruder had, up to and after the time of receiving the +reënforcements before mentioned, worked day and night in constructing +and strengthening his defenses. His small force had been assisted in +this work by a considerable body of negro laborers, and an active +participant and competent judge, General Early, thus wrote of his +conduct: + + "The assuming and maintaining this line by Magruder, with his small + force, in the face of such overwhelming odds, was one of the boldest + exploits ever performed by a military commander; and he had so + manoeuvred his troops, by displaying them rapidly at different + points, as to produce the impression on his opponent that he had a + large army." + +As soon as it was definitely ascertained that General McClellan, with +his main army, was on the Peninsula, General J. E. Johnston was +assigned to the command of the Department of the Peninsula and +Norfolk, and directed to proceed thither to examine the condition of +affairs there. After spending a day on General Magruder's defensive +line, he returned to Richmond, and recommended the abandonment of the +Peninsula, and that we should take a defensive position nearer to +Richmond. The question was postponed, and an appointment made for its +discussion, to which I proposed to invite the Secretary of War, +General Randolph, and General Lee, then stationed in Richmond, and in +general charge of army operations. General Johnston asked that he +might invite General Longstreet and General G. W. Smith to be +present, to which I assented. + +At this meeting. General Johnston announced his plan to be, the +withdrawal of General Magruder's troops from the Peninsula, and of +General Huger's from Norfolk, to be united with the main body of the +Army of Northern Virginia, and the withdrawal of the troops from +South Carolina and Georgia, his belief being that General Magruder's +line was indefensible with the forces we could concentrate there; +that the batteries at Gloucester Point could not be maintained; that +the enemy would turn the position at Yorktown by ascending the York +River, if the defensive line there should possibly be maintained. To +this plan the Secretary of War objected, because the navy-yard at +Norfolk offered our best if not our only opportunity to construct in +any short time gunboats for coastwise and harbor defense. General +Lee, always bold in his views and unusually sagacious in penetrating +the designs of the enemy, insisted that the Peninsula offered great +advantages to a smaller force in resisting a numerically superior +assailant, and, in the comprehensive view which he usually took of +the necessities of other places than the one where he chanced to be, +objected to withdrawing the troops from South Carolina and Georgia, +as involving the probable capture of Charleston and Savannah. By +recent service in that section he was well informed as to the +condition of those important ports. General G. W. Smith, as well as I +remember, was in full accord with General Johnston, and General +Longstreet partially so. + +After hearing fully the views of the several officers named, I +decided to resist the enemy on the Peninsula, and, with the aid of +the navy, to hold Norfolk and keep the command of the James River as +long as possible. Arrangements were made, with such force as our +means permitted, to occupy the country north of Richmond, and the +Shenandoah Valley, and, with the rest of General Johnston's command, +to make a junction with General Magruder to resist the enemy's forces +on the Peninsula. Though General J. E. Johnston did not agree with +this decision, he did not ask to be relieved, and I had no wish to +separate him from the troops with whom he was so intimately +acquainted, and whose confidence I believed he deservedly possessed. + +To recur to General Magruder: soon after the landing of the enemy, +skirmishes commenced with our forces, and the first vigorous attempt +was made to break the line at Lee's Mills, where there were some +newly constructed defenses. The enemy was so signally repulsed that +he described them as very strong works, and thereafter commenced the +construction of parallels and regular approaches, having an +exaggerated idea as well of the number of our troops as of the +strength of our works at that time. General Magruder, in his report, +notices a serious attempt to break his line of the Warwick at Dam No. +1, about the center of the line, and its weakest point. Opening with +a heavy bombardment at nine in the morning, which continued until +three P.M., heavy masses of infantry then commenced to deploy, and, +with musketry-fire, were thrown forward to storm our six-pounder +battery, which had been effectively used, and was the only artillery +we had there in position. A portion of the column charged across the +dam, but Brigadier-General Howell Cobb met the attack with great +firmness, the enemy was driven with the bayonet from some of our +rifle-pits of which he had gained possession, and the assaulting +column recoiled with loss from the steady fire of our troops. + +The enemy's skirmishers pressed closely in front of the redoubts on +the left of our line, and with their long-range rifles had a decided +advantage over our men, armed with smooth-bore muskets. In addition +to the rifle-pits they dug, they were covered by a dwelling-house and +a large peach-orchard which extended to within a few hundred yards of +our works. On the 11th of April General Magruder ordered sorties to +be made from all the main points of his line. General Wilcox sent out +a detachment from Wynne's Mill which encountered the advance of the +enemy in his front and drove it back to the main line. Later in the +day General Early sent out from Redoubt No. 5 Colonel Ward's Florida +regiment and the Second Mississippi Battalion, under Colonel Taylor. +They drove the sharpshooters from their rifle-pits and pursued them +to the main road from Warwick Court-House, encountered a battery +posted at an earthwork, and compelled it precipitately to retire. On +the approach of a large force of the enemy's infantry, Colonel Ward +returned to our works, after having set fire to the dwelling-house +above mentioned. These affairs developed the fact that the enemy was +in strong force, both in front of Wynne's Mill and Redoubts Nos. 4 +and 5. On the next night General Early sent out Colonel Terry's +Virginia regiment to cut down the peach-orchard and burn the rest of +the houses which had afforded shelter to the assailants; and on the +succeeding night Colonel McRae, with his North Carolina regiment, +went farther to the front and felled the cedars along the main road +which partially hid the enemy's movements, and subsequently our men +were not annoyed by the sharpshooters. About the middle of April a +further reënforcement of two divisions from the Army of Northern +Virginia was added to our forces on the Peninsula, which amounted, +when General Johnston assumed command, to something over fifty +thousand. + +The work of strengthening the defenses was still continued. On the +16th of April an assault was made on our line, to the right of +Yorktown, which was repulsed with heavy loss to the enemy, and such +serious discomfiture that henceforward his plan seemed to be to rely +upon bombardment, for which numerous batteries were prepared. + +The views of the enemy, as revealed by the testimony before the +Committee on the Conduct of the War, were that he could gain +possession of Gloucester Point only by reënforcements operating on +the north side of York River, or by the previous reduction of +Yorktown. In addition to the answer given by General McClellan, I +quote from the testimony of General Keyes. He said, "The possession +of Gloucester Point by the enemy retarded the taking of Yorktown, and +it also enabled the enemy to close the river at that point," and +added, "Gloucester must have fallen upon our getting possession of +Yorktown, and the York River would then have been open." [24] + +With the knowledge possessed by us, General McClellan certainly might +have sent a detachment from his army which, after crossing the York +River, could have turned the position at Gloucester Point and have +overcome our small garrison at that place; but this is but one of the +frequent examples of war in which the immunity of one army is derived +from the mistakes of the other. + +An opinion has existed among some of our best-informed officers that +Franklin's division was kept on transports for the purpose of landing +on the north side of York River to capture our battery at Gloucester +Point, and thus open the way to turn our position by ascending the +York River. Upon the authority of Swinton, the fairest and most +careful of the Northern writers on the war, it appears that +Franklin's division had disembarked before the evacuation of +Yorktown; and, upon the authority of the Prince de Joinville, serving +on the staff of General McClellan, it appears that his commanding +general was not willing to intrust that service to a single division, +and plaintively describes the effect produced by the refusal of +President Lincoln to send McDowell's corps to reënforce McClellan. He +writes thus: + + "The news was received by the Federal army with dissatisfaction, + although the majority could not then foresee the deplorable + consequences of an act performed, it must be supposed, with no + evil intention, but with inconceivable recklessness. . . . It was + the mainspring removed from a great work already begun. It + deranged everything. Among the divisions of the corps of McDowell, + there was one--that of Franklin--which was regretted more than all + the rest. . . . He [the commander-in-chief] held it in great esteem, + and earnestly demanded its restoration. It was sent back to him + without any explanation, in the same manner as it had been withheld. + This splendid division, eleven thousand strong, arrived, and for a + moment the commander thought of intrusting to it alone the storming + of Gloucester, but the idea was abandoned." + +On the 28th of April General J. E. Johnston wrote to Flag-Officer +Tatnall, commanding the naval forces in the James River, requesting +him, if practicable, to proceed with the Virginia to York River for +the purpose of destroying the enemy's transports, to which Commodore +Tatnall replied that it could only be done in daylight, when he would +be exposed to the fire of the forts, and have to contend with the +squadron of men-of-war stationed below them, and that, if this should +be safely done, according to the information derived from the pilots, +it would not be possible for the Virginia to reach the enemy's +transports at Poquosin, while the withdrawal of the Virginia would be +to abandon the defense of Norfolk, and to remove the obstacles she +opposed to "the enemy's operations in the James River." [25] + +Meanwhile, the brilliant movements of the intrepid Jackson created +such apprehension of an attack upon Washington City by the Army of +the Shenandoah, that President Lincoln refused the repeated requests +of General McClellan to send him McDowell's corps to operate on the +north side of the York River against our battery at Gloucester Point. + +On the 28th of the following June, Mr. Lincoln, noticing what he +regarded as ungenerous complaint, wrote to General McClellan: "If you +have had a drawn battle or a repulse, it is the price we pay for the +enemy not being in Washington. We protected Washington, and the enemy +concentrated on you." [26] + +The month of April was cold and rainy, and our men poorly provided +with shelter, and with only the plainest rations; yet, under all +these discomforts, they steadily labored to perfect the defenses, +and, when they were not on the front line, were constantly employed +in making traverses and epaulments in the rear. Whether General +McClellan, under the pressure from Washington, would have made an +early assault,[27] or have adhered to the policy of regular +approaches, and, relying on his superiority in artillery, have waited +to batter our earthworks in breach, and whether all which had been +done, or which it was practicable under the circumstances to do, to +strengthen the main line would have made it sufficiently strong to +resist the threatened bombardment, is questionable; and how soon that +bombardment would have commenced is now indeterminate. A telegram +from President Lincoln to General McClellan is suggestive on this +point. It reads thus: + + "WASHINGTON, _May 1, 1862._ + + "Your call for Parrott guns from Washington alarms me--chiefly + because it argues indefinite procrastination. Is anything to be + done?" [28] + +By the following telegram sent by me to General J. E. Johnston, +commanding at Yorktown, the contents of that which I had received +from him, and of which I am not now possessed, will be readily +inferred: + + "RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, _May 1, 1862._ + + "General J. E. JOHNSTON, _Yorktown, Virginia_. + + "Accepting your conclusion that you must soon retire, arrangements + are commenced for the abandonment of the navy-yard and removal of + public property both from Norfolk and Peninsula. Your announcement + to-day that you would withdraw to-morrow night takes us by surprise, + and must involve enormous losses, including unfinished gunboats. Will + the safety of your army allow more time? + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +My next step was to request the Secretary of War, General Randolph, +and the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Mallory, to proceed to Yorktown +and Norfolk to see whether the evacuation could not be postponed, and +to make all practicable arrangements to remove the machinery, +material, ordnance, and supplies for future use. At the suggestion of +the Secretary of War, I agreed that he should first go with the +Secretary of the Navy to Norfolk and thence pass over to Yorktown. + +On the next morning they left for Norfolk. General Randolph, in his +testimony before a joint special committee of the Confederate +Congress, said: + + "A few hours after we arrived in Norfolk, an officer from General + Johnston's army made his appearance, with an order for General Huger + to evacuate Norfolk immediately. . . . As that would have involved + heavy losses in stores, munitions, and arms, I took the + responsibility of giving General Huger a written order to delay the + evacuation until he could remove such stores, munitions, and arms as + could be carried off. . . . Mr. Mallory was with me and gave similar + instructions to the commandant of the navy yard. . . . The evacuation + was delayed for about a week. . . . When the council of war met [the + conference with the President heretofore referred to], it was + supposed that, if the enemy assaulted our army at the Warwick River + line, we should defeat them; but that, if instead of assaulting they + made regular approaches to either flank of the line and took + advantage of their great superiority of heavy artillery, the + probability would be that one flank or both of the army would be + uncovered, and thus the enemy, ascending the York and James Rivers in + transports, could turn the flank of the army and compel it to + retreat. . . . They made regular approaches, mounted the + largest-sized guns, such as we could not compete with, and made the + position of Yorktown untenable. Nearly all of our heavy rifled guns + burst during the siege. The remainder of the heavy guns were in the + water-batteries," etc. + +The permanent occupation of Norfolk after our army withdrew from the +lower Peninsula and the enemy possessed it was so obviously +impossible as not to require explanation; but, while the enemy was +engaged in the pursuit of our retreating columns, it was deemed +justifiable to delay the evacuation of Norfolk for the purposes +indicated in the above answer of the Secretary of War. The result +justified the decision. + +The order for the withdrawal of the army from the line of the Warwick +River on the night of the 2d of April was delayed until the next +night, because, as I have been informed, some of the troops were not +ready to move. Heavy cannonading, both on the night of the 2d and 3d, +concealed the fact of the purpose to withdraw, and the evacuation was +made so successfully, as appears by the testimony before the United +States Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, that the +enemy was surprised the next morning to find the lines unoccupied. + +The loss of public property, as was anticipated, was great, the +steamboats expected for its transportation not having arrived before +the evacuation was made. From a narrative by General Early I make the +following extract: + + "A very valuable part of the property so lost, and which we stood + much in need of, consisted of a very large number of picks and + spades, many of them entirely new. All of our heavy guns, including + some recently arrived and not mounted, together with a good deal of + ammunition piled up on the wharf, had to be left behind." + +The land transportation was quite deficient. General Magruder's +troops had scarcely any, and others of the more recent organizations +were in a like condition; as no supplies had been accumulated at +Williamsburg, this want of transportation would necessarily involve +want of rations in the event of delays on the retreat. + +At Williamsburg, about twelve miles from Yorktown, General Magruder, +as has been mentioned, had constructed a line of detached works. The +largest of these, Fort Magruder, was constructed at a point a short +distance beyond where the Lee's Mill and Yorktown roads united, and +where the enemy in his pursuit first encountered our retiring forces, +and were promptly repulsed. General Magruder, whose arduous service +and long exposure on the Peninsula has been noticed, was compelled by +illness to leave his division. His absence at this moment was the +more to be regretted, as it appears that the positions of the +redoubts he had constructed were not all known to the commanding +General, and some of them being unoccupied were seized by the enemy, +and held subsequently to our disadvantage. General McClellan, in his +official report from "bivouac in front of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862," +says, "General Hancock has taken two redoubts and repulsed Early's +rebel brigade by a real charge of the bayonet, taking one colonel and +one hundred and fifty other prisoners," etc. As this is selected for +the brilliant event in the affair before Williamsburg, I will extract +fully from General Early's report: + + "LYNCHBURG, June 9, 1862. + + "In accordance with orders received the evening before, my brigade + was in readiness to take up the line of march from its camp west of + Williamsburg toward Richmond on the 5th of May. . . . I was directed + by Major-General D. H. Hill not to move my infantry, and in a short + time I was ordered by him to march back, and report with my regiments + to Major-General Longstreet at Williamsburg. . . . Between three and + four o'clock, P.M., I was ordered by General Longstreet to move to + the support of Brigadier-General Anderson of his division, at or near + Fort Magruder. . . . Before my command had proceeded far toward its + destination, I received an order from General Longstreet to send him + two regiments. . . . With the remainder of my command, being my + brigade proper, I proceeded, as near as practicable, to the position + designated by General Longstreet on the left and rear of Fort + Magruder. . . . In a short time Major-General Hill arrived, and, + having ascertained that the enemy had a battery in front of us, he + informed me that he wished me to attack and capture the battery with + my brigade, but before doing so he must see General Longstreet on the + subject. . . . General Hill being on the right and accompanying the + brigade, I placed myself on the left with the Twenty-fourth Virginia + Regiment for the purpose of directing its movements, as I was + satisfied from the sound of the enemy's guns that this regiment would + come directly on the battery. . . . In an open field, in view of Fort + Magruder, at the end farthest from the fort, the enemy had taken + position with a battery of six pieces . . . supported by a brigade of + infantry under the command of Brigadier-General Hancock. In this + field were two or three redoubts, previously built by our troops, of + one, at least, of which the enemy had possession, his artillery being + posted in front of it, near some farmhouses, and supported by a body + of infantry, the balance of the infantry being in the redoubt, and in + the edge of the woods close by. The Twenty-fourth Virginia Regiment, + as I had anticipated, came directly upon the battery. . . . This + regiment, without pausing or wavering, charged upon the enemy under a + heavy fire, and drove back his guns and the infantry supporting them + to the cover of the redoubt. ... I sent orders to the other regiments + to advance; these orders were anticipated by Colonel McRae of the + Fifth North Carolina Regiment, who was on the extreme right of my + brigade, and marched down to the support of the Twenty-fourth, + traversing the whole front that should have been occupied by the + other two regiments." + +General Early, having received a severe wound, soon after the +Twenty-fourth Virginia Regiment charged the battery, was compelled by +exhaustion from loss of blood and intense pain to leave the field +just as the Fifth North Carolina Regiment, led by its gallant +colonel, charged on the enemy's artillery and infantry. Of that +charge General Early writes: + + "This North Carolina Regiment, in conjunction with the Twenty-fourth + Virginia Regiment, made an attack upon the vastly superior forces of + the enemy, which for its gallantry is unsurpassed in the annals of + warfare: their conduct was such as to elicit from the enemy himself + the highest praise." + +This refers to the chivalric remark made by General Hancock to Dr. +Cullen, left in charge of our wounded, viz., "The Fifth North +Carolina and Twenty-fourth Virginia deserve to have the word immortal +inscribed on their banners." Colonel McRae, who succeeded to the +command after General Early retired, states in his report that he +sent to General Hill for reënforcements in order to advance, and in +reply received an order to retire: that his men were holding the +enemy to his shelter in such way that they were not at all suffering, +but, when he commenced retiring, the enemy rose and fired upon his +men, doing the greatest damage that was done. Some of them obliqued +too far to the right in going back, and met a regiment of the enemy +concealed in the woods, and were thus captured. General Early writes: +"The two regiments that united in the assault were not repulsed at +all. They drove the enemy to the cover of the redoubt and the shelter +of the woods near it, where he was held at bay by my two regiments, +which had suffered comparatively little at that time." He confidently +expresses the opinion that, had his attack been supported promptly +and vigorously, the enemy's force there engaged must have been +captured, as it had crossed over to that point on a narrow mill-dam, +and had only that way to escape. + +The claim of the enemy to have achieved a victory at Williamsburg is +refuted by the fact that our troops remained in possession of the +field during the night, and retired the next morning to follow up the +retreat, which was only interrupted by the necessity of checking the +enemy until our trains could proceed far enough to be out of danger. +The fact of our wounded being left at Williamsburg was only due to +our want of ambulances in which to remove them. + +Though General McClellan at this time estimated our force as +"probably greater a good deal" than his own, the fact is, it was +numerically less than half the number he had for duty. Severe +exposure and fatigue must, by sickness, have diminished our force +more than it was increased by absentees returning to duty after the +middle of April, so that at the end of the month the number was +probably less than fifty thousand present for duty. General +McClellan's report on the 30th of April, 1862, as shown by the +certified statement, gives the aggregate present for duty at one +hundred and twelve thousand three hundred and ninety-two.[29] + +When the Confederates evacuated Yorktown, General Franklin's division +had just been disembarked from the transports. It was reembarked, and +started on the morning of the 6th up the York River.[30] + +After the battle of Williamsburg our army continued its retreat up +the Peninsula. Here, for the first time, sub-terra shells were +employed to check a marching column. The event is thus described by +General Rains, the inventor: + + "On the day we left Williamsburg, after the battle, we worked hard to + get our artillery and some we had captured over the sloughs about + four miles distant. On account of the tortuous course of the road, we + could not bring a single gun to bear upon the enemy who were pursuing + us, and shelling the road as they advanced. Fortunately, we found in + a mud-hole a broken-down ammunition-wagon containing five loaded + shells. Four of these, armed with a sensitive fuse-primer, were + planted in our rear, near some trees cut down as obstructions to the + road. A body of the enemy's cavalry came upon these sub-terra shells, + and they exploded with terrific effect. + + "The force behind halted for three days, and finally turned off from + the road, doubtless under the apprehension that it was mined + throughout. Thus our rear was relieved of the enemy. No soldier will + march over mined land, and a corps of sappers, each man having two + ten-inch shells, two primers, and a mule to carry them, could stop + any army." + +Accounts, contemporaneously published at the North, represent the +terror inspired by these shells, extravagantly describe the number of +them, and speak of the necessity of leaving the road to avoid them. + +The next morning after the battle of the 5th, at Williamsburg, +Longstreet's and D. H. Hill's divisions, being those there engaged, +followed in the line of retreat, Stuart's cavalry moving after them-- +they marched that day about twelve miles. In the mean time Franklin's +division had gone up the York River, and landed a short distance +below West Point, on the south side of York River, and moved into a +thick wood in the direction of the New Kent road, thus threatening +the flank of our line of march. Two brigades of General G. W. Smith's +division, Hampton's and Hood's, were detached under the command of +General Whiting to dislodge the enemy, which they did after a short +conflict, driving him through the wood to the protection of his +gunboats in York River. + +On the next morning the rear divisions joined those in advance at +Barhamsville, and the retreat of the whole army was resumed--Smith's +and Magruder's divisions moving by the New Kent Court-House to the +Baltimore Cross Roads, and Longstreet's and Hill's to the Long +Bridge, where the whole army remained in line facing to the east for +five days. + +The retreat had been successfully conducted. In the principal action, +that at Williamsburg, our forces, after General Hill's division had +been brought back to the support of General Longstreet, did not +exceed, probably was not equal to, one half that of the enemy. Yet, +as has been seen, the position was held as long as was necessary for +the removal of our trains, and our troops slept upon the field of +battle. The loss of the enemy greatly exceeded our own, which was +about twelve hundred; while General Hooker, commanding one division +of the Federal army, in his testimony stated the loss in his division +to have been seventeen hundred.[31] + +Among the gallant and much regretted of those lost by us, was Colonel +Ward, of Florida, whose conduct at Yorktown has been previously +noticed, and of whom General Early, in his report of the battle of +Williamsburg, says: + + "On the list of the killed in the Second Florida Regiment is found + the name of its colonel, George T. Ward, as true a gentleman and as + gallant a soldier as has drawn a sword in this war, and whose conduct + under fire it was my fortune to witness on another occasion. His loss + to his regiment, to his State, and to the Confederacy can not be + easily compensated." + +Colonel Ward, with his regiment, had been detached from General +Early's command in the early part of the action. I regret that I have +not access to the report of General Longstreet, where, no doubt, may +also be found due notice of Colonel Christopher Mott, whom I knew +personally. In his youth he served in the regiment commanded by me +during the war with Mexico. He was brave, cheerful, prompt, and equal +to every trial to which he was subjected, giving early promise of +high soldierly capacity. He afterward held various places of honor +and trust in civil life, and there were many in Mississippi who, like +myself, deeply lamented his death in the height of his usefulness. + +General Huger, commanding at Norfolk, and Captain Lee, commanding the +navy-yard, by the authority of the Secretaries of War and Navy, +delayed the evacuation of both, as stated by General Randolph, +Secretary of War, for about a week after General Johnston sent orders +to General Huger to leave immediately. While he was employed in +removing the valuable stores and machinery, as we learn from the work +of the Comte de Paris, President Lincoln and his Secretary of War +arrived at Fortress Monroe, and on the 8th of May an expedition +against Norfolk by the troops under General Wool was contemplated. He +writes: + + "Being apprised by the columns of smoke which rose on the horizon + that the propitious moment had arrived, Wool proposed to the + President to undertake an expedition against Norfolk. Max Weber's + brigade was speedily embarked, and, to protect his descent, Commodore + Goldsborough's fleet was ordered to escort it. But the Confederate + batteries, not yet having been abandoned, fired a few shots in reply, + while the Virginia, which, since the wounding of the brave Buchanan, + had been commanded by Commodore Tatnall, showed her formidable shell, + and the expedition was countermanded. Two more days were consumed in + waiting. Finally, on the morning of the 10th, Weber disembarked east + of Sewell's Point. This time the enemy's artillery was silent. There + was found an intrenched camp mounting a few guns, but absolutely + deserted. General Wool reached the city of Norfolk, which had been + given up to its peaceful inhabitants the day previous, and hastened + to place a military governor there." [32] + +Reposing on these cheaply won laurels, the expedition returned to +Fortress Monroe, leaving Brigadier-General Viele, with some troops +brought from the north side of the river, to hold the place. The +navy-yard and workshops had been set on fire before our troops +withdrew, so as to leave little to the enemy save the glory of +capturing an undefended town. The troops at Fortress Monroe were +numerically superior to the command of General Huger, and could have +been readily combined, with the forces at and about Roanoke Island, +for a forward movement on the south side of the James River. In view +of this probability, General Huger, with the main part of his force, +was halted for a time at Petersburg, but, as soon as it was +ascertained that no preparations were being made by the enemy for +that campaign, so palpably advantageous to him, General Huger's +troops were moved to the north side of the James River to make a +junction with the army of General Johnston. + +Previously, detachments had been sent from the force withdrawn from +Norfolk to strengthen the command of Brigadier-General J. B. +Anderson, who was placed in observation before General McDowell, then +at Fredericksburg, threatening to advance with a force four or five +times as great as that under General Anderson, and another detachment +had been sent to the aid of Brigadier-General Branch, who, with his +brigade, had recently been brought up from North Carolina and sent +forward to Gordonsville, for the like purpose as that for which +General Anderson was placed near Fredericksburg. + + +[Footnote 20: See "Report on the Conduct of the War," Part I, pp. 10-12, +309-311.] + +[Footnote 21: See "Report on the Conduct of the War," p. 319. Letter of +President Lincoln to General McClellan, April 6, 1862.] + +[Footnote 22: "Report on the Conduct of the War," Part I, p. 320.] + +[Footnote 23: Ibid., p. 321.] + +[Footnote 24: "Report on the Conduct of the War," Part I, pp. 601, 602.] + +[Footnote 25: "Life of Commodore Tatnall," pp. 166, 167.] + +[Footnote 26: "Report on the Conduct of the War," p. 340.] + +[Footnote 27: On April 6, 1862, President Lincoln wrote to General +McClellan as follows: "You now have over one hundred thousand troops +with you, independent of General Wool's command. I think you had better +break the enemy's line from Yorktown to Warwick River at once. They will +probably use time as advantageously as you can."--("Report on the +Conduct of the War," pp. 319, 320.)] + +[Footnote 28: "Report on the Conduct of the War," p. 324.] + +[Footnote 29: "Report on the Conduct of the War," pp. 323, 324.] + +[Footnote 30: "Army of the Potomac," Swinton, p. 117.] + +[Footnote 31: "Report on the Conduct of the War," p. 579.] + +[Footnote 32: "History of the Civil War in America," Comte de Paris, vol. +ii, p. 30.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + A New Phase to our Military Problem.--General Johnston's Position.-- + Defenses of James River.--Attack on Fort Drury.--Johnston crosses + the Chickahominy.--Position of McClellan.--Position of McDowell.-- + Strength of Opposing Forces.--Jackson's Expedition down the + Shenandoah Valley.--Panic at Washington and the North.--Movements + to intercept Jackson.--His Rapid Movements.--Repulses Fremont.-- + Advance of Shields.--Fall of Ashby.--Port Republic, Battle of.-- + Results of this Campaign. + +The withdrawal of our army to the Chickahominy, the abandonment of +Norfolk, the destruction of the Virginia, and opening of the lower +James River, together with the fact that McClellan's army, by +changing his base to the head of York River, was in a position to +cover the approach to Washington, and thus to remove the objections +which had been made to sending the large force, retained for the +defense of that city, to make a junction with McClellan, all combined +to give a new phase to our military problem. + +Soon after, General Johnston took position on the north side of the +Chickahominy; accompanied by General Lee, I rode out to his +headquarters in the field, in order that by conversation with him we +might better understand his plans and expectations. He came in after +we arrived, saying that he had been riding around his lines to see +how his position could be improved. A long conversation followed, +which was so inconclusive that it lasted until late in the night, so +late that we remained until the next morning. As we rode back to +Richmond, reference was naturally made to the conversation of the +previous evening and night, when General Lee confessed himself, as I +was, unable to draw from it any more definite purpose than that the +policy was to improve his position as far as practicable, and wait +for the enemy to leave his gunboats, so that an opportunity might be +offered to meet him on the land. + +In consequence of the opening of the James River to the enemy's +fleet, the attempts to utilize this channel for transportation, so as +to approach directly to Richmond, soon followed. We had then no +defenses on the James River below Drury's Bluff, about seven miles +distant from Richmond. There an earthwork had been constructed and +provided with an armament of four guns. Rifle-pits had been made in +front of the fort, and obstructions had been placed in the river by +driving piles, and sinking some vessels. The crew of the Virginia, +after her destruction, had been sent to this fort, which was then in +charge of Commander Farrand, Confederate States Navy. + +On the 15th of April the enemy's fleet of five ships of war, among +the number, their much-vaunted Monitor, took position and opened fire +upon the fort between seven and eight o'clock. Our small vessel, the +Patrick Henry, was lying above the obstruction, and coöperated with +the fort in its defense--the Monitor and ironclad Galena steamed up +to about six hundred yards' distance; the others, wooden vessels, +were kept at long range. + +The armor of the flag-ship Galena was badly injured, and many of the +crew killed or wounded. The Monitor was struck repeatedly, but the +shot only bent her plates. At about eleven o'clock the fleet +abandoned the attack, returning discomfited whence they came. The +commander of the Monitor, Lieutenant Jeffers, in his report, says +that "the action was most gallantly fought against great odds, and +with the usual effect against earthworks." . . . He adds, "It was +impossible to reduce such works, except with the aid of a land +force." The enemy in their reports recognized the efficiency of our +fire by both artillery and riflemen, the sincerity of which was made +manifest in the failure to renew the attempt. + +[Illustration: The Davis House, at Richmond.] + +The small garrison at Fort Drury, only adequate to the service it had +performed, that of repelling an attempt by the fleet to pass up James +River, was quite insufficient to prevent the enemy from landing below +the fort, or to resist an attack by infantry. To guard against its +sudden capture by such means, the garrison was increased by the +addition of Bryan's regiment of Georgia Rifles. + +After the repulse of the enemy's gunboats at Drury's Bluff, I wrote +to General Johnston a letter to be handed to him by my aide, Colonel +G. W. C. Lee, an officer of the highest intelligence and reputation-- +referring to him for full information in regard to the affair at +Drury's Bluff, as well as to the positions and strength of our forces +on the south side of the James River. After some speculations on the +probable course of the enemy, and expressions of confidence, I +informed the General that my aide would communicate freely to him and +bring back to me any information with which he might be intrusted. +Not receiving any definite reply, I soon thereafter rode out to visit +General Johnston at his headquarters, and was surprised in the +suburbs of Richmond, viz., on the other side of Gillis's Creek, to +meet a portion of light artillery, and to learn that the whole army +had crossed the Chickahominy. + +General Johnston's explanation to this (to me) unexpected movement +was, that he thought the water of the Chickahominy unhealthy, and had +directed the troops to cross and halt at the first good water on the +southern side, which he supposed would be found near to the river. He +also adverted to the advantage of having the river in front rather +than in the rear of him--an advantage certainly obvious enough, if +the line was to be near to it on either of its banks. + +The considerations which induced General McClellan to make his base +on the York River had at least partly ceased to exist. From the corps +for which he had so persistently applied, he had received the +division which he most valued, and the destruction of the Virginia +had left the James River open to his fleet and transports as far up +as Drury's Bluff, and the withdrawal of General Johnston across the +Chickahominy made it quite practicable for him to transfer his army +to the James River, the south side of which had then but weak +defenses, and thus by a short march to gain more than all the +advantages which, at a later period of the war, General Grant +obtained at the sacrifice of a hecatomb of soldiers. + +Referring, again, to the work of the Comte de Paris, who may be +better authority in regard to what occurred in the army of the enemy +than when he writes about Confederate affairs, it appears that this +change of base was considered and not adopted because of General +McClellan's continued desire to have McDowell's corps with him. The +Count states: + + "The James River, which had been closed until then by the presence of + the Virginia, as York River had been by the cannon of Yorktown, was + opened by the destruction of that ship, just as York River had been + by the evacuation of the Confederate fortress. But it was only open + as far as Drury's Bluff; in order to overcome this last obstacle + interposed between Richmond and the Federal gunboats, the support of + the land forces was necessary. On the 19th of May Commodore + Goldsborough had a conference with General McClellan regarding the + means to be employed for removing that obstacle. . . . General + McClellan, as we have stated above, might have continued to follow + the railway line, and preserved his depots at Whitehouse, on the + Pamunkey, . . . but he could also now go to reestablish his base of + operations on James River, which the Virginia had hitherto prevented + him from doing. By crossing the Chickahominy at Bottom's Bridge, and + some other fords situated lower down, . . . could have reached the + borders of the James in two or three days. . . . This flank march + effected at a sufficient distance from the enemy, and covered by a + few demonstrations along the upper Chickahominy, offered him great + advantages without involving any risk. . . . If McClellan could have + foreseen how deceptive were the promises of reënforcement made to him + at the time, he would undoubtedly have declined the uncertain support + of McDowell, to carry out the plan of campaign which offered the best + chances of success with the troops which were absolutely at his + disposal." [33] + +Without feeling under any obligations for kind intentions on the part +of the Government of the North, it was fortunate for us that it did, +as its friend the Comte de Paris represents, deceive General +McClellan, and prevent him from moving to the south side of the James +River, so as not only to secure the coöperation of his gunboats in an +attack upon Richmond, but to make his assault on the side least +prepared for resistance, and where it would have been quite possible +to cut our line of communication with the more Southern States on +which we chiefly depended for supplies and reënforcements. + +It is hardly just to treat the failure to fulfill the assurance given +by President Lincoln about reënforcements as "deceptive promises," +for, as will be seen, the operations in the Valley by General +Jackson, who there exhibited a rapidity of movement equal to the +unyielding tenacity which had in the first great battle won for him +the familiar name "Stonewall," had created such an alarm in +Washington, as, if it had been better founded, would have justified +the refusal to diminish the force held for the protection of their +capital. Indeed, our cavalry, in observation near Fredericksburg, +reported that on the 24th McDowell's troops started southward, but +General Stuart found that night that they were returning. This +indicated that the anticipated junction was not to be made, and of +this the Prince of Joinville writes: + + "It needed only an effort of the will: the two armies were united, + and in the possession of Richmond certain! Alas! this effort was not + made. I can not recall those fatal moments without a real sinking of + the heart." [34] + +General McClellan, in his testimony December 10, 1862, before the +court-martial in the case of General McDowell, said: + + "I have no doubt, for it has ever been my opinion, that the Army of + the Potomac would have taken Richmond had not the corps of General + McDowell been separated from it. It is also my opinion that, had the + command of General McDowell joined the Army of the Potomac in the + month of May, by the way of Hanover Court-House, from Fredericksburg, + we would have had Richmond within a week after the junction." [35] + +Let us first inquire what was the size of this army so crippled for +want of reënforcement, and then what the strength of that to which it +was opposed. On the 30th of April, 1862, the official report of +McClellan's army gives the aggregate present for duty as 112,392;[36] +that of the 20th of June--omitting the army corps of General Dix, +then, as previously, stationed at Fortress Monroe, and including +General McCall's division, which had recently joined, the strength of +which was reported to be 9,514--gives the aggregate present for +duty as 105,825, and the total, present and absent, as 156,838.[37] + +Two statements of the strength of our army under General J. E. +Johnston during the month of May--in which General McClellan +testified that he was greatly in need of McDowell's corps--give the +following results: First, the official return, 21st May, 1862, total +effective of all arms, 53,688; subsequently, five brigades were +added, and the effective strength of the army under General Johnston +on May 31, 1862, was 62,696.[38] + +I now proceed to inquire what caused the panic at Washington. + +On May 23d, General Jackson, with whose force that of General Ewell +had united, moved with such rapidity as to surprise the enemy, and +Ewell, who was in advance, captured most of the troops at Front +Royal, and pressed directly on to Winchester, while Jackson, turning +across to the road from Strasburg, struck the main column of the +enemy in flank and drove it routed back to Strasburg. The pursuit was +continued to Winchester, and the enemy, under their commander-in-chief, +General Banks, fled across the Potomac into Maryland. Two thousand +prisoners were taken in the pursuit. General Banks in his report says, +"There never were more grateful hearts in the same number of men, than +when, at mid-day on the 26th, we stood on the opposite shore." + +When the news of the attack on Front Royal, on May 23d, reached +General Geary, charged with the protection of the Manassas Gap +Railroad, he immediately moved to Manassas Junction. At the same +time, his troops, hearing the most extravagant stories, burned their +tents and destroyed a quantity of arms. General Duryea, at Catlett's +Station, becoming alarmed on hearing of the withdrawal of Geary, took +his three New York regiments, leaving a Pennsylvania one behind, +hastened back to Centreville, and telegraphed to Washington for aid. +He left behind a large quantity of army stores. The alarm spread to +Washington, and the Secretary of War, Stanton, issued a call to the +Governors of the "loyal" States for militia to defend that city. + +[Illustration: Lieutenant-General T. J. Jackson.] + +The following is the dispatch sent to the Governor of Massachusetts: + + "WASHINGTON, _Sunday, May 25, 1862._ + + "_To the Governor of Massachusetts._ + + "Intelligence from various quarters leaves no doubt that the enemy in + great force are marching on Washington. You will please organize and + forward immediately all the militia and volunteer force in your State. + + "EDWIN M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_." + +This alarm at Washington, and the call for more troops for its +defense, produced a most indescribable panic in the cities of the +Northern States on Sunday the 25th, and two or three days afterward. +The Governor of New York on Sunday night telegraphed to Buffalo, +Rochester, Syracuse, and other cities, as follows: + + "Orders from Washington render it necessary to send to that city all + the available militia force. What can you do? + + "E. D. MORGAN." + +Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, issued the following order: + + "(GENERAL ORDER, No. 23.) + + "HEADQUARTERS OF PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA, + + "Harrisburg, _May 26, 1862._ + + "On pressing requisition of the President of the United States in the + present emergency, it is ordered that the several major-generals, + brigadier-generals, and colonels of regiments throughout the + Commonwealth muster without delay all military organizations within + their respective divisions or under their control, together with all + persons willing to join their commands, and proceed forthwith to the + city of Washington, or such other points as may be designated by + future orders. By order: + + "A. G. CURTIN, + + "_Governor and Commander-in-Chief._" + +The Governor of Massachusetts issued the following proclamation: + + "_Men of Massachusetts!_ + + "The wily and barbarous horde of traitors to the people, to the + Government, to our country, and to liberty, menace again the national + capital. They have attacked and routed Major-General Banks, are + advancing on Harper's Ferry, and are marching on Washington. The + President calls on Massachusetts to rise once more for its rescue and + defense. + + "The whole active militia will be summoned by a general order, issued + from the office of the adjutant-general, to report on Boston Common + to-morrow. They will march to relieve and avenge their brethren and + friends, and to oppose, with fierce zeal and courageous patriotism, + the progress of the foe. May God encourage their hearts and + strengthen their arms, and may he inspire the Government and all the + people! + + "Given at headquarters, Boston, eleven o'clock, this (Sunday) + evening. May 25, 1862. + + "JOHN A. ANDREW." + +The Governor of Ohio issued the following proclamation: + + "COLUMBUS, Ohio, _May 26, 1862._ + + "_To the gallant men of Ohio._ + + "I have the astounding intelligence that the seat of our beloved + Government is threatened with invasion, and am called upon by the + Secretary of War for troops to repel and overwhelm the ruthless + invaders. Rally, then, men of Ohio, and respond to this call, as + becomes those who appreciate our glorious Government! . . . The + number wanted from each county has been indicated by special + dispatches to the several military committees. + + "DAVID TOD, _Governor._" + +At the same time the Secretary of War at Washington caused the +following order to be issued: + + "WASHINGTON, _Sunday, May 25, 1862._ + + "_Ordered:_ By virtue of the authority vested by an act of Congress, + the President takes military possession of all the railroads in the + United States from and after this date, and directs that the + respective railroad companies, their officers and servants, shall + hold themselves in readiness for the transportation of troops and + munitions of war, as may be ordered by the military authorities, to + the exclusion of all other business. + + "By order of the Secretary of War: + + "M. C. MEIGS, + + "_Quartermaster-General_." + +At the first moment of the alarm, the President of the United States +issued the following order: + + "WASHINGTON, _May 24 1862_. + + "Major-General MCDOWELL. + + "General Fremont has been ordered by telegraph to move to Franklin + and Harrisonburg to relieve General Banks and capture or destroy + Jackson's and Ewell's forces. You are instructed, laying aside for + the present the movement on Richmond, to put twenty thousand men in + motion at once for the Shenandoah, moving on the line or in advance + of the line of the Manassas Gap Railroad. Your object will be to + capture the forces of Jackson and Ewell, either in coöperation with + General Fremont, or, in case want of supplies or transportation has + interfered with his movement, it is believed that the force which you + move will be sufficient to accomplish the object alone. The + information thus far received here makes it probable that, if the + enemy operates actively against General Banks, you will not be able + to count upon much assistance from him, but may have even to release + him. Reports received this morning are that Banks is fighting with + Ewell, eight miles from Harper's Ferry. + + "ABRAHAM LINCOLN." + +When the panic thus indicated in the headquarters of the enemy had +disseminated itself through the military and social ramifications of +Northern society, the excitement was tumultuous. Meanwhile, General +Jackson, little conceiving the alarm his movements had caused in the +departments at Washington and in the offices of the Governors of +States, in addition to the diversion of McDowell from coöperation in +the attack upon Richmond, after driving the enemy out of Winchester, +pressed eagerly on, not pausing to accept the congratulations of the +overjoyed people at the sight of their own friends again among them, +for he learned that the enemy had garrisons at Charlestown and +Harper's Ferry, and he was resolved they should not rest on Virginia +soil. General Winder's brigade in the advance found the enemy drawn +up in line of battle at Charlestown. Without waiting for +reënforcements, he engaged them, and after a short conflict drove +them in disorder toward the Potomac. The main column then moved on +near to Harper's Ferry, where General Jackson received information +that Fremont was moving from the west, and the whole or a part of +General McDowell's corps from the east, to make a junction in his +rear and thus cut off his retreat. At this time General Jackson's +effective force was about fifteen thousand men, much less than either +of the two armies which were understood to be marching to form a +junction against him. We now know that General McDowell had been +ordered to send to the relief of General Banks in the Valley twenty +to thirty thousand men. The estimated force, of General Fremont when +at Harrisonburg was twenty thousand. General Jackson had captured in +his campaign down the Valley a very large amount of valuable stores, +over nine thousand small-arms, two pieces of artillery, many horses, +and, besides the wounded and sick, who had been released on parole, +was said to have twenty-three hundred prisoners. To secure these, as +well as to save his army, it was necessary to retreat beyond the +point where his enemies could readily unite. The amount of captured +stores and other property which he was anxious to preserve were said +to require a wagon-train twelve miles long. This, under the care of a +regiment, was sent forward in advance of the army, which promptly +retired up the Valley. + +On his retreat, General Jackson received information confirmatory of +the report of the movements of the enemy, and of the defeat of a +small force he had left at Front Royal in charge of some prisoners +and captured stores--the latter, however, the garrison before +retreating had destroyed. Strasburg being General Jackson's objective +point, he had farther to march to reach that position than either of +the columns operating against him. The rapidity of movement which +marked General Jackson's operations had given to his command the +appellation of "foot cavalry"; and never had they more need to show +themselves entitled to the name of Stonewall. + +On the night of the 31st of May, by a forced march, General Jackson +arrived with the head of his column at Strasburg, and learned that +General Fremont's advance was in the immediate vicinity. To gain time +for the rest of his army to arrive, General Jackson decided to check +Fremont's march by an attack in the morning. This movement was +assigned to General Ewell, General Jackson personally giving his +attention to preserving his immense trains filled with captured +stores. The repulse of Fremont's advance was so easy that General +Taylor describes it as offering a temptation to go beyond General +Jackson's orders and make a serious attack upon Fremont's army, but +recognizes the justice of the restraint imposed by the order, "as we +could not waste time chasing Fremont," for it was reported that +General Shields was at Front Royal with troops of a different +character from those of Fremont's army, who had been encountered near +Strasburg, _id est_, the corps "commanded by General O. O. Howard, +and called by both sides 'the flying Dutchmen.'" This more formidable +command of General Shields therefore required immediate attention. + +Leaving Strasburg on the evening of June 1st, always intent to +prevent a junction of the two armies of the enemy, Jackson continued +his march up the Valley. Fremont followed in pursuit, while Shields +moved slowly up the Valley via Luray, for the purpose of reaching New +Market in advance of Jackson. On the morning of the 5th Jackson +reached Harrisonburg, and, passing beyond that town, turned toward +the east in the direction of Port Republic. General Ashby had +destroyed all the bridges between Front Royal and Port Republic, to +prevent Shields from crossing the Shenandoah to join Fremont. The +troops were now permitted to make shorter marches, and were allowed +some halts to refresh them after their forced marches and frequent +combats. Early on the 6th of June Fremont's reënforced cavalry +attacked our cavalry rear-guard under General Ashby. A sharp conflict +ensued, which resulted in the repulse of the enemy and the capture of +Colonel Percy Wyndham, commanding the brigade, and sixty-three +others. General Ashby was in position between Harrisonburg and Port +Republic, and, after the cavalry combat just described, there were +indications of a more serious attack. Ashby sent a message to Ewell, +informing him that cavalry supported by infantry was advancing upon +his position. The Fifty-eighth Virginia and the First Maryland +Regiments were sent to his support. Ashby led the Fifty-eighth +Virginia to attack the enemy, who were under cover of a fence. +General Ewell in the mean time had arrived, and, seeing the advantage +the enemy had of position, directed Colonel Johnson to move with his +regiment so as to approach the flank instead of the front of the +enemy, and he was now driven from the field with heavy loss. Our loss +was seventeen killed, fifty wounded, and three missing. Here fell the +stainless, fearless cavalier, General Turner Ashby, of whom General +Jackson in his report thus forcibly speaks: + + "As a partisan officer I never knew his superior. His daring was + proverbial; his power of endurance almost incredible; his tone of + character heroic; and his sagacity almost intuitive in divining the + purposes and movements of the enemy." + +The main body of General Jackson's command had now reached Port +Republic, a village situated in the angle formed by the junction of +the North and South Rivers, tributaries of the South Fork of the +Shenandoah. Over the North River was a wooden bridge, connecting the +town with Harrisonburg. Over the South River there was a ford. +Jackson's immediate command was encamped on the high ground north of +the village and about a mile from the river. Ewell was some four +miles distant, near the road leading from Harrisonburg to Port +Republic. General Fremont had arrived with his forces in the vicinity +of Harrisonburg, and General Shields was moving up the east side of +the Shenandoah, and had reached Conrad's Store. Each was about +fifteen miles distant from Jackson's position. To prevent a junction, +the bridge over the river, near Shields's position, had been +destroyed. + +As the advance of General Shields approached on the 8th, the brigades +of Taliaferro and Winder were ordered to occupy positions immediately +north of the bridge. The enemy's cavalry, accompanied by artillery, +then appeared, and, after directing a few shots toward the bridge, +crossed South River, and, dashing into the village, planted one of +their pieces at the southern entrance of the bridge. Meantime our +batteries were placed in position, and, Taliaferro's brigade having +approached the bridge, was ordered to dash across, capture the piece, +and occupy the town. This was gallantly done, and the enemy's cavalry +dispersed and driven back, abandoning another gun. A considerable +body of infantry was now seen advancing, when our batteries opened +with marked effect, and in a short time the infantry followed the +cavalry, falling back three miles. They were pursued about a mile by +our batteries on the opposite bank, when they disappeared in a wood. + +This attack of Shields had scarcely been repulsed when Ewell became +seriously engaged with Fremont, moving on the opposite side of the +river. The enemy pushed forward, driving in the pickets, which, by +gallant resistance, checked their advance until Ewell had time to +select his position on a commanding ridge, with a rivulet and open +ground in front, woods on both flanks, and the road to Port Republic +intersecting his line. Trimble's brigade was posted on the right, the +batteries of Courtney, Lusk, Brockenbrough, and Rains in the center, +Stuart's brigade on the left, and Elzey's in rear of the center. Both +wings were in the woods. About ten o'clock the enemy posted his +artillery opposite our batteries, and a fire was kept up for several +hours, with great spirit on both sides. Meantime a brigade of the +enemy advanced, under cover, upon General Trimble, who reserved his +fire until they reached short range, when he poured forth a deadly +volley, under which they fell back; Trimble, supported by two +regiments of Elzey's reserve, now advanced, with spirited +skirmishing, more than a mile from his original line, driving the +opposing force back to its former position. Ewell, finding no attack +on his left was designed by the enemy, advanced and drove in their +skirmishers, and at night was in position on ground previously +occupied by the foe. This engagement has generally been known as the +battle of Cross Keys. + +As General Shields made no movement to renew the action of the 8th, +General Jackson determined to attack him on the 9th. Accordingly, +Ewell's forces were moved at an early hour toward Port Republic, and +General Trimble was left to hold Fremont in check, or, if hard +pressed, to retire across the river and burn the bridge, which +subsequently was done, under orders to concentrate against Shields. + +Meanwhile the enemy had taken position about two miles from Port +Republic, their right on the river-bank, their left on the slope of +the mountain which here threw out a spur, between which and the river +was a smooth plain of about a thousand yards wide. On an elevated +plateau of the mountain was placed a battery of long-range guns to +sweep the plain over which our forces must pass to attack. In front +of that plateau was a deep gorge, through which flowed a small +stream, trending to the southern side of the promontory, so as to +leave its northern point in advance of the southern. The +mountain-side was covered with dense wood. + +Such was the position which Jackson must assail, or lose the +opportunity to fight his foe in detail--the object for which his +forced marches had been made, and on which his best hopes depended. + +General Winder's brigade moved down the river to attack, when the +enemy's battery upon the plateau opened, and it was found to rake the +plain over which we must approach for a considerable distance in +front of Shields's position. Our guns were brought forward, and an +attempt made to dislodge the battery of the enemy, but our fire +proved unequal to theirs; whereupon General Winder, having been +reënforced, attempted by a rapid charge to capture it, but +encountered such a heavy fire of artillery and small-arms as to +compel his command, composed of his own and another brigade, with a +light battery, to fall back in disorder. The enemy advanced steadily, +and in such numbers as to drive back our infantry supports and render +it necessary to withdraw our guns. Ewell was hurrying his men over +the bridge, and there was no fear, if human effort would avail, that +he would come too late. But the condition was truly critical. General +Taylor describes his chief at that moment thus: "Jackson was on the +road, a little in advance of his line, where the fire was hottest, +with reins on his horse's neck, seemingly in prayer. Attracted by my +approach, he said, in his usual voice, 'Delightful excitement.'" He +then briefly gave Taylor instructions to move against the battery on +the plateau, and sent a young officer from his staff as a guide. The +advance of the enemy was checked by an attack on his flank by two of +our regiments, under Colonel Scott; but this was only a temporary +relief, for this small command was soon afterward driven back to the +woods, with severe loss. Our batteries during the check were all +safely withdrawn except one six-pounder gun. + +In this critical condition of Winder's command, General Taylor made a +successful attack on the left and rear of the enemy, which diverted +attention from the front, and led to a concentration of his force +upon him. Moving to the right along the mountain acclivity, he was +unseen before he emerged from the wood, just as the loud cheers of +the enemy proclaimed their success in front. Although opposed by a +superior force in front and flank, and with their guns in position, +with a rush and shout the gorge was passed, impetuously the charge +was made, and the battery of six guns fell into our hands. Three +times was this battery lost and won in the desperate and determined +efforts to capture and recover it, and the enemy finally succeeded in +carrying off one of the guns, leaving both caisson and limber. Thus +occupied with Taylor, the enemy halted in his advance, and formed a +line facing to the mountain. Winder succeeded in rallying his +command, and our batteries were replaced in their former positions. +At the same time reënforcements were brought by General Ewell to +Taylor, who pushed forward with them, assisted by the well-directed +fire of our artillery. + +Of this period in the battle, than which there has seldom been one of +greater peril, or where danger was more gallantly met, I copy a +description from the work of General Taylor: + + "The fighting in and around the battery was hand-to-hand, and many + fell from bayonet-wounds. Even the artillerymen used their rammers in + a way not laid down in the manual, and died at their guns. I called + for Hayes, but he, the promptest of men, and his splendid regiment + could not be found. Something unexpected had occurred, but there was + no time for speculation. With a desperate rally, in which I believe + the drummer-boys shared, we carried the battery for the third time, + and held it. Infantry and riflemen had been driven off, and we began + to feel a little comfortable, when the enemy, arrested in his advance + by our attack, appeared. He had countermarched, and, with left near + the river, came into full view of our situation. Wheeling to the + right, with colors advanced, like a solid wall he marched straight + upon us. There seemed nothing left but to set our back to the + mountain and die hard. At the instant, crashing through the + underwood, came Ewell, outriding staff and escort. He produced the + effect of a reënforcement, and was welcomed with cheers. The line + before us halted and threw forward skirmishers. A moment later a + shell came shrieking along it, loud Confederate cheers reached our + delighted ears, and Jackson, freed from his toils, rushed up like a + whirlwind." [39] + +The enemy, in his advance, had gone in front of the plateau where his +battery was placed, the elevation being sufficient to enable the guns +without hazard to be fired over the advancing line; so, when he +commenced retreating, he had to pass by the position of this battery, +and the captured guns were effectively used against him--that +dashing old soldier, "Ewell, serving as a gunner." Mention was made +of the inability to find Hayes when his regiment was wanted. It is +due to that true patriot, who has been gathered to his fathers, to +add Taylor's explanation: "Ere long my lost Seventh Regiment, sadly +cut up, rejoined. This regiment was in rear of the column when we +left Jackson to gain the path in the woods, and, before it filed out +of the road, his thin line was so pressed that Jackson ordered Hayes +to stop the enemy's rush. This was done, for the Seventh would have +stopped a herd of elephants--but at a fearful cost." + +The retreat of the enemy, though it was so precipitate as to cause +him to leave his killed and wounded on the field, was never converted +into a rout. "Shields's brave 'boys' preserved their organization to +the last; and, had Shields himself, with his whole command, been on +the field, we should have had tough work indeed." + +The pursuit was continued some five miles beyond the battle-field, +during which we captured four hundred and fifty prisoners, some +wagons, one piece of abandoned artillery, and about eight hundred +muskets. Some two hundred and seventy-five wounded were paroled in +the hospitals near Port Republic. On the next day Fremont withdrew +his forces, and retreated down the Valley. The rapid movements of +Jackson, the eagle-like stoop with which he had descended upon each +army of the enemy, and the terror which his name had come to inspire, +created a great alarm at Washington, where it was believed he must +have an immense army, and that he was about to come down like an +avalanche upon the capital. Milroy, Banks, Fremont, and Shields were +all moved in that direction, and peace again reigned in the patriotic +and once happy Valley of the Shenandoah. + +The material results of this very remarkable campaign are thus +summarily stated by one who had special means of information: + + "In three months Jackson had marched six hundred miles, fought four + pitched battles, seven minor engagements, and daily skirmishes; had + defeated four armies, captured seven pieces of artillery, ten + thousand stand of arms, four thousand prisoners, and a very great + amount of stores, inflicting upon his adversaries a known loss of two + thousand men, with a loss upon his own part comparatively small." [40] + +The general effect upon the affairs of the Confederacy was even more +important, and the motives which influenced Jackson present him in a +grander light than any military success could have done. Thus, on the +20th of March, 1862, he learned that the large force of the enemy +before which he had retired was returning down the Valley, and, +divining the object to be to send forces to the east side of the +mountain to coöperate in the attack upon Richmond, General Jackson, +with his small force of about three thousand infantry and two hundred +and ninety cavalry, moved with his usual celerity in pursuit. He +overtook the rear of the column at Kernstown, attacked a very +superior force he found there, and fought with such desperation as to +impress the enemy with the idea that he had a large army; therefore, +the detachments, which had already started for Manassas, were +recalled, and additional forces were also sent into the Valley. Nor +was this all. McDowell's corps, under orders to join McClellan, was +detained for the defense of the Federal capital. + +Jackson's bold strategy had effected the object for which his +movement was designed, and he slowly retreated to the south bank of +the Shenandoah, where he remained undisturbed by the enemy, and had +time to recruit his forces, which, by the 28th of April, amounted to +six or seven thousand men. General Banks had advanced and occupied +Harrisonburg, about fifteen miles from Jackson's position. Fremont, +with a force estimated at fifteen thousand men, was reported to be +preparing to join Banks's command. + +The alarm at Washington had caused McDowell's corps to be withdrawn +from the upper Rappahannock to Fredericksburg. Jackson, anxious to +take advantage of the then divided condition of the enemy, sent to +Richmond for reënforcements, but our condition there did not enable +us to furnish any, except the division of Ewell, which had been left +near Gordonsville in observation of McDowell, now by his withdrawal +made disposable, and the brigade of Edward Johnson, which confronted +Schenck and Milroy near to Staunton. Jackson, who, when he could not +get what he wanted, did the best he could with what he had, called +Ewell to his aid, left him to hold Banks in check, and marched to +unite with Johnson; the combined forces attacked Milroy and Schenck, +who, after a severe conflict, retreated in the night to join Fremont. +Jackson then returned toward Harrisonburg, having ordered Ewell to +join him for an attack on Banks, who in the mean time had retreated +toward Winchester, where Jackson attacked and defeated him, +inflicting great loss, drove him across the Potomac, and, as has been +represented, filled the authorities at Washington with such dread of +its capture as to disturb the previously devised plans against +Richmond, and led to the operations which have already been +described, and brought into full play Jackson's military genius. In +all these operations there conspicuously appears the self-abnegation +of a devoted patriot. He was not seeking by great victories to +acquire fame for himself; but, always alive to the necessities and +dangers elsewhere, he heroically strove to do what was possible for +the general benefit of the cause he maintained. His whole heart was +his country's, and his whole country's heart was his. + + +[Footnote 33: "History of the Civil War in America," Comte de Paris, +vol. ii, pp. 32-34.] + +[Footnote 34: "Campaign on the Peninsula," Prince de Joinville, 1862.] + +[Footnote 35: Court-Martial of General McDowell, Washington, December +10, 1862.] + +[Footnote 36: "Report on the Conduct of the War," Part I, p. 322.] + +[Footnote 37: Ibid., p. 337.] + +[Footnote 38: "Four Years with General Lee," by Walter H. Taylor, p. 50.] + +[Footnote 39: "Destruction and Reconstruction" pp. 75, 76.] + +[Footnote 40: "Stonewall Jackson," military biography by John Esten +Cooke, p. 194.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + Condition of Affairs.--Plan of General Johnston.--The Field of + Battle at Seven Pines.--The Battle.--General Johnston wounded.-- + Advance of General Sumner.--Conflict on the Right.--Delay of + General Huger.--Reports of the Enemy.--Losses.--Strength of + Forces.--General Lee in Command. + + +Our army having retreated from the Peninsula, and withdrawn from the +north side of the Chickahominy to the immediate vicinity of Richmond, +I rode out occasionally to the lines and visited the headquarters of +the commanding General. There were no visible preparations for +defense, and my brief conversations with the General afforded no +satisfactory information as to his plans and purposes. We had, under +the supervision of General Lee, perfected as far as we could the +detached works before the city, but these were rather designed to +protect it against a sudden attack than to resist approaches by a +great army. They were, also, so near to the city that it might have +been effectually bombarded by guns exterior to them. Anxious for the +defense of the ancient capital of Virginia, now the capital of the +Confederate States, and remembering a remark of General Johnston, +that the Spaniards were the only people who now undertook to hold +fortified towns, I had written to him that he knew the defense of +Richmond must be made at a distance from it. Seeing no preparation to +keep the enemy at a distance, and kept in ignorance of any plan for +such purpose, I sent for General B. E. Lee, then at Richmond, in +general charge of army operations, and told him why and how I was +dissatisfied with the condition of affairs. + +He asked me what I thought it was proper to do. Recurring to a +conversation held about the time we had together visited General +Johnston, I answered that McClellan should be attacked on the other +side of the Chickahominy before he matured his preparations for a +siege of Richmond. To this he promptly assented, as I anticipated he +would, for I knew it had been his own opinion. He then said: "General +Johnston should of course advise you of what he expects or proposes +to do. Let me go and see him, and defer this discussion until I +return." + +It may be proper here to say that I had not doubted that General +Johnston was fully in accord with me as to the purpose of defending +Richmond, but I was not content with his course for that end. It had +not occurred to me that he meditated a retreat which would uncover +the capital, nor was it ever suspected until, in reading General +Hood's book, published in 1880, the evidence was found that General +Johnston, when retreating from Yorktown, told his volunteer aide, Mr. +McFarland, that "he [Johnston] expected or intended to give up +Richmond." [41] + +When General Lee came back, he told me that General Johnston +proposed, on the next Thursday, to move against the enemy as follows: +General. A. P. Hill was to move down on the right flank and rear of +the enemy. General G. W. Smith, as soon as Hill's guns opened, was to +cross the Chickahominy at the Meadow Bridge, attack the enemy in +flank, and by the conjunction of the two it was expected to double +him up. Then Longstreet was to cross on the Mechanicsville Bridge and +attack him in front. From this plan the best results were hoped by +both of us. + +On the morning of the day proposed, I hastily dispatched my office +business, and rode out toward the Meadow Bridge to see the action +commence. On the road I found Smith's division halted, and the men +dispersed in the woods. Looking for some one from whom I could get +information, I finally saw General Hood, and asked him the meaning of +what I saw. He told me he did not know anything more than that they +had been halted. I asked him where General Smith was; he said he +believed he had gone to a farmhouse in the rear, adding that he +thought he was ill. Riding on to the bluff which overlooks the Meadow +Bridge, I asked Colonel Anderson, posted there in observation, +whether he had seen anything of the enemy in his front. He said that +he had seen only two mounted men across the bridge, and a small party +of infantry on the other side of the river, some distance below, both +of whom, he said, he could show me if I would go with him into the +garden back of the house. There, by the use of a powerful glass, were +distinctly visible two cavalry videttes at the further end of the +bridge, and a squad of infantry lower down the river, who had covered +themselves with a screen of green boughs. The Colonel informed me +that he had not heard Hill's guns; it was, therefore, supposed he had +not advanced. I then rode down the bank of the river, followed by a +cavalcade of sight-seers, who, I supposed, had been attracted by the +expectation of a battle. The little squad of infantry, about fifteen +in number, as we approached, fled over the ridge, and were lost to +sight. Near to the Mechanicsville Bridge I found General Howell Cobb, +commanding the support of a battery of artillery. He pointed out to +me on the opposite side of the river the only enemy he had seen, and +which was evidently a light battery. Riding on to the main road which +led to the Mechanicsville Bridge, I found General Longstreet, walking +to and fro in an impatient, it might be said fretful, manner. Before +speaking to him, he said his division had been under arms all day +waiting for orders to advance, and that the day was now so far spent +that he did not know what was the matter. I afterward learned from +General Smith that he had received information from a citizen that +the Beaver-dam Creek presented an impassable barrier, and that he had +thus fortunately been saved from a disaster. Thus ended the +offensive-defensive programme from which Lee expected much, and of +which I was hopeful. + +In the mean while the enemy moved up, and, finding the crossing at +Bottom's Bridge unobstructed, threw a brigade of the Fourth Corps +across the Chickahominy as early as the 20th of May, and on the 23d +sent over the rest of the Fourth Corps; on the 25th he sent over +another corps, and commenced fortifying a line near to Seven Pines. +In the forenoon of the 31st of May, riding out on the New Bridge +road, I heard firing in the direction of Seven Pines. As I drew +nearer, I saw General Whiting, with part of General Smith's division, +file into the road in front of me; at the same time I saw General +Johnston ride across the field from a house before which General +Lee's horse was standing. I turned down to the house, and asked +General Lee what the musketry-firing meant. He replied by asking +whether I had heard it, and was answered in the affirmative; he said +he had been under that impression himself, but General Johnston had +assured him that it could be nothing more than an artillery duel. It +is scarcely necessary to add that neither of us had been advised of a +design to attack the enemy that day. + +We then walked out to the rear of the house to listen, and were +satisfied that an action, or at least a severe skirmish, must be +going on. General Johnston states in his report that the condition of +the air was peculiarly unfavorable to the transmission of sound. + +General Lee and myself then rode to the field of battle, which may be +briefly described as follows: + +The Chickahominy flowing in front is a deep, sluggish, and narrow +river, bordered by marshes, and covered with tangled wood. The line +of battle extended along the Nine-mile road, across the York River +Railroad and Williamsburg stage-road. The enemy had constructed +redoubts, with long lines of rifle-pits covered by abatis, from below +Bottom's Bridge to within less than two miles of New Bridge, and had +constructed bridges to connect his forces on the north and south +sides of the Chickahominy. The left of his forces, on the south side, +was thrown forward from the river; the right was on its bank, and +covered by its slope. Our main force was on the right flank of our +position, extending on both sides of the Williamsburg road, near to +its intersection with the Nine-mile road. This wing consisted of +Hill's, Huger's, and Longstreet's divisions, with light batteries, +and a small force of cavalry; the division of General G. W. Smith, +less Hood's brigade ordered to the right, formed the left wing, and +its position was on the Nine-mile road. There were small tracts of +cleared land, but most of the ground was wooded, and much of it so +covered with water as to seriously embarrass the movements of troops. + +When General Lee and I riding down the Nine-mile road reached the +left of our line, we found the troops hotly engaged. Our men had +driven the enemy from his advanced encampment, and he had fallen back +behind an open field to the bank of the river, where, in a dense +wood, was concealed an infantry line, with artillery in position. +Soon after our arrival, General Johnston, who had gone farther to the +right, where the conflict was expected, and whither reënforcement +from the left was marching, was brought back severely wounded, and, +as soon as an ambulance could be obtained, was removed from the field. + +Our troops on the left made vigorous assaults under most +disadvantageous circumstances. They made several gallant attempts to +carry the enemy's position, but were each time repulsed with heavy +loss. + +After a personal reconnaissance on the left of the open in our front, +I sent one, then another, and another courier to General Magruder, +directing him to send a force down by the wooded path, just under the +bluff, to attack the enemy in flank and reverse. Impatient of delay, +I had started to see General Magruder, when I met the third courier, +who said he had not found General Magruder, but had delivered the +message to Brigadier-General Griffith, who was moving by the path +designated to make the attack. + +On returning to the field, I found that the attack in front had +ceased; it was, therefore, too late for a single brigade to effect +anything against the large force of the enemy, and messengers were +sent through the woods to direct General Griffith to go back. + +The heavy rain during the night of the 30th had swollen the +Chickahominy; it was rising when the battle of Seven Pines was +fought, but had not reached such height as to prevent the enemy from +using his bridges; consequently, General Sumner, during the +engagement, brought over his corps as a reënforcement. He was on the +north side of the river, had built two bridges to connect with the +south side, and, though their coverings were loosened by the upward +pressure of the rising water, they were not yet quite impassable. +With the true instinct of the soldier to march upon fire, when the +sound of the battle reached him, he formed his corps and stood under +arms waiting for an order to advance. He came too soon for us, and, +but for his forethought and promptitude, he would have arrived too +late for his friends. It may be granted that his presence saved the +left wing of the Federal army from defeat. + +As we had permitted the enemy to fortify before our attack, it would +have been better to have waited another day, until the bridges should +have been rendered impassable by the rise of the river. + +General Lee, at nightfall, gave instructions to General Smith, the +senior officer on that part of the battle-field, and left with me to +return to Richmond. + +Thus far I have only attempted to describe events on the extreme left +of the battle-field, being that part of which I had personal +observation; but the larger force and, consequently, the more serious +conflict were upon the right of the line. To these I will now refer. +Our force there consisted of the divisions of Major-Generals D. H. +Hill, Huger, and Longstreet, the latter in chief command. In his +report, first published in the "Southern Historical Society Papers," +vol. iii, pp. 277, 278, he writes: + + "Agreeably to verbal instructions from the commanding General, the + division of Major-General D. H. Hill was, on the morning of the 31st + ultimo, formed at an early hour on the Williamsburg road, as the + column of attack upon the enemy's front on that road. . . . The + division of Major-General Huger was intended to make a strong flank + movement around the left of the enemy's position, and attack him in + rear of that flank. . . . After waiting some six hours for these + troops to get into position, I determined to move forward without + regard to them, and gave orders to that effect to Major-General D. H. + Hill. The forward movement began about two o'clock, and our + skirmishers soon became engaged with those of the enemy. The entire + division of General Hill became engaged about three o'clock, and + drove the enemy steadily back, gaining possession of his abatis and + part of his intrenched camp, General Rodes, by a movement to the + right, driving in the enemy's left. The only reënforcements on the + field in hand were my own brigades, of which Anderson's, Wilcox's, + and Kemper's were put in by the front on the Williamsburg road, and + Colston's and Pryor's by my right flank. At the same time the decided + and gallant attack made by the other brigades gained entire + possession of the enemy's position, with his artillery, + camp-equipage, etc. Anderson's brigade, under Colonel Jenkins, + pressing forward rapidly, continued to drive the enemy till + nightfall. . . . The conduct of the attack was left entirely to + Major-General Hill. The entire success of the affair is sufficient + evidence of his ability, courage, and skill." + +This tribute to General Hill was no more than has been accorded to +him by others who knew of his services on that day, and was in +keeping with the determined courage, vigilance, and daring exhibited +by him on other fields. + +The reference, made, without qualification, in General Longstreet's +report, to the failure of General Huger to make the attack expected +of him, and the freedom with which others have criticised him, +renders it proper that some explanation should be given of an +apparent dilatoriness on the part of that veteran soldier, who, after +long and faithful service, now fills an honored grave. + +It will be remembered that General Huger was to move by the Charles +City road, so as to turn the left of the enemy and attack him in +flank. The extraordinary rain of the previous night had swollen every +rivulet to the dimensions of a stream, and the route prescribed to +General Huger was one especially affected by that heavy rain, as it +led to the head of the White-Oak Swamp. The bridge over the stream +flowing into that swamp had been carried away, and the alternatives +presented to him was to rebuild the bridge or leave his artillery. He +chose the former, which involved the delay that has subjected him to +criticism. If any should think an excuse necessary to justify this +decision, they are remanded to the accepted military maxim, that the +march must never be so hurried as to arrive unfit for service; and, +also, they may be reminded that Huger's specialty was artillery, he +being the officer who commanded the siege-guns with which General +Scott marched from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico. To show that the +obstacles encountered were not of such slight character as energy +would readily overcome, I refer to the report of an officer +commanding a brigade on that occasion, Brigadier-General R. E. Rodes, +whose great merit and dashing gallantry caused him to be admired +throughout the army of the Confederacy. He said: + + "On the morning of the 31st the brigade was stationed on the Charles + City road, three and a half miles from the point on the Williamsburg + road from which it had been determined to start the columns of + attack. . . . I received a verbal order from General Hill to conduct + my command at once to the point at which the attack was to be made. + . . . The progress of the brigade was considerably delayed by the + washing away of a bridge near the head of White-Oak Swamp, by reason + of which the men had to wade in water waist-deep, and a large number + were entirely submerged. At this point the character of the crossing + was such that it was absolutely necessary to proceed with great + caution to prevent the loss of both ammunition and life. In + consequence of this delay, and notwithstanding that the men were + carried at double-quick time over very heavy ground for a + considerable distance to make up for it, when the signal for attack + was given, only my line of skirmishers, the Sixth Alabama and the + Twelfth Mississippi Regiments, was in position. . . . The ground over + which we were to move being covered with thick undergrowth, and the + soil being marshy--so marshy that it was with great difficulty that + either horses or men could get over it--and being guided only by the + fire in front, I emerged from the woods from the Williamsburg road + under a heavy fire of both artillery and musketry, with only five + companies of the Fifth Alabama." + +General Huger's line of march was farther to the right, therefore +nearer to White-Oak Swamp, and the impediments consequently greater +than where General Rodes found the route so difficult as to be +dangerous even to infantry. + +On the next day, the 1st of June, General Longstreet states that a +serious attack was made on our position, and that it was repulsed. +This refers to the works which Hill's division had captured the day +before, and which the enemy endeavored to retake. + +From the final report of General Longstreet, already cited, it +appears that he was ordered to attack on the morning of the 31st, and +he explains why it was postponed for six hours; then he states that +it was commenced by the division of General D. H. Hill, which drove +the enemy steadily back, pressing forward until nightfall. The +movement of Rodes's brigade on the right flank is credited with +having contributed much to the dislodgment of the enemy from their +abatis and first intrenchments. As just stated. General Longstreet +reports a delay of some six hours in making this attack, because he +was waiting for General Huger, and then made it successfully with +Hill's division and some brigades from his own. These questions must +naturally arise in the mind of the reader: Why did not our troops on +the left, during this long delay, as well as during the period +occupied by Hill's assault, coöperate in the attack? and Why, the +battle having been preconceived, were they so far removed as not to +hear the first guns? The officers of the Federal army, when called +before a committee appointed by their Congress to inquiry into the +conduct of the war, have by their testimony made it quite plain that +the divided condition of their troops and the length of time required +for their concentration after the battle commenced, rendered it +practicable for our forces, if united--as, taking the initiative, +they well might have been--to have crushed or put to flight first +Keyes's and then Heintzelman's corps before Sumner crossed the +Chickahominy, between five and six o'clock in the evening. + +By the official reports our aggregate loss was, "killed, wounded, and +missing," 6,084, of which 4,851 were in Longstreet's command on the +right, and 1,233 in Smith's command on the left. + +The enemy reported his aggregate loss at 5,739. It may have been less +than ours, for we stormed his successive defenses. + +Our success upon the right was proved by our possession of the +enemy's works, as well as by the capture of ten pieces of artillery, +four flags, a large amount of camp-equipage, and more than one +thousand prisoners. + +Our aggregate of both wings was about 40,500. The force of the enemy +confronting us may be approximated by taking his returns for the 20th +of June and adding thereto his casualties on the 31st of May and 1st +of June, because between the last-named date and the 20th of June no +action had occurred to create any material change in the number +present. From these data, viz., the strength of Heintzelman's corps, +18,810, and of Keyes's corps, 14,610, on June 20th, by adding their +casualties of the 31st of May and 1st of June--4,516--we deduce the +strength of these two corps on the 31st of May to have been 37,936 as +the aggregate present for duty. + +It thus appears that, at the commencement of the action on the 31st +of May, we had a numerical superiority of about 2,500. Adopting the +same method to calculate the strength of Sumner's corps, we find it +to have been 18,724, which would give the enemy in round numbers a +force of 16,000 in excess of ours after General Sumner crossed the +Chickahominy. + +Both combatants claimed the victory. I have presented the evidence in +support of our claim. The withdrawal of the Confederate forces on the +day after the battle from the ground on which it was fought certainly +gives color to the claim of the enemy, though that was really the +result of a policy much broader than the occupation of the field of +Seven Pines. + +On the morning of June 1st I rode out toward the position where +General Smith had been left on the previous night, and where I +learned from General Lee that he would remain. After turning into the +Nine-mile road, and before reaching that position, I was hailed by +General Whiting, who saw me at a distance, and ran toward the road to +stop me. He told me I was riding into the position of the enemy, who +had advanced on the withdrawal of our troops, and there, pointing, he +said, "is a battery which I am surprised has not fired on yon." I +asked where our troops were. He said his was the advance, and the +others behind him. He also told me that General Smith was at the +house which had been his (Whiting's) headquarters, and I rode there +to see him. To relieve both him and General Lee from any +embarrassment, I preferred to make the announcement of General Lee's +assignment to command previous to his arrival. + +After General Lee arrived, I took leave, and, being subsequently +joined by him, we rode together to the Williamsburg road, where we +found General Longstreet, his command being in front, and then +engaged with the enemy on the field of the previous day's combat. The +operations of that day were neither extensive nor important, save in +the collection of the arms acquired in the previous day's battle. + +General R. E. Lee was now in immediate command, and thenceforward +directed the movements of the army in front of Richmond. Laborious +and exact in details, as he was vigilant and comprehensive in grand +strategy, a power, with which the public had not credited him, soon +became manifest in all that makes an army a rapid, accurate, compact +machine, with responsive motion in all its parts. I extract the +following sentence from a letter from the late Colonel R. H. Chilton, +adjutant and inspector-general of the army of the Confederacy, +because of his special knowledge of the subject: + + "I consider General Lee's exhibition of grand administrative talents + and indomitable energy, in bringing up that army in so short a time + to that state of discipline which maintained aggregation through + those terrible seven days' fights around Richmond, as probably his + grandest achievement." + + +[Footnote 41: For recital and correspondence of 1874, see "Advance and +Retreat," by J. B. Hood, Lieutenant-General in the Confederate Army, +pp. 153-156.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + The Enemy's Position.--His Intention.--The Plan of Operations.-- + Movements of General Jackson.--Daring and Fortitude of Lee.-- + Offensive-Defensive Policy.--General Stuart's Movement.--Order of + Attack.--Critical Position of McClellan.--Order of Mr. Lincoln + creating the Army of Virginia.--Arrival of Jackson.--Position of + the Enemy.--Diversion of General Longstreet.--The Enemy forced back + south of the Chickahominy.--Abandonment of the Railroad. + + +When riding from the field of battle with General Robert E. Lee on +the previous day, I informed him that he would be assigned to the +command of the army, _vice_ General Johnston, wounded, and that he +could make his preparations as soon as he reached his quarters, as I +should send the order to him as soon as arrived at mine. On the next +morning, as above stated, he proceeded to the field and took command +of the troops. During the night our forces on the left had fallen +back from their position at the close of the previous day's battle, +but those on the right remained in the one they had gained, and some +combats occurred there between the opposing forces. The enemy +proceeded further to fortify his position on the Chickahominy, +covering his communication with his base of supplies on York River. +His left was on the south side of the Chickahominy, between White-Oak +Swamp and New Bridge, and was covered by a strong intrenchment, with +heavy guns, and with abatis in front. His right wing was north of the +Chickahominy, extending to Mechanicsville, and the approaches +defended by strong works. + +Our army was in line in front of Richmond, but without intrenchments. +General Lee immediately commenced the construction of an earthwork +for a battery on our left flank, and a line of intrenchment to the +right, necessarily feeble because of our deficiency in tools. It +seemed to be the intention of the enemy to assail Richmond by regular +approaches, which our numerical inferiority and want of engineer +troops, as well as the deficiency of proper utensils, made it +improbable that we should be able to resist. The day after General +Lee assumed command, I was riding out to the army, when I saw at a +house on my left a number of horses, and among them one I recognized +as belonging to him. I dismounted and entered the house, where I +found him in consultation with a number of his general officers. The +tone of the conversation was quite despondent, and one, especially, +pointed out the inevitable consequence of the enemy's advance by +throwing out _boyaux_ and constructing successive parallels. I +expressed, in marked terms, my disappointment at hearing such views, +and General Lee remarked that he had, before I came in, said very +much the same thing. I then withdrew and rode to the front, where, +after a short time, General Lee joined me, and entered into +conversation as to what, under the circumstances, I thought it most +advisable to do. I then said to him, substantially, that I knew of +nothing better than the plan he had previously explained to me, which +was to have been executed by General Johnston, but which was not +carried out; that the change of circumstances would make one +modification necessary--that, instead, as then proposed, of bringing +General A. P. Hill, with his division, on the rear flank of the +enemy, it would, because of the preparation for defense made in the +mean time, now be necessary to bring the stronger force of General T. +J. Jackson from the Valley of the Shenandoah. So far as we were then +informed, General Jackson was hotly engaged with a force superior to +his own, and, before he could be withdrawn, it was necessary that the +enemy should be driven out of the Valley. For this purpose, as well +as to mask the design of bringing Jackson's forces to make a junction +with those of Lee, a strong division under General Whiting was +detached to go by rail to the Valley to join General Jackson, and, by +a vigorous assault, to drive the enemy across the Potomac. As soon as +he commenced a retreat which unmistakably showed that his flight +would not stop within the limits of Virginia, General Jackson was +instructed, with his whole force, to move rapidly on the right flank +of the enemy north of the Chickahominy. The manner in which the +division was detached to reënforce General Jackson was so open that +it was not doubted General McClellan would soon be apprised of it, +and would probably attribute it to any other than the real motive, +and would confirm him in his exaggerated estimate of our strength. + + +By the rapidity of movement and skill with which General Jackson +handled his troops, he, after several severe engagements, finally +routed the enemy before the reënforcement of Whiting arrived; and he +then, on the 17th of June, proceeded, with that celerity which gave +to his infantry its wonderful fame and efficiency, to execute the +orders which General Lee had sent to him. + +As evidence of the daring and unfaltering fortitude of General Lee, I +will here recite an impressive conversation which occurred between us +in regard to this movement. His plan was to throw forward his left +across the Meadow Bridge, drive back the enemy's right flank, and +then, crossing by the Mechanicsville Bridge with another column, to +attack in front, hoping by his combined forces to be victorious on +the north side of the Chickahominy; while the small force on the +intrenched line south of the Chickahominy should hold the left of the +enemy in check. I pointed out to him that our force and intrenched +line between that left flank and Richmond was too weak for a +protracted resistance, and, if McClellan was the man I took him for +when I nominated him for promotion in a new regiment of cavalry, and +subsequently selected him for one of the military commission sent to +Europe during the War of the Crimea, as soon as he found that the +bulk of our army was on the north side of the Chickahominy, he would +not stop to try conclusions with it there, but would immediately move +upon his objective point, the city of Richmond. If, on the other +hand, he should behave like an engineer officer, and deem it his +first duty to protect his line of communication, I thought the plan +proposed was not only the best, but would be a success. Something of +his old _esprit de corps_ manifested itself in General Lee's first +response, that he did not know engineer officers were more likely +than others to make such mistakes, but, immediately passing to the +main subject, he added, "If you will hold him as long as you can at +the intrenchment, and then fall back on the detached works around the +city, I will be upon the enemy's heels before he gets there." + +Thus was inaugurated the offensive-defensive campaign which resulted +so gloriously to our arms, and turned from the capital of the +Confederacy a danger so momentous that, looking at it retrospectively, +it is not seen how a policy less daring or less firmly pursued could +have saved the capital from capture. + +To resume the connected thread of our narrative. Preparatory to this +campaign, a light intrenchment for infantry cover, with some works +for field-guns, was constructed on the south side of the Chickahominy, +and General Whiting, with two brigades, as before stated, was sent to +reënforce General Jackson in the Valley, so as to hasten the expulsion +of the enemy, after which Jackson was to move rapidly from the Valley +so as to arrive in the vicinity of Ashland by the 24th of June, and, by +striking the enemy on his right flank, to aid in the proposed attack. +The better to insure the success of this movement, General Lawton, who +was coming with a brigade from Georgia to join General Lee, was directed +to change his line of march and unite with General Jackson in the Valley. + +As General Whiting went by railroad, it was expected that the enemy +would be cognizant of the fact, but not, probably, assign to it the +real motive; and that such was the case is shown by an unsuccessful +attack of the 26th, made on the Williamsburg road, with the apparent +intention of advancing by that route to Richmond. + +To observe the enemy, as well as to prevent him from learning of the +approach of General Jackson, General J. E. B. Stuart was sent with a +cavalry force on June 8th to cover the route by which the former was +to march, and to ascertain whether the enemy had any defensive works +or troops in position to interfere with the advance of those forces. +He reported favorably on both these points, as well as to the natural +features of the country. On the 26th of June General Stuart received +confidential instructions from General Lee, the execution of which is +so interwoven with the seven days' battles as to be more +appropriately noticed in connection with them, of which it is +proposed now to give a brief account. + +Our order of battle directed General Jackson to march from Ashland on +the 25th toward Slash Church, encamping for the night west of the +Central Railroad; to advance at 3 A.M. on the 26th, and to turn +Beaver-Dam Creek. General A. P. Hill was to cross the Chickahominy at +Meadow Bridge when Jackson advanced beyond that point, and to move +directly upon Mechanicsville. As soon as the bridge there should be +uncovered, Longstreet and D. H. Hill were to cross, the former to +proceed to the support of A. P. Hill and the latter to that of +Jackson. + +The four commands were directed to sweep down the north side of the +Chickahominy toward the York River Railroad--Jackson on the left and +in advance; Longstreet nearest the river and in the rear. Huger, +McLaws, and Magruder, remaining on the south side of the +Chickahominy, were ordered to hold their positions as long as +possible against any assault of the enemy; to observe his movements, +and to follow him closely if he should retreat. General Stuart, with +the cavalry, was thrown out on Jackson's left to guard his flank and +give notice of the enemy's movements. Brigadier-General Pendleton was +directed to employ the reserve artillery so as to resist any advance +toward Richmond, to superintend that portion of it posted to aid in +the operations on the north bank, and hold the remainder for use +where needed. The whole of Jackson's command did not arrive in time +to reach the point designated on the 25th. He had, therefore, more +distance to move on the 26th, and he was retarded by the enemy. + +Not until 3 P.M. did A. P. Hill begin to move. Then he crossed the +river and advanced upon Mechanicsville. After a sharp conflict he +drove the enemy from his intrenchments, and forced him to take refuge +in his works, on the left bank of Beaver Dam, about a mile distant. +This position was naturally strong, the banks of the creek in front +being high and almost perpendicular, and the approach to it was over +open fields commanded by the fire of artillery and infantry under +cover on the opposite side. The difficulty of crossing the stream had +been increased by felling the fringe of woods on its banks and +destroying the bridges. Jackson was expected to pass Beaver Dam +above, and turn the enemy's right, so General Hill made no direct +attack. Longstreet and D. H. Hill crossed the Mechanicsville Bridge +as soon as it was uncovered and could be repaired, but it was late +before they reached the north bank of the Chickahominy. An effort was +made by two brigades, one of A. P. Hill and the other Ripley's of D. +H. Hill, to turn the enemy's left, but the troops were unable in the +growing darkness to overcome the obstructions, and were withdrawn. +The engagement ceased about 9 P.M. Our troops retained the ground +from which the foe had been driven. + +According to the published reports, General McClellan's position was +regarded at this time as extremely critical. If he concentrated on +the left bank of the Chickahominy, he abandoned the attempt to +capture Richmond, and risked a retreat upon the White House and +Yorktown, where he had no reserves, or reason to expect further +support. If he moved to the right bank of the river, he risked the +loss of his communications with the White House, whence his supplies +were drawn by railroad. He would then have to attempt the capture of +Richmond by assault, or be forced to open new communications by the +James River, and move at once in that direction. There he would +receive the support of the enemy's navy. This latter movement had, it +appears, been thought of previously, and transports had been sent to +the James River. During the night, after the close of the contest +last mentioned, the whole of Porter's baggage was sent over to the +right bank of the river, and united with the train that set out on +the evening of the 27th for the James River. + +It would almost seem as if the Government of the United States +anticipated, at this period, the failure of McClellan's expedition. +On June 27th President Lincoln issued an order creating the "Army of +Virginia," to consist of the forces of Fremont, in their Mountain +Department; of Banks, in their Shenandoah Department; and of +McDowell, at Fredericksburg. The command of this army was assigned to +Major-General John Pope. This cut off all reënforcements from +McDowell to McClellan. + +In expectation of Jackson's arrival on the enemy's right, the battle +was renewed at dawn, and continued with animation about two hours, +during which the passage of the creek was attempted, and our troops +forced their way to its banks, where their progress was arrested by +the nature of the stream and the resistance encountered. They +maintained their position while preparations were being made to cross +at another point nearer the Chickahominy. Before these were +completed, Jackson crossed Beaver Dam above, and the enemy abandoned +his intrenchments, and retired rapidly down the river, destroying a +great deal of property, but leaving much in his deserted camps. + +After repairing the bridges over Beaver Dam, the several columns +resumed their advance, as nearly as possible, as prescribed in the +order. Jackson, with whom D. H. Hill had united, bore to the left, in +order to cut off reënforcements to the enemy or intercept his retreat +in that direction. Longstreet and A. P. Hill moved nearer the +Chickahominy. Many prisoners were taken in their progress; and the +conflagration of wagons and stores marked the course of the +retreating army. Longstreet and Hill reached the vicinity of New +Bridge about noon. It was ascertained that the enemy had taken a +position behind Powhite Creek, prepared to dispute our progress. He +occupied a range of hills, with his right resting in the vicinity of +McGhee's house, and his left near that of Dr. Gaines, on a wooded +bluff, which rose abruptly from a deep ravine. The ravine was filled +with sharpshooters, to whom its banks gave protection. A second line +of infantry was stationed on the side of the hill, overlooking the +first, and protected by a breastwork of logs. A third occupied the +crest, strengthened with rifle-trenches, and crowned with artillery. +The approach to this position was over an open plain, about a quarter +of a mile wide, commanded by a triple line of fire, and swept by the +heavy batteries south of the Chickahominy. In front of his center and +right the ground was generally open, bounded on the side of our +approach by a wood, with dense and tangled undergrowth, and traversed +by a sluggish stream, which converted the soil into a deep morass. +The woods on the further side of the swamp were occupied by +sharpshooters, and trees had been felled to increase the difficulty +of its passage, and detain our advancing columns under the fire of +infantry massed on the slopes of the opposite hills, and of the +batteries on their crests. + +Pressing on toward the York River Railroad, A. P. Hill, who was in +advance, reached the vicinity of New Cold Harbor about 2 P.M., where +he encountered the foe. He immediately formed his line nearly +parallel to the road leading from that place toward McGhee's house, +and soon became hotly engaged. The arrival of Jackson on our left was +momentarily expected, and it was supposed that his approach would +cause the extension of the opposing line in that direction. Under +this impression, Longstreet was held back until this movement should +commence. The principal part of the enemy's army was now on the north +side of the Chickahominy. Hill's single division met this large force +with the impetuous courage for which that officer and his troops were +distinguished. They drove it back, and assailed it in its strong +position on the ridge. The battle raged fiercely, and with varying +fortune, more than two hours. Three regiments pierced the enemy's +line, and forced their way to the crest of the hill on his left, but +were compelled to fall back before overwhelming numbers. This +superior force, assisted by the fire of the batteries south of the +Chickahominy, which played incessantly on our columns as they pressed +through the difficulties that obstructed their way, caused them to +recoil. Though most of the men had never been under fire until the +day before, they were rallied, and in turn repelled the advance of +our assailant Some brigades were broken, others stubbornly maintained +their positions, but it became apparent that the enemy was gradually +gaining ground. The attack on our left being delayed by the length of +Jackson's march and the obstacles he encountered, Longstreet was +ordered to make a diversion in Hill's favor by a feint on the enemy's +left. In making this demonstration, the great strength of the +position already described was discovered, and General Longstreet +perceived that, to render the diversion effectual, the feint must be +converted into an attack. He resolved, with his characteristic +determination, to carry the heights by assault. His column was +quickly formed near the open ground, and, as his preparations were +completed, Jackson arrived, and his right division--that of +Whiting--took position on the left of Longstreet. At the same time, +D. H. Hill formed on our extreme left, and, after a short but bloody +conflict, forced his way through the morass and obstructions, and +drove the foe from the woods on the opposite side. Ewell advanced on +Hill's right, and became hotly engaged. The first and fourth brigades +of Jackson's own division filled the interval between Ewell and A. P. +Hill. The second and third were sent to the right. The arrival of +these fresh troops enabled A. P. Hill to withdraw some of his +brigades, wearied and reduced by their long and arduous conflict. The +lines being now complete, a general advance from right to left was +ordered. On the right, the troops moved forward with steadiness, +unchecked by the terrible fire from the triple lines of infantry on +the hill, and the cannon on both sides of the river, which burst upon +them as they emerged upon the plain. The dead and wounded marked the +line of their intrepid advance, the brave Texans leading, closely +followed by their no less daring comrades. The enemy were driven from +the ravine to the first line of breastworks, over which our impetuous +column dashed up to the intrenchments on the crest. These were +quickly stormed, fourteen pieces of artillery captured, and the foe +driven into the field beyond. Fresh troops came to his support, and +he endeavored repeatedly to rally, but in vain. He was forced back +with great slaughter until he reached the woods on the banks of the +Chickahominy, and night put an end to the pursuit. Long lines of dead +and wounded marked each stand made by the enemy in his stubborn +resistance, and the field over which he retreated was strewed with +the slain. On the left, the attack was no less vigorous and +successful. D. H. Hill charged across the open ground in front, one +of his regiments having first bravely carried a battery whose fire +enfiladed his advance. Gallantly supported by the troops on his +right, who pressed forward with unfaltering resolution, he reached +the crest of the ridge, and, after a sanguinary struggle, broke the +enemy's line, captured several of his batteries, and drove him in +confusion toward the Chickahominy, until darkness rendered further +pursuit impossible. Our troops remained in undisturbed possession of +the field, covered with the dead and wounded of our opponent; and his +broken forces fled to the river or wandered through the woods. Owing +to the nature of the country, the cavalry was unable to participate +in the general engagement. It, however, rendered valuable service in +guarding Jackson's flank, and took a large number of prisoners. + +On the morning of the 28th it was ascertained that none of the enemy +remained in our front north of the Chickahominy. As he might yet +intend to give battle to preserve his communications, the Ninth +Cavalry, supported by Ewell's division, was ordered to seize the York +River Railroad, and General Stuart with his main body to coöperate. +When the cavalry reached Dispatch Station, the enemy retreated to the +south bank of the Chickahominy, and burned the railroad-bridge. +During the forenoon, columns of dust south of the river showed that +he was in motion. The abandonment of the railroad and destruction of +the bridge proved that no further attempt would be made to hold that +line. But, from the position the enemy occupied, the roads which led +toward the James River would also enable him to reach the lower +bridges over the Chickahominy, and retreat down the Peninsula. In the +latter event, it was necessary that our troops should continue on the +north bank of the river, and, until the intention of General +McClellan was discovered, it was deemed injudicious to change their +disposition. Ewell was therefore ordered to proceed to Bottom's +Bridge, to guard that point, and the cavalry to watch the bridges +below. No certain indications of a retreat to the James River were +discovered by our forces on the south side of the Chickahominy, and +late in the afternoon the enemy's works were reported to be fully +manned. The strength of these fortifications prevented Generals Huger +and Magruder from discovering what was passing in their front. Below +the enemy's works the country was densely wooded and intersected by +swamps, concealing his movements and precluding reconnaissances +except by the regular roads, all of which were strongly guarded. The +bridges over the Chickahominy in rear of the enemy were destroyed, +and their reconstruction by us was impracticable in the presence of +his whole army and powerful batteries. We were therefore compelled to +wait until his purpose should be developed. Generals Huger and +Magruder were again directed to use the utmost vigilance, and to +pursue the foe vigorously should they discover that he was +retreating. During the afternoon of the 28th the signs were +suggestive of a general movement, and, no indications of his approach +to the lower bridges of the Chickahominy having been discovered by +the pickets in observation at those points, it became inferable that +General McClellan was about to retreat to the James River. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + Retreat of the Enemy.--Pursuit and Battle.-Night.--Further Retreat + of the Enemy.--Progress of General Jackson.--The Enemy at Frazier's + Farm.--Position of General Holmes.--Advance of General + Longstreet.--Remarkable Features of the Battle.--Malvern Hill.-- + Our Position.--The Attack.--Expedition of General Stuart.-- + Destruction of the Enemy's Stores.--Assaults on the Enemy.--Retreat + to Westover on the James.--Siege of Richmond raised.--Number of + Prisoners taken.--Strength of our Forces.--Strength of our Forces + at Seven Pines and after.--Strength of the Enemy. + + +During the night I visited the several commands along the +intrenchment on the south side of the Chickahominy. General Huger's +was on the right, General McLaws's in the center, and General +Magruder's on the left. The night was quite dark, especially so in +the woods in front of our line, and, in expressing my opinion to the +officers that the enemy would commence a retreat before morning, I +gave special instructions as to the precautions necessary in order +certainly to hear when the movement commenced. In the confusion of +such a movement, with narrow roads and heavy trains, a favorable +opportunity was offered for attack. It fell out, however, that the +enemy did move before morning, and that the fact of the works having +been evacuated was first learned by an officer on the north side of +the river, who, the next morning, the 29th, about sunrise, was +examining their works by the aid of a field-glass. + +Generals Longstreet and A. P. Hill were promptly ordered to recross +the Chickahominy at New Bridge, and move by the Darbytown and Long +Bridge roads. General Lee, having sent his engineer. Captain Meade, +to examine the condition of the abandoned works, came to the south +side of the Chickahominy to unite his command and direct its +movements. + +Magruder and Huger found the whole line of works deserted, and large +quantities of military stores of every description abandoned or +destroyed. They were immediately ordered in pursuit, the former by +the Charles City road, so as to take the enemy's army in flank; and +the latter by the Williamsburg road, to attack his rear. Jackson was +directed to cross the "Grapevine" Bridge, and move down the south +side of the Chickahominy. Magruder reached the vicinity of Savage +Station, where he came upon the rear-guard of the retreating army. +Being informed that it was advancing, he halted and sent for +reënforcements. Two brigades of Huger's division were ordered to his +support, but were subsequently withdrawn, it having been ascertained +that the force in Magruder's front was merely covering the retreat of +the main body. + +Jackson's route led to the flank and rear of Savage Station, but he +was delayed by the necessity of reconstructing the "Grapevine" Bridge. + +Late in the afternoon Magruder attacked the enemy with one of his +divisions and two regiments of another. A severe action ensued, and +continued about two hours, when night put an end to the conflict. The +troops displayed great gallantry, and inflicted heavy loss; but, +owing to the lateness of the hour and the small force engaged, the +result was not decisive, and the enemy continued his retreat under +cover of night, leaving several hundred prisoners, with his dead and +wounded, in our hands. Our loss was small in numbers but great in +value. Among others who could ill be spared, here fell the gallant +soldier, the useful citizen, the true friend and Christian gentleman, +Brigadier-General Richard Griffith. He had served with distinction in +foreign war, and, when the South was invaded, was among the first to +take up arms in defense of our rights. + +At Savage Station were found about twenty-five hundred men in +hospital, and a large amount of property. Stores of much value had +been destroyed, including the necessary medical supplies for the sick +and wounded. The night was so dark that, before the battle ended, it +was only by challenging that on several occasions it was determined +whether the troops in front were friends or foes. It was therefore +deemed unadvisable to attempt immediate pursuit. + +Our troops slept upon their arms, and in the morning it was found +that the enemy had retreated during the night, and, by the time thus +gained, he was enabled to cross the White-Oak Creek, and destroy the +bridge. + +Early on the 30th Jackson reached Savage Station. He was directed to +pursue the enemy on the road he had taken, and Magruder to follow +Longstreet by the Darbytown road. As Jackson advanced, he captured so +many prisoners and collected so large a number of arms, that two +regiments had to be detached for their security. His progress at +White-Oak Swamp was checked by the enemy, who occupied the opposite +side, and obstinately resisted the rebuilding of the bridge. + +Longstreet and A. P. Hill, continuing their advance, on the 30th came +upon the foe strongly posted near the intersection of the Long Bridge +and Charles City roads, at the place known in the military reports as +Frazier's Farm. + +Huger's route led to the right of this position, Jackson's to the +rear, and the arrival of their commands was awaited, to begin the +attack. + +On the 29th General Holmes had crossed from the south side of the +James River, and, on the 30th, was reënforced by a detachment of +General Wise's brigade. He moved down the River road, with a view to +gain, near to Malvern Hill, a position which would command the +supposed route of the retreating army. + +It is an extraordinary fact that, though the capital had been +threatened by an attack from the seaboard on the right, though our +army had retreated from Yorktown up to the Chickahominy, and, after +encamping there for a time, had crossed the river and moved up to +Richmond, yet, when at the close of the battles around Richmond +McClellan retreated and was pursued toward the James River, we had no +maps of the country in which we were operating; our generals were +ignorant of the roads, and their guides knew little more than the way +from their homes to Richmond. It was this fatal defect in +preparation, and the erroneous answers of the guides, that caused +General Lee first to post Holmes and Wise, when they came down the +River road, at New Market, where, he was told, was the route that +McClellan must pursue in his retreat to the James. Subsequently +learning that there was another road, by the Willis church, which +would better serve the purpose of the retreating foe, Holmes's +command was moved up to a position on that road where, at the foot of +a hill which concealed from view the enemy's line, he remained under +the fire of the enemy's gunboats, the huge, shrieking shells from +which dispersed a portion of his cavalry and artillery, though the +faithful old soldier remained with the rest of his command, waiting, +according to his orders, for the enemy with his trains to pass; but, +taking neither of the roads pointed out to General Lee, he retreated +by the shorter and better route, which led by Dr. Poindexter's house +to Harrison's Landing. It has been alleged that General Holmes was +tardy in getting into position, and failed to use his artillery as he +had been ordered. Both statements are incorrect. He first took +position when and where he was directed, and, soon after, he moved to +the last position to which he was assigned. The dust of his advancing +column caused a heavy fire from the gunboats to be opened upon him, +and, in men who had never before seen the huge shells then fired, +they inspired a degree of terror not justified by their +effectiveness. The enemy, instead of being a straggling mass moving +toward the James River, as had been reported, were found halted +between West's house and Malvern Hill on ground commanding Holmes's +position, with an open field between them. + +General Holmes ordered his chief of artillery to commence firing upon +the enemy's infantry, which immediately gave way, but a heavy fire of +twenty-five or thirty guns promptly replied to our battery, and +formed, with the gunboats, a cross-fire upon General Holmes's +command. The numerical superiority of the opposing force, both in +infantry and artillery, would have made it worse than useless to +attempt an assault unless previously reënforced, and, as no +reënforcements arrived, Holmes, about an hour after nightfall, +withdrew to a point somewhat in advance of the one he had held in the +morning. Though the enemy continued their cannonade until after dark, +and most of the troops were new levies, General Holmes reported that +they behaved well under the trying circumstances to which they were +exposed, except a portion of his artillery and cavalry, which gave +way in disorder, probably from the effect of the ten-inch shells, +which were to them a novel implement of war; for when I met them, say +half a mile from the point they had left, and succeeded in stopping +them, another shell fell and exploded near us in the top of a +wide-spreading tree, giving a shower of metal and limbs, which soon +after caused them to resume their flight in a manner that plainly +showed no moral power could stop them within the range of those +shells. It was after a personal and hazardous reconnaissance that +General Lee assigned General Holmes to his last position; and when I +remonstrated with General Lee, whom I met returning from his +reconnaissance, on account of the exposure to which he had subjected +himself, he said he could not get the required information otherwise, +and therefore had gone himself. + +After the close of the battle of Malvern Hill, General Holmes found +that a deep ravine led up to the rear of the left flank of the +enemy's line, and expressed his regret that it had not been known, +and that he had not been ordered, when the attack was made in front, +to move up that ravine and simultaneously assail in flank and +reverse. It was not until after he had explained with regret the +lost, because unknown, opportunity, that he was criticised as having +failed to do his whole duty at the battle of Malvern Hill. + +He has passed beyond the reach of censure or of praise, after serving +his country on many fields wisely and well. I, who knew him from our +schoolboy days, who served with him in garrison and in the field, and +with pride watched him as he gallantly led a storming party up a +rocky height at Monterey, and was intimately acquainted with his +whole career during our sectional war, bear willing testimony to the +purity, self-abnegation, generosity, fidelity, and gallantry which +characterized him as a man and a soldier. + +General Huger reported that his progress was delayed by trees which +his opponent had felled across the Williamsburg road. In the +afternoon, after passing the obstructions and driving off the men who +were still cutting down trees, they came upon an open field (P. +Williams's), where they were assailed by a battery of rifled guns. +The artillery was brought up, and replied to the fire. In the mean +time a column of infantry was moved to the right, so as to turn the +battery, and the combat was ended. The report of this firing was +heard at Frazier's Farm, and erroneously supposed to indicate the +near approach of Huger's column, and, it has been frequently stated, +induced General Longstreet to open fire with some of his batteries as +notice to General Huger where our troops were, and that thus the +engagement was brought on. General A. P. Hill, who was in front and +had made the dispositions of our troops while hopefully waiting for +the arrival of Jackson and Huger, states that the fight commenced by +fire from the enemy's artillery, which swept down the road, etc. This +not only concurs with my recollection of the event, but is more in +keeping with the design to wait for the expected reënforcements. + +The detention of Huger, as above stated, and the failure of Jackson +to force a passage of the White-Oak Swamp, left Longstreet and Hill, +without the expected support, to maintain the unequal conflict as +best they might. The superiority of numbers and advantage of position +were on the side of the enemy. The battle raged furiously until 9 +P.M. By that time the enemy had been driven with great slaughter from +every position but one, which he maintained until he was enabled to +withdraw under cover of darkness. At the close of the struggle nearly +the entire field remained in our possession, covered with the enemy's +dead and wounded. Many prisoners, including a general of division, +were captured, and several batteries with some thousands of +small-arms were taken. + +After this engagement, Magruder, who had been ordered to go to the +support of Holmes, was recalled, to relieve the troops of Longstreet +and Hill. He arrived during the night, with the troops of his command +much fatigued by the long, hot march. + +In the battle of Frazier's Farm the troops of Longstreet and Hill, +though disappointed in the expectation of support, and contending +against superior numbers advantageously posted, made their attack +successful by the most heroic courage and unfaltering determination. + +Nothing could surpass the bearing of General Hill on that occasion, +and I often recur with admiration to the manner in which Longstreet, +when Hill's command seemed about to be overborne, steadily led his +reserve to the rescue, as he might have marched on a parade. The +mutual confidence between himself and his men was manifested by the +calm manner in which they went into the desperate struggle. The skill +and courage which made that corps illustrious on former as well as +future fields were never more needed or better exemplified than on +this. + +The current of the battle which was then setting against us was +reversed, and the results which have been stated were gained. That +more important consequences would have followed had Huger and +Jackson, or either of them, arrived in time to take part in the +conflict, is unquestionable; and there is little hazard in saying +that the army of McClellan would have been riven in twain, beaten in +detail, and could never, as an organized body, have reached the James +River. + +Our troops slept on the battle-field they had that day won, and +couriers were sent in the night with instructions to hasten the march +of the troops who had been expected during the day. + +Valor less true or devotion to their cause less sincere than that +which pervaded our army and sustained its commanders would, in this +hour of thinned ranks and physical exhaustion, have thought of the +expedient of retreat; but, so far as I remember, no such resort was +contemplated. To bring up reënforcements and attack again was alike +the expectation and the wish. + +During the night, humanity, the crowning grace of the knightly +soldier, secured for the wounded such care as was possible, not only +to those of our own army, but also to those of the enemy who had been +left upon the field. + +This battle was in many respects one of the most remarkable of the +war. Here occurred on several occasions the capture of batteries by +the impetuous charge of our infantry, defying the canister and grape +which plowed through their ranks, and many hand-to-hand conflicts, +where bayonet-wounds were freely given and received, and men fought +with clubbed muskets in the life-and-death encounter. + +The estimated strength of the enemy was double our own, and he had +the advantage of being in position. From both causes it necessarily +resulted that our loss was very heavy. To the official reports and +the minute accounts of others, the want of space compels me to refer +the reader for a detailed statement of the deeds of those who in our +day served their country so bravely and so well. + +During the night those who fought us at Frazier's Farm fell back to +the stronger position of Malvern Hill, and by a night-march the force +which had detained Jackson at White-Oak Swamp effected a junction +with the other portion of the enemy. Early on the 1st of July Jackson +reached the battlefield of the previous day, having forced the +passage of White-Oak Swamp, where he captured some artillery and a +number of prisoners. He was directed to follow the route of the +enemy's retreat, but soon found him in position on a high ridge in +front of Malvern Hill. Here, on a line of great natural strength, he +had posted his powerful artillery, supported by his large force of +infantry, covered by hastily constructed intrenchments. His left +rested near Crew's house and his right near Binford's. Immediately in +his front the ground was open, varying in width from a quarter to +half a mile, and, sloping gradually from the crest, was completely +swept by the fire of his infantry and artillery. To reach this open +ground our troops had to advance through a broken and thickly wooded +country, traversed nearly throughout its whole extent by a swamp +passable at only a few places and difficult at these. The whole was +within range of the batteries on the heights and the gunboats in the +river, under whose incessant fire our movements had to be executed. + +Jackson formed his line with Whiting's division on his left and D. H. +Hill's on his right, one of Ewell's brigades occupying the interval. +The rest of Ewell's and Jackson's own division were held in reserve. +Magruder was directed to take position on Jackson's right, but before +his arrival two of Huger's brigades came up and were placed next to +Hill. Magruder subsequently formed on the right of these brigades, +which, with a third of Huger's, were placed under his command. +Longstreet and A. P. Hill were held in reserve, and took no part in +the engagement. Owing to ignorance of the country, the dense forests +impeding necessary communications, and the extreme difficulty of the +ground, the whole line was not formed until a late hour in the +afternoon. The obstacles presented by the woods and swamp made it +impracticable to bring up a sufficient amount of artillery to oppose +successfully the extraordinary force of that arm employed by the +enemy, while the field itself afforded us few positions favorable for +its use, and none for its proper concentration. + +General W. N. Pendleton, in whom were happily combined the highest +characteristics of the soldier, the patriot, and the Christian, was +in chief command of the artillery, and energetically strove to bring +his long-range guns and reserve artillery into a position where they +might be effectively used against the enemy, but the difficulties +before mentioned were found insuperable. + +Orders were issued for a general advance at a given signal, but the +causes referred to prevented a proper concert of action among the +troops. D. H. Hill pressed forward across the open field, and engaged +the enemy gallantly, breaking and driving back his first line; but, a +simultaneous advance of the other troops not taking place, he found +himself unable to maintain the ground he had gained against the +overwhelming numbers and numerous batteries opposed to him. Jackson +sent to his support his own division and that part of Ewell's which +was in reserve; but, owing to the increasing darkness and intricacy +of the forest and swamp, they did not arrive in time to render the +desired assistance. Hill was therefore compelled to abandon part of +the ground he had gained, after suffering severe loss and inflicting +heavy damage. + +On the right the attack was gallantly made by Huger's and Magruder's +commands. Two brigades of the former commenced the action, the other +two were subsequently sent to the support of Magruder and Hill. +Several determined efforts were made to storm the hill at Crew's +house. The brigade advanced bravely across the open field, raked by +the fire of a hundred cannon and the musketry of large bodies of +infantry. Some were broken and gave way; others approached close to +the guns, driving back the infantry, compelling the advance batteries +to retire to escape capture, and mingling their dead with those of +the enemy. For want of coöperation by the attacking columns, their +assaults were too weak to break the enemy's line; and, after +struggling gallantly, sustaining and inflicting great loss, they were +compelled successively to retire. Night was approaching when the +attack began, and it soon became difficult to distinguish friend from +foe. The firing continued until after 9 P.M., but no decided result +was gained. + +Part of our troops were withdrawn to their original positions; others +remained in the open field; and some rested within a hundred yards of +the batteries that had been so bravely but vainly assailed. The +lateness of the hour at which the attack necessarily began gave the +foe the full advantage of his superior position, and augmented the +natural difficulties of our own. + +At the cessation of firing, several fragments of different commands +were lying down and holding their ground within a short distance of +the enemy's line, and, as soon as the fighting ceased, an informal +truce was established by common consent. Numerous parties from both +armies, with lanterns and litters, wandered over the field seeking +for the wounded, whose groans and calls on all sides could not fail +to move with pity the hearts of friend and foe. + +The morning dawned with heavy rain, and the enemy's position was seen +to have been entirely deserted. The ground was covered with his dead +and wounded, and his route exhibited evidence of a precipitate +retreat. To the fatigue of hard marches and successive battles, +enough to have disqualified our troops for rapid pursuit, was added +the discomfort of being thoroughly wet and chilled by rain. I sent +out to the neighboring houses to buy, if it could be had, at any +price, enough whisky to give to each of the men a single gill, but it +could not be found. + +The foe had silently withdrawn in the night by a route which had been +unknown to us, but which was the most direct road to Harrison's +Landing, and he had so many hours the start, that, among the general +officers who expressed to me their opinion, there was but one who +thought it was possible to pursue effectively. That was General T. J. +Jackson, who quietly said, "They have not all got away if we go +immediately after them." During the pursuit, which has just been +described, the cavalry of our army had been absent, having been +detached on a service which was reported as follows: After seizing +the York River Railroad, on June 28th, and driving the enemy across +the Chickahominy, the force under General Stuart proceeded down the +railroad to ascertain if there was any movement of the enemy in that +direction. He encountered but little opposition, and reached the +vicinity of the White House on the 29th. On his approach the enemy +destroyed the greater part of the immense stores accumulated at that +depot, and retreated toward Fortress Monroe. With one gun and some +dismounted men General Stuart drove off a gunboat, which lay near the +White House, and rescued a large amount of property, including more +than ten thousand stand of small-arms, partially burned. General +Stuart describes his march down the enemy's line of communication +with the York River as one in which he was but feebly resisted. He +says: + + "We advanced until, coming in view of the White House (a former + plantation residence of General George Washington), at a distance of + a quarter of a mile, a large gunboat was discovered lying at the + landing. . . . I was convinced that a few bold sharpshooters could + compel the gunboat to leave. I accordingly ordered down about + seventy-five, partly of the First and Fourth Virginia Cavalry, and + partly of the Jeff Davis Legion, armed with the rifled carbines. They + advanced on this monster so terrible to our fancy, and a body of + sharpshooters was sent ashore from the boat to meet them. . . . To + save time I ordered up the howitzer, a few shells from which, fired + with great accuracy, and bursting directly over her decks, caused an + instantaneous withdrawal of the sharpshooters, and a precipitous + flight under headway of steam down the river. . . . An opportunity + was here offered for observing the deceitfulness of the enemy's + pretended reverence for everything associated with the name of + Washington--for the dwelling-house was burned to the ground, not a + vestige left except what told of desolation and vandalism. + + "Nine large barges, laden with stores, were on fire as we approached; + immense numbers of tents, wagons, and cars in long trains, loaded, + and five locomotives; a number of forges; quantities of every species + of quartermaster's stores and property, making a total of many + millions of dollars--all more or less destroyed. . . . I replied (to + a note from the commanding General) that there was no evidence of a + retreat of the main body down the Williamsburg road, and I had no + doubt that the enemy, since his defeat, was endeavoring to reach the + James as a new base, being _compelled_ to surrender his connection + with the York. If the Federal people can be convinced that this was a + part of McClellan's plan, that it was in his original design for + Jackson to turn his right flank, and our generals to force him from + his strongholds, they certainly never can forgive him for the + millions of public treasure that his superb strategy cost." + +Leaving one squadron at the White House, he returned to guard the +lower bridges of the Chickahominy. On the 30th he was directed to +recross and coöperate with Jackson. After a long march, he reached +the rear of the enemy at Malvern Hill, on the night of July 1st, at +the close of the engagement. + +On the 2d of July the pursuit was commenced, the cavalry under +General Stuart in advance. The knowledge acquired since the event +renders it more than probable that, could our infantry, with a fair +amount of artillery, during that day and the following night, have +been in position on the ridge which overlooked the plain where the +retreating enemy was encamped on the bank of the James River, a large +part of his army must have dispersed, and the residue would have been +captured. It appears, from the testimony taken before the United +States Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, that it was +not until July 3d that the heights which overlooked the encampment of +the retreating army were occupied, and, from the manuscript notes on +the war by General J. E. B. Stuart, we learn that he easily gained +and took possession of the heights, and with his light howitzer +opened fire upon the enemy's camp, producing great commotion. This +was described by the veteran soldier, General Casey, of the United +States Army, thus: + + "The enemy had come down with some artillery upon our army massed + together on the river, the heights commanding the position not being + in our possession. Had the enemy come down and taken possession of + those heights with a force of twenty or thirty thousand men, they + would, in my opinion, have taken the whole of our army except that + small portion of it that might have got off on the transports." + +General Lee was not a man of hesitation, and they have mistaken his +character who suppose caution was his vice. He was prone to attack, +and not slow to press an advantage when he gained it. Longstreet and +Jackson were ordered to advance, but a violent storm which prevailed +throughout the day greatly retarded their progress. The enemy, +harassed and closely followed by the cavalry, succeeded in gaining +Westover, on the James River, and the protection of his gunboats. His +position was one of great natural and artificial strength, after the +heights were occupied and intrenched. It was flanked on each side by +a creek, and the approach in front was commanded by the heavy guns of +his shipping, as well as by those mounted in his intrenchments. Under +these circumstances it was deemed inexpedient to attack him; and, in +view of the condition of our troops, who had been marching and +fighting almost incessantly for seven days, under the most trying +circumstances, it was determined to withdraw, in order to afford to +them the repose of which they stood so much in need. + +Several days were spent in collecting arms and other property +abandoned by the enemy, and, in the mean time, some artillery and +cavalry were sent below Westover to annoy his transports. On July 8th +our army returned to the vicinity of Richmond. + +Under ordinary circumstances the army of the enemy should have been +destroyed. Its escape was due to the causes already stated. Prominent +among these was the want of correct and timely information. This +fact, together with the character of the country, enabled General +McClellan skillfully to conceal his retreat, and to add much to the +obstructions with which nature had beset the way of our pursuing +columns. We had, however, effected our main purpose. The siege of +Richmond was raised, and the object of a campaign which had been +prosecuted after months of preparation, at an enormous expenditure of +men and money, was completely frustrated.[42] + +More than ten thousand prisoners, including officers of rank, +fifty-two pieces of artillery, and upward of thirty-five thousand +stand of small-arms were captured. The stores and supplies of every +description which fell into our hands were great in amount and value, +but small in comparison with those destroyed by the enemy. His losses +in battle exceeded our own, as attested by the thousands of dead and +wounded left on every field, while his subsequent inaction shows in +what condition the survivors reached the protection of the gunboats. + +In the archive office of the War Department in Washington there are +on file some of the field and monthly returns of the strength of the +Army of Northern Virginia. These are the original papers which were +taken from Richmond. They furnish an accurate statement of the number +of men in that army at the periods named. They were not made public +at the time, as I did not think it to be judicious to inform the +enemy of the numerical weakness of our forces. The following +statements have been taken from those papers by Major Walter H. +Taylor, of the staff of General Lee, who supervised for several years +the preparation of the original returns. + +A statement of the strength of the troops under General Johnston +shows that on May 21, 1862, he had present for duty as follows: + + Smith's division, consisting of the brigades of Whiting, + Hood, Hampton, Hatton, and Pettigrew . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,592 + + Longstreet's division, consisting of the brigades of A. P. + Hill, Pickett, R. H. Anderson, Wilson, Colston, and Pryor . . 13,816 + + Magruder's division, consisting of the brigades of McLaws, + Kershaw, Griffith, Cobb, Toombs, and D. R. Jones . . . . . . 15,680 + + D. H. Hill's division, consisting of the brigades of Early, + Rodes, Raines, Featherston, and the commands of Colonels Ward + and Crump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,151 + + Cavalry brigade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,289 + + Reserve artillery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,160 + ------ + Total effective men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,688 + + +Statement of the Strength of the Army Commanded by General R. E. Lee +on July 20, 1862. + + Department of Northern Virginia . . . . . . . . Present for Duty + and North Carolina Officers Enlisted men + Department of North Carolina . . . . . . . . 722 . . . . 11,509 + Longstreet's division . . . . . . . . . . . . 557 . . . . 7,929 + D. H. Hill's division . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 . . . . 8,998 + McLaws's division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514 . . . . 7,188 + A. P. Hill's division . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 . . . . 10,104 + Anderson's division . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 . . . . 5,760 + D. R. Jones's division . . . . . . . . . . . 213 . . . . 3,500 + Whiting's division . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 . . . . 3,600 + Stuart's cavalry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 . . . . 3,740 + Pendleton's artillery . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 . . . . 1,716 + Rhett's artillery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 . . . . 1,355 + ----- ------ + Total, including Department of North Carolina 4,160 . . . 65,399 + + +Army of Northern Virginia, September 22, 1862. + Present for Duty + Officers Enlisted men + Longstreet's command . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,410 . . . 19,001 + Jackson's command: + D. H. Hill's division . . . . . . . . . . . 310 . . . . 4,739 + A. P. Hill's division . . . . . . . . . . . 318 . . . . 4,435 + Ewell's division . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 . . . . 3,144 + Jackson's division . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 . . . . 2,367 + ----- ----- + Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,501 . . . 33,686 + + +Army of Northern Virginia, September 30, 1862. + Present for Duty + Officers Enlisted men + + Longstreet's command . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,927 . . . 26,489 + Jackson's command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,629 . . . 21,728 + Reserve artillery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 . . . 716 + ----- ------ + Total[43] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,606 . . . 48,933 + +Major Taylor, in his work,[44] states: + + "In addition to the troops above enumerated as the strength of + General Johnston on May 21, 1862, there were two brigades subject to + his orders then stationed in the vicinity of Hanover Junction, one + under the command of General Branch; they were subsequently + incorporated into the division of General A. P. Hill, and + participated in the battles around Richmond." + +He has no official data by which to determine their numbers, but, +from careful estimates and conference with General Anderson, he +estimates the strength of the two at 4,000 effective. + +Subsequent to the date of the return of the army around Richmond, +heretofore given, but previous to the battle of Seven Pines, General +Johnston was reënforced by General Huger's division of three +brigades. The total strength of these three brigades, according to +the "Reports of the Operations of the Army of Northern Virginia," was +5,008 effectives. Taylor says: + + "If the strength of these five be added to the return of May 21st, we + shall have sixty-two thousand six hundred and ninety-six (62,696) as + the effective strength of the army under General Johnston on May 31, + 1862. + + "Deduct the losses sustained in the battle of Seven Pines as shown by + the official reports of casualties, say 6,084, and we have 56,612 as + the effective strength of the army when General Lee assumed command." + +There have been various attempts made to point out the advantage +which might have been obtained if General Lee, in succeeding to the +command, had renewed on the 1st of June the unfinished battle of the +31st of May; and the representation that he commenced his campaign, +known as the "Seven Days' Battles," only after he had collected a +great army, instead of moving with a force not greatly superior to +that which his predecessor had, has led to the full exposition of all +the facts bearing upon the case. In the "Southern Historical Society +Papers," June, 1876, is published an extract from an address of +Colonel Charles Marshall, secretary and aide-de-camp to General R. E. +Lee, before the Virginia Division of the Army of Northern Virginia. +In it Colonel Marshall quotes General J. E. Johnston as saying: + + "General Lee did not attack the enemy until the 26th of June, because + he was employed from the 1st until then in forming a great army by + bringing to that which I had commanded 15,000 men from North Carolina + under Major-General Holmes, 22,000 men from South Carolina and + Georgia, and above 16,000 men from the 'Valley,' in the divisions of + Jackson and Ewell," etc. + +These numbers added together make 53,000. Colonel Marshall then +proceeds, from official reports, to show that all these numbers were +exaggerated, and that one brigade, spoken of as seven thousand +strong--that of General Drayton--was not known to be in the Army of +Virginia until after the "seven days," and that another brigade, of +which General Johnston admitted he did not know the strength, Colonel +Marshall thought it safer to refer to as the "unknown brigade," +which, he suggests, may have been "a small command under General +Evans, of South Carolina, who did not join the army until after it +moved from Richmond." + +General Holmes's report, made July 15, 1862, states that on the 29th +of June he brought his command to the north side of the James River, +and was joined by General Wise's brigade. With this addition, his +force amounted to 6,000 infantry and six batteries of artillery. +General Ransom's brigade had been transferred from the division of +General Holmes to that of General Huger a short time before General +Holmes was ordered to join General Lee. The brigade of General Branch +had been detached at an earlier period; it was on duty near to +Hanover Junction, and under the command of General J. E. Johnston +before the battle of Seven Pines. These facts are mentioned to +account for the small size of General Holmes's division, which had +been reduced to two brigades. Ripley's brigade on the 26th of June +was reported to have an aggregate force of 2,366, including pioneers +and the ambulance corps. General Lawton's brigade, when moving up +from Georgia to Richmond, was ordered to change direction, and join +General Jackson in the Valley. He subsequently came down with General +Jackson, and reports the force which he led into the battle of Cold +Harbor, on the 27th of June, 1862, as 3,500 men. + +General Lee, after the battle of Seven Pines, had sent two large +brigades under General Whiting to coöperate with General Jackson in +the Valley, and to return with him, according to instructions +furnished. These brigades were in the battle of Seven Pines, and were +counted in the force of the army when General Lee took command of it. +Lawton's Georgia brigade, as has been stated, was diverted from its +destination for a like temporary service, and is accounted for as +reënforcements brought from the south. These three brigades, though +coming with Jackson and Ewell, were not a part of their divisions, +and, if their numbers are made to swell the force which Jackson +brought, they should be elsewhere subtracted. + +General J. A. Early, in the same number of the "Historical Society +Papers," in a letter addressed to General J. E. Johnston, February 4, +1875, makes an exhaustive examination from official reports, and +applies various methods of computation to the question at issue. +Among other facts, he states: + + "Drayton's brigade did not come to Virginia until after the battles + around Richmond. It was composed of the Fifteenth South Carolina and + the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Georgia Regiments and Third South + Carolina Battalion. A part, if not all, of it was engaged in the + fight at Secessionville, South Carolina, on the 16th of June, 1862. + Its first engagement in Virginia was on the Rappahannock, 25th of + August, 1862. After Sharpsburg, it was so small that it was + distributed among some other brigades in Longstreet's corps." + +After minute inquiry, General Early concludes that "the whole command +that came from the Valley, including the artillery, the regiment of +cavalry, and the Maryland regiment and a battery, then known as 'The +Maryland Line,' could not have exceeded 8,000 men." In this, General +Early does not include either Lawton's brigade or the two brigades +with Whiting, and reaches the conclusion that "the whole force +received by General Lee was about 23,000--about 30,000 less than +your estimate." + +Taking the number given by General Early as the entire reënforcement +received by General Lee after the battle of Seven Pines and before +the commencement of the seven days' battles--which those who know +his extreme accuracy and minuteness of inquiry will be quite ready to +do--and deducting from the 23,000 the casualties in the battle of +Seven Pines (6,084), we have 16,916; if to this be added whatever +number of absentees may have joined the army in anticipation of +active operations, a number which I have no means of ascertaining, +the result will be the whole increment to the army with which General +Lee took the offensive against McClellan. + +It appears from the official returns of the Army of the Potomac that +on June 20th General McClellan had present for duty 115,102 men. It +is stated that McClellan reached the James River with "between 85,000 +and 90,000 men," and that his loss in the seven days' battles was +15,249; this would make the army 105,000 strong at the commencement +of the battles.[45] Probably General Dix's corps of 9,277 men, +stationed at Fortress Monroe, is not included in this last statement. + + +[Footnote 42: Reports of Generals Robert E. Lee, Pendleton, A. P. Hill, +Huger, Alexander, and Major W. H. Taylor, in his "Four Years with Lee," +have been drawn upon for the foregoing.] + +[Footnote 43: No report of cavalry] + +[Footnote 44: "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 45: Swinton's "History of the Army of the Potomac."] + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + Forced Emancipation.--Purposes of the United States Government at + the Commencement of 1862.--Subjugation or Extermination.--The + Willing Aid of United States Congress.--Attempt to legislate the + Subversion of our Social Institutions.--Could adopt any Measure + Self-Defense would justify.--Slavery the Cause of all Troubles, + therefore must be removed.--Statements of President Lincoln's + Inaugural.--Declaration of Sumner.--Abolition Legislation.--The + Power based on Necessity.--Its Formula.--The System of Legislation + devised.--Confiscation.--How permitted by the Law of Nations.-- + Views of Wheaton; of J. Q. Adams; of Secretary Marcy; of + Chief-Justice Marshall.--Nature of Confiscation and Proceedings.-- + Compared with the Acts of the United States Congress.--Provisions of + the Acts.--Five Thousand Millions of Property involved.--Another + Feature of the Act.--Confiscates Property within Reach.--Procedure + against Persons.--Held us as Enemies and Traitors.--Attacked us + with the Instruments of War and Penalties of Municipal Law.-- + Emancipation to be secured.--Remarks of President Lincoln on signing + the Bill.--Remarks of Mr. Adams compared.--Another Alarming + Usurpation of Congress.--Argument for it.--No Limit to the + War-Power of Congress; how maintained.--The Act to emancipate Slaves + in the District of Columbia.--Compensation promised.--Remarks of + President Lincoln.--The Right of Property violated.--Words of the + Constitution.--The Act to prohibit Slavery in the Territories.-The + Act making an Additional Article of War.--All Officers forbidden to + return Fugitives.--Words of the Constitution.--The Powers of the + Constitution unchanged in Peace or War.--The Discharge of Fugitives + commanded in the Confiscation Act.--Words of the Constitution. + + +At the commencement of the year 1862 it was the purpose of the United +States Government to assail us in every manner and at every point and +with every engine of destruction which could be devised. The usual +methods of civilized warfare consist in the destruction of an enemy's +military power and the capture of his capital. These, however, formed +only a small portion of the purposes of our enemy. If peace with +fraternity and equality in the Union, under the Constitution as +interpreted by its framers, had been his aim, this was attainable +without war; but, seeking supremacy at the cost of a revolution in +the entire political structure, involving a subversion of the +Constitution, the subjection of the States, the submission of the +people, and the establishment of a union under the sword, his efforts +were all directed to subjugation or extermination. Thus, while the +Executive was preparing immense armies, iron-clad fleets, and huge +instruments of war, with which to invade our territory and destroy +our citizens, the willing aid of an impatient, enraged Congress was +invoked to usurp new powers, to legislate the subversion of our +social institutions, and to give the form of legality to the plunder +of a frenzied soldiery. + +That body had no sooner assembled than it brought forward the +doctrine that the Government of the United States was engaged in a +struggle for its existence, and could therefore resort to any measure +which a case of self-defense would justify. It pretended not to know +that the only self-defense authorized in the Constitution for the +Government created by it, was by the peaceful method of the +ballot-box; and that, so long as the Government fulfilled the objects +of its creation (see preamble of the Constitution), and exercised its +delegated powers within their prescribed limits, its surest and +strongest defense was to be found in that ballot-box. + +The Congress next declared that our institution of slavery was the +cause of all the troubles of the country, and therefore the whole +power of the Government must be so directed as to remove it. If this +had really been the cause of the troubles, how easily wise and +patriotic statesmen might have furnished a relief. Nearly all the +slaveholding States had withdrawn from the Union, therefore those who +had been suffering vicariously might have welcomed their departure, +as the removal of the cause which disturbed the Union, and have tried +the experiment of separation. Should the trial have brought more +wisdom and a spirit of conciliation to either or both, there might +have arisen, as a result of the experiment, a reconstructed fraternal +Union such as our fathers designed. + +The people of the seceded States had loved the Union. Shoulder to +shoulder with the people of the other States, they had bled for its +liberties and its honor. Their sacrifices in peace had not been less +than those in war, and their attachment had not diminished by what +they had given, nor were they less ready to give in the future. The +concessions they had made for many years and the propositions which +followed secession proved their desire to preserve the peace. + +The authors of the aggressions which had disturbed the harmony of the +Union had lately acquired power on a sectional basis, and were eager +for the spoil of their sectional victory. To conceal their real +motive, and artfully to appeal to the prejudice of foreigners, they +declared that slavery was the cause of the troubles of the country, +and of the "rebellion" which they were engaged in suppressing. In his +inaugural address in March, 1861, President Lincoln said: "I have no +purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of +slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful +right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." The leader +(Sumner) of the Abolition party in Congress, on February 25, 1861, +said in the Senate, "I take this occasion to declare most explicitly +that I do not think that Congress has any right to interfere with +slavery in a State." The principle thus announced had regulated all +the legislation of Congress from the beginning of its first session +in 1789 down to the first session of the Thirty-seventh Congress, +commencing July 4, 1861. + +A few months after the inaugural address above cited and the +announcement of the fact above quoted were made, Congress commenced +to legislate for the abolition of slavery. If it had the power now to +do what it before had not, whence was it derived? There had been no +addition in the interval to the grants in the Constitution; not a +word or letter of that instrument had been changed since the +possession of the power was disclaimed; yet after July 4, 1861, it +was asserted by the majority in Congress that the Government had +power to interfere with slavery in the States. Whence came the +change? The answer is, It was wrought by the same process and on the +same plea that tyranny has ever employed against liberty and +justice--the time-worn excuse of usurpers--necessity; an excuse +which is ever assumed as valid, because the usurper claims to be the +sole judge of his necessity. + +The formula under which it was asserted was as follows: + + "Whereas the laws of the United States have been for some time past + and now are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, etc., by + combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of + judicial proceedings," etc. + +Therefore, says the plea of necessity, a new power is this day found +under the Constitution of the United States. This means that certain +circumstances had transpired in a distant portion of the Union, and +the powers of the Constitution had thereby become enlarged. The +inference follows with equal reason that, when the circumstances +cease to exist, the powers of the Constitution will be contracted +again to their normal state; that is, the powers of the Constitution +of the United States are enlarged or contracted according to +circumstances. Mankind can not be surprised at seeing a Government, +administered on such an interpretation of powers, blunder into a +civil war, and approach the throes of dissolution. + +Nevertheless, these views were adopted by the Thirty-seventh Congress +of the United States, and a system of legislation was devised which +embraced the following usurpations: universal emancipation in the +Confederate States through confiscation of private property of all +kinds; prohibition of the extension of slavery to the Territories; +emancipation of slavery in all places under the exclusive control of +the Government of the United States; emancipation with compensation +in the border States and in the District of Columbia; practical +emancipation to follow the progress of the armies; all restraints to +be removed from the slaves, so that they could go free wherever they +pleased, and be fed and clothed, when destitute, at the expense of +the United States, literally to become a "ward of the Government." + +The emancipation of slaves through confiscation in States where the +United States Government had, under the Constitution, no authority to +interfere with slavery, was a problem which the usurpers found it +difficult legally or logically to solve, but these obstacles were +less regarded than the practical difficulty in States where the +Government had no physical power to enforce its edicts. The limited +powers granted in the Constitution to the Government of the United +States were not at all applicable to such designs, or commensurate +with their execution. Now, let us see the little possibility there +was for constitutional liberties and rights to survive, when +intrusted to such unscrupulous hands. + +In Article I, section 8, the Constitution says: + + "The Congress shall have power to declare war, grant letters of + marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and + water; to raise and support armies; to provide and maintain a navy; + to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval + forces," etc. + +This is the grant of power under which the Government of the United +States makes war upon a foreign nation. If it had not been given in +the Constitution, there would not have been any power under which to +conduct a foreign war, such as that of 1812 against Great Britain or +that of 1846 against Mexico. In such conflicts the nations engaged +recognize each other as separate sovereignties and as public enemies, +and use against each other all the powers granted by the law of +nations. One of these powers is the confiscation of the property of +the enemy. Under the law of nations of modern days this confiscation +is limited in extent, made under a certain form, and for a defined +object. + +For the modern laws of war one must look to the usages of civilized +states and to the publicists who have explained and enforced them. +These usages constitute themselves the laws of war. + +In relation to the capture and confiscation of private property on +land, in addition to what has been said in previous pages, it may be +added that the whole matter has never been better stated than by our +great American publicist, Mr. Wheaton, in these words: + + "By the modern usages of nations, which have now acquired the force + of law, temples of religion, public edifices devoted to civil + purposes only, monuments of art, and repositories of science, are + exempted from the general operations of war. Private property on land + is also exempt from confiscation, with the exception of such as may + become booty in special cases, when taken from enemies in the field + or in besieged towns, and of military contributions levied upon the + inhabitants of the hostile territory. This exemption extends even to + the case of an absolute and unqualified conquest of the enemy's + country,"--("Elements of International Law," p. 421.) + +Mr. John Quincy Adams, in a letter to the Secretary of State, dated +August 22, 1815, says: + + "Our object is the restoration of all the property, including slaves, + which, by the usages of war among civilized nations, ought not to + have been taken. All private property on shore was of that + description. It was entitled by the laws of war to exemption from + capture."--(4 "American State Papers," 116, etc.) + +Again, Mr. William L. Marcy, Secretary of State, in a letter to the +Count de Sartiges, dated July 28, 1856, says: + + "The prevalence of Christianity and the progress of civilization have + greatly mitigated the severity of the ancient mode of prosecuting + hostilities. . . . It is a generally received rule of modern warfare, + so far at least as operations upon land are concerned, that the + persons and effects of non-combatants are to be respected. The wanton + pillage or uncompensated appropriation of individual, property by an + army even in possession of an enemy's country is against the usage of + modern times. Such a proceeding at this day would be condemned by the + enlightened judgment of the world, unless warranted by particular + circumstances." + +The words of the late Chief-Justice Marshall on the capture and +confiscation of private property should not be omitted: + + "It may not be unworthy of remark that it is very unusual, even in + cases of conquest, for the conqueror to do more than displace the + sovereign, and assume dominion over the country. The modern usage of + nations, which has become law, would be violated; that sense of + justice and of right which is acknowledged and felt by the whole + civilized world would be outraged, if private property should be + generally confiscated and private rights annulled. The people change + their allegiance; their relation to their ancient sovereign is + dissolved; but their relations to each other and their rights of + property remain undisturbed."--("United States vs. Percheman," 7 + Peters, 51.) + +The Government of the United States recognized us as under the law of +nations by attempting to use against us one of the powers of that +law. Yet, if we were subject to this power, we were most certainly +entitled to its protection. This was refused. That Government +exercised against us all the severities of the law, and outraged that +sense of justice and of right which is acknowledged and felt by the +whole civilized world by rejecting the observance of its +ameliorations. The act of confiscation is a power exercised under the +laws of war for the purpose of indemnifying the captor for his +expense and losses; and it is upon this basis that it is recognized. +At the same time there is a mode of procedure attached to its +exercise by which it is reserved from the domain of plunder and +devastation. As has been already shown, there are, under the law, +exemptions of certain classes of property. It is further required +that the property subject to confiscation shall be actually captured +and taken possession of. It shall then be adjudicated as prize by a +proper authority, then sold, and the money received must be deposited +in the public Treasury. Such are the conditions attached by the law +of nations to legal confiscation. + +Now, compare these conditions with the act of Congress, that in its +true light the usurpations of that body may be seen. The act of +Congress allowed no exemptions of private property, but confiscated +all the property of every kind belonging to persons residing in the +Confederate States who were engaged in hostilities against the United +States or who were aiding or abetting those engaged in hostilities. +This includes slaves as well as other property. The act provided that +the slaves should go free; that is, they were exempted from capture, +from being adjudicated and sold, and no proceeds of sale were to be +put into the public Treasury. The following sections are from the act +of the United States Congress, passed on August 6, 1861: + + "Section 1. That if, during the present or any future insurrection + against the Government of the United States after the President of + the United States shall have declared by proclamation that the laws + of the United States are opposed and the execution thereof obstructed + by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course + of judicial proceedings or by the power vested in the marshals by + law, any person, or persons, his, her, or their agent, attorney, or + employee shall purchase or acquire, sell or give, any property, of + whatsoever kind or description, with intent to use or employ the + same, or suffer the same to be used or employed in aiding, abetting, + or promoting such insurrection or resistance to the laws, or any + person or persons engaged therein, or if any person or persons, being + the owner or owners of any such property, shall knowingly use or + employ or consent to the use or employment of the same as aforesaid, + all such property is hereby declared to be lawful subject of prize + and capture wherever found; and it shall be the duty of the President + of the United States to cause the same to be seized, confiscated, and + condemned. + + "Section 3. The proceedings in court shall be for the benefit of the + United States and the informer equally. + + "Section 4. That whenever hereafter, during the present insurrection + against the Government of the United States, any person claimed to be + held to labor or service under the law of any State shall be required + or permitted by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed + to be due, or by the lawful agent of such person, to take up arms + against the United States, or shall be required or permitted by the + person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or his + lawful agent, to work or to be employed in or upon any fort, + navy-yard, dock, armory, ship, intrenchment, or in any military or + naval service whatsoever against the Government and lawful authority + of the United States, then, and in every such case, the person to + whom such labor or service is claimed to be due shall forfeit his + claim to such labor, any law of the State or of the United States to + the contrary notwithstanding. And, whenever thereafter the person + claiming such labor or service shall seek to enforce his claim, it + shall be a full and sufficient answer to such claim that the person + whose service or labor is claimed had been employed in hostile + service against the Government of the United States contrary to the + provisions of this act." + +The following sections are from the act of Congress passed on July +17, 1862: + + "Section 6. That if any person, within any State or Territory of the + United States other than those named aforesaid" (Confederate + officers, etc.), "after the passage of this act, being engaged in + armed rebellion against the Government of the United States or aiding + or abetting such rebellion, shall not within sixty days after public + warning and proclamation duly given and made by the President of the + United States, cease to aid, countenance, and abet such rebellion and + return to his allegiance to the United States, all the estate and + property, moneys, stocks, and credits of such person shall be liable + to seizure as aforesaid, and it shall be the duty of the President to + seize and use them as aforesaid, or the proceeds thereof. And all + sales, transfers, or conveyances of any such property, after the + expiration of the said sixty days from the date of such warning and + proclamation, shall be null and void; and it shall be a sufficient + bar to any suit brought by such person for the possession or use of + such property, or any of it, to allege and prove that he is one of + the persons described in this section. + + "Section 7. That to secure the condemnation and sale of any such + property, after the same shall have been seized, so that it may be + made available for the purpose aforesaid, proceedings _in rem_ shall + be instituted in the name of the United States in any district court + thereof, or in any territorial court, or in the United States + District Court for the District of Columbia, within which the + property above described, or any part thereof, may be found, or into + which the same, if movable, may first be brought, which proceedings + shall conform as nearly as may be to proceedings in admiralty or + revenue cases; and if said property, whether real or personal, shall + be found to have belonged to a person engaged in rebellion, or who + has given aid or comfort thereto, the same shall be condemned as + enemy's property and become the property of the United States, and + may be disposed of as the court shall decree, and the proceeds + thereof paid into the Treasury of the United States for the purposes + aforesaid. + + "Section 9. That all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged + in rebellion against the Government of the United States, or who + shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such + persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all + slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming + under the control of the Government of the United States; and all + slaves of such persons found or being within any place occupied by + rebel forces and afterward occupied by the forces of the United + States, shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be for ever free + of their servitude, and not again held as slaves. + + "Section 10. That no slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the + District of Columbia from any other State, shall be delivered up, or + in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime or + some offense against the laws, unless the person claiming said + fugitive shall first make oath that the person, to whom the labor or + service of such fugitive is alleged to be due, is his lawful owner, + and has not borne arms against the United States in the present + rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no + person engaged in the military and naval service of the United States + shall, under any pretense whatever, assume to decide on the validity + of the claim of any person to the service or labor of any other + person, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of + being dismissed from the service." + +These above-mentioned proceedings violated all the principles of the +law of nations, without a shadow of authority for it under the +Constitution of the United States. The armies of the United States +were literally authorized to invade the Confederate States, to seize +all property as plunder, and to let the negroes go free. Our +posterity, reading that history, will blush that such facts are on +record. It was estimated on the floor of the House of Representatives +that the aggregate amount of property within our limits subject to be +acted upon by the provisions of this act would affect upward of six +million people, and would deprive them of property of the value of +nearly five thousand million dollars. + +Said Mr. Garrett Davis, of Kentucky: + + "Was there ever, in any country that God's sun ever beamed upon, a + legislative measure involving such an amount of property and such + numbers of property-holders?" + +But this is only one feature of the confiscation act which was +applied to persons who were within the Confederate States, in such a +position that the ordinary process of the United States courts could +not be served upon them. They could be reached only by the armies. +There was another feature equally flagrant and criminal. It was +extended to all that class of persons giving aid and comfort, who +could be found within the United States, or in such position that the +ordinary process of law could be served on them. It was derived from +Article III, section 3, of the Constitution, which says: + + "The Congress shall have the power to declare the punishment of + treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, + or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted." + +The mode of procedure against persons under this power was determined +by other clauses of the Constitution. Article III, section 2, +declared that-- + + "The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by + jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes + shall have been committed." + +In section 3, of the same article, it was provided that-- + + "No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of + two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court." + +This feature of the confiscation act, passed by the Congress of the +United States, provided for the punishment of the owner of property, +on the proof of the crime, but excluded the trial by jury, and made +the forfeiture of the property absolute instead of a forfeiture for +life. Heavy fines were imposed, and property was sold in fee. The +property to which the act applied was not a prize under the law of +nations, nor booty, nor contraband of war, nor enforced military +contributions, nor used or employed in the war or in resistance to +the laws. It was private property, outside of the conflict of arms, +and forfeited, not because it was the instrument of offense, but as a +penalty for the assertion of his rights by the owner, which was +imputed to him as a crime. Such proceeding was, in effect, punishment +by the forfeiture of a man's entire estate, real and personal, +without trial by jury, and in utter disregard of the provisions of +the Constitution. It was an attempt to get a man's property, real and +personal, "silver spoons" included, into a prize court, to be tried +by the laws of war. + +It will be seen that we were treated by the Congress of the United +States as holding the twofold relation of enemies and traitors, and +that they used against us all the instruments of war, and all the +penalties of municipal law which made the punishment of treason to be +death. The practical operation, therefore, of these laws was that, +under a Constitution which defined treason to consist in levying war +against the United States, which would not suffer the traitor to be +condemned except by the judgment of his peers, and, when condemned, +would not forfeit his estate except during his life, the Government +of the United States did proceed against six million people, without +indictment, without trial by jury, without the proof of two +witnesses, did adjudge our six millions of people guilty of treason +in levying war, and decree to deprive us of all our estate, real and +personal, for life, and in fee, being nearly five thousand million +dollars. And, after we had been thus punished, without trial by jury, +and by the loss in fee of our whole estate, the Government of the +United States assumed the power, on the same charge of levying war, +to try us and to hang us. + +The first object to be secured by this act of confiscation was the +emancipation of all our slaves. Upon his approval of the bill, +President Lincoln sent a message to Congress, in which he said: + + "It is startling to say that Congress can free a slave within a + State, and yet, if it were said the ownership of the slave had first + been transferred to the nation, and Congress had then liberated him, + the difficulty would at once vanish. And this is the real case. The + traitor against the General Government forfeits his slave at least as + justly as he does any other property; and he forfeits both to the + Government against which he offends. The Government, so far as there + can be ownership, thus owns the forfeited slaves, and the question + for Congress in regard to them is, 'Shall they be made free or sold + to new masters?'" + +It is amazing to see the utter forgetfulness of all constitutional +obligations and the entire disregard of the conditions of the laws of +nations manifested in these words of the President of the United +States. Was he ignorant of their existence, or did he seek to cover +up his violation of them by a deceptive use of language. It may not +be unseasonable to repeat here the words of John Quincy Adams, in his +letter of August 22, 1815, as above stated: + + "Our object is the restoration of all the property, including slaves, + which, by the usages of war among civilized nations, ought not to + have been taken." + +Let posterity answer the questions: Who were the revolutionists? Who +were really destroying the Constitution of the United States? + +The agitation of this subject brought out another still more alarming +usurpation in Congress, and showed that the majority were ready to +throw aside the last fragments of the Constitution in order to secure +our subjugation. The argument for this usurpation was thus framed: +Assuming that the state of the "nation" was one of general hostility, +and that, being so involved, it possessed the power of self-defense, +it was asserted that the supreme power of making and conducting war +was expressly placed in Congress by the Constitution. "The whole +powers of war are vested in Congress."--("United States Supreme +Court, Brown vs. United States," 1 Cranch.) There is no such power in +the judiciary, and the Executive is simply "commander-in-chief of the +army and navy"; all other powers not necessarily implied in the +command of the military and naval forces are expressly given to +Congress. + +The theory was that the contingency of actual hostilities suspended +the Constitution and gave to Congress the sovereign power of a nation +creating new relations and conferring new rights, imposing +extraordinary obligations on the citizens, and subjecting them to +extraordinary penalties. There is, under that view, therefore, no +limit on the power of Congress; it is invested with the absolute +powers of war--the civil functions of the Government are, for the +time being, in abeyance when in conflict, and all State and +"national" authority subordinated to the extreme authority of +Congress, as the supreme power, in the peril of external or internal +hostilities. The ordinary provisions of the Constitution peculiar to +a state of peace, and all laws and municipal regulations, were to +yield to the force of martial law, as resolved by Congress. This was +designated as the "war power" of the United States Government. + +I should deem an apology to be due to my readers, in offering for +their perusal such insane extravagances, under a constitutional +Government of limited powers, had not this doctrine been adopted by +the United States Government, and subsequently made the basis of some +most revolutionary measures for the emancipation of the African +slaves and the enslavement of the free citizens of the South. One +must allow that the Chamber of Deputies of the French National +Assembly of 1798 had some claims to a respectable degree of political +virtue when compared with the Thirty-seventh Congress and the +Executive of the United States. + +The specious argument for this tremendous and sweeping usurpation, +designated as the "war power," as presented by its adherents, may be +stated in a few words, thus: The Constitution confers on Congress all +the specific powers incident to war, and then further authorizes it +"to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying +into execution the foregoing powers." The words are these: + + "Congress shall have power to declare war; to grant letters of marque + and reprisal; to make rules concerning captures on land and water; to + raise and support armies; to provide and maintain a navy; to make + rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces; + to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the + Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasion; and to make all + laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution + the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this Constitution + in the Government of the United States, or in any department or + officer thereof." [46] + +It will be seen that this unlimited, despotic power was claimed for +Congress in the conduct of the war under the last clause above, viz., +"to make all laws which," etc; whereas no one familiar with the rules +of legal interpretation will seriously contend that the powers of +Congress are one atom greater by the insertion of this provision than +they would have been if it had not appeared in the Constitution. The +delegation of a power gives the incidental means _necessary_ for its +execution. + +Another step in the usurpations begun for the destruction of slavery +was the passage by Congress of an act for the emancipation of slaves +in the District of Columbia. The act emancipated all persons of +African descent held to service within the District, immediately upon +its passage. Those owners of slaves who had not sympathized with us +were allowed ninety days to prepare and present to commissioners, +appointed for that purpose, the names, ages, and personal description +of their slaves, who were to be valued by commissioners. No single +slave could be estimated to be worth more than three hundred dollars. +One million dollars was appropriated to carry the act into effect. +All claims were to be presented within ninety days after the passage +of the act, and not thereafter; but there was no saving clause for +minors, _femmes covert_, insane or absent persons. On his approval of +the act, the Executive of the United States sent a message to +Congress, in which he said: + + "I have never doubted the constitutional authority of Congress to + abolish slavery in the District, and I have ever desired to see the + national capital freed from the institution in some satisfactory way. + Hence there never has been in my mind any questions upon the subject, + except those of expediency, arising in view of all the circumstances." + +For the previous twenty-five or thirty years the subject had again +and again been presented in Congress, and was always rejected. One of +the incidents that led to our withdrawal from the Union was the +apprehension that it was the intention of the United States +Government to violate the constitutional right of each State to adopt +and maintain, to reject or abolish slavery, as it pleased. This step +showed the justness of our apprehensions. + +Among the rights guaranteed to every citizen of the United States, +including the District of Columbia, was the right of property. No one +could be deprived of his property by the Government, except in the +manner prescribed and authorized by the Constitution. Its words are +these: + + "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without + due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public + use without just compensation." [47] + +Whenever it was necessary in the administration of affairs that the +Government should take private property for public use, it had the +right to take that private property on the condition of making +compensation for it, and on no other condition. Also, it could not be +taken except for public use, even by making just compensation for it; +nor could it be taken to be destroyed. The simple and sole condition +on which the inviolability of private property could be broken by the +Government itself was, that it was necessary for public use. +Otherwise, there was no constitutional right on the part of the +Government to take the property at all. + +Again, this property, thus necessary, must be taken by due process of +law. The Government had not the right to declare the mode, and +arbitrarily fix the limit of price which should be paid. The negro +could be taken only as other property, even admitting that he could +be taken for emancipation. The due process of law required that the +citizen's property should be appraised judicially. A court must +proceed judicially in every case, summon a jury, appoint +commissioners, and, under the supervision and sanction of the court, +the valuation of the slave by them must proceed as it does in +relation to any other property of the citizen that might be taken by +the lawful exercise of the power of Congress or of the United States +Government. Thus it will be seen that by this usurpation of power the +Constitution was violated, not only by taking private property for +other purposes than for public use, but in the neglect to observe the +due process of law which the Constitution required. + +The next step in the usurpation of power for the destruction of the +right of citizens to hold property in slaves was the passage by +Congress of an act which declared that, after its passage-- + + "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of + the Territories of the United States now existing, or which may at + any time hereafter be formed or acquired by the United States, + otherwise than in the punishment of crimes," etc. + +The subject had been brought forward at every session of Congress for +a number of years, and was uniformly resisted by the advocates of +equality among the States. We claimed an equal right with the other +States to the occupation and settlement of the Territories which were +the common property of the Union; and that any infringement of this +right was not only a violation of the spirit of the Constitution, but +destructive of that equality of the States so necessary for the +maintenance of their Union. We further claimed our right under this +express provision of the Constitution: + + "The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful + rules and regulations respecting the Territory or other property + belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution + shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States + or of any particular States." [48] + +The obstinate resistance of the consolidation school to our views was +an evidence of their aggressive purposes, and justified still further +our apprehensions of their intention to violate our constitutional +rights. + +Another step taken to accomplish the emancipation of our slaves was +the passage by Congress of an act making an additional article of war +for the government of the army of the United States. It was in these +words: + + "All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the + United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under + their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from + service or labor, who may have escaped from any persons to whom such + service or labor is claimed to be due; and any officer who shall be + found guilty by a court-martial of violating this article shall be + dismissed from the service." + +The Constitution of the United States expressly declares that all +such persons + + "Shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or + labor may be due." [49] + +In this instance Congress passed an act declaring that they shall not +be delivered up on such claim; and, as a penalty for disobedience, +any officer of the army or navy should be dismissed from the service. +Thus an act of Congress directly forbade that which the Constitution +commanded. A more flagrant outrage upon the constitutional obligation +could not be committed. + +But, it may be said, a state of war existed. That does not diminish +the crime of the Congress. The commands of the Constitution are +positive, direct, unchanged, and unrelaxed by circumstances. They are +equally in force in a state of war and in a state of peace. The +powers are delegated, and can not be amended or changed by war or +peace. Its words are these: + + "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States, which shall be + made in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law, and the judges + in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution + or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. The Senators + and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several + State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of + the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath + or affirmation to support this Constitution." [50] + +It declares itself to be, within its province, the supreme law of the +United States, not merely during the condition of peace, but +continuing through all times and events supreme throughout the Union, +until it should be altered or amended in the manner prescribed. + +Another instance of the like flagrant violation of the Constitution +is to be found in the ninth and tenth sections of the confiscation +act previously referred to. The Constitution of the United States in +Article IV, section 3, says: + + "No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws + thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or + regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor." + +It will be seen, by reference to the Constitution, that the first +part of the clause here referred to forbids the discharge of the +fugitive, and the second part commands his delivery to the claimant. +It has just been stated in what manner Congress commanded the claim +for delivery to be repudiated. The "discharge from such service and +labor," in consequence of any State law or regulation, is forbidden. +This is a part of the Constitution, and it is thereby made the duty +of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the United +States Government to enforce the prohibition, to make sure that the +fugitive is not discharged by any action of a State. + +Will the friends of constitutional liberty believe our assertion that +these acts, the execution of which it was so expressly made the duty +of the United States Government to prevent, that Government itself +did do in the most explicit and effective manner? The Constitution +forbids the discharge; Congress and the Executive, each, not only +commanded the discharge, but, to make it sure and thorough, forbade +the incipiency of an apprehension--not even permitting the shadow of +an occasion for a discharge. Could human ingenuity devise a method +for a more perfect subversion of a constitutional duty? The +provisions of the act are in these words: + + "All slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion + against the Government of the United States, or who shall in any way + give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking + refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from + such persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the + Government of the United States; and all slaves of such persons found + or being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterward + occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives + of war, and shall be for ever free of their servitude, and not again + held as slaves." + +Again, the next section of the same act says: + + "No slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of + Colombia from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way + impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime or some offense + against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall + first make oath that the person, to whom the labor or service of such + fugitive is alleged to be due, is his lawful owner, and has not borne + arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any + way given aid and comfort thereto." [51] + +In this connection it is worth while to read again the words of the +Constitution: + + "No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws + thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or + regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but + shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or + labor may be due." + +Let it be observed that there is no limitation, no qualification, no +condition whatever attached to this clause of the Constitution. The +words "no person held to service" included every slave in the United +States. In Article I, section 9, and in Article V, are exceptions +suspending the operation of the general provision. But in this +provision there are none, because it was intended there should be +none. The provision was designed to include every slave, and to be in +force under all circumstances. + +Perhaps it may be urged as an objection to this assertion, that the +Confederate States were out of the Union and beyond the protection of +the provisions of the Constitution. This objection can not be +admitted in extenuation of this crime of Congress and the Executive; +for there was, thus far, no act of Congress, nor proclamation of the +President in existence, showing that either of them regarded the +Confederate States in any other position than as States within the +Union, whose citizens were subject to all the penalties contained in +the Constitution, and therefore entitled to the benefit of all its +provisions for their protection. Unhesitatingly it may be said, and +as will be still more apparent farther on in these pages, that all +the conduct of the Confederate States, pertaining to the war, +consisted in just efforts to preserve to themselves and their +posterity rights and protections guaranteed to them in the +Constitution of the United States; and that the actions of the +Federal Government consisted in efforts to subvert those rights, +destroy those protections, and subjugate us to compliance with its +arbitrary will; and that this conduct on their part involved the +subversion of the Constitution and the destruction of the fundamental +principles of liberty. Who is the criminal? Let posterity answer. + + +[Footnote 46: Constitution of the United States, Article I, section 8.] + +[Footnote 47: Constitution of the United States, Article V.] + +[Footnote 48: Constitution of the United States, Article IV, section 3, +clause 2.] + +[Footnote 49: Constitution of the United States, Article IV, section 2.] + +[Footnote 50: Ibid., Article VI.] + +[Footnote 51: Laws of the United States, 1862.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + Forced Emancipation concluded.--Emancipation Acts of President + Lincoln.--Emancipation with Compensation proposed to Border + States.--Reasons urged for it.--Its Unconstitutionality.--Order of + General Hunter.--Revoked by President Lincoln.--Reasons.--"The + Pressure" on him.--One Cause of our Secession.--The Time to throw + off the Mask at Hand.--The Necessity that justified the President + and Congress also justified Secession.--Men united in Defense of + Liberty called Traitors.--Conference of President Lincoln with + Senators and Representatives of Border States.--Remarks of Mr. + Lincoln.--Reply of Senators and Representatives.--Failure of the + Proposition.--Three Hundred Thousand more Men called for.-- + Declarations of the Antislavery Press.--Truth of our + Apprehensions.--Reply of President Lincoln.--Another Call for + Men.--Further Declarations of the Antislavery Press.--The Watchword + adopted.--Memorial of So-called Christians to the President.--Reply + of President Lincoln.--Issue of the Preliminary Proclamation of + Emancipation.--Issue of the Final Proclamation.--The Military + Necessity asserted.--The Consummation verbally reached.--Words of + the Declaration of Independence.--Declarations by the United States + Government of what it intended to do.--True Nature of the Party + unveiled.--Declarations of President Lincoln.--Vindication of the + Sagacity of the Southern People.--His Declarations to European + Cabinets.--Object of these Declarations.--Trick of the Fugitive + Thief.--The Boast of Mr. Lincoln calmly considered. + + +The attention of the reader is now invited to a series of usurpations +in which the President of the United States was the principal actor. +On March 6, 1862, he began a direct and unconstitutional interference +with slavery by sending a message to Congress recommending the +adoption of a resolution which should declare that the United States +ought to coöperate with any State which might adopt the gradual +abolition of slavery, giving to such State pecuniary aid, to be used +by such State in its discretion, to compensate for the inconvenience, +public and private, produced by such change of system. The reason +given for the recommendation of the adoption of the resolution was +that the United States Government would find its highest interest in +such a measure as one of the most important means of self-preservation. +He said, in explanation, that "the leaders of the existing rebellion +entertain the hope that this Government will ultimately be forced to +acknowledge the independence of some part of the disaffected region, +and that all the slave States north of such part will then say, 'The +Union for which we have struggled being already gone, we now choose to +go with the Southern section.' To deprive them of this hope +substantially ends the rebellion, and the initiation of emancipation +deprives them of it and of all the States initiating it." + +When it was asked where the power was found in the Constitution to +appropriate the money of the people to carry out the purposes of the +resolution, it was replied that the legislative department of the +Government was competent, under these words in the preamble of the +Constitution, "to provide for the general welfare," to do anything +and everything which could be considered as promoting the general +welfare. It was further said that this measure was to be consummated +under the war power; that whatever was necessary to carry on the war +to a successful conclusion might be done without restraint under the +authority, not of the Constitution, but as a military necessity. It +was further said that the President of the United States had thus far +failed to meet the just expectations of the party which elected him +to the office he held; and that his friends were to be comforted by +the resolution and the message, while the people of the border slave +States could not fail to observe that with the comfort to the North +there was mingled an awful warning to them. It was denied by the +President that it was an interference with slavery in the States. It +was an artful scheme to awaken a controversy in the slave States, and +to commence the work of emancipation by holding out pecuniary aid as +an inducement. In every previous declaration the President had said +that he did not contemplate any interference with domestic slavery +within the States. The resolution was passed by large majorities in +each House. + +This proposition of President Lincoln was wholly unconstitutional, +because it attempted to do what was expressly forbidden by the +Constitution. It proposed a contract between the State of Missouri +and the Government of the United States which, in the language of the +act, shall be "irrepealable without the consent of the United +States." The words of the Constitution are as follows: + + "No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation, + grant letters of marque and reprisal, coin money, etc." [52] + +This is a prohibition not only upon the power of one State to enter +into a compact, alliance, confederation, or agreement with another +State, but also with the Government of the United States. + +Again, if the State of Missouri could enter into an irrepealable +agreement or compact with the United States, that slavery should not +therein exist after the acceptance on the part of Missouri of the +act, then it would be an agreement on the part of that State to +surrender its sovereignty and make the State unequal in its rights of +sovereignty with the other States of the Union. The other States +would have the complete right of sovereignty over their domestic +institutions while the State of Missouri would cease to have such +right. The whole system of the United States Government would be +abrogated by such legislation. Again, it is a cardinal principle of +the system that the people in their sovereign capacity may, from time +to time, change and alter their organic law; and a provision +incorporated in the Constitution of Missouri that slavery should +never thereafter exist in that State could not prevent a future +sovereign convention of its people from reestablishing slavery within +its limits. + +It will be observed, from what has been said in the preceding pages, +that the usurpations by the Government of the United States, both by +the legislative and executive departments, had not only been +tolerated but approved. Feeling itself, therefore, fortified in its +unlimited power from "necessity," the wheels of the revolution were +now to move with accelerated velocity in their destructive work. +Accordingly, a manifesto soon comes from the Executive on universal +emancipation. On April 25, 1862, the United States Major-General +Hunter, occupying a position at Hilton Head, South Carolina, issued +an order declaring the States of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina +under martial law. On May 9th the same officer issued another order, +declaring "the persons held as slaves in those States to be for ever +free." The Executive of the United States, on May 19th, issued a +proclamation declaring the order to be void, and said: + + "I further make known that, whether it be competent for me as + commander-in-chief of the army and navy to declare the slaves of any + State or States free, and whether at any time or in any case it shall + have become a necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the + Government to examine such supposed power, are questions which, under + my responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I can not feel + justified in leaving to the decision of commanders in the field." + +Speaking of this order of Major-General Hunter soon afterward, +President Lincoln, in remarks on July 12, 1862, to the border States +Representatives, said: + + "In repudiating it, I gave dissatisfaction, if not offense, to many + whose support the country can not afford to lose. And this is not the + end of it. The pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is + increasing." + +This pressure consisted in the demand of his extreme partisans that +the whole authority of the Government should be exerted for the +immediate and universal emancipation of the slaves. + +By a reference to the statement of the causes of our withdrawal from +the Union of the United States, it will be seen that one of them +consisted in the conviction that the newly elected officers of the +Government would wield its powers for the destruction of the +institutions of the Southern States. The facts already related in +these pages furnish ample proofs of the justice and accuracy of this +conviction. + +The time was now close at hand when the mask was to be thrown off, +and, at a single dash of the pen, four hundred millions of our +property was to be annihilated, the whole social fabric of the +Southern States disrupted, all branches of industry to be +disarranged, good order to be destroyed, and a flood of evils many +times greater than the loss of property to be inflicted upon the +people of the South, thus consummating the series of aggressions +which had been inflicted for more than thirty years. All +constitutional protections were to be withdrawn, and the powers of a +common government, created for common and equal protection to the +interests of all, were to be arrayed for the destruction of our +institutions. The President of the United States says: "This is not +the end. The pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is +increasing." How easy it would have been for the Northern people, by +a simple, honest obedience to the provisions of the Constitution, to +have avoided the commission of all these crimes and horrors! For the +law which demands obedience to itself guarantees in return life and +safety. It is not necessary to ask again where the President of the +United States or the Congress found authority for their usurpations. +But it should be remembered that, if the necessity which they pleaded +was an argument to justify their violations of all the provisions of +the Constitution, the existence of such a necessity on their part was +a sufficient argument to justify our withdrawal from union with them. +If necessity on their part justified a violation of the Constitution, +necessity on our part justified secession from them. If the +preservation of the existence of the Union by coercion of the States +was an argument to justify these violent usurpations by the United +States Government, it was still more forcibly an argument to justify +our separation and resistance to invasion; for we were struggling for +our natural rights, but the Government of the United States has no +natural rights. + +How can a people who glory in a Declaration of Independence which +broke the slumbers of a world declare that men united in defense of +liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness are "traitors"? Is it +henceforth to be a dictum of humanity that man may no more take up +arms in defense of rights, liberty, and property? Shall it never +again in the course of human events become lawful "for one people to +dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, +and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal +station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle +them"? Is the highwayman, henceforth, to be the lord of the highway, +and the poor, plundered traveler to have no property which he may +defend at the risk of the life of the highwayman? + +On July 12, 1862, the President of the United States, persistent in +his determination to destroy the institution of slavery, invited the +Senators and Representatives of the border slaveholding States to the +Executive Mansion, and addressed them on emancipation in their +respective States. He said: + + "I intend no reproach or complaint when I assure you that, in my + opinion, if you all had voted for the resolution in the gradual + emancipation message of last March, the war would now be + substantially ended. And the plan therein proposed is yet one of the + most potent and swift means of ending it. Let the States which are in + rebellion see definitely and certainly that in no event will the + States you represent ever join their proposed confederacy, and they + can not much longer maintain the contest. But you can not divest them + of their hope to ultimately have you with them so long as you show a + determination to perpetuate the institution within your own States. + Beat them at elections as you have overwhelmingly done, and, nothing + daunted, they still claim you as their own. You and I know what the + lever of their power is. Break that lever before their faces, and + they can shake you no more for ever." + +He further said that the incidents of the war might extinguish the +institution in their States, and added: + + "How much better for you as seller and the nation as buyer to sell + out and buy out that without which the war could never have been, + than to sink both the thing to be sold and the price of it in cutting + one another's throats!" + +The reply of the majority, consisting of twenty of the twenty-nine +Senators and Representatives, subsequently made to the President, is +worthy of notice. They said that they were not of the belief that +funds would be provided for the object, or that their constituents +would reap the fruits of the promise held out, and added: + + "The right to hold slaves is a right appertaining to all the States + of the Union. They have the right to cherish or abolish the + institution, as their tastes or their interests may prompt, and no + one is authorized to question the right, or limit its enjoyment. And + no one has more clearly affirmed that right than you have. Your + inaugural address does you great honor in this respect, and inspired + the country with confidence in your fairness and respect for law." + +After asserting that a large portion of our people were fighting +because they believed the Administration was hostile to their rights, +and was making war on their domestic institutions, they further said: + + "Remove their apprehensions; satisfy them that no harm is intended to + them and their institutions; that this Government is not making war + on their rights of property, but is simply defending its legitimate + authority, and they will gladly return to their allegiance." + +This measure of emancipation with compensation soon proved a failure. +A proposition to appropriate five hundred thousand dollars to the +object was voted down in the United States Senate with great +unanimity. The Government was, step by step, "educating the people" +up to a proclamation of emancipation, so as to make entire abolition +one of the positive and declared issues of the contest. + +The so-called pressure upon the President was now organized for a +final onset. The Governors of fifteen States united in a request that +three hundred thousand more men should be called out to fill up the +reduced ranks, and it was done. The anti-slavery press then entered +the arena. Charges were made against the President, in the name of + + "Twenty millions of people, that a groat proportion of those who + triumphed in his election were sorely disappointed and deeply pained + by the policy he seemed to be pursuing with regard to the slaves of + the rebels." + +This is a simple statement of the progress of events, and it shows to +the world how well founded were our apprehensions, at the hour of its +election, that the Administration intended the destruction of our +property and community independence. They further said: + + "You are strangely and disastrously remiss in the discharge of your + official and imperative duty with regard to the emancipation + provisions of the new confiscation act." + +They further boldly added: + + "We complain that the Union cause has suffered, and is now suffering, + immensely from mistaken deference to rebel slavery. Had you, sir, in + your inaugural address, unmistakably given notice that, in case the + rebellion already commenced was persisted in, and your efforts to + preserve the Union and enforce the laws should be resisted by armed + force, you would recognize no loyal person as rightfully held in + slavery by a traitor, we believe the rebellion would therein have + received a staggering if not fatal blow." + +The President replied at length, saying: + + "I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the + cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will + help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be + errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to + be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of + official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed + personal wish that all men everywhere could be free." + +The education of the conservative portion of the Northern people up +to emancipation was becoming more complete every day, notwithstanding +the professed reluctance of the President. Another call for three +hundred thousand men was made, but enlistments were slow, so that +threats of a draft and most liberal bounties were required. The +champions of emancipation sought to derive an advantage from this +circumstance. They asserted that the reluctance of the people to +enter the army was caused by the policy of the Government in not +adopting bold emancipation measures. If such were adopted, the +streets and by-ways would be crowded with volunteers to fight for the +freedom of the "loyal blacks," and thrice three hundred thousand +could be easily obtained. They said that slavery in the seceded +States should be treated as a military question; it contributed +nearly all the subsistence which supported the Southern men in arms, +dug their trenches, and built their fortifications. The watchword +which they now adopted was, "The abolition of slavery by the force of +arms for the sake of the Union." + +Meantime, on September 13th, a delegation from the so-called +"Christians" in Chicago, Illinois, presented to President Lincoln a +memorial, requesting him to issue a proclamation of emancipation, and +urged in its favor such reasons as occurred to their minds. President +Lincoln replied: + + "What good would a proclamation of emancipation from me do, + especially as we are now situated? I do not want to issue a document + that the whole world would see must necessarily be inoperative, like + the Pope's bull against the comet. Would my word free the slaves, + when I can not even enforce the Constitution in the rebel States? Is + there a single court, or magistrate, or individual that would be + influenced by it there? And what reason is there to think it would + have any greater effect upon the slaves than the late law of Congress + which I approved, and which offers protection and freedom to the + slaves of rebel masters who come within our lines? Yet I can not + learn that that law has caused a single slave to come over to us. And + suppose they could be induced by a proclamation of freedom from me to + throw themselves upon us, what should we do with them? How can we + feed and care for such a multitude? . . . + + "If, now, the pressure of the war should call off our forces from New + Orleans to defend some other point, what is to prevent the masters + from reducing the blacks to slavery again? . . . Now, then, tell me, + if you please, what possible result of good would follow the issuing + of such a proclamation as you desire? I have not decided against a + proclamation of liberty to the slaves, but hold the matter under + advisement." + +Nine days after these remarks were made--on September 22, 1862--the +preliminary proclamation of emancipation was issued by the President +of the United States. It declared that at the next session of +Congress the proposition for emancipation in the border slaveholding +States would be again recommended, and that on January 1, 1863-- + + "All persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a + State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the + United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and for ever free; and + the Executive Government of the United States, including the military + and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom + of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, + or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual + freedom." + +Also, all persons engaged in the military and naval service were +ordered to obey and enforce the article of war and the sections of +the confiscation act before mentioned. On January 1, 1863, another +proclamation was issued by the President of the United States +declaring the emancipation to be absolute within the Confederate +States, with the exception of a few districts. The closing words of +the proclamation were these: + + "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, + warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the + considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty + God." + +Let us test the existence of the military necessity here spoken of by +a few facts. The white male population of the Northern States was +then 13,690,364. The white male population of the Confederate States +was 5,449,463. The number of troops which the United States had +called into the field exceeded one million men. The number of troops +which the Confederate Government had then in the field was less than +four hundred thousand men. The United States Government had a navy +which was only third in rank in the world. The Confederate Government +had a navy which at that time consisted of a single small ship on the +ocean. The people of the United States had a commerce afloat all over +the world. The people of the Confederate States had not a single port +open to commerce. The people of the United States were the rivals of +the greatest nations in all kinds of manufactures. The people of the +Confederate States had few manufactures, and those were of articles +of inferior importance. The Government of the United States possessed +the Treasury of a Union of eighty years with its vast resources. The +Confederate States had to create a Treasury by the development of +financial resources. The ambassadors and representatives of the +former were welcomed at every court in the world. The representatives +of the latter were not recognized anywhere. + +Thus the consummation of the original antislavery purposes was +verbally reached; but even that achievement was attended with +disunion, bloodshed, and war. In the words of the Declaration of +Independence: + + "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that, whenever any form of + government becomes destructive of these ends" (life, liberty, and the + pursuit of happiness), "it is the right of the people to alter or to + abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation + on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to + them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. . . . + When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably + the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute + despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such + government, and to provide new guards for their future security." + +It is thus seen what the United States Government did, and our view +of this subject would not be complete if we should omit to present +their solemn declarations of that which they intended to do. In his +proclamation of April 15, 1861, calling for seventy-five thousand +men, the President of the United States Government said: + + "In any event, the utmost care will be observed, consistently with + the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of + or interference with property, or any disturbance of peaceful + citizens in any part of the country." + +On the 22d of July, 1861, Congress passed a resolution relative to +the war, from which the following is an extract: + + "That this war is not waged on our part in any spirit of oppression, + or for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of + overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established + institutions of those [Confederate] States; but to defend and + maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union + with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States + unimpaired; and that, as soon as these objects are accomplished, the + war ought to cease." + +The vote in favor of the resolution was: in the Senate, yeas 30, nays +4; in the House of Representatives, yeas 117, nays 2. + +It may further be observed that these proclamations cited above +afforded to our whole people the complete and crowning proof of the +true nature of the designs of the party which elevated to power the +person then occupying the Presidential chair at Washington, and which +sought to conceal its purposes by every variety of artful device and +by the perfidious use of the most solemn and repeated pledges on +every possible occasion. A single example may be cited from the +declaration made by President Lincoln, under the solemnity of his +oath as Chief Magistrate of the United States, on March 4, 1861: + + "Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States + that, by the accession of a Republican Administration, their property + and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has + never been any reasonable cause for such apprehensions. Indeed, the + most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and + been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the public + speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of + those speeches when I declare that I have no purpose, directly or + indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the + States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, + and I have no inclination to do so. Those who nominated and elected + me did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar + declarations, and had never recanted them. And more than this, they + placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves + and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read: + + "_Resolved_, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the + States, and especially the right of each State to order and control + its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment + exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the + perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend, and we + denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State + or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among the gravest + crimes." + +Nor was this declaration of the want of power or disposition to +interfere with our social system confined to a state of peace. Both +before and after the actual commencement of hostilities, the +Executive of the United States repeated in formal official +communications to the Cabinets of Great Britain and France, that it +was utterly without constitutional power to do the act which it +subsequently committed, and that in no possible event, whether the +secession of these States resulted in the establishment of a separate +Confederacy or in the restoration of the Union, was there any +authority by virtue of which it could either restore a disaffected +State to the Union by force of arms, or make any change in any of its +institutions. I refer especially for the verification of this +assertion to the dispatches addressed by the Secretary of State of +the United States, under direction of the President, to the Ministers +of the United States at London and Paris, under date of the 10th and +22d of April, 1861. + +This proclamation was therefore received by the people of the +Confederate States as the fullest vindication of their own sagacity +in foreseeing the uses to which the dominant party in the United +States intended from the beginning to apply their power. + +For what honest purpose were these declarations made? They could +deceive no one who was familiar with the powers and duties of the +Federal Government; they were uttered in the season of invasion of +the Southern States, to coerce them to obedience to the agent +established by the compact between the States, for the purpose of +securing domestic tranquillity and the blessings of liberty. The +power to coerce States was not given, and the proposition to make +that grant received no favor in the Convention which formed the +Constitution; and it is seen by the proceedings in the States, when +the Constitution was submitted to each of them for their ratification +or rejection as they might choose, that a proposition which would +have enabled the General Government, by force of arms, to control the +will of a State, would have been fatal to any effort to make a more +perfect Union. Such declarations as those cited from the diplomatic +correspondence, though devoid of credibility at home, might avail in +foreign countries to conceal from their governments the real purpose +of the action of the majority. Meanwhile, the people of the +Confederacy plainly saw that the ideas and interests of the +Administration were to gain by war the empire that would enable it to +trample on the Constitution which it professed to defend and maintain. + +It was by the slow and barely visible approaches of the serpent +seeking its prey that the aggressions and usurpations of the United +States Government moved on to the crimes against the law of the +Union, the usages of war among civilized nations, the dictates of +humanity and the requirements of justice, which have been recited. +The performance of this task has been painful, but persistent and +widespread misrepresentation of the cause and conduct of the South +required the exposure of her slanderer. To unmask the hypocrisy of +claiming devotion to the Constitution, while violating its letter and +spirit for a purpose palpably hostile to it, was needful for the +defense of the South. In the future progress of this work it will be +seen how often we have been charged with the very offenses committed +by our enemy--offenses of which the South was entirely innocent, and +of which a chivalrous people would be incapable. There was in this +the old trick of the fugitive thief who cries "Stop thief!" as he +runs. + +In his message to Congress one year later, on December 8, 1863, the +President of the United States thus boasts of his proclamation: + + "The preliminary emancipation proclamation, issued in September, was + running its assigned period to the beginning of the new year. A month + later the final proclamation came, including the announcement that + colored men of suitable condition would be received into the war + service. The policy of emancipation and of employing black soldiers + gave to the future a new aspect, about which hope and fear and doubt + contended in uncertain conflict. According to our political system, + as a matter of civil administration, the General Government had no + lawful power to effect emancipation in any State, and for a long time + it had been hoped that the rebellion could be suppressed without + resorting to it as a military measure. . . . Of those who were slaves + at the beginning of the rebellion, full one hundred thousand are now + in the United States military service, about one half of which number + actually bear arms in the ranks, thus giving the double advantage of + taking so much labor from the insurgent cause, and supplying the + places which otherwise must be filled with so many white men. So far + as tested, it is difficult to say they are not as good soldiers as + any." + +Let the reader pause for a moment and look calmly at the facts +presented in this statement. The forefathers of these negro soldiers +were gathered from the torrid plains and malarial swamps of +inhospitable Africa. Generally they were born the slaves of barbarian +masters, untaught in all the useful arts and occupations, reared in +heathen darkness, and, sold by heathen masters, they were transferred +to shores enlightened by the rays of Christianity. There, put to +servitude, they were trained in the gentle arts of peace and order +and civilization; they increased from a few unprofitable savages to +millions of efficient Christian laborers. Their servile instincts +rendered them contented with their lot, and their patient toil +blessed the land of their abode with unmeasured riches. Their strong +local and personal attachment secured faithful service to those to +whom their service or labor was due. A strong mutual affection was +the natural result of this life-long relation, a feeling best if not +only understood by those who have grown from childhood under its +influence. Never was there happier dependence of labor and capital on +each other. The tempter came, like the serpent in Eden, and decoyed +them with the magic word of "freedom." Too many were allured by the +uncomprehended and unfulfilled promises, until the highways of these +wanderers were marked by corpses of infants and the aged. He put arms +in their hands, and trained their humble but emotional natures to +deeds of violence and bloodshed, and sent them out to devastate their +benefactors. What does he boastingly announce?--"It is difficult to +say they are not as good soldiers as any." Ask the bereaved mother, +the desolate widow, the sonless aged sire, to whom the bitter cup was +presented by those once of their own household. With double anguish +they speak of its bitterness. What does the President of the United +States further say?--"According to our political system, as a matter +of civil administration, the General Government had no lawful power +to effect emancipation in any State." And further on, as if with a +triumphant gladness, he adds, "Thus giving the double advantage of +taking so much labor from the insurgent cause, and supplying the +places which otherwise must be filled with so many white men." A rare +mixture of malfeasance with traffic in human life! It is submitted to +the judgment of a Christian people how well such a boast befits the +President of the United States, a federation of sovereigns under a +voluntary compact for specific purposes. + + +[Footnote 52: Article I, section 10.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + + Naval Affairs.--Organization of the Navy Department.--Two Classes + of Vessels.--Experiments for Floating Batteries and Rams.--The + Norfolk Navy-Yard.--Abandonment by the Enemy.--The Merrimac + Frigate made an Ironclad.--Officers.--Trial-Trip.--Fleet of the + Enemy.--Captain Buchanan.--Resolves to attack the Enemy.--Sinks + the Cumberland.--Burns the Congress.--Wounded.--Executive Officer + Jones takes Command.--Retires for the Night.--Appearance of the + Monitor.--The Virginia attacks her.--She retires to Shoal Water.-- + Refuses to come out.--Cheers of English Man-of-war.--Importance of + the Navy-Yard.--Order of General Johnston to evacuate.--Stores + saved.--The Virginia burned.--Harbor Defenses at Wilmington.-- + Harbor Defenses at Charleston.--Fights in the Harbor.--Defenses of + Savannah.--Mobile Harbor and Capture of its Defenses.--The System + of Torpedoes adopted.--Statement of the Enemy.--Sub-terra Shells + placed in James River.--How made.--Used in Charleston Harbor; in + Roanoke River; in Mobile Harbor.--The Tecumseh, how destroyed. + + +The organization of the Navy Department comprised under its general +supervision a bureau of orders and details, one of ordnance and +hydrography, one of provisions and clothing, and one of medicine and +surgery. The grades of officers consisted of admirals, captains, +commanders, surgeons, lieutenants, and midshipmen. Of the officers at +the close of the first year there were one admiral, twelve captains, +thirty commanders, and one hundred and twelve first and second +lieutenants. All of the principal officers had belonged to the United +States Navy. Owing to the limited number of vessels afloat, many of +these officers were employed on shore-duties. + +The vessels of the navy may be reduced to two classes: those intended +for river and harbor defense, as ironclads, rams, floating batteries, +or river-steamboats transformed into gunboats; and sea-going steamers +of moderate size, some of them of great speed, but, not having been +designed for war purposes, were all unsuited for a powerful armament, +and could not be expected to contend successfully with ships of war. + +Early in 1861 discussions and experiments were instituted by the Navy +Department to determine how floating batteries and naval rams could +be best constructed and protected by iron plates. Many persons had +submitted plans, according to which cotton-bales might be effectively +used as a shield against shot. Our deficiency in iron, and also in +rolling-mills to prepare it into plates, caused cotton to be +sometimes so employed; though the experiments had satisfied the Navy +Department that, instead of cotton being rendered impenetrable by +compression, it was really less so than in looser condition, and that +iron must needs be of great thickness to resist the direct impact of +heavy shot at short ranges. An officer of the navy, as skillful in +ordnance as he was in seamanship, and endowed with high capacity for +the investigation of new problems--Lieutenant Catesby Ap R. Jones-- +had conducted many of these experiments, and, as will be seen +hereafter, made efficient use of his knowledge both in construction +and in battle. + +After Virginia had seceded from the United States, but before she had +acceded to the Confederate States--viz., on the 19th of April, +1861--General Taliaferro, in command of Virginia forces, arrived at +Norfolk. Commodore McCauley, United States Navy, and commandant of +the navy-yard, held a conference with General Taliaferro, the result +of which was "that none of the vessels should be removed, nor a shot +fired except in self-defense." The excitement which had existed in +the town was quieted by the announcement of this arrangement; but it +was soon ascertained that the Germantown and Merrimac, frigates in +the port, had been scuttled, and the former otherwise injured. About +midnight, as elsewhere stated, a fire was started in the navy-yard, +which continued to increase, involving the destruction of the +ship-houses, a ship of the line, and the unfinished frame of another; +several frigates, in addition to those mentioned, had been scuttled +and sunk; and other property destroyed, to an amount estimated at +several million dollars. The Pawnee, which arrived on the 19th, had +been kept under steam, and, taking the Cumberland in tow, retired +down the harbor, freighted with a great portion of valuable munitions +and the commodore and other officers of the yard.[53] In the haste +and secrecy of the conflagration, a large amount of material remained +uninjured. The Merrimac, a beautiful frigate, in the yard for +repairs, was raised by the Virginians, and the work immediately +commenced, on a plan devised by Lieutenant Brooke, Confederate States +Navy, to convert her hull, with such means as were available, into an +iron-clad vessel. Two-inch plates were prepared, and she was covered +with a double-inclined roof of four inches thickness. This armor, +though not sufficiently thick to resist direct shot, sufficed to +protect against a glancing ball, and was as heavy as was consistent +with the handling of the ship. The shield was defective in not +covering the sides sufficiently below the water-line, and the prow +was unfortunately made of cast-iron; but, when all the difficulties +by which we were surrounded are remembered, and the service rendered +by this floating battery considered, the only wonder must be that so +much was so well done under the circumstances. + +Her armament consisted of ten guns, four single-banded Brooke rifles, +and six nine-inch Dahlgren shell-guns. Two of the rifles, bow and +stern pivots, were seven inch; the other two were six and four tenths +inch, one on each broadside. The nine-inch gun on each side, nearest +the furnaces, was fitted for firing hot shot. The work of +construction was prosecuted with all haste, the armament and crew +were put on board, and the vessel started on her trial-trip as soon +as the workmen were discharged. She was our first ironclad; her model +was an experiment, and many doubted its success. Her commander, +Captain (afterward Admiral) Franklin Buchanan, with the wisdom of age +and the experience of sea-service from his boyhood, combined the +daring and enterprise of youth, and with him was Lieutenant Catesby +Ap R. Jones, who had been specially in charge of the battery, and +otherwise thoroughly acquainted with the ship. His high +qualifications as an ordnance officer were well known in the "old +navy," and he was soon to exhibit a like ability as a seaman in +battle. + +Now the first Confederate ironclad was afloat, the Stars and Bars +were given to the breeze, and she was new-christened "the Virginia." +She was joined by the Patrick Henry, six guns, Commander John R. +Tucker; the Jamestown, two guns. Lieutenant-commanding John N. +Barney; the Beaufort, one gun, Lieutenant-commanding W. H. Parker; +the Raleigh, one gun, Lieutenant-commanding J. W. Alexander; the +Teaser, one gun, Lieutenant-commanding W. A. Webb. + +The enemy's fleet in Hampton Roads consisted of the Cumberland, +twenty-four guns; Congress, fifty guns; St. Lawrence, fifty guns; +steam-frigates Minnesota and Roanoke, forty guns each. The relative +force was as twenty-one guns to two hundred and four, not counting +the small steamers of the enemy, though they had heavier armament +than the small vessels of our fleet, which have been enumerated. The +Cumberland and the Congress lay off Newport News; the other vessels +were anchored about nine miles eastward, near to Fortress Monroe. +Strong shore-batteries and several small steamers, armed with heavy +rifled guns, protected the frigates Cumberland and Congress. + +Buchanan no doubt felt the inspiration of a sailor when his vessel +bears him from the land, and the excitement of a hero at the prospect +of battle, and thus we may understand why the trial-trip was at once +converted into a determined attack upon the enemy. After the plan of +the Virginia had been decided upon, the work of her construction was +pushed with all possible haste. Her armament was on board, and she +was taken out of the dock while the workmen were still employed upon +her--indeed, the last of them were put ashore after she was started +on her first experimental trip. Few men, conscious as Flag-officer +Buchanan was of the defects of his vessel, would have dared such +unequal conflict. Slowly--about five knots an hour--he steamed down +to the roads. The Cumberland and Congress, seeing the Virginia +approach, prepared for action, and, from the flag-ship Roanoke, +signals were given to the Minnesota and St. Lawrence to advance. The +Cumberland had swung so as to give her full broadside to the +Virginia, which silently and without any exhibition of her crew, +moved steadily forward. The shot from the Cumberland fell thick upon +her plated roof, but rebounded harmless as hailstones. At last the +prow of the Virginia struck the Cumberland just forward of her +starboard fore-chains. A dull, heavy thud was heard, but so little +force was given to the Virginia that the engineer hesitated about +backing her. It was soon seen, however, that a gaping breach had been +made in the Cumberland, and that the sea was rushing madly in. She +reeled, and, while the waves ingulfed her, her crew gallantly stood +to their guns and vainly continued their fire. She went down in nine +fathoms of water, and with at least one hundred of her gallant crew, +her pennant still flying from her mast-head. + +The Virginia then ran up stream a short distance, in order to turn +and have sufficient space to get headway, and come down on the +Congress. The enemy, supposing that she had retired at the sight of +the vessels approaching to attack her, cheered loudly, both ashore +and afloat. But, when she turned to descend upon the Congress, as she +had on the Cumberland, the Congress slipped her cables and ran +ashore, bows on. The Virginia took position as near as the depth of +water would permit, and opened upon her a raking fire. The Minnesota +was fast aground about one mile and a half below. The Roanoke and St. +Lawrence retired toward the fort. The shore-batteries kept up their +fire on the Virginia, as did also the Minnesota at long range, and +quite ineffectually. The Congress, being aground, could but feebly +reply. Several of our small vessels came up and joined the Virginia, +and the combined fire was fearfully destructive to the Congress. Her +commander was killed, and soon her colors were struck, and the white +flag appeared both at the main and spanker gaff. The Beaufort, +Lieutenant-commanding W. H. Parker, and the Raleigh, +Lieutenant-commanding J. W. Alexander, tugs which had accompanied the +Virginia, were ordered to the Congress to receive the surrender. The +flag of the ship and the sword of its then commander were delivered +to Lieutenant Parker, by whom they were subsequently sent to the Navy +Department at Richmond. Other officers delivered their swords in +token of surrender, and entreated that they might return to assist in +getting their wounded out of the ship. The permission was granted to +the officers, and they then took advantage of the clemency shown them +to make their escape. In the mean time the shore-batteries fired upon +the tugs, and compelled them to retire. By this fire five of their +own men, our prisoners, were wounded. Flag-officer Buchanan had +stopped the firing upon the Congress when she struck her flag, and +ran up the white flag, as heretofore described. Lieutenant Jones in +his official report, referring to the Congress, writes: "But she +fired upon us with the white flag flying, wounding Lieutenant Minor +and several of our men. We again opened fire upon her, and she is now +in flames." The crew of the Congress escaped, as did that of the +Cumberland, by boats, or by swimming, and generously our men +abstained from firing on them while so exposed. Flag-officer Buchanan +was wounded by a rifle-ball, and had to be carried below. His +intrepid conduct won the admiration of all. The executive and +ordnance officer, Lieutenant Catesby Ap R. Jones, succeeded to the +command. It was now so near night and the change of the tide that +nothing further could be attempted on that day. The Virginia, with +the smaller vessels attending her, withdrew and anchored off Sewell's +Point. She had sunk the Cumberland, left the Congress on fire, had +blown up a transport-steamer, sunk one schooner, and had captured +another. Casualties, reported by Lieutenant Jones, were two killed +and eight wounded. The prow of the Virginia was somewhat damaged, her +anchor and all her flag-staffs were shot away, and her smoke-stack +and steam-pipe were riddled; otherwise, the vessel was uninjured, +and, as will be seen, was ready for action on the next morning. The +prisoners and wounded were immediately sent up to the hospital at +Norfolk. + +During the night the Monitor, an iron-clad turret-steamer, of an +entirely new model, came in, and anchored near the Minnesota. Like +our Virginia she was an invention, and her merits and demerits were +to be tested in the crucible of war. She was of light draught, and +very little save the revolving turret was visible above the water, +was readily handled, and had good speed; but, also, like the +Virginia, was not supposed by nautical men to be capable of braving +rough weather at sea. + +The Virginia was the hull of a frigate, modified into an ironclad +vessel. She was only suited to smooth water, and it had not been +practicable to obtain for her such engines as would have given her +the requisite speed. Her draught, twenty-two feet, was too great for +the shoal water in the roads, and the apprehension which was excited +lest she should go up to Washington might have been allayed by a +knowledge of the deep water necessary to float her. Her great length, +depth, and want of power, caused difficulty in handling to be +anticipated. In many respects she was an experiment, and, had we +possessed the means to build a new vessel, no doubt a better model +could have been devised. Commander Brooke, who united much science to +great ingenuity, was not entirely free in the exercise of either. Our +means restricted us to making the best of that which chance had given +us. + +In the morning the Virginia, with the Patrick Henry, the Jamestown, +and the three little tugs, jestingly called the "mosquito fleet," +returned to the scene of the previous day's combat, and to the +completion of the work, the destruction of the Minnesota, which had, +the evening before, been interrupted by the change of tide and the +coming of night. The Monitor, which had come in during the previous +night, and had been seen by the light of the burning Congress, opened +fire on the Virginia when about the third of a mile distant. The +Virginia sought to close with her, but the greater speed of the +Monitor and the celerity with which she was handled made this +impracticable. The ships passed and repassed very near each other, +and frequently the Virginia delivered her broadside at close +quarters, but with no perceptible effect. The Monitor fired rapidly +from her revolving turret, but not with such aim as to strike +successively in the same place, and the armor of the Virginia, +therefore, remained unbroken. Lieutenant-commanding Catesby Jones, to +whom Buchanan had intrusted the ship when he was removed to the +hospital, soon discovered that the Monitor was invulnerable to his +shells. He had a few solid shot, which were intended only to be fired +from the nine-inch guns as hot shot, and therefore had necessarily so +much windage that they would be ineffective against the shield of the +Monitor. He, therefore, determined to run her down, and got all the +headway he could obtain for that purpose, but the speed was so small +that it merely pushed her out of her way. It was then decided to +board her, and all hands were piped for that object. Then the Monitor +slipped away on to shoal water where the Virginia could not approach +her, and Commander Jones, after waiting a due time, and giving the +usual signals of invitation to combat, without receiving any +manifestation on the part of the Monitor of an intention to return to +deep water, withdrew to the navy-yard. + +In the two days of conflict our only casualties were from the +Cumberland as she went down valiantly fighting to the last, from the +men on shore when the tugs went to the Congress to receive her +surrender, or from the perfidious fire from the Congress while her +white flags were flying. None were killed or wounded in the fight +with the Monitor. + +As this was the first combat between two iron-clad vessels, it +attracted great attention and provoked much speculation. Some assumed +that wooden ships were henceforth to be of no use, and much has been +done by the addition of armor to protect seagoing vessels; but +certainly neither of the two which provoked the speculation could be +regarded as seaworthy, or suited to other than harbor defense. + +A new prow was put on the Virginia, she was furnished with bolts and +solid shot, and the slight repairs needed were promptly made. The +distinguished veteran. Commodore Josiah Tatnall, was assigned to the +command of the Virginia, vice Admiral Buchanan, temporarily disabled. +The Virginia, as far as possible, was prepared for battle and cruise +in the Roads, and, on the 11th of April, Commodore Tatnall moved down +to invite the Monitor to combat. But her officers kept the Monitor +close to the shore, with her steam up, and under the guns of Fortress +Monroe. To provoke her to come out, the little Jamestown was sent in +and pluckily captured many prizes, but the Monitor lay safe in the +shoal water under the guns of the formidable fortress. An English +man-of-war, which was lying in the channel, witnessed this effort to +draw the Monitor out into deep water in defense of her weaker +countrymen, and, as Barney on the Jamestown passed with his prizes, +cut out in full view of the enemy's fleet, the Englishmen, with their +national admiration of genuine "game," as a spectator described it, +"unable to restrain their generous impulses, from the captain to the +side-boy, cheered our gunboat to the very echo." I quote further from +the same witness: "Early in May, a magnificent Federal fleet, the +Virginia being concealed behind the land, had ventured across the +channel, and some of them, expressly fitted to destroy our ship, were +furiously bombarding our batteries at Sewell's Point. Dashing down +comes old Tatnall on the instant, as light stepping and blithe as a +boy. . . . But the Virginia no sooner draws into range than the whole +fleet, like a flushed covey of birds, flatters off into shoal water +and under the guns of the forts"--where they remained. After some +delay, and there being no prospect of active service, the Commodore +ordered the executive officer to fire a gun to windward and take the +ship back to her buoy. Here, ready for service, waiting for an enemy +to engage her, but never having the opportunity, she remained until +the 10th of the ensuing month. + +The Norfolk Navy-Yard, notwithstanding the injury done to it by +conflagration, was yet the most available and equipped yard in the +Confederacy. A land-force under General Huger had been placed there +for its protection, and defensive works had also been constructed +with a view to hold it as well for naval construction and repair as +for its strategic importance in connection with the defense of the +capital, Richmond. On the opposite side of the lower James, on the +Peninsula between the James and York Rivers, we occupied an +intrenched position of much natural strength. The two positions, +Norfolk and the Peninsula, were necessary to each other, and the +command of the channel between them essential to both. As long as the +Virginia closed the entrance to the James River, and the intrenchment +on the Peninsula was held, it was deemed possible to keep possession +of Norfolk. + +On the 1st of May General Johnston, commanding on the Peninsula, +having decided to retreat, sent an order to General Huger to evacuate +Norfolk. The Secretary of War, General Randolph, having arrived just +at that time in Norfolk, assumed the authority of postponing the +execution of the order "until he [General Huger] could remove such +stores, munitions, and arms as could be carried off." The Secretary +of the Navy, Mr. Mallory, was there also, and gave like instructions +to the commandant of the yard. To the system and energy with which +General Huger conducted the removal of heavy guns, machinery, stores, +and munitions, we were greatly indebted in our future operations, +both of construction and defense. A week was thus employed in the +removal of machinery, etc, and the enemy, occupied with the +retreating army on the Peninsula, did not cross the James River +above, either to interrupt the transportation or to obstruct the +retreat of the garrisons of the forts at Norfolk and its +surroundings. When our army had been withdrawn from the Peninsula, +and Norfolk had been evacuated, and the James River did not furnish +depth of channel which would suffice for the Virginia to ascend it +more than a few miles, her mission was ended. It is not surprising +that her brilliant career created a great desire to preserve her, and +that it was contemplated to lighten her and thus try to take her up +the river, but the pilots declared this to be impracticable, and the +court which subsequently investigated the matter sustained their +opinion that "the only alternative was then and there to abandon and +burn the ship." The statement of Commodore Tatnall shows that the +Virginia could not have been taken seaward, and that such was the +opinion of her first commander. He said: "I consulted Commodore +Buchanan on the character and power of the ship. He expressed the +distinct opinion that she was unseaworthy, that she was not +sufficiently buoyant, and that in a common sea she would founder." +She could not, it therefore appears, ascend the river, was +unseaworthy, and was uncovered by the retreat of the troops with whom +she had coöperated. So, on the 10th of May, the Virginia was taken to +Craney Island, one mile above, and there her crew were landed; they +fell in and formed on the beach, and, in the language of the +eye-witness heretofore quoted, "then and there, on the very field of +her fame, within sight of the Cumberland's top-gallant-masts, all +awash, within sight of that magnificent fleet still cowering on the +shoal, with her laurels all fresh and green, we hauled down her +drooping colors, and, with mingled pride and grief, we gave her to +the flames." [54] + +At Wilmington, North Carolina, the Southwest bar was defended by Fort +Caswell, and New Inlet bar by Fort Fisher. The naval defenses +consisted of two ironclads, the North Carolina and the Raleigh. The +former could not cross any of the bars in consequence of her draught +of water. Her steam-power hardly gave propulsion. She sank during the +war off Smithville. The Raleigh's services were almost valueless in +consequence of her deep draught and her feeble steam-power. She made +one futile trip out of New Inlet, and after a few hours attempted to +return, but was wrecked upon the bar. + +The brave and invincible defense of Fort Sumter gave to the city of +Charleston, South Carolina, additional luster. For four years that +fort, located in its harbor, defied the army and navy of the United +States. When the city was about to be abandoned to the army of +General Sherman, the forts defending the harbor were embraced in +General Hardee's plan of evacuation. The gallant commander of Fort +Sumter, Colonel Stephen Elliott, Jr., with unyielding fortitude, +refused to be relieved, after being under incessant bombardment day +and night for weeks. It was supposed he must be exhausted, and he was +invited to withdraw for rest, but, on receiving the general order of +retreat, he assembled his brave force on the rugged and shell-crushed +parade-ground, read his instructions, and, in a voice that trembled +with emotion, addressed his men in the glowing language of patriotism +and unswerving devotion to the Confederate cause. The cheers, which +responded to the utterances of their colonel, came from manly and +chivalric throats. Yielding to the inevitable, they claimed for the +Stars and Bars a salute of one hundred guns. As it was fired from +Sumter, it was reëchoed by all the Confederate batteries, and +startled the outside blockaders with the idea that a great victory +had been won by the Confederacy. + +The naval force of the Confederacy in Charleston Harbor consisted of +three ironclads. Their steam-power was totally inadequate for the +effective use of the vessels. In fact, when the wind and tide were +moving in the same direction, it was impossible for the vessels to +advance against them, light though the wind might be. Under such +circumstances it was necessary to come to an anchor. On one occasion +the ironclads Palmetto State and Chicora ran out of Charleston Harbor +under favorable circumstances. The Palmetto State assaulted the +Mercideta, commanded by Captain Stellwagen, who unconditionally +surrendered. But the ironclad being under orders to follow her +consort in chase of the enemy, and having no boats to which to +transfer her prisoners, the parole of the officers and men was +accepted, with their promise to observe the same until its return. +The surrender was accepted, and an honest parole was the +consideration for not being sunk on the spot. Captain Stellwagen +abided but a short time, when, getting up steam, he broke his +plighted word, and ran off with the captured vessel. The deficiency +of speed on the part of the Confederate ironclads frustrated their +efforts to relieve the city of Charleston from continued blockade. + +The harbor defenses of Savannah were intrusted to Commodore Tatnall, +who defended the approach to the city with a small steamer of one +gun, an inefficient floating battery and ironclad, which had been +constructed from a blockade-runner. Several attempts were made to +attack the enemy's vessels with the ironclad, but these were +frustrated by the delay in opening a passage through the obstructions +in the river when tide and opportunity were offered. Her draught was +too great for the depth of water, except at high tides, and these +were at long intervals. The ironclad was armed with a battery of four +guns, two seven-inch and two six-inch. Her force consisted of some +twenty-one officers and twenty-four men, when she was fully +furnished. Another vessel was under construction and nearly +completed, and Commodore Tatnall, notwithstanding his well-known +combative instincts, was understood to be unwilling to send the +Atlanta alone against the enemy's blockading vessels. Lieutenant +Webb, who had been lately placed in command of the Atlanta, took her +to Warsaw Sound to deliver battle singly to the two ironclads +Weehawken and Nahant, which awaited her approach. The Atlanta got +twice aground--the second time, inextricably so. In this situation +she was attacked, and, though hopelessly, was bravely defended, but +was finally forced to surrender. + +Mobile Harbor was thought to be adequately provided for, as torpedoes +obstructed the approach, and Forts Morgan and Gaines commanded the +entrance, aided by the improvised fleet of Admiral Buchanan, which +consisted of the wooden gunboats Morgan and Gaines, each carrying six +guns, and Selma four guns, with the ram Tennessee of six guns--in +all, twenty-two guns and four hundred and seventy men. On August 4, +1864, Fort Gaines was assaulted by the United States force from the +sea-side of the beach. The resistance made was feeble, and the fort +soon surrendered. On the next day Admiral Farragut stood into the bay +with a force consisting of four monitors, or ironclads, and fourteen +steamers, carrying one hundred and ninety-nine guns and twenty-seven +hundred men. One ironclad was sunk by a torpedo. Admiral Buchanan +advanced to meet this force, and sought to run into the larger +vessels with the Tennessee, but they avoided him by their superior +speed. Meanwhile the gunboats became closely engaged with the enemy, +but were soon dispersed by his overwhelming force. The Tennessee +again stood for the enemy and renewed the attack with the hope of +sinking some of them with her prow, but she was again foiled by their +superior speed in avoiding her. The engagement with the whole fleet +soon became general, and lasted an hour. Frequently the Tennessee was +surrounded by the enemy, and all her guns were in action almost at +the same moment. Four of their heaviest vessels ran into her under +full steam with the view of sinking her. While surrounded by six of +these heavy vessels which were suffering fearfully from her heavy +battery, the steering-gear of the Tennessee was shot away, and her +ability to manoeuvre was completely destroyed, leaving the formidable +Confederate entirely at the disposal of the enemy. This misfortune, +it was believed, saved the greater part of Farragut's fleet. Further +resistance becoming unavailable, the wounded Admiral was under the +painful necessity of ordering a surrender. His little fleet became a +prey to the enemy, except the Morgan, which made good her escape to +Mobile. + +This unequal contest was decidedly creditable to the Confederacy. The +entire loss of the enemy, most of which is ascribed to the Tennessee, +amounted to quite three hundred in killed and wounded, exclusive of +one hundred lost on the sunken ironclad, making a number almost as +large as the entire Confederate force. On August 22d, Fort Morgan was +bombarded from the land, also by ironclads at sea, and by the fleet +inside. Thus Forts Powel, Morgan, and Gaines shared the fate of the +Confederate fleet, and the enemy became masters of the bay. On this +as on other occasions, the want of engines of sufficient power +constituted a main obstacle to the success which the gallantry and +skill of the seamen so richly deserved. + +The system of torpedoes adopted by us was probably more effective +than any other means of naval defense. The destructiveness of these +little weapons had long been known, but no successful modes for their +application to the destruction of the most powerful vessels of war +and ironclads had been devised. It remained for the skill and +ingenuity of our officers to bring the use of this terrible +instrument to perfection. The success of their efforts is very +frankly stated by one of the most distinguished of the enemy's +commanders--Admiral Porter.[55] He says: + + "Most of the Southern seaports fell into our possession with + comparative facility; and the difficulty of capturing Charleston, + Savannah, Wilmington, and Mobile was in a measure owing to the fact + that the approaches to these places were filled with various kinds of + torpedoes, laid in groups, and fired by electricity. The introduction + of this means of defense on the side of the Confederates was for a + time a severe check to our naval forces, for the commanders of + squadrons felt it their duty to be careful when dealing with an + element of warfare of which they knew so little, and the character + and disposition of which it was so difficult to discover. In this + system of defense, therefore, the enemy found their greatest + security; and, notwithstanding all the efforts of Du Pont and + Dahlgren, Charleston, Wilmington, and Savannah remained closed to our + forces until near the close of the war." + +In 1862, while General McClellan was in command of the enemy's forces +below Richmond, it was observed that they had more than a hundred +vessels in the James River, as if they were about to make an advance +by that way upon the city. This led to an order placing General G. J. +Rains in charge of the submarine defenses; and, on the James River +opposite Drewry's Bluff, the first submarine torpedo was made. The +secret of all his future success consisted in the sensitive primer, +which is unrivaled by any other means to explode torpedoes or +sub-terra shells. + +The torpedoes were made of the most ordinary material generally, as, +beer-barrels fixed with conical heads, coated within and without with +rosin dissolved in coal-tar; some were made of cast-iron, copper, or +tin; and glass demijohns were used. There were three essentials to +success, viz., the sensitive fuse-primer, a charge of sixty pounds of +gunpowder, and actual contact between the torpedo and the bottom of +the vessel. + +There were one hundred and twenty-three of these torpedoes placed in +Charleston Harbor and Stono River. It was blockaded by thirteen large +ships and ironclads, with six or seven storeships, and some twenty +other vessels. The position of each one was known, and they could be +approached within a half-mile, which made it easy to attack, destroy, +or disperse them at night by floating torpedoes, connected together +by twos by a rope one hundred and thirty yards long, buoyed up and +stretched across the current by two boats, which were to be dropped +in ebbing tide, to float down among the vessels. This plan, says +General Rains, was opposed by General Gilmer, of the engineer corps, +on the ground that "they might float back and destroy our own boat." +One was sent down to go in the midst of the fleet, and made its mark. +An act of devoted daring was here performed by Commander W. T. +Glassell, Confederate States Navy, which claims more than a passing +notice. While the enemy was slowly contracting his lines around +Charleston, his numerous ships of war kept watch-and-ward outside of +the harbor. Our few vessels, almost helpless by their defective +engines, could effect little against their powerful opponents. The +New Ironsides, the pride of their fleet, lay off Morris's Island. +This Glassell resolved to attack with a steam-launch carrying a +torpedo spar at the bow. With an engineer, pilot, and fireman, he +steered for the Ironsides under cover of a hazy night. As he +approached, he was hailed by the lookout, and the next moment struck +the Ironsides, exploding the torpedo about fifteen feet from the +keel. An immense volume of water was thrown up, covering the little +boat, and, pieces of timber falling in the engine, it was rendered +entirely unmanageable, so as to deprive Commander Glassell of the +means of escape on which he had relied. A rapid fire was concentrated +upon him from the deck of the ship, and there remained no chance +except to attempt an escape by swimming ashore. To secure liberty to +his country, he risked and lost his own, and found, for the indignity +to which he was subjected, compensation, inasmuch as the famous New +Ironsides was long rendered useless to the enemy. + +One hundred and one torpedoes were planted in Roanoke River, North +Carolina, after a flotilla of twelve vessels had started up to +capture Fort Branch. The torpedoes destroyed six of the vessels and +frustrated the attack. + +Every avenue to the outworks or to the city of Mobile was guarded by +submarine torpedoes, so that it was impossible for any vessel drawing +three feet of water to get within effective cannon-range of the +defenses. Two ironclads attempted to get near enough to Spanish Fort +to take part in the bombardment. They both struck torpedoes, and went +to the bottom on Apalachie bar; thenceforward the fleet made no +further attempt to encounter the almost certain destruction which +they saw awaited any vessel which might attempt to enter the +torpedo-guarded waters. But many were sunk when least expecting it. +Some went down long after the Confederate forces had evacuated +Mobile. The Tecumseh was probably sunk, says Major-General D. H. +Maury,[56] on her own torpedo. While steaming in lead of Farragut's +fleet she carried a torpedo affixed to a spar, which projected some +twenty feet from her bows; she proposed to use this torpedo against +the Tennessee, our only formidable ship; but, while passing Fort +Morgan, a shot from that fort cut away the stays by which the torpedo +was secured; it then doubled under her, and, exploding fairly under +the bottom of the ill-fated ship, she careened and sank instantly in +ten fathoms of water. Only six or eight of her crew of a hundred or +more were saved. The total number of vessels sunk by torpedoes in +Mobile Bay was twelve, viz., three ironclads, two tinclads, and seven +transports. Fifty-eight vessels were destroyed in Southern waters by +torpedoes during the war; these included ironclads and others of no +mean celebrity. + + +[Footnote 53: See "Annual Cyclopaedia," 1861, p. 536.] + +[Footnote 54: "The Story of the Confederate Ship Virginia," by William +Norris, Colonel Signal Corps, Confederate Army.] + +[Footnote 55: See "Torpedo Warfare," "North American Review," +September-October, 1878.] + +[Footnote 56: Southern Historical Society Papers, January, 1877.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + + Naval Affairs (continued).--Importance of New Orleans.--Attack + feared from up the River.--Preparations for Defense.--Strength of + the Forts.--Other Defenses.-The General Plan.--Ironclads.-- + Raft-Fleet of the Enemy.--Bombardment of the Forts commenced.-- + Advance of the Fleet.--Its Passage of the Forts.--Batteries below + the City.--Darkness of the Night.--Evacuation of the City by + General Lovell on Appearance of the Enemy.--Address of General + Duncan to Soldiers in the Forts.--Refusal to surrender.--Meeting of + the Garrison of Fort Jackson.--The Forts surrendered.--Ironclad + Louisiana destroyed.--The Tugs and Steamers.--The Governor Moore.-- + The Enemy's Ship Varuna sunk.--The McRae.--The State of the City + and its Defenses considered.--Public Indignation.--Its Victims.-- + Efforts made for its Defense by the Navy Department.--The + Construction of the Mississippi. + + +New Orleans was the most important commercial port in the +Confederacy, being the natural outlet of the Mississippi Valley, as +well to the ports of Europe as to those of Central and Southern +America. It was the depot which, at an early period, had led to +controversies with Spain, and its importance to the interior had been +a main inducement to the purchase of Louisiana. It had become before +1861 the chief cotton-mart of the United States, and its defense +attracted the early attention of the Confederate Government. The +approaches for an attacking party were numerous. They could through +several channels enter Lake Pontchartrain, to approach the city in +rear for land-attack, could ascend the Mississippi from the Gulf, or +descend it from the Northwest, where it was known that the enemy was +preparing a formidable fleet of iron-clad gunboats. In the early part +of 1862, so general an opinion prevailed that the greatest danger to +New Orleans was by an attack from above, that General Lovell sent to +General Beauregard a large part of the troops then in the city. + +At the mouth of the Mississippi there is a bar, the greatest depth of +water on which seldom exceeded eighteen feet, and it was supposed +that heavy vessels of war, with their armament and supplies, would +not be able to cross it. Such proved to be the fact, and the vessels +of that class had to be lightened to enable them to enter the river. +In that condition of affairs, an inferior fleet might have engaged +them with a prospect of success. Captain Hollins, who was in command +of the squadron at New Orleans, and who had on a former occasion +shown his fitness for such service, had been sent with the greater +part of his fleet up the river to join the defense there being made. +Two powerful vessels were under construction, the Louisiana and the +Mississippi, but neither of them was finished. A volunteer fleet of +transport-vessels had been fitted up by some river-men, but it was in +the unfortunate condition of not being placed under the orders of the +naval commander. A number of fire-rafts had been also provided, which +were to serve the double purpose of lighting up the river in the +event of the hostile fleet attempting to pass the forts under cover +of the night, and of setting fire to any vessel with which they might +become entangled. + +After passing the bar, there was nothing to prevent the ascent of the +river until Forts Jackson and St. Philip were reached. These works, +constructed many years before, were on opposite banks of the river. +Their armament, as reported by General Lovell, December 5, 1861, +consisted of--Fort Jackson: six forty-two-ponders, twenty-six +twenty-four-pounders, two thirty-two-pounder rifles, sixteen +thirty-two-pounders, three eight-inch columbiads, one ten-inch +columbiad, two eight-inch mortars, one ten-inch mortar, two +forty-pounder howitzers, and ten twenty-four-pounder howitzers. Fort +St. Philip: six forty-two-ponders, nine thirty-two-pounders, +twenty-two twenty-four-pounders, four eight-inch columbiads, one +eight-inch mortar, one ten-inch mortar, and three field-guns. + +General Duncan reported that, on the 27th of March, he was informed +by Lieutenant-Colonel Higgins, commanding Forts Jackson and St. +Philip, of the coast-defenses, which were under his (General +Duncan's) command, that the enemy's fleet was crossing the bars, and +entering the Mississippi River in force; whereupon he repaired to +Fort Jackson. After describing the condition of the forts from the +excess of water and sinking of the entire site, as well as the +deficiency of guns of heavy caliber in the forts, he proceeds: + + "It became necessary in their present condition to bring in and + mount, and to build the platforms for, the three ten-inch and three + eight-inch columbiads, the rifled forty-two-pounder, and the five + ten-inch seacoast mortars recently obtained from Pensacola on the + evacuation of that place, together with the two rifled seven-inch + guns temporarily borrowed from the naval authorities in New Orleans. + It was also found necessary to repair the old water-battery to the + rear of and below Fort Jackson, which had never been completed, for + the reception of a portion of these guns, as well as to construct + mortar-proof magazines, and shell-rooms within the same." + +One of the seven-inch rifled guns borrowed from the navy was +subsequently returned, so that, when the forts were attacked, the +armament was one hundred and twenty-eight guns and mortars. + +The garrisons of Forts Jackson and St. Philip were about one thousand +men on December 5, 1861; afterward, so far as I know, the number was +not materially changed. + +The prevailing belief that vessels of war, in a straight, smooth +channel, could pass batteries, led to the construction of a raft +between the two forts which, it was supposed, would detain the ships +under fire of the forts long enough for the guns to sink them, or at +least to compel them to retire. The power of the river when in flood, +and the drift-wood it bore upon it, broke the raft; another was +constructed, which, when the drift-wood accumulated upon it, met a +like fate. Whether obstructions differently arranged--such as booms +secured to the shores, with apparatus by which they could be swung +across the channel when needful, or logs such as were used, except +that, being unconnected together, but each separately secured by +chain and anchor, they might severally yield to the pressure of the +driftwood, sinking, so as to allow it to pass over them, and, when +relieved of the weight, rising again--or whether other expedient +could have been made permanent and efficient, is a problem which need +not be discussed, as the time for its application has passed from us. + +The general plan for the defense of New Orleans consisted of two +lines of works: an exterior one, passing through the forts near the +month of the river, and the positions taken to defend the various +water approaches; nearer to the city was the interior line, embracing +New Orleans and Algiers, which was intended principally to repel an +attack by land, but also, by its batteries on the river-bank, to +resist approach by water. The total length of the intrenchments on +this interior line was more than eight miles. When completed, it +formed, in connection with impassable swamps, a very strong line of +defense. At the then high stage of the river, all the land between it +and the swamps was so saturated with water, that regular approaches +could not have been made. The city, therefore, was at the time +supposed to be doubly secure from a land-attack. + +In the winter of 1861-'62 I sent one of my aides-de-camp to New +Orleans to make a general inspection, and hold free conference with +the commanding General. Upon his return, he reported to me that +General Lovell was quite satisfied with the condition of the +land-defenses--so much so as to say that his only fear was that the +enemy would not make a land-attack. + +Considered since the event, it may seem strange that, after the fall +of Donelson and Henry, and the employment of the enemy's gunboats in +the Tennessee and Cumberland, it was still generally argued that the +danger to New Orleans was that the gunboats would descend the +Mississippi, and applications were made to have the ship Louisiana +sent up the river as soon as she was completed. + +The interior lines of defense mounted more than sixty guns of various +caliber, and were surrounded by wide and deep ditches. On the various +water approaches, including bays and bayous on the west and east +sides of the river, there were sixteen different forts, and these, +together with those on the river and the batteries of the interior +line, had in position about three hundred guns. + +One ironclad, the Louisiana, mounting sixteen guns of heavy caliber, +though she was not quite completed, was sent down to coöperate with +the forts. Her defective steam-power and imperfect steering apparatus +prevented her from rendering active coöperation. The steamship +Mississippi, then under construction at New Orleans, was in such an +unfinished condition as to be wholly unavailable when the enemy +arrived. In the opinion of naval officers she would have been, if +completed, the most powerful ironclad then in the world, and could +have driven the enemy's fleet out of the river and raised the +blockade at Mobile. There were also several small river-steamers +which were lightly armed, and their bows were protected so that they +could act as rams and otherwise aid in the defense of the river; but, +from the reports received, they seem, with a few honorable +exceptions, to have rendered little valuable service. + +The means of defense, therefore, mainly relied on were the two +heavy-armed forts, Jackson and St. Philip, with the obstruction +placed between them: this was a raft consisting of cypress-trees, +forty feet long, and averaging four or five feet at the larger end. +They were placed longitudinally in the river, about three feet apart, +and held together by gunwales on top, and strung upon two +two-and-a-half-inch chain cables fastened to their lower sides. This +raft was anchored in the river, abreast of the forts. + +The fleet of the enemy below the forts consisted of seven steam +sloops of war, twelve gunboats, and several armed steamers, under +Commodore Farragut; also, a mortar-fleet consisting of twenty sloops +and some steam-vessels. The whole force was forty-odd vessels of +different kinds, with an armament of three hundred guns of heavy +caliber, of improved models. + +The bombardment of the forts by the mortar-fleet commenced on April +18th, and, after six days of vigorous and constant shelling, the +resisting power of the forts was not diminished in any perceptible +degree. On the 23d there were manifest preparations by the enemy to +attempt the passage of the forts. This, as subsequently developed, +was to be done in the following manner. The sloops of war and the +gunboats were each formed in two divisions, and, selecting the +darkest hour of the night, between 3 and 4 A.M. of the 24th, moved up +the river in two columns. The commanders of the forts had vainly +endeavored to have the river lighted up in anticipation of an attack +by the fleet. + +In the mean time, while the fleet moved up the river, there was kept +up from the mortars a steady bombardment on the forts, and these +opened a fire on the columns of ships and gunboats, which, from the +failure to send down the fire-rafts to light up the river, was less +effective than it otherwise would have been. The straight, deep +channel enabled the vessels to move at their greatest speed, and thus +the forts were passed. + +Brigadier-General J. K. Duncan, commanding the coast defenses, says, +in his report of the passing of Forts Jackson and St. Philip by the +enemy's fleet: + + "The enemy evidently anticipated a strong demonstration to be made + against him with fire-barges. Finding, upon his approach, however, + that no such demonstration was made, and that the only resistance + offered to his passage was the anticipated fire of the forts--the + broken and scattered raft being no obstacle--I am satisfied that he + was suddenly inspired, for the first time, to run the gantlet at all + hazards, although not a part of his original design. Be that as it + may, a rapid rush was made by him in columns of twos in echelon, so + as not to interfere with each other's broadsides. The mortar-fire was + furiously increased upon Fort Jackson, and, in dashing by, each of + the vessels delivered broadside after broadside, of shot, shell, + grape, canister, and spherical case, to drive the men from our guns. + + "Both the officers and men stood up manfully under this galling and + fearful hail, and the batteries of both forts were promptly opened at + their longest range, with shot, shell, hot shot, and a little grape, + and most gallantly and rapidly fought, until the enemy succeeded in + getting above and beyond our range. The absence of light on the + river, together with the smoke of the guns, made the obscurity so + dense that scarcely a vessel was visible, and, in consequence, the + gunners were obliged to govern their firing entirely by the flashes + of the enemy's guns. I am fully satisfied that the enemy's dash was + successful mainly owing to the cover of darkness, as a frigate and + several gunboats were forced to retire as day was breaking. Similar + results had attended every previous attempt made by the enemy to pass + or to reconnoiter when we had sufficient light to fire with accuracy + and effect." + +The vessels which passed the fort anchored at the quarantine station +about six miles above, and in the forenoon proceeded up the river. +Batteries had been constructed where the interior line of defense +touched both the right and the left bank of the river. The high stage +of the river gave to its surface an elevation above that of the +natural bank; but a continuous levee to protect the land from +inundation existed on both sides of the river. When the ascending +fleet approached these batteries, a cross-fire, which drove two of +the vessels back, was opened upon it, and continued until all the +ammunition was exhausted. The garrison was then withdrawn-casualties, +one killed and one wounded. The regret which would naturally arise +from the fact of these batteries not having a sufficient supply of +ammunition is modified, if not removed, by the statement of the +highly accomplished and gallant officer, Major-General M. L. Smith, +who was then in command of them. He reported: + + "Had the fall of New Orleans depended upon the enemy's first taking + Forts Jackson and Philip, I think the city would have been safe from + an attack from the Gulf. The forts, in my judgment, were impregnable + as long as they were in free and open communication with the city. + This communication was not endangered while the obstruction existed. + The conclusion, then, is briefly this: While the obstruction existed, + the city was safe; when it was swept away, as the defenses then + existed, it was within the enemy's power." + +On the other hand, General Duncan, whose protracted, skillful, and +gallant defense of the forts is above all praise, closes his official +report with the following sentence: "Except for the cover afforded by +the obscurity of the darkness, I shall always remain satisfied that +the enemy would never have succeeded in passing Forts Jackson and St. +Philip." The darkness to which he referred was not only that of +night, but also the absence of the use of the means prepared to light +up the river. As further proof of the intensity of the darkness, and +the absence of that intelligent design and execution which had been +claimed, I will quote a sentence from the report of Commodore +Farragut: "At length the fire slackened, the smoke cleared off, and +we saw to our surprise that we were above the forts." + +On the 25th of April the enemy's gunboats and ships of war anchored +in front of the city and demanded its surrender. Major-General M. +Lovell, then in command, refused to comply with the summons, but, +believing himself unable to make a successful defense, and in order +to avoid a bombardment, agreed to withdraw his forces, and turn it +over to the civil authorities. Accordingly, the city was evacuated on +the same day. The forts still continued defiantly to hold their +position. By assiduous exertion the damage done to the works was +repaired, and the garrisons valiantly responded to the resolute +determination of General Duncan and Colonel Higgins to defend the +forts against the fleet still below, as well as against that which +had passed and was now above. On the 26th Commodore Porter, +commanding the mortar-fleet below, sent a flag-of-truce boat to +demand the surrender of the forts, saying that the city of New +Orleans had surrendered. To this Colonel Higgins replied, April 27th, +that he had no official information that New Orleans had been +evacuated, and until such notice was received he would not entertain +for a moment a proposition to surrender the forts. On the same day +General Duncan, commanding the coast-defenses, issued the following +address: + + "SOLDIERS OF FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP: You have nobly, gallantly, + and heroically sustained with courage and fortitude the terrible + ordeals of fire, water, and a hail of shot and shell wholly + unsurpassed during the present war. But more remains to be done. The + safety of New Orleans and the cause of the Southern Confederacy--our + homes, families, and everything dear to man--yet depend upon our + exertions. We are just as capable of repelling the enemy to-day as we + were before the bombardment. Twice has the enemy demanded your + surrender, and twice has he been refused. + + "Your officers have every confidence in your courage and patriotism, + and feel every assurance that you will cheerfully and with alacrity + obey all orders, and do your whole duty as men and as becomes the + well-tried garrisons of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. Be vigilant, + therefore, stand by your guns, and all will yet be well. + + "J. K. DUNCAN, + + "_Brigadier-General, commanding coast-defenses._" + +Not less lofty and devoted was the spirit evinced by Colonel Higgins. +His naval experience had been energetically applied in the attempts +to preserve and repair the raft. As immediate commander of Fort St. +Philip he had done all which skill and gallantry could achieve, and, +though for forty-eight hours during the bombardment he never left the +rampart, yet, with commendable care for his men, he kept them so +under cover that, notwithstanding the long and furious assault to +which the fort was subjected, the total of casualties in it was two +killed and four wounded. Their conduct was such as was to be +anticipated, for, had these officers been actuated by a lower motive +than patriotism, had they been seeking the rewards which power +confers, they would not have taken service with the weaker party. +Their meed was the consciousness of duty well done in a righteous +cause, and the enduring admiration and esteem of a people who had +only these to confer. + +During the 25th, 26th, and 27th, there had been an abatement of fire +on the forts, and with it had subsided the excitement which imminent +danger creates in the brave. A rumor became current that the city had +surrendered, and no reply had been received to inquiries sent on the +24th and 25th. About midnight on the 27th the garrison of Fort +Jackson revolted _en masse_, seized upon the guard, and commenced to +spike the guns. Captain S. O. Comay's company, the Louisiana +Cannoneers of St. Mary's Parish, and a few others remained true to +their cause and country. The mutiny was so general that the officers +were powerless to control it, and therefore decided to let those go +who wished to leave, and after daybreak to communicate with the fleet +below and negotiate for the terms which had been previously offered +and declined. + +Under the incessant fire to which the forts had been exposed, and the +rise of the water in the casemates and lower part of the works, the +men had been not only deprived of sleep, but of the opportunity to +prepare their food. Heroically they had braved alike dangers and +discomfort; had labored constantly to repair damages; to extinguish +fires caused by exploding shells; to preserve their ammunition by +bailing out the water which threatened to submerge the magazine: yet, +in a period of comparative repose, these men, who had been cheerful +and obedient, as suddenly as unexpectedly, broke out into open +mutiny. Under the circumstances which surrounded him, General Duncan +had no alternative. It only remained for him to accept the +proposition which had been made for a surrender of the forts. As this +mutiny became known about midnight of the 27th, soon after daylight +of the 28th a small boat was procured, and notice of the event was +sent to Captain Mitchell, on the Louisiana, and also to Fort St. +Philip. The officers of that fort concurred in the propriety of the +surrender, though none of their men had openly revolted. + +A flag of truce was sent to Commodore Porter to notify him of a +willingness to negotiate for the surrender of the forts. The +gallantry with which the defense had been conducted was recognized by +the enemy, and the terms were as liberal as had been offered on +former occasions. + +The garrisons were paroled, the officers were to retain their +side-arms, and the Confederate flags were left flying over the forts +until after our forces had withdrawn. If this was done as a generous +recognition of the gallantry with which the forts had been defended, +it claims acknowledgment as an instance of martial courtesy--the +flower that blooms fairest amid the desolations of war. + +Captain Mitchell, commanding the Confederate States naval forces, had +been notified by General Duncan of the mutiny in the forts and of the +fact that the enemy had passed through a channel in rear of Fort St. +Philip and had landed a force at the quarantine, some six miles +above, and that, under the circumstances, it was deemed necessary to +surrender the forts. As the naval forces were not under the orders of +the general commanding the coast-defenses, it was optional with the +naval commander to do likewise or not as to his fleet. After +consultation with his officers. Captain Mitchell decided to destroy +his flagship, the Louisiana, the only formidable vessel he had, +rather than allow her to fall into the hands of the enemy. The crew +was accordingly withdrawn, and the vessel set on fire. + +Commodore Porter, commanding the fleet below, came up under a flag of +truce to Fort Jackson, and, while negotiations were progressing for +the surrender, the Louisiana, in flames, drifted down the river, and, +when close under Fort St. Philip, exploded and sank. + +The defenses afloat, except the Louisiana, consisted of tugs and +river-steamers, which had been converted to war purposes by +protecting their bows with iron so as to make them rams, and putting +on them such armament as boats of that class would bear; and these +were again divided into such as were subject to control as naval +vessels, and others which, in compliance with the wish of the +Governor of Louisiana and many influential citizens, were fitted out +to a great extent by State and private sources, with the condition +that they should be commanded by river-steamboat captains, and should +not be under the control of the naval commander. This, of course, +impaired the unity requisite in battle. For many other purposes they +might have been used without experiencing the inconvenience felt when +they were brought together to act as one force against the enemy. The +courts of inquiry and the investigation by a committee of Congress +have brought out all the facts of the case, but with such conflicting +opinions as render it very difficult, in reviewing the matter, to +reach a definite and satisfactory conclusion. This much it may be +proper to say, that expectations, founded upon the supposition that +these improvised means could do all which might fairly be expected +from war-vessels, were unreasonable, and a judgment based upon them +is unjust to the parties involved. The machinery of the Louisiana was +so incomplete as to deprive her of locomotion, but she had been so +well constructed as to possess very satisfactory resisting powers, as +was shown by the fact that the broadsides of the enemy's vessels, +fired at very close quarters, had little or no effect upon her +shield. Without power of locomotion, her usefulness was limited to +employment as a floating battery. The question as to whether she was +in the right position, or whether, in her unfinished condition, she +should have been sent from the city, is one, for an answer to which I +must refer the inquirer to the testimony of naval men, who were +certainly most competent to decide the issue. + +One of the little river-boats, the Governor Moore, commanded by +lieutenant Beverly Kennon, like the others, imperfectly protected at +the bow, struck and sunk the Varuna, in close proximity to other +vessels of the enemy's fleet. Such daring resulted in his losing, in +killed and wounded, seventy-four out of a crew of ninety-three. Then +finding that he must destroy his ship to prevent her from falling +into the hands of the enemy, he set her on fire, and testified as +follows: + + "I ordered the wounded to be placed in a boat, and all the men who + could to save themselves by swimming to the shore and hiding + themselves in the marshes. I remained to set the ship on fire. After + doing so, I went on deck with the intention of leaving her, but found + the wounded had been left with no one to take care of them. I + remained and lowered them into a boat, and got through just in time + to be made a prisoner. The wounded were afterward attended by the + surgeons of the Oneida and Eureka." + +This, he says, was the only foundation for the accusation of having +burned his wounded with his ship. Another, the Manassas, +lieutenant-commanding Warley, though merely an altered "tug-boat," +stoutly fought the large ships; but, being wholly unprotected, except +at her bow, was perforated in many places, as soon as the guns were +brought to bear upon her sides, and floated down the river a burning +wreck. Another of the same class is thus referred to by Colonel +Higgins: + + "At daylight, I observed the McRae, gallantly fighting at terrible + odds, contending at close quarters with two of the enemy's powerful + ships. Her gallant commander, Lieutenant Thomas B. Huger, fell during + the conflict, severely, but I trust not mortally, wounded." + +This little vessel, after her unequal conflict, was still afloat, +and, with permission of the enemy, went up to New Orleans to convey +the wounded as well from our forts as from the fleet. + +On the 23d of April, 1862, General Lovell, commanding the military +department, had gone down to Fort Jackson, where General Duncan, +commanding the coast-defenses, then made his headquarters. The +presence of the department commander did not avail to secure the full +coöperation between the defenses afloat and the land-defenses, which +was then of most pressing and immediate necessity. + +When the enemy's fleet passed the forts, he hastened back to New +Orleans, his headquarters. The confusion which prevailed in the city, +when the news arrived that the forts had been passed by the enemy's +fleet, shows how little it was expected. There was nothing to +obstruct the ascent of the river between Forts Jackson and St. Philip +and the batteries on the river where the interior line of defense +rested on its right and left banks, about four miles below the city. +The guns were not sufficiently numerous in these batteries to inspire +much confidence; they were nevertheless well served until the +ammunition was exhausted, after which the garrisons withdrew, and +made their way by different routes to join the forces withdrawn from +New Orleans. + +Under the supposition entertained by the generals nearest to the +operations, the greatest danger to New Orleans was from above, not +from below, the city; therefore, most of the troops had been sent +from the city to Tennessee, and Captain Hollins, with the greater +part of the river-fleet, had gone up to check the descent of the +enemy's gunboats. + +Batteries like those immediately below the city had been constructed +where the interior line touched the river above, and armed to resist +an attack from that direction. Doubtful as to the direction from +which, and the manner in which, an attempt might be made to capture +the city, such preparations as circumstances suggested were made +against many supposable dangers by the many possible routes of +approach. To defend the city from the land, against a bombardment by +a powerful fleet in the river before it, had not been contemplated. +All the defensive preparations were properly, I think, directed to +the prevention of a near approach by the enemy. To have subjected the +city to bombardment by a direct or plunging fire, as the surface of +the river was then higher than the land, would have been +exceptionally destructive. Had the city been filled with soldiers +whose families had been sent to a place of safety, instead of being +filled with women and children whose natural protectors were +generally in the army and far away, the attempt might have been +justified to line the levee with all the effective guns and open fire +on the fleet, at the expense of whatever property might be destroyed +before the enemy should be driven away. The case was the reverse of +the hypothesis, and nothing could have been more unjust than to +censure the commanding General for withdrawing a force large enough +to induce a bombardment, but insufficient to repel it. His answer to +the demand for the surrender showed clearly enough the motives by +which he was influenced. His refusal enabled him to withdraw the +troops and most of the public property, and to use them, with the +ordnance and ordnance stores thus saved, in providing for the defense +of Vicksburg, but especially it deprived the enemy of any pretext for +bombarding the town and sacrificing the lives of the women and +children. It appears that General Lovell called for ten thousand +volunteers from the citizens, but failed to get them. There were many +river-steamboats at the landing, and, if the volunteers called for +were intended to man these boats and board the enemy's fleet before +their land-forces could arrive, it can not be regarded as utterly +impracticable. The report of General Butler shows that he worked his +way through one of the bayous in rear of Fort St. Philip to the +Mississippi River above the forts so as to put himself in +communication with the fleet at the city, and to furnish Commodore +Farragut with ammunition. From this it is to be inferred that the +fleet was deficient in ammunition, and the fact would have rendered +boarding from river-boats the more likely to succeed. In this +connection it may be remembered that, during the war, John Taylor +Wood, Colonel and A. D. C. to the President, who had been an officer +of high repute in the "old Navy," did in open boats attack armed +vessels, board and capture them, though found with nettings up, +having been warned of the probability of such an attack.[57] + +Many causes have been assigned for the fall of New Orleans. Two of +them are of undeniable force: First, the failure to light up the +channel; second, the want of an obstruction which would detain the +fleet under fire of the forts. General Duncan's report and testimony +justify the conclusion that to the thick veil of darkness the enemy +was indebted for his ability to run past the forts. + +The argument that the guns were not of sufficiently large caliber to +stop the fleet is not convincing. If all the guns had been of the +largest size, that would not have increased the accuracy but would +have diminished the rapidity of the fire, and therefore in the same +degree would have lessened the chances of hitting objects in the +dark. Further, it appears that the forts always crippled or repulsed +any vessels which came up in daylight. + +The forts would have been better able to resist bombardment if they +had been heavily plated with iron; but that would not have prevented +the fleet from passing them as they did. Torpedoes might have been +placed on the bar at the mouth of the river before the enemy got +possession of it, and subsequently, if attached to buoys, they might +have been used in the deep channel above. Many other things which +were omitted might and probably would have been done had attention +been earlier concentrated on the danger which at last proved fatal. +If the volunteer river-defense fleet was ineffective, as alleged, +because it was not subject to the orders of the naval commander, that +was an evil without a remedy. The Governor of Louisiana had arranged +with the projectors that they should not be subject to the naval +commander, and the alternative of not accepting them with that +condition was that they would not agree to convert their steamers +into war-vessels. Unless, therefore, it can be shown that they were +worse than none, their presence can not be properly enumerated among +the causes of the failure. + +The fall of New Orleans was a great disaster, over which there was +general lamentation, mingled with no little indignation. The excited +feeling demanded a victim, and conflicting testimony of many +witnesses most nearly concerned made it convenient to select for +censure those most removed and least active in their own +justification. Thus the naval constructors of the Mississippi and the +Secretary of the Navy became the special objects of attack. The +selection of these had little of justice in it, and could not serve +to relieve others of their responsibility, as did the old-time doom +of the scapegoat. New Orleans had never been a ship-building port, +and when the Messrs. Tift, the agents to build the iron-dad steamer +Mississippi, arrived there, they had to prepare a ship-yard, procure +lumber from a distance, have the foundries and rolling-mills adapted +to such iron-work as could be done in the city, and contract +elsewhere for the balance. They were ingenious, well informed in +matters of ship-building, and were held in high esteem in Georgia and +Florida, where they had long resided. They submitted a proposition to +the Secretary of the Navy to build a vessel on a new model. The +proposition was accepted after full examination of the plan proposed, +the novelty of which made it necessary that they should have full +control of the work of construction. To the embarrassments above +mentioned were added interruptions by calling off the workmen +occasionally for exercise and instruction as militiamen, the city +being threatened by the enemy. From these causes, unexpected delay in +the completion of the ship resulted, regret for which increased as +her most formidable character was realized. + +These constructors--the brothers Tift--hoped to gain much +reputation by the ship which they designed, and, from this motive, +agreed to give their full service and unremitted attention in its +construction without compensation or other allowance than their +current expenses. It would, therefore, on the face of it, seem to +have been a most absurd suspicion that they willingly delayed the +completion of the vessel, and at last wantonly destroyed it. + +Mr. E. C. Murray, who was the contractor for building the Louisiana, +in his testimony before a committee of the Confederate Congress, +testified that he had been a practical ship-builder for twenty years +and a contractor for the preceding eighteen years, having built about +a hundred and twenty boats, steamers, and sailing-vessels. There was +only a fence between his shipyard and that where the Mississippi was +constructed. Of this latter vessel he said: + + "I think the vessel was built in less time than any vessel of her + tonnage, character, and requiring the same amount of work and + materials, on this continent. That vessel required no less than two + million feet of lumber, and, I suppose, about one thousand tons of + iron, including the false works, blockways, etc. I do not think that + amount of materials was ever put together on this continent within + the time occupied in her construction. I know many of our naval + vessels, requiring much less materials than were employed in the + Mississippi, that took about six or twelve months in their + construction. She was built with rapidity, and had at all times as + many men at work upon her as could work to advantage--she had, in + fact, many times more men at work upon her than could conveniently + work. They worked on nights and Sundays upon her, as I did upon the + Louisiana, at least for a large portion of the time." + +The Secretary of the Navy knew both of the Tifts, but had no near +personal relations or family connection with either, as was +recklessly alleged. + +He, in accepting their proposition, connected with it the detail of +officers of the navy to supervise expenditures and aid in procuring +materials. Assisted by the chief engineer and constructor of the +navy, minute instructions were given as to the manner in which the +work was to be conducted. As early as the 19th of September he sent +twenty ship-carpenters from Richmond to New Orleans to aid in the +construction of the Mississippi. On the 7th of October authority was +given to have guns of heaviest caliber made in New Orleans for the +ship. Frequent telegrams were sent in November, December, and +January, showing great earnestness about the work on the ship. In +February and March notice was given of the forwarding from Richmond +of capstan and main-shaft, which could not be made in New Orleans. On +March 22d the Secretary, by telegraph, directed the constructors to +"strain every nerve to finish the ship," and added, "work day and +night." April 5th he again wrote: "Spare neither men nor money to +complete her at the earliest moment. Can not you hire night-gangs for +triple wages?" April 10th the Secretary again says: "Enemy's boats +have passed Island 10. Work day and night with all the force you can +command to get the Mississippi ready. Spare neither men nor money." +April 11th he asks, "When will you launch, and when will she be ready +for action?" These inquiries indicate the prevalent opinion, at that +time, that the danger to New Orleans was from the ironclad fleet +above, and not the vessels at the mouth of the river; but the anxiety +of the Secretary of the Navy and the efforts made by him were of a +character applicable to either or both the sources of danger. Thus we +find as early as the 24th of February, 1862, that he instructed +Commander Mitchell to make all proper exertions to have guns and +carriages ready for both the iron-clad vessels the Mississippi and +the Louisiana. Reports having reached him that the work on the latter +vessel was not pushed with sufficient energy, on the 15th of March he +authorized Commander Mitchell to consult with General Lovell, and, if +the contractors were not doing everything practicable to complete her +at the earliest moment, that he should take her out of their hands, +and, with the aid of General Lovell, go on to complete her himself. +On the 5th of April, 1862, Secretary Mallory instructed Commander +Sinclair, who had been assigned to the command of the Mississippi, to +urge on by night and day the completion of the ship. In March, 1861, +the Navy Department sent from Montgomery officers to New Orleans, +with instructions to purchase steamers and fit them for war purposes. +Officers were also sent to the North to purchase vessels suited to +such uses, and in the ensuing May an agent was dispatched to Canada +and another to Europe for like objects; and in April, 1861, contracts +were made with foundries at Richmond and New Orleans to make guns for +the defense of New Orleans. On the 8th of May, 1861, the Secretary of +the Navy communicated at some length to the Committee on Naval +Affairs of the Confederate Congress his views in favor of iron-clad +vessels, arguing as sell for their efficiency as the economy in +building them, believing that one such vessel could successfully +engage a fleet of the wooden vessels which constituted the enemy's +navy. His further view was that we could not hope to build wooden +fleets equal to those with which the enemy were supplied. The +committee, if it should be deemed expedient to construct an iron-clad +ship, was urged to prompt action by the forcible declaration, "Not a +moment should be lost." + +Commander George Minor, Confederate States Navy, Chief of the Bureau +of Ordnance, reported the number of guns sent by the Navy Department +to New Orleans, between July 1, 1861, and the fall of the city, to +have been one hundred and ninety-seven, and that before July +twenty-three guns had been sent there from Norfolk, being a total of +two hundred and twenty guns, of which forty-five were of large +caliber, supplied by the Navy Department for the defense of New +Orleans. + +Very soon after the Government was removed to Richmond, the Secretary +of the Navy, with the aid of Commander Brooke, designed a plan for +converting the sunken frigate Merrimac into an iron-clad vessel. She +became the famous Virginia, the brilliant career of which silenced +all the criticisms which had been made upon the plan adopted. On May +20, 1861, the Secretary of the Navy instructed Captain Ingraham, +Confederate States Navy, to ascertain the practicability of obtaining +wrought-iron plates suited for ships' armor. After some +disappointment and delay, the owners of the mills at Atlanta were +induced to make the necessary changes in the machinery, and undertake +the work. Efforts at other places in the West had been unsuccessful, +and this was one of the difficulties which an inefficient department +would not have overcome. The iron-clad gunboats Arkansas and +Tennessee were commenced at Memphis, but the difficulty in obtaining +mechanics so interfered with their construction, that the Secretary +of the Navy was compelled, December 24, 1861, to write to General +Polk, who was commanding at Columbus, Kentucky, asking that mechanics +might be detached from his forces, so as to insure the early +completion of the vessels. So promptly had the iron-clad boats been +put under contract, that the arrangements had all been made in +anticipation of the appropriation, and the contract was signed "on +the very day the law was passed." + +On December 25, 1861, Lieutenant Isaac N. Brown, Confederate States +Navy, a gallant and competent officer, well and favorably known in +his subsequent service as commander of the ram Arkansas, was sent to +Nashville. Information had been received that four river-boats were +there, and for sale, which were suited for river defense. Lieutenant +Brown was instructed to purchase such as should be adaptable to the +required service, "and to proceed forthwith with the necessary +alteration and armament." + +In the latter part of 1861, it having been found impossible with the +means in Richmond and Norfolk to answer the requisitions for ordnance +and ordnance stores required for the naval defenses of the +Mississippi, a laboratory was established in New Orleans, and +authority given for the casting of heavy cannon, construction of +gun-carriages, and the manufacture of projectiles and ordnance +equipments of all kinds. On December 12, 1861, the Secretary of the +Navy submitted an estimate for an appropriation to meet the expenses +incurred "for ordnance and ordnance stores for the defense of the +Mississippi River." + +Secretary Mallory, in answer to inquiries of a joint committee of +Congress, in 1863, replied that he had sent a telegram to Captain +Whittle, April 17, 1862, as follows: + + "Is the boom, or raft, below the forts in order to resist the enemy, + or has any part of it given way? State condition." + +On the next day the following answer was sent: + + "I hear the raft below the forts is not in best condition; they are + strengthening it by additional lines. I have furnished anchors." + +To further inquiry about the raft by the Committee, the Secretary +answered: + + "The commanding General at New Orleans had exclusive charge of the + construction of the raft, or obstruction, in question, and his + correspondence with the War Department induced confidence in the + security of New Orleans from the enemy. I was aware that this raft + had been injured, but did not doubt that the commanding General would + renew it, and place an effectual barrier across the river, and I was + anxious that the navy should afford all possible aid. . . . A large + number of anchors were sent to New Orleans from Norfolk for the raft." + +Though much more might be added, it is hoped that what has been given +above will sufficiently attest the zeal and capacity of the Secretary +of the Navy, and his anxiety, in particular, to protect the city of +New Orleans, whether assailed by fleets descending or ascending the +river. + +Having thus reviewed at length the events, immediate and remote, +which were connected with the great catastrophe, the fall of our +chief commercial city, and the destruction of the naval vessels on +which our hopes most rested for the protection of the lower +Mississippi and the harbors of the Gulf, the narrative is resumed of +affairs at the city of New Orleans. + + +[Footnote 57: Captain Wood had a number of light row-boats built, +holding each about twenty men. They were fitted with cradles to wagons, +and could be quickly moved to any point by road or rail. He writes: +"In August, 1863, I left Richmond with four boats and sixty men for +the Rappahannock, to look after one or two gunboats that had been +operating in that river. Finding always two cruising together, I +determined to attempt the capture of both at once. About midnight, +with muffled oars, we pulled for them at anchor near the mouth of the +river. They discovered us two hundred yards off. We dashed alongside, +cut our way through and over the boarder nettings with the old navy +cutlass, gained the deck, and, after a sharp, short fight, drove the +enemy below. The prizes proved to be the gunboats Satellite and +Reliance, two guns each. Landing the prisoners, we cruised for two +days in the Chesapeake Bay. A number of vessels were captured and +destroyed."] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + + Naval Affairs (continued).--Farragut demands the Surrender of New + Orleans.--Reply of the Mayor.--United States Flag hoisted.--Advent + of General Butler.--Barbarities.--Antecedents of the People.-- + Galveston.--Its Surrender demanded.--The Reply.--Another visit of + the Enemy's Fleet.--The Port occupied.--Appointment of General + Magruder.--Recapture of the Port.--Capture of the Harriet Lane.-- + Report of General Magruder.--Position and Importance of Sabine + Pass.--Fleet of the Enemy.--Repulse by Forty-four Irishmen.-- + Vessels captured.--Naval Destitution of the Confederacy at first.-- + Terror of Gunboats on the Western Rivers.--Their Capture.--The most + Illustrious Example.--The Indianola.--Her Capture.--The Ram + Arkansas.--Descent of the Yazoo River.--Report of her Commander.-- + Runs through the Enemy's Fleet.--Description of the Vessel.--Attack + on Baton Rouge.--Address of General Breckinridge.--Burning of the + Arkansas. + +Sad though the memory of the fall of New Orleans must be, the +heroism, the fortitude, and the patriotic self-sacrifice exhibited in +the eventful struggle at the forts must ever remain the source of +pride and of such consolation as misfortune gathers from the +remembrance of duties well performed. + +After the troops had been withdrawn and the city restored to the +administration of the civil authorities, Commodore Farragut, on April +26, 1862, addressed the Mayor, repeating his demand for the surrender +of the city. In his letter he said: "It is not within the province of +a naval officer to assume the duties of a military commandant," and +added, "The rights of persons and property shall be secured." He +proceeded then to demand "that the emblem of sovereignty of the +United States be hoisted over the City Hall, Mint, and Custom-House +by meridian this day. All flags and other emblems of sovereignty +other than those of the United States must be removed from all the +public buildings by that hour." To this the Mayor replied, and the +following extracts convey the general purport of his letter: + + "The city is without the means of defense, and is utterly destitute + of the force and material that might enable it to resist an + overpowering armament displayed in sight of it. . . . To surrender + such a place were an idle and unmeaning ceremony. . . . As to + hoisting any flag other than the flag of our own adoption and + allegiance, let me say to you that the man lives not in our midst + whose hand and heart would not be paralyzed at the mere thought of + such an act; nor could I find in my entire constituency so wretched + and desperate a renegade as would dare to profane with his hand the + sacred emblem of our aspirations. . . . Peace and order may be + preserved without resort to measures which I could not at this moment + prevent. Your occupying the city does not transfer allegiance from + the government of their choice to one which they have deliberately + repudiated, and they yield the obedience which the conqueror is + entitled to extort from the conquered. + + "Respectfully, + + "JOHN T. MONROE, _Mayor._" + +On the 29th of April Admiral Farragut adopted the alternative +presented by the answer of the Mayor, and sent a detachment of +marines to hoist the United States flag over the Custom-House, and to +pull down the Confederate flag from the staff on the City Hall. An +officer and some marines remained at the Custom-House to guard the +United States flag hoisted over it until the land-forces under +General Butler arrived. On the 1st of May General Butler took +possession of the defenseless City; then followed the reign of +terror, pillage, and a long train of infamies, too disgraceful to be +remembered without a sense of shame by any one who is proud of the +name American. + +Had the population of New Orleans been vagrant and riotous, the harsh +measures adopted might have been excused, though nothing could have +justified the barbarities which were practiced; but, notable as the +city had always been for freedom from tumult, and occupied as it then +was mainly by women and children, nothing can extenuate the wanton +insults and outrages heaped upon them. That those not informed of the +character of the citizens may the better comprehend it, a brief +reference is made to its history. + +When Canada, then a French colony, was conquered by Great Britain, +many of the inhabitants of greatest influence and highest +cultivation, in a spirit of loyalty to their flag, migrated to the +wilds of Louisiana. Some of them established themselves in and about +New Orleans, and their numerous descendants formed, down to a late +period, the controlling element in the body-politic. Even after they +had ceased, because of large immigration, to control in the +commercial and political affairs of the city, their social standard +was still the rule. No people were more characterized by refinement, +courtesy, and chivalry. Of their keen susceptibility the Mayor +informed Commodore Farragut in his correspondence with that officer. + +When the needy barbarians of the upper plains of Asia descended upon +the classic fields of Italy, their atrocities were such as shocked +the common-sense of humanity; but, if any one shall inquire minutely +into the conduct of Butler and his followers at New Orleans, he will +find there a history yet more revolting. + +Soon thereafter, on May 17, 1862, Captain Eagle, United States Navy, +commanding the naval forces before Galveston, summoned it to +surrender, "to prevent the effusion of blood and the destruction of +property which would result from the bombardment of the town," adding +that the land and naval forces would appear in a few days. The reply +was that, "when the land and naval forces made their appearance, the +demand would be answered." The harbor and town of Galveston were not +prepared to resist a bombardment, and, under the advice of General +Herbert, the citizens remained quiet, resolved, when the enemy should +attempt to penetrate the interior, to resist his march at every +point. This condition remained without any material change until the +8th of the following October, when Commander Renshaw with a fleet of +gunboats, consisting of the Westfield, Harriet Lane, Owasco, Clifton, +and some transports, approached so near the city as to command it +with his guns. Upon a signal, the Mayor _pro tem_, came off to the +flag-ship and informed Commander Renshaw that the military and civil +authorities had withdrawn from the town, and that he had been +appointed by a meeting of citizens to act as mayor, and had come for +the purpose of learning the intentions of the naval commander. In +reply he was informed that there was no purpose to interfere with the +municipal affairs of the city; that he did not intend to occupy it +before the arrival of a military commander, but that he intended to +hoist the United States flag upon the public buildings, and claim +that it should be respected. The acting Mayor informed him that +persons over whom he had no control might take down the flag, and he +could not guarantee that it should be respected. Commander Renshaw +replied that, to avoid any difficulty like that which occurred in New +Orleans, he would send with the flag a sufficient force to protect +it, and would not keep the flag flying for more than a quarter or +half an hour. + +The vessels of the fleet were assigned to positions commanding the +town and the bridge which connected the island with the mainland, and +a battalion of Massachusetts volunteers was posted on one of the +wharves. + +Late in 1862 General John B. Magruder, a skillful and knightly +soldier, who had at an earlier period of the year rendered +distinguished service by his defense of the peninsula between the +James and York Rivers, Virginia, was assigned to the command of the +Department of Texas. On his arrival, he found the enemy in possession +of the principal port, Galveston, and other points upon the coast. He +promptly collected the scattered arms and field artillery, had a +couple of ordinary high-pressure steamboats used in the +transportation of cotton on Buffalo Bayou protected with cotton-bales +piled from the main deck to and above the hurricane-roof, and these, +under the command of Captain Leon Smith, of the Texas Navy, in +coöperation with the volunteers, were relied upon to recapture the +harbor and island of Galveston. Between night and morning on the 1st +of January, 1863, the land-forces entered the town, and the +steamboats came into the bay, manned by Texas cavalry and volunteer +artillery. The field artillery was ran down to the shore, and opened +fire upon the boats. The battalion of the enemy having torn up the +plank of the wharf, our infantry could only approach them by wading +through the water, and climbing upon the wharf. The two steamboats +attacked the Harriet Lane, the gunboat lying farthest up the bay. +They were both so frail in their construction that their only chance +was to close and board. One of them was soon disabled by collision +with the strong vessel, and in a sinking condition ran into shoal +water. The other closed with the Harriet Lane, boarded and captured +the vessel. The flag-ship Westfield got aground and could not be got +off, though assisted by one of the fleet for that purpose. General +Magruder then sent a demand that the enemy's vessels should +surrender, except one, on which the crews of all should leave the +harbor, giving until ten o'clock for compliance with his demand, to +enforce which he put a crew on the Harriet Lane, then the most +efficient vessel afloat of the enemy's fleet, and, while waiting for +an answer, ceased firing. This demand was communicated by a boat from +the Harriet Lane to the commander on the Clifton, who said that he +was not the commander of the fleet, and would communicate the +proposal to the flag-officer on the Westfield. Flags of truce were +then flying on the enemy's vessels, as well as on shore. Commander +Renshaw refused to accede to the proposition, directing the commander +of the Clifton to get all the vessels, including the Corypheus and +Sachem, which had recently joined, out of port as soon as possible, +and that he would blow up the Westfield, and leave on the transports +lying near him with his officers and crew. In attempting to execute +this purpose, Commander Renshaw and ten or fifteen others perished +soon after leaving the ship, in consequence of the explosion being +premature. The General commanding made the following preliminary +report: + + "HEADQUARTERS, GALVESTON, TEXAS. + + "This morning, the 1st January, at three o'clock, I attacked the + enemy's fleet and garrison at this place, captured the latter and the + steamer Harriet Lane, two barges, and a schooner. The rest, some four + or five, escaped ignominiously under cover of a flag of truce. I have + about six hundred prisoners and a large quantity of valuable stores, + arms, etc. The Harriet Lane is very little injured. She was carried + by boarders from two high-pressure cotton-steamers, manned by Texas + cavalry and artillery. The line troops were gallantly commanded by + Colonel Green, of Sibley's brigade, and the ships and artillery by + Major Leon Smith, to whose indomitable energy and heroic daring the + country is indebted for the successful execution of a plan which I + had considered for the destruction of the enemy's fleet. Colonel + Bagby, of Sibley's brigade, also commanded the volunteers from his + regiment for the naval expedition, in which every officer and every + man won for himself imperishable renown. + + "J. BANKHEAD MAGRUDER, + + "_Major General._" + +The conduct of Commander Renshaw toward the inhabitants of Galveston +had been marked by moderation and propriety, and the closing act of +his life was one of manly courage and fidelity to the flag he bore. + +Commander Wainright and Lieutenant-commanding Lea, who fell valiantly +defending their ship, were buried in the cemetery with the honors of +war: thus was evinced that instinctive respect which true warriors +always feel for their peers. The surviving officers were paroled. + +It would be a pleasing task, if space allowed, to notice the many +instances of gallantry in this affair, as daring as they were novel, +but want of space compels me to refer the reader to the full accounts +which have been published of the "cavalry charge upon a naval fleet." + +The capture of the enemy's fleet in Galveston Harbor, by means so +novel as to excite surprise as well as grateful admiration, was +followed by another victory on the coast of Texas, under +circumstances so remarkable as properly to be considered marvelous. +To those familiar with the events of that time and section, it is +hardly necessary to say that I refer to the battle of Sabine Pass. + +The strategic importance to the enemy of the possession of Sabine +River caused the organization of a large expedition of land and naval +forces to enter and ascend the river. If successful, it gave the +enemy short lines for operation against the interior of Texas, and +relieved them of the discomfiture resulting from their expulsion from +Galveston Harbor. + +The fleet of the enemy numbered twenty-three vessels. The forces were +estimated to be ten thousand men. No adequate provision had been made +to resist such a force, and, under the circumstances, none might have +been promptly made on which reliance could have been reasonably +placed. A few miles above the entrance into the Sabine River, a small +earthwork had been constructed, garrisoned at the time of the action +by forty-two men and two lieutenants, with an armament of six guns. +The officers and men were all Irishmen, and the company was called +the "Davis Guards." The captain, F. H. Odlum, was temporarily absent, +so that the command devolved upon Lieutenant E. W. Dowling. Wishing +to perpetuate the history of an affair, in which I believe the brave +garrison did more than an equal force had ever elsewhere performed, I +asked General Magruder, when I met him after the war, to write out a +full account of the event; he agreed to do so, but died not long +after I saw him, and before complying with my request. From the +publications of the day I have obtained the main facts, as they were +then printed in the Texas newspapers, and, being unwilling to +summarize the reports, give them at length. + + _Captain F. H. Odlum's Official Report._ + + "HEADQUARTERS, SABINE PASS, + + "_September 9, 1863._ + + "Captain A. N. MILLS, _Assistant Adjutant-General._ + + "SIR: I have the honor to report that we had an engagement with the + enemy yesterday and gained a handsome victory. We captured two of + their gunboats, crippled a third, and drove the rest out of the Pass. + We took eighteen fine guns, a quantity of smaller arms, ammunition + and stores, killed about fifty, wounded several, and took one hundred + and fifty prisoners, without the loss or injury of any one on our + side or serious damage to the fort. + + "Your most obedient servant, + + "F. H. ODLUM, _Captain, commanding Sabine Pass._" + + + _Commodore Leon Smith's Official Report._ + + "Captain E. P. TURNER, _Assistant Adjutant-General._ + + "SIR: After telegraphing the Major-General before leaving Beaumont, I + took a horse and proceeded with all haste to Sabine Pass, from which + direction I could distinctly hear a heavy firing. Arriving at the + Pass at 3 P.M., I found the enemy off and inside the bar, with + nineteen gunboats and steamships and other ships of war, carrying, as + well as I could judge, fifteen thousand men. I proceeded with Captain + Odlum to the fort, and found Lieutenant Dowling and Lieutenant N. H. + Smith, of the engineer corps, with forty-two men, defending the fort. + Until 3 P.M. our men did not open on the enemy, as the range was too + distant. The officers of the fort coolly held their fire until the + enemy had approached near enough to reach them. But, when the enemy + arrived within good range, our batteries were opened, and gallantly + replied to a galling and most terrific fire from the enemy. As I + entered the fort, the gunboats Clifton, Arizona, Sachem, and Granite + State, with several others, came boldly up to within one thousand + yards, and opened their batteries, which were gallantly and + effectively replied to by the Davis Guards. For one hour and thirty + minutes a most terrific bombardment of grape, canister, and shell was + directed against our heroic and devoted little band within the fort. + The shot struck in every direction, but, thanks be to God! not one of + the noble Davis Guards was hurt. Too much credit can not be awarded + Lieutenant Dowling, who displayed the utmost heroism in the discharge + of the duty assigned him and the defenders of the fort. God bless the + Davis Guards, one and all! The honor of the country was in their + hands, and nobly they sustained it. Every man stood at his post, + regardless of the murderous fire that was poured upon them from every + direction. The result of the battle, which lasted from 3.30 to 5 + P.M., was the capturing of the Clifton and Sachem, eighteen heavy + guns, one hundred and fifty prisoners, and the killing and wounding + of fifty men, and driving outside the bar the enemy's fleet, + comprising twenty-three vessels in all. I have the honor to be your + obedient servant, + + "LEON SMITH, + + "_Commanding Marine Department of Texas._" + + + "HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA, HOUSTON, + TEXAS, _September 9, 1863._ + + "(SPECIAL ORDER.) + + "Another glorious victory has been won by the heroism of Texans. The + enemy, confident of overpowering the little garrison at Sabine Pass, + boldly advanced to the work of capture. After a sharp contest he was + entirely defeated, one gunboat hurrying off in a crippled condition, + while two others, the Clifton and Sachem, with their armaments and + crews, including the commander of the fleet, surrendered to the + gallant defenders of the fort. The loss of the enemy has been heavy, + while not a man on our side has been killed or wounded. Though the + enemy has been repulsed in his naval attacks, his land-forces, + reported as ten thousand strong, are still off the coast waiting an + opportunity to land. + + "The Major-General calls on every man able to bear arms to bring his + guns or arms, no matter of what kind, and be prepared to make a + sturdy resistance to the foe. + + "Major-General J. B. MAGRUDER. + + "EDMUND P. TURNER, _Assistant Adjutant-General._" + +The "Daily Post," Houston, Texas, of August 22, 1880, has the +following: + + "A few days after the battle each man that participated in the fight + was presented with a silver medal inscribed as follows: On one side + 'D. G.,' for the Davis Guards, and on the reverse Side, 'Sabine Pass, + September 8, 1863.' + + "Captain Odlum and Lieutenant R. W. Dowling have gone to that bourn + whence no traveler returns, and but few members of the heroic band + are in the land of the living, and those few reside in the city of + Houston, and often meet together, and talk about the battle in which + they participated on the memorable 8th of September, 1863. + + "The following are the names of the company who manned the guns in + Fort Grigsby, and to whom the credit is due for the glorious victory: + + "Lieutenants R. W. Dowling and N. H. Smith; Privates Timothy + McDonough, Thomas Dougherty, David Fitzgerald, Michael Monahan, John + Hassett, John McKeefer, Jack W. White, Patrick McDonnell, William + Gleason, Michael Carr, Thomas Hagerty, Timothy Huggins, Alexander + McCabe, James Flemming, Patrick Fitzgerald, Thomas McKernon, Edward + Pritchard, Charles Rheins, Timothy Hurley, John McGrath, Matthew + Walshe, Patrick Sullivan, Michael Sullivan, Thomas Sullivan, Patrick + Clare, John Hennessey, Hugh Deagan, Maurice Powers, Abner Carter, + Daniel McMurray, Patrick Malone, James Corcoran, Patrick Abbott, John + McNealis, Michael Egan, Daniel Donovan, John Wesley, John Anderson, + John Flood, Peter O'Hare, Michael Delaney, Terence Mulhern." + +The inquiry may naturally arise how this small, number of men could +take charge of so large a body of prisoners. This required that to +their valor they should add stratagem. A few men were placed on the +parapet as sentinels, the rest were marched out as a guard to receive +the prisoners and their arms. Thus was concealed the fact that the +fort was empty. The report of the guns bombarding the fort had been +heard, and soon after the close of the battle reinforcements arrived, +which relieved the little garrison from its embarrassment. + +Official reports of officers in the assaulting column, as published +in the "Rebellion Record," vol. vii, page 425, _et seq_., refer to +another fort, and steamers in the river, coöperating in the defense +of Fort Grigsby. The success of the single company which garrisoned +the earthwork is without parallel in ancient or modern war. It was +marvelous; but it is incredible--more than marvelous--that another +garrison in another fort, with cruising steamers, aided in checking +the advance of the enemy, yet silently permitted the forty-two men +and two officers of Fort Grigsby to receive all the credit for the +victory which was won. If this be supposable, how is it possible that +Captain Odlum, Commander Smith, General Magruder, and Lieutenant +Dowling, who had been advised to abandon the work, and had consulted +their men as to their willingness to defend it, should nowhere have +mentioned the putative fort and coöperating steamers? + +The names of the forty-four must go down to posterity, unshorn of the +honor which their contemporaries admiringly accorded. + +At the commencement of the war the Confederacy was not only without a +navy, all the naval vessels possessed by the States having been, as +explained elsewhere, left in the hands of our enemies; but worse than +this was the fact that ship-building had been almost exclusively done +in the Northern States, so that we had no means of acquiring equality +in naval power. The numerous deep and wide rivers traversing the +Southern States gave a favorable field for the operation of gunboats +suited to such circumstances. The enemy rapidly increased their +supply of these by building on the Western waters, as well as +elsewhere, and converting existing vessels into iron-dad gunboats. +The intrepidity and devotion of our people met the necessity by new +expedients and extraordinary daring. This was especially seen in the +operations of western Louisiana, where numerous bayous and rivers, +with difficult land-routes, gave an advantage to the enemy which +might well have paralyzed anything less than the most resolute will. + +In the earlier period of the war, the gunboats had inspired a terror +which their performances never justified. There was a prevailing +opinion that they could not be stopped by land-batteries, or resisted +on water by anything else than vessels of their own class. Against +the first opinion General Richard Taylor, commanding in Louisiana, +south of Red River, stoutly contended, and maintained his opinion by +the repulse and capture of some of the enemy's vessels by +land-batteries having guns of rather light caliber. + +One by one successful conflicts between river-boats and gunboats +impaired the estimate which had been put upon the latter. The most +illustrious example of this was the attack and capture of the +Indianola, a heavy ironclad, with two eleven-inch guns forward, and +two nine-inch aft, all in iron casemates. She had passed the +batteries at Vicksburg, and was in the section of the river between +Vicksburg and Port Hudson, which, in February, 1863, was the only +gate of communication which the Confederacy had between the east and +west sides of the Mississippi. The importance of keeping open this +communication, always great, became vital from the necessity of +drawing commissary's stores from the trans-Mississippi. + +Major Brent, of General Taylor's staff, proposed, with the tow-boat +Webb, which had been furnished as a ram, and the Queen of the West, +which had been four or five days before captured by the land-battery +at Fort De Russy, to go to the Mississippi and attack the Indianola. +On the 19th of February the expedition started, though mechanics were +still working upon the needed repairs of the Queen of the West. The +service was so hazardous that volunteers only formed the crews, but +of these more offered than were wanted. On the 24th, while ascending +the Mississippi, Major Brent learned, when about sixty miles below +Vicksburg, that the Indianola was a short distance ahead, with a +coal-barge lashed on either side. He determined to attack in the +night, being assured that, if struck by a shell from one of the +eleven- or nine-inch guns, either of his boats would be destroyed. At +10 P.M. the Queen, followed by the Webb, was driven at full speed +directly upon the Indianola. The momentum of the Queen was so great +as to cut through the coal-barge, and indent the iron plates of the +Indianola. As the Queen backed out, the Webb dashed in at full speed, +and tore away the remaining coal-barge. Both the forward guns fired +at the Webb, but missed her. Again the Queen struck the Indianola, +abaft the paddle-box, crushing her frame and loosening some plates of +armor, but received the fire of the guns from the rear casemates. One +shot carried away a dozen bales of cotton on the right side; the +other, a shell, entered the forward port-hole and exploded, killing +six men and disabling two field-pieces. Again the Webb followed the +Queen, struck near the same spot, pushing aside the iron plates and +crushing timbers. Voices from the Indianola announced the surrender, +and that she was sinking. The river here sweeps the western shore, +and there was deep water up to the bank. General Grant's army was on +the west side of the river, and, for either or both of these reasons. +Major Brent towed the Indianola to the opposite side, where she sank +on a bar, her gun-deck above water. Both boats were much shattered in +the conflict, and Major Brent returned to the Red River to repair +them. A tender accompanied the Queen and the Webb, and a frail +river-boat without protection for her boilers, which was met on the +river, turned back and followed them, but, like the tender, could be +of no service in the battle. For these particulars I am indebted to +General Richard Taylor's book, "Destruction and Reconstruction," +pages 123-125. + +The ram Arkansas, which has been previously noticed as being under +construction at Memphis, was removed before she was finished to the +Yazoo River, events on the river above having rendered this necessary +for her security. After she was supposed to be ready for service, +Commander Brown, then as previously in charge of her, went down the +Yazoo to enter the Mississippi and proceed to Vicksburg. The enemy's +fleet of some twelve or thirteen rams, gunboats, and sloops of war, +were in the river above Vicksburg, and below the point where the +Yazoo enters the Mississippi. Anticipating the descent of the +Arkansas, a detachment had been made from this fleet to prevent her +exit. The annexed letter of Commander Brown describes what occurred +in the Yazoo River: + + "STEAMER ARKANSAS, _July 15, 1862._ + + "GENERAL: The Benton, or whatever ironclad we disabled, was left with + colors down, evidently aground to prevent sinking, about one mile and + a half above the mouth of the Yazoo (in Old River), on the right-hand + bank, or bank across from Vicksburg. + + "I wish it to be remembered that we whipped this vessel, made it run + out of the fight and haul down colors, with two less guns than they + had; and at the same time fought two rams, which were firing at us + with great guns and small-arms; this, too, with our miscellaneous + crew, who had never, for the most part, been on board a ship, or at + big guns. + + "I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + + "J. N. BROWN, + + "_Lieutenant commanding._ + + "To Brigadier-General M. L. SMITH, _commanding defenses at + Vicksburg_." + +When entering the Mississippi the fleet of the enemy was found +disposed as a phalanx, but the heroic commander of the Arkansas moved +directly against it; and, though in passing through this formidable +array he was exposed to the broadsides of the whole fleet, the vessel +received no other injury than from one eleven-inch shot which entered +the gun-room, and the perforation in many places of her smoke-stack. +The casualties to the crew were five killed, four wounded--among the +latter was the gallant commander. General Van Dorn, commanding the +department, in a dispatch from Vicksburg, July 15th, states the +number of the enemy's vessels above Vicksburg, pays a high compliment +to the officers and men, and adds: + + "All the enemy's transports and all the vessels of war of the lower + fleet (i. e., the fleet just below Vicksburg), except a sloop of war, + have got up steam, and are off to escape from the Arkansas." + +A vessel inspiring such dread is entitled to a special description. +She was an iron-clad steamer, one hundred feet in her length, her +armament ten Parrott guns, and her crew one hundred men, who had +volunteered from the land-forces for the desperate service proposed. +Her commander had been from his youth in the navy of the United +States, and his capacity was such as could well supplement whatever +was wanted of naval knowledge in his crew. The care and skill with +which the vessel had been constructed were tested and proved under +fire. Had her engines been equal to the hull and armor of the vessel, +it is difficult to estimate the value of the service she might have +performed. At this period the enemy occupied Baton Rouge, with +gunboats lying in front of it to coöperate with the troops in the +town. The importance of holding a section of the Mississippi, so as +to keep free communication between the eastern and western portions +of the Confederacy, has been heretofore noticed. To this end it was +deemed needful to recover the possession of Baton Rouge, and it was +decided to make a land-attack in coöperation with the Arkansas, to be +sent down against the enemy's fleet. + +Major-General J. C. Breckinridge was assigned to the command of the +land-forces. This distinguished citizen and alike distinguished +soldier, surmounting difficulties which would have discouraged a less +resolute spirit, approached Baton Rouge, and moved to the attack at +the time indicated for the arrival of the Arkansas. In his address to +the officers and soldiers of his command, after the battle, viz., on +August 6, 1862, he compliments the troops on the fortitude with which +they had borne a severe march, on the manner in which they attacked +the enemy, superior in numbers and admirably posted, drove him from +his positions, taking his camps, and forcing him to seek protection +under cover of the guns of his fleet. Major-General Breckinridge +attributes his failure to achieve entire success to the inability of +the Arkansas to coöperate with his forces, and adds: + + "You have given the enemy a severe and salutary lesson, and now those + who so lately were ravaging and plundering this region do not care to + extend their pickets beyond the sight of their fleet." + +The Arkansas in descending the river moved leisurely, having ample +time to meet her appointment; but, when about fifteen miles above +Baton Rouge, her starboard engine broke down. Repairs were +immediately commenced, and, by 8 A.M. on the 5th of August, were +partially completed. General Breckinridge had commenced the attack at +four o'clock, and the Arkansas, though not in condition to engage the +enemy, moved on, and, when in sight of Baton Rouge, her starboard +engine again broke down, and the vessel was run ashore. The work of +repair was resumed, and next morning the Federal fleet was seen +coming up. The Arkansas was moored head down-stream and cleared for +action. The Essex approached and opened fire; at that moment the +engineers reported the engines able to work half a day. The lines +were cut, and the Arkansas started for the Essex, when the other-- +the larboard--engine suddenly stopped, and the vessel was again +secured to the shore stern-down. The Essex now valiantly approached, +pouring a hot fire into her disabled antagonist. Lieutenant Stevens, +then commanding the Arkansas, ordered the crew ashore, fired the +vessel, and, with her flag flying, turned her adrift--a sacrificial +offering to the cause she had served so valiantly in her brief but +brilliant career. Lieutenant Reed, of the ram Arkansas, in his +published account of the affair, states, "After all hands were +ashore, the Essex fired upon the disabled vessel most furiously." + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + + Naval Affairs (continued).--Necessity of a Navy.--Raphael Semmes.-- + The Sumter.--Difficulties in creating a Navy.--The Sumter at Sea.-- + Alarm.--Her Captures.--James D. Bullock.--Laird's Speech in the + House of Commons.--The Alabama.--Semmes takes Command.--The Vessel + and Crew.--Goes to Sea.--Banks's Expedition.--Magruder at + Galveston.--The Steamer Hattaras Sunk.--The Alabama not a Pirate.-- + An Aspinwall Steamer ransomed.--Other Captures.--Prizes burned.-- + At Cherbourg.--Fight with the Kearsarge.--Rescue of the Men.-- + Demand of the United States Government for the Surrender of the + Drowning Men.--Reply of the British Government.--Sailing of the + Oreto.--Detained at Nassau.--Captain Maffit.--The Ship Half + Equipped.--Arrives at Mobile.--Runs the Blockade.--Her Cruise.-- + Capture and Cruise of the Clarence.--The Captures of the Florida.-- + Captain C. M. Morris.--The Florida at Bahia.--Seized by the + Wachusett.--Brought to Virginia and sunk.--Correspondence.--The + Georgia.--Cruises and Captures.--The Shenandoah.--Cruises and + Captures.--The Atlanta.--The Tallahassee.--The Edith. + + +To maintain the position assumed by the Confederate States as a +separate power among the nations, it was obviously necessary to have +a navy, not only for the defense of their coast, but also for the +protection of their commerce. These States, after their secession +from the Union, were in that regard in a destitute condition, similar +to that of the United States after their Declaration of Independence. + +It has been shown that among the first acts of the Confederate +Administration was the effort to buy ships which could be used for +naval purposes. The policy of the United States Government being to +shut up our commerce rather than protect their own, induced the +wholesale purchase of the vessels found in the Northern ports--not +only such as could be made fit for cruisers, but also any which would +serve even for blockading purposes. There was little shipping of any +kind in the Southern ports, and to that scanty supply we were, for +the time, restricted. + +A previous reference has been made to the Sumter, Commander Raphael +Semmes, but a more extended notice is considered due. Educated in the +naval service of the United States, Raphael Semmes had attained the +rank of commander, and was distinguished for his studious habits and +varied acquirements. When Alabama passed her ordinance of secession, +he was on duty at Washington as a member of the Lighthouse Board; he +promptly tendered his resignation, and, at the organization of the +Confederate Government, repaired to Montgomery and tendered his +services to it. The efforts which had been made to obtain steamers +suited to cruising against the enemy's commerce had been quite +unsuccessful, none being found which the naval officers charged with +their selection regarded fit for the service. One of the reports +described a small propeller-steamer of five hundred tons burden, +sea-going, low-pressure engine, sound, and capable of being so +strengthened as to carry an ordinary battery of four or five guns; +speed between nine and ten knots, but the board condemned her because +she could carry but five days' fuel, and had no accommodations for +the crew. + +The Secretary of the Navy showed this to Commander Semmes, who said: +"Give me that ship; I think I can make her answer the purpose." She +was to be christened the Sumter, in commemoration of our first +victory, and had the honor of being the first ship of war +commissioned by the Confederate States, and the first to display the +Stars and Bars of the Confederacy on the high-seas. The Sumter was at +New Orleans, to which place Commander Semmes repaired; and, as +forcibly presenting the difficulties under which we labored in all +attempts to create a navy, I will quote from his memoirs the account +of his effort to get the Sumter ready for sea: + + "I now took my ship actively in hand and set gangs of mechanics at + work to remove her upper cabins and other top hamper, preparatory to + making the necessary alterations. These latter were considerable, and + I soon found that I had a tedious job on my hands. It was no longer + the case, as it had been in former years, when I had had occasion to + fit out a ship, that I could go into a navy-yard, with well-provided + workshops and skilled workmen, ready with all the requisite materials + at hand to execute my orders. Everything had to be improvised, from + the manufacture of a water-tank to the kids and cans of the + berth-deck messes, and from a gun-carriage to a friction-primer. . . . + Two long, tedious months were consumed in making alterations and + additions. My battery was to consist of an eight-inch-shell gun, to + be pivoted amidships, and of four light thirty-two-pounders of + thirteen hundred weight each, in broadside." + +On the 3d of June, 1861, the Sumter was formally put in commission, +and a muster-roll of the officers and men transmitted to the Navy +Department. On the 18th of June she left New Orleans and steamed down +and anchored near the mouth of the river. While lying at the head of +the passes, the commander reported a blockading squadron outside, of +three ships at Passe a l'Outre, and one at the Southwest Pass. The +Brooklyn, at Passe a l'Outre, was not only a powerful vessel, but she +had greater speed than the Sumter. The Powhatan's heavy armament made +it very hazardous to pass her in daylight, and the absence of buoys +and lights made it next to impossible to keep the channel in +darkness. The Sumter, therefore, had been compelled to lie at the +head of the passes and watch for some opportunity in the absence of +either the Brooklyn or the Powhatan to get to sea. Fortunately, +neither of these vessels came up to the head of the passes, where, +there being but a single channel, it would have been easy to prevent +the exit of the Sumter. + +On the 30th of June, one bright morning, a boatman reported that the +Brooklyn had gone off in chase of a sail. Immediately the Sumter was +got under way, when it was soon discovered that the Brooklyn was +returning, and that the two vessels were about equally distant from +the bar. By steady courage and rare seamanship the Sumter escaped +from her more swift pursuer, and entered on her career of cutting the +enemy's sinews of war by destroying his commerce. + +Numerous armed vessels of the enemy were hovering on our coast, yet +this one little cruiser created a general alarm, and, though a +regularly commissioned vessel of the Confederacy, was habitually +denounced as a "pirate," and the many threats to destroy her served +only to verify the adage that the threatened live long. + +During her cruise up to January 17, 1862, she captured three ships, +five brigs, six barks, and three schooners, but the property +destroyed formed a very small part of the damage done to the enemy's +commerce. Her appearance on the seas created such alarm that Northern +ships were, to a large extent, put under foreign flags, and the +carrying-trade, in which the United States stood second only to Great +Britain, passed rapidly into other hands. The Sumter, while doing all +this mischief, was nearly self-sustaining, her running expenses to +the Confederate Government being but twenty-eight thousand dollars +when, at the close of 1861, she arrived at Gibraltar. Not being able +to obtain coal, she remained there until sold. + +Captain James D. Bullock, an officer of the old navy, of high ability +as a seaman, and of an integrity which stood the test under which a +less stern character might have given way, was our naval agent at +Liverpool. In his office he disbursed millions, and, when there was +no one to whom he could be required to render an account, paid out +the last shilling in his hands, and confronted poverty without +prospect of other reward than that which he might find id a clear +conscience. He contracted with the Messrs. Laird, of Birkenhead, to +build a strong steam merchant-ship--the same which was afterward +christened "The Alabama" when, in a foreign port, she had received +her armament and crew. So much of puerile denunciation has been +directed against the builder and the ship, which, in the virulent +language of the day, our enemies denominated a "pirate," that the +case claims at my hands a somewhat extended notice. + +The senior Mr. Laird was a member of the British Parliament, and, +because of the complaints made by the United States Government, and +the abuse heaped upon him by the Northern newspapers, he made a +speech in the House of Commons, in which he stated that, in 1861, he +was applied to to build vessels for the Northern Government, first, +by personal application, and subsequently by a letter from +Washington, asking him, on the part of the United States Navy +Department, to give the terms on which he would build an iron-plated +ship, "to be finished complete, with guns and everything +appertaining." Mr. Laird continued: "On the 14th of August I received +another letter from the same gentleman, from which the following is +an extract: 'I have this morning a note from the Assistant-Secretary +of the Navy, in which he says, "I hope your friends will tender for +the two iron-plated steamers."'" Mr. Laird then said that, while he +would not give the name of his correspondent, who was a gentleman of +the highest respectability, he was willing, in confidence, to submit +the original letters to the Speaker of the House or the first +Minister of the Crown; that, as "the American Government is making so +much work about other parties whom they charge with violating or +evading the law, when in reality they have not done so, I think it +only right to state these facts." + +Those who have listened with credulity to the abuse of the +Confederate Government, as well as that of Great Britain, the one for +contracting for the building of the Alabama and the other for +permitting her to leave a British port, will thus see how little of +sincerity there was in the complaints of the United States +Government. For more than a generation the British people have been +the great ship-builders of the world, and it is a matter of surprise +that they should have given respectful consideration to charges of a +breach of neutrality because they allowed a merchantman to be built +in one of their ports and to leave it without any armament or crew, +which could have enabled it, in that condition, to make war upon a +country with which Great Britain was at peace. + +Referring to the Alabama, as she was when she left the Mersey, Mr. +Laird said: + + "If a ship without guns and without arms is a dangerous article, + surely rifled guns and ammunition of all sorts are equally and even + more dangerous. I have referred to the bills of entry in the + custom-houses of London and Liverpool, and I find that there have + been vast shipments of implements of war to the Northern States + through the celebrated houses of Baring & Co.; Brown, Shipley & Co.; + and a variety of other names. . . . I have obtained from the official + custom-house returns some details of the sundries exported from the + United Kingdom to the Northern States of America from the 1st of May, + 1861, to the 31st of December, 1862. + There were--muskets, 41,500; rifles, 341,000; gun-flints, 26,500; + percussion-caps, 49,982,000; and swords, 2,250. The best information + I could obtain leads me to believe that one third to a half may be + added to these numbers for items which have been shipped to the + Northern States as hardware . . . so that, if the Southern States + have got two ships unarmed, unfit for any purpose of warfare--for + they procured their armament somewhere else--the Northern States + have been well supplied from this country, through the agency of some + most influential persons." + +The speech of Mr. Laird, exposing the hypocrisy of the +representations which had been made, as well by commercial bodies as +by the highest officers of the United States, called forth repeated +cheers from the Parliament. + +There had been no secrecy about the building of the Alabama. The same +authority above quoted states that she was frequently visited while +under construction, and it is known that the British Government was +applied to to prevent her from leaving port. It was feared that she +might be delayed; but it was not considered possible that British +authorities would prevent an unarmed merchant-ship from leaving her +coast, lest she might elsewhere procure an armament, and, in the +service of a recognized belligerent, revive the terror in the other +belligerent which the little Sumter had recently inspired. + +When the Alabama was launched and ready for sea, Captain Bullock +summoned Captain Semmes, lately commander of the Sumter, to +Liverpool, where he spent a few days in financial arrangements, and +in collecting the old officers of the Sumter. The Alabama, then known +as the 290, had proceeded a few days before to her rendezvous, the +Portuguese Island of Terceira, one of the group of the Azores. The +story that the name 290 belonged to the fact that she had been built +by two hundred and ninety Englishmen, sympathizers in our struggle, +was a mere fiction. She was built under a contract with the +Confederate States, and paid for with Confederate money. She happened +to be the two hundred and ninetieth ship built by the Lairds, and, +not having been christened, was called 290. Captain Semmes followed +her, accompanied by Captain Bullock on the steamer Bahama, and found +her at the place of rendezvous, also a sailing-ship which had been +dispatched before the Alabama with her battery and stores. Captain +Semmes, with a sailor's enthusiasm, describes his first impression on +seeing the ship which was to be his future home. The defects of the +Sumter had been avoided, so that he found his new ship "a perfect +steamer and a perfect sailing-ship, at the same time neither of her +two modes of locomotion being at all dependent upon the other. . . . +She was about nine hundred tons burden, two hundred and thirty feet +in length, thirty-two feet in breadth, twenty feet in depth, and +drew, when provisioned and coaled for a cruise, fifteen feet of +water. Her model was of the most perfect symmetry, and she sat upon +the water with the lightness and grace of a swan." She was yet only a +merchant-ship, and the men on board of her, as well as those who came +out with the Captain on the Bahama, were only under articles for the +voyage. She therefore had no crew for future service. When her +armament and stores had been put on board, she steamed from the +harbor out to the open sea, where she was to be christened and put in +commission. Captain Bullock went out on her and stood sponsor at the +ceremony. He had just cause to be proud of the ship, and we to be +thankful to him for the skill and care with which he had designed her +and supervised her construction. The scantling of the vessel was +comparatively light, having been intended for a scourge to the +enemy's commerce rather than for battle, and merely to defend herself +if it became necessary. Her masts were proportioned so as to carry +large canvas, and her engine was of three hundred horse-power, with +an apparatus for condensing vapor to supply the crew with all the +fresh water requisite. The coal, stores, and armament having been +received from the supply-ships, she steamed out to sea on Sunday +morning, August 24, 1862. There, more than a marine league from the +shore, on the blue water over which man holds no empire, Captain +Semmes read the commission of the President of the Confederacy +appointing him a captain, and the order of the Secretary of the Navy +assigning him to the command of the Alabama. There, where no +government held jurisdiction, where the commission of the Confederacy +was as valid as that of any power, the Alabama was christened, and +was henceforth a ship of war in the navy of the Confederate States. +The men who had come thus far under articles no longer binding were +left to their option whether to be paid off with a free passage to +Liverpool, or to enlist in the crew of the Alabama. Eighty of the men +who had come out in the several vessels enrolled themselves in the +usual manner. Captain Semmes had a full complement of officers, and +with this, though less than the authorized crew, he commenced his +long and brilliant cruise. The ship's armament consisted of six +thirty-two-pounders in broadsides and two pivot-guns amidships, one +of them a smooth-bore eight-inch, the other a hundred-pounder rifled +Blakely. + +Captain Semmes, from his varied knowledge of affairs both on sea and +land, did not sail by chance in quest of adventure, but directed his +course to places where the greatest number of the enemy's merchantmen +were likely to be found, and to this the large number of captures he +made is in no small degree attributable. On board one of the ships +captured they got New York papers, from which he learned that General +Banks, with a large fleet of transports, was to sail on a certain day +for Galveston. On this he decided to go to the rendezvous appointed +for his coal-ship, and make all due preparation for a dash into the +fleet when they should arrive at the harbor of Galveston, and +therefore directed his course into the Gulf of Mexico. + +In the mean time General Magruder had recaptured Galveston, so that +on his arrival the lookout informed him that, instead of a fleet, +there were five ships of war blockading the harbor and throwing +shells into the town, from which his keen perception drew the proper +conclusion that we had possession of the town, and that he was +confronted by ships of war, not transports laden with troops. As each +of the five ships observed by the lookout were supposed to be larger +than his own, he had of course no disposition to run into that fleet. +It therefore only remained to tempt one of the ships to follow him +beyond supporting distance. The hope was soon realized, as a vessel +was seen to come out from the fleet. The Alabama was under sail, and +Captain Semmes says: "To carry out my design of decoying the enemy, I +now wore ship as though I were fleeing from his pursuit, and lowered +the propeller into the water. When about twenty miles from the fleet, +the Alabama was prepared for action, and wheeled to meet her pursuer. +To the first hail made, the answer from the Alabama was, 'This is her +Britannic Majesty's steamer Petrel,' and the answer was, 'This is the +United States ship, ------' name not heard." Captain Semmes then +directed the first lieutenant to call out through his trumpet, "This +is the Confederate States steamer Alabama." A broadside was instantly +returned by the enemy. Captain Semmes describes the state of the +atmosphere as highly favorable to the conduct of sound, and the wind +blowing in the direction of the enemy's fleet. The Federal Admiral, +as afterward learned, immediately got under way with the Brooklyn and +two others of his steamers to go to the rescue. The crews of both +ships must have been standing at their guns, as the broadsides so +instantly followed each other. In thirteen minutes after firing the +first gun the enemy hoisted a light and fired an off-gun as a signal +that he had been beaten. Captain Semmes steamed quite close to the +Hatteras and asked if he had surrendered; then, if he was in want of +assistance. An affirmative answer was given to both questions. The +boats of the Alabama were lowered with such promptitude and handled +with such care that, though the Hatteras was sunk at night, none of +her crew were drowned. When her captain came on board, Captain Semmes +learned that he had been engaged with the United States steamer +Hatteras, "a larger ship than the Alabama by one hundred tons," with +an equal number of guns, and a crew numbering two less than that of +the Alabama. There was a "considerable disparity between the two +ships in the weight of their pivot-guns, and the Alabama ought to +have won the fight, which she did in thirteen minutes." The Alabama +had received no appreciable injury, and, continuing her cruise to the +Island of Jamaica, entered the harbor of Port Royal, where, by the +permission of the authorities. Captain Semmes landed his prisoners, +putting them on parole. + +As an answer to the stereotyped charges against Captain Semmes as a +"pirate" and robber, I will select from the many unarmed ships +captured by him one case. He had gone to the track of the California +steamers between Aspinwall and New York, in the hope of capturing a +vessel homeward bound with Government treasure. On the morning before +such a vessel was expected, a large steamer, the Ariel, was seen, but +unfortunately not going in the right direction. An exciting chase +occurred, when she was finally brought to, but, instead of the +million of dollars in her safe, she was outward bound, with a large +number of women and children on board. A boarding officer was sent on +her, and returned, giving an account of great alarm, especially among +the ladies. Captain Semmes sent a lieutenant on board to assure them +that they had "fallen into the hands of Southern gentlemen, under +whose protection the were entirely safe." Among the passengers were a +battalion of marines and some army and navy officers. These were all +paroled, rank and file numbering one hundred and forty, and the +vessel was released on ransom-bond. Captain Semmes states that there +were five hundred passengers on board. It is fair to presume that +each passenger had with him a purse of from three to five hundred +dollars. Under the laws of war all this money would have been good +prize, but not one dollar of it was touched, or indeed so much as a +passenger's baggage examined. + +The Alabama now proceeded to run down the Spanish Main, thence bore +eastward into the Indian Ocean, and, after a cruise into every sea +where a blow at American commerce could be struck, came around the +Cape of Good Hope, and, sailing north, ran up to the thirtieth +parallel, where so many captures had been made at a former time. Of +the ship at this date Captain Semmes wrote: "The poor old Alabama was +not now what she had been then. She was like the wearied fox-hound, +limping back after a long chase, foot-sore, and longing for quiet +repose." + +She had, in her mission to cripple the enemy's commerce and cut his +sinews of war, captured sixty-three vessels, among them one of the +enemy's gunboats, the Hatteras, sunk in battle, had released nine +under ransom-bond, and had paroled all prisoners taken. + +All neutral ports being closed against her prizes, the rest of the +vessels were, of necessity, burned at sea. Much complaint was made on +account of the burning of these merchantmen, though very little +reflection would have taught the complainants that the interests of +the captor would have induced him to save the vessels, and send them +into the nearest port for condemnation as prizes; and, therefore, +whatever grievance existed was the result of the blockade and of the +rule which prevented the captures from being sent into a neutral port +to await the decision of a prize court. + +On the morning of the 11th of June, 1864, the Alabama entered the +harbor of Cherbourg. "An officer was sent to call on the port +admiral, and ask leave to land the prisoners from the last two ships +captured; this was readily granted." The next day Captain Semmes went +on shore to consult the port admiral "in relation to docking and +repairing" the Alabama. As there were only government docks at +Cherbourg, the application had to be referred to the Emperor. Before +an answer was received, the Kearsarge steamed into the harbor, sent a +boat ashore, and then ran out and took her station off the +breakwater. Captain Semmes learned that the boat from the Kearsarge +sent on shore had borne a request that the prisoners discharged from +the Alabama might be delivered to the Kearsarge. It will be +remembered that the Government of the United States, in many harsh +and unjust phrases, had refused to recognize the Alabama as a ship of +war, and held that the paroles given to her were void. This request +was therefore regarded by Captain Semmes as an attempt to recruit for +the Kearsarge from the prisoners lately landed by the Alabama, and he +so presented the facts to the port admiral, who rejected the +application from the Kearsarge. + +Captain Semmes sent notice to Captain Winslow, of the Kearsarge, +whose presence in the offing was regarded as a challenge, that, if he +would wait until the Alabama could receive some coal on board, she +would come out and give him battle. + +As has been shown by extracts previously made, Captain Semmes knew +that, after his long cruise, the Alabama needed to go into dock for +repairs. It had not been possible for him, on account of the rigid +enforcement of "neutrality," to replenish his ammunition. Unless the +niter is more thoroughly purified than is usually, if ever, done by +those who manufacture for an open market, it is sure to retain +nitrate of soda, and the powder, of which it is the important +ingredient, to deteriorate by long exposure to a moist atmosphere. +The Kearsarge was superior to the Alabama in size, and, having in +stanchness of construction, her armament was also greater, the latter +being measured, not by the number of guns, but by the amount of metal +she could throw at a broadside. The crew of the Kearsarge, all told, +was one hundred and sixty-two; that of the Alabama, one hundred and +forty-nine. Captain Semmes says: "Still the disparity was not so +great but that I might hope to beat my enemy in a fair fight. But he +did not show me a fair fight, for, as it afterward turned out, his +ship was iron-clad." This expression "iron-clad" refers to the fact +that the Kearsarge had chains on her sides, which Captain Semmes +describes as concealed by planking, the forward and after ends of +which so accorded with the lines of the ship as not to be detected by +telescopic observation. Many of that class of critics whose wisdom is +only revealed after the event have blamed Captain Semmes for going +out under the circumstances. Like most other questions, there are two +sides to this. If he had gone into dock for repairs, the time +required would have resulted in the dispersion of his crew, and, from +the known improvidence of sailors, it would have been more than +doubtful whether they could have been reassembled. It was, moreover, +probable that other vessels would have been sent to aid the Kearsarge +in effectually blockading the port, so that, if his crew had +returned, the only chance would have been to escape through the +guarding fleet. Proud of his ship, and justly confiding in his crew, +surely something will be conceded to the Confederate spirit so often +exhibited and so often triumphant over disparity of force. + +On the 19th of June, 1864, the Alabama left the harbor of Cherbourg +to engage the Kearsarge, which had been lying off and on the port for +several days previously. Captain Semmes in his report of the +engagement writes: + + "After the lapse of about one hour and ten minutes, our ship was + ascertained to be in a sinking condition . . . to reach the French + coast, I gave the ship all steam, and set such of the fore and aft + sails as were available. The ship filled so rapidly, however, that, + before we had made much progress, the fires were extinguished. I now + hauled down my colors, and dispatched a boat to inform the enemy of + our condition. Although we were now but four hundred yards from each + other, the enemy fired upon me five times after my colors had been + struck. It is charitable to suppose that a ship of war, of a + Christian nation, could not have done this intentionally." + +Captain Semmes states that, his waist-boats having been torn to +pieces, he sent the wounded, and such of the boys of the ship as +could not swim, in his quarter-boats, off to the enemy's ship, and, +as there was no appearance of any boat coming from the enemy, the +crew, as previously instructed, jumped overboard, each to save +himself if he could. All the wounded--twenty-one--were saved; ten +of the crew were ascertained to have been drowned. Captain Semmes +stood on the quarter-deck until his ship was settling to go down, +then threw his sword into the sea, there to lie buried with the ship +he loved so well, and leaped from the deck just in time to avoid +being drawn down into the vortex created by her sinking. He and many +of his crew were picked up by a humane English gentleman in the boats +of his yacht, the Deerhound. Others were saved by two French +pilot-boats which were near the scene. The remainder, it is hoped, +were picked up by the enemy. Captain Semmes states in his official +report, two days after the battle, that about the time of his rescue +by the Deerhound the "Kearsarge sent one and then tardily another +boat." The reader is invited to compare this with the conduct of +Captain Semmes when he sank the Hatteras, and when, though it was in +the night, by ranging up close to her, and promptly using all his +boats, he saved her entire crew. + +Mention has been made of the defective ammunition of the Alabama, and +in that connection I quote the following passage from Captain +Semmes's book, on which I have so frequently and largely drawn for +facts in regard to the Sumter and the Alabama (pages 761, 762): + + "I lodged a rifle percussion shell near to her [the Kearsarge's] + sternpost--where there were no chains--which failed to explode + because of the defect of the cap. If the cap had performed its duty, + and exploded the shell, I should have been called upon to save + Captain Winslow's crew from drowning, instead of his being called + upon to save mine." + +As it appears by the same authority that the Kearsarge had greater +speed than the Alabama, it followed that, though the Captain of the +Kearsarge might have closed with and boarded the Alabama, the Captain +of the Alabama could not board the Kearsarge, unless by consent. + +The Alabama, built like a merchant-ship, sailed in peaceful garb from +British waters, on a far-distant sea received her crew and armament, +fitted for operations against the enemy's commerce. On "blue-water" +she was christened, and in the same she was buried. She lived the +pride of her friends and the terror of her enemies. She went out to +fight a wooden vessel and was sunk by one clad in secret armor. Those +rescued by the Deerhound from the water were landed at Southampton, +England. + +The United States Government then, through its minister, Mr. Charles +Francis Adams, made the absurd demand of the English Government that +they should be delivered up to her as escaped prisoners. To this +demand Lord John Russell replied as follows: + + "With regard to the demand made by you, by instructions from your + Government, that those officers and men should now be delivered up to + the Government of the United States, as being escaped prisoners of + war, her Majesty's Government would beg to observe that there is no + obligation by international law which can bind the government of a + neutral state to deliver up to a belligerent prisoners of war who may + have escaped from the power of such belligerent, and may have taken + refuge within the territory of such neutral. Therefore, even if her + Majesty's Government had any power, by law, to comply with the + above-mentioned demand, her Majesty's Government could not do so + without being guilty of a violation of the duties of hospitality. In + point of fact, however, her Majesty's Government have no lawful power + to arrest and deliver up the persons in question. They have been + guilty of no offense against the laws of England, and they have + committed no act which would bring them within the provisions of a + treaty between Great Britain and the United States for the surrender + of the offenders; and her Majesty's Government are, therefore, + entirely without any legal means by which, even if they wished to do + so, they could comply with your above-mentioned demand." + +It will be observed that her Majesty's Minister mercifully forbore to +expose the pretensions that "the persons in question" had been +prisoners, and confined his answer to the case as it would have been +had that allegation been true. There are other points in this +transaction which will be elsewhere presented. + +The Oreto, which sailed from Liverpool about the 23d of March, 1862, +was, while under construction at Liverpool, the subject of diplomatic +correspondence and close scrutiny by the customs officers. After her +arrival off Nassau, upon representations by the United States consul +at that port, she was detained and again examined, and, it being +found that she had none of the character of a vessel of war, she was +released. Captain Maffitt, who had gone out with a cargo of cotton, +here received a letter which authorized him to take charge of the +Oreto and get her promptly to sea. She was a steamer of two hundred +and fifty horse-power, tonnage five hundred and sixty, bark-rigged; +speed, under steam, eight to nine knots; with sail, in a fresh +breeze, fourteen knots; crew twenty-two, all told. The United States +Minister, Mr. Adams, had made a report to the British Government, +which, it was apprehended, would cause her seizure at once. This was +soon done, and with great difficulty the vessel was saved to the +Confederacy by her commander. She arrived at Nassau on the 28th of +April, and was detained until the session of the Admiralty Court in +August. As soon as discharged by the proceedings therein, she sailed +for the uninhabited island "Green Kay," ninety miles to the southward of +Providence Island, with a tender in tow having equipments provided by +a Confederate merchant, where she anchored the next day, and +proceeded to take on board her military armament sent out on the +tender. She now became a ship of the Confederate Navy, and was +christened Florida. Her long detention in Nassau had caused the ship +to be infected with yellow fever, and, as she had no surgeon on +board, the vessel was directed to the Island of Cuba, and ran into +the harbor of Cardenas for aid. The crew was reduced to one fireman +and two seamen, and eventually the Captain was prostrated by the +fever. The Governor of Cardenas, under his view of the neutrality +proclaimed by his Government, refused to send a physician aboard, and +warned the steamer that she must leave in twenty-four hours. +Lieutenant Stribling, executive officer of the ship, had been sent to +Havana to report her condition to the Captain-General, Marshal +Serrano. That chivalrous gentleman, soldier, and statesman, at once +invited the ship to the hospitalities of the harbor of Havana, +whither she repaired and received the kindness which her forlorn +situation required. + +On the 1st of September, 1862, the vessel left Havana to obtain a +crew; and, to complete her equipment, which was so imperfect that her +guns could not all be used, the vessel was directed to the harbor of +Mobile. On approaching that harbor she found several blockading +vessels on the station, and boldly ran through them, escaping, with +considerable injury to her masts and rigging, to the friendly shelter +of Fort Morgan, where, while in quarantine, Lieutenant Stribling was +attacked with fever and died. He was an officer of great merit, and +his loss was much regretted, not only by his many personal friends, +but by all who foresaw the useful service he could render to his +country if his life were prolonged. Under the disadvantages of being +an infected ship and remote from the workshops, repairs were +commenced, and the equipment of the ship completed. + +In the mean time the blockading squadron had been increased, with the +boastful announcement that the cruiser should be "hermetically +sealed" in the harbor of Mobile. Some impatience was manifested after +the vessel was ready for sea that she did not immediately go out, but +Captain Maffitt, with sound judgment and nautical skill, decided to +wait for a winter storm and a dark night before attempting to pass +through the close investment. When the opportunity offered, he +steamed out into a rough sea and a fierce north wind. As he passed +the blockading squadron he was for the first time discovered, when a +number of vessels gave chase, and continued the pursuit throughout +the night and the next day. In the next evening all except the two +fastest had hauled off, and, as night again closed in, the smoke and +canvas of the Florida furnished their only guide. Captain Maffitt +thus describes the ruse by which he finally escaped: "The canvas was +secured in long, neat bunts to the yards, and the engines were +stopped. Between high, toppling seas, clear daylight was necessary to +enable them to distinguish our low hull. In eager pursuit the +Federals swiftly passed us, and we jubilantly bade the enemy good +night, and steered to the northward." She was now fairly on the +high-seas, and after long and vexatious delays entered on her mission +to cruise against the enemy's commerce. She commenced her captures in +the Gulf of Mexico, then progressed through the Gulf of Florida to +the latitude of New York, and thence to the equator, continuing to 12 +deg. south, and returned again within thirty miles of New York. When +near Cape St. Roque, Captain Maffitt captured a Baltimore brig, the +Clarence, and fitted her out as a tender. He placed on her Lieutenant +C. W. Read, commander, fourteen men, armed with muskets, pistols, and +a twelve-pound howitzer. The instructions were to proceed to the +coast of America, to cruise against the enemy's commerce. Under these +orders he destroyed many Federal vessels. Of him Captain Maffitt +wrote: "Daring, even beyond the point of martial prudence, he entered +the harbor of Portland at midnight, and captured the revenue cutter +Caleb Cushing; but, instead of instantly burning her, ran her out of +the harbor; being thus delayed, he was soon captured by a Federal +expedition sent out against him." While under the command of Captain +Maffitt, the Florida, with her tenders, captured some fifty-five +vessels, many of which were of great value. The Florida being built +of light timbers, her very active cruising had so deranged her +machinery, that it was necessary to go into some friendly harbor for +repairs. Captain Maffitt says: "I selected Brest, and, the Government +courteously consenting to the Florida having the facilities of the +navy-yard, she was promptly docked." The effects of the yellow fever +from which he had suffered and the fatigue attending his subsequent +service had so exhausted his strength that he asked to be relieved +from command of the ship. In compliance with this request, Captain C. +M. Morris was ordered to relieve him. + +After completing all needful repairs, Captain Morris proceeded to sea +and sighted the coast of Virginia, where he made a number of +important captures. Turning from that locality he crossed the +equator, destroying the commerce of the Northern States on his route +to Bahia. Here he obtained coal, and also had some repairs done to +the engines, when the United States steamship Wachusett entered the +harbor. Not knowing what act of treachery might be attempted by her +commander on the first night after his arrival, the Florida was kept +in a watchful condition for battle. + +This belligerent demonstration in the peaceful harbor of a neutral +power alarmed both the governor and the admiral, who demanded +assurances that the sovereignty of Brazil and its neutrality should +be strictly observed by both parties. The pledge was given. In the +evening, with a chivalric belief in the honor of the United States +commander, Captain Morris unfortunately permitted a majority of his +officers to accompany him to the opera, and also allowed two thirds +of the crew to visit the shore on leave. About one o'clock in the +morning the Wachusett was surreptitiously got under way, and her +commander, with utter abnegation of his word of honor, ran into the +Florida, discharging his battery and boarding her. The few officers +on board and small number of men were unable to resist this +unexpected attack, and the Florida fell an easy prey to this covert +and dishonorable assault. She was towed to sea amid the execrations +of the Brazilian forces, army and navy, who, completely taken by +surprise, fired a few ineffectual shots at the infringer upon the +neutrality of the hospitable port of Bahia. The Confederate was taken +to Hampton Roads. + +Brazil instantly demanded her restoration intact to her late +anchorage in Bahia. Mr. Lincoln was confronted by a protest from the +different representatives of the courts of Europe, denouncing this +extraordinary breach of national neutrality, which placed the +Government of the United States in a most unenviable position. Mr. +Seward, with his usual diplomatic insincerity and Machiavellianism, +characteristically prevaricated, while he plotted with a +distinguished admiral as to the most adroit method of disposing of +the "elephant." The result of these plottings was that an engineer +was placed in charge of the stolen steamer, with positive orders to +"open her sea-cock at midnight, and not to leave the engine-room +until the water was up to his chin, as at sunrise _the Florida must +be at the bottom_." The following note was sent to the Brazilian +_chargé d'affaires_ by Mr. Seward: + + "While awaiting the representations of the Brazilian Government, on + the 28th of November she [the Florida] sank, owing to a leak, which + could not be seasonably stopped. The leak was at first represented to + have been caused, or at least increased, by collision with a + war-transport. Orders were immediately given to ascertain the manner + and circumstances of the occurrence. It seemed to affect the army and + navy. A naval court of inquiry and also a military court of inquiry + were charged with the investigation. The naval court has submitted + its report, and a copy thereof is herewith communicated. The military + court is yet engaged. So soon as its labors shall have ended, the + result will be made known to your Government. In the mean time it is + assumed that the loss of the Florida was in consequence of some + unforeseen accident, which casts no responsibility on the Government + of the United States." + +The restitution of the ship having thus become impossible, the +President expressed his regret that "the sovereignty of Brazil had +been violated; dismissed the consul at Bahia, who had advised the +offense; and sent the commander of the Wachusett before a +court-martial." [58] + +The commander of the Wachusett experienced no annoyance, and was soon +made an admiral. + +The Georgia was the next Confederate cruiser that Captain Bullock +succeeded in sending forth. She was of five hundred and sixty tons, +and fitted out on the coast of France. Her commander, W. L. Maury, +Confederate States Navy, cruised in the North and South Atlantic with +partial success. The capacity of the vessel in speed and other +essentials was entirely inadequate to the service for which she was +designed. She proceeded as far as the Cape of Good Hope, and +returned, after having captured seven ships and two barks. Then she +was laid up and sold. + +The Shenandoah, once the Sea King, was purchased by Captain Bullock, +and placed under the command of Lieutenant-commanding J. J. Waddell, +who fitted her for service under many difficulties at the barren +island of Porto Santo, near Madeira. After experiencing great +annoyances, through the activity of the American consul at Melbourne, +Australia, Captain Waddell finally departed, and commenced an active +and effective cruise against American shipping in the Okhotak Sea and +Arctic Ocean. In August, 1865, hearing of the close of the war, he +ceased his pursuit of United States commerce, sailed for Liverpool, +England, and surrendered his ship to the English Government, which +transferred it to the Government of the United States. The Shenandoah +was a full-rigged ship of eight hundred tons, very fast under +canvass. Her steam-power was merely auxiliary. + +This was the last but not the first appearance of the Confederate +flag in Great Britain; the first vessel of the Confederate Government +which unfurled it there was the swift, light steamer Nashville, E. B. +Pegram, commander. Having been constructed as a passenger-vessel, and +mainly with reference to speed and the light draught suited to the +navigation of the Southern harbors, she was quite too frail for war +purposes and too slightly armed for combat. + +On her passage to Europe and back, she, nevertheless, destroyed two +merchantmen. Nearing the harbor on her return voyage, she found it +blockaded, and a heavy vessel lying close on her track. Her daring +commander headed directly for the vessel, and ran so close under her +guns that she was not suspected in her approach, and had passed so +far before the guns could be depressed to bear upon her that none of +the shots took effect. Being little more than a shell, a single shot +would have sunk her; and she was indebted to the address of her +commander and the speed of his vessel for her escape. Wholly unsuited +for naval warfare, this voyage terminated her career. + +A different class of vessels than those adapted to the open sea was +employed for coastwise cruising. In the month of July, 1864, a swift +twin-screw propeller called the Atlanta, of six hundred tons burden, +was purchased by the Secretary of the Navy, and fitted out in the +harbor of Wilmington, North Carolina, for a cruise against the +commerce of the Northern States. Commander J. Taylor Wood, an officer +of extraordinary ability and enterprise, was ordered to command her, +and her name was changed to "The Tallahassee." This extemporaneous +man-of-war ran safely through the blockade, and soon lit up the New +England coast with her captures, which consisted of two ships, four +brigs, four barks, and twenty schooners. Great was the consternation +among Northern merchants. The construction of the Tallahassee +exclusively for steam made her dependent on coal; her cruise was of +course brief, but brilliant while it lasted. + +About the same time another fast double-screw propeller of five +hundred and eighty-five tons, called the Edith, ran into Wilmington, +North Carolina, and the Navy Department requiring her services, +bought her and gave to her the name of "Chickamauga." A suitable +battery was placed on board, with officers and crew, and Commander +John Wilkinson, a gentleman of consummate naval ability, was ordered +to command her. When ready for sea, he ran the blockade under the +bright rays of a full moon. Strange to say, the usually alert +sentinels neither hailed nor halted her. Like the Tallahassee, though +partially rigged for sailing, she was exclusively dependent upon +steam in the chase, escape, and in all important evolutions. She +captured seven vessels, despite the above-noticed defects. + + +[Footnote 58: M. Bernard's "Neutrality of Great Britain during the American +Civil War."] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + + Naval Affairs (concluded).--Excitement in the Northern States on the + Appearance of our Cruisers.--Failure of the Enemy to protect their + Commerce.--Appeal to Europe not to help the So-called "Pirates."-- + Seeks Iron-plated Vessels in England.--Statement of Lord Russell.-- + What is the Duty of Neutrals?--Position taken by President + Washington.--Letter of Mr. Jefferson.--Contracts sought by United + States Government.--Our Cruisers went to Sea unarmed.--Mr. Adams + asserts that British Neutrality was violated.--Reply of Lord + Russell.--Rejoinder of Mr. Seward.--Duty of Neutrals relative to + Warlike Stores.--Views of Wheaton; of Kent.--Charge of the Lord + Chief Baron in the Alexandra Case.--Action of the Confederate + Government sustained.--Antecedents of the United States + Government.--The Colonial Commissions.--Build and equip Ships in + Europe.--Captain Conyngham's Captures.--Made Prisoner.-- + Retaliation.--Numbers of Captures.--Recognition of Greece.-- + Recognition of South American Cruisers.--Chief Act of Hostility + charged on Great Britain by the United States Government.--The + Queen's Proclamation: its Effect.--Cause of the United States + Charges.--Never called us Belligerents.--Why not?--Adopts a + Fiction. The Reason.--Why denounce our Cruisers as "Pirates"?-- + Opinion of Justice Greer.--Burning of Prizes.--Laws of Maritime + War.--Cause of the Geneva Conference.--Statement of American + Claims.--Allowance.--Indirect Damages of our Cruisers.--Ships + transferred to British Registers.--Decline of American Tonnage.-- + Decline of Export of Breadstuffs.--Advance of Insurance. + + +The excitement produced in the Northern States by the effective +operations of our cruisers upon their commerce was such as to receive +the attention of the United States Government. Reasonably, it might +have been expected that they would send their ships of war out on the +high-seas to protect their commerce by capturing or driving off our +light cruisers, but, instead of this, their fleets were employed in +blockading the Confederate ports, or watching those in the West +Indies, from which blockade-runners were expected to sail, and, by +capturing which, either on the high-seas or at the entrance of a +Confederate port, a harvest of prizes might be secured. For this +dereliction of duty, in the failure to protect commerce, no better +reason offers itself than greed and malignity. There was, however, in +this connection, a more humiliating feature in the conduct of the +United States Government. + +While, from its State Department, the Confederacy was denounced as an +insurrection soon to be suppressed, and the cruisers, regularly +commissioned by the Confederate States, were called "pirates," +diplomatic demands were made upon Great Britain to prevent the +so-called "pirates" from violating international law, as if it +applied to pirates. Appeals to that Government were also made to +prevent the sale of the materials of war to the Confederacy, and thus +indirectly to aid the United States in performing what, according to +the representation, was a police duty, to suppress a combination of +some evil-disposed persons--gallantly claiming that they, armed +_cap-a-pie_, should meet their adversary in the list, he to be +without helmet, shield, or lance. + +To one who from youth to age had seen, with exultant pride, the flag +of his country as it unfolded, disclosing to view the stripes +recordant of the original size of the family of States, and the +Constellation, which told of that family's growth, it could but be +deeply mortifying to witness such paltry exhibition of deception and +unmanliness in the representatives of a Government around which fond +memories still linger, despite the perversion of which it was the +subject. + +If this attempt, on the part of the United States, to deny the +existence of war after having, by proclamation of blockade, compelled +all nations to take notice that war did exist, and to claim that +munitions should not be sold to a country because there were some +disorderly people in it, had been all, the attempt would have been +ludicrously absurd, and the contradiction too bald to require +refutation; but this would have been but half of the story. +Subsequently the United States Government claimed reclamation from +Great Britain for damage inflicted by vessels which had been built in +her ports, and which had elsewhere been armed and equipped for +purposes of war. International law recognizes the right of a neutral +to sell an unarmed vessel, without reference to the use to which the +purchaser might subsequently apply it. The United States Government +had certainly not practiced under a different rule, but had gone even +further than this--so much further as to transgress the prohibition +against armed vessels. + +It has already been stated that the Government of the United States, +at the commencement of the war, sought to contract for the +construction of iron-plated vessels in the ports of England, which +were to be delivered fully armed and equipped to her. To this it may +be added that her armies were recruited from almost all the countries +of Europe, down almost to the last month of the war; a portion of +their arms were of foreign manufacture, as well as the munitions of +war; a large number of the sailors of her fleets came from the +seaports of Great Britain and Germany; in a word, whatever could be +of service to her in the conflict was unhesitatingly sought among +neutrals, regardless of the law of nations. At the same time an +effort was made on her part to make Great Britain responsible for the +damage done by our cruisers, and for the warlike stores sold to our +Government. + +Some statements of Lord Russell on this point, in a letter to +Minister Adams, dated December 19, 1862, deserve notice. He says: + + "It is right, however, to observe that the party which has profited + by far the most by these unjustifiable practices, has been the + Government of the United States, because that Government, having a + superiority of force by sea, and having blockaded most of the + Confederate ports, has been able, on the one hand, safely to receive + all the warlike supplies which it has induced British manufacturers + and merchants to send to the United States ports in violation of the + Queen's proclamation; and, on the other hand, to intercept and + capture a great part of the supplies of the same kind which were + destined from this country to the Confederate States. + + "If it be sought to make her Majesty's Government responsible to that + of the United States because arms and munitions of war have left this + country on account of the Confederate Government, the Confederate + Government, as the other belligerent, may very well maintain that it + has a just cause of complaint against the British Government because + the United States arsenals have been replenished from British + sources. Nor would it be possible to deny that, in defiance of the + Queen's proclamation, many subjects of her Majesty, owing allegiance + to her crown, have enlisted in the armies of the United States. Of + this fact you can not be ignorant. Her Majesty's Government, + therefore, has just ground for complaint against both of the + belligerent parties, but most especially against the Government of + the United States, for having systemically, and in disregard of the + comity of nations which it was their duty to observe, induced + subjects of her Majesty to violate those orders which, in conformity + with her neutral position, she has enjoined all her subjects to obey." + +Perhaps it may be well to inquire what is, under international law, +the duty of neutral nations with regard to the construction and +equipment of cruisers for either belligerent, and the supply of +warlike stores. Thus the groundlessness of the claims put forth by +the Government of the United States for damages to be paid by Great +Britain will be more manifest, and the lawfulness of the acts of the +Confederate Government demonstrated. + +After the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, the Government +of France, owing to the temporary inferiority of her naval force, +openly and deliberately equipped privateers in our ports. These +privateers captured British vessels in United States waters, and +brought them as prizes into United States ports. These facts formed +the basis of demands made upon the United States by the British +plenipotentiary. The demands had reference, not to the accidental +evasion of a municipal law of the United States by a particular ship, +but to a systematic disregard of international law upon some of the +most important points of neutral obligation. + +To these demands Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of State under +President Washington, thus replied on September 3, 1793: + + "We are bound by our treaties with three of the belligerent nations, + by all the means in our power, to protect and defend their vessels + and effects in our ports or waters, or on the seas near our shores, + and to recover and restore the same to the right owners when taken + from them. If all the means in our power are used, and fail in this + effort, we are not bound by our treaties with those nations to make + compensation. Though we have no similar treaty with Great Britain, it + was the opinion of the President that we should use toward that + nation the same rule which, under this Article, was to govern us with + other nations, and even to extend it to the captures made on the + high-seas and brought into our ports, if done by vessels which had + been armed within them." + +It will be observed that the justice of restitution, or compensation, +for captures made on the high-seas and brought into our ports, is +only admitted by President Washington upon one condition, which is +expressed in these words: "If done by vessels which had been armed +within them." The terms of the contract, which the Government of the +United States endeavored to make at the ship-yards of England, were +for the delivery of the ship or ships of war, "to be finished +complete, with guns and everything appertaining." The contract was +not taken, as too little time was allowed for its execution. But, if +entered into and executed, it would have been a direct violation of +international law. + +In the instance of our cruisers built in the ports of England, it +will be observed that they went to sea without arms or warlike +stores, and, at other ports than those of Great Britain, they were +converted into ships of war and put into commission by the authority +of the Confederate Government. The Government of the United States +asserted that they were built in the ports of Great Britain, and +thereby her duty of neutrality was violated, and the Government made +responsible for the damages sustained by private citizens of the +United States in consequence of her captures on the seas. To this +declaration of Mr. Adams, Earl Russell (he had been made an earl) +replied on September 14, 1863, thus: + + "When the United States Government assumes to hold the Government of + Great Britain responsible for the captures made by vessels which may + be fitted out as vessels of war in a foreign port, because such + vessels were originally built in a British port, I have to observe + that such pretensions are entirely at variance with the principles of + international law, and with the decisions of American courts of the + highest authority; and I have only, in conclusion, to express my hope + that you may not be instructed again to put forward claims which her + Majesty's Government can not admit to be founded on any grounds of + law or justice." + +On October 6, 1863, Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State of the United +States Government, replied to this declaration of Earl Russell, +saying: + + "The United States do insist, and must continue to insist, that the + British Government is justly responsible for the damages which the + peaceful, law-abiding citizens of the United States [!] sustain by + the depredations of the Alabama." + +Earl Russell answered on October 26, 1863, thus: + + "I must request you to believe that the principle contended for by + her Majesty's Government is not that of commissioning, equipping, and + manning vessels in our ports to cruise against either of the + belligerent parties--a principle which was so justly and + unequivocally condemned by the President of the United States in + 1793. . . . But the British Government must decline to be responsible + for the acts of parties who fit out a seeming merchant-ship, send her + to a port or to waters far from the jurisdiction of British courts, + and there commission, equip, and man her as a vessel of war." + +The duty of neutral nations relative to the supply of warlike stores +is expressed in these words: + + "It is not the practice of nations to undertake to prohibit their own + subjects by previous laws from trafficking in articles contraband of + war. Such trade is carried on at the risk of those engaged in it, + under the liabilities and penalties prescribed by the law of nations + or particular treaties." [59] + +We now quote from the great American commentator on the Constitution +of the United States and on the law of nations: + + "It is a general understanding that the powers at war may seize and + confiscate all contraband goods, without any complaint on the part of + the neutral merchant, and without any imputation of a breach of + neutrality in the neutral sovereign himself. It was contended on the + part of the French nation, in 1796, that neutral governments were + bound to restrain their subjects from selling or exporting articles + contraband of war to the belligerent powers. But it was successfully + shown, on the part of the United States, that neutrals may lawfully + sell at home to a belligerent power, or carry themselves to the + belligerent powers, contraband articles, subject to the right of + seizure _in transitu_. This right has been explicitly declared by the + judicial authorities of this country [United States]. The right of + the neutral to transport, and of the hostile power to seize, are + conflicting rights, and neither party can charge the other with a + criminal act." [60] + +In accordance with these principles, President Pierce's message of +December 31, 1855, contains the following passage: + + "In pursuance of this policy, the laws of the United States do not + forbid their citizens to sell to either of the belligerent powers + articles contraband of war, to take munitions of war or soldiers on + board their private ships for transportation; and, although in so + doing the individual citizen exposes his property or person to some + of the hazards of war, his acts do not involve any breach of + international neutrality, nor of themselves implicate the Government." + +Perhaps it may not be out of place here to notice the charge of the +Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer to the jury in the case of the +Alexandra, a vessel of one hundred and twenty tons, under +construction at Liverpool for our Government. The case came on for +trial on June 22, 1863, in the Court of Exchequer, sitting at _nisi +prius_, before the Lord Chief Baron and a special jury. After it had +been summed up, the Lord Chief Baron said: + + "This is an information on the part of the Crown for the seizure and + confiscation of a vessel that was in the course of preparation but + had not been completed. It is admitted that it was not armed, and the + question is, whether the preparation of the vessel in its then + condition was a violation of the Foreign Enlistment Act. The main + question you will have to decide is this: Whether, under the seventh + section of the act of Parliament, the vessel, as then prepared at the + time of seizure, was liable to seizure? The statute was passed in + 1819, and upon it no question has ever arisen in our courts of + justice; but there have been expositions of a similar statute which + exists in the United States. I will now read to you the opinions of + some American lawyers who have contributed so greatly to make law a + science. [His lordship then read a passage from Story and others.] + These gentlemen are authorities which show that, when two + belligerents are carrying on a war, a neutral power may supply, + without any breach of international law and without a breach of the + Foreign Enlistment Act, munitions of war--gunpowder, every + description of arms, in fact, that can be used for the destruction of + human beings. + + "Why should ships be an exception? I am of opinion, in point of law, + they are not. The Foreign Enlistment Act was an act to prevent the + enlistment or engagement of his Majesty's subjects to serve in + foreign armies, and to prevent the fitting out and equipping in his + Majesty's dominions vessels for warlike purposes without his + Majesty's license. The title of an act is not at all times an exact + indication or explanation of the act, because it is generally + attached after the act is passed. But, in adverting to the preamble + of the act, I find that provision is made against the equipping, + fitting out, furnishing, and arming of vessels, because it may be + prejudicial to the peace of his Majesty's dominions. + + "The question I shall put to you is, Whether you think that vessel + was merely in a course of building to be delivered in pursuance of a + contract that was perfectly lawful, or whether there was any + intention in the port of Liverpool, or any other English port, that + the vessel should be fitted out, equipped, furnished, and armed for + purposes of aggression. Now, surely, if Birmingham, or any other + town, may supply any quantity of munitions of war of various kinds + for the destruction of life, why object to ships? Why should ships + alone be in themselves contraband? I asked the Attorney-General if a + man could not make a vessel intending to sell it to either of the + belligerent powers that required it, and which would give the largest + price for it, would not that be lawful? To my surprise, the learned + Attorney-General declined to give an answer to the question, which I + think a grave and pertinent one. But you, gentlemen, I think, are + lawyers enough to know that a man may make a vessel and offer it for + sale. If a man may build a vessel for the purpose of offering it for + sale to either belligerent party, may he not execute an order for it? + That appears to be a matter of course. The statute is not made to + provide means of protection for belligerent powers, otherwise it + would have said, 'You shall not sell powder or guns, and you shall + not sell arms'; and, if it had done so, all Birmingham would have + been in arms against it. The object of the statute was this: that we + should not have our ports in this country made the ground of hostile + movements between the vessels of two belligerent powers, which might + be fitted out, furnished, and armed in these ports. The Alexandra was + clearly nothing more than in the course of building. + + "It appears to me that, if true that the Alabama sailed from + Liverpool without any arms at all, as a mere ship in ballast, and + that her armament was put on board at Terceira, which is not in her + Majesty's dominions, then the Foreign Enlistment Act was not violated + at all." + +After reading some of the evidence, his lordship said: + + "If you think that the object was to furnish, fit out, equip, and arm + that vessel at Liverpool, that is a different matter; but if you + think the object really was to build a ship in obedience to an order, + in compliance with a contract, leaving those who bought it to make + what use they thought fit of it, then it appears to me that the + Foreign Enlistment Act has not been broken." + +The jury immediately returned a verdict for the defendants. An appeal +was made, but the full bench decided that there was no jurisdiction. +Against this decision an appeal was taken to the House of Lords, and +there dismissed on some technical ground. + +Sufficient has been said to show that the action of the Confederate +Government relative to these cruisers is sustained and justified by +international law. The complaints made by the Government of the +United States against the Government of Great Britain for acts +involving a breach of neutrality find no support in the letter of the +law or in its principles, and were conclusively answered by the +interpretations of _American jurists_. At the same time they are +condemned by the antecedent acts of the United States Government. +Some of these will be presented. + +In the War of the American Revolution, Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane +were sent to France as commissioners to look after the interests of +the colonies. In the years 1776 and 1777 they became extensively +connected with naval movements. They built, and purchased, and +equipped, and commissioned ships, all in neutral territory; even +filling up blank commissions sent out to them by the Congress for the +purpose. Among expeditions fitted out by them was one under Captain +Wickes to intercept a convoy of linen-ships from Ireland. He went +first into the Bay of Biscay, and afterward entirely around Ireland, +sweeping the sea before him of everything that was not of force to +render the attack hopeless. Mr. Deane observes to Robert Morris that +it "effectually alarmed England, prevented the great fair at Chester, +occasioned insurance to rise, and even deterred the English merchants +from shipping in English bottoms at any rate, so that, in a few +weeks, forty sail of French ships were loading in the Thames, on +freight, an instance never before known." + +In the spring of 1777 the Commissioners sent an agent to Dover, who +purchased a fine, fast-sailing English-built cutter, which was taken +across to Dunkirk. There she was privately equipped as a cruiser, and +put in command of Captain Gustavus Conyngham, who was appointed by +filling up a blank commission from John Hancock, the President of +Congress. This commission bore date March 1, 1777, and fully entitled +Mr. Conyngham to the rank of captain in the navy. His vessel, +although built in England, like many of our cruisers, was not armed +or equipped there, nor was his crew enlisted there, but in the port +of a neutral. This vessel was finally seized under some treaty +obligations between France and England. The Commissioners immediately +fitted out another cruiser, and still another. It was also affirmed +that the money advanced to Mr. John Adams for traveling expenses, +when he arrived in Spain a year or two later, was derived from the +prizes of these vessels, which had been sent into the ports of Spain. + +Captain Conyngham was a very successful commander, but he was made a +prisoner in 1779. The matter was brought before Congress in July of +the same year, and a committee reported that this "late commander of +an armed vessel in the service of the States, and taken on board of a +private armed cutter, had been treated in a manner contrary to the +dictates of humanity, and the practice of Christian civilized +nations." Whereupon it was resolved to demand of the British Admiral +in New York that good and sufficient reason be given for this +conduct, or that he be immediately released from his rigorous and +ignominious confinement. If a satisfactory answer was not received by +August 1st, so many persons as were deemed proper were ordered to be +confined in safe and close custody, to abide the fate of the said +Gustavus Conyngham. No answer having been received, one Christopher +Hale was thus confined. In December he petitioned Congress for an +exchange, and that he might procure a person in his room. Congress +replied that his petition could not be granted until Captain +Conyngham was released, "as it had been determined that he must abide +the fate of that officer." Conyngham was subsequently released. + +The whole number of captures made by the United States in this +contest is not known, but six hundred and fifty prizes are said to +have been brought into port. Many others were ransomed, and some were +burned at sea. + +Prescribed limits will not permit me to follow out in detail the past +history of the United States as a neutral power. It must suffice to +recall the memory of readers to a few significant facts in our more +recent history: + +The recognition of the independence of Greece in her struggle with +Turkey, and the voluntary contributions of money and men sent to her; +the recognition of the independence of the Spanish provinces of South +America, and the war-vessels equipped and sent from the ports of the +United States to Brazil during the struggle with Spain for +independence; the ships sold to Russia during her war with England, +France, and Turkey; the arms and munitions of war manufactured at New +Haven, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island, sold and shipped to +Turkey to aid her in her late struggle with Russia. + +The reader will observe the promptitude with which the Government of +the United States not only accorded belligerent rights, but, even +more, recognized the independence of nations struggling for +deliverance from oppressive rulers. The instances of Greece and the +South American republics are well known, and that of Texas must be +familiar to every one. One could scarcely believe, therefore, that +the chief act of hostility, or, rather, the great crime of the +Government of Great Britain in the eyes of the Government of the +United States, was the recognition by the latter of the Confederate +States as a belligerent power, and that a state of war existed +between them and the United States. This was the constantly repeated +charge against the British Government in the dispatches of the United +States Government from the commencement of the war down nearly to the +session of the Geneva Conference in 1872. In the correspondence of +the Secretary, in 1867, he says: + + "What is alleged on the part of the United States is, that the + Queen's proclamation, which, by conceding belligerent rights to the + insurgents, lifted them up for the purpose of insurrection to an + equality with the nation which they were attempting to overthrow, was + premature because it was unnecessary, and that it was, in its + operation, unfriendly because it was premature." + +Again he says, and, if sincerely, shows himself to be utterly +ignorant of the real condition of our affairs: + + "Before the Queen's proclamation of neutrality, the disturbance in + the United States was merely a local insurrection. It wanted the name + of war to enable it to be a civil war and to live, endowed as such, + with maritime and other belligerent rights. Without the authorized + name, it might die, and was expected not to live and be a flagrant + civil war, but to perish a mere insurrection." + +The first extract in itself contains a fiction. If the Queen's +proclamation possessed such force as to raise the Confederate States +to an equality with the United States as a belligerent, perhaps +another proclamation of the Queen might have possessed such force, if +it had been issued, as to have lifted the Confederate States from the +state of equality to one of independence. This is a novel virtue to +be ascribed to a Queen's proclamation. This idea must have been +borrowed from our neighbors of Mexico, where a _pronunciamiento_ +dissolves one and establishes a rival administration. How much more +rational it would have been, to say that the resources and the +military power of the Confederate States placed them, at the outset, +on the footing of a belligerent, and the Queen's proclamation only +declared a fact which the announcement of a blockade of the Southern +ports by the Government of the United States had made manifest!-- +blockade being a means only applicable as against a foreign foe. + +Nevertheless, the Government of the United States, although refusing +to concede belligerent rights to the Confederate States, was very +ready to take advantage of such concession by other nations, whenever +an opportunity offered. The voluminous correspondence of the +Secretary of State of the United States Government, relative to the +Confederate cruisers and their so-called "depredations," was filled +with charges of violations of international law, which could be +committed only by a belligerent, and which, it was alleged, had been +allowed to be done in the ports of Great Britain. On this foundation +was based the subsequent claim for damages, advanced by the +Government of the United States against that of Great Britain; and, +for the pretended lack of "due diligence" in watching the actions of +this Confederate belligerent in her ports, she was mulcted in a heavy +sum by the Geneva Conference, and paid it to the Government of the +United States. + +It is a remarkable fact that the Government of the United States, in +no one instance, from the opening to the close of the war, formally +spoke of the Confederate Government or States as belligerents. +Although on many occasions it acted with the latter as a belligerent, +yet no official designations were ever given to them or their +citizens but those of "insurgents," or "insurrectionists." Perhaps +there may be something in the signification of the words which, +combined with existing circumstances, would express a state of +affairs that the authorities of the Government of the United States +were in no degree willing to admit, and vainly sought to prevent from +becoming manifest to the world. + +The party or individuality against which the Government of the United +States was conducting hostilities consisted of the people within the +limits of the Confederate States. Was it against them as individuals +in an unorganized condition, or as organized political communities? +In the former condition they might be a mob; in the latter condition +they formed a State. By the actions of unorganized masses may arise +insurrections, and by the actions of organized people or states, +arise wars. + +The Government of the United States adopted a fiction when it +declared that the execution of the laws in certain States was impeded +by "insurrection." The persons whom it designated as insurrectionists +were the organized people of the States. The ballot-boxes used at the +elections were State boxes. The judges who presided at the elections +were State functionaries. The returns of the elections were made to +the State officers. The oaths of office of those elected were +administered by State authority. They assembled in the legislative +chambers of the States. The results of their deliberations were +directory to the State, judicial, and executive officers, and by them +put in operation. Is it not evident that, only by a fiction of +speech, such proceedings can be called an insurrection? + +Why, then, did an intelligent and powerful Government, like that of +the United States, so outrage the understanding of mankind as to +adopt a fiction on which to base the authority and justification of +its hostile action? The United States Government is the result of a +compact between the States--a written Constitution. It owes its +existence simply to a delegation of certain powers by the respective +States, which it is authorized to exercise for their common welfare. +One of these powers is to "suppress insurrections"; but there is no +power delegated to subjugate States, the authors of its existence, or +to make war on any of the States. If, then, without any delegated +power or lawful authority for its proceedings, the Government of the +United States commenced a war upon some of the States of the Union, +how could it expect to be justified before the world? It became the +aggressor--the Attila of the American Continent. Its action +inflicted a wound on the principles of constitutional liberty, a +crashing blow to the hopes that men had begun to repose in this +latest effort for self-government, which its friends should never +forgive nor ever forget. To palliate the enormity of such an offense, +its authors resorted to a vehement denial that their hostile action +was a war upon the States, and persistently asserted the fiction that +their immense armies and fleets were merely a police authority to put +down insurrection. They hoped to conceal from the observation of the +American people that the contest, on the part of the central +Government, was for empire, for its absolute supremacy over the State +governments; that the Constitution was roiled up and laid away among +the old archives; and that the conditions of their liberty, in the +future, were to be decided by the sword or by "national" control of +the ballot-box. + +With like disregard for truth, our cruisers were denounced as +"_pirates_" by the Government of the United States. A pirate, or +armed piratical vessel, is by the law of nations the enemy of +mankind, and can be destroyed by the ships of any nation. The +distinction between a lawful cruiser and a pirate is that the former +has behind it a government which is recognized by civilized nations +as entitled to the rights of war, and from which the commander of the +cruiser receives his commission or authority, but the pirate +recognizes no government, and is not recognized by any one. As the +Attorney-General of Great Britain said in the Alexandra case: + + "Although a recognition of the Confederates as an independent power + was out of the question, yet it was right they should be admitted by + other nations within the circle of lawful belligerents--that is to + say, that their forces should not be treated as pirates, nor their + flag as a piratical flag. Therefore, as far as the two belligerents + were concerned, on the part of this and other governments, they were + so far put on a level that each was to be considered as entitled to + the right of belligerents--the Southern States as much as the other." + +The Government of the United States well knew that, after the issue +of the Queen's proclamation recognizing our Government, the +application of the word pirate to our cruisers was simply an +exhibition of vindictive passion on its part. A _de facto_ Government +by its commission legalizes among nations a cruiser. That there was +such a Government even its own courts also decided. In a prize case +(2 Black, 635), Justice Greer delivered the opinion of the Supreme +Court, saying: + + "It [the war] is not less a civil war, with belligerent parties in + hostile array, because it may be called an 'insurrection' by one + side, and the insurgents be considered as rebels and traitors. It is + not necessary that the independence of the revolted province or State + be acknowledged in order to constitute it a party belligerent in a + war, according to the laws of nations. Foreign nations acknowledge it + a war by a declaration of neutrality. The condition of neutrality can + not exist unless there be two belligerent parties." + +In the case of the Santissima Trinidad (7 Wheaton, 337), the United +States Supreme Court says: + + "The Government of the United States has recognized the existence of + a civil war between Spain and her colonies, and has avowed her + determination to remain neutral between the parties. Each party is + therefore deemed by us a belligerent, having, so far as concerns us, + the sovereign rights of war." + +The belligerent character of the Confederate States was thus fully +acknowledged by the highest judicial tribunal of the United States. +This involved an acknowledgment of the Confederate Government as a +Government _de facto_ having "the sovereign rights of war," yet the +Executive Department of the United States Government, with reckless +malignity, denounced our cruisers as "pirates," our citizens as +"insurgents" and "traitors," and the action of our Government as an +"insurrection." + +It has been stated that during the war of the colonies with Great +Britain many of the prizes of the colonial cruisers were destroyed. +This was done by Paul Jones and other commanders, although during the +entire period of the war some of the colonial ports were open, into +which prizes could be taken. In that war Great Britain did not +attempt to blockade all the ports of the colonies. Sailing-vessels +only were then known, and with these a stringent blockade at all +seasons could not have been maintained. But, at the later day of our +war, the powerful steamship had appeared, and revolutionized the +commerce and the navies of the world. During the first months of the +war all the principal ports of the Confederacy were blockaded, and +finally every inlet was either in possession of the enemy or had one +or more vessels watching it. The steamers were independent of wind +and weather, and could hold their positions before a port day and +night. At the same time the ports of neutrals had been closed against +the prizes of our cruisers by proclamations and orders in council. +Says Admiral Semmes: + + "During my whole career upon the sea, I had not so much as a single + port open to me, into which I could send a prize." + +Our prizes had been sent into ports of Cuba and Venezuela under the +hope that they might gain admittance, but they were either handed +over to the enemy under some fraudulent pretext, or expelled. Thus, +by the action of the different nations and by the blockade with +steamers, no course was left to us but to destroy the prizes, as was +done in many instances under the Government of the United States +Confederation. + +The laws of maritime war are well known. The enemy's vessel when +captured becomes the property of the captor, which he may immediately +destroy; or he may take the vessel into port, have it adjudicated by +an admiralty court as a lawful prize, and sold. That adjudication is +the basis of title to the purchaser against all former owners. In +these cases the captor sends his prizes to a port of his own country +or to a friendly port for adjudication. But, if the ports of his own +country are under blockade by his enemy, and the recapture of the +prizes, if sent there, most probable, and if, at the same time, all +friendly ports are closed against the entrance of his prizes, then +there remains no alternative but to destroy the prizes by sinking or +burning. Courts of admiralty are established for neutrals; not for +the enemy, who has no right of appearance before them. If, therefore, +any neutrals suffered during our war for want of adjudication, the +fault is with their own Government, and not with our cruisers. + +Many other objections were advanced by the United States Government +as evidence that we committed a breach of international law with our +cruisers, but their principles are embraced in the preceding remarks, +or they were too frivolous to deserve notice. Suffice it to say that, +if the Confederate Government had been successful in taking to sea +every vessel which it built, it would have swept from the oceans the +commerce of the United States, would have raised the blockade of at +least some of our ports, and, if by such aid our independence had +been secured, there is little probability that such complaints as +have been noticed would have received attention, if, indeed, they +would have been uttered. + +In January, 1871, the British Government proposed to the Government +of the United States that a joint commission should be convened to +adjust certain differences between the two nations relative to the +fisheries, the Canadian boundary, etc. To this proposition the latter +acceded, on condition that the so-called Alabama claims should also +be considered. To this condition Great Britain assented. In the +Convention the American Commissioners proposed an arbitration of +these claims. The British Commissioners replied that her Majesty's +Government could not admit that Great Britain had failed to discharge +toward the United States the duties imposed on her by the rules of +international law, or that she was justly liable to make good to the +United States the losses occasioned by the acts of the cruisers to +which the American Commissioners referred. + +Without following the details, it may be summarily stated that the +Geneva Conference ensued. That decided that "England should have +fulfilled her duties as a neutral by the exercise of a diligence +equal to the gravity of the danger," and that "the circumstances were +of a nature to call for the exercise, on the part of her Britannic +Majesty's Government, of all possible solicitude for the observance +of the rights and duties involved in the proclamation of neutrality +issued by her Majesty on May 18, 1861." The Conference also added: +"It can not be denied that there were moments when its watchfulness +seemed to fail, and when feebleness in certain branches of the public +service resulted in great detriment to the United States." + +The claims presented to the Conference for damages done by our +several cruisers were as follows: The Alabama, $7,050,293.76; the +Boston, $400; the Chickamauga, $183,070.73; the Florida, +$4,057,934.69; the Clarence, tender of the Florida, $66,736.10; the +Tacony, tender of the Florida, $169,198.81; the Georgia, $431,160.72; +the Jefferson Davis, $7,752; the Nashville, $108,433.95; the +Retribution, $29,018.53; the Sallie, $5,540; the Shenandoah, +$6,656,838.81; the Sumter, $179,697.67; the Tallahassee, $836,841.83. +Total, $19,782,917.60. Miscellaneous, $479,033; increased insurance, +$6,146,19.71. Aggregate, $26,408,170.31. + +The Conference rejected the claims against the Boston, the Jefferson +Davis, and the Sallie, and awarded to the United States Government +$15,500,000 in gold. + +But the indirect damages upon the commerce of the United States +produced by these cruisers were far beyond the amount of the claims +presented to the Geneva Conference. The number of ships owned in the +United States at the commencement of the war, which were subsequently +transferred to foreign owners by a British register, was 715, and the +amount of their tonnage was 480,882 tons. Such are the laws of the +United States that not one of them has been allowed to resume an +American register. + +In the year 1860 nearly seventy per cent. of the foreign commerce of +the country was carried on in American ships. But, in consequence of +the danger of capture by our cruisers to which these ships were +exposed, the amount of this commerce carried by them had dwindled +down in 1864 to forty-six per cent. It continued to decline after the +war, and in 1872 it had fallen to twenty-eight and a half per cent. + +Before the war the amount of American tonnage was second only to that +of Great Britain, and we were competing with her for the first place. +At that time the tonnage of the coasting trade, which had grown from +insignificance, was 1,735,863 tons. Three years later, in 1864, it +had declined to about 867,931 tons. + +The damage to the articles of export is illustrated by the decline in +breadstuffs exported from the Northern States. In the last four +months of each of the following years the value of this export was as +follows: 1861, $42,500,000; 1862, $27,842,090; 1863, $8,909,043; +1864, $1,850,819. Some of this decline resulted from good crops in +England; but, in other respects, it was a consequence of causes +growing out of the war. + +The increase in the rates of marine insurance, in consequence of the +danger of capture by the cruisers, was variable. But the gross amount +so paid was presented as a claim to the Conference, as given above. + + +[Footnote 59: Wheaton's "International Law" sixth edition, p. 571, 1855.] + +[Footnote 60: Ken's "Commentaries," vol i, p. 145, 1854.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + + Attempts of the United States Government to overthrow States.-- + Military Governor of Tennessee appointed.--Object.--Arrests and + Imprisonments.--Measures attempted.--Oath required of Voters.--A + Convention to amend the State Constitution.--Results.--Attempt in + Louisiana.--Martial Law.--Barbarities inflicted.--Invitation of + Plantations.--Order of General Butler, No. 28.--Execution of + Mumford.--Judicial System set up.--Civil Affairs to be administered + by Military Authority.--Order of President Lincoln for a Provisional + Court.--A Military Court sustained by the Army.--Words of the + Constitution.--"Necessity," the reason given for the Power to create + the Court.--This Doctrine fatal to the Constitution; involves its + Subversion.--Cause of our Withdrawal from the Union.--Fundamental + Principles unchanged by Force.--The Contest is not over; the Strife + not ended.--When the War closed, who were the Victors?--Let the + Verdict of Mankind decide. + + +On the capture of Nashville, on February 25, 1862, Andrew Johnson was +made military Governor of Tennessee, with the rank of brigadier-general, +and immediately entered on the duties of his office. This step was taken +by the President of the United States under the pretense of executing +that provision of the Constitution which is in these words: + + "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a + republican form of government." + +The administration was conducted according to the will and pleasure +of the Governor, which was the supreme law. Public officers were +required to take an oath of allegiance to the United States +Government, and upon refusal were expelled from office. +Newspaper-offices were closed, and their publication suppressed. +Subsequently the offices were sold out under the provisions of the +confiscation act. All persons using "treasonable and seditious" +language were arrested and required to take the oath of allegiance to +the Government of the United States, and give bonds for the future, +or to go into exile. Clergymen, upon their refusal to take the oath, +were confined in the prisons until they could be sent away. +School-teachers and editors and finally large numbers of private +citizens were arrested and held until they took the oath. Conflicts +became frequent in the adjacent country. Murders and the violent +destruction of property ensued. + +On October 21, 1862, an order for an election of members of the +United States Congress in the ninth and tenth State districts was +issued. Every voter was required to give satisfactory evidence of +"loyalty" to the Northern Government. Two persons were chosen and +admitted to seats in that body. + +That portion of the State in the possession of the forces of the +United States continued without change, under the authority of the +military Governor, until the beginning of 1864. Measures were then +commenced by the Governor for an organization of a State government +in sympathy with the Government of the United States. These measures +were subsequently known as the "process for State reconstruction." +The Governor issued his proclamation for an election of county +officers on March 5th, to be held in the various counties of the +State whenever it was practicable. "It is not expected," says the +Governor, "that the enemies of the United States will propose to +vote, nor is it intended that they be permitted to vote or hold +office." In addition to the possession of the usual qualifications, +the voter was required to take the following oath: + + "I solemnly swear that I will henceforth support the Constitution of + the United States, and defend it against the assaults of all its + enemies; that I will hereafter be, and conduct myself as, a true and + faithful citizen of the United States, freely and voluntarily + claiming to be subject to all the duties and obligations, and + entitled to all the rights and privileges, of such citizenship; that + I ardently desire the suppression of the present insurrection and + rebellion against the Government of the United States, the success of + its armies, and the defeat of all those who oppose them; and that the + Constitution of the United States, and all laws and proclamations + made in pursuance thereof, may be speedily and permanently + established and enforced over all the people, States, and Territories + thereof; and, further, that I will hereafter aid and assist all loyal + people in the accomplishment of these results." + +Thus to invoke the Constitution was like Satan quoting Scripture. The +election was a failure, and all further efforts at reconstruction +were for a time suspended. An attempt was made at the end of 1864 to +obtain a so-called convention to amend the State Constitution, and a +body was assembled which, without any regular authority, adopted +amendments. These were submitted to the voters on February 22, 1865, +and declared to be ratified by a vote of twenty-five thousand, in a +State where the vote, in 1860, was one hundred and forty-five +thousand. Slavery was abolished, other changes made, so-called State +officers elected, and this body of voters was proclaimed as the +reconstructed State of Tennessee, and one of the United States. Such +was the method adopted in Tennessee to execute the provision of the +Constitution which says: + + "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a + republican form of government." + +The next attempt to guarantee "a republican form of government" to a +State was commenced in Louisiana by the military occupation of New +Orleans, on May 1, 1862. The United States forces were under the +command of Major-General Benjamin F. Butler. Martial law was +declared, and Brigadier-General George F. Shepley was appointed +military Governor of the State. It is unnecessary to relate in detail +the hostile actions which were committed, as they had no resemblance +to such warfare as is alone permissible by the rules of international +law or the usages of civilization. Some examples taken from +contemporaneous publications of temperate tone, will suffice. + +Peaceful and aged citizens, unresisting captives, and noncombatants, +were confined at hard labor with chains attached to their limbs, and +held in dungeons and fortresses; others were subjected to a like +degrading punishment for selling medicine to the sick soldiers of the +Confederacy. The soldiers of the invading force were incited and +encouraged by general orders to insult and outrage the wives and +mothers and sisters of the citizens; and helpless women were torn +from their homes and subjected to solitary confinement, some in +fortresses and prisons-and one, especially, on an island of barren +sand, under a tropical sun--and were fed with loathsome rations and +exposed to vile insults. Prisoners of war, who surrendered to the +naval forces of the United States on the agreement that they should +be released on parole, were seized and kept in close confinement. +Repeated pretexts were sought or invented for plundering the +inhabitants of the captured city, by fines levied and collected under +threat of imprisonment at hard labor with ball and chain. The entire +population were forced to elect between starvation by the +confiscation of all their property and taking an oath against their +conscience to bear allegiance to the invader. Egress from the city +was refused to those whose fortitude stood the test, and even to lone +and aged women and to helpless children; and, after being ejected +from their houses and robbed of their property, they were left to +starve in the streets or subsist on charity. The slaves were driven +from the plantations in the neighborhood of New Orleans, until their +owners consented to share their crops with the commanding General, +his brother, and other officers. When such consent had been extorted, +the slaves were restored to the plantations and compelled to work +under the bayonets of a guard of United States soldiers. Where that +partnership was refused, armed expeditions were sent to the +plantations to rob them of everything that could be removed; and even +slaves too aged and infirm for work were, in spite of their +entreaties, forced from the homes provided by their owners, and +driven to wander helpless on the highway. By an order (No. 91), the +entire property in that part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi +River was sequestrated for confiscation, and officers were assigned +to the duty, with orders to gather up and collect the personal +property, and turn over to the proper officers, upon their receipts, +such of it as might be required for the use of the United States +army; and to bring the remainder to New Orleans, and cause it to be +sold at public auction to the highest bidders. This was an order +which, if it had been executed, would have condemned to punishment, +by starvation, at least a quarter of a million of persons, of all +ages, sexes, and conditions. The African slaves, also, were not only +incited to insurrection by every license and encouragement, but +numbers of them were armed for a servile war, which in its nature, as +exemplified in other lands, far exceeds the horrors and merciless +atrocities of savages. In many instances the officers were active and +zealous agents in the commission of these crimes, and no instance was +known of the refusal of any one of them to participate in the +outrages. + +The order of Major-General Butler, to which reference is made above, +was as follows: + + "HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, NEW ORLEANS. + + "As officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to + repeated insults from women, calling themselves ladies, of New + Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and + courtesy on our part, it is ordered hereafter, when any female shall, + by mere gesture or movement, insult, or show contempt for any + officers or soldiers of the United States, she shall be regarded and + held liable to be treated as a woman about town plying her vocation. + + "By command of Major-General BUTLER." + +This order was issued on May 15, 1862, and known as General Order No. +28. + +Another example was the cold-blooded execution of William B. Mumford +on June 7th. He was an unresisting and noncombatant captive, and +there was no offense ever alleged to have been committed by him +subsequent to the date of the capture of the city. He was charged +with aiding and abetting certain persons in hauling down a United +States flag hoisted on the mint, which was left there by a boat's +crew on the morning of April 26th, and five days before the military +occupation of the city. He was tried before a military commission, +sentenced, and afterward hanged. + +On December 15, 1862, Major-General N. P. Banks took command of the +military forces, and Major-General Butler retired. The military +Governor, early in August, had attempted to set on foot a judicial +system for the city and State. For this purpose he appointed judges +to two of the district courts, of which the judges were absent, and +authorized a third, who held a commission dated anterior to 1861, to +resume the sessions. This was an establishment of three new courts, +with the jurisdiction and powers pertaining to the courts that +previously bore their names, by a military officer representing the +Executive of the United States. These were the only courts within the +territory of the State held by the United States forces which claimed +to have civil jurisdiction. But this jurisdiction was limited to +citizens of the parish of Orleans as against defendants residing in +the State. As to other residents of the State, outside the parish of +Orleans, there was no court in which they could be sued. In this +condition several parishes were held by the United States forces. + +It was therefore necessary to take another step in order to enable +the military power to administer civil affairs. This involved, as +every reader must perceive, a complete subversion of the fundamental +principles of social organization. According to this advanced step, +the military power, instituted by an organization of its own, creates +for itself a new nature, fixes at will its rules and modes of action, +and determines the limits of its power. It absorbs by force the civil +functions, with absolute disregard of the fundamental principle that +the military shall be subject to the civil authority. + +This attempt to administer civil affairs on the basis of military +authority involved, as has been said, the subversion of fundamental +principles. The military power may remove obstacles to the exercise +of the civil authority; but, when these are removed, it can not enter +the forum, put on the toga, and sit in judgment upon civil affairs, +any more than the hawk becomes the dove by assuming her plumage. + +However, the next step was taken. It consisted in the publication of +the following order by the President of the United States: + + "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, _October 20, 1862._ + + "The insurrection which has for some time prevailed in several of the + States of this Union, including Louisiana, having temporarily + subverted and swept away the civil institutions of that State, + including the judiciary and the judicial authorities of the Union, so + that it has become necessary to hold the State in military + occupation; and it being indispensably necessary that there shall be + some judicial tribunal existing there capable of administering + justice, I have therefore thought it proper to appoint, and I do + hereby constitute a provisional court, which shall be a court of + record for the State of Louisiana; and I do hereby appoint Charles A. + Peabody, of New York, to be a provisional judge to hold said court, + with authority to hear, try, and determine all causes civil and + criminal, including causes in law, equity, revenue, and admiralty, + and particularly with all such powers and jurisdiction as belong to + the District and Circuit Courts of the United States, conforming his + proceedings, so far as possible, to the course of proceedings and + practice which has been customary in the courts of the United States + and Louisiana--his judgment to be final and conclusive. And I do + hereby authorize and empower the said judge to make and establish + such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the exercise of + his jurisdiction, and to appoint a prosecuting attorney, marshal, and + clerk of the said court, who shall perform the functions of attorney, + marshal, and clerk according to such proceedings and practice as + before mentioned, and such rules and regulations as may be made and + established by said judge. These appointments are to continue during + the pleasure of the President, not extending beyond the military + occupation of the city of New Orleans, or the restoration of the + civil authority in that city and in the State of Louisiana. These + officers shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the War + Department, and compensation shall be as follows. + + "By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + "W. H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State._" + +This so-called court, as its judge said, "was always governed by the +rules and principles of law, adhering to all the rules and forms of +civil tribunals, and avoiding everything like a military +administration of justice. In criminal matters it summoned a grand +jury, and submitted to it all charges for examination." Yet, when its +judgments and mandates were to be executed, that execution could come +only from the same power by which the court was constituted, and that +was the military power of the United States holding the country in +military occupation. Therefore, to this end the military and naval +forces were pledged. Hence it was the military power, as has been +said, administering civil affairs. + +The Constitution of the United States says: + + "The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one + Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from + time to time ordain and establish," [61] + +This provisional court was neither ordained nor established by +Congress; it had not, therefore, vested in it any of the judicial +power of the United States. Neither does the Constitution give to +Congress any power by which it can constitute an independent State +court within the limits of any State in the Union, as Louisiana was +said to be. + +This provisional court, therefore, was a mere instrument of martial +law, constituted by the Commander-in-Chief of the United States +forces, not for the usual purposes which justify the establishment of +such courts, but to enter the domain of civil affairs and administer +justice between man and man in the ordinary transactions of peaceful +life. The ministers of martial law are only the representatives of +the conqueror, and they sit in his seat of authority to relieve him +from the burden of excessive duties, and to administer justice to +offenders against his authority and the social welfare, during his +presence. On such grounds the existence of such courts is justified; +but, for the establishment of a court like this provisional one, no +legitimate authority is to be found either in the Constitution of the +United States or outside of it, "_Inter arma silent leges_" is a +maxim nearly two thousand years old; it means that, under the +exercise of military power, the civil administration ceases. + +When called upon to state any just grounds for such a measure, the +invader has usually replied that he had, _ex necessitate rei_, the +right to establish such a tribunal. Thus said the Commander-in-Chief +of the United States, and Congress acquiesced--indeed, leading the +way, it had urged the same plea to justify the passage of its +confiscation act. The judiciary has observed the silence of +acquiescence. Thus the doctrine of necessity--the rule that, in the +administration of affairs, both military and civil, the necessity of +the case may and does afford ample authority and power to subvert or +to suspend the provisions of the Constitution, and to exercise powers +and do acts unwarranted by the grants of that instrument--has +apparently become incorporated as an unwritten clause of the +Constitution of the United States. + +What, then, is this necessity? Its definition would require an +explanation, from the persons who act under it, of the objects for +which, in every instance, they act. Suffice it to say that the +political wisdom of mankind has consecrated this truth as a +fundamental maxim, that no man can be trusted with the exercise of +power and be, at the same time, the final judge of the limits within +which that power may be exercised. It has fortified this with other +maxims, such as, "Necessity is the plea of despotism"; "Necessity +knows no law." The fathers of the Constitution of the United States +sought to limit every grant of power so exactly that it should +observe its bounds as invariably as a planetary body does its orbit. +Yet within the first hundred years of its existence all these limits +have been disregarded, and the people have silently accepted the plea +of necessity. + +It must be manifest to every one that there has been a fatal +subversion of the Constitution of the United States. In estimating +the results of the war, this is one of the most deplorable; because +it is self-evident that, when a constitutional Government once +oversteps the limits fixed for the exercise of its powers, there is +nothing beyond to check its further aggression, no place where it +will voluntarily halt until it reaches the subjugation of all who +resist the usurpation. This was the sole issue involved in the +conflict of the United States Government with the Confederate States; +and every other issue, whether pretended or real, partook of its +nature, and was subordinate to this one. Let us repeat an +illustration: In strict observance of their inalienable rights, in +abundant caution reserved, when they formed the compact or +Constitution--whichever the reader pleases to call it--of the +United States, the Confederate States sought to withdraw from the +Union they had assisted to create, and to form a new and independent +one among themselves. Then the Government of the United States broke +through all the limits fixed for the exercise of the powers with +which it had been endowed, and, to accomplish its own will, assumed, +under the plea of necessity, powers unwritten and unknown in the +Constitution, that it might thereby proceed to the extremity of +subjugation. Thus it will be perceived that the question still lives. +Although the Confederate armies may have left the field, although the +citizen soldiers may have retired to the pursuits of peaceful life, +although the Confederate States may have renounced their new Union, +they have proved their indestructibility by resuming their former +places in the old one, where, by the organic law, they could only be +admitted as republican, equal, and sovereign States of the Union. +And, although the Confederacy as an organization may have ceased to +exist as unquestionably as though it had never been formed, the +fundamental principles, the eternal truths, uttered when our colonies +in 1776 declared their independence, on which the Confederation of +1781 and the Union of 1788 were formed, and which animated and guided +in the organization of the Confederacy of 1861, yet live, and will +survive, however crushed they may be by despotic force, however deep +they may be buried under the debris of crumbling States, however they +may be disavowed by the time-serving and the fainthearted; yet I +believe they have the eternity of truth, and that in God's appointed +time and place they will prevail. + +The contest is not over, the strife is not ended. It has only entered +on a new and enlarged arena. The champions of constitutional liberty +must spring to the struggle, like the armed men from the seminated +dragon's teeth, until the Government of the United States is brought +back to its constitutional limits, and the tyrant's plea of +"necessity" is bound in chains strong as adamant: + + "For Freedom's battle once begun, + Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son, + Though baffled oft, it ever won." + +When the war closed, who were the victors? Perhaps it is too soon to +answer that question. Nevertheless, every day, as time rolls on, we +look with increasing pride upon the struggle our people made for +constitutional liberty. The war was one in which fundamental +principles were involved; and, as force decides no truth, hence the +issue is still undetermined, as has been already shown. We have laid +aside our swords; we have ceased our hostility; we have conceded the +physical strength of the Northern States. But the question still +lives, and all nations and peoples that adopt a confederated agent of +government will become champions of our cause. While contemplating +the Northern States--with their Federal Constitution gone, +ruthlessly destroyed under the tyrant's plea of "necessity," their +State sovereignty made a byword, and their people absorbed in an +aggregated mass, no longer, as their fathers left them, protected by +reserved rights against usurpation--the question naturally arises: +On which side was the victory? Let the verdict of mankind decide. + + +[Footnote 61: Constitution of the United States, Article III, section 1.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + + Further Attempts of the United States Government to overthrow + States.--Election of Members of Congress under the Military Governor + of Louisiana.--The Voters required to take an Oath to support the + United States Government.--The State Law violated.--Proposition to + hold a State Convention; postponed.--The President's Plan for making + a Union State out of a Fragment of a Confederate State.--His + Proclamation.--The Oath required.--Message.--"The War-Power our + Main Reliance."--Not a Feature of the Republican Government in the + Plan.--What are the True Principles?--The Declaration of + Independence asserts them.--Who had a Right to institute a + Government for Louisiana?--Its People only.--Under what Principles + could the Government of the United States do it?--As an Invader to + subjugate.--Effrontery and Wickedness of the Administration.--It + enforces a Fiction.--Attempt to make Falsehood as good as Truth.-- + Proclamation for an Election of State Officers.--Proclamation for a + State Convention.--The Monster Crime against the Liberties of + Mankind.--Proceedings in Arkansas.--Novel Method adopted to amend + the State Constitution.--Perversion of Republican Principles in + Virginia.--Proceedings to create the State of West Virginia.--A + Falsehood by Act of Congress.--Proceedings considered under + Fundamental Principles.--These Acts sustained by the United States + Government.--Assertion of Thaddeus Stevens.--East Virginia + Government.--Such Acts caused Entire Subversion of States.--Mere + Fictions thus constituted. + + +But to resume our narration. On December 3d, in compliance with an +order of the military Governor Shepley, a so-called election was held +for members of the United States Congress in the first and second +State districts, each composed of about half the city of New Orleans +and portions of the surrounding parishes. Those who had taken the +oath of allegiance were allowed to vote. In the first district, +Benjamin F. Flanders received 2,370 votes, and all others 273. In the +second district, Michael Hahn received 2,799 votes, and all others +2,318. These persons presented themselves at Washington, and +resolutions to admit them to seats were reported by the Committee on +Elections in the House of Representatives. It was urged that the +military Governor had conformed in every particular to the +Constitution and laws of Louisiana, so that the election had every +essential of a regular election in a time of most profound peace, +with the exception of the fact that the proclamation for the election +was issued by the military instead of the civil Governor of the +State. The law required the proclamation to be issued by the civil +Governor; so that, if these persons were admitted to seats after an +election called by a military Governor, Congress thereby recognized +as valid a military order of a so-called Executive that +unceremoniously set aside a provision of the State civil law, and was +anti-republican and a positive usurpation. Again, all the departments +of the United States Government had acted on the theory that the +Confederate States were in a state of insurrection, and that the +Union was unbroken; under this theory, they could come back to the +Union only with all the laws unimpaired which they themselves had +made for their own government. Congress was as much bound to uphold +the laws of Louisiana, in all their extent and in all their parts, as +it was to uphold the laws of New York, or any other State, whose +civil policy had not been disturbed. Both those persons, however, +were admitted to seats--yeas, 92; nays, 44. + +The work of constituting the State of Louisiana out of the small +portion of her population and of her territory held by the forces of +the United States still went on. The proposition now was to hold a +so-called State Convention and frame a new Constitution, but its +advocates were so few that nothing was accomplished during the year +1863. The object of the military power was to secure such civil +authority as to enforce the abolition of slavery; and, until the way +was clear to that result, every method of organization was held in +abeyance. + +Meanwhile, on December 8, 1863, the President of the United States +issued a proclamation which contained his plan for making a Union +State out of a fragment of a Confederate State, and also granting an +amnesty to the general mass of the people on taking an oath of +allegiance. His plan was in these words: + + "And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that, whenever, + in any of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, + Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North + Carolina, a number of persons, not less than one tenth in number of + the votes cast in such State at the Presidential election of 1860, + each having taken the following oath and not having since violated + it, and being a qualified voter by the election laws of the State + existing immediately before the so-called act of secession, and + excluding all others, shall reestablish a State government which + shall be republican, and in nowise contravening said oath, such shall + be recognized as the true government of the State, and the State + shall receive thereunder the benefits of the constitutional provision + which declares that The United States shall guarantee to every State + in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each + of them against invasion; and, on application of the Legislature or + the Executive (when the Legislature can not be convened), against + domestic violence." + +The oath required to be taken was as follows: + + "I, ----- -----, do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, + that I will henceforth support, protect, and defend the Constitution + of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and that + I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of + Congress, passed during the existing rebellion, with reference to + slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by + Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court, and that I will, in + like manner, abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the + President, made during the existing rebellion, having reference to + slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by + decision of the Supreme Court. So help me God!" + +In a message to Congress, of the same date with the preceding +proclamation, the President of the United States, after explaining +the objects of the proclamation, says: + + "In the midst of other cares, however important, we must not lose + sight of the fact that the war-power is still our main reliance. To + that power alone can we look, for a time, to give confidence to the + people in the contested regions that the insurgent power will not + again overrun them." + +The intelligent reader will observe that this plan of the President +of the United States to restore States to the Union, to occupy the +places of those which he had been attempting to destroy, does not +contain a single feature to secure a republican form of government, +nor a single provision authorized by the Constitution of the United +States. With his usurped war-power to sustain him in the work of +destruction, he found it easy to destroy; but he was powerless to +create or to restore. In the former case, he had gone imperiously +forward, trampling under foot every American political principle, and +breaking through every constitutional limitation. In the latter case, +he could not advance one step without recognizing sound political +principles and complying with their dictates. On each foundation he +must construct, or his work would be like the house founded on the +sand. + +It will now be shown what the true principles are, and then that the +President of the United States perverted them, misstated them, and +sought to reach his ends by groundless fabrications--as if he would +enforce a fiction or establish a fallacy to be as good as truth. It +might be still farther shown, if it had not already become +self-evident, that this method was pursued with such a perversity and +wickedness as to render it a characteristic feature of that war +administration on whose skirts is the blood of more than a million of +human beings. + +The whole science of a republican government is to be found in this +sentence of the Declaration of Independence, made by the +representatives of the United States of America, in Congress +assembled, on July 4, 1776. It says: + + "That, to secure these rights [certain unalienable rights], + governments are instituted among men--deriving their just powers + from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of + government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the + people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, + laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers + in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their + safety and happiness." + +Thus it will be seen that civil and political sovereignty was held to +be implanted by our Creator in the individual, and no human +government has any original, inherent, just sovereignty whatever, and +no acquired sovereignty either, beyond that which may be granted to +it by the individuals as "most likely to effect their safety and +happiness." "Deriving their just powers from the consent of the +governed," says the Declaration of Independence. All other powers +than those thus derived are not "just powers." Any government +exercising powers "not just" has no right to survive. "It is the +right of the people to alter or abolish it," says the Declaration of +Independence, "and to institute a new government." + +Who, then, had a right to "institute" a republican government for +Louisiana? No human beings whatever but the people of Louisiana; not +the strangers, not the slaves, but the manhood that knew its rights +and dared to maintain them. Under what principles, then, could a +citizen of Massachusetts, whether clothed in regimentals or a +civilian's dress, come into Louisiana and attempt to set up a State +government? Under no principles, but only by the power of the invader +and the usurper. If the true principles of a republican government +had prevailed and could have been enforced when Major-General Butler +appeared at New Orleans, he would have been hanged on the first +lamp-post, and his successor, Major-General Banks, would have been +hanged on the second. + +Under what principles, then, could the Government of the United +States appear in Louisiana and attempt to institute a State +government? As has been said above, it was the act of an invader and +a usurper. Yet it proposed to "institute" a republican State +government. The absurdity of such intention is too manifest to need +argument. How could an invader attempt to "institute" a republican +State government? an act which can be done only by the free and +unconstrained action of the people themselves. It has been charged +that this and every similar act of the President of the United States +was in violation of his duty to maintain and observe the requirements +and restrictions of the Constitution, and to uphold in each State a +republican form of government. To specify, the following is offered +as an example. He did "proclaim, declare, and make known-- + + that, whenever any number of persons, not less than one tenth of the + number of voters at the last Presidential election, shall reestablish + a State government, which shall be republican [!] and in no wise + contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true + government of the State." + +One tenth of the voters can not establish a republican State +government, which requires the consent of the people of the State to +make its powers just, as has been shown above. Therefore, such a +government had not one element of republicanism in it. But what is +astonishingly remarkable is the stultification of requiring the one +tenth of the people to "reestablish a State government, which shall +be republican and in no wise contravening said oath." Either he did +not know how a republican State government was "instituted," or, if +he knew, then he was a participant in that perversity and wickedness, +which was above charged to be the characteristic of his war +Administration. + +It will now be shown how he sought "to enforce a fiction or establish +a fallacy to be as good as truth." Of the government thus established +by one tenth of the voters, he says: + + "Such shall be recognized as the true government of the State, and + the State shall receive thereunder the benefits of the constitutional + provision which declares that 'the United States shall guarantee to + every State in this Union a republican form of government.'" + +It is proper here to inquire who and what was the tenth to whom this +power to rule the State was to be given. It will be seen, by +reference to the proclamation, that each voter of the one tenth, in +order to be qualified, is required to take an oath with certain +promises in it, which are prescribed by an outside or foreign +authority. This condition of itself is fatal to a republican State +government, that "derives its just powers from the consent of the +governed." Free consent--not cheerful consent, but unconstrained and +unconditioned consent--is required that "just powers" may be derived +from it. In this instance, the invader prescribes the requisite +qualifications of the voter, and makes it a condition that the +government established shall "in no wise contravene" certain +stipulations expressed in the oath taken to give the qualification. A +State government thus formed derives its powers from the consent of +the invader, and not "from the consent of the governed." It has no +"just powers" whatever. It is a groundless fabrication. Yet the +President of the United States declared, "The State shall receive +thereunder the benefits of the constitutional provision which +declares that 'the United States shall guarantee to every State in +this Union a republican form of government.'" Is not this an attempt, +while pretending to establish, to destroy true republicanism? + +Now, let the reader bear in mind that these remarks relate to +Louisiana alone, of which more remains to be told; and that there +were eleven States that withdrew from the Union, whose restoration +was to be effected on this rotten system, in addition to several +constitutional amendments, the adoption of which was to be effected +and secured by the votes of these groundless fabrications, in which a +fiction was to be considered as good as the truth. Having attained +all these facts which are yet to be stated, he may begin to form some +estimate of the remnants of the Constitution, and of the probable +existence of any true union of the States. + +To proceed with the narration. Under the above-mentioned proclamation +of the President of the United States, Major-General Banks issued at +New Orleans, on January 11, 1864, a proclamation for an election of +State officers, and for members of a State Constitutional Convention. +The State officers, when elected, were to constitute, as the +proclamation said, "the civil government of the State under the +Constitution and laws of Louisiana, except so much of the said +Constitution and laws as recognize, regulate, or relate to slavery, +which, being inconsistent with the present condition of public +affairs, and plainly inapplicable to any class of persons now +existing within its limits, must be suspended." The number of votes +given for State officers was 10,270. The population of the State in +1860 was 708,902. The so-called Government was inaugurated on March +4th, and on March 11th he was invested with the powers hitherto +exercised by the military Governor for the President of the United +States. On the same day Major-General Banks issued an order relative +to the election of delegates to a so-called State Convention. The +most important provisions of it defined the qualifications of voters. +The delegates were elected entirely within the army lines of the +forces of the United States. The so-called Convention assembled and +adopted a so-called Constitution, declaring "instantaneous, +universal, uncompensated, unconditional emancipation of slaves." The +meager vote on the Constitution was, for its adoption, 6,836; for its +rejection, 1,566. The vote of New Orleans was, yeas 4,664, nays 789. +This state of affairs continued after the close of the war. Violent +disputes arose as to the validity of the so-called Constitution. The +so-called Legislature elected under it adopted Article XIII as an +amendment to the Constitution of the United States, prohibiting the +existence of slavery in the United States. + +It will be seen from these facts that the State of Louisiana was not +a republican State instituted by the consent of the governed; that +its Legislature was an unconstitutional body, without any "just +powers," and that the vote which it gave for the amendment of the +Constitution of the United States was no vote at all; for it was +given by a body that had no authority to give it, because it had no +"just powers" whatever. Yet this vote was counted among those +necessary to secure the passage of the constitutional amendment. Was +this an attempt to enforce a fiction or to establish the truth? Such +are the deeds which go to make up the record of crime against the +liberties of mankind. + +The proceedings in Arkansas to "institute" a republican State +government were inaugurated by an order from the President of the +United States to Major-General Steele, commanding the United States +forces in Arkansas. At this time the regular government of the State, +established by the consent of the people, was in fall operation +outside the lines of the United States army. The military order of +the President, dated January 20, 1864, said: + + "Sundry citizens of the State of Arkansas petitioned me that an + election may be held in that State, in which to elect a Governor; + that it be assumed at that election, and thenceforward, that the + Constitution and laws of the State, as before the rebellion, are in + full force, except that the Constitution is so modified as to declare + that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude," etc. + +The order then directs the election to be held for State officers, +prescribes the qualifications of voters and the oath to be taken, and +directs the General to administer to the officers thus chosen an oath +to support the Constitution of the United States, and the "modified +Constitution of the State of Arkansas," when they shall be declared +qualified and empowered immediately to enter upon the duties of their +offices. + +The reader can scarcely fail to notice the novel method here adopted +to modify or amend the State Constitution. It should be called the +process by "assumption"--that is, assume it to be modified, and it +is so modified. Then the President orders the officers-elect to be +required to swear, on their oath, to support "the modified +Constitution of the State of Arkansas." Now, unless the Constitution +was thus modified by assuming it to be modified, these State officers +were required by oath to support that which did not exist. But it was +not so modified. No Constitution or other instrument in the world +containing a grant of powers can be modified by assumption, unless it +be the Constitution of the United States, as shown by recent +experience. Yet the chief object for which these officers were +elected and qualified was to carry out these so-called modifications +of the State Constitution. This adds another to the deeds of darkness +done in the name of republicanism. + +Meantime some persons in the northern part of Arkansas, acting under +the proclamation of December 8, 1863, got together a so-called State +Convention on January 8, 1864, and adopted a revised Constitution, +containing the slavery prohibition, etc. This was ordered to be +submitted to a popular vote, and at the same time State officers were +to be elected. President Lincoln acceded to these proceedings after +they had been placed under the direction of the military commander, +General Steele. The election was held, the Constitution received +twelve thousand votes, and the State officers were declared to be +elected. Then Arkansas came forth a so-called republican State, +"instituted" by military authority, and, of course, received the +benefit of the constitutional provision, which declares that "the +United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a +republican form of government." It should be added that Arkansas, +thus "instituted" a State, was regarded by the Government of the +United States as competent to give as valid a vote as New York, +Massachusetts, or any other Northern State, for the ratification of +Article XIII, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United +States, prohibiting the existence of slavery in the United States. +The vote was thus given; it was counted, and served to make up the +exact number deemed by the managers to be necessary. Thus was fraud +and falsehood triumphant over popular rights and fundamental law. + +The perversion of true republican principles was greater in Virginia +than in any other State, through the coöperation of the Government of +the United States. In the winter of 1860-'61 a special session of the +Legislature of the State convened at Richmond and passed an act +directing the people to elect delegates to a State Convention to be +held on February 14, 1861. The Convention assembled, and was occupied +with the subject of Federal relations and the adjustment of +difficulties until the call for troops by President Lincoln was made, +when an ordinance of secession was passed. The contiguity of the +northwestern counties of the State to Ohio and Pennsylvania led to +the manifestation of much opposition to the withdrawal of the State +from the Union, and the determination to reorganize that portion into +a separate State. This resulted in the assembling of a so-called +convention of delegates at Wheeling on June 11th. One of its first +acts was to provide for a reorganization of the State government of +Virginia by declaring its offices vacant, and the appointment of new +officers throughout. This new organization assumed to be the true +representative of the State of Virginia, and, after various fortunes, +was recognized as such by President Lincoln, as will be presently +seen. The next act of the Convention was "to provide for the +formation of a new State out of a portion of the territory of this +State." Under this act delegates were elected to a so-called +Constitutional Convention which framed a so-called Constitution for +the new State of West Virginia, which was submitted to a vote of the +people in April, 1862, and carried by a large majority of that +section. Meantime the Governor of the reorganized government of +Virginia, above mentioned, issued his proclamation calling for an +election of members, and the assembling of an extra session of the +so-called Legislature. This body assembled on May 6, 1862, and, +adopting the new Federal process of assumption, it assumed to be the +Legislature of the State of Virginia. This body, or Legislature, so +called, immediately passed an act giving its consent to the formation +of a new State out of the territory of Virginia. The formal act of +consent and the draft of the new Constitution of West Virginia above +mentioned were ordered by this so-called Legislature to be sent to +the Congress of the United States, then in session, with the request +that "the said new State be admitted into the Union." On December 31, +1862, the President of the United States approved an act of Congress +entitled "An act for the admission of the State of West Virginia into +the Union," etc. The act recited as follows: + + "_Whereas_, The Legislature of Virginia, by an act passed May 13, + 1862, did give its consent to the formation of a new State within the + jurisdiction of the said State of Virginia, to be known by the name + of West Virginia," etc. + +Again it recites: + + "And whereas both the Convention and the Legislature aforesaid have + requested that the new State should be admitted into the Union, and + the Constitution aforesaid being republican in form, Congress doth + hereby consent that the said forty-eight counties may be formed into + a separate and independent State." + +It were well to pause for a moment and consider these proceedings in +the light of fundamental republican principles. The State of Virginia +was not a confederation, but a republic, or nation. Its government +was instituted with the consent of the governed, and its powers, +therefore, were "just powers." When the State Convention at Richmond +passed an ordinance of secession, which was subsequently ratified by +sixty thousand majority, it was as valid an act for the people of +Virginia as was ever passed by a representative body. The legally +expressed decision of the majority was the true voice of the State. +When, therefore, disorderly persons in the northwestern counties of +the State assembled and declared the ordinance of secession "to be +null and void," they rose up against the authority of the State. When +they proceeded to elect delegates to a convention to resist the act +of the State, and that Convention assembled and organized and +proceeded to action, an insurrection against the government of +Virginia was begun. When the Convention next declared the State +offices to be vacant, and proceeded to fill them by the choice of +Francis H. Pierpont for Governor, and other State officers, assuming +itself to be the true State Convention of Virginia, it not only +declared what notoriously did not exist, but it committed an act of +revolution. And, when the so-called State officers elected by it +entered upon their duties, they inaugurated a revolution. The +subsequent organization of the State of West Virginia and its +separation from the State of Virginia were acts of secession. Thus we +have, in these movements, insurrection, revolution, and secession. + +The reader, in his simplicity, may naturally expect to find the +Government of the United States arrayed, with all its military +forces, against these illegitimate proceedings. Oh, no! It made all +the difference in the world, with the ministers of that Government, +"whose ox it was that was gored by the bull." She was the +nursing-mother to the whole thing, and to insure its vitality fed it, +not, like the fabled bird, with her own blood, but by the butchery of +the mother of States. The words of the Constitution of the United +States applicable to this case are these: + + "No new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of + any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or + more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the + Legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress." [61] + +Will any intelligent person assert that the consent of the State of +Virginia was given to the formation of this new State, or that the +government of Francis H. Pierpont held the true and lawful +jurisdiction of the State of Virginia? Yet the Congress of the United +States asserted in the act above quoted that "the Legislature of +Virginia did give its consent to the formation of a new State within +the jurisdiction of the State of Virginia." This was not true, but +was an attempt, by an act of Congress, to aid a fraud and perpetuate +a monstrous usurpation. For there is no grant of power to Congress in +the Constitution nor in the American theory of government to justify +it. If it is said that the government of Francis H. Pierpont was the +only one recognized by Congress as the government of the State of +Virginia, that does not alter the fact. The recognition of Congress +can not make a State of an organization which is not a State. There +is no grant of power to Congress in the Constitution for that +purpose. If it is said that the government of Francis H. Pierpont was +established by the only qualified voters in the State of Virginia, +that is as equally unfounded as the other assertions. Neither the +Congress of the United States nor the Government of the United States +can determine the qualifications of voters at an election for +delegates to a State Constitutional Convention, or for the choice of +State officers. There was no grant of power either to the President +or to Congress for that purpose. All these efforts were usurpations, +by which it was sought, through groundless fabrications, to reach +certain ends, and they add to the multitude of deeds which constitute +the crime committed against States and the liberties of the people. + +When the question of the admission of West Virginia was before the +House of Representatives of the United States Congress, Mr. Thaddeus +Stevens, of Pennsylvania, declared, with expiatory frankness, that he +would not stultify himself by claiming the act to be constitutional. +He said, "We know that it is not constitutional, but it is necessity." + +It now became necessary for the Government of Virginia, represented +by Francis H. Pierpont, to emigrate; for the new State of West +Virginia embraced the territory in which he was located. He therefore +departed, with his carpet-bag, and located at Alexandria, on the +Potomac, which became the seat of government of so-called East +Virginia. On February 13, 1864, a convention, consisting of a +representative from each of the ten counties in part or wholly under +the control of the United States forces, assembled at Alexandria to +amend the Constitution of the State of Virginia. Some sections +providing for the abolition of slavery were declared to be added to +the Constitution, and the so-called Convention adjourned. Nothing of +importance occurred until after the occupation of Richmond by the +United States forces. On May 9, 1865, President Johnson issued an +"Executive order to reestablish the authority of the United States, +and execute the laws within the geographical limits known as the +State of Virginia." The order closed in these words: + + "That, to carry into effect the guarantee of the Federal Constitution + of a republican form of State government, and afford the advantage of + the security of domestic laws, as well as to complete the + reestablishment of the authority of the laws of the United States and + the full and complete restoration of peace within the limits + aforesaid, Francis H. Pierpont, Governor of the State of Virginia, + will be aided by the Federal Government, so far as may be necessary, + in the lawful measures which he may take for the extension and + administration of the State government throughout the geographical + limits of said State." + +This order recognized the factitious organization, which was begun in +West Virginia and then transplanted to Alexandria, as the true +government of the State of Virginia, and, by the aid of the United +States Government, was now removed to Richmond and set up there. No +person was allowed to take any part in this government or to vote +under it unless he had previously taken the purgatorial oath above +mentioned, and had not held office under the Confederate or any State +government. Thus, the taking of this oath, which was prescribed by +the President of the United States, became the most important of the +qualifications of a voter. Here was a condition prescribed by a +foreign authority as necessary to be fulfilled before the first act +could be done by a citizen relative to his State government. Such a +government was not republican, for its powers were not derived from +the consent of the governed. Its powers were derived from voters who +had, under oath, said: + + "I will abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress, passed + during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and + so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress or by + decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will in like manner abide + by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President, made + during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and + so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme + Court." + +Such a State government was not in the interest of the people, but in +the interest of the United States Government. The true republican +organization, which had been "instituted" by the free "consent of the +governed to effect their safety and happiness," had been repudiated +by the Government of the United States as in rebellion to it; and +this fiction had been set up, not by the free consent of the people, +which alone could give to it any "just powers," not "to effect their +safety and happiness," for which alone a republican State government +can be instituted, but solely to secure the safety and supremacy of +the Government of the United States. The qualification of the voter +was prescribed by the United States Government, and the oath required +him to recognize allegiance to the Union as supreme over that to the +State of which he was a citizen. Thus the voters under the State +government of Virginia were required first to protect the Government +of the United States, and then they were at liberty to look after +their own interests through the State government. + +Now, it is charged that such acts on the part of the United States +Government were not only entirely unconstitutional, but they caused +the complete subversion of the States. The Constitution of the United +States knows States in the Union only as they are republican States. +The Government of the United States was conscious of this fact, and +publicly recognized it when it promised to guarantee a republican +form of government to each one that it sought to reconstruct. But it +violated the Constitution when it sought to place in the Union mere +fictions which had' not the first element of a republic, which were +groundless fabrications of its own minions that could not have +existed a day without the military support which they received. +Further, it is to be remembered that it does not come within the +grants of the Constitution, consequently not within the powers of the +Government of the United States, to institute a republican form of +government at any time or in any place. Such an act is neither +contemplated nor known in the Constitution, as such a government can +be instituted only by the free consent of those who are to be +governed by it. Any interference on the part of the United States to +limit, modify, or control this consent goes directly to the nature +and objects of the State government, and it ceases to be republican. +To admit a State under such a government is entirely unauthorized, +revolutionary, subversive of the Constitution, and destructive of the +Union of States. + + +[Footnote 61: Constitution of the United States, Article IV, section 3.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + + Address to the Army of Eastern Virginia by the President.--Army of + General Pope.--Position of McClellan.--Advance of General + Jackson.--Atrocious Orders of General Pope.--Letter of McClellan on + the Conduct of the War.--Letter of the President to General Lee.-- + Battle of Cedar Run.--Results of the Engagement.--Reënforcements to + the Enemy.--Second Battle of Manassas.--Capture of Manassas + Junction.--Captured Stores.--The Old Battle-Field.--Advance of + General Longstreet.--Attack on him.--Attack on General Jackson.-- + Darkness of the Night.--Battle at Ox Hill.--Losses of the Enemy. + + +This defeat of McClellan's army led me to issue the following address: + + "RICHMOND, July 5, 1862. + + "_To the Army of Eastern Virginia._ + + "SOLDIERS: I congratulate you on the series of brilliant victories + which, under the favor of Divine Providence, you have lately won, + and, as the President of the Confederate States, do heartily tender + to you the thanks of the country, whose just cause you have so + skillfully and heroically served. Ten days ago an invading army, + vastly superior to you in numbers and the materials of war, closely + beleaguered your capital and vauntingly proclaimed its speedy + conquest; you marched to attack the enemy in his intrenchments; with + well-directed movements and death-defying valor you charged upon him + in his strong positions, drove him from field to field over a + distance of more than thirty-five miles, and despite his + reënforcements compelled him to seek safety under the cover of his + gunboats, where he now lies cowering before the army so lately + derided and threatened with entire subjugation. The fortitude with + which you have borne toil and privation, the gallantry with which you + have entered into each successive battle, must have been witnessed to + be fully appreciated; but a grateful people will not fail to + recognize you, and to bear you in loved remembrance. Well may it be + said of you that you have 'done enough for glory'; but duty to a + suffering country and to the cause of constitutional liberty claims + from you yet further effort. Let it be your pride to relax in nothing + which can promote your future efficiency; your one great object being + to drive the invader from your soil, and, carrying your standards + beyond the outer boundaries of the Confederacy, to wring from an + unscrupulous foe the recognition of your birthright, community + independence. + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +After the retreat of General McClellan to Westover, his army remained +inactive about a month. His front was closely watched by a brigade of +cavalry, and preparations made to resist a renewal of his attempt +upon Richmond from his new base. The main body of our army awaited +the development of his intentions, and no important event took place. + +Meantime, another army of the enemy, under Major-General Pope, +advanced southward from Washington, and crossed the Rappahannock as +if to seize Gordonsville, and move thence upon Richmond. +Contemporaneously the enemy appeared in force at Fredericksburg, and +threatened the railroad from Gordonsville to Richmond, apparently for +the purpose of coöperating with the movements of General Pope. To +meet the advance of the latter, and restrain, as far as possible, the +atrocities which he threatened to perpetrate upon our defenseless +citizens, General Jackson, with his own and Ewell's division, was +ordered to proceed on July 13th toward Gordonsville. + +The nature of the atrocities here alluded to may be inferred from the +orders of Major-General Pope, which were as follows: + + "HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF VIRGINIA, WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1862._ + + "(GENERAL ORDERS, No 5.) + + "Hereafter, as far as practicable, the troops of this command will + subsist upon the country in which their operations are carried on. In + all cases supplies for this purpose will be taken by the officers to + whose department they properly belong, under the orders of the + commanding officer of the troops for whose use they are intended. + Vouchers will be given to the owners, stating on their face that they + will be payable at the close of the war upon sufficient testimony + being furnished that such owners have been loyal citizens of the + United States since the date of the vouchers. . . . + + "By command of Major-General Pope: + + "GEORGE D. RUGGLES, + + "_Colonel, A. A.-General, and Chief of Staff._" + + + "HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF VIRGINIA, _July 18, 1862._ + + "(GENERAL ORDERS, No. 6.) + + "Hereafter, in any operations of the cavalry forces in this command, + no supply or baggage trains of any description will be used, unless + so stated especially in the order for the movement. Two days' cooked + rations will be carried on the persons of the men, and all villages + and neighborhoods through which they pass will be laid under + contribution in the manner specified by General Orders, No. 5, + current series, from these headquarters, for the subsistence of men + and horses. . . . + + "By command of Major-General Pope: + + "GEORGE D. RUGGLES, + + "_Colonel, A. A.-General, and Chief of Staff._" + + + "HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF VIRGINIA, WASHINGTON, _July 18, 1862._ + + "(GENERAL ORDERS, No. 7.) + + "The people of the Valley of the Shenandoah and throughout the region + of operations of this army, living along the lines of railroad and + telegraph, and along routes of travel in the rear of United States + forces, are notified that they will be held responsible for any + injury done the track, line, or road, or for any attacks upon the + trains or straggling soldiers, by bands of guerrillas in their + neighborhood. . . . Evil-disposed persons in the rear of our armies, + who do not themselves engage directly in these lawless acts, + encourage by refusing to interfere, or give any information by which + such acts can be prevented or the perpetrators punished. Safety of + the life and property of all persons living in the rear of our + advancing army depends upon the maintenance of peace and quiet among + themselves, and upon the unmolested movements through their midst of + all pertaining to the military service. They are to understand + distinctly that the security of travel is their only warrant of + personal safety. . . . If a soldier or legitimate follower of the + army be fired upon from any house, the house shall be razed to the + ground and the inhabitants sent prisoners to the headquarters of this + army. If such an outrage occur at any place distant from settlements, + the people within five miles around shall be held accountable, and + made to pay an indemnity sufficient for the case; and any person + detected in such outrages, either during the act or at any time + afterward, shall be shot, without waiting civil process. . . . + + "By command of Major-General Pope: + + "GEORGE D. RUGGLES, _Colonel._" + + + "HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF VIRGINIA, WASHINGTON, _July 23, 1862._ + + "(GENERAL ORDERS, No. 11.) + + "Commanders of army corps, divisions, brigades, and detached commands + will proceed immediately to arrest all disloyal male citizens within + their lines, or within their reach in the rear of their respective + stations. + + "Such as are willing to take the oath of allegiance to the United + States, and will furnish sufficient security for its observance, + shall be permitted to remain at their homes, and pursue in good faith + their accustomed avocations. Those who refuse shall be conducted + south beyond the extreme pickets of the army, and be notified that, + if found again anywhere within our lines or at any point in the rear, + they will be considered spies, and subjected to the extreme rigor of + the military law. . . . + + "By command of Major-General Pope: + + "GEORGE D. RUGGLES, + + "_Colonel, A. A.-General, and Chief of Staff._" + +Thus was announced a policy of pillage, outrage upon unarmed, +peaceable people, arson, and ruthless insult to the defenseless. Had +the vigor of the campaign been equal to the bombastic manifesto of +this disgrace to the profession of arms, the injuries inflicted would +have been more permanent; the conduct could scarcely have been more +brutal. + +In recurring to the letter of General George B. McClellan, written at +"Camp near Harrison's Landing, Virginia, July 7, 1862," to the +President of the United States, one must be struck with the strong +contrast between the suggestions of General McClellan and the orders +of General Pope. The inquiry naturally arises, Was it because of this +difference that Pope had been assigned to the command of the Army of +Virginia? McClellan wrote: + + "This rebellion has assumed the character of a war; as such it should + be regarded, and it should be conducted upon the highest principles + known to Christian civilization. It should not be a war looking to + the subjugation of the people of any State, in any event. It should + not be at all a war upon population, but against armed forces and + political organizations. Neither confiscation of property, political + executions of persons, territorial organizations of States, or + forcible abolition of slavery, should be contemplated for a moment. + + "In prosecuting the war, all private property and unarmed persons + should be strictly protected, subject only to the necessity of + military operations; all private property taken for military use + should be paid or receipted for; pillage and waste should be treated + as high crimes; all unnecessary trespass sternly prohibited, and + offensive demeanor by the military toward citizens promptly rebuked. + Military arrests should not be tolerated, except in places where + active hostilities exist; and oaths, not required by enactments + constitutionally, should be neither demanded nor received." + +Had these views been accepted, and the conduct of the Government of +the United States been in accordance with them, the most shameful +chapters in American history could not have been written, and some of +the more respectable newspapers of the North would not have had the +apprehensions they expressed of the evils which would befall the +country when an army habituated to thieving should be disbanded. + +On the reception of copies of the orders issued by General Pope, +inserted above, I addressed to General Lee, commanding our army in +Virginia, the following letter: + + "RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, _July 31, 1862._ + + "SIR: On the 23d of this month a cartel for a general exchange of + prisoners of war was signed between Major-General D. H. Hill, in + behalf of the Confederate States, and Major-General John A. Dix, in + behalf of the United States. + + "By the terms of that cartel, it is stipulated that all prisoners of + war hereafter taken shall be discharged on parole until exchanged. + + "Scarcely had that cartel been signed, when the military authorities + of the United States commenced a practice changing the character of + the war, from such as becomes civilized nations, into a campaign of + indiscriminate robbery and murder. + + "The general order issued by the Secretary of War of the United + States, in the city of Washington, on the very day that the cartel + was signed in Virginia, directs the military commanders of the United + States to take the private property of our people for the convenience + and use of their armies, without compensation. + + "The general order issued by Major-General Pope, on the 23d of July, + the day after the signing of the cartel, directs the murder of our + peaceful inhabitants as spies, if found quietly tilling their farms + in his rear, _even outside of his lines_; and one of his + brigadier-generals, Steinwehr, has seized upon innocent and peaceful + inhabitants, to be held as hostages, to the end that they may be + murdered in cold blood if any of his soldiers are killed by some + unknown persons, whom he designates as 'bushwhackers.' + + "Under this state of facts, this Government has issued the inclosed + general order, recognizing General Pope and his commissioned officers + to be in the position which they have chosen for themselves, that of + robbers and murderers, and not that of public enemies, entitled, if + captured, to be considered as prisoners of war. + + "We find ourselves driven by our enemies in their steady progress + toward a practice which we abhor, and which we are vainly struggling + to avoid. Some of the military authorities of the United States seem + to suppose that better success will attend a savage war in which no + quarter is to be given and no sex to be spared than has hitherto been + secured by such hostilities as are alone recognized to be lawful by + civilized men in modern times. + + "For the present, we renounce our right of retaliation on the + innocent, and shall continue to treat the private enlisted soldiers + of General Pope's army as prisoners of war; but if, after notice to + the Government at Washington of our confining repressive measures to + the punishment only of commissioned officers, who are willing + participants in these crimes, these savage practices are continued, + we shall reluctantly be forced to the last resort of accepting the + war on the terms chosen by our foes, until the outraged voice of a + common humanity forces a respect for the recognized rules of war. + + "While these facts would justify our refusal to execute the generous + cartel, by which we have consented to liberate an excess of thousands + of prisoners held by us beyond the number held by the enemy, a sacred + regard to plighted faith, shrinking from the mere semblance of + breaking a promise, prevents our resort to this extremity. Nor do we + desire to extend to any other forces of the enemy the punishment + merited alone by General Pope and such commissioned officers as + choose to participate in the execution of his infamous orders. + + "You are therefore instructed to communicate to the + commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States the contents of + this letter and a copy of the inclosed general order, to the end that + he may be notified of our intention not to consider any officers + hereafter captured from General Pope's army as prisoners of war. Very + respectfully, yours, etc., + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +When General Jackson arrived near Gordonsville on July 19, 1862, he +was at his request reënforced by Major-General A. P. Hill. Receiving +information that only a part of General Pope's army was at Culpeper +Court-House, General Jackson, hoping to defeat it before +reënforcements should arrive, moved in that direction the divisions +of Ewell, Hill, and Jackson, on August 7th, from their encampments +near Gordonsville. As the enemy's cavalry displayed unusual activity +and the train of Jackson's division was seriously endangered, General +Lawton with his brigade was ordered to guard it. On August 9th +Jackson arrived within eight miles of Culpeper Court-House and found +the foe in his front near Cedar Run and a short distance west and +north of Slaughter Mountain. When first seen, the cavalry in large +force occupied a ridge to the right of the road. A battery opened +upon it and soon forced it to retire. Our fire was responded to by +some guns beyond the ridge from which the advance had just been +driven. Soon after, the cavalry returned to the position where it was +first seen, and General Early was ordered forward, keeping near the +Culpeper road, while General Ewell with his two remaining brigades +diverged from the road to the right, advancing along the western +slope of Slaughter Mountain. General Early, forming his brigade in +line of battle, moved into the open field, and, passing a short +distance to the right of the road but parallel to it, pushed forward, +driving the opposing cavalry before him to the crest of a hill which +overlooked the ground between his troops and the opposite hill, along +which the enemy's batteries were posted, and opened upon him as soon +as he reached the eminence. Early retired his troops under the +protection of the hill, and a small battery of ours, in advance of +his right, opened. Meantime General Winder with Jackson's brigade was +placed on the left of the road, Campbell's brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel +Garnett commanding, being on the left, Taliaferro's parallel to the +road, supporting the batteries, and Winder's own brigade under Colonel +Roland in reserve. The battle opened with a fierce fire of artillery, +which continued about two hours, during which Brigadier-General Charles +S. Winder, while directing the positions of his batteries, received a +wound, from the effects of which he expired in a few hours. General +Jackson thus spoke of him in his report: + + "It is difficult, within the proper reserve of an official report, to + do justice to the merits of this accomplished officer. Urged by the + medical director to take no part in the movements of the day, because + of the then enfeebled state of his health, his ardent patriotism and + military pride could bear no restraint. Richly endowed with those + qualities of mind and person which fit an officer for command, and + which attract the admiration and excite the enthusiasm of troops, he + was rapidly rising to the front rank of his profession. His loss has + been severely felt." + +Charles Winder had attracted my special notice, when I was Secretary +of War of the United States, by an act of heroism and devotion to +duty which it gives me pleasure to record. A regiment of artillery, +in which he was a second-lieutenant, being under orders for +California, embarked on the steamer San Francisco, and in a storm +became disabled; drifting helplessly at sea, she was approached by a +bark which, to give succor, hove to. Not being able to receive all +the passengers, the commissioned officers left, as the Colonel +naively reported, in the order of their rank. Winder alone remained +with the troops; in great discomfort and by strenuous exertion the +wreck was kept afloat until a vessel bound for Liverpool came to the +relief of the sufferers. + +Arriving at Liverpool, Winder left the soldiers there, went to the +American consul in London, got means to provide for their needs, and +returned with them. Soon afterward, four regiments were added to the +army, and, for his good conduct so full of promise, he was nominated +to be a captain of infantry, and, notwithstanding his youth, was +confirmed and commissioned accordingly. He died manifesting the same +spirit as on the wreck--that which holds life light when weighed +against honor. + +The enemy's infantry advanced about 5 P.M., and attacked General +Early in front, while another body, concealed by the inequality of +the ground, moved upon his right. Thomas's brigade, of A. P. Hill's +division, which had now arrived, was sent to his support, and the +contest soon became animated. In the mean time the main body of the +opposing army, under cover of a wood and the undulations of the +field, gained the left of Jackson's division, now commanded by +Brigadier-General Taliaferro, and poured a destructive fire into its +flank and rear. Campbell's brigade fell back in confusion, exposing +the flank of Taliaferro's, which also gave way, as did the left of +Early's. The rest of his brigade, however, firmly held its ground. + +Winder's brigade, with Branch's, of A. P. Hill's division, on its +right, advanced promptly to the support of Jackson's division, and +after a sanguinary struggle the assailants were repulsed with loss. +Pender's and Archer's brigades, also of Hill's division, came up on +the left of Winder's, and by a general charge the foe was driven back +in confusion, leaving the ground covered with his dead and wounded. +General Ewell, with the two brigades on the extreme right, had been +prevented from advancing by the fire of our own artillery, which +swept his approach to the enemy's left. The obstacle being now +removed, he pressed forward under a hot fire, and came gallantly into +action. Repulsed and vigorously followed on our left and center, and +now hotly pressed on our right, the whole line of the enemy gave way, +and was soon in full retreat. Night had now set in, but General +Jackson, desiring to enter Culpeper Court-House before morning, +determined to pursue. Hill's division led the advance; but, owing to +the darkness, it was compelled to move slowly and with caution. + +The enemy was found about a mile and a half in the rear of the field +of battle, and information was received that reënforcements had +arrived. General Jackson thereupon halted for the night, and the next +day, becoming satisfied that the enemy's force had been so largely +increased as to render a further advance on his part imprudent, he +sent his wounded to the rear, and proceeded to bury the dead and +collect the arms from the battlefield. On the 11th the enemy asked +and received permission to bury those of his dead not already +interred. General Jackson remained in position during the day, and at +night returned to the vicinity of Gordonsville. In this engagement +400 prisoners, including a brigadier-general were captured, and 5,300 +stand of small-arms, one piece of artillery, several caissons, and +three colors, fell into our hands. Our killed were 229, wounded +1,047, total 1,276. The loss on the other side exceeded 1,500, of +whom nearly 300 were taken prisoners. + +The victory of Cedar Run effectually checked the invader for the +time; but it soon became apparent that his army was receiving a large +increase. The corps of Major-General Burnside, from North Carolina, +which had reached Fredericksburg, was reported to have moved up the +Rappahannock, a few days after the battle, to unite with General +Pope, and a part of General McClellan's army had left Westover for +the same purpose. It therefore seemed that active operations on the +James were no longer contemplated, and that the most effectual way to +relieve Richmond from any danger of an attack would be to reënforce +General Jackson and advance upon General Pope. + +Accordingly, on August 13th, Longstreet, Anderson, and Stuart were +ordered to proceed to Gordonsville. On the 16th the troops began to +move from the vicinity of Gordonsville toward the Rapidan, on the +north side of which, extending along the Orange and Alexandria +Railroad in the direction of Culpeper Court-House, the army of +invasion lay in great force. It was determined, with the cavalry, to +destroy the railroad-bridge over the Rappahannock in rear of the +enemy, while Jackson and Longstreet crossed the Rapidan and attacked +his left flank. But, the enemy becoming apprised of our design, +hastily retreated beyond the Rappahannock. On the 21st our forces +moved toward that river, and some sharp skirmishing ensued with our +cavalry that had crossed at Beverly's Ford. As it had been determined +in the mean time not to attempt the passage of the river at that +point with the army, the cavalry withdrew to the south side. Soon +afterward the enemy appeared in great strength on the opposite bank, +and an active fire was kept up during the rest of the day between his +artillery and the batteries attached to Jackson's leading division, +under Brigadier-General Taliaferro. + +But, as our positions on the south bank of the Rappahannock were +commanded by those on the north bank, and which served to guard all +the fords, General Lee determined to seek a more favorable place to +cross higher up the river, and thus gain his adversary's right. +Accordingly, General Longstreet was directed to leave Kelly's Ford on +the 21st, and take the position in the vicinity of Beverly's Ford and +the Orange and Alexandria Railroad bridge, then held by Jackson, in +order to mask the movement of the latter, who was instructed to +ascend the river. On the 22d Jackson proceeded up the Rappahannock, +leaving Trimble's brigade near Freeman's Ford to protect his train. +In the afternoon Longstreet sent General Hood with his own and +Whiting's brigade to relieve Trimble. Hood had just reached the +position, when he and Trimble were attacked by a considerable force +which had crossed at Freeman's Ford. After a short but spirited +engagement, the enemy was driven precipitately over the river with +heavy loss. General Jackson attempted to cross at Warrenton Springs +Ford, but was interrupted by a heavy rain, which caused the river to +rise so rapidly as to be impassable for infantry and artillery, and +he withdrew the troops that had reached the opposite side. General +Stuart, who had been directed to cut the railroad in rear of General +Pope's army, crossed the Rappahannock on the morning of the 22d, +about six miles above the Springs, with parts of Lee's and +Robertson's brigades. He reached Catlet's Station that night, but was +prevented destroying the railroad-bridge there by the same storm that +arrested Jackson's movements. He captured more than three hundred +prisoners, including a number of officers. Apprehensive of the effect +of the rain upon the streams, he recrossed the Rappahannock at +Warrenton Springs. The rise of the river, rendering the lower fords +impassable, enabled the enemy to concentrate his main body opposite +General Jackson, and on the 24th Longstreet was ordered by General +Lee to proceed to his support. Although retarded by the swollen +condition of Hazel River and other tributaries of the Rappahannock, +he reached Jeffersonton in the afternoon. General Jackson's command +lay between that place and the Spring's Ford, and a warm cannonade +was progressing between the batteries of General A. P. Hill's +division and those in his front. The enemy was massed between +Warrenton and the Springs, and guarded the fords of the Rappahannock +as far above as Waterloo. + +The army of General McClellan had left Westover, and a part had +marched to join General Pope. It was reported that the rest would +soon follow. The greater part of the army of General Cox had also +been withdrawn from the Kanawha Valley for the same purpose. Two +brigades of D. H. Hill's division, under General Ripley, had already +been ordered from Richmond, and the remainder were to follow; also, +McLaws's division, two brigades under General Walker, and Hampton's +cavalry brigade. In pursuance of the plan of operations now +determined upon, Jackson was directed, on the 25th, to cross above +Waterloo and move around the enemy's right, so as to strike the +Orange and Alexandria Railroad in his rear. Longstreet, in the mean +time, was to divert his attention by threatening him in front, and to +follow Jackson as soon as the latter should be sufficiently advanced. + +General Jackson crossed the Rappahannock on the 25th, about four +miles above Waterloo, and, after sunset on the 26th, reached the +railroad at Bristoe Station. At Gainesville he was joined by General +Stuart, with the brigades of Robertson and Fitzhugh Lee, who +continued with him during his operations, and effectually guarded +both his flanks. + +General Jackson was now between the large army of General Pope and +Washington City, without having encountered any considerable force. +At Bristoe two trains of cars were captured and a few prisoners +taken. Determining, notwithstanding the darkness of the night and the +long and arduous march of the day, to capture the depot of the enemy +at Manassas Junction, about seven miles distant, General Trimble +volunteered to proceed at once to that place with the Twenty-first +North Carolina and the Twenty-first Georgia Regiments. The offer was +accepted, and, to render success more certain, General Stuart was +directed to accompany the expedition with part of his cavalry. About +midnight the place was taken with little difficulty. Eight pieces of +artillery, with their horses, ammunition, and equipments were +captured; more than three hundred prisoners, one hundred and +seventy-five horses, besides those belonging to the artillery, two +hundred new tents, and immense quantities of commissary and +quartermaster's stores, fell into our hands. + +Ewell's division, with the Fifth Virginia Cavalry under Colonel +Bosser, were left at Bristoe Station, and the rest of the command +arrived at the Junction early on the 27th. Soon a considerable force +of the enemy, under Brigadier-General Taylor, of New Jersey, +approached from the direction of Alexandria, and pushed forward +boldly to recover the stores. After a sharp engagement he was routed +and driven back, leaving his killed and wounded on the field. The +troops remained at Manassas Junction during the day, and supplied +themselves with everything they required. In the afternoon, two +brigades advanced against General Ewell, at Bristoe, from the +direction of Warrenton Junction, but were broken and repulsed. Their +place was soon supplied with fresh troops, but it was apparent that +the commander had now become aware of the situation of affairs, and +had turned upon General Jackson with his whole force. General Ewell, +perceiving the strength of the column, withdrew and rejoined General +Jackson, having first destroyed the railroad-bridge over Broad Run. +The enemy halted at Bristoe. General Jackson, having a much inferior +force to General Pope, retired from Manassas Junction and took a +position west of the turnpike-road from Warrenton to Alexandria, +where he could more readily unite with the approaching column of +Longstreet. Having supplied the wants of his troops, he was +compelled, through lack of transportation, to destroy the rest of the +captured property. Many thousand pounds of bacon, a thousand barrels +of corned beef, two thousand barrels of salt pork, and two thousand +barrels of floor, besides other property of great value, were burned. + +During the night of the 27th of August Taliaferro's division crossed +the turnpike near Groveton and halted on the west side, near the +battle-field of July 21, 1861, where it was joined on the 28th by the +divisions of Hill and Ewell. During the afternoon the enemy, +approaching from the direction of Warrenton down the turnpike toward +Alexandria, exposed his left flank, and General Jackson determined to +attack him. A fierce and sanguinary conflict ensued which continued +until about 9 P.M., when he slowly fell back and left us in +possession of the field, the loss on both sides was heavy. On the +next morning (the 29th) the enemy had taken a position to interpose +his army between General Jackson and Alexandria, and about 10 A.M. +opened with artillery upon the right of Jackson's line. The troops of +the latter were disposed in rear of Groveton, along the line of the +unfinished branch of the Manassas Gap Railroad, and extending from a +point a short distance west of the turnpike toward Sudley Mill, +Jackson's division under Brigadier-General Starke being on the right, +Swell's under General Lawton in the center, and A. P. Hill on the +left. The attacking columns were evidently concentrating on Jackson +with the design of overwhelming him before the arrival of Longstreet. +This latter officer left his position opposite Warrenton Springs on +the 26th and marched to join Jackson. On the 28th, arriving at +Thoroughfare Gap, he found the enemy prepared to dispute his +progress. Holding the eastern extremity of the pass with a large +force, the enemy directed a heavy fire of artillery upon the road +leading to it and upon the sides of the mountain. An attempt was made +to turn his right, but, before our troops reached their destination, +he advanced to the attack, and, being vigorously repulsed, withdrew +to his position at the eastern end of the Gap, keeping up an active +fire of artillery until dark. He then retreated. On the morning of +the 29th Longstreet's command resumed its march, the sound of cannon +at Manassas announcing that Jackson was already engaged. The head of +the column came upon the field in rear of the enemy's left, which had +already opened with artillery upon Jackson's right, as above stated. +Longstreet immediately placed some of his batteries in position, but, +before he could complete his dispositions to attack the force before +him, it withdrew to another part of the field. He then took position +on the right of Jackson, Hood's two brigades, supported by Evans, +being deployed across the turnpike and at right angles to it. These +troops were supported on the left by three brigades under General +Wilcox, and by a like force on the right under General Kemper. D. B. +Jones's division formed the extreme right of the line, resting on the +Manassas Gap Railroad. The cavalry guarded our right and left flanks, +that on the right being under General Stuart in person. After the +arrival of Longstreet the enemy changed his position and began to +concentrate opposite Jackson's left, opening a brisk artillery-fire, +which was responded to by some of A. P. Hill's batteries. + +Soon afterward General Stuart reported the approach of a large force +from the direction of Bristoe Station, threatening Longstreet's +right. But no serious attack was made, and, after firing a few shots, +that force withdrew. Meanwhile a large column advanced to assail the +left of Jackson's position, occupied by the division of General A. P. +Hill. The attack was received by his troops with their accustomed +steadiness, and the battle raged with great fury. The enemy was +repeatedly repulsed, but again pressed on the attack with fresh +troops. Once he succeeded in penetrating an interval between General +Gregg's brigade on the extreme left and that of General Thomas, but +was quickly driven back with great slaughter by the Fourteenth South +Carolina Regiment, then in reserve, and the Forty-ninth Georgia of +Thomas's brigade. The contest was close and obstinate; the combatants +sometimes delivered their fire at a few paces. General Gregg, who was +most exposed, was reënforced by Hays's brigade under Colonel Forno. +Gregg had successfully and most gallantly resisted the attack until +the ammunition of his brigade was exhausted and all his +field-officers but two killed or wounded. The reënforcement was of +like high-tempered steel, and together in hand-to-hand fight they +held their post until they were relieved, after several hours of +severe fighting, by Early's brigade and the Eighth Louisiana +Regiment. General Early drove the enemy back with heavy loss, and +pursued about two hundred yards beyond the line of battle, when he +was recalled to the position on the railroad, where Thomas, Pender, +and Archer had firmly held their ground against every attack. While +the battle was raging on Jackson's left, Hood and Evans were ordered +by Longstreet to advance, but, before the order could be obeyed, Hood +was himself attacked, and his command became at once warmly engaged. +The enemy was repulsed by Hood after a severe contest, and fell back, +closely followed by our troops. + +The battle continued until 9 P.M., the foe retreating until he +reached a strong position, which he held with a large force. Our +troops remained in their advanced position until early next morning, +when they were withdrawn to their first line. One piece of artillery, +several stands of colors, and a number of prisoners were captured. +Our loss was severe. On the morning of the 30th the enemy again +advanced, and skirmishing began along the line. The troops of Jackson +and Longstreet maintained their position of the previous day. At noon +the firing of the batteries ceased, and all was quiet for some hours. + +About 3 P.M. the enemy, having massed his troops in front of General +Jackson, advanced against his position in strong force. His front +line pushed forward until it was engaged at close quarters by +Jackson's troops, when its progress was cheeked, and a fierce and +bloody struggle ensued. A second and third line of great strength +moved up to support the first, but in doing so came within easy range +of a position a little in advance of Longstreet's left. He +immediately ordered up two batteries, and, two others being thrown +forward about the same time by Colonel S. D. Lee, the supporting +lines were broken, and fell back in confusion under their +well-directed and destructive fire. Their repeated efforts to rally +were unavailing, and Jackson's troops, being thus relieved from the +pressure of overwhelming numbers, began to press steadily forward, +driving everything before them. The enemy retreated in confusion, +suffering severely from our artillery, which advanced as he retired. +General Longstreet, anticipating the order for a general advance, now +threw his whole command against the center and left. The whole line +swept steadily on, driving the opponents with great carnage from each +successive position, until 10 P.M., when darkness put an end to the +battle and the pursuit. + +The obscurity of the night and the uncertainty of the fords of Bull +Run rendered it necessary to suspend operations until morning, when +the cavalry, being pushed forward, discovered that the retreat had +continued to the strong position of Centreville, about four miles +beyond Bull Run. The prevalence of a heavy rain, which began during +the night, threatened to render Bull Bun impassable, and to impede +our movements. Longstreet remained on the battle-field to engage +attention and to protect parties for the burial of the dead and the +removal of the wounded, while Jackson proceeded by Sudley's Ford to +the Little River turnpike to turn the enemy's right, and intercept +his retreat to Washington. Jackson's progress was retarded by the +inclemency of the weather and the fatigue of his troops. He reached +the turnpike in the evening, and the next day (September 1st) +advanced by that road toward Fairfax Court-House. The enemy in the +mean time was falling back rapidly toward Washington, and had thrown +a strong force to Germantown, on the Little River turnpike, to cover +his line of retreat from Centreville. The advance of Jackson +encountered him at Ox Hill, near Germantown, about 5 P.M. Line of +battle was at once formed, and two brigades were thrown forward to +attack and ascertain the strength of the position. A cold and +drenching rain-storm drove in the faces of our troops as they +advanced and gallantly engaged. They were subsequently supported, and +the conflict was obstinately maintained until dark, when the enemy +retreated, having lost two general officers, one of whom-- +Major-General Kearney--was left dead on the field. Longstreet's +command arrived after the action was over, and the next morning it +was found that the retreat had been so rapid that the attempt to +intercept was abandoned. The proximity of the fortifications around +Alexandria and Washington was enough to prevent further pursuit. Our +army rested during the 2d near Chantilly, the retreating foe being +followed only by our cavalry, who continued to harass him until he +reached the shelter of his intrenchments. + +In the series of engagements on the plains of Manassas more than +seven thousand prisoners were taken, in addition to about two +thousand wounded left in our hands. Thirty pieces of artillery, +upward of twenty thousand stand of small-arms, numerous colors, and a +large amount of stores, besides those taken by General Jackson at +Manassas Junction, were captured. + +Major-General Pope in his report says: + + "The whole force that I had at Centreville, as reported to me by the + corps commanders, on the morning of the 1st of September, was as + follows: McDowell's corps, 10,000 men; Sigel's corps, about 7,000; + Heintzelman's corps, about 6,000; Reno's, 6,000; Banks's, 5,000; + Sumner's, 11,000; Porter's, 10,000; Franklin's, 8,000--in all, + 63,000 men. . . . The small fraction of 20,500 men was all of the + 91,000 veteran troops from Harrison's landing which ever drew trigger + under my command." + +Our losses in the engagement at Manassas Plains were considerable. +The number killed was 1,090; wounded, 6,154--total, 7,244. The loss +of the enemy in killed, wounded, and missing was estimated between +15,000 and 20,000. The strength of our army in July and September is +stated on a preceding page. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + + Return of the Enemy to Washington.--War transferred to the + Frontier.--Condition of Maryland.--Crossing the Potomac.-- + Evacuation of Martinsburg.--Advance into Maryland.--Large Force of + the Enemy.--Resistance at Boonesboro.--Surrender of Harper's + Ferry.--Our Forces reach Sharpsburg.--Letter of the President to + General Lee.--Address of General Lee to the People.--Position of + our Forces at Sharpsburg.--Battle of Sharpsburg.--Our Strength.-- + Forces withdrawn.--Casualties. + + +The enemy having retired to the protection of the fortifications +around Washington and Alexandria, Lee's army marched, on September +3d, toward Leesburg. The armies of Generals McClellan and Pope had +now been brought back to the point from which they set out on the +campaign of the spring and summer. The objects of those campaigns had +been frustrated, and the hostile designs against the coast of North +Carolina and in western Virginia, thwarted by the withdrawal of the +main body of the forces from those regions. + +Northeastern Virginia was freed from the presence of the invader. His +forces had withdrawn to the intrenchments of Washington. Soon after +the arrival of our army at Leesburg, information was received that +the hostile troops which had occupied Winchester had retired to +Harper's Ferry. The war was thus transferred from the interior to the +frontier, and the supplies of rich and productive districts were made +accessible to our army. To prolong a state of affairs, in every way +desirable, and not to permit the season for active operations to pass +without endeavoring to impose further check on our assailant, the +best course appeared to be the transfer of our army into Maryland. +Although not properly equipped for invasion, lacking much of the +material of war, and deficient in transportation, the troops poorly +provided with clothing, and thousands of them without shoes, it was +yet believed to be strong enough to detain the opposing army upon the +northern frontier until the approach of winter should render its +advance into Virginia difficult, if not impracticable. + +The condition of Maryland encouraged the belief that the presence of +our army, though numerically inferior to that of the North, would +induce the Washington Government to retain all its available force to +provide against contingencies which its conduct toward the people of +that State gave reason to apprehend. At the same time it was hoped +that military success might afford us an opportunity to aid the +citizens of Maryland in any efforts they should be disposed to make +to recover their liberty. The difficulties that surrounded them were +fully appreciated, and we expected to derive more assistance in the +attainment of our object from the just fears of the Washington +Government than from any active demonstration on the part of the +people of Maryland, unless success should enable us to give them +assurance of continued protection. Influenced by these considerations, +the army was put in motion. + +It was decided to cross the Potomac east of the Blue Ridge, in order, +by threatening Washington and Baltimore, to cause the enemy to +withdraw from the south bank, where his presence endangered our +communications and the safety of those engaged in the removal of our +wounded and the captured property from the late battle-field. Having +accomplished this result, it was proposed to move the army into +western Maryland, establish our communication with Richmond through +the Valley of the Shenandoah, and, by threatening Pennsylvania, +induce the enemy to withdraw from our territory for the protection of +his own. + +General D. H. Hill's division, being in advance, crossed the Potomac, +between September 4th and 7th, at the ford near Leesburg, and +encamped in the vicinity of Frederick. It had been supposed that this +advance would lead to the evacuation of Martinsburg and Harper's +Ferry, thus opening the line of communication through the Shenandoah +Valley. This not having occurred, it became necessary to dislodge the +garrisons from those positions before concentrating the army west of +the mountains. For this purpose General Jackson marched very rapidly, +crossed the Potomac near Williamsport on the 11th, sent Hill's +division directly to Martinsburg, and disposed of the rest of the +command so as to cut off retreat to the westward. The enemy evacuated +Martinsburg and retired to Harper's Ferry on the night of the 11th, +and Jackson entered the former on the 12th. Meanwhile General McLaws +had been ordered to seize Maryland Heights on the north side of the +Potomac, opposite Harper's Ferry, and General Walker took possession +of Loudon Heights, on the east side of the Shenandoah, where it +unites with the Potomac, and was in readiness to open fire upon +Harper's Ferry. But McLaws found the heights in possession of the +foe, with infantry and artillery, protected by intrenchments. On the +13th he assailed the works, and after a spirited contest they were +carried; the troops made good their retreat to Harper's Ferry, and on +the next day its investment was complete. + +At the same time that the march of these troops upon Harper's Ferry +began, the remainder of General Longstreet's command and the division +of D. H. Hill crossed the South Mountain and moved toward Boonsboro. +General Stuart with the cavalry remained east of the mountains to +observe the enemy and retard his advance. Longstreet continued his +march to Hagerstown, and Hill halted near Boonsboro to support the +cavalry and to prevent the force invested at Harper's Ferry from +escaping through Pleasant Valley. The advance of the hostile army was +then so slow as to justify the belief that the reduction of Harper's +Ferry would be accomplished and our troops concentrated before they +would be called upon to meet the foe. In that event it had not been +intended to oppose his passage through South Mountain, as it was +desired to engage him as far as possible from his base. But a copy of +Lee's order, directing the movement of the army from Frederick, +happening to fall into the hands of McClellan, disclosed to him the +disposition of our forces. He immediately began to push forward +rapidly, and on the afternoon of the 13th was reported as approaching +the pass in South Mountain on the Boonsboro and Frederick road. +General Stuart's cavalry impeded his progress, and time was thus +gained for preparations to oppose his advance. + +In Taylor's "Four Years with General Lee" some facts relative to this +lost order are stated. An order of battle was issued, stating in +detail the position and duly assigned to each command of the army: + + "It was the custom to send copies of such orders, marked + 'confidential,' to the commanders of separate corps or divisions + only, and to place the address of such separate commander in the + bottom left-hand comer of the sheet containing the order. General D. + H. Hill was in command of a division which had not been attached to + nor incorporated with either of the two wings of the Army of Northern + Virginia. A copy of the order was, therefore, in the usual course, + sent to him. After the evacuation of Frederick City by our forces, a + copy of General Lee's order was found in a deserted camp by a + soldier, and was soon in the hands of General McClellan. The copy of + the order, it was stated at the time, was addressed to 'General D. H + Hill, commanding division.' General Hill has assured me that it could + not have been his copy, because he still has the original order + received by him in his possession." [62] + +General D. H. Hill guarded the Boonsboro Gap, and Longstreet was +ordered to support him, in order to prevent a force from penetrating +the mountains at this point, in the rear of McLaws, so as to relieve +the garrison at Harper's Ferry. Early on the 14th a large body of the +enemy attempted to force its way to the rear of the position held by +Hill, by a road south of the Boonsboro and Frederick turnpike. The +small command of Hill, with Garland's brigade, repelled the repeated +assaults of the army, and held it in check for five hours. +Longstreet, leaving a brigade at Hagerstown, hurried to the +assistance of Hill, and reached the scene of action between 3 and 4 +P.M. The battle continued with great animation until night. On the +south of the turnpike the assailant was driven back some distance, +and his attack on the center repulsed with loss. Darkness put an end +to the contest. + +The effort to force the pass of the mountain had failed, but it was +manifest that without reënforcements Lee could not hazard a renewal +of the engagement; for McClellan, by his great superiority of +numbers, could easily turn either flank. Information was also +received that another large body of his troops had, during the +afternoon, forced its way through Crampton Gap, only five miles in +rear of McLaws. Under these circumstances it was determined to retire +to Sharpsburg, where we would be on the flank and rear of the enemy +should he move against McLaws, and where we could more readily unite +with the rest of our army. This movement, skillfully and efficiently +covered by the cavalry brigade of General Fitzhugh Lee, was +accomplished without interruption. The advance of McClellan's army +did not appear on the west side of the pass at Boonsboro until about +8 A.M. on the following morning. + +The resistance that our troops had offered there secured sufficient +time to enable General Jackson to complete the reduction of Harper's +Ferry. The attack on the garrison began at dawn on the 15th. A rapid +and vigorous fire was opened by the batteries of General Jackson, in +conjunction with those on Maryland and Loudon Heights. In about two +hours, the garrison, consisting of more than eleven thousand men, +surrendered. Seventy-three pieces of artillery, about thirteen +thousand small-arms, and a large quantity of military stores fell +into our hands. General A. P. Hill remained formally to receive the +surrender of the troops and to secure the captured property. + +The commands of Longstreet and D. H. Hill reached Sharpsburg on the +morning of the 15th. General Jackson arrived early on the 16th, and +General J. G. Walker came up in the afternoon. The movements of +General McLaws were embarrassed by the presence of the enemy in +Crampton Gap. He retained his position until the 14th, when, finding +that he was not to be attacked, he gradually withdrew his command +toward the Potomac, then crossed at Harper's Ferry, and marched by +way of Shepardstown. His progress was slow, and he did not reach the +battle-field at Sharpsburg until some time after the engagement of +the 17th began. + +At this time the letter, from which the following extract is made, +was addressed by me to General R. E. Lee, commanding our forces in +Maryland: + + "SIR: It is deemed proper that you should, in accordance with + established usage, announce, by proclamation, to the people of + Maryland, the motives and purposes of your presence among them at the + head of an invading army; and you are instructed in such proclamation + to make known," etc. + +In obedience to instructions, General Lee issued the following +address: + + "HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, NEAR FREDERICK, + _September 8, 1862._ + + "TO THE PEOPLE OF MARYLAND: It is right that you should know the + purpose that has brought the army under my command within the limits + of your State, so far as that purpose concerns yourselves. + + "The people of the Confederate States have long watched, with the + deepest sympathy, the wrongs and outrages that have been inflicted + upon the citizens of a Commonwealth allied to the States of the South + by the strongest social, political, and commercial ties, and reduced + to the condition of a conquered province. + + "Under the pretense of supporting the Constitution, but in violation + of its most valuable provisions, your citizens have been arrested and + imprisoned upon no charge, and contrary to the forms of law. + + "A faithful and manly protest against this outrage, made by a + venerable and illustrious Marylander, to whom in his better days no + citizen appealed for right in vain, was treated with scorn and + contempt. + + "The government of your chief city has been usurped by armed + strangers; your Legislature has been dissolved by the unlawful arrest + of its members; freedom of the press and of speech has been + suppressed; words have been declared offenses by an arbitrary decree + of the Federal Executive; and citizens ordered to be tried by + military commissions for what they may dare to speak. + + "Believing that the people of Maryland possess a spirit too lofty to + submit to such a Government, the people of the South have long wished + to aid yon in throwing off this foreign yoke, to enable you again to + enjoy the inalienable rights of freemen, and restore the independence + and sovereignty of your State. + + "In obedience to this wish, our army has come among you, and is + prepared to assist yon with the power of its arms in regaining the + rights of which you have been so unjustly despoiled. + + "This, citizens of Maryland, is our mission, so far as yon are + concerned. No restraint upon your free-will is intended; no + intimidation will be allowed within the limits of this army at least. + Marylanders shall once more enjoy their ancient freedom of thought + and speech. We know no enemies among you, and will protect all of you + in every opinion. + + "It is for you to decide your destiny freely and without constraint. + This army will respect your choice, whatever it may be; and while the + Southern people will rejoice to welcome you to your natural position + among them, they will only welcome you when you come of your own free + will. + + "R. E. LEE, _General commanding._" + +The commands of Longstreet and D. H. Hill, on their arrival at +Sharpsburg, were placed in position along the range of hills between +the town and the Antietam, nearly parallel to the course of that +stream, Longstreet on the right of the road to Boonsboro and Hill on +the left. The advance of the enemy was delayed by the determined +opposition he encountered from Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry, and he did not +appear on the opposite side of the Antietam until about 2 P.M. During +the afternoon the batteries on each side were partially engaged. On +the 16th the artillery-fire became warm, and continued throughout the +day. A column crossed the Antietam beyond the reach of our batteries +and menaced our left. In anticipation of this movement Hood's two +brigades had been transferred from the right and posted between D. H. +Hill and the Hagerstown road. General Jackson was now directed to +take position on Hood's left, and formed his line with his right +resting on the Hagerstown road and his left extending toward the +Potomac, protected by General Stuart with the cavalry and +horse-artillery. General Walker with his two brigades was stationed +on Longstreet's right. As evening approached, the enemy fired more +vigorously with his artillery and bore down heavily with his infantry +upon Hood, but the attack was gallantly repulsed. At 10 P.M. Hood's +troops were relieved by the brigades of Lawton and Trimble, of +Ewell's division, commanded by General Lawton. Jackson's own +division, under General J. K. Jones, was on Lawton's left, supported +by the remaining brigades of Ewell. + +At early dawn on the 17th his artillery opened vigorously from both +sides of the Antietam, the heaviest fire being directed against our +left. Under cover of this fire a large force of infantry attacked +General Jackson's division. They were met by his troops with the +utmost resolution, and for several hours the conflict raged with +intense fury and alternate success. Our troops advanced with great +spirit; the enemy's lines were repeatedly broken and forced to +retire. Fresh troops, however, soon replaced those that were beaten, +and Jackson's men were in turn compelled to fall back. Nearly all the +field officers, with a large proportion of the men, were killed or +wounded. Our troops slowly yielded to overwhelming numbers, and fell +back, obstinately disputing every point. General Early, in command of +Ewell's division, was ordered with his brigade to take the place of +Jackson's division, most of which was withdrawn, its ammunition being +nearly exhausted and its numbers much reduced. The battle now raged +with great violence, the small commands under Hood and Early holding +their ground against many times their own infantry force and under a +tremendous fire of artillery. Hood was reënforced; then the enemy's +lines were broken and driven back, but fresh numbers advanced to +their support, and they began to gain ground. The desperate +resistance they encountered, however, delayed their progress until +the troops of McLaws arrived, and those of General J. G. Walker could +be brought from the right. Hood's brigade, though it had suffered +extraordinary loss, only withdrew to replenish their ammunition, +their supply being entirely exhausted. They were relieved by Walker's +command, who immediately attacked vigorously, driving his combatant +back with much slaughter. Upon the arrival of the reënforcements +under McLaws, General Early attacked resolutely the large force +opposed to him. McLaws advanced at the same time, and the forces +before them were driven back in confusion, closely followed by our +troops beyond the position occupied at the beginning of the +engagement. + +The attack on our left was speedily followed by one in heavy force on +the center. This was met by part of Walker's division and the +brigades of G. B. Anderson and Rodes, of D. H. Hill's command, +assisted by a few pieces of artillery. General R, H. Anderson's +division came to Hill's support, and formed in rear of his line. At +this time, by a mistake of orders, Rodes's brigade was withdrawn from +its position; during the absence of that command a column pressed +through the gap thus created, and G. B. Anderson's brigade was broken +and retired. The heavy masses moved forward, being opposed only by +four pieces of artillery, supported by a few hundred of our men +belonging to different brigades rallied by Hill and other officers, +and parts of Walker's and B. H. Anderson's commands. Colonel Cooke, +with the Twenty-seventh North Carolina Regiment, stood boldly in line +without a cartridge. The firm front presented by this small force and +the well-directed fire of the artillery checked the progress of the +enemy, and in about an hour and a half he retired. Another attack was +made soon afterward a little farther to the right, but was repulsed +by Miller's guns, of the Washington Artillery, which continued to +hold the ground until the close of the engagement, supported by a +part of R. H. Anderson's troops. The corps designated the Washington +Artillery was composed of Louisiana batteries, organized at New +Orleans in the beginning of the war, under Colonel I. B. Walton. It +was distinguished by its services in the first great battle of +Manassas, and in nearly every important conflict, as well of the army +of Virginia as that of Tennessee, to the close of the war. In the +official reports and in the traditions of both armies the names of +the batteries of the Washington Artillery have frequent and honorable +mention. + +While the attack on the center and left was in progress, repeated +efforts were made to force the passage of the bridge over the +Antietam, opposite the right wing of Longstreet, commanded by +Brigadier-General D. R. Jones. The bridge was defended by General +Toombs with two regiments of his brigade and the batteries of General +Jones. This small command repulsed five different assaults, made by a +greatly superior force. In the afternoon the enemy, in large numbers, +having passed the stream, advanced against General Jones, who held +the ridge with less than two thousand men. After a determined and +brave resistance, he was forced to give way, and the summit was +gained. General A. P. Hill, having arrived from Harper's Ferry, was +now ordered to reënforce General Jones. He moved to his support and +attacked the force now flushed with success. Hill's batteries were +thrown forward and united their fire with those of Jones, and one of +D. H. Hill's also opened with good effect from the left of the +Boonsboro road. The progress of the enemy was immediately arrested, +and his line began to waver. At this moment General Jones ordered +Toombs to charge the flank, while Archer, supported by Branch and +Gregg, moved on the front of the enemy's line. After a brief +resistance, he broke and retreated in confusion toward the Antietam, +pursued by the troops of Hill and Jones, until he reached the +protection of the batteries on the opposite side of the river. + +It was now nearly dark, and McClellan had massed a number of +batteries to sweep the approach to the Antietam, on the opposite side +of which the corps of General Porter, which had not been engaged, now +appeared to dispute our advance. Our troops were much exhausted, and +greatly reduced in numbers by fatigue and the casualties of battle. +Under these circumstances it was deemed injudicious to push our +advantage further in the face of these fresh troops added to an army +previously much exceeding the number of our own. Ours were +accordingly recalled, and formed on the line originally held by +General Jones. The repulse on the right ended the engagement, a +protracted and sanguinary conflict in which every effort to dislodge +us from our position had been defeated with severe loss. + +This great battle was fought by less than forty thousand men on our +side, all of whom had undergone the greatest labors and hardships in +the field and on the march. Nothing could surpass the determined +valor with which they met the large army of the enemy, fully supplied +and equipped, and the result reflected the highest credit on the +officers and men engaged.[63] + +On the 18th our forces occupied the position of the preceding day, +except in the center, where our line was drawn in about two hundred +yards, our ranks were increased by the arrival of a number of troops, +who had not been engaged the day before, and, though still too weak +to assume the offensive, Lee waited without apprehension a renewal of +the attack. The day passed without any hostile demonstration. During +the night of the 18th our army was withdrawn to the south side of the +Potomac, crossing near Shepardstown, without loss or molestation. The +enemy advanced on the next morning, but was held in check by General +Fitzhugh Lee with his cavalry. The condition of our troops now +demanded repose, and the army marched to the Opequan, near +Martinsburg, where it remained several days, and then moved to the +vicinity of Bunker Hill and Winchester. General McClellan seemed to +be concentrating in and near Harper's Ferry, but made no forward +movement. + +The contest on our left in this battle was the most violent. This and +the deprivation of our men are very forcibly shown in the following +account of Major-General Hood:[64] + + "On the morning of the 15th my forces were again in motion. My troops + at this period were sorely in need of shoes, clothing, and food. We + had had issued to us no meat for several days, and little or no + bread; the men had been forced to subsist principally on green corn + and green apples. Nevertheless, they were in high spirits and defiant + as we contended with the advanced guard of McClellan on the 15th and + forenoon of the 16th. During the afternoon of this day I was ordered, + after great fatigue and hunger endured by my soldiers, to take + position near the Hagerstown turnpike, in open field in front of the + Dunkard church. General Hooker's corps crossed the Antietam, swung + round with its front on the pike, and about an hour before sunset + encountered my division. I had stationed one or two batteries on a + hillock in a meadow, near the edge of a corn-field, and just by the + pike. The Texas Brigade had been disposed on the left, and that of + Law on the right. We opened fire, and a spirited action ensued, which + lasted till a late hour in the night. When the firing had in a great + measure ceased, we were so close to the enemy that we could + distinctly hear him massing his heavy bodies in our immediate front. + + "The extreme suffering of my troops for want of food induced me to + ride back to General Lee, and request him to send two or more + brigades to our relief, at least for the night, in order that the + soldiers might have a chance to cook their meager rations. He said + that he would cheerfully do so, but he knew of no command that could + be spared for the purpose; he, however, suggested that I should see + General Jackson, and endeavor to obtain assistance from him. After + riding a long time in search of the latter, I finally discovered him + alone, lying upon the ground asleep by the root of a tree. I aroused + him, and made known the half-starved condition of my troops; he + immediately ordered Lawton's, Trimble's, and Hays's brigades to our + relief. He exacted of me, however, a promise that I would come to the + support of these forces the moment I was called upon. I quickly rode + off in search of my wagons that the men might prepare and cook their + flour, as we were still without meat; unfortunately, the night was + then far advanced, and, although every effort was made in the + darkness to get the wagons forward, dawn of the morning of the 17th + broke upon us before many of the men had time to do more than prepare + the dough. Soon, thereafter, an officer of Lawton's staff dashed up + to me, saying, 'General Lawton sends his compliments, with the + request that you come at once to his support.' 'To arms!' was + instantly sounded, and quite a large number of my brave soldiers were + again obliged to march to the front, leaving their uncooked rations + in camp. + + "Not far distant in our front were drawn up, in close array, heavy + columns of Federal infantry; not leas than two corps were in sight to + oppose my small command, numbering approximately two thousand + effectives. However, with the trusty Law on my right, in the edge of + the wood, and the gallant Colonel Wafford in command of the Texas + Brigade on the left, near the pike, we moved forward to the assault. + Notwithstanding the overwhelming odds of over ten to one against us, + we drove the enemy from the wood and corn-field back upon his + reserves, and forced him to abandon his guns on our left. This most + deadly combat raged till our last round of ammunition was expended. + The First Texas Regiment had lost in the corn-field fully two thirds + of its number; and whole ranks of brave men, whose deeds were + unrecorded save in the hearts of loved ones at home, were mowed down + in heaps to the right and left. Never before was I so continually + troubled with fear that my horse would further injure some wounded + fellow-soldier lying helpless upon the ground. Our right flank, + during this short but seemingly long space of time, was toward the + main line of the Federals, and, after several ineffectual efforts to + procure reënforcements and our last shot had been fired, I ordered my + troops back to Dunkard church for the same reason which had + previously compelled Lawton, Hays, and Trimble to retire (a want of + cartridges). Upon the arrival of McLaws's division we marched to the + rear, renewed our supply of ammunition, and returned to our position + in the wood near the church, which ground we held till a late hour in + the afternoon, when we moved somewhat farther to the right and + bivouacked for the night. With the close of this bloody day ceased + the hardest-fought battle of the war." + +The following account of Colonel Taylor, in his "Four Years with +General Lee," is more comprehensive, embracing the other forces +besides Hood's brigade: + + "On the afternoon of the 16th, General McClellan directed an attack + by Hooker's corps on the Confederate left--Hood's two brigades--and + during the whole of the 17th the battle was waged, with varying + intensity, along the entire line. When the issue was first joined, on + the afternoon of the 16th, General Lee had with him less than + eighteen thousand men, consisting of the commands of Longstreet and + D. H. Hill, the two divisions of Jackson, and two brigades under + Walker. Couriers were sent to the rear to hurry up the divisions of + A. P. Hill, Anderson, and McLaws, hastening from Harper's Ferry, and + these several commands, as they reached the front at intervals during + the day, on the 17th, were immediately deployed and put to work. + Every man was engaged. We had no reserve. + + "The fighting was heaviest and most continuous on the Confederate + left. It is established by Federal evidence that the three corps of + Hooker, Mansfield, and Sumner were completely shattered in the + repeated but fruitless efforts to turn this flank, and two of these + corps were rendered useless for further aggressive movements. The + aggregate strength of the attacking column at this point reached + forty thousand men, not counting the two divisions of Franklin's + corps, sent at a late hour in the day to rescue the Federal right + from the impending danger of being itself destroyed; while the + Confederates, from first to last, had less than fourteen thousand men + on this flank, consisting of Jackson's two divisions, McLaws's + division, and the two small divisions, of two brigades each, under + Hood and Walker, with which to resist their fierce and oft-repeated + assaults. The disproportion in the center and on our right was as + great as, or even more decided than, on our left." + +In the "Report of Committee on the Conduct of the War," Part I, p. +368, General Sumner testifies as follows: + + "General Hooker's corps was dispersed; there is no question about + that. I sent one of my staff-officers to find where they were, and + General Rickets, the only officer he could find, said that he could + not raise three hundred men of the corps. There were troops lying + down on the left, which I took to belong to Mansfield's command. In + the mean time General Mansfield had been killed, and a portion of his + corps had also been thrown into confusion." + +The testimony of General McClellan, in the same report, Part I, p. +441, is to the same effect: + + "The next morning (the 18th) I found that our loss had been so great, + and there was so much disorganization in name of the commands, that I + did not consider it proper to renew the attack that day, especially + as I was sure of the arrival that day of two fresh divisions, + amounting to about fifteen thousand men. As an instance of the + condition of some of the troops that morning, I happen to recollect + the returns of the First Corps. General Hooker's, made on the morning + of the 18th, by which there were thirty-five hundred men reported + present for duty. Four days after that, the returns of the same corps + showed thirteen thousand five hundred." + +On the night of the 19th our forces crossed the Potomac, and some +brigades of the enemy followed. In the morning General A. P. Hill, +who commanded the rear-guard, was ordered to drive them back. Having +disposed his forces, an attack was made, and, as the foe massed in +front of General Pender's brigade and endeavored to turn his flank, +General Hill says, in his report: + + "A simultaneous daring charge was made, and the enemy driven + pell-mell into the river. Then commenced the most terrible slaughter + that this war has yet witnessed. The broad surface of the Potomac was + blue with the floating bodies of our foe. But few escaped to tell the + tale. By their own account, they lost three thousand men killed and + drowned from one brigade alone. Some two hundred prisoners were + taken." + +General McClellan states, in his official report, that he had in this +battle, in action, 87,164 men of all arms. + +The official reports of the commanding officers of our forces, made +at the time, show our total effective infantry to have been 27,255. +The estimate made for the cavalry and artillery, which is rather +excessive, is 8,000. This would make General Lee's entire strength +35,255. + +The official return of the Army of Northern Virginia, on September +22, 1862, after its return to Virginia, and when the stragglers had +rejoined their commands, shows present for duty, 36,187 infantry and +artillery; the cavalry, of which there is no report, would perhaps +increase these figures to 40,000 of all arms.[65] + +The return of the United States Army of the Potomac on September 20, +1862, shows present for duty, at that date, of the commands that +participated in the battle of Sharpsburg, 85,930 of all arms.[66] + +The loss of the enemy at Boonsboro and Sharpsburg was 14,794.[67] + + +[Footnote 62: To these remarks Colonel W. H. Taylor adds the following +note: "Colonel Venable, one of my associates on the staff of General +Lee, says in regard to this matter: 'This is very easily explained. +One copy was sent directly to Hill from headquarters. General Jackson +sent him a copy, as he regarded Hill in his command. It is Jackson's +copy, in his own handwriting, which General Hill has. The other was +undoubtedly left carelessly by some one at Hill's quarters." says +General McClellan, "Upon learning the contents of this order, I at +once gave orders for a vigorous pursuit."--(General McClellan's +testimony, "Report on the Conduct of the War," Part I, p. 440.)] + +[Footnote 63: Report of General R. E. Lee.] + +[Footnote 64: "Advance and Retreat," by J. B. Hood, p. 41.] + +[Footnote 65: Taylor's "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 66: Official return from Adjutant-General's office, United +States Army. "Report of Committee on Conduct of the War," Part I, p. 492.] + +[Footnote 67: Ibid., p. 42.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + + Efforts of the Enemy to obtain our Cotton.--Demands of European + Manufacturers.--Thousands of Operatives resorting to the + Poor-Rates.--Complaint of her Majesty's Secretary of State.--Letter + of Mr. Seward.--Promise to open all the Channels of Commerce.-- + Series of measures adopted by the United States.--Act of Congress.-- + Its Provisions.--Its Operation.--Unconstitutional Measures.-- + President Lincoln an Accomplice.--Not authorized by a State of + War.--Case before Chief-Justice Taney.--His Decision.--Expeditions + sent by the United States Government to seize Localities.--An Act + providing for the Appointment of Special Agents to seize Abandoned or + Captured Property.--The Views of General Grant.--Weakening his + Strength One Third.--Our Country divided into Districts, and Federal + Agents Appointed.--Continued to the Close of the War. + + +A class of measures was adopted by the Government of the United +States, the object of which was practically and effectually to +plunder us of a large portion of our crop of cotton, and secure its +transportation, to the manufacturers of Europe. The foreign necessity +for our cotton is represented in these words of her Majesty's +Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on May 6, 1862, when speaking +of the blockade of our ports: + + "Thousands are now obliged to resort to the poor-rates for + subsistence, owing to this blockade, yet her Majesty's Government + have not sought to take advantage of the obvious imperfections of + this blockade, in order to declare it ineffective. They have, to the + loss and detriment of the British nation, scrupulously observed the + duties of Great Britain to a friendly state." + +The severity of the distress thus alluded to was such, both in Great +Britain and France, as to produce an intervention of the Governments +of those countries to alleviate it. Instead, however, of adopting +those measures required in the exercise of justice to the +Confederacy, and which would have been sustained by the law of +nations, by declaring the blockade "ineffective," as it really was, +they sought, through informal applications to Mr. Seward, the +Secretary of State for the United States, to obtain opportunities for +an increased exportation of cotton from the Confederacy. This is +explained by Mr. Seward in a letter to Mr. Adams, the Minister at +London, dated July 28, 1862, in which he writes as follows: + + "The President has given respectful consideration to the desire + informally expressed to me by the Governments of Great Britain and + France for some farther relaxation of the blockade in favor of that + trade. They are not rejected, but are yet held under consideration, + with a view to ascertain more satisfactorily whether they are really + necessary, and whether they can be adopted without such serious + detriment to our military operations as would render them injurious + rather than beneficial to the interests of all concerned." + +In the same letter Mr. Seward had previously said: + + "We shall speedily open all the channels of commerce, and free them + from military embarrassments; and cotton, so much desired by all + nations, will flow forth as freely as heretofore. We have ascertained + that there are three and a half millions of bales yet remaining in the + region where it was produced, though large quantities of it are yet + unginned and otherwise unprepared for market. We have instructed the + military authorities to favor, so far as they can consistently with + the public safety, its preparation for and dispatch to the markets + where it is so much wanted." + +It has been stated elsewhere in these pages that "it became apparent +that by some understanding, express or tacit, Europe had decided to +leave the initiative in all actions touching the contest on this +continent to the two powers just named (Great Britain and France), +who were recognized to have the largest interest involved." By the +preceding extracts the demands of the Governments of Great Britain +and France for increased facilities, by which to obtain a greater +supply of cotton, are evident; at the same time the determination of +the Government of the United States to fulfill those demands is +apparent, although it placed itself under the necessity of fitting +out some military expeditions against those portions of our territory +where it was supposed the foraging for cotton would be likely to meet +with the greatest success. + +By reference to the series of measures adopted by the Government of +the United States to secure possession of our cotton, it will be seen +that it was inaugurated as early as July 13, 1861. This was within +ten days after the commencement of the first and extra session of +Congress, under the Administration of President Lincoln. It is +scarcely credible that that Government, at so early a day, foresaw +the pressing demand from Europe for cotton which would ensue a year +later. Yet it would seem that we must suppose such to have been its +foresight, or else conclude that the first of these measures was the +inauguration of a grand scheme for the plunder of our cotton-crop, to +enrich whomsoever it might concern. + +The act of the United States Congress of July 13, 1861, above +mentioned, was entitled "An act to provide for the collection of +duties on imports, and for other purposes." Under the "other +purposes" the important features of the act are contained. Section 5 +provides that-- + + "when said insurgents claim to act under the authority of any State + or States, and such claim is not disclaimed or repudiated by the + persons exercising the functions of government in such State or + States, or in the part or parts thereof in which said combination + exists, or such insurrection suppressed by said State or States, then + and in such case it may and shall be lawful for the President, by + proclamation, to declare that the inhabitants of such State, or any + section or part thereof, where such insurrection exists, are in a + state of insurrection against the United States, and thereupon all + commercial intercourse by and between the same and the citizens + thereof and the citizens of the rest of the United States shall + cease, and be unlawful, so long as such condition of hostility shall + continue; and all goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, coming + from said State or section into the other parts of the United States, + and all proceeding to such State or section, by land or water, shall, + together with the vessel or vehicle conveying the same, or conveying + persons to or from such State or section, be forfeited to the United + States: _Provided, however_, That the President may, in his + discretion, license and permit commercial intercourse with any such + part of said State or section, the inhabitants of which are so + declared in a state of insurrection, in such articles, and for such + time, and by such persons, as he, in his discretion, may think most + conducive to the public interest; and such intercourse, so far as by + him licensed, shall be conducted and carried on only in pursuance of + rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. + And the Secretary of the Treasury may appoint such officers at places + where officers of the customs are not now authorized by law, as may + be needed to carry into effect such licenses, rules, and regulations." + +It was provided in Section 9 as follows: + + "Proceedings on seizures for forfeitures, under this act, may be + pursued in the courts of the United States in any district into which + the property so seized may be taken, and proceedings instituted." + +It will be seen, by reference to the provisions of this section, that +the President of the United States was authorized to issue his +proclamation, declaring the inhabitants of any of our States, or of a +portion of any one of them, to be in insurrection, and thereupon all +commercial intercourse became unlawful, and was required to cease, +and all goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, on the way to, or +from, the State or part of a State, were forfeited to the United +States, together with the vessel, or vehicle, in which they were +conveyed. Two effects follow this proclamation: first, the cessation +of all commercial intercourse with the citizens of the United States; +second, the forfeiture of all goods _in transitu_. When this +condition has been reached, the act then authorizes the President, in +his discretion, by license, to reopen the trade in such articles, and +for such time, and by such persons, as he may think most conducive to +the public interest. The articles of trade were to be chiefly cotton +and tobacco; the time during which it might be continued was +evidently so long as it could be used for the purpose in view; the +persons were those who would most skillfully advance the end to be +accomplished; and the public interest was the collection and +transportation of the cotton to the European manufacturers. + +One may search the Constitution of the United States in vain to find +any grant of power to Congress, by which it could be authorized to +pass this act; much less to find any authority conferred upon the +President to approve the act, or to justify him in a violation of the +oath he had taken to support and maintain the provisions of the +Constitution. Congress was guilty of a most flagrant usurpation by +the passage of the act, and the President, instead of being a check +upon their unconstitutional measures, for which object the veto power +was granted to him, became, by his approval, an accomplice in their +usurpation. For nothing is more evident than that it is one of the +powers reserved to the States to regulate the commercial intercourse +between their citizens, to the extent even of the establishment of +inspection and quarantine regulations. The former of these is a +benefit to commerce, and the latter, in some special cases, only +retards it temporarily, to secure the health of a community. + +Neither did a state of war authorize the Government of the United +States to interfere with the commercial intercourse between the +citizens of the States, although under the law of nations it might be +so justified with regard to foreign enemies. But this relation it +persistently refused to concede to the Confederate States or to their +citizens. It constantly asserted that they were its subjects, in a +state of insurrection; and, if so, they were equally entitled to the +provisions of the Constitution for their protection as well as to its +penalties. Still less could the Government make an absolute +forfeiture of the goods seized, as has already been shown when +treating of the Confiscation Act. + +But that a state of war did not enlarge the powers of the Government, +as was assumed by this act, was expressly decided by Chief-Justice +Taney, in a case that arose under this act. The Secretary of the +Treasury issued the regulations for trade, as the act assumed the +power to authorize him to do, in the section presented on a previous +page. One Carpenter neglected or refused to obtain the permit +required, and his goods were seized. He contested the right of seizure, +and the Chief-Justice gave a decision at Baltimore, in May, 1863. +He said: + + "If these regulations had been made directly by Congress, they could + not be sustained by a court of justice, whose duty it is to + administer the law according to the Constitution of the United + States. For from the commencement of the Government to this day it + has been admitted on all hands, and repeatedly decided by the Supreme + Court, that the United States have no right to interfere with the + internal and domestic trade of a State. They have no right to compel + it to pass through their custom-houses, nor to tax it. This is so + plainly set forth in the Constitution, that it has never been + supposed to be open to controversy or question. Undoubtedly, the + United States authorities may take proper measures to prevent trade + or intercourse with the enemy. But it does not by any means follow + that they disregard the limits of all their own powers as prescribed + by the Constitution, or the rights and powers reserved to the States + and the people. + + "A civil war, or any other, does not enlarge the powers of the + Federal Government over the States or the people beyond what the + compact has given to it in time of war. A state of war does not annul + the tenth article of the amendment to the Constitution, which + declares that 'the powers not delegated to the United States by the + Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the + States respectively, or to the people.' Nor does a civil war, or any + other war, absolve the judicial department from the duty of + maintaining with an even and firm hand the rights and powers of the + Federal Government, and of the States, and of the citizens, as they + are written in the Constitution, which every judge is sworn to + support. Upon the whole the Court is of opinion that the regulations + in question are illegal and void, and that the seizure of the goods + of Carpenter, because he refused to comply with them, can not be + sustained. The judgment of the District Court must, therefore, be + reversed, and the goods delivered to the claimant, his agent, or + proctor." + +The proclamation of the President required by the act was issued on +August 16, 1861, declaring certain States and parts of States to be +in insurrection, etc. Under it some licenses were issued to places in +Kentucky and Missouri where the United States forces were located, +without any fruitful results. Some strong military and naval +expeditions were fitted out to invade us and occupy the ports where +cotton and other valuable products were usually shipped. An advance +was made up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers and down the +Mississippi, as has been stated elsewhere. The ports of Beaufort, +North Carolina, Port Royal, South Carolina, and New Orleans, +Louisiana, were declared by proclamation of the President of the +United States to be open for trade under the new system. Licenses +were granted to foreign vessels by United States consuls and to +coasting vessels by the Treasury Department, and the blockade was +relaxed so far as related to those ports, except as "to persons, +property, and information contraband of war." Collectors were +appointed at the above-mentioned ports, and a circular was addressed +to the foreign Ministers at Washington announcing the reopening of +communication with conquered Southern localities. + +Again, on March 3, 1863, an act was passed which authorized the +Secretary of the Treasury to appoint special agents to receive and +collect all abandoned or captured property in any State or portion of +a State designated as in insurrection. Under this act a paper +division of the whole of our territory was made into five special +districts, and to each a special agent was appointed with numerous +assistants. Abandoned property was defined to be that which had been +deserted by the owners, or that which had been voluntarily abandoned +by them to the civil or military authorities of the United States. +Property which had been seized or taken from hostile possession by +the military or naval forces was also to be turned over to the +special agents to be sold. All property not transported in accordance +with the Treasury regulations was forfeitable. All expenses incurred +in relation to the property were charged upon it. + +The views of General Grant on the operation of this system of +measures, as tending to retard the success of subjugation, which was +the object of the war, were presented to the Secretary of the United +States Treasury in a letter dated at Vicksburg on July 21, 1863. He +writes: + + "My experience in West Tennessee has convinced me that any trade + whatever with the rebellious States is weakening to us at least + thirty-three per cent. of our force. No matter what restrictions are + thrown around trade, if any whatever is allowed, it will be made the + means of supplying to the enemy what they want. Restrictions, if + lived up to, make trade unprofitable, and hence none but dishonest + men go into it. I will venture to say that no honest man has made + money in West Tennessee in the last year, while many fortunes have + been made there during the time. The people in the Mississippi Valley + are now nearly subjugated. Keep trade out for a few months, and I + doubt not but that the work of subjugation will be so complete that + trade can be opened freely with the States of Arkansas, Louisiana, + and Mississippi." + +On September 11, 1863, revised regulations were issued by the +Secretary which divided the country into thirteen districts, from +Wheeling, West Virginia, to Natchez, on the Mississippi, and a +complete system of trade and transportation was organized. In +December, 1864, new regulations were issued, which authorized the +purchase of our products at certain points from any person with bonds +furnished by the Treasury. The products were sold, transportation was +allowed, and the proceeds were made to constitute a fund for further +purchases. A vigorous traffic sprang up under these regulations, +which were suspended by an order of General Grant, issued on March +10, 1865, and revoked on April 11th by himself. On April 29, 1865, +all restrictions upon internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial +intercourse with all the country east of the Mississippi River were +discontinued. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + + The Enemy crosses the Potomac and concentrates at Warrenton.-- + Advances upon Fredericksburg.--Its Position.--Our Forces.--The + Enemy crosses the Rappahannock.--Attack on General Jackson.--The + Main Attack.--Repulse of the Enemy on the Right.--Assaults on the + Left.--The Enemy's Columns broke and fled.--Recross the River.-- + Casualties.--Position during the Winter.--The Enemy again crosses + the Rappahannock.--Also crosses at Kelly's Ford.--Converging toward + Chancellorsville, to the Rear of our Position.--Inactivity on our + Front.--Our Forces concentrate near Chancellorsville and encounter + the Enemy.--Position of the Enemy.--Attempt to turn his Right.-- + The Enemy surprised and driven in the Darkness.--Jackson fired upon + and wounded.--Stuart in Command.--Battle renewed.--Fredericksburg + reoccupied.--Attack on the Heights.--Repulse of the Enemy.--The + Enemy withdraws in the Night.--Our Strength.--Losses.--Death of + General Jackson.--Another Account. + + +About the middle of October, 1862, General McClellan crossed the +Potomac east of the Blue Ridge and advanced southward, seizing the +passes of the mountains as he progressed. In the latter part of the +month he began to incline eastwardly from the mountains, moving in +the direction of Warrenton, about which he finally concentrated, his +cavalry being thrown forward beyond the Rappahannock in the direction +of Culpeper Court-House. + +On November 15th the enemy was in motion. The indications were that +Fredericksburg was again to be occupied. Sumner's corps had marched +in the direction of Falmouth, and gunboats and transports had entered +Acquia Creek. + +McLaws's and Ransom's divisions were ordered to proceed to that city; +and on the 21st it became apparent that the whole army--under +General Burnside, who had succeeded General McClellan--was +concentrating on the north side of the Rappahannock. + +About November 26th Jackson was directed to advance toward +Fredericksburg, and, as some of the enemy's gunboats had appeared in +the river at Port Royal, and it was possible that an attempt might be +made to cross in that vicinity, D. H. Hill's division was stationed +near that place, and the rest of Jackson's corps so disposed as to +support Hill or Longstreet, as occasion might require. The fords of +the Rappahannock above Fredericksburg were closely guarded by our +cavalry, and the brigade of General W. H. F. Lee was stationed near +Port Royal to watch the river above and below. The interval before +the advance of the foe was employed in strengthening our lines, +extending from the river about a mile and a half above Fredericksburg +along the range of hills in the rear of the city to the Richmond +Railroad, As these hills were commanded by the opposite heights, in +possession of General Burnside's force, earthworks were constructed +on their crest at the most eligible positions for artillery. To +prevent gunboats ascending the river, a battery, protected by +epaulements, was placed on the bank four miles below the city. The +plain of Fredericksburg is so completely commanded by the Stafford +Heights, that no effectual opposition could be made to the passage of +the river without exposing our troops to the destructive fire of the +numerous batteries on the opposite heights. At the same time, the +narrowness of the Rappahannock and its winding course presented +opportunities for laying down pontoon-bridges at points secure from +the fire of our artillery. Our position was therefore selected with a +view to resist an advance after crossing, and the river was guarded +by detachments of sharpshooters to impede the laying of pontoons +until our army could be prepared for action. + +Before dawn, on December 11th, General Burnside was in motion. About +2 A.M. he commenced preparations to throw two bridges over the +Rappahannock opposite Fredericksburg, and one about a mile and a +quarter below, near the month of Deep Run. From daybreak until 4 +P.M., the troops, sheltered behind the houses on the river-bank, +repelled his repeated efforts to lay bridges opposite the town, +driving back his working parties and their supports with great +slaughter. At the lower point, where there was no such protection, he +was successfully resisted until nearly noon, when, being exposed to +the severe fire of the batteries on the opposite heights and a +superior force of infantry on the river-banks, our troops were +withdrawn, and about 1 P.M. the bridge was completed. Soon afterward, +one hundred and fifty pieces of artillery opened a furious fire upon +the city, causing our troops to retire from the river-bank about 4 +P.M. The enemy then crossed in boats, and proceeded rapidly to lay +down the bridges. His advance into the town was bravely contested +until dark, when our troops were recalled, the necessary time for +concentration having been gained. + +Brigadier-General William Barksdale, who commanded the force placed +in Fredericksburg to resist the crossing, performed that service with +his well-known gallantry. The enemy was prevented from constructing +bridges, and his attempts to cross in boats, under the cover of +artillery and musketry fire, were repelled until late in the +afternoon, when General Barksdale was ordered to retire; he had +directed Lieutenant-Colonel Fizer, commanding the Seventeenth +Mississippi Regiment, of Barksdale's brigade, to select some skillful +marksmen, and proceed to check the operations of the pioneers, who +had commenced to lay pontoons above the city. Colonel Fizer described +to me the novel and bold expedient to which he successfully resorted. +He said his sharpshooters were placed in rifle-pits, on the bank +opposite to that from which the bridge was started; that his men were +instructed to aim only at the bridge-builders. At dawn the workmen +came forward to lay the cover on the bridge; fire was opened, some +were killed, and the rest of the party driven ashore. Then the +enemy's batteries and riflemen opened a heavy fire on his position, +when his men would sit down in the rifle-pits and remain quiet until +the cannonade ceased. Probably under the supposition that our +sharpshooters had been driven off, the workmen would return; our +sharpshooters would arise and repeat the lesson lately given. This, +he said, with intervals of about an hour, during which a continuous +and heavy fire of artillery was kept up, occurred nine times, with +the same result--a repulse with severe loss; and that, for twelve +hours, every attempt to construct a bridge at that point was +defeated. Then, under orders, they withdrew. + +During the night and the succeeding day the enemy crossed in large +numbers at and below the town, secured from material interruption by +a dense fog. Longstreet's corps constituted our left, with Anderson's +division resting on the river, and those of McLaws, Pickett, and Hood +extending to the right. A. P. Hill, of Jackson's corps, was posted +between Hood's right and Hamilton's Crossing, on the railroad. His +front line occupied the edge of a wood. Early and Taliaferro's +divisions constituted Jackson's second line, D. H. Hill's division +his reserve. His artillery was distributed along his line in the most +eligible positions, so as to command the open ground in front. + +Shortly after 9 A.M., the partial rising of the mist disclosed a +large force moving in line of battle against Jackson. Dense masses +appeared in front of A. P. Hill, stretching far up the river in the +direction of Fredericksburg. As they advanced, Major Pellham, of +Stuart's horse-artillery, opened a rapid and well-directed enfilade +fire, which arrested their progress. Four batteries immediately +turned upon him, and, upon his withdrawal, the enemy extended his +left down the Port Royal road, and his numerous batteries opened with +vigor upon Jackson's line. Eliciting no response, his infantry moved +forward to seize the position occupied by Lieutenant-Colonel Walker. +The latter, reserving the fire of his fourteen pieces until their +line had approached within less than eight hundred yards, opened upon +it with such destructive effect as to cause it to waver and soon +retreat in confusion. + +About 1 P.M., the main attack on the right began by a furious +cannonade, under cover of which three compact lines of infantry +advanced against Hill's front. They were received as before and +momentarily checked, but, soon recovering, they pressed forward, +until, coming within range of our infantry, the contest became fierce +and bloody. Archer and Lane, who occupied the edge of a wood, +repulsed those portions of the line immediately in front of them; +but, before the interval between these commands could be closed, the +assailants pressed through in overwhelming numbers and turned the +left of Archer and the right of Lane. Attacked in front and flank, +two regiments of the former and a brigade of the latter, after a +brave resistance, gave way. Archer held his line until the arrival of +reënforcements. Thomas came to the relief of Lane and repulsed the +column that had broken his line, and drove it back to the railroad. +In the mean time a large force had penetrated the wood as far as +Hill's reserve, where it was met by a fire for which it was not +unprepared. General Hill says:[68] "The advancing columns of the +enemy encountered an obstacle at the military road which they little +expected. Gregg's brigade of South Carolinians stood in the way." The +advancing Federals were allowed to approach quite near, when that +brigade poured a withering fire into the faces of Meade's men, and +Early's division from the second line swept forward, and the contest +in the woods was short and decisive. The enemy was quickly routed and +driven out with very heavy loss, and, though largely reënforced, was +pressed back and pursued to the shelter of the railroad embankment. +Here he was gallantly charged by the brigades of Hoke and Atkinson, +and driven across the plain to his batteries. The attack on Hill's +left was repulsed by the artillery on that part of the line, against +which a hot fire from twenty-four guns was directed. The repulse of +the foe on our right was decisive and the attack was not renewed, but +his batteries kept up an active fire at intervals, and sharpshooters +skirmished along the front during the afternoon. + +While these events were transpiring on our right, the enemy, in +formidable numbers, made repeated and desperate assaults upon the +left of our line. About 11 A.M., having massed his troops under cover +of the houses of Fredericksburg, he moved forward in strong columns +to seize Marye's and Willis's Hills. All his batteries on the +Stafford Heights directed their fire upon the positions occupied by +our artillery, with a view to silence it, and cover the movement of +the infantry. Without replying to this furious cannonade, our +batteries poured a rapid and destructive fire into the dense lines of +the infantry as they advanced to the attack, frequently breaking +their ranks, and forcing them to retreat to the shelter of the +houses. Six times did he, notwithstanding the havoc inflicted by our +batteries, press on with great determination to within one hundred +yards of the foot of the hill; but here, encountering the deadly fire +of our infantry, his columns were broken, and fled in confusion to +the town. The last assault was made shortly before dark. This effort +met the fate of those that preceded it, and, when night closed in, +his shattered masses had disappeared in the town, leaving the field +covered with his dead and wounded. + +During the night our lines were strengthened by the construction of +earthworks at exposed points, and preparations made to receive the +enemy on the next day. The 14th passed, however, without a renewal of +the attack. The hostile batteries on both sides of the river played +upon our lines at intervals, our own firing but little. On the 15th +General Burnside still retained his position, apparently ready for +battle, but the day passed as the preceding. But, on the morning of +the 16th, it was discovered that he had availed himself of the +darkness of the night and the prevalence of a violent storm of wind +and rain to recross the river. The town was immediately reoccupied, +and our positions on the river-bank resumed. + +In the engagement we captured more than 900 prisoners and 9,000 stand +of arms. A large quantity of ammunition was found in Fredericksburg, +On our side 458 were killed and 3,743 wounded; total, 4,201. The loss +of the enemy was 1,152 killed, 9,101 wounded, and 3,234 missing; +total, 13,771. + +General Burnside testified before the Committee on the Conduct of the +War that he "had about 100,000 men on the south side of the river, +and every single man of them was under artillery-fire, and about half +of them were at different times formed in columns of attack." [69] + +Lee's then 20,000 Confederate troops were actively engaged. This +number composed about one fourth of the army under General Lee, The +returns of the Army of Northern Virginia show that on the 10th of +December, 1862, General Lee had present for duty 78,228, and, on +December 20th, 75,524 of all arms.[70] + +Upon being asked what causes he assigned for the failure of his +attack, General Burnside replied to the Committee on the Conduct of +the War: "It was found impossible to get the men up to the works. The +enemy's fire was too hot for them." [71] + +After the battle of Fredericksburg the Army of Northern Virginia +remained encamped on the south side of the Rappahannock until the +latter part of April, 1863. The Federal army occupied the north side +of the river opposite Fredericksburg, extending to the Potomac. Two +brigades of Anderson's division--those of Mahone and Posey--were +stationed near United States Mine or Bank Mill Ford. The cavalry was +distributed on both flanks--Fitzhugh Lee's brigade picketing the +Rappahannock above the mouth of the Rapidan and W. H. F. Lee's near +Port Royal. General Longstreet, with two divisions of his corps, was +detached for service south of James River in February, and did not +rejoin the army until after the battle of Chancellorsville. Excepting +a cavalry engagement near Kelly's Ford, on March 17th, nothing of +interest transpired during this period of inactivity. On April 14, +1863, the enemy's cavalry was concentrating on the upper Rappahannock, +but his efforts to establish himself on the south side of the river were +successfully resisted. About the 21st, small bodies of infantry appeared +at Kelly's Ford and the Rappahannock Bridge; at the same time a +demonstration was made opposite Port Royal. These, movements indicated +that the army, now commanded by Major-General Hooker, was about to +resume active operations. On the 28th, early in the morning, the enemy + crossed the river in boats near Fredericksburg, laid a pontoon-bridge, +and built another about a mile below. A considerable force crossed on +these bridges during the day, and was massed under the high banks of +the river, which afforded protection from our artillery, while the +batteries on the opposite heights completely commanded the wide plain +between our lines and the narrow river. As in the first battle at +Fredericksburg, our dispositions were made with a view to resist a +direct advance against us. But the indications were that the principal +effort would be made in some other quarter. On the 29th it was reported +that he had crossed in force near Kelly's Ford, and that a heavy column +was moving from Kelly's toward Germania Ford on the Rapidan, and another +toward Ely's Ford. The routes they were pursuing, after crossing the +Rapidan, converged near Chancellorsville, whence several roads led to +the rear of our position at Fredericksburg. General Anderson +proceeded to cover these roads on the 29th, but, learning that the +enemy had crossed the Rapidan and was approaching in strong force, he +retired early on the next morning to the intersection of the Mine and +plank roads near Tabernacle Church, and began to intrench himself. +His rear-guard, as he left Chancellorsville, was attacked by cavalry, +but, being vigorously repulsed, offered no further opposition to his +march. + +The enemy on our front near Fredericksburg continued inactive, and it +was now apparent that the main attack would be made upon our flank +and rear. It was therefore determined to leave sufficient troops to +hold our lines, and with the main body of the army to give battle to +the approaching column. Early's division of Jackson's corps and +Barksdale's brigade of McLaws's division, with part of the reserve +artillery under General Pendleton, were intrusted with the defense of +our position at Fredericksburg, and at midnight on the 30th General +McLaws marched with the rest of his command toward Chancellorsville. +General Jackson followed at dawn next morning with the remaining +divisions of his corps. He reached the position occupied by General +Anderson at 8 A.M., and immediately began to make preparations to +advance. At 11 A.M. the troops moved forward on the plank and old +turnpike roads. The enemy was soon encountered on both roads, and +heavy skirmishing with infantry and artillery ensued, our troops +pressing steadily forward. A strong attack upon McLaws was repulsed +with spirit by Semmes's brigade; and General Wright, by direction of +General Anderson, diverging to the left of the plank-road, marched by +way of the unfinished railroad from Fredericksburg to Gordonsville +and turned the Federal right. His whole line thereupon retreated +rapidly, vigorously pursued by our troops until they arrived within +about one mile of Chancellorsville. Here the enemy had assumed a +position of great natural strength, surrounded on all sides by a +dense forest filled with a tangled undergrowth, in the midst of which +breastworks of logs had been constructed with trees felled in front +so as to form an almost impenetrable abatis. His artillery swept the +few narrow roads by which his position could be approached from the +front, and commanded the adjacent woods. The left of his line +extended from Chancellorsville toward the Rappahannock, covering the +Bank Mill Ford, where he communicated with the north bank of the +river by a pontoon-bridge. His right stretched westward along the +Germania Ford road more than two miles. Darkness was approaching +before the strength and extent of his line could be ascertained; and, +as the nature of the country rendered it hazardous to attack by +night, our troops were halted and formed in line of battle in front +of Chancellorsville at right angles to the plank-road, extending on +the right to the Mine road, and to the left in the direction of the +"Furnace." + +It was evident that a direct attack by us would be attended with +great difficulty and loss, in view of the strength of his position +and his superiority of numbers. It was therefore resolved to endeavor +to turn his right flank and gain his rear, leaving a force in front +to hold him in check and conceal the movement. The execution of this +plan was intrusted to Lieutenant-General Jackson with his three +divisions. The commands of Generals McLaws and Anderson, with the +exception of Wilcox's brigade which during the night had been ordered +hack to Banks's Ford, remained in front of the enemy. Early on the +morning of the 2d General Jackson marched by the Furnace and Brock +roads, his movement being effectually covered by Fitzhugh Lee's +cavalry under General Stuart in person. As the rear of his train was +passing the furnace a large force of the enemy advanced from +Chancellorsville and attempted its capture, but this advance was +arrested. After a long and fatiguing march General Jackson's leading +division under General Rodes reached the old turnpike about three +miles in rear of Chancellorsville at 4 P.M. As the different +divisions arrived, they were formed at right angles to the road-- +Rodes's in front, Trimble's, under Brigadier-General Colston, in the +second, and A. P, Hill's in the third line. At 6 P.M. the advance was +ordered. The enemy was taken by surprise, and fled after a brief +resistance. General Rodes's men pushed forward with great vigor and +enthusiasm, followed closely by the second and third lines. Position +after position was carried, the guns captured, and every effort of +the foe to rally defeated by the impetuous rush of our troops. In the +ardor of pursuit through the thick and tangled woods, the first and +second lines at last became mingled and moved on together as one. The +fugitives made a stand at a line of breastworks across the road, but +the troops of Rodes and Colston dashed over the intrenchments +together, and the flight and pursuit were resumed and continued until +our advance was arrested by the abatis in front of the line of works +near the central position at Chancellorsville. It was now dark, and +General Jackson ordered the third line under General Hill to advance +to the front and relieve the troops of Rodes and Colston, who were +completely blended and in such disorder from their advance through +intricate woods and over broken ground that it was necessary to +reform them. As Hill's men moved forward, General Jackson, with his +staff and escort, returning from the extreme front, met the +skirmishers advancing, and in the obscurity of the night were +mistaken for the enemy and fired upon. Captain Boswell, chief +engineer of the corps, and several others, were killed and a number +wounded, among whom was General Jackson, who was borne from the +field. The command devolved upon Major-General Hill, whose division +under General Heath was advanced to the line of intrenchments which +had been reached by Rodes and Colston. A furious fire of artillery +was opened upon them, under cover of which infantry advanced to the +attack, but were handsomely repulsed. General Hill was soon afterward +disabled, and the command was turned over to General Stuart. He +immediately proceeded to reconnoiter the ground and make himself +acquainted with the disposition of the troops. The darkness of the +night and the difficulty of moving through the woods and undergrowth +rendered it advisable to defer further operations until morning, and +the troops rested on their arms in line of battle. + +As soon as the sound of cannon gave notice of Jackson's attack on the +enemy's right, the troops in front began to press strongly on the +left to prevent reënforcements being sent to the point assailed. They +advanced up to the intrenchments, while several batteries played with +good effect until prevented by the increasing darkness. + +Early on the morning of May 3d General Stuart renewed the attack upon +General Hooker, who had strengthened his right wing during the night +with additional breastworks, while a large number of guns, protected +by intrenchments, were posted so as to sweep the woods through which +our troops had to advance. Hill's division was in front, with Colston +in the second line, and Rodes in the third. The second and third +lines soon advanced to the support of the first, and the whole became +hotly engaged. The breastworks at which the attack was suspended on +the preceding evening were carried by assault, under a terrible fire +of musketry and artillery. In rear of these breastworks was a +barricade, from which the enemy was quickly driven. The troops on the +left of the plank-road, pressing through the woods, attacked and +broke the next line, while those on the right bravely assailed the +extensive earthworks behind which General Hooker's artillery was +posted. Three times were these works carried, and as often were the +brave assailants compelled to abandon them--twice by the retirement +of the troops on their left, who fell back after a gallant struggle +with superior numbers, and once by a movement of the enemy on their +right caused by the advance of General Anderson. The left, being +reënforced, finally succeeded in driving back the enemy, and the +artillery under Lieutenant-Colonels Carter and Jones, being thrown +forward to occupy favorable positions secured by the advance of the +infantry, began to play with great precision and effect. Anderson, in +the mean time, pressed gallantly forward directly upon Chancellorsville, +his right resting upon the plank-road and his left extending around the +furnace, while McLaws made a strong demonstration to the right of the +road. As the troops advancing upon the enemy's front and right converged +upon his central position, Anderson effected a junction with Jackson's +corps, and the whole line pressed irresistibly. General Hooker's army +was driven from all its fortified positions with heavy loss in killed, +wounded, and prisoners, and retreated toward the Rappahannock. By 10 A.M. +we were in full possession of the field. The troops, having become +somewhat scattered by the difficulties of the ground and the ardor of +the contest, were immediately reformed, preparatory to renewing the +attack. The enemy had withdrawn to a strong position nearer to the +Rappahannock, which he had fortified. His superiority of numbers, the +unfavorable nature of the ground, which was densely wooded, and the +condition of our troops, after the arduous and sanguinary conflict in +which they had been engaged, rendered great caution necessary. Our +operations were just completed, when further movements were arrested +by intelligence received from Fredericksburg. + +Before dawn, on the morning of the 3d, it was known that the enemy +had occupied Fredericksburg in large force, and laid down a bridge at +the town. He made a demonstration against the extreme right of the +force left to hold our lines, which was easily repulsed by General +Early. Soon afterward a column moved from Fredericksburg along the +river-banks, as if to gain the heights on the extreme left which +commanded those immediately in rear of the town. This attempt was +foiled. Very soon the enemy advanced in large force against Marye's, +and the hills to the right and left of it. Two assaults were +gallantly repulsed. After the second, a flag of truce was sent from +the town to obtain permission to provide for the wounded. Three heavy +lines advanced immediately upon the return of the flag and renewed +the attack. They were bravely repulsed on the right and left, but the +small force at the foot of Marye's Hill, overpowered by more than ten +times their numbers, was captured after an heroic resistance and the +hill carried. The success of the enemy enabled him to threaten our +communications by moving down the Telegraph road, or to come upon our +rear at Chancellorsville by the plank-road. He began to advance on +the plank-road, his progress being gallantly disputed by the brigade +of General Wilcox, who fell back slowly until he reached Salem Church +on the plank-road, about five miles from Fredericksburg. + +In this state of affairs in our rear, General Lee led General McLaws +with his three brigades to reënforce General Wilcox. He arrived at +Salem Church early in the afternoon, where he found General Wilcox in +line of battle, with a large force of the enemy--consisting, as was +reported, of one army corps and part of another--in his front. The +enemy's artillery played vigorously upon our position for some time, +when his infantry advanced in three strong lines, the attack being +directed mainly against General Wilcox, but partially involving the +brigades on his left. The assault was met with the utmost firmness, +and after a fierce struggle the first line was repulsed with great +slaughter. The second then came forward, but immediately broke under +the close and deadly fire which it encountered, and the whole mass +fled in confusion to the rear. They were pursued by the brigades of +Wilcox and Semmes, which advanced nearly a mile, when they were +halted to reform in the presence of the hostile reserve, which now +appeared in large force. It being quite dark, General Wilcox deemed +it imprudent to push the attack with his small numbers, and retired +to his original position, the enemy making no attempt to follow. The +next morning General Early advanced along the Telegraph road, and +recaptured Marye's and the adjacent hills without difficulty, thus +gaining the rear of the enemy's left. In the mean time General Hooker +had so strengthened his position near Chancellorsville, that it was +deemed inexpedient to assail it with less than our whole force, which +had been reduced by the detachment led to Fredericksburg to relieve +us from the danger that menaced our rear. + +It has been heretofore stated that General Longstreet had been sent +with two divisions of Lee's array to coöperate with General French on +the south side of the James River, in the capture of Suffolk, the +occupation of which by the enemy interrupted our collection of +supplies in the eastern counties of North Carolina and Virginia. When +the advance of Hooker threatened General Lee's front, instructions +were sent to General Longstreet to hasten his return to the army with +the large force detached with him. These instructions were repeated +with urgent insistence, yet his movements were so delayed that, +though the battle of Chancellorsville did not occur until many days +after he was expected to join, his force was absent when it occurred. +Had he rejoined his command in due time, Lee need not have diminished +his force in front of Hooker, so as to delay the renewal of the +attack and force him to a precipitate retreat, involving the loss of +his artillery and trains. It was accordingly resolved still further +to reënforce the troops in front, in order, if possible, to drive +Hooker across the Rappahannock. Some delay occurred in getting the +troops into position, owing to the broken and irregular nature of the +ground, and the difficulty of ascertaining the disposition of the +opposing forces. The attack did not begin until 6 P.M., when the +enemy's troops were rapidly driven across the plank-road in the +direction of the Rappahannock. The speedy approach of darkness +prevented General McLaws from perceiving the success of the attack, +until the foe began to recross the river a short distance below +Banks's Ford, where he had laid one of his pontoon-bridges. His right +brigades advanced through the woods in the direction of the firing, +but the retreat was so rapid that they could only join in the +pursuit. A dense fog settled over the field, increasing the obscurity +and rendering great caution necessary to avoid collision between our +own troops. Their movements were consequently slow. The next morning +it was found that the enemy had made good his escape and removed his +bridges. Fredericksburg was evacuated, and our rear no longer +threatened. But, as General Hooker had it in his power to recross, it +was deemed best to leave a force to hold our lines as before. McLaws +and Anderson being directed to return to Chancellorsville, they +reached their destination during the afternoon, in the midst of a +violent storm, which continued throughout the night and most of the +following day. Preparations were made to assail the enemy's works at +daylight on the 6th, but, on advancing our skirmishers, it was found +that, under cover of the storm and darkness of the night, he had +retreated over the river. A detachment was left to guard the +battle-field, while the wounded were removed and the captured +property collected. The rest of the army returned to its former +position. + +The loss of the enemy, according to his own statement, was 1,512 +killed and 9,518 wounded; total, 11,030. His dead and a large number +of wounded were left on the field. About 5,000 prisoners, exclusive +of the wounded, were taken, and 13 pieces of artillery, 19,500 stand +of arms, 17 colors, and a large quantity of ammunition fell into our +hands. + +Our loss was much less in killed and wounded than that of the enemy, +but of the number was one, a host in himself, Lieutenant-General +Jackson, who was wounded, and died on May 10th. Of this great +captain, General Lee, in his anguish at his death, justly said, "I +have lost my right arm." As an executive officer he had no superior, +and war has seldom shown an equal. Too devoted to the cause he served +to have any personal motive, he shared the toils, privations, and +dangers of his troops when in chief command; and in subordinate +position his aim was to understand the purpose of his commander and +faithfully to promote its success. He was the complement of Lee; +united, they had achieved such results that the public felt secure +under their shield. To us his place was never filled. + +The official return of the Army of Northern Virginia, on March 31, +1863, shows as present for duty 57,112, of which 6,509 were cavalry +and 1,621 reserve artillery. On May 20th, two weeks after the battle, +and when Pickett's and Hood's divisions had rejoined the army, the +total infantry force numbered but 55,261 effective men, from which, +if the strength of Hood's and Pickett's divisions is deducted, there +would remain 41,358 as the strength of the commands that participated +in the battles of Chancellorsville.[72] + +The Army of the Potomac numbered 120,000 men, infantry and artillery, +with a body of 12,000 well-equipped cavalry, and an artillery force +of four hundred guns.[73] + +A brief and forcible account of this battle is given by Taylor:[74] + + "A formidable force under General Sedgwick was thrown across the + river below Fredericksburg, and made demonstrations of an intention + to assail the Confederate front. Meanwhile, with great celerity and + secrecy, General Hooker, with the bulk of his array, crossed at the + upper fords, and, in an able manner and wonderfully short time, had + concentrated four of his seven army corps, numbering fifty-six + thousand men, at Chancellorsville, about ten miles west of + Fredericksburg. His purpose was now fully developed to General Lee, + who, instead of awaiting its further prosecution, immediately + determined on the movement the least expected by his opponent. He + neither proceeded to make strong his left against an attack from the + direction of Chancellorsville nor did he move southward so as to put + his army between that of General Hooker and the Confederate capital, + but, leaving General Early, with about nine thousand men, to take + care of General Sedgwick, he moved with the remainder of his army, + numbering forty-eight thousand men, toward Chancellorsville. As soon + as the advance of the enemy was encountered, it was attacked with + vigor, and very soon the Federal army was on the defensive in its + apparently impregnable position. It was not the part of wisdom to + attempt to storm this stronghold; but Sedgwick would certainly soon + be at work in the rear, and Early, with his inadequate force, could + not do more than delay and harass him. It was, therefore, + imperatively necessary to strike--to strike boldly, effectively, and + at once. There could be no delay. Meanwhile, two more army corps had + joined General Hooker, who now had about Chancellorsville ninety-one + thousand men--six corps except one division of the Second Corps + (Conch's), which had been left with Sedgwick at Fredericksburg. It + was a critical position for the Confederate commander, but his + confidence in his trusted lieutenant and brave men was such that he + did not long hesitate. Encouraged by the counsel and confidence of + General Jackson, he determined to still further divide his army; and, + while he, with the divisions of Anderson and McLaws, less than + fourteen thousand men, should hold the enemy in his front, he would + hurl Jackson upon his flank and rear, and crush and crumble him as + between the upper and nether millstone. The very boldness of the + movement contributed much to insure its success. + + "The flank movement of Jackson's wing was attended with extraordinary + success. On the afternoon of the 2d of May, he struck such a blow to + the enemy on their extreme right as to cause dismay and + demoralization to their entire army; this advantage was promptly and + vigorously followed up the next day, when Generals Lee and Stuart + (the latter then in command of Jackson's wing) joined elbows; and, + after most heroic and determined effort, their now united forces + finally succeeded in storming and capturing the works of the enemy. + + "Meantime Sedgwick had forced Early out of the heights at + Fredericksburg, and had advanced toward Chancellorsville, thus + threatening the Confederate rear. General Lee, having defeated the + greater force and driven it from its stronghold, now gathered up a + few of the most available of his victorious brigades and turned upon + the lesser. On May 3d Sedgwick's force was encountered near Salem + Church, and its further progress checked by General McLaws, with the + five brigades detached by General Lee for this service, including + Wilcox's, which had been stationed at Banks's Ford. On the next day. + General Anderson was sent to reënforce McLaws with three additional + brigades. Meanwhile, General Early had connected with these troops, + and in the afternoon, so soon as dispositions could be made for + attack, Sedgwick's lines were promptly assailed and broken, the main + assault being made on the enemy's left by Early's troops. The + situation was now a critical one for the Federal lieutenant. Darkness + came to his rescue, and on the night of the 4th be crossed to the + north side of the river. + + "On the 5th General Lee concentrated for another assault on the new + line taken up by General Hooker; but on the morning of the 6th it was + ascertained that the enemy, in General Lee's language, 'had sought + safety beyond the Rappahannock,' and the river flowed again between + the hostile hosts." + + +[Footnote 68: "Reports of the Army of Northern Virginia," vol. ii, p. 463.] + +[Footnote 69: "Report of Committee on the Conduct of the War," Part I, +p. 656.] + +[Footnote 70: Taylor's "Four year with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 71: "Report of Committee on the Conduct of the War," Part I, +p. 656.] + +[Footnote 72: Taylor's "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 73: Swinton's "Army of the Potomac," p. 269.] + +[Footnote 74: "Four Years with General Lee."] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + Relations with Foreign Nations.--The Public Questions.--Ministers + abroad.--Usages of Intercourse between Nations.--Our Action.-- + Mistake of European Nations; they follow the Example of England and + France.--Different Conditions of the Belligerents.--Injury to the + Confederacy with a Single Exception.--These Agreements remained + inoperative.--Extent of the Pretended Blockade.--Remonstrances + against its Recognition.--Sinking Vessels to block up Harbors.-- + Every Proscription of Maritime Law violated by the United States + Government.--Protest.--Addition made to the Law by Great Britain.-- + Policy pursued favorable to our Enemies.--Instances.--Mediation + proposed by France to Great Britain, and Russian Letter of French + Minister.--Reply of Great Britain.--Reply of Russia.--Letter to + French Minister at Washington.--Various Offensive Actions of the + British Government.--Encouraging to the United States.--Hollow + Profession of Neutrality. + + +The public questions arising out of our foreign relations were too +important to be overlooked. At the end of the first year of the war +the Confederate States had been recognized by the leading governments +of Europe as a belligerent power. This continued unchanged to the +close. Mr. Mason became our representative in London, Mr. Slidell in +Paris, Mr. Rost in Spain, and Mr. Mann in Belgium. They performed +with energy and skill the positions, but were unsuccessful in +obtaining our recognition as an independent power. + +The usages of intercourse between nations require that official +communication be made to friendly powers of all organic changes in +the constitution of states. To those who are familiar with the +principles upon which the States known as the United States were +originally constituted, as well as those upon which the Union was +formed, the organic changes made by the secession and confederation +of the Southern States are very apparent. But to others an +explanation may be necessary. Each of the States was originally +declared to be sovereign and independent. In this condition, at a +former period, all of those then existing were severally recognized +by name by the only one of the powers which had denied their right to +independence. This gave to each a recognized national sovereignty. +Subsequently they formed a compact of voluntary union, whereby a new +organization was constituted, which was made the representative of +the individual States in all general intercourse with other nations. +So long as the compact continued in force, this agent represented +merely the sovereignty of the States. But, when a portion of the +States withdrew from the compact and formed a new one under the name +of the Confederate States, they had made such organic changes in +their Constitution as to require official notice in compliance with +the usages of nations. + +For this purpose the Provisional Government took early measures for +sending to Europe Commissioners charged with the duty of visiting the +capitals of the different powers and making arrangements for the +opening of more formal diplomatic intercourse. Prior, however, to the +arrival abroad of these Commissioners, the Government of the United +States had addressed communications to the different Cabinets of +Europe, in which it assumed the attitude of being sovereign over the +Confederate States, and alleged that these independent States were in +rebellion against the remaining States of the Union, and threatened +Europe with manifestations of its displeasure if it should treat the +Confederate States as having an independent existence. It soon became +known that these pretensions were not considered abroad to be as +absurd as they were known to be at home; nor had Europe yet learned +what reliance was to be placed in the official statements of the +Cabinet at Washington. The delegation of power granted by the States +to the General Government to represent them in foreign intercourse +had led European nations into the grave error of supposing that their +separate sovereignty and independence had been merged into one common +sovereignty, and had ceased to have a distinct existence. Under the +influence of this error, which all appeals to reason and historical +fact were vainly used to dispel, our Commissioners were met by the +declaration that foreign Governments could not assume to judge +between the conflicting representations of the two parties as to the +true nature of their previous relations. The Governments of Great +Britain and France accordingly signified their determination to +confine themselves to recognizing the self-evident fact of the +existence of a war, and to maintain a strict neutrality during its +progress. Some of the other powers of Europe pursued the same course +of policy, and it became apparent that by some understanding, express +or tacit, Europe had decided to leave the initiative in all action +touching the contest on this continent to the two powers just named, +who were recognized to have the largest interests involved, both by +reason of proximity to and of the extent of intimacy of their +commercial relations with the States engaged in war. + +It was manifest that the course of action adopted by Europe, while +based on an apparent refusal to determine the question or to side +with either party, was, in point of fact, an actual decision against +our rights and in favor of the groundless pretensions of the United +States. It was a refusal to treat us as an independent government. If +we were independent States, the refusal to entertain with us the same +international intercourse which was maintained with our enemy was +unjust, and was injurious in its effects, whatever might have been +the motive which prompted it. Neither was it in accordance with the +high moral obligations of that international code, whose chief +sanction is the conscience of sovereigns and the public opinion of +mankind, that those eminent powers should have declined the +performance of a duty peculiarly incumbent on them, from any +apprehension of the consequences to themselves. One immediate and +necessary result of their declining the responsibility of a decision, +which must have been adverse to the extravagant pretensions of the +United States, was the prolongation of hostilities to which our +enemies were thereby encouraged, and which resulted in scenes of +carnage and devastation on this continent and of misery and suffering +on the other such as have scarcely a parallel in history. Had those +powers promptly admitted our right to be treated as all other +independent nations, none can doubt that the moral effect of such +action would have been to dispel the pretension under which the +United States persisted in their efforts to accomplish our +subjugation. + +There were other matters in which less than justice was rendered to +the Confederacy by "neutral" Europe, and undue advantage conferred on +the aggressors in a wicked war. At the inception of hostilities, the +inhabitants of the Confederate States were almost exclusively +agriculturists; those of the United States were also to a large +extent mechanics, merchants, and navigators. We had no commercial +marine, while their merchant-vessels covered the ocean. We were +without a navy, while they had powerful fleets built by the money we +had in full share contributed. The power which they possessed for +inflicting injury on our coasts and harbors was thus counterbalanced +in some measure by the exposure of their commerce to attack by +private armed vessels. It was known to Europe that within a very few +years past the United States had peremptorily refused to accede to +proposals for the abolition of privateering, on the ground, as +alleged by them, that nations owning powerful fleets would thereby +obtain undue advantage over those possessing inferior naval force. +Yet no sooner was war flagrant between the Confederacy and the United +States than the maritime powers of Europe issued orders prohibiting +either party from bringing prizes into their ports. This prohibition, +directed with apparent impartiality against both belligerents, was in +reality effective against, the Confederate States only, for they +alone could find a hostile commerce on the ocean. Merely nominal +against the United States, the prohibition operated with intense +severity on the Confederacy by depriving it of the only means of +maintaining its struggle on the ocean against the crashing +superiority of naval force possessed by its enemies. The value and +efficiency of the weapon which was thus wrested from our grasp by the +combined action of "neutral" European powers, in favor of a power +which professes openly its intention of ravaging their commerce by +privateers in any future war, is strikingly illustrated by the terror +inspired among commercial classes of the United States by a single +cruiser of the Confederacy. One small steamer, commanded by officers +and manned by a crew who were debarred by the closure of neutral +ports from the opportunity of causing captured vessels to be +condemned in their favor as prizes, sufficed to double the rates of +marine insurance in Northern ports, and consign to forced inaction +numbers of Northern vessels, in addition to the direct damage +inflicted by captures at sea. + +But it was especially in relation to the so-called blockade that the +policy of European powers was so shaped as to cause the greatest +injury to the Confederacy, and to confer signal advantages on the +United States. A few words in explanation may here be necessary. + +Prior to the year 1856 the principles regulating this subject were to +be gathered from the writings of eminent publicists, the decisions of +admiralty courts, international treaties, and the usages of nations. +The uncertainty and doubt which prevailed in reference to the true +rules of maritime law, in time of war, resulting from the discordant +and often conflicting principles announced from such varied and +independent sources, had become a grievous evil to mankind. Whether a +blockade was allowable against a port not invested by land as well as +by sea, whether a blockade was valid by sea if the investing fleet +was merely sufficient to render ingress to the blockaded port +evidently dangerous, or whether it was further required for its +legality that it should be sufficient "really to prevent access," and +numerous other similar questions, had remained doubtful and undecided. + +Animated by the highly honorable desire to put an end "to differences +of opinion between neutrals and belligerents, which may occasion +serious difficulties and even conflicts" (such was the official +language), the five great powers of Europe, together with Sardinia +and Turkey, adopted in 1856 the following declaration of principles: + + "1. Privateering is and remains abolished. + + "2. The neutral flag covers enemy's goods, with the exception of + contraband of war. + + "3. Neutral goods, with the exception of contraband of war, are not + liable to capture under enemy's flag. + + "4. Blockades, in order to be binding must be effective, that is to + say, maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the + coast of the enemy." + +Not only did this solemn declaration announce to the world the +principles to which the signing powers agreed to conform in future +wars, but it contained a clause to which these powers gave immediate +effect, and which provided that the states, not parties to the +Congress of Paris, should be invited to accede to the declaration. +Under this invitation every independent state in Europe yielded its +assent--at least, no instance is known to me of a refusal; and the +United States, while declining to assent to the proposition which +prohibited privateering, declared that the three remaining principles +were in entire accordance with their own views of international law. + +No instance is known in history of the adoption of rules of public +law under circumstances of like solemnity, with like unanimity, and +pledging the faith of nations with a sanctity so peculiar. + +When, therefore, this Confederacy was formed, and when neutral +powers, while deferring action on its demand for admission into the +family of nations, recognized it as a belligerent power, Great +Britain and France made informal proposals, about the same time, that +their own rights as neutrals should be guaranteed by our acceding, as +belligerents, to the declaration of principles made by the Congress +of Paris. The request was addressed to our sense of justice, and +therefore met immediate and favorable response in the resolutions of +the Provisional Congress of the 13th of August, 1861, by which all +the principles announced by the Congress of Paris were adopted as the +guide of our conduct during the war, with the sole exception of that +relative to privateering. As the right to make use of privateers was +one in which neutral nations had, as to the then existing war, no +interest; as it was a right which the United States had refused to +abandon, and which they remained at liberty to employ against us; as +it was a right of which we were already in actual enjoyment, and +which we could not be expected to renounce _flagrante bello_ against +an adversary possessing an overwhelming superiority of naval forces-- +it was reserved with entire confidence that neutral nations could not +fail to perceive that just reason existed for the reservation. Nor +was this confidence misplaced; for the official documents published +by the British Government contained the expression of the +satisfaction of that Government with the conduct of officials who +conducted successfully the delicate transaction confided to their +charge. + +These solemn declarations of principle, this implied agreement +between the Confederacy and the two powers just named, were suffered +to remain inoperative against the menaces and outrages on neutral +rights committed by the United States with unceasing and progressing +arrogance during the whole period of the war. Neutral Europe remained +passive when the United States, with a naval force insufficient to +blockade effectively the coast of a single State, proclaimed a paper +blockade of thousands of miles of coast, extending from the Capes of +the Chesapeake to those of Florida, and encircling the Gulf of Mexico +from Key West to the mouth of the Rio Grande. Compared with this +monstrous pretension of the United States, the blockades known in +history under the names of the Berlin and Milan Decrees, and the +British Orders in Council, in the years 1806 and 1807, sink into +insignificance. Those blockades were justified by the powers that +declared them, on the sole ground that they were retaliatory; yet +they have since been condemned by the publicists of those very powers +as violations of international law. It will be remembered that those +blockades evoked angry remonstrances from neutral powers, among which +the United States were the most conspicuous, and were in their +consequences the chief cause of the war between Great Britain and the +United States in 1812; also, that they formed one of the principal +motives that led to the declaration of the Congress of Paris in 1856, +in the fond hope of imposing an enduring check on the very abuse of +maritime power which was renewed by the United States in 1861 and +1862, under circumstances and with features of aggravated wrong +without precedent in history. + +Repeated and formal remonstrances were made by the Confederate +Government to neutral powers against the recognition of that +blockade. It was shown by evidence not capable of contradiction, and +which was furnished in part by the officials of neutral nations, that +the few ports of the Confederacy, before which any naval forces at +all were stationed, were invested so inefficiently that hundreds of +entries were effected into them after the declaration of the +blockade; that our enemies admitted the inefficiency of their +blockade in the most forcible manner, by repeated official complaints +of the sale to us of goods contraband of war--a sale which could not +possibly have affected their interests if their pretended blockade +had been sufficient "really to prevent access to our coasts"; that +they alleged their inability to render their paper blockade effective +as the excuse for the odious barbarity of destroying the entrance to +one of the harbors by sinking vessels loaded with stone in the +channel; that our commerce with foreign nations was interrupted, not +by the effective investment of our ports, but by watching the ports +of the West Indies; not only by the seizure of ships in the attempt +to enter the Confederate ports, but by the capture on the high-seas +of neutral vessels by the cruisers of our enemies, whenever supposed +to be bound to any point on our extensive coast, without inquiry +whether a single blockading vessel was to be found at such point; +that blockading vessels had left the ports at which they were +stationed for distant expeditions, were absent for many days, and +returned without notice either of the cessation or renewal of the +blockade; in a word, that every prescription of maritime law and +every right of neutral nations to trade with a belligerent under the +sanction of principles heretofore universally respected were +systematically and persistently violated by the United States. +Neutral Europe received our remonstrances, and submitted in almost +unbroken silence to all the wrongs that the United States chose to +inflict on its commerce. The Cabinet of Great Britain, however, did +not confine itself to such implied acquiescence in these breaches of +international law which resulted from simple inaction, but, in a +published dispatch of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, assumed to +make a change in the principle enunciated by the Congress of Paris, +to which the faith of the British Government was considered to be +pledged. The change was so important and so prejudicial to the +interests of the Confederacy that, after a vain attempt to obtain +satisfactory explanations from that Government, I directed a solemn +protest to be made. + +[Illustration: Members of the Confederate Cabinet] + +In a published dispatch from her Majesty's Foreign Office to her +Minister at Washington, under date of February 11th, 1862, occurred +the following passage: + + "Her Majesty's Government, however, are of opinion that, assuming + that the blockade was duly notified, and also that a number of ships + is stationed and remains at the entrance of a port sufficient really + to prevent access to it, _or to create an evident danger of entering + it or leaving it_, and that these ships do not voluntarily permit + ingress or egress, the fact that various ships may have successfully + escaped through it (as in the particular instance here referred to), + will not of itself prevent the blockade from being an effectual one + by international law." + +The words which I have italicized were an addition made by the +British Government of its own authority to a principle, the exact +terms of which were settled with deliberation by the common consent +of civilized nations, and by implied convention with our Government, +as already explained, and their effect was clearly to reopen to the +prejudice of the Confederacy one of the very disputed questions on +the law of blockade which the Congress of Paris proposed to settle. +The importance of this change was readily illustrated by taking one +of our ports as an example. There was "evident danger," in entering +the port of Wilmington, from the presence of a blockading force, and +by this test the blockade was effective. "Access is not really +prevented" by the blockading fleet to the same port; for steamers +were continually arriving and departing, so that, tried by this test, +the blockade was ineffective and invalid. Thus, while every energy of +our country was evoked in the struggle for maintaining its existence, +the neutral nations of Europe pursued a policy which, nominally +impartial, was practically most favorable to our enemies and most +detrimental to us. + +The exercise of the neutral right of refusing entry into their ports +to prizes taken by both belligerents was especially hurtful to the +Confederacy. It was sternly adhered to and enforced. + +The assertion of the neutral right of commerce with a belligerent, +whose ports are not blockaded by fleets sufficient really to prevent +access to them, would have been eminently beneficial to the +Confederate States, and only thus hurtful to the United States. It +was complaisantly abandoned. + +The duty of neutral states to receive with cordiality and recognize +with respect any new confederation that independent states may think +proper to form, was too clear to admit of denial, but its +postponement was equally beneficial to the United States and +detrimental to the Confederacy. It was postponed. + +In this statement of our relations with the nations of Europe, it has +been my purpose to point out distinctly that the Confederacy had no +complaint to make that those nations declared their neutrality. It +could neither expect nor desire more. The complaint was, that the +declared neutrality was delusive, not real; that recognized neutral +rights were alternately asserted and waived in such manner as to bear +with great severity on us, while conferring signal advantages on our +enemy. + +Perhaps it may not be out of place here to notice a correspondence +between the Cabinets of France, Great Britain, and Russia, relative +to a mediation between the Confederacy and the United States. On +October 30, 1862, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Drouyn de +l'Huys, addressed a note to the ambassadors of France at London and +St. Petersburg. In this dispatch he stated that the Emperor had +followed with painful interest the struggle which had then been going +on for more than a year on this continent. He observed that the +proofs of energy, perseverance, and courage, on both sides, had been +given at the expense of innumerable calamities and immense bloodshed; +to the accompaniments of civil conflict was to be added the +apprehension of servile war, which would be the climax of so many +irreparable misfortunes. + +If these calamities affected America only, these sufferings of a +friendly nation would be enough to excite the anxiety and sympathy of +the Emperor; but Europe also had suffered in one of the principal +branches of her industry, and her artisans had been subjected to most +cruel trials. France and the maritime powers had, during the +struggle, maintained the strictest neutrality, but the sentiments by +which they were animated, far from imposing on them anything like +indifference, seem, on the contrary, to require that they should +assist the two belligerent parties in an endeavor to escape from a +position which appeared to have no issue. The forces of the two sides +had hitherto fought with balanced success, and the latest accounts +did not show any prospect of a speedy termination of the war. + +These circumstances, taken together, seemed to favor the adoption of +measures which might bring about a truce. The Emperor of the French, +therefore, was of the opinion that there was now an opportunity of +offering to the belligerents the good offices of the maritime powers. +He, therefore, proposed to her Majesty, as well as to the Emperor of +Russia, that the three courts should endeavor, both at Washington and +in communication with the Confederate States, to bring about a +suspension of arms for six months, during which time every act of +hostility, direct or indirect, should cease, at sea as well as on +land. This armistice might, if necessary, be renewed for a further +period. + +This proposal, he proceeded to say, would not imply, on the part of +the three powers, any judgment on the origin of the war, or any +pressure on the negotiations for peace, which it was hoped would take +place during the armistice. The three powers would only interfere to +smooth the obstacles, and only within the limits which the two +interested parties would prescribe. The French Government was of the +opinion that, even in the event of a failure of immediate success, +those overtures might have proved useful in leading the minds of men +heated by passion to consider the advantages of conciliation and +peace. + +The reply of Great Britain, through Lord John Russell, on November +13, 1862, is really contained in this extract: + + "After weighing all the information which has been received from + America, her Majesty's Government are led to the conclusion that + there is no ground at the present moment to hope that the Federal + Government would accept the proposal suggested, and a refusal from + Washington at the present time would prevent any speedy renewal of + the offer." + +The Russian Government, in reply, said: + + "According to the information we have hitherto received, we are + inclined to believe that a combined step between France, England, + and Russia, no matter bow conciliatory, and how cautiously made, if + it were taken with an official and collective character, would run + the risk of causing precisely the very opposite of the object of + pacification, which is the aim of the wishes of the three courts." + +The unfavorable reception of the proposal was communicated by the +French Minister of Foreign Affairs to the representative of France at +Washington. In this communication he said: + + "Convinced as we were that an understanding between the three powers + in the sense presented by us would answer as much the interests of + the American people as our own; that even that understanding was, in + the existing circumstances, a duty of humanity, you will easily form + an idea of our regret at seeing the initiative we have taken after + mature reflection remain without results. Being also desirous of + informing Mr. Dayton, the United States Minister, of our project, I + confidently communicated it to him, and even read in his presence the + dispatch sent to London and St. Petersburg. I could not but be + surprised that the Minister of the United States should oppose his + objections to the project I communicated to him, and to hear him + express personally some doubts as to the reception which would be + given by the Cabinet at Washington to the joint offers of the good + offices of France, Russia, and Great Britain." + +It has already been stated that, by common understanding, the +initiative in all action touching the contest on this continent had +been left by foreign powers to the two great maritime nations of +Western Europe, and that the Governments of these two nations had +agreed to take no measures without previous concert. The result of +these arrangements, therefore, placed it in the power of either +France or England to obstruct at pleasure the recognition to which +the Confederacy was justly entitled, or even to prolong the +continuance of hostilities on this side of the Atlantic, if the +policy of either could be promoted by the postponement of peace. +Each, too, thus became possessed of great influence in so shaping the +general exercise of neutral rights in Europe as to render them +subservient to the purpose of aiding one of the belligerents, to the +detriment of the other. Perhaps it may not be out of place to present +a few examples by which to show the true nature of the neutrality +professed in this war. + +In May, 1861, the Government of her Britannic Majesty assured our +enemies that "the sympathies of this country [Great Britain] were +rather with the North than with the South." + +On June 1, 1861, the British Government interdicted the use of its +ports to "armed ships and privateers, both of the United States and +the so-called Confederate States," with their prizes. The Secretary +of State of the United States fully appreciated the character and +motive of this interdiction, when he observed to Lord Lyons, who +communicated it, that "this measure and that of the same character +which had been adopted by France would probably prove a death-blow to +Southern privateering"--a means, it will be remembered, which the +United States had refused to abandon for themselves. + +On the 12th of June, 1861, the United States Minister in London +informed her Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs that the fact of +his having held interviews with the Commissioners of our Government +had given "great dissatisfaction, and that a protraction of this +would be viewed by the United States as hostile in spirit, and to +require some corresponding action accordingly." In response to this +intimation her Majesty's Minister gave assurance that "he had no +expectation of seeing them any more." + +Further extracts will show the marked encouragement to the United +States to persevere in its paper blockade, and unmistakable +intimations that her Majesty's Government would not contest its +validity. + +On May 21, 1801, Earl Russell pointed out to the United States +Minister in London that "the blockade might, no doubt, be made +effective, considering the small number of harbors on the Southern +coast, even though the extent of three thousand miles were +comprehended in the terms of that blockade." + +On January 14, 1862, her Majesty's Minister in Washington +communicated to his Government that, in extenuation of the barbarous +attempt to destroy the port of Charleston by sinking a stone fleet in +the harbor, Mr. Seward had explained that "the Government of the +United States had, last spring, with a navy very little prepared for +so extensive an operation, undertaken to blockade upward of three +thousand miles of coast. The Secretary of the Navy had reported that +he could stop up the 'large holes' by means of his ships, but that he +could not stop up the 'small ones.' It has been found necessary, +therefore, to close some of the numerous small inlets by sinking +vessels in the channel." + +On May 6, 1862, so far from claiming the right of British subjects as +neutrals to trade with us as belligerents, and to disregard the +blockade on the ground of this explicit confession by our enemy of +his inability to render it effective, her Majesty's Minister for +Foreign Affairs claimed credit with the United States for friendly +action in respecting it. His lordship stated that-- + + "The United States Government, on the allegation of a rebellion + pervading from nine to eleven States of the Union, have now, for more + than twelve months, endeavored to maintain a blockade of three + thousand miles of coast. This blockade, kept up irregularly, but, + when enforced, enforced severely, has seriously injured the trade and + manufactures of the United Kingdom. + + "Thousands are now obliged to resort to the poor-rates for + subsistence owing to this blockade. Yet her Majesty's Government have + never sought to take advantage of the obvious imperfections of this + blockade, in order to declare it ineffective. They have, to the loss + and detriment of the British nation, scrupulously observed the duties + of Great Britain toward a friendly state." + +It is not necessary to pursue this subject further. Suffice it to say +that the British Government, when called upon to redeem its pledge +made at Paris in 1856, and renewed to the Confederacy in 1861, +replied that it could not regard the blockade of Southern ports as +having been otherwise than "practically effective in February, 1862," +and that "the manner in which it has since been enforced gives to +neutral governments no excuse for asserting that the blockade had not +been effectively maintained." + +The partiality of her Majesty's Government in favor of our enemies +was further evinced in the marked difference of its conduct on the +subject of the purchase of supplies by the two belligerents. This +difference was conspicuous from the very commencement of the war. As +early as May 1, 1861, the British Minister in Washington was informed +by the Secretary of State of the United States that he had sent +agents to England, and that others would go to France, to purchase +arms; and this fact was communicated to the British Foreign Office, +which interposed no objection. Yet, in October of the same year, Earl +Russell entertained the complaint of the United States Minister in +London, that the Confederate States were importing contraband of war +from the Island of Nassau, directed inquiry into the matter, and +obtained a report from the authorities of the island denying the +allegations, which report was inclosed to Mr. Adams, and received by +him as satisfactory evidence to dissipate "the suspicion thrown upon +the authorities by that unwarrantable act." So, too, when the +Confederate Government purchased in Great Britain, as a neutral +country (with strict observance both of the law of nations and the +municipal law of Great Britain), vessels which were subsequently +armed and commissioned as vessels of war after they had been far +removed from English waters, the British Government, in violation of +its own laws, and in deference to the importunate demands of the +United States, made an ineffectual attempt to seize one vessel, and +did actually seize and detain another which touched at the Island of +Nassau, on her way to a Confederate port, and subjected her to all +unfounded prosecution, at the very time when cargoes of munitions of +war were openly shipped from British ports to New York, to be used in +warfare against us. Further instances need not be adduced to show how +detrimental to us, and advantageous to our enemy, was the manner in +which the leading European power observed its hollow profession of +neutrality toward the belligerents. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + + Advance of General E. K. Smith.--Advance of General Bragg.--Retreat + of General Buell to Louisville.--Battle at Perryville, Kentucky.-- + General Morgan at Hartsville.--Advance of General Rosecrans.-- + Battle of Murfreesboro.--General Van Dorn and General Price.-- + Battle at Iuka.--General Van Dorn.--Battle of Corinth.--General + Little.--Captures at Holly Springs.--Retreat of Grant to Memphis.-- + Operations against Vicksburg.--The Canal.--Concentration.--Raid of + Grierson.--Attack near Port Gibson.--Orders of General Johnston.-- + Reply of General Pemberton.--Baker's Creek.--Big Black Bridge.-- + Retreat to Vicksburg.--Siege.--Surrender.--Losses.--Surrender of + Port Hudson.--Some Movements for its Relief. + + +Operations in the West now claim attention. General Bragg, soon after +taking command, as has been previously stated, advanced from Tupelo +and occupied Chattanooga. Meantime General E. K. Smith with his force +held Knoxville, in East Tennessee. Subsequently, in August, he moved +toward Kentucky, and entered that State through Big Creek Gap, some +twenty miles south of Cumberland Gap. After several small and +successful affairs, he reached Richmond in the afternoon of August +30th. Here a force of the enemy had been collected to check his +progress, but it was speedily routed, with the loss of some hundred +killed and several thousand made prisoners, and a large number of +small-arms, artillery, and wagons were captured. Lexington was next +occupied; thence he advanced to Frankfort; and, moving forward toward +the Ohio River, a great alarm was created in Cincinnati, then so +little prepared for defense that, had his campaign been an +independent one, he probably could and would have crossed the Ohio +and captured that city. His division was but the advance of General +Bragg's, and his duty to coöperate with it was a sufficient reason +for not attempting so important a movement. + +General Bragg marched from Chattanooga on September 5th, and, without +serious opposition, entered Kentucky by the eastern route, thus +passing to the rear of General Buell in Middle Tennessee, who, +becoming concerned for his line of communication with Nashville and +Louisville, and especially for the safety of the latter city, +collected all his force and retreated rapidly to Louisville. This was +a brilliant piece of strategy on the part of General Bragg, by which +he manoeuvered the foe out of a large and to us important territory. +By it north Alabama and Middle Tennessee were relieved from the +presence of the enemy, without necessitating a single engagement. + +General Buell in his retreat followed the line of the railroad from +Nashville to Louisville. General Bragg moved more to the eastward, so +as to unite with the forces under General E. K. Smith, which was +subsequently effected when the army was withdrawing from Kentucky. + +On September 18th General Bragg issued an address to the citizens of +Kentucky. Some recruits joined him, and an immense amount of supplies +was obtained, which he continued to send to the rear until he +withdrew from the State. The enemy, having received reënforcements, +as soon as our army began to retire, moved out and pressed so heavily +on its rear, under Major-General Hardee, that he halted and checked +them near Perryville. General Bragg then determined there to give +battle. + +Concentrating three of the divisions of his old command, then under +Major-General Polk, he directed him to attack on the morning of +October 8th. The two armies were formed on opposite sides of the +town. The action opened at 12.30 P.M., between the skirmishers and +artillery on both sides. Finding the enemy indisposed to advance, +General Bragg ordered him to be assailed vigorously. The engagement +became general soon after, and was continued furiously until dark. +Although greatly outnumbered, our troops did not hesitate to engage +at any odds, and, though the battle raged with varying fortune, our +men eventually carried every position, and drove the Federals about +two miles. The intervention of night terminated the action. Our force +captured fifteen pieces of artillery, killed one and wounded two +brigadier-generals and a very large number of inferior officers and +men, estimated at no lees than four thousand, and captured four +hundred prisoners. Our loss was twenty-five hundred killed, wounded, +and missing. + +Ascertaining that the enemy was heavily reënforced during the night, +General Bragg on the next morning withdrew his troops to Harrodsburg. +General Smith arrived the next day with most of his forces, and the +whole were then withdrawn to Bryantsville, the foe following slowly +but not closely. General Bragg finally took position at Murfreesboro, +and the hostile forces concentrated at Nashville, General Buell +having been superseded by General Rosecrans. + +Meantime, on November 30th, General Morgan with thirteen hundred men +made an attack on a brigade of the enemy at Hartsville. It was found +strongly posted on a hill in line of battle. Our line was formed +under fire, and the advance was made with great steadiness. The enemy +was driven from his position, through his camps, losing a battery of +Parrott guns, and finally hemmed in on the river-bank, where he +surrendered. The contest was severe, and lasted an hour and a half. +The prisoners numbered twenty-one hundred. + +Late in the month of December General Rosecrans commenced his advance +from Nashville upon the position of General Bragg at Murfreesboro. +His movement began on December 26th by various routes, but such was +the activity of our cavalry as to delay him four days in reaching the +battle-field, a distance of twenty-six miles. On the 29th General +Wheeler with his cavalry brigade gained the rear of Rosecrans's army, +and destroyed several hundreds of wagons loaded with supplies and +baggage. After clearing the road, he made the circuit of the enemy +and joined our left. Their strength, as we have ascertained, was +65,000 men. The number of fighting men we had on the field on +December 31st was 35,000, of which 30,000 were infantry and artillery. + +Our line was formed about two miles from Murfreesboro, and stretched +transversely across Stone River, which was fordable from the Lebanon +pike on the right to the Franklin road on the left. As General +Rosecrans made no demonstration on the 30th, General Bragg determined +to begin the conflict early on the morning of the 31st by the advance +of his left. The enemy was taken completely by surprise, and his +right was steadily driven until his line was thrown entirely back at +a right angle to his first position and near to the railroad, along +which he had massed reserves. Their resistance after the first +surprise was most gallant and obstinate. At night he had been forced +from every position except the one on his extreme left, which rested +on Stone River, and was strengthened by a concentration of artillery, +and now seemed too formidable for assault. + +On the next day (January 1st) the cannonading opened on the right +center about 8 A.M., and after a short time subsided. The enemy had +withdrawn from the advanced position occupied by his left flank; one +or two short contests occurred on the 3d, but his line was unchanged. +Our forces had now been in line of battle five days and nights, with +little rest, as there were no reserves. Their tents had been packed +in the wagons, which were four miles to the rear. The rain was +continuous, and the cold severe. Intelligence was received that heavy +reënforcements were coming to Rosecrans by a rapid transfer of all +the troops from Kentucky, and for this and the reasons before stated +General Bragg decided to fall back to Tullahoma, and the army was +withdrawn in good order. + +In the series of engagements near Murfreesboro we captured over 6,000 +prisoners, 30 pieces of artillery, 6,000 small-arms, a number of +ambulances, horses, and mules, and a large amount of other property. +Our losses exceeded 10,000, and that of the enemy was estimated at +over 25,000. + +After the battle of Shiloh, West Tennessee and north Mississippi were +occupied by a force under General Grant. Subsequently this force was +increased, and General Rosecrans assigned to its command. Many +positions were held in West Tennessee and north Mississippi, +extending from Memphis to the northeastern part of the State of +Mississippi, with garrisons aggregating about 42,000 men. The most +important of these positions was that of the fortified town of +Corinth. As part of the plan to subjugate the Southwestern States, +extensive preparations were made for an advance through Mississippi +and an attack on Vicksburg by combined land and naval forces. A large +number of troops occupied Middle Tennessee and north Alabama. To +defeat their general plan, and to relieve the last-mentioned places +of the presence of the enemy, General Bragg moved his army into +Kentucky, which, by this time, the Federal Government thought it +needless to overawe by the presence of garrisons. General Van Dorn +and General Price commanded the Confederate troops then in north +Mississippi. General Bragg, when he advanced into Kentucky, had left +them with instructions to operate against the Federals in that +region, and especially to guard against their junction with Buell in +Middle Tennessee. Though Van Dorn was superior in rank, he had no +power to command General Price, unless they should happen to join in +the field and do duty together. General Price on this as on other +occasions manifested his entire willingness to make a junction with +his superior officer, and about the last of August proposed to +General Van Dorn to join him, but at that time Van Dorn's available +force for the field had been sent with General Breckinridge in his +campaign against Baton Rouge. After that force had rejoined General +Van Dorn, he wrote to Price, inviting him to unite with him, that, +with their two divisions, they might make an attack upon Corinth, by +the capture of which main position of the enemy in that section of +the country he hoped to be subsequently able to drive him from north +Mississippi and West Tennessee. Price felt constrained by his +instructions to observe and if possible to prevent Rosecrans's forces +in Mississippi from effecting a junction with Buell's in Tennessee; +therefore the invitation was unfortunately postponed to a future time. + +Subsequently General Price learned that Rosecrans was moving to cross +the Tennessee and join Buell; he therefore marched from Tupelo and +reached Iuka on the 19th of September. His cavalry advance found the +place occupied by a force, which retreated toward Corinth, abandoning +a considerable amount of stores. On the 24th Van Dorn renewed in +urgent terms his request for Price to come with all his forces to +unite with him and make an attack upon Corinth. On the same day Price +received a letter from General Ord, informing him that "Lee's army +had been destroyed at Antietam; that, therefore, the rebellion must +soon terminate, and that, in order to spare the further effusion of +blood, he gave him this opportunity to lay down his arms." Price +replied, correcting the rumor about Lee's army, thanked Ord for his +kind feeling, and promised to "lay down his arms whenever Mr. Lincoln +should acknowledge the independence of the Southern Confederacy, and +not sooner." On that night General Price held a council of war, at +which it was agreed on the next morning to fall back and make a +junction with Van Dorn, it being now satisfactorily shown that the +enemy was holding the line on our left instead of moving to reënforce +Buell. The cavalry pickets had reported that a heavy force was moving +from the south toward Iuka on the Jacinto road, to meet which General +Little had advanced with his Missouri brigade, an Arkansas battalion, +the Third Louisiana Infantry, and the Texas Legion. It proved to be a +force commanded by General Rosecrans in person. A bloody contest +ensued, and the latter was driven back, with the loss of nine guns. +Our own loss was very serious. General Maury states that the Third +Louisiana regiment lost half its men, that Whitfield's legion +suffered heavily, and adds that these two regiments and the Arkansas +battalion of about a hundred men had charged and captured the enemy's +guns. In this action General Henry Little fell, an officer of +extraordinary merit, distinguished on many fields, and than whom +there was none whose loss could have been more deeply felt by his +Missouri brigade, as well as by the whole army, whose admiration he +had so often attracted by gallantry and good conduct. It was +afterward ascertained that this movement of Rosecrans was intended to +be made in concert with one by Grant moving from the west, but the +former had been beaten before the latter arrived. Before dawn Price +moved to make the proposed junction with Van Dorn, which was effected +at Ripley on the 28th of September, at which time Van Dorn in his +report says: "Field returns showed my strength to be about 22,000. +Rosecrans at Corinth had about 15,000, with about 8,000 additional +men at outposts from twelve to fifteen miles distant." In addition to +this force, the enemy had at Memphis, under Sherman, about 6,000 men; +at Bolivar, under Ord, about 8,000; at Jackson, Tennessee, under +Grant, about 3,000; at bridges and less important points, 2,000 or +3,000--making an aggregate of 42,000 in West Tennessee and north +Mississippi. + +Corinth, though the strongest, was from its salient position the +point it was most feasible to attack, and, under the circumstances, +the most important to gain. Van Dorn, therefore, decided to move so +rapidly upon it as to take it by surprise, and endeavor to capture it +before reënforcements could arrive. In a previous chapter notice has +been taken of the character and conduct of General Price; here it is +proposed in like manner to say something of General Van Dorn, +rendered the more appropriate because of the criticism to which his +attack upon Corinth has been subjected. He was an educated soldier, +had served with marked distinction in the war with Mexico; indeed, +had been quite as often noticed in official reports for gallantry and +good conduct as any officer who served in that war. After its close +he had served on the Western frontier, and in Indian warfare +exhibited a like activity and daring as that shown in the greater +battles with Mexico. Immediately on the secession of his native +State, Mississippi, he resigned from the United States Army, and, +together with his veteran commander in Texas, General Twiggs, +commenced recruiting men for the anticipated war. He was among the +first to leave the service of the United States, and came to offer +his sword to Mississippi. In the military organization there +authorized, he was appointed a brigadier-general, and, when the State +troops were transferred to the Confederacy, he entered its service. +Gentle as he was brave, and generous, freely sharing all the dangers +and privations to which his troops were subjected, he possessed, like +his associate Price, both the confidence and affection of his men. +Without entering into details of the disposition of his troops in the +attack on the works at Corinth, the result shows that they were +skillfully made, and, though final success did not crown the effort, +the failure was due to other causes than the defect of plan or want +of energy and personal effort on the part of Van Dorn. His opponent, +Rosecrans, was an engineer of high ability, and proved himself one of +the best generals in the United States Army. He had materially +strengthened the works around Corinth, and had interposed every +possible obstacle to an assault. Our army had moved rapidly from +Ripley, its point of junction, had cut the railroad between Corinth +and Jackson, Tennessee, and at daybreak on the 3d of March was +deployed for attack. By ten o'clock our force confronted the enemy +inside his intrenchments. In half an hour the whole line of outer +works was carried, the obstructions passed, and the battle opened in +earnest; the foe, obstinately disputing every point, was finally +driven from his second line of detached works, and at sunset had +retreated to the innermost lines. + +The battle had been mainly fought by Price's division on our left. +The troops had made a quick march of ten miles over dusty roads +without water; the line of battle had been formed in forests with +undergrowth; the combats of the day had been so severe that General +Price thought his troops unequal to further exertion on that day, and +it was decided to wait until morning. Of this, General Van Dorn says: + + "I saw with regret the sun sink behind the horizon as the last shot + of our sharpshooters followed the retreating foe into their innermost + lines. One hour more of daylight, and victory would have soothed our + grief for the loss of the gallant dead who sleep on that lost but not + dishonored field." + +During the night batteries were put in position to open on the town +at 4 A.M. At daybreak the action was to begin on the left, to be +immediately followed by an advance on the extreme right. The order +was not executed, the commander of the wing which was to make the +attack failed to do so, and another officer was sent to take his +place. In the mean time the center became engaged, and the action +extended to the left. The plan had been disarranged; nevertheless, +the center and left pushed forward and planted their colors on the +last stronghold of the enemy; his "heavy guns were silenced, and all +seemed about to be ended, when a heavy fire from fresh troops that +had succeeded in reaching Corinth was poured into our thin ranks," +and, with this combined assault on Price's exhausted corps, which had +sustained the whole conflict, those gallant troops were driven back. +The day was lost. The enemy, reënforced, was concentrated against our +left, and Lovell's division, which was at this time advancing, +pursuant to orders, and was on the point of assaulting the works, was +ordered to move to the left to prevent a sortie, and cover their +retreat. Our army retired during the day to Chewalla without pursuit, +and rested for the night free from molestation. + +Our loss was very heavy of gallant men and officers. In the fierce +conflicts the officers displayed not only daring, but high military +skill, their impetuous charges being marked by judicious selection of +time and place. Colonel William S. Barry, who, as commander of the +burial party, visited General Rosecrans, was courteously received by +that officer, who, while declining to admit the command within his +lines, sent assurance to General Van Dorn that "every becoming +respect should be shown to his dead and wounded. . . . He had the +grave of Colonel Rodgers, who led the Second Texas sharpshooters, +inclosed and marked with a slab, in respect to the gallantry of his +charge. Rodgers fell before Gates called on me to reënforce him on +the edge of the ditch of Battery Robbinet." [75] This officer, W. P. +Rodgers, was a captain in the First Regiment of Mississippi Rifles in +the war with Mexico, and the gallantry which attracted the admiration +of the enemy at Corinth was in keeping with the character he acquired +in the former service referred to. Of this retreat, that able soldier +and military critic, General Dabney H. Maury, in a contribution to +the "Annals of the War," wrote: + + "Few commanders have ever been so beset as Van Dorn was in the forks + of the Hatchie, and very few would have extricated a beaten army as + he did then. One, with a force stated at ten thousand men, headed him + at the Hatchie Bridge; while Rosecrans, with twenty thousand men, was + attacking his rear at the Tuscumbia Bridge, only five miles off. The + whole road between was occupied by a train of nearly four hundred + wagons, and a defeated army of about eleven thousand muskets. But Van + Dorn was never for a moment dismayed. He repulsed Ord, and punished + him severely; while he checked Rosecrans at the Tuscumbia, until he + could turn his train and army short to the left, and cross the + Hatchie by the Boneyard road, without the loss of a wagon." + +He then moved near Holly Springs, Mississippi, to await farther +developments. In the mean time General Grant massed a heavy force, +estimated at eighty thousand men, at various points on the Memphis +and Charleston Railroad. Thence he moved south, through the interior +of Mississippi, until he encamped near Water Valley. The country was +teeming with great quantities of breadstuffs and forage, and he +accumulated an immense depot of supplies at Holly Springs, and +hastened every preparation necessary to continue his advance +southward. Unless his progress was arrested, the interior of the +State, its capital, Jackson, Vicksburg, and its railroads, would fall +into his possession. As we had no force in front sufficient to offer +battle, our only alternative was to attack his communications. For +this purpose. General Van Dorn, on the night of December 15th, +quietly withdrew our cavalry, amounting to less than twenty-five +hundred men, from the enemy's front, and marched for Holly Springs. +That place was occupied by a brigade of infantry and a portion of the +Seventh Illinois Cavalry. The movement of Van Dorn was so rapid that +early on the morning of the 19th he surprised and captured the +garrison, and before eight o'clock was in quiet possession of the +town. The captured property, amounting to millions of dollars, was +burned before sunset, with the exception of the small quantity used +in arming and equipping his command. General Grant was thus forced to +abandon his campaign and to retreat hastily from the State. + +After the battle of Murfreesboro, which closed in the first days of +1863, there was a cessation of active operations in that portion of +Tennessee, and attention was concentrated upon the extensive +preparations which were in progress for a campaign into Mississippi, +with Vicksburg as the objective point. The plan, as it was developed, +was for a combined movement by land and river, the former passing +through the interior of Mississippi to approach Vicksburg in rear, +the latter to descend the Mississippi River and attack the city in +front. General Pemberton, with the main body of his command, held the +position on the Tallahatchie and Yazoo Rivers, and among the various +devices to turn that position was one more ingenious than ingenuous. +It was an offer to furnish, at prices lower than ruled in our +markets, provisions of which we stood in need, to be sent through the +Yazoo Pass and transported in boats through to the Yazoo River if we +should desire. I had, some time before, directed that cypress rafts, +as far as practicable, of sinking timber, should be thrown into the +main channel leading down from the Yazoo Pass; and saw that, if it +was not the purpose of the proposer, the effect of accepting the +proposition would be to open a water line of approach from the +Mississippi, below Memphis, then in the hands of the enemy, to the +interior in rear of Vicksburg: for that reason, I resisted much +importunity in favor of allowing the supplies to be brought in that +manner. + +In the latter part of December General Sherman, having descended the +Mississippi River, entered the Yazoo with four divisions of land +troops and five gunboats, the object being to reduce our work at +Haines's Bluff and turn Vicksburg so as to attack it in rear. The +first point at which the range of hills extending from Vicksburg up +the Yazoo approaches near to the river is at Haines's Bluff, some +twenty miles by the course of the Yazoo from the Mississippi River. +Here the troops were landed the 26th of December to attack the +redoubts which had been built upon the bluff. + +On the 27th little progress was made. On the 28th the attempt, by one +division, to approach the causeway north of the Chickasaw Bayou, was +repulsed with heavy loss. The troops were withdrawn and moved down +the river to a point below the bayou, there to unite with the rest of +the command. At daylight on the 29th the attack was resumed and +continued throughout the most of the day; the enemy were again +repulsed with heavy loss. On the next day there was firing on both +sides without conclusive results. On the 31st General Sherman sent in +a flag of trace to bury the dead. + +[Illustration: Map of action of December 26-31] + +Thereafter nothing important occurred until the latter part of +January, when the troops under General Grant embarked at Memphis and +moved down the Mississippi River to Young's Point, on the Louisiana +shore, a few miles above Vicksburg. The expected coöperation by his +forces with those of Sherman had been prevented by the brilliant +cavalry expedition under Van Dorn, which captured and destroyed the +vast supplies collected at Holly Springs for the use of Grant's +forces in the land movement referred to. This compelled Grant to +retreat to Memphis, and frustrated the combined movement which had +been projected, in connection with the river campaign, by Sherman, +and a new plan of operations resulted therefrom, in which, however, +still prominently appears the purpose of turning Vicksburg on the +north. After General Grant, descending the Mississippi from Memphis, +arrived (2d of February, 1863) in the neighborhood of Vicksburg and +assumed command of the enemy's forces, an attempt was made, by +removing obstructions to the navigation of the Yazoo Pass and Cold +Water, small streams which flow from the Mississippi into the +Tallahatchie River, to pass to the rear of Fort Pemberton at the +mouth of the latter. The never-to-be-realized hope was to reduce that +work, and thus open the way down the Yazoo River to the right flank +of the defenses of Vicksburg. + +[Illustration: Map of action north of Vicksburg] + +At the same time another attempt was made, by means of the network of +creeks and bayous on the north side of the Yazoo, to pass around and +enter the Yazoo above Haines's Bluff; but our sharpshooters, availing +themselves of every advantageous position, picked off the men upon +the boats, and Colonel (afterward General) Ferguson, with a few men +and a section of field-pieces, so harassed and beset them that they +were driven back utterly discomfited. + +Admiral Porter had, with his fleet, gone some distance up Deer Creek, +and, but for the land-forces sent to sustain him, would probably +never have returned, an adventurous party having passed in below him +with axes to fell trees so as to prevent his egress. He is described +as follows:[76] + + "I soon found Admiral Porter, who was on the deck of one of his + ironclads, with a shield made of the section of a smoke-stack, and I + doubt if he was ever more glad to meet a friend than he was to see + me. He explained that he had almost reached the Rolling Fork, when + the woods became full of sharpshooters, who, taking advantage of + trees, stumps, and the levee, would shoot down every man that poked + his nose outside the protection of their armor. . . . He informed me + at one time things looked so critical that he had made up his mind to + blow up the gunboats, and to escape with his men through the swamp to + the Mississippi River." + +This attempt to get through to Yazoo, above Haines's Bluff, had so +signally failed, that the expedition was ordered back to the +Louisiana shore above Vicksburg, where they arrived on the 27th of +March, 1863. General Grant was now in command of a large army, +holding various positions on the Mississippi River opposite to +Vicksburg, extending from Milliken's Bend above to New Carthage +below, with a fleet of gunboats in the river above Vicksburg, and +another some eight miles below. Lieutenant-General Pemberton's +military district included Vicksburg, and Major-General Gardner was +in command at Port Hudson. These posts, as long as they could be +maintained, gave us some control over the intermediate space of the +river, about two hundred and sixty miles in length, and to that +extent secured our communication with the trans-Mississippi. The +enemy, after his repeated and disastrous attempts to turn the right +flank of Vicksburg, applied his attention to the opposite direction. +General Grant first endeavored to divert the Mississippi from its +channel, by cutting a canal across the peninsula opposite to +Vicksburg, so as to make a practicable passage for transport-vessels +from a point above to one below the city. His attempt was quite +unsuccessful, and, whatever credit may be awarded to his enterprise, +none can be given to his engineering skill, as the direction given to +his ditch was such that, instead of being washed out by the current +of the river, it was filled up by its sediment. + +[Illustration: Map of area north of Vicksburg] + +Another attempt to get into the Mississippi, without passing the +batteries at Vicksburg, was by digging a canal to connect the river +with the bayou in rear of Milliken's Bend, so as to have water +communication by way of Richmond to New Carthage. These indications +of a purpose to get below Vicksburg caused General Pemberton, early +in February, 1863, to detach Brigadier-General John S. Bowen, with +his Missouri Brigade, to Grand Gulf, near the mouth of the Big Black, +and establish batteries there to command the mouth of that small +river, which might be used to pass to the rear of Vicksburg, and also +by their fire to obstruct the navigation of the Mississippi. + +On the 19th of March the flag-ship of Admiral Farragut, with one +gunboat from the fleet at New Orleans, passed up the river in +defiance of our batteries; but, on the 25th, four gunboats from the +upper fleet attempted to pass down and were repulsed, two of them +completely disabled. + +On the 16th of April a fleet of ironclads with barges in tow, Admiral +Porter commanding, under cover of the night ran the Vicksburg +batteries. One of the vessels was destroyed, and another one +crippled, but towed out of range. Subsequently, on the night of the +26th, a fleet of transports with loaded barges was floated past +Vicksburg. One or more of them was sunk, but enough escaped to give +the enemy abundant supplies below Vicksburg and boats enough for +ferriage uses. On the 20th of April the movement of the enemy +commenced through the country on the west side of the river to their +selected point of crossing below Grand Gulf. + +On the 29th the enemy's gunboats came down and took their stations in +front of our batteries and rifle-pits at Grand Gulf. A furious +cannonade was continued for many hours, and the fleet withdrew, +having one gunboat disabled, and otherwise receiving and inflicting +but little damage. Among the casualties on our side was that of +Colonel William Wade, the chief of artillery, an officer of great +merit, alike respected and beloved, whose death was universally +regretted. + +In a short time the fleet reappeared from behind a point which had +concealed them from view. The gunboats now had transports lashed to +their farther side, and, protected by their iron shields, ran by our +batteries at full speed, losing but one transport on the way. + +On the evening of the 29th of April the enemy commenced ferrying over +troops from the Louisiana to the Mississippi shore to a landing just +below the mouth of Bayou Pierre. General Green with his brigade moved +thither, and, when the enemy on the night of the 30th commenced his +advance, General Green attacked him with such impressive vigor as to +render their march both cautious and slow. As additional forces came +up, Green retired, skirmishing. In the mean time Generals Tracy and +Baldwin, with their brigades, had by forced marches joined General +Green, and about daylight a more serious conflict occurred, lasting +some two hours and a half, during which General Tracy, a +distinguished citizen of Alabama, of whom patriotism made a soldier, +fell while gallantly leading his brigade in the unequal combat in +which it was engaged. Step by step, disputing the ground, Green +retired to the range of hills three miles southwest of Port Gibson, +where General Bowen joined him and arranged a new line of battle. The +enemy's forces were steadily augmented by the arrival of +reënforcements from the rear. Our troops continued most valiantly to +resist until, between nine and ten o'clock, outflanked both on our +right and left, their condition seemed almost hopeless, when, by a +movement to which desperation gave a power quite disproportionate to +the numbers, the right wing of the enemy was driven back, and our +forces made good their retreat across the bridge over Bayou Pierre. +General Cockerell, commanding our left wing, led this forlorn hope in +person, and to the fortune which favors the brave must be attributed +the few casualties which occurred in a service so hazardous. General +Bowen promptly intrenched his camp on the east side of Bayou Pierre +and waited for future developments. The relative forces engaged in +the battle of the 1st of May were, as nearly as I have been able to +learn, fifty-five hundred Confederates and twenty thousand Federals. +Fresh troops were reported to be joining Grant's army, and one of his +corps had been sent to cross by a ford above so as to get in rear of +our position. The reënforcements which were _en route_ to Bowen had +not yet approached so near as to give him assurance of coöperation. + +To divert notice from this movement to get in the rear of Bowen, on +the morning of the 2d, Grant ordered artillery-fire to be opened on +our intrenchments across Bayou Pierre. It was quite ineffectual, and +probably was not expected to do more than occupy attention. During +the forenoon Bowen sent a flag of truce to ask suspension of +hostilities for the purpose of burying the dead. This was refused, +and a demand made for surrender. That was as promptly as decidedly +rejected, and, as the day wore away without the arrival of +reënforcement, Bowen, under cover of night, commenced a retreat, his +march being directed toward Grand Gulf. General Loring with his +division soon joined him. Directions were sent to the garrison at +Grand Gulf to dismantle the fortifications and evacuate the place. On +the morning of the 3d General Grant commenced a pursuit of the +retreating force, which, however, was attended with only unimportant +skirmishes; Bowen, with the reënforcements which were marching to his +support, recrossed the Big Black at Hankinson's Ferry, and all, under +the orders of General Pemberton, were assigned to their respective +positions in the army he commanded. + +While the events which have just been narrated were transpiring, +Colonel Grierson with three regiments of cavalry made a raid from the +northern border of Mississippi through the interior of the State, and +joined General Banks at Baton Rouge in Louisiana. Among the +expeditions for pillage and arson this stands prominent for savage +outrages against defenseless women and children, constituting a +record alike unworthy a soldier and a gentleman. + +Grant with his large army was now marching into the interior of +Mississippi, his route being such as might either be intended to +strike the capital (Jackson) or Vicksburg. The country through which +he had to pass was for some distance composed of abrupt hills, and +all of it poorly provided with roads. There was reasonable ground to +hope that, with such difficult communications with his base of +supplies, and the physical obstacles to his progress, he might be +advantageously encountered at many points and be finally defeated. In +such warfare as was possible, that portion of the population who were +exempt or incapable of full service in the army could be very +effective as an auxiliary force. I therefore wrote to the Governor, +Pettus, a man worthy of all confidence, as well for his patriotism as +his manhood, requesting him to use all practicable means to get every +man and boy, capable of aiding their country in its need, to turn +out, mounted or on foot, with whatever weapons they had, to aid the +soldiers in driving the invader from our soil. The facilities the +enemy possessed in river transportation and the aid which their +iron-clad gunboats gave to all operations where land and naval forces +could be combined were lost to Grant in this interior march which he +was making. Success gives credit to military enterprises; had this +failed, as I think it should, it surely would have been pronounced an +egregious blunder. Other efforts made to repel the invader will be +noticed in the course of the narrative. + +After the retreat of Bowen which has been described. General +Pemberton, anticipating an attack on Vicksburg from the rear, +concentrated all the troops of his command for its defense. All +previous demonstrations indicated the special purpose of the enemy to +be its capture. Its strategic importance justified the belief that he +would concentrate his efforts upon that object, and this opinion was +enforced by the difficulty of supplying his army in the region into +which he was marching, and the special advantages of Vicksburg as his +base. The better mode of counteracting his views, whatever they might +be, it would be more easy now to determine than it was when General +Pemberton had to decide that question. The superior force of the +enemy enabled him at the same time, while moving the main body of his +troops through Louisiana to a point below Vicksburg, to send a corps +to renew the demonstration against Haines's Bluff. Finding due +preparation made to resist an attack there, this demonstration was +merely a feint, but, had Pemberton withdrawn his troops, that feint +could have been converted into a real attack, and the effort so often +foiled to gain the heights above Vicksburg would have become a +success. When that corps retired, and proceeded to join the rest of +Grant's army which had gone toward Grand Gulf, Pemberton commenced +energetically to prepare for what was now the manifest object of the +enemy. From his headquarters at Jackson, Mississippi, he, on the 23d +of April, directed Major-General Stevenson, commanding at Vicksburg, +"that communications, at least for infantry, should be made by the +shortest practicable route to Grand Gulf. The indications now are +that the attack will not be made on your front or right, and all +troops not absolutely necessary to hold the works at Vicksburg should +be held as a movable force for either Warrenton or Grand Gulf." On +the 28th Brigadier-General Bowen, commanding at Grand Gulf, reported +that "transports and barges loaded down with troops are landing at +Hard-Times on the west bank." Pemberton replied by asking: "Have you +force enough to hold your position? If not, give me the smallest +additional number with which you can." At this time the small cavalry +force remaining in Pemberton's command compelled him to keep infantry +detachments at many points liable to be attacked by raiding parties +of the enemy's mounted troops, a circumstance seriously interfering +with the concentration of the forces of his command. Instructions +were sent to all the commanders of his cavalry detachments to move +toward Grand Gulf, to harass the enemy in flank and rear, +obstructing, as far as might be, communications with his base. A +dispatch was sent to Major-General Buckner, commanding at Mobile, +asking him to protect the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, as Pemberton +required all the troops he could spare to strengthen General Bowen. A +dispatch was also sent to General J. E. Johnston, at Tullahoma, +saying that the Army of Tennessee must be relied on to guard the +approaches through north Mississippi. To Major-General Stevenson, at +Vicksburg, he sent a dispatch: "Hold five thousand men in readiness +to move to Grand Gulf, and, on the requisition of Brigadier-General +Bowen, move them; with your batteries and rifle-pits manned, the city +front is impregnable." At the same time the following was sent to +General Bowen: "I have directed General Stevenson to have five +thousand men ready to move on your requisition, but do not make +requisition unless absolutely necessary for your position. I am also +making arrangements for sending you two or three thousand men from +this direction in case of necessity." + +The policy was here manifested of meeting the enemy in the hills east +of the point of his debarkation, yet all unfriendly criticism has +treated General Pemberton's course on that occasion as having been +voluntarily to withdraw his troops to within the intrenchments of +Vicksburg. His published reports show what early and consistent +efforts he made to avoid that result. + +After General J. E. Johnston had recovered from the wound received at +Seven Pines, he was on the 24th of November, 1862, by special order +No. 275, assigned to the command of a geographical department +including the States of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of +Louisiana, Georgia, and North Carolina. The order gives authority to +establish his headquarters wherever, in his judgment, will best +secure facilities for ready communication with the troops of his +command; and provides that he "will repair to any part of said +command whenever his presence may for the time be necessary or +desirable." While the events which have been described were occurring +in Pemberton's command, he felt seriously the want of cavalry, and +was much embarrassed by the necessity for substituting portions of +his infantry to supply the deficiency of cavalry. + +These embarrassments and the injurious consequences attendant upon +them were frequently represented. In his report he states, after +several other applications for cavalry, that on March 25th he wrote +to General Johnston, commanding department, "urgently requesting that +the division of cavalry under Major-General Van Dorn, which had been +sent to the Army of Tennessee for special and temporary purposes, +might be returned." He gives the following extract from General +Johnston's reply of April 3d to his request: + + "In the present aspect of affairs, General Van Dorn's cavalry is much + more needed in this department than in that of Mississippi and East + Louisiana, and can not be sent back as long as this state of things + exists. You have now in your department five brigades of the troops + you most require, viz., infantry, belonging to the Army of Tennessee. + This is more than a compensation for the absence of General Van + Dorn's cavalry command." + +To this Pemberton rejoined that cavalry was dispensable, stating the +positions where the enemy was operating on his communications, and +the impossibility of defending the railroads by infantry. Referring +to the advance of the enemy from Bruinsburg, Pemberton, in his +report, makes the following statement: + + "With a moderate cavalry force at my disposal, I am firmly convinced + that the Federal army under General Grant would have been unable to + maintain its communication with the Mississippi River, and that the + attempt to reach Jackson and Vicksburg would have been as signally + defeated in May, 1863, as a like attempt from another base had, by + the employment of cavalry, been defeated in December, 1862." + +Pemberton commenced, after the retreat of Bowen, to concentrate all +his forces for the great effort of checking the invading army, and on +the 6th of May telegraphed to the Secretary of War that the +reënforcements sent to him were very insufficient, adding: "The stake +is a great one; I can see nothing so important." On the 12th of May +he sent a telegram to General J. E. Johnston, and a duplicate to the +President, announcing his purpose to meet the enemy then moving with +heavy force toward Edwards's Depot, and indicated that as the +battle-field; he urgently asked for more reënforcements: "Also, that +three thousand cavalry be at once sent to operate on this line. I +urge this as a positive necessity. The enemy largely outnumbers me, +and I am obliged to hold back a large force at the ferries on Big +Black." This was done to prevent the foe passing to his rear. + +Large bodies of troops continued to descend the river, land above +Vicksburg, and, to avoid our batteries at that place, to move on the +west side of the river to reënforce General Grant. This seemed to +justify the conclusion that the main effort in the West was to be +made by that army, and, supposing that General Johnston would be +convinced of the fact if he repaired to that field in person, as well +as to avail ourselves of the public confidence felt in his military +capacity, he was ordered, on the 9th of May, 1863, to "proceed at +once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces, giving to +those in the field, as far as practicable, the encouragement and +benefit of your personal direction. Arrange to take, for temporary +service, with you, or to be followed without delay, three thousand +good troops," etc. + +On the 12th, the same day General Pemberton had applied for +reënforcements, he instructed Major-General Stevenson as follows: + + "From information received, it is evident that the enemy is advancing + in force on Edwards's Depot and Big Black Bridge; hot skirmishing has + been going on all the morning, and the enemy are at Fourteen-Mile + Creek. You must move with your whole division to the support of + Loring and Bowen at the bridge, leaving Baldwin's and Moore's + brigades to protect your right." + +In consequence of that information, Brigadier-General Gregg, who was +near Raymond, received cautionary instruction; notwithstanding which, +he was attacked by a large body of the enemy's forces, and his single +brigade, with great gallantry and steadiness, held them in check for +several hours, and then retired in such good order as to attract +general admiration. Meantime, bodies of the enemy's troops were sent +into the interior villages, and much damage was done in them, and to +the defenseless, isolated homes in the country. + +General Johnston arrived at Jackson on the 13th of May, 1863, and +telegraphed to J. A. Seddon, Secretary of War, as follows: + + "I arrived this evening, finding the enemy in force between this + place and General Pemberton, cutting off the communication. I am too + late." + +In the order assigning General Johnston to the geographical +Department of the West, he was directed to repair in person to any +part of his command, whenever his presence might be for the time +necessary or desirable. On the 9th of May, 1863, he was ordered to +proceed at once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces +in the field. + +When he reached Jackson, learning that the enemy was between that +place and the position occupied by General Pemberton's forces, about +thirty miles distant, he halted there and opened correspondence with +Pemberton, from which a confusion with consequent disaster resulted, +which might have been avoided had he, with or without his +reënforcements, proceeded to Pemberton's headquarters in the field. +What that confusion or want of co-intelligence was, will best appear +from citing the important part of the dispatches which passed between +them. On May 13th General Johnston, then at Jackson, sent the +following dispatch to General Pemberton, which was received on the +14th: + + "I have lately arrived, and learn that Major-General Sherman is + between us, with four divisions at Clinton. It is important to + reestablish communications, that you may be reënforced. If + practicable, come up in his rear at once--to beat such a detachment + would be of immense value. Troops here could coöperate. All the + troops you can quickly assemble should be brought. Time is + all-important." + +On the same day, the 14th, General Pemberton, then at Bovina, replied: + + "I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your communication. I + moved at once with whole available force, about sixteen thousand, + leaving Vaughan's brigade, about fifteen hundred, at Big Black + Bridge; Tilghman's brigade, fifteen hundred, now at Baldwin's Ferry, + I have ordered to bring up the rear of my column; he will be, + however, from fifteen to twenty miles behind it. Baldwin's Ferry will + be left, necessarily, unprotected. To hold Vicksburg are Smith's and + Forney's divisions, extending from Snyder's Mills to Warrenton, + numbering effectives seven thousand eight hundred men. . . . I do not + think that you fully comprehend the position that Vicksburg will be + left in; but I comply at once with your order." + +On the same day, General Pemberton, after his arrival at Edwards's +Depot, called a council of war of all the general officers present. +He placed General Johnston's dispatch before them, and stated his own +views against the propriety of an advance, but expressed the opinion +that the only possibility of success would be by a movement on the +enemy's communications. A majority of the officers present expressed +themselves favorable to the plan indicated by General Johnston. The +others, including Major-Generals Loring and Stevenson, "preferred a +movement by which the army might attempt to cut off the enemy's +supplies from the Mississippi River." General Pemberton then sent the +following dispatch to General Johnston: + + EDWARDS'S DEPOT, _May 14, 1863._ + + "I shall move as early to-morrow morning as practicable, with a + column of seventeen thousand men, to Dillon's, situated on the main + road leading from Raymond to Port Gibson, seven and a half miles + below Raymond, and nine and a half miles from Edwards's Depot. The + object is to cut the enemy's communication and to force him to attack + me, as I do not consider my force sufficient to justify an attack on + the enemy in position, or to attempt to cut my way to Jackson. At + this point your nearest communication would be through Raymond." + +The movement commenced about 1 P.M. on the 15th, General Pemberton +states that the force at Clinton was an army corps, numerically +greater than his whole available force in the field; that-- + + "The enemy had at least an equal force to the south, on my right + flank, which would be nearer Vicksburg than myself, in case I should + make the movement proposed. I had, moreover, positive information + that he was daily increasing his strength. I also learned, on + reaching Edwards's Depot, that one division of the enemy (A. J. + Smith's) was at or near Dillon's." + +On the morning of the 16th, about 6.30 o'clock, Colonel Wirt Adams, +commanding the cavalry, reported to General Pemberton that his +pickets were skirmishing with the enemy on the Raymond road in our +front. At the same moment a courier arrived and delivered the +following dispatch from General Johnston: + + "CANTON ROAD, TEN MILES FROM JACKSON, + + "_May 15, 1863, 8.30_ o'clock A.M. + + "Our being compelled to leave Jackson makes your plan impracticable. + The only mode by which we can unite is by your moving directly to + Clinton and informing me, that we may move to that point with about + six thousand." + +Pemberton reversed his column to return to Edwards's Depot and take +the Brownsville road, so as to proceed toward Clinton on the north +side of the railroad, and sent a reply to General Johnston to notify +him of the retrograde movement and the route to be followed. Just as +the reverse movement commenced, the enemy drove in the cavalry +pickets and opened fire with artillery. + +The continuance of the movement was ordered, when, the demonstrations +of the enemy becoming more serious, orders were issued to form a line +of battle, with Loring on the right, Bowen in the center, and +Stevenson on the left. Major-General Stevenson was ordered to make +the necessary dispositions for protecting the trains on the Clinton +road and the crossing of Baker's Creek. The line of battle was +quickly formed in a position naturally strong, and the approaches +from the front well covered. The enemy made his first demonstration +on the right, but, after a lively artillery duel for an hour or more, +this attack was relinquished, and a large force was thrown against +the left, where skirmishing became heavy. About ten o'clock the +battle began in earnest along Stevenson's entire front. About noon +Loring was ordered to move forward and crush the enemy in his front, +and Bowen to coöperate. No movement was made by Loring; he said the +force was too strongly posted to be attacked, but that he would seize +the first opportunity to assault if one should offer. Stevenson soon +found that unless reënforced he would be unable to resist the heavy +and repeated attacks along his line. Aid was sent to him from Bowen, +and for a time the tide of battle turned in our favor. The enemy +still continued to move troops from his left to his right, thus +increasing on that flank his vastly superior forces. General +Pemberton, feeling assured that there was no important force in front +of Loring, again ordered him to move to the left as rapidly as +possible. To this order, the answer was given that the enemy was in +strong force and endeavoring to turn his flank. As there was no +firing on the right, the order was repeated. Much time was lost in +exchanging these messages. At 4 P.M. a part of Stevenson's division +broke badly and fell back. Some assistance finally came from Loring, +but it was too late to save the day, and the retreat was ordered. Had +the left been promptly supported when it was first so ordered, it is +not improbable that the position might have been maintained and the +enemy possibly driven back, although his increasing numbers would +have rendered it necessary to withdraw during the night to save our +communications with Vicksburg unless promptly reënforced. The +dispatch of the 15th from General Johnston, in obedience to which +Pemberton reversed his order of march, gave him the first +intelligence that Johnston had left Jackson; but, while making the +retrograde movement, a previous dispatch from Johnston, dated "May +14, 1863, camp seven miles from Jackson," informed Pemberton that the +body of Federal troops, mentioned in his dispatch of the 13th, had +compelled the evacuation of Jackson, and that he was moving by the +Canton road; he refers to the troops east of Jackson as perhaps able +to prevent the enemy there from drawing provisions from that +direction, and that his command might effect the same thing in regard +to the country toward Panola, and then asks these significant +questions: + + "Can he supply himself from the Mississippi? Can you not cut him off + from it? Above all, should he be compelled to fall back for want of + supplies, beat him? As soon as the reënforcements are all up, they + must be united to the rest of the army. . . . If prisoners tell the + truth, the force at Jackson must be half of Grant's array. It would + decide the campaign to beat it, which can only be done by + concentrating, especially when the remainder of the eastern troops + arrive. They are to be twelve or thirteen thousand." + +From Pemberton's communication it is seen that he did not feel his +army strong enough to attack the corps in position at Clinton, and +that he hoped by the course adopted to compel the enemy to attack our +force in position. Whether the movement toward Dillon's was well or +ill advised, it was certainly a misfortune to reverse the order of +march in the presence of the enemy, as it involved the disadvantage +of being attacked in rear. As has been described, the dispositions +for battle were promptly made, and many of the troops fought with a +gallantry worthy of all praise. Though defeated, they were not routed. + +Stevenson's single division for a long time resisted a force +estimated by him at "more than four times" his own. In the afternoon +he was reënforced by the unfaltering troops of Bowen's division. +Cockerell, commanding the First Missouri Brigade, fought with like +fortitude under like disadvantage. When Pemberton saw that the masses +assailing his left and left center by their immense numbers were +pressing our forces back into old fields, where the advantages of +position would be in his adversary's favor, he directed his troops to +retire, and sent to Brigadier-General Lloyd Tilghman instructions to +hold the Raymond road to protect the retreat. General Pemberton says +of him: + + "It was in the execution of this important duty, which could not have + been confided to a fitter man, that the lamented General bravely lost + his life." + +He was the officer whose devoted gallantry and self-sacrificing +generosity were noticed in connection with the fall of Fort Henry. +This severe battle was signalized by so many feats of individual +intrepidity that its roll of honor is too long for the limits of +these pages. + +Though some gave way in confusion, and others failed to respond when +called on, the heroism of the rest shed luster on the field, and "the +main body of the troops retired in good order." The gallant brigades +of Green and Cockerell covered the rear. + +The topographical features of the position at the railroad-bridge +across the Big Black were such as, with the artificial strength given +to it, made it quite feasible to defend it against a direct approach +even of an army as much superior in numbers to that of Pemberton as +was that of Grant; but the attack need not be made by a direct +approach. The position could be turned by moving either above or +below by fords and ferries, and thus advancing upon Vicksburg by +other and equally eligible routes. From what has already been quoted, +it will be understood that General Pemberton considered the +occupation of Vicksburg vitally important in connection with the +command of the Mississippi River, and the maintenance of +communication with the country beyond it. It was therefore that he +had been so reluctant to endanger his connection with that point as +his base. Pressed as he was by the enemy, whose object, it had been +unmistakably shown, was to get possession of Vicksburg and its +defenses, the circumstances made it imperative that he should abandon +a position, the holding of which would not effect his object, and +that he should withdraw his forces from the field to unite them with +those within the defenses of Vicksburg, and endeavor, as speedily as +possible, to reorganize the depressed and discomfited troops. + +One of the immediate results of the retreat from Big Black was the +necessity of abandoning our defenses on the Yazoo, at Snyder's Mills; +this position and the line of Chickasaw Bayou were no longer tenable. +All stores that could be transported were ordered to be sent into +Vicksburg as rapidly as possible, the rest, including heavy guns, to +be destroyed. During the night of the 17th nothing of importance +occurred. On the morning of the 18th the troops were disposed from +right to left on the defenses. On the entire line, one hundred and +two pieces of artillery of different caliber, principally field-guns, +were placed in position at such points as were deemed most suitable +to the character of the gun. Instructions had been given from Bovina +that all the cattle, sheep, and hogs, belonging to private parties, +and likely to fall into the hands of the enemy, should be driven +within our lines. Grant's army appeared on the 18th. + +The development of the intrenched line from our extreme right was +about eight miles, the shortest defensible line of which the +topography of the country admitted. It consisted of a system of +detached works, redans, lunettes, and redoubts, on the prominent and +commanding points, with the usual profile of raised field-works, +connected in most cases by rifle pits. To hold the entire line there +were about eighteen thousand five hundred infantry, but these could +not all be put in the trenches, as it was necessary to keep a reserve +always ready to reënforce any point heavily threatened. + +The campaign against Vicksburg had commenced as early as November, +1862, and reference has been made to the various attempts to capture +the position both before and after General Grant arrived and took +command in person. He had now by a circuitous march reached the rear +of the city, established a base on the Mississippi River a few miles +below, had a fleet of gunboats in the river, and controlled the +navigation of the Yazoo up to Haines's Bluff, and was relieved from +all danger in regard to supplying his army. We had lost the +opportunity to cut his communications while he was making his long +march over the rugged country between Bruinsburg and the vicinity of +Vicksburg. Pemberton had by wise prevision endeavored to secure +supplies sufficient for the duration of an ordinary siege, and, on +the importance which he knew the Administration attached to the +holding of Vicksburg, he relied for the coöperation of a relieving +army to break any investment which might be made. Disappointed in the +hope which I had entertained that the invading army would be unable +to draw its supplies from Bruinsburg or Grand Gulf, and be driven +back before crossing the Big Black, it now only remained to increase +as far as possible the relieving army, and depend upon it to break +the investment. The ability of the Federals to send reënforcements +was so much greater than ours, that the necessity for prompt action +was fully realized; therefore, when General Johnston on May 9th was +ordered to proceed to Mississippi, he was directed to take from the +Army of Tennessee three thousand good troops, and informed that he +would find reënforcements from General Beauregard. On May 12th a +dispatch was sent to him at Jackson, stating, "In addition to the +five thousand men originally ordered from Charleston [Beauregard], +about four thousand more will follow. I fear more can not be spared +to you." On May 22d I sent the following dispatch to General Bragg, +at Tullahoma, Tennessee: + + "The vital issue of holding the Mississippi at Vicksburg is dependent + on the success of General Johnston in an attack on the investing + force. The intelligence from there is discouraging. Can you aid him?" + +To this he replied on the 23d of May, 1863: + + "Sent thirty-five hundred with the General, three batteries of + artillery and two thousand cavalry since; will dispatch six thousand + more immediately." + +In my telegram to General Bragg, after stating the necessity, I +submitted the whole question to his judgment, having full reliance in +the large-hearted and comprehensive view which his self-denying +nature would take of the case, and I responded to him: + + "Your answer is in the spirit of patriotism heretofore manifested by + you. The need is sore, but you must not forget your own necessities." + +On the 1st of June General Johnston telegraphed to me that the troops +at his disposal available against Grant amounted to twenty-four +thousand one hundred, not including Jackson's cavalry command and a +few hundred irregular cavalry. Mr. Seddon, Secretary of War, replied +to him stating the force to be thirty-two thousand. In another +dispatch, of June 5th, the Secretary says his statement rested on +official reports of numbers sent, regrets his inability to promise +more, as we had drained our resources even to the danger of several +points, and urged speedy action. "With the facilities and resources +of the enemy time works against us." Again, on the 16th, Secretary +Seddon says: + + "If better resources do not offer, you must hazard attack." + +On the 18th, while Pemberton was inspecting the intrenchments along +which his command had been placed, he received by courier a +communication from General Johnston, dated "May 17, 1863, camp +between Livingston and Brownsville," in answer to Pemberton's report +of the result of the battles of Baker's Creek and Big Black, and the +consequent evacuation of Snyder's Mills. General Johnston wrote: + + "If Haines's Bluff is untenable, Vicksburg is of no value and can not + be held. If, therefore, you are invested in Vicksburg, you must + ultimately surrender. Under such circumstances, instead of losing + both troops and place, we must, if possible, save the troops. If it + is not too late, evacuate Vicksburg and its dependencies, and march + to the northeast." + +Pemberton, in his report, remarks: + + "This meant the fall of Port Hudson, the surrender of the Mississippi + River, and the severance of the Confederacy." + +He recurs to a former correspondence with myself in which he had +suggested the possibility of the investment of Vicksburg by land and +water, and the necessity for ample supplies to stand a siege, and +says his application met my favorable consideration, and that +additional ammunition was ordered. Confident in his ability, with the +preparations which had been made, to stand a siege, and firmly +relying on the desire of the President and of General Johnston to +raise it, he "felt that every effort would be made, and believed it +would be successful." He, however, summoned a council of war, +composed of all his general officers, laid before them General +Johnston's communication, and desired their opinion on "the question +of practicability," and on the 18th replied to General Johnston that +he had placed his instructions before the general officers of the +command, and that "the opinion was unanimously expressed that it was +impossible to withdraw the army from this position with such morale +and material as to be of further service to the Confederacy." He then +announces his decision to hold Vicksburg as long as possible, and +expresses the hope that he may be assisted in keeping this +obstruction to the enemy's free navigation of the Mississippi River. +He closes his letter thus: + + "I still conceive it to be the most important point in the + Confederacy." + +While the council of war was assembled, the guns of the enemy opened +on the works, and the siege proper commenced. + +Making meager allowance for a reserve, it required the whole force to +be constantly in the trenches, and, when they were all on duty, it +did not furnish one man to the yard of the _developed line_. On the +19th two assaults were made at the center and left. Both were +repulsed and heavy loss inflicted; our loss was small. At the game +time the mortar-fleet of Admiral Porter from the west side of the +peninsula kept up a bombardment of the city. + +Vicksburg is built upon hills rising successively from the river. The +intrenchments were upon ridges beyond the town, only approaching the +river on the right and left flanks, so that the fire of Porter's +mortar-fleet was mainly effective upon the private dwellings, and the +women, the children, and other noncombatants. + +The hills on which the city is built are of a tenacious calcareous +clay, and caves were dug in these to shelter the women and children, +many of whom resided in them during the entire siege. From these +places of refuge, heroically facing the danger of shells incessantly +bursting over the streets, gentlewomen hourly went forth on the +mission of humanity to nurse the sick, the wounded, and to soothe the +dying of their defenders who were collected in numerous hospitals. +Without departing from the softer character of their sex, it was +often remarked that, in the discharge of the pious duties assumed, +they seemed as indifferent to danger as any of the soldiers who lined +the trenches. + +During the 20th, 21st, and the forenoon of the 22d, a heavy fire of +artillery and musketry was kept up by the besiegers, as well as by +the mortar- and gun-boats in the river. On the afternoon of the 22d +preparation was made for a general assault. The attacking columns +were allowed to approach to within good musket-range, when every +available gun was opened with grape and canister, and our infantry, +"rising in the trenches, poured into their ranks volley after volley +with so deadly an effect that, leaving the ground literally covered +in some places with their dead and wounded, they [the enemy] +precipitately retreated." One of our redoubts had been breached by +their artillery previous to the assault, and a lodgment made in the +ditch at the foot of the redoubt, on which two colors were planted. +General Stevenson says in his report: + + "The work was constructed in such a manner that the ditch was + commanded by no part of the line, and the only means by which they + could be dislodged was to retake the angle by a desperate charge, and + either kill or compel the surrender of the whole party by the use of + hand-grenades. A call for volunteers for this purpose was made, and + promptly responded to by Lieutenant-Colonel E. W. Pettus, Twentieth + Alabama Regiment, and about forty men of Waul's Texas Legion. A more + gallant feat than this charge has not illustrated our arms during the + war. The preparations were quietly and quickly made, but the enemy + seemed at once to divine our intentions, and opened upon the angle a + terrible fire of shot, shell, and musketry. Undaunted, this little + band, its chivalrous commander at its head, rushed upon the work, + and, in less time than it required to describe it, the flags were in + our possession. Preparations were then quickly made for the use of + hand-grenades, when the enemy in the ditch, being informed of our + purpose, immediately surrendered. + + "From this time forward, although on several occasions their + demonstrations seemed to indicate other intentions, the enemy + relinquished all idea of assaulting us, and confined himself to the + more cautious policy of a system of gradual approaches and mining." + +His force was not less than sixty thousand men. Thus affairs +continued until July 1st, when General Pemberton thus describes the +causes which made capitulation necessary: + + "It must be remembered that, for forty-seven days and nights, those + heroic men had been exposed to burning suns, drenching rains, damp + fogs, and heavy dews, and that during all this period they never had, + by day or by night, the slightest relief. The extent of our works + required every available man in the trenches, and even then they were + in many places insufficiently manned. It was not in my power to + relieve any portion of the line for a single hour. Confined to the + narrow limits of trench, with their limbs cramped and swollen, + without exercise, constantly exposed to a murderous storm of shot and + shell. . . . Is it strange that the men grew weak and attenuated? . . . + They had held the place against an enemy five times their number, + admirably clothed and fed, and abundantly supplied with all the + appliances of war. Whenever the foe attempted an assault, they drove + him back discomfited, covering the ground with his killed and + wounded, and already had they torn from his grasp five stands of + colors as trophies of their prowess, none of which were allowed to + fall again into his hands." + +Under these circumstances, he says, he became satisfied that the time +had arrived when it was necessary either to evacuate the city by +cutting his way out or to capitulate. Inquiries were made of the +division commanders respecting the ability of the troops to make the +marches and undergo the fatigues necessary to accomplish a successful +sortie and force their way through the enemy; all of whom reported +their several commands quite unequal to the performance of such all +effort. Therefore, it was resolved to seek terms of capitulation. +These were obtained, and the city was surrendered on July 4th. + +The report of General Pemberton contains this statement: + + "Knowing the anxious desire of the Government to relieve Vicksburg, I + felt assured that, if within the compass of its power, the siege + would be raised; but, when forty-seven days and nights had passed, + with the knowledge I then possessed that no adequate relief was to be + expected, I felt that I ought not longer to place in jeopardy the + brave men whose lives had been intrusted to my care. Hence, after the + suggestion of the alternative of cutting my way out, I determined to + make terms, not because my men were starved out, not because I could + not hold out yet a little longer, but because they were overpowered + by numbers, worn down with fatigue, and each day saw our defenses + crumbling beneath their feet. . . . With an unlimited supply of + provisions, the garrison could, for the reasons already given, have + held out much longer." + +At the close of General Pemberton's report he notices two officers, +whose gallant services have been repeatedly mentioned in the +foregoing pages, as follows: + + "I can not close this report without brief tribute to the memory of + two of the best soldiers in the Confederate service. I refer to + Major-General John S. Bowen and Brigadier-General Martin E. Green. + Always faithful, zealous, and brave, they fell, as became them, in + the discharge of their duty. General Green died upon the lines he had + so long and so gallantly defended. General Bowen, having passed + scathless through the bloody scenes of Shiloh, Iuka, Corinth, Grand + Gulf, Port Gibson, Baker's Creek, and Vicksburg, perished by disease + after the capitulation." + +With an unlimited supply of provisions the garrison could not, for +the reasons already given, have held out much longer. Our loss in +killed, wounded, and missing, from the landing of the enemy on the +east to the capitulation, was 5,632; that of the enemy, according to +his own statement, was 8,875. The number of prisoners surrendered, as +near as I can tell, did not exceed 28,000. + +In addition to the efforts made to relieve Vicksburg by an attack on +Grant's army in the rear, instructions were sent to General Kirby +Smith, commanding on the west side of the river, to employ a part of +his forces in coöperation with our troops on the east side. From +General Richard Taylor's work, "Destruction and Reconstruction," I +learn that-- + + "the Federal army withdrew from Alexandria [a town on Red River, + Louisiana] on the 13th of May, and on the 23d crossed the Mississippi + and proceeded to invest Port Hudson. . . . A communication from + General Kirby Smith informed me that Major-General Walker, with a + division of infantry and three batteries, four thousand strong, was + on the march from Arkansas, and would reach me within the next few + days; and I was directed to employ Walker's force to relieve + Vicksburg, now invested by General Grant, who had crossed the + Mississippi on the 1st of May." + +General Taylor states that his view was that this force might be best +employed for the relief of Vicksburg by a movement to raise the siege +of Port Hudson, which he regarded as feasible, while a direct +movement toward Vicksburg he considered would be unavailing, because +the peninsula opposite to that city was partially occupied by the +enemy and commanded by the gunboats in the river; he states, however, +that he was overruled, and proceeded with Walker's division to cross +the Tensas and attack two Federal camps on the bank of the +Mississippi, the one ten and the other fourteen miles above +Vicksburg, but that, after driving the troops over the levee, the +gunboats in the river protected them from any further assault. Then, +being convinced that nothing useful could be effected in that +quarter, he, in conformity with his original idea, ordered General +Walker to retire to Alexandria, intending to go thence to the Têche. +He says this order was countermanded and the division kept in the +region between the Tensas and the Mississippi until the fall of +Vicksburg. Taylor had left Mouton's and Green's brigades in the +country west of the Têche, and thither he went in person. At +Alexandria he found three regiments of Texan mounted men, about six +hundred and fifty aggregate, under the command of Colonel (afterward +Brigadier-General) Major, and these were ordered to Morgan's Ferry on +the Atchafalaya. Taylor then proceeded to the camps of Mouton and +Green, on the lower Têche. After giving instructions preparatory to +an attack on a work which the Federals had constructed at Berwick's +Bay, Taylor returned to join Colonel Major's command on the +Atchafalaya, and with it moved down the Fardoche and Grossetete to +Fausse Rivière, opposite to Port Hudson. Here the noise of the +bombardment then in progress could be distinctly heard, and here he +learned that the Federal force left in New Orleans did not exceed one +thousand men. + +It was now the 10th of June. He was about one hundred miles from the +Federal force at Berwick's Bay. He furnished Colonel Major with +guides, informed him that he must be at Berwick's Bay on the morning +of the 23d, as Mouton and Green would attack at dawn on that day. +Taylor then hastened to the camp of Mouton and Green. The country +through which Major was to march was in possession of the enemy, +therefore secrecy and celerity were alike required for success. The +men carried their rations, and the wagons were sent back across the +Atchafalaya. In his rapid march. Major captured seventy prisoners and +burned two steamers, and the combined movements of Mouton, Green, and +Major, all reached their goal at the appointed time, of which General +Taylor says: "Although every precaution had been taken to exclude +mistakes and insure coöperation, such complete success is not often +attained in combined military movement; and I felt that sacrifices +were due to fortune." + +At Berwick's Bay the Federals had constructed works to strengthen a +position occupied as a depot of supplies. The effective garrison was +small, the principal number of those present being sick and +convalescents. The works mounted twelve guns, thirty-twos and +twenty-fours, and a gunboat was anchored in the bay. Our object was +to capture Berwick's Bay, and thence proceed to the execution of the +plan above indicated. For this purpose, having arrived on the Têche, +a short distance above Berwick's Bay, some small boats (skiffs) and a +number of sugar-coolers were collected, in which the men were +embarked. Major Hunter, of the Texas regiment, and Major Blair, of +the Second Louisiana, were placed in command, and detachments were +drawn from the forces. They embarked at night, and paddled down the +Têche to the Atchafalaya and Grand Lake. They had about twelve miles +to go, and were expected to reach the northeast end of the island, a +mile from Berwick's, before daylight, where they were to remain until +they heard the guns of our force on the west side of the bay. At dawn +on June 23d our guns opened on the gunboat and speedily drove it +away. Fire was then directed on the earthworks, and the enemy +attempted to reply, when a shout was heard in the rear, and Hunter +with his party came rushing on. Resistance ceased at once. The spoils +of Berwick's were of vast importance. Twelve thirty-two- and +twenty-four-pounder guns, many small arms and accouterments, great +quantities of quartermaster's and commissary's, ordnance, and medical +stores, and seventeen hundred prisoners were taken. Then, as promptly +as circumstances would permit, Taylor, with three thousand men of all +arms, proceeded, with the guns and munitions he had acquired, to the +execution of the object of his campaign--to raise the siege of Port +Hudson, by cutting Banks's communication with New Orleans and making +a demonstration which would arouse that city. "Its population of two +hundred thousand was bitterly hostile to Federal rule, and the +appearance of a Confederate force on the opposite bank of the river +would raise such a storm as to bring Banks from Port Hudson, the +garrison of which could then unite with General Joseph Johnston in +the rear of General Grant." + +In the first week in July, twelve guns were placed on the river below +Donaldsonville. Fire was opened and one transport destroyed and +several turned back. Gunboats attempted to dislodge our batteries, +but were driven away by dismounted men, protected by the levee. For +three days the river was closed to transports, and mounted scouts +were pushed down to a point opposite Kenner, sixteen miles above New +Orleans. A few hours more, and there would have been great excitement +in the city. But, by the surrender of Port Hudson on July 9th, the +enemy were in sufficient force, not only to arrest Taylor's +movements, but to require a withdrawal from the exposed position +which this little command had assumed for the great object of +relieving that place, and thus giving of its garrison, perhaps about +five thousand men, as a reënforcement to break the investment of +Vicksburg. + +Port Hudson, which thus capitulated, was situated on a bend of the +Mississippi, about twenty-two miles above Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and +one hundred and forty-seven above New Orleans. The defenses in front, +or on the water-side, consisted of three series of batteries situated +on a bluff and extending along the river above the place. Farther up +was an impassable marsh forming a natural defense, and in the rear +the works were strong, consisting of several lines of intrenchments +and rifle-pits, with heavy trees felled in every direction. General +Banks with a large force landed on May 21, 1863, and on the 27th an +assault was made on the works, and repulsed. A bombardment from the +river was then kept up for several days, and on June 14th another +unsuccessful assault was made. This was their last assault, but the +enemy, resorting to mines and regular approaches, was slowly +progressing with these when the news of the surrender of Vicksburg +was received. Major-General Gardner, who was in command, then made a +proposal to General Banks to capitulate, which was accepted by the +latter, and the position was yielded to him on the next day. The +surrender included about six thousand persons all told, fifty-one +pieces of artillery, and a quantity of ordnance stores. Our loss in +killed and wounded in the assaults was small compared to that of the +enemy, and by the fall of Vicksburg the position of Port Hudson had +ceased to have much importance. + +[Illustration: Map of Port Hudson] + +More than six weeks the garrison, which had resisted a vastly +superior force attacking by both land and water, had cheerfully +encountered danger and fatigue without a murmur, had borne famine and +had repulsed every assault, and yielded Port Hudson only when the +fall of Vicksburg had deprived the position of its importance. A +chivalric foe would have recognized the gallantry of the defense in +the terms usually given under like circumstances; such, for instance, +as were granted to Major Anderson at Fort Sumter, or, at the least, +have paroled the garrison. + +I had regarded it of vast importance to hold the two positions of +Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Though gunboats had passed the batteries +of both, they had found it hazardous, and transport-vessels could not +prudently risk it. The garrisons of both places had maintained them +with extraordinary gallantry, inspired no doubt as well by +consciousness of the importance of their posts as by the soldierly +character common to Confederate troops. Taylor on the 10th received +intelligence of the fall of Port Hudson, and some hours later learned +that Vicksburg had surrendered. His batteries and outposts were +ordered in to the Lafourche, and Mouton was sent to Berwick's to +cross the stores to the west side of the bay. On the 13th a force of +six thousand men followed his retreat down the Lafourche; but Green, +with fourteen hundred dismounted men and a battery, attacked the +Federals so vigorously as to drive them into Donaldsonville, +capturing two hundred prisoners, many small-arms, and two guns. +Undisturbed thereafter, Taylor continued his march, removed all the +stores from the fortification at Berwick's, and on the 21st of July +moved up the Têche. The pickets left at Berwick's reported that the +enemy's scouts only reached the bay twenty-four hours after Taylor's +troops had withdrawn. + +In the recital of those events connected with the sieges of Port +Hudson and Vicksburg, enough has been given to show the great anxiety +of the Administration to retain those two positions as necessary to +continued communication between the Confederate States on the east +and west sides of the Mississippi River. The reader will not have +failed to observe that General Johnston, commanding the department, +and General Pemberton, the district commander, entertained quite +different views. The former considered the safety of the garrisons of +such paramount importance, that the position should be evacuated +rather than the loss of the troops hazarded; the latter regarded the +holding of Vicksburg as of such vital consequence that an army should +be hazarded to maintain its possession. When General Pemberton and +his forces were besieged in Vicksburg, every effort was made to +supply General Johnston with an army which might raise the siege. +While General Johnston was at Jackson, preparing to advance against +the army investing Vicksburg, the knowledge that the enemy was +receiving large reënforcements made it evident that the most prompt +action was necessary for success; of this General Johnston manifested +a dear perception, for on the 25th of May he sent Pemberton the +following message: + + "Bragg is sending a division; when it comes, I will move to you." + +After all the troops which could be drawn from other points had been +sent to him, it was suggested that he might defeat the force +investing Port Hudson, and unite the garrison with his troops at +Jackson, but he replied: + + "We can not relieve Port Hudson without giving up Jackson, by which + we should lose Mississippi." + +On June 29th General Johnston reports that-- + + "Field transportation and other supplies having been obtained, the + army marched toward the Big Black, and on the evening of July 1st + encamped between Brownsville and the river." + +The 2d and 3d of July were spent in reconnaissance, from which the +conclusion was reached that an attack on the north side of the +railroad was impracticable, and examinations were commenced on the +south side of the railroad. On the 3d a messenger was sent to General +Pemberton that an attempt would be made about the 7th, by an attack +on the enemy, to create a diversion which might enable Pemberton to +cut his way out. The message was not received, and Pemberton, +despairing of aid from the exterior, capitulated on the 4th. + +General Grant, in expectation that an attack in his rear would be +made by General J. E. Johnston, formed a provisional corps by taking +brigades from several corps, and assigned General Sherman to command +it. He was sent in the direction of Big Black. Colonel Wilson, then +commanding the Fifteenth Illinois Cavalry, was sent to the Big Black +River to watch for the expected advance of Johnston, when Sherman was +to be notified, so that he might meet and hold Johnston in check +until additional reënforcements should arrive. Wilson never sent the +notice. An officer of Grant's army, whose rank and position gave +opportunity for accurate information, writes: + + "It was always a matter of surprise to Grant and his commanders that + Johnston failed to make the attempt to break up the siege of + Vicksburg, of which from the long line and consequent weakness of the + army of the North there seemed a fair chance of accomplishment." + +General Johnston, being informed on the 5th of the surrender of +Vicksburg, fell back to Jackson, where his army arrived on the 7th. + + "On the morning of the 9th the enemy appeared in heavy force in front + of the works thrown up for the defense of the place; these, + consisting of a line of rifle-pits prepared at intervals for + artillery, . . . were badly located and constructed, presenting but a + slight obstacle to a vigorous assault." [77] + +The weather was hot, deep dust covered the country roads, and for +about ten miles there was no water to supply the troops who were +advancing in heavy order of battle from Clinton; and the circumstances +above mentioned caused General Johnston, as he states, to expect that +the enemy "would be compelled to make an immediate assault." Sherman, +in command of the attacking column, did not, however, elect to assault +the intrenchments, but moved the left of his line around so as to rest +upon Pearl River above, and then, extending his right so as to reach the +river below, commenced intrenching a line of investment. As early as +May 27th Brigadier-General J. G. Rains had been directed to report to +General Johnston in connection with torpedoes and sub-terra shells, and +a request had been made for "all reasonable facilities and aid in the +supply of men or material for the fair trial of his torpedoes and +shells." There could scarcely have been presented a better opportunity +for their use than that offered by the heavy column marching against +Jackson, and the enemy would have been taken at great disadvantage if +our troops had met them midway between Jackson and Clinton. As the +defenses of Jackson had not been so corrected in location and increased +in strength as to avail against anything other than a mere assault, it +is greatly to be regretted that the railroad-bridge across Pearl River +was not so repaired that the large equipments of the Central road might +have been removed for use elsewhere and at other times. One of the +serious embarrassments suffered in the last two years of the war was +from the want of rolling-stock, with which to operate our railroads, as +required for the transportation of troops and supplies. On the 12th of +July a heavy cannonade was opened, and the missiles reached all parts of +the town. An assault was also made on Major-General Breckinridge's +position on our extreme left. His division, with the aid of Cobb's +and Slocum's batteries, repulsed it, inflicting severe loss, and +capturing two hundred prisoners, besides the wounded, and taking +three regimental colors. On the 15th General Johnston was assured +that the remainder of Grant's army was moving from Vicksburg to +Jackson, and on the night of the 16th he, having previously sent +forward his sick and wounded, successfully withdrew his army across +the Pearl River, and moved toward Brandon, and continued the march as +far as Morton, about thirty-five miles from Jackson. The enemy +followed no farther than Brandon, which was reached on the 19th, and +manifested no higher purpose than that of arson, which was exhibited +on a still larger scale at Jackson. + +Thus, within the first half of July, our disasters had followed close +upon the heels of one another. Though not defeated at Gettysburg, we +had suffered a check, and an army, to which nothing was considered +impossible, had been compelled to retire, leaving its opponent in +possession of the field of battle. The loss of Vicksburg and Port +Hudson was the surrender of the Mississippi to the enemy. It was true +that gunboats had run by our batteries, but not with impunity, and +some of them had been sunk in the attempt. Transports for troops, +supplies, and merchandise could not, except at great risk, use the +river while our batteries at those two points remained effective, and +gunboats cruising between them would have but a barren field. +Moreover, they needed to be very numerous to prevent intercourse +between the two sides of the river, which, thus far, they had never +been able to effect. + + +[Footnote 75: General D. H. Maury.] + +[Footnote 76: "Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman," vol i, pp. 310, 311.] + +[Footnote 77: General Johnston's "Report of Operations in Mississippi +and East Louisiana," pp. 12, 13.] + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + + Inactivity in Tennessee.--Capture of Colburn's Expedition.--Capture + of Streight's Expedition.--Advance of Rosecrans to Bridgeport.-- + Burnside in East Tennessee.--Our Force at Chattanooga.--Movement + against Burnside.--The Enemy moves on our Rear near Ringgold.-- + Battle at Chickamauga.--Strength and Distribution of our Forces.-- + The enemy withdraws.--Captures.--Losses.--The Enemy evacuates Passes + of Lookout Mountain.--His Trains captured.--Failure of General Bragg + to pursue.--Reënforcements to the Enemy, and Grant to command.--His + Description of the Situation.--Movements of the Enemy.--Conflict at + Chattanooga. + + +After the battle at Murfreesboro, in Tennessee, a period of +inactivity ensued between the large armed forces, which was disturbed +only by occasional expeditions by small bodies on each side. On March +5, 1863, an expedition of the enemy, under Colonel Colburn, was +captured at Spring Hill, ten miles south of Franklin, by Generals Van +Dorn and Forrest. Thirteen hundred prisoners were taken. In April +another expedition, under Colonel Streight, into northern Georgia, +was captured near Rome by our vigilant, daring cavalry leader, +Forrest. This was one of the most remarkable, and, to the enemy, +disastrous raids of the war. Seventeen hundred prisoners were taken. +In June some movements were made by General Rosecrans, which were +followed by the withdrawal of our forces from Middle Tennessee, and a +return to the occupation of Chattanooga. At this time General Buckner +held Knoxville and commanded the district of East Tennessee; General +Samuel Jones commanded the district of southwest Virginia, his +headquarters at Arlington, Virginia. Between the two was Cumberland +Gap, the well-known pass by which the first pioneer, Daniel Boone, +went into Kentucky, and the only one in that region through which it +was supposed an army, with the usual artillery and wagon-train, could +march from the north into East Tennessee or southwest Virginia. It +was, therefore, occupied and partially fortified, which, with the +precipitous heights flanking it on the right and left, would, it was +hoped, suffice against an attack in front, and prove an adequate +barrier to an advance on our important line of communication in its +rear, which Buckner and Jones were relied on to defend. + +On the 20th of August Brigadier-General I. W. Frazier, an educated +soldier in whom I had much confidence, assumed, by assignment, the +command of this position, and energetically commenced to perfect the +defenses, and ingeniously though unsuccessfully endeavored to bring a +supply of water into the fortifications. He reported his force to +amount to seventeen hundred effective infantry and artillery, and +about six hundred cavalry; the supply of ammunition was deficient, +and some of it damaged by a badly constructed magazine. + +About August 20th it was ascertained that the army under General +Rosecrans had crossed the mountains to Stevenson and Bridgeport. His +force of infantry and artillery amounted to seventy thousand men, +divided into four corps. About the same time General Burnside +advanced from Kentucky, crossed, by using pack-mules, the rugged +mountains west of Cumberland Gap, and, about the 1st of September, +approached Knoxville, East Tennessee, with a force estimated at over +twenty-five thousand men. General Buckner, therefore, evacuated +Knoxville, and took position at Loudon, with a force of about five +thousand infantry, artillery, and cavalry; this rendered the +occupation of Cumberland Gap hazardous to the garrison, and +comparatively of little value to us, but, when its surrender was +demanded by a force which might be resisted, General Frazier promptly +refused to comply with the demand. Subsequently, General Burnside +advanced with a large body of troops, and, approaching from the +south, renewed the demand, when General Frazier, recognizing the +inutility as well as futility of resistance, surrendered on the 9th +of September, 1863.[78] The main body of our army was encamped near +Chattanooga, while the cavalry force was recruiting from fatigue and +exhaustion near Rome, Georgia. The enemy first attempted to strike +Buckner in the rear, but failing, commenced a movement against our +left and rear. On the last of August he had crossed his main force +over the Tennessee River at Carpenter's Ferry, near Stevenson. Our +effective force of infantry and artillery was about thirty-five +thousand. By active reconnaissance of our cavalry, which had been +brought forward, it was ascertained that Rosecrans's general movement +was toward our left and rear, in the direction of Dalton and Rome, +keeping Lookout Mountain between us. The want of supplies in the +country and the force under Burnside on our right rendered hazardous +a movement on the rear of the former with our force. General Lee, +with commendable zeal for the public welfare and characteristic +self-denial, had consented to remain for a time on the defensive for +the purpose of reenforcing Bragg's army, and General Longstreet had +been detached with his corps for that purpose. These troops were to +come by rail from Atlanta, and might soon be expected to arrive. It +was, therefore, determined to retire toward our expected +reënforcements, as well as to meet the foe in front when he should +emerge from the mountain-gorges. + +As we could not thus hold Chattanooga, our army, on September 7th and +8th, took position from Lee and Gordon's Mill to Lafayette, on the +road leading south from Chattanooga and fronting the east slope of +Lookout Mountain. The forces on the Hiawassee and at Chickamauga +Station took the route by Ringgold. A small cavalry force was left in +observation at Chattanooga, and a brigade of infantry at Ringgold to +cover the railroad. + +The enemy immediately moved the corps that threatened Buckner into +Chattanooga, and, shortly after, it commenced to move on our rear by +the roads to Lafayette and Ringgold. Another corps was nearly +opposite the head of McLemore Cove, in Will's Valley, and one at +Colonel Winston's opposite Alpine. During the 9th it was ascertained +that a column, between four and five thousand, had crossed Lookout +Mountain by Stevens's and Cooper's Gaps into McLemore's Cove. An +effort was made by General Bragg to capture this column, with intent +then to turn upon the others, and beat each in succession. But, some +delay having occurred in the advance of our forces through the gap, +the enemy took advantage of it and retreated to the mountain-passes. +He then withdrew his corps from the route toward Alpine to unite with +the one near McLemore's Cove, which was gradually extended toward Lee +and Gordon's Mills. It was now determined to turn upon the Third +Corps of the enemy, approaching us from the direction of Chattanooga. +The forces sent toward the Cove were accordingly withdrawn to +Lafayette, and Polk's and Walker's corps were moved immediately in +the direction of Lee and Gordon's Mills, Lieutenant-General Polk +commanding. He was ordered to attack early the next morning, as the +enemy's corps was known to be divided, and it was hoped by successive +attacks to crush his army in detail; but the expectation was not +realized, as his forces withdrew and formed a junction. Our trains +and supplies were then put in a safe position, and all our forces +were concentrated along the Chickamauga, threatening the opposing +force in front. Major-General Wheeler, with two divisions of cavalry, +occupied the extreme left, vacated by Hill's corps, and was directed +to press the enemy in McLemore's Cove; to divert his attention from +the real movement, General Forrest covered the movement on our front +and right; General B. R. Johnson was moved from Ringgold to the +extreme right of the line; Walker's corps formed on his left opposite +Alexander's Bridge, Buckner's next, near Tedford Ford, Polk opposite +Lee and Gordon's Mills, and Hill on the extreme left. Orders were +issued to cross the Chickamauga at 6 A.M., commencing by the extreme +right. + +The movements were unexpectedly delayed by the difficulty of the +roads and the resistance of the enemy's cavalry. The right column did +not effect its crossing until late in the afternoon of the 18th; at +this time, Major-General Hood, from the Army of Northern Virginia, +arrived and assumed command of the column. General W. H. T, Walker +had a severe skirmish at Alexander's Bridge, from which he finally +drove the enemy, but not before he had destroyed it; General Walker, +however, found a ford, crossed, and Hood united with him after night. +The advance was resumed at daylight on the 19th, when Buckner's corps +with Cheatham's division of Polk's corps crossed the Chickamauga, and +our line of battle was thus formed: Buckner's left rested on the bank +of the stream about one mile below Lee and Gordon's Mills; on his +right came Hood with his own and Johnson's divisions, and Walker's +formed the extreme right; Forrest with his cavalry was in advance to +the right. He soon became engaged with such a large force that two +brigades were sent from Walker's division to his support. Forrest, +here fighting with his usual tenacity, desperately held in check the +comparatively immense force which he was resisting. General Walker, +being ordered to commence the attack on the right, boldly advanced, +and soon developed opposing forces greatly superior to his own; he, +however, drove them handsomely, capturing several batteries of +artillery, by dashing charges. As he pressed back the force in his +front, it rested upon such heavy masses in the rear, that he was in +turn repulsed. Cheatham's division was ordered to his support; it +came too late. Before it could reach him, assailed on both flanks, he +had been forced back to his first position, but the two commands +united, though yet greatly outnumbered, and, by a spirited attack, +recovered our advantage. These movements on our right were in such +direction as to create an opening between the left of Cheatham's +division and the right of Hood's. To fill this, Stewart's division, +the reserve of Buckner's corps, was ordered up, and soon became +engaged, as now did Hood's whole front. The enemy had transferred +forces from his extreme right so as to concentrate his main body on +his left, acutely perceiving the probability of an effort on our part +to gain his rear, and cut off his communication with his base at +Chattanooga. The main part of the battle, therefore, was fought on +the opposite flank from that where both armies had probably expected +it. Lieutenant-General Polk was now directed to move the remainder of +his corps across the stream, and to assume command in person; Hill's +corps was also directed to move to our right. Stewart, by a gallant +assault, broke the enemy's center, and pushed forward until he became +exposed to an enfilading fire. Hood steadily advanced, driving the +force in his front until night. Cleburne, of Hill's corps, +immediately on reaching the right, closed so impetuously with the +enemy as to create surprise, and drove him in great disorder. From +prisoners and otherwise, the commanding General became satisfied that +his antagonist had by marching night and day succeeded in +concentrating his whole force, and that it had that day been fought +on the field of Chickamauga. A part of the forces on our extreme left +had not reached the field of actual conflict in time to participate +in the engagement of that day; they, together with the remainder of +Longstreet's corps, were brought up and put in position to renew the +battle in the morning. Our troops slept upon the field they had so +bravely contested. The Confederate troops engaged on the right were +as follows: + + General W. H. T. Walker's division . . . . . 5,500 + Cheatham's division . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000 + A. P. Stewart's division . . . . . . . . . . 4,040 + Cleburne's division . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,115 + Hood's, B. R. Johnson's, and Trigg's troops 8,428 + Forrest's and Pegram's cavalry . . . . . . . 3,500 + ------ + Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,583 + +General Wheeler with his cavalry had been in observation on the left, +and for a fortnight, daily skirmishing with the enemy. On the 17th he +was ordered to move into McLemore's Cove to make a demonstration in +that direction, where, after a severe engagement, he developed a +force too large to be dislodged. On the 18th he was directed to hold +the gap in Pigeon Mountain, so as to prevent the enemy from moving on +our left. As appeared subsequently, General Rosecrans, by forced +marches, had made a _détour_, and formed a junction of his forces in +front of ours, so that it was no longer needful to hold the passes of +the Pigeon Mountain, and Wheeler with his cavalry was called to take +position on the left of our line. + +On the night of the 19th, the whole force having been assembled, +including the five thousand effective infantry sent for temporary +service from Virginia, the command was organized as two corps, the +one on the right to be commanded by Lieutenant-General Polk; the +other, on the left, to be commanded by Lieutenant-General Longstreet. +These corps consisted respectively as follows: Polk's right wing, of +Breckenridge's, Cleburne's, Cheatham's, and Walker's divisions, and +Forrest's cavalry--aggregate, 22,471; Longstreet's left wing, of +Preston's, Hindman's, Johnson's (Hood's), Law's, Kershaw's, Stewart's +divisions, and Wheeler's cavalry--aggregate, 24,850: grand aggregate +of both wings, 47,321, The forces under Rosecrans, as has been +subsequently learned, consisted of McCook's corps, 14,345; Thomas's, +24,072; Crittenden's, 13,975; Granger's, about 5,000; cavalry, 7,000: +whole number, 64,392. On the night of the 19th General Bragg gave his +instructions orally, to the general officers whom he had summoned to +his camp-fire, as to the position of the different commands; and the +order of battle was that the attack should commence on the right at +daybreak, and be taken up successively to the left. From a +combination of mishaps, it resulted that the attack was not commenced +until nine or ten o'clock in the day, and, what was much more +important, the troops from right to left did not in rapid succession +engage, so as to have that effectiveness which would have resulted +from concert of action. Prodigies of valor were performed, many +partial successes were gained in the beginning of the battle, but in +the first operations the troops so frequently moved to the assault +without the necessary cohesion in a charging line, that nearly all +early assaults by our right wing were successively repulsed with +loss. Though at first invariably successful, our troops were +subsequently compelled to retire before the heavy reënforcements +constantly brought. + +Wheeler with his cavalry struck boldly at the enemy's extreme right +and center, and with such effect that, in the Federal battle reports, +it appears the attack was mistaken for a flank movement by General +Longstreet. + +Rosecrans having transferred his main strength to our right, the +attack of the left met with less resistance, and was successfully and +vigorously followed up. About 4 P.M. a general assault was made by +the right, and the attack was pressed from right to left until the +enemy gave way at different points, and, finally, about dark, yielded +along the whole line. Our army bivouacked on the ground it had so +gallantly won. The foe, though driven from his lines, continued to +confront us when the action closed. But it was found the next morning +that he had availed himself of the night to withdraw from our front, +and that his main body was soon in position within his lines at +Chattanooga. We captured over eight thousand prisoners, fifty-one +pieces of artillery, fifteen thousand stand of small arms, and +quantities of ammunition, with wagons, ambulances, teams, and +medicines with hospital stores in large quantities. From the +appearance of the field the enemy's losses must have largely exceeded +ours, and the victory was complete; but these results could not +console us for the lives they cost. Pride in the gallantry of our +heroes, rejoicing at the repulse of the invader, was subdued by the +memory of our fallen brave. + +After General Rosecrans's retreat to Chattanooga, he withdrew his +forces from the passes of Lookout Mountain, which covered his line of +supplies from Bridgeport. These commanding positions were immediately +occupied by our troops, and a cavalry force was sent across the +Tennessee, which destroyed a large wagon-train in the Sequatchie +Valley, captured McMinnsville and other points on the railroad, and +thus temporarily cut off the source of supplies for the army at +Chattanooga. + +The reasons why General Bragg did not promptly pursue are stated in +his report thus: + + "Our supplies of all kinds were greatly reduced, the railroad having + been constantly occupied in transporting troops, prisoners, and our + wounded, and the bridges having been destroyed to a point two miles + south of Ringgold. These supplies were ordered to be replenished, + and, as soon as it was seen that we could be subsisted, the army was + moved forward to seize and hold the only communication the enemy had + with his supplies in the rear. His important road, and the shortcut + by half to his depot at Bridgeport, lay along the south bank of the + Tennessee. The holding of this all-important route was confided to + Lieutenant-General Longstreet's command, and its possession forced + the enemy to a road double the length, over two ranges of mountains, + by wagon transportation. At the same time, our cavalry, in large + force, was thrown across the river to operate on this long and + difficult route. These dispositions, faithfully sustained, insured + the enemy's speedy evacuation of Chattanooga for want of food and + forage." + +These reverses caused the enemy to send forward reënforcements from +the army at Vicksburg, and also to assign General Grant to the +command in Tennessee. As early as September 23d the Eleventh and +Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac were detached, and sent +under General Hooker to Tennessee, and assigned to protect +Rosecrans's line of communication from Bridgeport to Nashville. It +was on October 23d that General Grant arrived at Chattanooga, and +only in time to save their army from starvation or evacuation. The +investment by General Bragg had been so close and their +communications had been so destroyed that Bragg was on the point of +realizing the evacuation of Chattanooga, which he had anticipated. +The report of Grant thus describes the situation on his arrival: + + "Up to this period our forces in Chattanooga were practically + invested, the enemy's lines extending from the Tennessee River, above + Chattanooga, to the river at and below the point of Lookout Mountain, + below Chattanooga, with the south bank of the river picketed nearly + to Bridgeport, his main force being fortified in Chattanooga Valley, + at the foot of and on Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, and a + brigade in Lookout Valley. True, we held possession of the country + north of the river, but it was from sixty to seventy miles over the + most impracticable roads to army supplies. + + "The artillery horses and mules had become so reduced by starvation + that they could not have been relied upon for moving anything. An + attempt at retreat must have been with men alone, and with only such + supplies as they could carry. A retreat would have been almost + certain annihilation, for the enemy, occupying positions within + gunshot of and overlooking our very fortifications, would + unquestionably have pursued retreating forces. Already more than ten + thousand animals had perished in supplying half rations to the troops + by the long and tedious route from Stevenson and Bridgeport to + Chattanooga over Waldron's Ridge. They could not have been supplied + another week." + +The first movement under Grant was, therefore, to establish a new and +shorter line of supplies. For this purpose a night expedition was +sent down the river from Chattanooga, which seized the range of hills +at the mouth of Lookout Valley, and covered the Brown's Ferry road. +By 10 A.M. a bridge was laid across the river at the ferry, which +secured the end of the road nearest to our forces and the shorter +line over which the enemy could move troops. General Hooker also +entered Lookout Valley at Wauhatchie, and took up positions for the +defense of the road from Whiteside's, over which he had marched, and +also the road leading from Brown's Ferry to Kelly's Ferry. General +Palmer crossed from the north side of the river opposite Whiteside's, +and held the road passed over by Hooker. An unsuccessful attack was +made on a portion of Hooker's troops the first night after he entered +the valley. Subsequently, we lost the remaining heights held by us +west of Lookout Creek. + +Further operations of the enemy were delayed until the arrival of +Sherman's force from Memphis. After his arrival, on November 23d, an +attempt was made to feel our lines. This was done with so much force +as to obtain possession of Indian Hill and the low range of hills +south of it. That night Sherman began to move to obtain a position +just below the mouth of the South Chickamauga, and by daylight on the +24th he had eight thousand men on the south side of the Tennessee, +and fortified in rifle-trenches. By noon pontoon-bridges were laid +across the Tennessee and the Chickamauga, and the remainder of his +forces crossed. During the afternoon he took possession of the whole +northern extremity of Missionary Ridge nearly to the railroad-tunnel, +and fortified the position equally with that held by us. A raid was +also made on our line of communication, cutting the railroad at +Cleveland. On the same day Hooker sealed the western slope of Lookout +Mountain. On the 26th he took possession of the mountain-top with a +part of his force, and with the remainder crossed Chattanooga Valley +to Rossville. Our most northern point was assailed by Sherman, and +the attack kept up all day. He was reënforced by a part of Howard's +corps. In the afternoon the whole force of the enemy's center, +consisting of four divisions, was moved to the attack. They got +possession of the rifle-pits at the foot of Missionary Ridge, and +commenced the ascent of the mountain from right to left, and +continued it until the summit was reached, notwithstanding the +volleys of grape and canister discharged at them. Our forces +retreated from the ridge as the multitudinous assailants neared the +thin line on the crest, and during the night withdrew from the +positions on the plain below. General Grant, after advancing a short +distance from Chattanooga, dispatched a portion of his forces to the +relief of Burnside in East Tennessee, where he was closely besieged +by General Longstreet in Knoxville. Longstreet moved east into +Virginia, and ultimately joined General Lee. He had left the army of +General Lee, and moved to the West with his force, on the condition +that he should return when summoned. This summons had been sent to +him. The loss of the enemy in the conflicts at Chattanooga was 757 +killed, 4,529 wounded, and 337 missing; total, 5,616. Our loss in +killed and wounded was much less than theirs. + + +[Footnote 78: Some of the garrison of Cumberland Gap escaped, and stated +to General Jones that the surrender had been made without resistance, on +the demands of the smaller detachments which had preceded General +Burnside, and I was not advised of the fact that Buckner had +previously retreated toward Chattanooga, and that Burnside was in +possession of Knoxville. In my message of December 12, 1863, I +referred to the event, as reported to the War Department, as follows: + + "The country was painfully surprised by the intelligence that the + officer in command of Cumberland Gap had surrendered that important + and easily defensible pass, without firing a shot, upon the summons + of a force still believed to have been inadequate to its reduction, + and when reënforcements were in supporting distance and had been + ordered to his aid. The entire garrison, including its commander, + being still held prisoners by the enemy, I am unable to suggest any + explanation of this disaster which laid open Eastern Tennessee and + Southwestern Virginia to hostile operations." + +So far as censure of General Frazier was implied in these remarks, I +am now fully satisfied it was unjust, and I can only regret that the +authentic information recently furnished to me had not been received +at an earlier date, so that I might have relieved General Frazier +from the reflection while I held executive authority. It gives me +pleasure now to say that full and exact information justifies the +high estimate I placed upon him when he was assigned to the separate +command of that important post. Full justice can be done to General +Frazier only when his report and those of his subordinate officers +shall have been published.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + + Movement to draw forth the Enemy.--Advance to Culpeper + Court-House.--Cavalry Engagement at Beverly's and Kelly's Fords.-- + Movement against Winchester.--Milroy's Force captured.-- + Prisoners.--The Enemy retires along the Potomac.--Maryland + entered.--Advance into Pennsylvania.--The Enemy driven back toward + Gettysburg.--Position of the Respective Forces.--Battle at + Gettysburg.--The Army Retires.--Prisoners.--The Potomac swollen.-- + No Interruption by the Enemy.--Strength of our Force.--Strength of + the Enemy.--The Campaign closed.--Observations.--Kelly's Ford.-- + Attempt to surprise our Army.--System of Breastworks.--Prisoners. + + +In the spring of 1863 the enemy occupied his former position before +Fredericksburg. He was in great strength, and, so far as we could +learn, was preparing on the grandest scale for another advance +against Richmond, which in political if not military circles was +regarded as the objective point of the war. The consolidated report +of the Army of the Potomac, then under the command of Major-General +Hooker, states the force present on May 10, 1863, to be 136,704. + +General Lee's forces had been reorganized into three army corps, +designated the First, Second, and Third Corps. In the order named, +they were commanded by Lieutenant-Generals Longstreet, Ewell, and A. +P. Hill. + +The zeal of our people in the defense of their country's cause had +brought nearly all of the population fit for military service to the +various armies then in the field, so that but little increase could +be hoped for by the Army of Northern Virginia. Under these +circumstances, to wait until the enemy should choose to advance was +to take the desperate hazard of the great inequality of numbers, as +well as ability to reënforce, which he possessed. In addition to the +army under General Hooker, a considerable force occupied the lower +part of the Valley of the Shenandoah. + +It was decided by a bold movement to attempt to transfer hostilities +to the north side of the Potomac, by crossing the river and marching +into Maryland and Pennsylvania, simultaneously driving the foe out of +the Shenandoah Valley. Thus, it was hoped, General Hooker's army +would be called from Virginia to meet our advance toward the heart of +the enemy's country. In that event, the vast preparations which had +been made for an advance upon Richmond would be foiled, the plan for +his summer's campaign deranged, and much of the season for active +operations be consumed in the new combinations and dispositions which +would be required. If, beyond the Potomac, some opportunity should be +offered so as to enable us to defeat the army on which our foe most +relied, the measure of our success would be full; but, if the +movement only resulted in freeing Virginia from the presence of the +hostile army, it was more than could fairly be expected from awaiting +the attack which was clearly indicated. + +Actuated by these and other considerations, the campaign was +commenced on June 3, 1863. Our forces advanced to Culpeper +Court-House, leaving A. P. Hill to occupy the lines in front of +Fredericksburg. On the 5th Hooker, having discovered our movement, +crossed an army corps to the south side of the Rappahannock, but, as +this was apparently for observation, it was not thought necessary to +oppose it. + +On the 9th a large force of the enemy's cavalry crossed at Beverly's +and Kelly's Fords and attacked General Stuart. A severe engagement +ensued, continuing from early in the morning until late in the +afternoon, when Stuart forced his assailant to recross the river with +heavy loss, leaving four hundred prisoners, three pieces of +artillery, and several stands of colors in our hands. + +Meantime, General Jenkins with a cavalry brigade had been ordered to +advance toward Winchester, to coöperate with an infantry expedition +into the lower Valley, and General Imboden made a demonstration +toward Romney to cover the movement against Winchester, and prevent +reënforcements from the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Both +these officers were in position when Ewell left Culpeper Court-House +on the 6th. Crossing the Shenandoah near Front Royal, Rodes's +division went to Berryville to dislodge the force stationed there, +and cut off the communication between Winchester and the Potomac. +General Ewell, on the 13th of June, advanced directly upon +Winchester, driving the enemy into his works around the town. On the +next day he stormed the works, and the whole army of General Milroy +was captured or put to flight. Most of those who attempted to escape +were intercepted and made prisoners. Unfortunately, among the +exceptions, was their commander, who had been guilty of most +unpardonable outrages upon defenseless non-combatants. + +General Rodes marched from Berryville to Martinsburg, entering the +latter place on the 14th, and capturing seven hundred prisoners, five +pieces of artillery, and a considerable quantity of stores. These +operations cleared the Valley of the enemy. More than four thousand +prisoners, twenty-nine pieces of artillery, two hundred and seventy +wagons and ambulances, with four hundred horses, were captured, +besides a large amount of military stores. Our loss was small. On the +night that Ewell appeared at Winchester, the enemy at Fredericksburg +recrossed the Rappahannock, and on the next day disappeared behind +the hills of Stafford. + +The whole army of General Hooker, in retiring, pursued the roads near +the Potomac, offering no favorable opportunity for attack. His +purpose seemed to be to take a position which would enable him to +cover the approaches to Washington City. To draw him farther from his +base, and to cover the march of A. P. Hill, who had left for the +Valley, Longstreet moved from Culpeper Court-House on the 15th, and +occupied Ashby's and Snicker's Gaps. The cavalry under General Stuart +was in front of Longstreet to watch the enemy, and encountered his +cavalry on the 17th near Aldie, and drove it back. The engagement was +renewed on the next day, but the cavalry of the latter being now +strongly supported by infantry, Stuart was compelled to retire. He +had, however, taken in these engagements about four hundred prisoners +and a considerable number of horses and arms. + +Meantime, General Ewell, with the advance of his corps, had entered +Maryland. Jenkins, with his cavalry, penetrated as far as +Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. As these demonstrations did not cause the +hostile army to leave Virginia, nor did it seem disposed to advance +upon Longstreet's position, he was withdrawn to the west side of the +Shenandoah. General Hill had already reached the Valley. General +Stuart was left to guard the passes of the mountains and observe the +movements of the enemy, whom he was instructed to harass and impede +as much as possible should he attempt to cross the Potomac, In that +event General Stuart was directed to move into Maryland, crossing the +Potomac east or west of the Blue Ridge, as in his judgment should +seem best, and take position on the right of our column as it +advanced. General Longstreet says: + + "General Stuart held the gap for a while, and then hurried around + beyond Hooker's army, and we saw nothing more of him until the + evening of July 2d, when he came down from York and joined us, having + made a complete circuit of the Federal army." + +Longstreet and Hill crossed the Potomac, to be within supporting +distance of Ewell, and advanced into Pennsylvania, encamping near +Chambersburg on the 27th of June. The cavalry, under Colonel White, +advanced to the Susquehanna. + +On the night of the 27th information was received that General Hooker +had crossed the Potomac, and was advancing northward, and that the +head of the column had reached South Mountain. This menaced our +communications, and it was resolved to prevent his further progress +by concentrating our army on the east side of the mountain. +Accordingly, the different commands were ordered to proceed to +Gettysburg. This march was conducted more slowly than it would have +been had the movements of Hooker been known. Heth's, the leading +division of Hill's corps, met the enemy in front of Gettysburg on the +morning of July 1st, driving him back to within a short distance of +the town; the advance there encountered a larger force, with which +two of Hill's divisions became engaged. Ewell, coming up with two of +his divisions, joined in the engagement; and the opposing force was +driven through Gettysburg with heavy loss, including about five +thousand prisoners and several pieces of artillery. + +Under the instructions given to them not to bring on a general +engagement, these corps bivouacked on the ground they had won. + +In an address delivered at Lexington, Virginia, on January 17, 1873, +General W. N. Pendleton, chief of artillery, makes the following +statement: + + "The ground southwest of the town was carefully examined by me after + the engagement on July 1st. Being found much less difficult than the + steep ascent fronting the troops already up, its practicable + character was reported to our commanding General. He informed me that + he had ordered Longstreet to attack on that front at sunrise the next + morning. And he added to myself, 'I want you to be out long before + sunrise so as to reexamine and save time.' He also desired me to + communicate with General Longstreet as well as with himself. The + reconnaissance was accordingly made, as soon as it was light enough + on the 2d, and made through a long distance--in fact, very close to + what there was of the enemy's line. No insuperable difficulty + appearing, and the marching up--far off, the enemy's reenforcing + columns being seen--the extreme desirableness of immediate attack + there, was at once reported to the commanding General; and, according + to his wish, message was also sent to the intrepid but deliberate + corps commander whose sunrise attack there had been ordered. There + was, however, unaccountable delay. My own messages went repeatedly to + General Lee, and his, I know, was urgently pressed on General + Longstreet, until, as I afterward learned from officers who saw + General Lee, as I could not at the time, he manifested extreme + displeasure with the tardy corps commander. That hard-fighting + soldier, to whom it had been committed there to attack early in the + day, did not, in person, reach the commanding General, and with him + ride to a position whence to view the ground and see the enemy's + arriving masses, until twelve o'clock; and his column was not up and + ready for the assault until 4 P.M. All this, as it occurred under my + personal observation, it is nothing short of imperative duty that I + should thus fairly state." + +For the reasons set forth by General Pendleton, whose statement, in +regard to a fact coming under his personal observation, none who know +him will question, preparations for a general engagement were +unfortunately delayed until the afternoon, instead of being made at +sunrise; then troops had been concentrated, and "Round-Top," the +commanding position, unoccupied in the morning, had received the +force which inflicted such disaster on our assaulting columns. The +question as to the responsibility for this delay has been so fully +discussed in the Southern Historical Society papers as to relieve me +from the necessity of entering into it. + +The position at Gettysburg was not the choice of either side. South +from the town an irregular, interrupted line of hills runs, which is +sometimes called the "Gettysburg Ridge." This ridge, at the town, +turns eastward and then southward. At the turn eastward is Cemetery +Hill and at the turn southward Culps's Hill. From Cemetery Hill the +line runs southward about three miles in a well-defined ridge, since +the battle called Cemetery Ridge, and terminates in a high, rocky, +and wooded peak named Round-Top, which was the key of the enemy's +position, as it flanked their line. The less elevated portion, near +where the crest rises into Round-Top, is termed "Little Round-Top," a +rough and bold spur of the former. Thus, while Cemetery and Culps's +Hills require the formation of a line of battle to face northward, +the direction of Cemetery Ridge requires the line to face westward. +The crest has a good slope to the rear, while to the west it falls +off in a cultivated and undulating valley, which it commands. About a +mile distant is a parallel crest, known as Seminary Ridge, and which +our forces occupied during the battle. Longstreet, with the divisions +of Hood and McLaws, faced Round-Top and a good part of Cemetery +Ridge; Hill's three divisions continued the line from the left of +Longstreet, fronting the remainder of Cemetery Ridge; while Ewell, +with his three divisions, held a line through the town, and, sweeping +round the base of Cemetery Hill, terminated the left in front of +Culps's Hill. + +These were the positions of the three corps after the arrival of +General Longstreet's troops. + +The main purpose of the movement across the Potomac was to free +Virginia from the presence of the enemy. If this could be done by +manoeuvering merely, a most important result would be cheaply +obtained. The contingency of a battle was of course deemed probable, +and, with any fair opportunity, the Army of Northern Virginia was +considered sure to win a victory. + +[Illustration: Lieutenant-General James Longstreet] + +It had not been intended to fight a general battle at such a distance +as Gettysburg from our base, unless attacked; but, being unexpectedly +confronted by the opposing army, it became a matter of difficulty to +withdraw through the mountains with our large trains. At the same +time the country was unfavorable for collecting supplies while in the +presence of the main army of the enemy, as he was enabled to restrain +our foraging parties by occupying the passes of the mountains with +both regular and local troops. Encouraged by the successful issue of +the engagement of the first day, and in view of the valuable results +that would ensue from the defeat of the army of General Meade (who +had succeeded General Hooker), General Lee thought it preferable to +renew the attack. + +General Meade held the high ridge above described, along which he had +massed a large amount of artillery. General Ewell occupied the left +of our line, General Hill the center, and General Longstreet the +right. In front of General Longstreet the enemy held a position, from +which, if he could be driven, it was thought that our army could gain +the more elevated ground (Round-Top) beyond, and thus enable our guns +to rake the crest of the ridge. That officer was directed to endeavor +to carry this position, while General Ewell attacked directly the +high ground on the enemy's right, which had already been partially +fortified. General Hill was instructed to threaten the center of the +line, in order to prevent reënforcements to either wing, and to avail +himself of any opportunity that might present itself to attack. After +a severe struggle Longstreet succeeded in getting possession of and +holding the ground in his immediate front. Ewell also carried some of +the strong positions which he assailed, and the result was such as to +lead to the belief that he would ultimately be able to dislodge the +force in his front. The battle ceased at dark. These partial +successes determined Lee to continue the assault on the next day. +Pickett, with three of his brigades, joined Longstreet on the +following morning, and our batteries were moved forward to the +position gained by him on the day before. The general plan of attack +was unchanged, except that one division and two brigades of Hill's +corps were ordered to support Longstreet. + +General Meade, in the mean time, had strengthened his line with +earthworks. The morning was occupied in necessary preparations, and +the battle recommenced in the afternoon of the 3d, and raged with +great violence until sunset. Our troops succeeded in entering the +advanced works of the enemy, and getting possession of some of his +batteries; but, our artillery having nearly expended its ammunition, +the attacking columns became exposed to the heavy fire of the +numerous batteries near the summit of the ridge, and, after a most +determined and gallant struggle, were compelled to relinquish their +advantage and fall back to their original positions with severe loss. + +Owing to the strength of the enemy's position and the exhaustion of +our ammunition, a renewal of the engagement could not be hazarded, +and the difficulty of procuring supplies rendered it impossible to +continue longer where we were. Such of the wounded as could be +removed and a part of the arms collected on the field were ordered to +Williamsport. The army remained at Gettysburg during the 4th, and at +night began to retire by the road to Fairfield, carrying with it +about four thousand prisoners. Nearly two thousand had been +previously paroled; but the numerous wounded that had fallen into our +hands after the first and second day's engagements were left behind. +Little progress was made that night, owing to a severe storm, which +greatly embarrassed our movements. The rear of the column did not +leave its position near Gettysburg until after daylight on the 5th. +The march was continued during that day without interruption by the +enemy, except an unimportant demonstration upon our rear in the +afternoon, when near Fairfield, which was easily checked. The army, +after a tedious march, rendered more difficult by the rains, reached +Hagerstown on the afternoon of the 6th and morning of the 7th of July. + +The Potomac was so much swollen by the rains, that had fallen almost +incessantly since our army entered Maryland, as to be unfordable. A +pontoon-train had been sent from Richmond, but the rise in the river +gave to it a width greater than was expected, so that additional +boats had to be made by the army on its retreat. Our communication +with the south side was thus interrupted, and it was found difficult +to procure either ammunition or subsistence, the latter difficulty +being enhanced by the high water impeding the working of the mills. +The trains with the wounded and prisoners were compelled to wait at +Williamsport for the subsiding of the river or the construction of +additional pontoon-boats. The enemy had not yet made his appearance, +but, as he was in a condition to obtain large reënforcements and our +want of supplies was daily becoming more embarrassing, it was deemed +advisable to recross the river. By the 13th a good bridge was thrown +over at Falling Waters. On the 12th Meade's army approached. A +position had been previously selected to cover the Potomac from +Williamsport to Falling Waters, and an attack was awaited during that +and the succeeding day. This did not take place, though the two +armies were in close proximity, the enemy being occupied in +fortifying his own lines. + +General Meade, in his testimony before the Committee on the Conduct +of the War, said that he ordered an attack on our forces on the +morning of the 14th, and, if it had been made, it was his opinion +that "it would have resulted disastrously." When asked the reasons +for that opinion, he replied: + + "If I had attacked the enemy in the position which he then + occupied--he having the advantage of position, and being on the + defensive, his artillery in position, and his infantry behind + parapets and rifle-pits--the very same reasons and causes which + produced my success at Gettysburg would have operated in his favor + there, and be likely to produce success on his part." + +Our preparations being completed, and the Potomac, though still deep, +being pronounced fordable, the army commenced to withdraw to the +south side on the night of the 13th. Ewell's corps forded the river +at Williamsport, those of Longstreet and Hill crossed upon the +bridge. Owing to the condition of the roads the troops did not reach +the bridge until after daylight on the 14th, and the crossing was not +completed until 1 P.M., when the bridge was removed. General Lee said +that the enemy offered no serious interruption, and the movement was +attended with no loss of material except a few disabled wagons and +two pieces of artillery, which the horses were unable to move through +the deep mud. During the slow and tedious march to the bridge, in the +midst of a violent storm of rain, some of the men lay down by the way +to rest. Officers sent back for them failed to find many in the +obscurity of the night, and these, with some stragglers, a few of +Heth's division most remote from the bridge, were captured. On the +following day the army marched to Bunker Hill, in the vicinity of +which it encamped for several days. Owing to the swollen condition of +the Shenandoah River, the campaign which was contemplated when the +Potomac was recrossed, could not be immediately commenced. Before the +waters had subsided, the movements of the enemy required us to cross +the Blue Ridge and take position south of the Rappahannock. + +The strength of our army at Gettysburg is stated at 62,000 of all +arms.[79] The report of the Army of the Potomac under General Meade, +on June 30, 1863, states the force present at 112,988 men. Before the +Committee on the Conduct of the War, General Meade, in reference to +his force at Gettysburg, said, "Including all arms of the service, my +strength was a little under 100,000 men--about 95,000." + +If the strength of General Lee's forces, according to the last +accessible report before the movement northward, be compared with +that made after his return into Virginia, there is a decrease of +nineteen thousand of the brave men who had set the seal of +invincibility upon the Army of Northern Virginia. + +General Lee, in his report, noticing the large loss of men and +officers, says: + + "I can not speak of these brave men as their merits and exploits + deserve. Some of them are appropriately mentioned in the accompanying + reports, and the memory of all will be gratefully and affectionately + cherished by the people in whose defense they fell. + + "The loss of Major-General Pender is severely felt by the army and + the country. . . . Brigadier-Generals Armistead, Barksdale, Garnet, + and Semmes, died as they had lived, discharging the highest duty of + patriots with devotion that never faltered, and courage that shrank + from no danger." + +The testimony of General Meade, above mentioned, contains this +statement respecting his losses: + + "On the evening of the 2d of July, after the battle of that day had + ceased, and darkness had set in, being aware of the very heavy losses + of the First and Eleventh Corps on the 1st of July, and knowing how + severely the Third Corps, the Fifth Corps, and other portions of the + army, had suffered in the battle of the 2d of July--in fact, as + subsequently ascertained, out of the twenty-four thousand men killed, + wounded, and missing, which was the amount of my losses and + casualties at Gettysburg--over twenty thousand of them had been put + _hors de combat_ before the night of the 2d of July." + +Thus closed the campaign in Pennsylvania. The wisdom of the strategy +was justified by the result. The battle of Gettysburg was +unfortunate. Though the loss sustained by the enemy was greater than +our own, theirs could be repaired, ours could not. + +Had General Lee been able to compel the enemy to attack him in +position, I think we should have had a complete victory, and the +testimony of General Meade quoted above shows that he was not at all +inclined to make the experiment. If General Lee, by moving to the +right, would only have led General Meade to fall back on his +preferred position of Pipe Creek, his ability to wait and the +impossibility under such circumstances for General Lee to supply his +army for any length of time seem to me an answer to that point in the +criticism to which our great Captain has been subjected. To compel +Meade to retire would have availed but little to us, unless his army +had first been routed. To beat that army was probably to secure our +independence. The position of Gettysburg would have been worth +nothing to us if our army had found it unoccupied. The fierce battle +that Lee fought there must not be considered as for the position; to +beat the great army of the North was the object, and that it was of +possible attainment is to be inferred from the various successes of +our arms. Had there been a concentrated attack at sunrise on the +second day, with the same gallantry and skill which were exhibited in +the partial assaults, it may reasonably be assumed that the enemy +would have been routed. This, from the best evidence we have, was the +plan and the expectation of General Lee. These having failed, from +whatever cause, and Meade having occupied in force the commanding +position of Round-Top, it must be conceded that it would have been +better to withdraw than to renew the attack on the third day. The +high morale and discipline of our army, together with the unqualified +confidence of the men in their commanding General, excluded the +supposition that they would be demoralized by retreat. Subsequent +events proved how little cause there was to fear it. It is not +admitted that our army was defeated, and the enemy's claim to a +victory is refuted by the fact that, when Lee halted on the banks of +the Potomac, Meade, instead of attacking as a pursuing general would +a defeated foe, halted also, and commenced intrenching. + +The Battle of Gettysburg has been the subject of an unusual amount of +discussion, and the enemy has made it a matter of extraordinary +exultation. As an affair of arms it was marked by mighty feats of +valor to which both combatants may point with military pride. It was +a graceful thing in President Lincoln if, as reported, when he was +shown the steeps which the Northern men persistently held, he +answered, "I am proud to be the countryman of the men who assailed +those heights." + +The consequences of the battle have justified the amount of attention +it has received. It may be regarded as the most eventful struggle of +the war. By it the drooping spirit of the North was revived. Had +their army been there defeated, those having better opportunities to +judge than I or any one who was not among them, have believed it +would have ended the war. On the other hand, a drawn battle, where +the Army of Northern Virginia made an attack, impaired the confidence +of the Southern people so far as to give the malcontents a power to +represent the Government as neglecting for Virginia the safety of the +more southern States. + +In all free governments, the ability of its executive branch to +prosecute a war must largely depend upon public opinion; in an infant +republic, this, for every reason, is peculiarly the case. The volume +given to the voice of disaffection was therefore most seriously felt +by us. + +Shattered, it is true, but not disheartened, the Army of Northern +Virginia after recrossing the Potomac rose like the son of Terra, +with renewed vigor, and entered on the brilliant campaign hereafter +to be generally described. + +Early in October General Lee, with two corps (Ewell's and Hill's), +the First Corps of his army having been temporarily detached for +service in Tennessee, crossed the Rapidan to attack the flank of the +enemy, or to compel him to retreat. It resulted in the capture of +fifteen hundred prisoners, and forced Meade's army back to Alexandria +and Centreville. The campaign was an unbroken success, with the +exception of a rash and ill-conducted affair at Bristoe Station, +where our advance engaged a corps, and was repulsed, losing a number +of men and five guns. Thus, without a general battle, a large portion +of the State was for the time liberated. + +On November 7th the enemy advanced upon our force at Kelly's Ford, of +the Rappahannock River, effected a crossing, and, rushing upon two +brigades who were at Rappahannock Station defending the bridges, +overwhelmed and captured most of them, taking between twelve and +fifteen hundred men, and four pieces of artillery. The movements of +the enemy were concealed by the darkness, and his attack was a +surprise. + +On November 26th the army under General Meade crossed the Rapidan, +with the intention of interposing between the widely separated wings +of his adversary. Instead of being successful, this movement resulted +in an entire failure. General Meade found Lee's army posted behind +Mine Run, and ready to receive an attack whenever he was disposed to +make it. "Meade declared, it is related, that he could carry the +position with a loss of thirty thousand men; but, as that idea was +frightful, there seemed nothing to do but retreat." [80] Lee had +inaugurated that system of breastworks which did him good service in +his long campaign with General Grant. When the troops were halted in +a wood, the men felled the large trees, heavy logs were dragged +without loss of time to the prescribed line, where they were piled +upon one another in double walls, which were filled in rapidly with +earth; so that, in a short space of time, defenses which would turn a +cannon-shot were often constructed. In front, for some distance, the +felled timber made a kind of abatis. As General Meade did not attack, +General Lee, on the night of December 1st, determined to assail his +adversary on the next morning; but, when the dawn broke over the +hills, his camps were seen to be deserted. General Meade had +abandoned the campaign, and was in full retreat toward the Rapidan. +Pursuit was immediately made, but he had too much the start, and +reached the north side of the Rapidan before he could be overtaken. +Both armies then retired to their original positions. We captured +about seven hundred prisoners, four hundred mules and horses, and +destroyed or secured one hundred and twenty wagons. + + +[Footnote 79: "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 80: "Life of General R. E. Lee," by J. E. Cooke.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + + Subjugation of the States of Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, and + Virginia.--Object of a State Government; its Powers are "Just + Powers"; how exercised; its Duty; necessarily sovereign; its Entire + Order; how founded; how destroyed.--The Crime against Constitutional + Liberty.--What is the Government of the United States?--It partakes + of the Nature of a Limited Partnership; its Peaceful Objects.-- + Distinction between the Governments of the States and that of the + United States.--Secession.--The Government of the United States + invades the State; refuses to recognize its Government; thus denies + the Fundamental Principle of Popular Liberty.--Founded a New State + Government based on the Sovereignty of the United States + Government.--Annihilation of Unalienable Rights.--Qualification of + Voters fixed by Military Power.--Condition of the Voter's Oath.-- + Who was the Sovereign in Tennessee?--Case of Louisiana.-- + Registration of Voters.--None allowed to register who could not or + would not take a Certain Oath; its Conditions.--Election of State + Officers.--Part of the State Constitution declared void.--All done + under the Military Force of the United States Government. + + +The most painful pages of this work are those which now present the +subjugation of the State governments by the Government of the United +States. The patriot, the lover of his country and of the liberties of +mankind, can not contemplate these facts without a feeling of grief +which will not be comforted. That the work of the fathers of the +republic, that the most magnificent system of constitutional +government which the wisdom of man has devised, should be turned from +its object, changed from its order, rendered powerless to protect the +unalienable rights and sovereignty of the people, and made the +instrument by which to establish and maintain imperialism, is a +revolution unlike any other that may be found in the history of +mankind. The result established the truthfulness of the assertion, so +often made during the progress of the war, that the Northern people, +by their unconstitutional warfare to gain the freedom of certain +negro slaves, would lose their own liberties. + +It has been shown that the governments of the States were instituted +to secure certain unalienable rights of the citizens with which they +were endowed by their Creator, and that among these rights were life, +liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that they derived their just +powers from the consent of the governed; and that these powers were +organized by the citizens in such form as seemed to them most likely +to effect their safety and happiness. Where must the American citizen +look for the security of the rights with which he has been endowed by +his Creator? To his State government. Where shall he look to find +security and protection for his life, security and protection for his +personal liberty, security and protection for his property, security +and protection for his safety and happiness? Only to his State +government. + +The powers which the State government possesses for the security of +his life, his liberty, his property, his safety, and his happiness, +are "just powers." They have been derived from the unconstrained +consent of the governed, and they have been organized in such form as +seems most likely to effect these objects. + +Is the citizen's life in danger from violence? The State guarantees +his protection, and it is its duty to rescue him from danger and +obtain redress from the offender, whether an individual or a foreign +nation. Are the freedom and personal liberty of the citizen in danger +from unlawful arrest and imprisonment? The State guarantees both, and +it is its duty to secure and preserve his freedom. Is the property of +the citizen in danger of a violent and unjust seizure and unlawful +detention or destruction? The State government guarantees his title, +restores the property, or obtains damages. Is the personal property +of the citizen in danger of robbery or abduction? The State +government throws over it the shield of its protection, and regards +the burglar and the robber as the enemies of society. It is +unnecessary to proceed further with this enumeration. + +The duty of the State government is to give to its citizens perfect +and complete security. It is necessarily sovereign within its own +domain, for it is the representative and the constituted agent of the +inherent sovereignty of the individuals. For the performance of its +duty of protection it may unite with other sovereignties; and also, +for better safety and security to its citizens, it may withdraw or +secede from such Union. + +It will be seen that the entire order of the State government is +founded on the free consent of the governed. From this it springs; +from this it receives its force and life. It is this consent alone +from which "just powers" are derived. They can come from no other +source, and their exercise sources a true republican government. All +else are usurpations, their exercise is a tyranny, and their end is +the safety and security of the usurper, to obtain which the +unalienable rights of the people are sacrificed. The "just powers," +thus derived, are organized in such form as shall seem to the +governed to be most likely to secure their safety and happiness. It +is the governed who determine the form of the government, and not the +ruler nor his military force, unless he comes as a conqueror to make +the subjugated do his will. The object, or end, for which these "just +powers" are derived from the consent of the governed and organized in +such form as seems most likely to effect that object, is solely to +secure the unalienable rights of men--such as life, liberty, +property, justice, peace and order, and the pursuit of happiness. + +It will now be seen by the reader that, whenever any one of the +features of this order is perverted in its origin or progress, or +thwarted, or caused to deviate from its natural operation by any +internal or external interference, the order is destroyed, and the +State government, which represents it, is subverted, turned from its +object, changed from its natural purpose, rendered powerless to +protect the unalienable rights of its citizens, and made an +instrument to strengthen the hands of despotism. The commission of +such a subversion of the peaceful and fraternal States of this once +happy republic is fearlessly charged upon the Government of the +United States, as in itself constituting a monstrous crime against +constitutional liberty; and it is asserted that, when the +circumstances attending the deed are considered--the rage against a +whole people, the pillage, the arson, the inciting of servile war, +the slaughter of defenseless non-combatants, the devastation of whole +peaceful regions, the indiscriminate destruction of property--no +parallel can be found in the annals of mankind. + +What, then, is the Government of the United States? It is an +organization of a few years' duration. It might cease to exist, and +yet the States and the people continue prosperous, peaceful, and +happy. Unlike the governments of the States, which find their origin +deep in the nature of man, it sprang from certain circumstances which +existed in the course of human affairs. Unlike the governments of the +States and of separate nations, which have a divine sanction, it has +no warrant for its authority but the ratification of the sovereign +States. Unlike the governments of the States, which were instituted +to secure generally the unalienable rights of man, it has only the +enumerated objects, and is restrained from passing beyond them by the +express reservation of all delegated functions. It keeps no records +of property, and guarantees to no one the possession of his estate. +Marriage, from which springs the family and the State, it can neither +confirm nor annul. It partakes of the nature of an incorporation for +certain purposes, beyond which it has neither influence nor +authority. It is an anomaly among governments, and arose out of the +articles of agreement made by certain friendly States, which proposed +to form a society of States and invest a common agent with specified +functions of sovereignty. Its duration was intended to be permanent, +as it was hoped thus to promote the peaceful ends for which it was +established; but, to have declared it _perpetual_, would have been to +deny the right of a people to alter or abolish their government when +it should cease to answer the ends for which it was instituted. + +The objects which its creation was designed to secure to the States +and their people were of a truly peaceful nature, and commended +themselves to the approbation of men. They were stated by its authors +in a form called "the preamble" of their work, which is in these +words: + + "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect + union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for + the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the + blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and + establish this Constitution of the United States." + +Mankind must contemplate with horror the fact that an organization +established for such peaceful and benign ends did, within the first +century of its existence, lead the assault in a civil war that +brought nearly four millions of soldiers into the field, destroyed +thousands and thousands of millions of treasure, trampled the +unalienable rights of the people under foot, subverted and subjugated +the governments of the States, and ended by establishing itself as +supreme and sovereign over all. Some Christian writer has suggested +the thought that there may not be a spot of the earth's surface in +the Old World but has witnessed the commission of some human crime or +been wet with human gore. How nearly true this may be of the New +World's once-vaunted asylum for the victims of despotism, misrule, +and oppression, these pages can bear some testimony. After all, it is +the civil disorders, the violations of rights, and the perversions of +wise and useful institutions, that are the most disastrous in their +consequences. They last for ages; and often, too often, the lapse of +time brings no remedy to the suffering people. In their despair, they +say the past is gone for ever--a new era has opened; but what +horrors may be developed in its revolving years no mortal can +foresee, so they hug the chains they feel powerless to break. + +How distinct in its nature and objects was the Government of the +United States from the governments of the States, may be seen from +that which has already been said. The former was established by +common consent to look after the common interests. It was to make +peace or war with foreign nations, protect the frontiers, extend the +boundaries, decide disputes between citizens of different States, and +administer general affairs in a manner to promote the peace, the +order, and the happiness of all. But, to the fostering care of the +State government, the man, the citizen, the head of the family, the +parent, the child, the woman, the scholar, and the Christian all +looked with full confidence as to their natural and divinely +sanctioned protector against all foes within or without; and relied +upon its ever-present arm for the safety and security of their +persons, their homes, their property, and their institutions. How +wofully the confiding people were betrayed when the usurper came, let +some of the Northern States answer! + +Now let us proceed to notice the acts of the Government of the United +States, which subjugated the State governments. The details in the +case of Tennessee have been already stated. In that instance, the +government of the State, which derived its powers from the consent of +the governed, so that they were "just powers," found, in the +discharge of its duty to protect the institutions of its people, that +there were no means by which it could fulfill that duty but by a +withdrawal from the Union, so as to be rid of the Government of the +United States, and thus escape the threatened dangers of usurpation +and sectional hostility. It therefore resolved to withdraw from the +Union, and the people gave their assent to this resolution; so that +the State no longer considered itself a member of the Union, nor +recognized the laws and authority of its Government. The Government +of the United States, then, with a powerful military force, planted +itself at Nashville, the State capital. It refused to recognize the +State government, or any organization under it, as having any +existence, or to recognize the people otherwise than as a hostile +community. It said to them, in effect: "I am the sovereign and you +are the subjects. If you are stronger than I am, then drive me out of +the State; if I am stronger than you are, then I demand an +unconditional surrender to my sovereignty." It is evident that the +Government of the United States was not there by the consent of those +who were to be governed. It had not, therefore, any "just powers" of +government within the State of Tennessee. For, says the Declaration +of Independence of our fathers, governments "derive their 'just +powers' from the consent of the governed." It is further evident +that, by this action, the Government of the United States denied the +fundamental principle of popular liberty--that the people are the +source of all political power. In this instance, it not only +subverted the State government, but carried that subversion to the +extent of annihilation. It, therefore, proceeded to establish a new +order of affairs, founded, not on the principle of the sovereignty of +the people, which was wholly rejected, but on the assumption of +sovereignty in the United States Government. It appointed its +military Governor to be the head of the new order, and recognized no +civil or political existence in any man, except some of its notorious +adherents, until, betraying the State, he had taken an oath of +allegiance to the sovereignty of the Government of the United States. +Now commenced a system of denial of unalienable rights, for the +methods of the usurper are the same everywhere. Freedom of speech was +suppressed by the imposition of fines on those using "seditious" +language, and the demand of security for their future humility. The +freedom of the press was suppressed by suspension of publications and +the confiscation of the offices. Personal liberty was destroyed by +arrests, imprisonment, and exile. + +In process of time, an effort was made to erect a form of State +government which should be subservient and subject to the United +States Government. For this purpose, no one could be a voter until he +had bound himself by an oath to support and defend the Government of +the United States. Under the State governments, manhood, which came +by nature, and residence, which came by one's own will, were +sufficient qualifications for the voter. + +It will be apparent from this statement that the voter's right to +cast his ballot came not to him as an unalienable right, but rested +upon the permission of the Government of the United States, as his +sovereign, to whom his allegiance was due, and to whom he was +required, in the first instance, to bind himself by an oath of +allegiance without any mention whatever of a State government. +Indeed, a little later, the same oath was required with additional +conditions before a man was permitted to vote for a State +constitutional convention, or for delegates to such a convention. +These conditions were, that he would faithfully support all acts of +Congress and all proclamations of the President of the United States, +passed or made during the rebellion, having reference to slaves. +Thus, the voter's right was made to rest, not only upon his binding +himself in allegiance to the United States as his sovereign, but in +the binding by oath his consent to certain unconstitutional acts and +proclamations expressly designed to destroy one of the most important +institutions of the State. This, sustained by a military force, was +exacted by the United States Government as the lord paramount--the +sovereign within the State. At the same time, the action of the +voter, which should be perfectly free and unconstrained (for, under +American political principles, he is the sovereign over all), is +limited and bound down by an oath faithfully to support certain acts +to which it was presumable he had ever been conscientiously opposed. + +Under these circumstances, who was the sovereign in Tennessee? The +Government of the United States. Where was the government of the +State of Tennessee and the sovereign people? The former was subverted +and overthrown, and the latter subjugated. The approval by Tennessee, +under such circumstances, of Article XIII, as an amendment to the +Constitution of the United States prohibiting the existence of +slavery, was of no force; for consent given by a party under +constraint has neither legal nor moral validity. The State +Constitution was so amended as to contain certain new provisions +prescribed by the Government of the United States by a so-called +convention of delegates elected by the voters above specified, and +then submitted to these voters, and said to be ratified by them. They +were little more in numbers than a handful of the people of +Tennessee. Was this a Constitution amended and approved by the +consent of the people of Tennessee, the only sovereigns known under +our institutions, or was it a Constitution amended and voted for by a +small fraction of its population acting under the authority of the +Government of the United Stales, as the only sovereign in the State? +Admitting, even, that those who voted for the amended Constitution +were the only legal voters in the State, the Government of the United +States was no less an unlawful intruder and usurper when it +prescribed the amendments of the Constitution and designated the +voters. Nevertheless, this work was recognized by it, as constituting +a republican State government under the Constitution. + +Let us next notice some points in the subversion of the State +government of Louisiana. One of the earliest steps taken for a civil +organization, after the occupation of New Orleans, was to make a +registration of voters. The United States Government was in +possession by military force, and the object was to secure its +permanent supremacy. Therefore, the oath which was administered to +the person applying for registration contained this condition: + + "I now register myself as a voter, freely and voluntarily, for the + purpose of organizing a State government in Louisiana, loyal to the + Government of the United States." + +It was also announced, with the approval of the military Governor, +that any person swearing falsely to any material part of the oath +would be deemed to be guilty of perjury, and be liable to prosecution +and punishment. The effect of this measure was to secure a +registration only of persons who would maintain the supremacy of the +Government of the United States. A proclamation was next issued by +the commander of the United States forces for an election of State +officers under the laws and Constitution of the State. It was +declared that these officers, when thus elected, would constitute the +so-called civil government of the State, under the Constitution and +laws of Louisiana, "except so much of the said Constitution and laws +as recognize, regulate, or relate to slavery," which were also +declared to be inoperative and void. It was further provided, in the +same proclamation, as follows: + + "In order that the organic law of the State may be made to conform to + the will of the people and harmonize with the spirit of the age, as + well as to maintain and preserve the ancient landmarks of civil and + religions liberty, an election of delegates to a convention for the + revision of the Constitution will be held," etc. + +The effect of these acts was to establish a number of persons, +pledged to support the Government of the United States, as the only +qualified voters in the State, and to elect so-called State officers +and delegates to a so-called Constitutional Convention by their +ballots. But this was a work that could be done only by the sovereign +people acting through their lawful State government. It was not so +done, because the Government of the United States, with a powerful +military force, had taken possession of New Orleans, refused to +recognize the officers of the State government, and sought to capture +and imprison them, although it recognized the validity of the State +Constitution in part, and commanded these things to be done as if it +was the ultimate sovereign over all. + +Thus the government of the State was subverted, the Constitution of +the State in part set aside, and the sovereignty of the people +trampled down by a power that had no rightful authority for such +acts. Subsequently, a so-called convention was held, a so-called new +Constitution adopted, complying with the views of the Government of +the United States, the amendment to the Constitution of the United +States as above mentioned was adopted, the State Representatives were +admitted to seats in Congress, and the people acquiesced in the fraud +which they had not the power to correct. + +The proceedings in the States of Arkansas and Virginia, which +resulted in an entire subversion of the State Governments, the +destruction of the sovereignty of the people, and the establishment +of the supremacy of the Government of the United States, have been +stated on a preceding page. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + + Subjugation of the Border States, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.-- + A Military Force invades Maryland and occupies Baltimore.--Martial + Law declared.--A Military Order.--Banishment from the State.-- + Civil Government of the State suspended.--Unalienable Rights of the + Citizens invaded.--Arrests of Citizens commenced.--Number.--Case + of John Merryman.--Opinion of Chief-Justice Taney.--Newspapers + seized.--Houses searched for Arms.--Order of Commanding General to + Marshals to put Test to Voters.--The Governor appeals to the + President.--His Reply.--Voters imprisoned.--Statement of the + Governor.--Result of the Election.--State Constitutional + Convention.--Emancipation hardly carried.--First Open Measures in + Kentucky.--Interference at the State Election by the United States + Government.--Voters excluded.--Martial Law declared.--Soldiers + keeping the Polls.--The Vote.--Statement of the Governor.--Attempt + to enroll Able-bodied Negroes.--The Governor visits Washington.-- + The Result.--Arrests, Imprisonment, and Exile of Citizens.-- + Suspension of the Writ of _Habeas Corpus_ by President Lincoln.-- + Interference with the State Election.--Order to the Sheriffs.-- + Proclamation of the Governor.--Enlistment of Slaves.--Emancipation + by Constitutional Amendment.--Violent _Measures_ in Missouri.--The + Governor calls out the Militia.--His Words.--The Plea of the + Invader.--"The Authority of the United States is Paramount," said + President Lincoln.--Bravery of the Governor.--Words of the + Commanding General.--Troops poured into the State.--Proceedings of + the State Convention.--Numberless Usurpations.--Provisional + Governor.--Emancipation Ordinance passed. + + +If the State government is instituted with certain powers which +become "just powers" by the formal consent of the governed, for the +purpose of enforcing security to the unalienable rights of man, it +must be evident that any interference with those rights by which +their enjoyments diminished, endangered, or destroyed, is not only an +obstruction to the operation of the "just powers" of the State +government, but is subversive of the purpose which it was instituted +to effect. + +In this manner the State government of Maryland was subjugated. A +military force, under the authority of the Government of the United +States, occupied the city of Baltimore at a time when no invasion of +the State was threatened, and when there had been no application of +the Legislature, or of the Executive, for protection against domestic +violence, which circumstances alone could give a constitutional +authority for this organized military force to occupy the State. The +commanding General, Schenck, soon issued an order, of which the +following is an extract: + + "Martial law is declared and hereby established in the city and + county of Baltimore, and in all the counties of the Western Shore of + Maryland. The commanding General gives assurance that this suspension + of civil government within the limits defined shall not extend beyond + the necessities of the occasion. All the civil courts, tribunals, and + political functionaries of State, county, or city authority, are to + continue in the discharge of their duties as in times of peace, only + in no way interfering with the exercise of the predominant power + assumed and asserted by the military authority." + +It will be noticed that this military force of the Government of the +United States had no constitutional permission to come into Maryland +and exercise authority; that the commanding General says that the +civil government of the State is suspended within certain limits; +that this suspension will be continued according to the necessities +of the occasion; that the courts and political functionaries may +discharge their duties, only in no way interfering with the exercise +of the predominant military power. Now, where were the "just powers" +of the State government at this time? They were suspended in a part +of the State, says the commanding General, and for so long a time as +the military authority may judge the necessities of the occasion to +require, and that the courts and political functionaries may +discharge their duties while recognizing the supremacy of the +military power. Thus was the State government subjugated. + +A further subversion of the State government was now commenced by an +invasion and denial of some of the unalienable rights of the +citizens, for the security of which that government was instituted. +The Constitution of the United States says: + + "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without + due process of law." [81] + + "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, + papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, + shall not be violated." [82] + + "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, + nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." [83] + + "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of + the press." [84] + +The Declaration of Independence says: + + "That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable + rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of + happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted + among men." + +Immediately upon the issue of the order of the commanding General, +the arrests of citizens commenced by provost-marshals. The family +residence of a lady was forced open; she was seized, put on board of +a steamer, and sent to the Confederate States. A man was arrested for +being "disloyal" to the United States Government, and held for +examination. Another was charged with interfering with the +enrollment; he was held for further examination. Another, charged +with being "disloyal" to the United States Government, took the oath +of allegiance, and was released. A woman charged with the attempt to +resist the enrollment was arrested, and subsequently released. A man, +on a charge of "disloyalty," took the oath, and was released. +Another, charged with having given improper information to enrolling +officers, was released on furnishing the information. Another, +charged with having powder in his possession, was released on taking +the oath of allegiance. Two others, charged with abuse of the negroes +laboring on the fortifications, were held for examination. Another, +charged with rendering assistance to wounded Confederate soldiers, +and expressing treasonable sentiments, took the oath of allegiance +and was released. Another, charged with being a soldier in the +Confederate army and paroled, was ordered to be sent across the +lines. A man, charged with treasonable language, was ordered to be +sent across the lines. Two others, charged with aiding Confederate +soldiers, took the oath of allegiance and were discharged. Another, +charged with receiving letters from Confederates for the purpose of +delivery, took the oath of allegiance, and was discharged. Another, +charged with expressing treasonable sentiments, was held for +examination. Two, charged with cheering for Jefferson Davis, took the +oath and were released. + +One case more most be stated. On May 25, 1861, John Merryman, a most +respectable citizen of the State, residing in Baltimore County, was +seized in his bed by an armed force, and imprisoned in Fort McHenry. +He petitioned the Chief-Justice of the United States that a writ of +_habeas corpus_ might be issued, which was granted. The officer upon +whom it was served declined to obey the writ. An attachment was +issued against the officer. The marshal was refused admittance to the +fort to serve it. Upon such return being made, the Chief-Justice said: + + "I ordered the attachment yesterday, because upon the face of the + return the detention of the prisoner was unlawful upon two grounds: + + "1. The President, under the Constitution and laws of the United + States, can not suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_, + nor authorize any military officer to do so. + + "2. A military officer has no right to arrest and detain a person not + subject to the rules and articles of war for an offense against the + laws of the United States, except in aid of the judicial authority + and subject to its control; and, if the party is arrested by the + military, it is the duty of the officer to deliver him over + immediately to the civil authority, to be dealt with according to law. + + "Under the Constitution of the United States, these principles are + the fundamental law of the Union. In relation to the present return, + I propose to say that the marshal has legally the power to summon out + the _posse comitatus_ to seize and bring into court the party named + in the attachment; but it is apparent he will be resisted in the + discharge of that duty by a force notoriously superior to the _posse + comitatus_ and, such being the case, the Court has no power under the + law to order the necessary force to compel the appearance of the + party. + + "I shall reduce to writing the reasons under which I have acted, and + which have led me to the conclusions expressed in my opinion, and + shall report them, with these proceedings, to the President of the + United States, and call upon him to perform his constitutional duty + to enforce the laws; in other words, to enforce the process of this + court." + +During the month of July arrests were made of 361 persons, on charges +like the above mentioned, by the military authority. Of this number, +317 took the oath of allegiance to the Government of the United +States, and were released; 5 were sent to Fort McHenry, 3 to +Washington for the action of the authorities there, 11 to the North, +6 across the lines, and 19 were held for further examination. + +On September 11, 1863, one of the city newspapers published the poem +entitled "The Southern Cross." The publishers and editor were +immediately arrested, not allowed communication with any person +whatever, and on the same day sent across the lines, with the +understanding that they should not return during the war. On July 2d +an order was issued which forbade the citizens of Baltimore City and +County to keep arms unless they were enrolled as volunteer companies. +The Fifty-first Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers was placed at +the disposal of General E. B. Tyler, assisted by the provost-marshal +and the chief of police. The soldiers, in concert with the police, +formed into parties of three or four, and were soon diligently +engaged in searching houses. Large wagons were provided, and muskets, +carbines, rifles, revolvers of all kinds, sabers, bayonets, swords, +and bird and ducking guns in considerable quantities were gathered. +The Constitution of the United States says: + + "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be + infringed." [85] + +A further subversion of the State government of Maryland was next +made by a direct interference with the elections. An election was to +be held in the State for members of the Legislature and members of +Congress on November 3, 1863. The commanding General, on October +27th, issued an order to all marshals and military officers to cause +their direct interference with the voters. The Governor (Bradford) +applied to the President of the United States to have the order +revoked, and protested against any person who offered to vote being +put to any test not found in the laws of Maryland. President Lincoln +declined to interfere with the order, except in one less important +point. The Governor issued a proclamation on the day preceding the +election, which the military commander endeavored to suppress, and +issued an order charging that the tendency of the proclamation was to +invite and suggest disturbance. One or more regiments of soldiers +were sent out and distributed among several of the counties to attend +the places of election, in defiance of the known laws of the State +prohibiting their presence. Military officers and provost-marshals +were ordered to arrest voters, guilty, in their opinion, of certain +offenses, and to menace judges of election with the power of the army +in case this order was not respected. + +But, perhaps, the forcible language of the Governor to the +Legislature will furnish the most undeniable statement of the facts. +He says: + + "On Monday evening preceding the election I issued a proclamation + giving the judges of election the assurance of the protection of the + State to the extent of its ability. Before the following morning, + orders were sent to the Eastern Shore, directing its circulation to + be suppressed; the public papers were forbidden to publish it, and an + embargo laid on all steamers in port trading with that part of the + State, lest they might carry it. + + "The abuses commenced even before the opening of the polls. On the + day preceding the election, the officer in command of the regiment + which had been distributed among the counties of the Eastern Shore, + and who had himself landed in Kent County, commenced his operations + by arresting and sending across the bay some ten or more of the most + estimable and distinguished of its citizens, including several of the + most steadfast and most uncompromising loyalists of the Shore. The + jail of the county was entered, the jailer seized, imprisoned, and + afterward sent to Baltimore, and prisoners confined therein under + indictment set at liberty. The commanding officer gave the first clew + to the kind of disloyalty against which he considered himself as + particularly commissioned, by printing and publishing a proclamation + in which, referring to the election to take place on the next day, he + invited all the truly _loyal_ to avail themselves of that opportunity + and establish their _loyalty_, 'by giving a full and ardent support + to the whole Government ticket, upon the platform adopted by the + Union League Convention,' declaring that 'none other is recognized by + the Federal authorities as loyal or worthy of the support of any one + who desires the peace and restoration of the Union.' + + "This Government ticket was in several, if not all, of those counties + designated by its color. It was a yellow ticket, and, armed with + that, a voter could safely run the gantlet of the sabers and carbines + that guarded the entrance to the polls, and known sympathizers with + the rebellion were allowed to vote unquestioned if they would vote + that ticket, while loyal and respected citizens, ready to take the + oath, were turned back by the officer in charge without even allowing + them to approach the polls. In one district the military officer took + his stand at the polls before they were opened, declaring that none + but the 'yellow ticket should be voted,' and excluded all others + throughout the day. In another district a similar officer caused + every ballot offered to be examined, and, unless it was the favored + one, the voter was required to take the oath, and not otherwise. In + another district, after one vote only had been given, the polls wore + closed, the judges were all arrested and sent out of the county, and + military occupation taken of the town. Other statements might be made. + + "These abuses present a humiliating record, such as I had never + supposed we should be called upon to read in any State, still less in + a loyal one like this. Unless it be, indeed, a fallacy to suppose + that any rights whatever remain to such a State, or that any line + whatever marks the limit of Federal power, a bolder stride across + that line that power never made, even in a rebel State, than it did + in Maryland on the 3d of last November. A part of the army, which a + generous people had supplied for a very different purpose, was on + that day engaged in stifling the freedom of election in a faithful + State, intimidating its sworn officers, violating the constitutional + rights of its loyal citizens, and obstructing the usual channels of + communication between them and their Executive." + +The result was the election of a majority of members of the +Legislature in favor of a State Constitutional Convention. The acts +necessary for this object were passed. At the election of delegates, +the military authority again interfered in order to secure a majority +in favor of immediate and unconditional emancipation. The so-called +Convention assembled and drafted a so-called Constitution, in which +the twenty-third article of the Bill of Rights prohibited the +existence of slavery in the State, and said, "All persons held to +service or labor as slaves are hereby declared free." + +It was urged, in objection to the adoption of the so-called +Constitution by the Convention, that "the election by which the +Convention was called and its members elected was not free for the +legal voters of the State, but was held and conducted in clear +violation of the rights of voters, in consequence of which a majority +of the legal voters of the State were excluded from the polls." A +rigid article on the qualifications of voters at the State elections +was embodied in the Constitution, with the shameless provision that +it should be in force at the election for ratification or rejection +of the so-called Constitution which was to create the disabilities. +The instrument also authorized a poll to be opened in each company of +every Maryland regiment in the service of the United States at the +quarters of the commanding officer, and that the commissioned +officers of such company should act as the judges of election. The +aid of the President of the United States was also obtained to help +on the ratification of the new Constitution, and he concludes a +letter on the subject by saying, "I shall be gratified exceedingly if +the good people of the State shall, by their votes, ratify the new +Constitution." + +Notwithstanding the aid of the President, of the soldiers' votes, and +a most stringent oath, and the exclusion of every person who had in +any manner, by word or act, aided the cause of the Confederacy, the +majority for the so-called Constitution was only 375. The total vote +was 59,973. In 1860 the vote of the State was 92,502. Thus was the +State government subjugated and made an instrument of destruction to +the people; thus were their rights ruthlessly violated, and property +millions of dollars in value annihilated. + +The reader must have noticed, in all these proceedings which resulted +in the subjugation of the State governments, the cautious and +stealthy manner in which the Government of the United States +proceeded at the outset in each instance until it got a strong +foothold, that then the mask was thrown off, and both Governor and +people were made the unresisting victims of its unscrupulous and +lawless outrages. + +In the State of Kentucky, the first open and direct measures taken by +the Government of the United States for the subjugation of the State +government and people, thereby to effect the emancipation of the +slaves, consisted in an interference with the voters at the State +election in August, 1863. This interference was by means of a +military force stationed at the polls to sustain and enforce the +action of some of the servants of the Government of the United +States, the object being to overawe the judges of election, secure +the administration of a rigid oath of allegiance, and thereby the +rejection of as many antagonistic votes as possible. Indeed, it was +intended that none but so-called "Union" men should vote--that is, +men who were willing to approve of every measure which the Government +of the United States might adopt to carry on the war and +revolutionize the State. At the same time, no man was allowed to be a +candidate or to receive any votes unless he was a well-known advocate +of the Government of the United States. It will be seen that these +measures excluded the largest portion of the former Democratic party, +although they might be practically "Union" men, and placed everything +in the hands of the Administration party, where, by the use of +similar machinery, it remained a great many years after the war +closed. + +Meantime, on July 31, 1863, the commanding General of the Department +of the Ohio issued an order declaring the State under martial law, +and said, "It is for the purpose, only, of protecting, if necessary, +the rights of loyal citizens and the freedom of elections." He would +have more correctly said, "It is for the purpose of enforcing and +securing a majority for the candidates of my views." The General in +command in the western part of the State issued an order to regulate +the election in that quarter, and the colonels at every post did +likewise. In Louisville, on the day of election, there were ten +soldiers with muskets at each voting-place who, with crossed +bayonets, stood in the doors, preventing all access of voters to the +polls but by their permission, and who arrested and carried to the +military prison all whom they were told to arrest. Out of some eight +thousand voters in the city, less than five thousand votes were +taken. How many of the missing three thousand were deterred from +attempting to vote could not be ascertained, nor was it necessary, +for the intimidation of three thousand voters is no greater outrage +than the intimidation of only three hundred. The interpretation +generally put on the order of the commanding officer by the +opposition party was, that no man was to have the privilege of having +his right to vote tested by the judges of election if he was pointed +out to the guard by any one of the detectives as a proper person to +be arrested. As the commanding officer had not the semblance of legal +or rightful power to interfere with the election, the most sinister +suspicions were naturally aroused, and very many were said to have +been deterred from going to the polls through fear that they would be +made the victims to personal or party malice. Similar intimidation +was practiced in other parts of the State. The result was, that there +was not only direct military interference with the election, but it +was conducted in most of the State under the intimidation of the +bayonets of the Government of the United States. The total vote was +85,695. In 1860 the vote of the State was 146,216. The Governor-elect +in his message spoke, of such an unjust election, as follows: + + "The recent elections clearly and unmistakably define the popular + will and public judgment of Kentucky. It is settled that Kentucky + will, with unwavering faith and unswerving purpose, stand by and + support the Government in every effort to suppress the rebellion and + maintain the Union." + +The true sense of this language is, that the Government of the United +States had so far subverted the State government and destroyed the +sovereignty of the people that they could not withstand its further +aggressions. + +The Government of the United States was now ready to move forward in +its design to destroy one of the most valuable institutions of the +State. Steps were taken by its officers to enroll all able-bodied +male negroes in the State between the ages of twenty and forty-five +years, that they might form a part of its forces. The effect of this +measure was to break up the labor system of the State, and meanwhile +the pseudo-philanthropists furnished food for powder, and indulged +their ideas of freedom at their neighbors' expense. The excitement +produced caused the Governor to visit Washington and effect +agreements by which all recruiting should cease when a county's quota +was full, all recruits should be removed from the State, and other +similar provisions. A year later, he said to the Legislature: "Had +these agreements been carried out, a very different state of feeling +would have existed in Kentucky. But, instead of carrying them out, +the most offensive and injurious modes were adopted to violate them." + +The next step taken by the Government of the United States in the +subversion of the government of Kentucky was the destruction of the +unalienable right of personal liberty of the citizens, which the +State was in duty bound to protect. The Union Governor of the State, +whose election was aided by the United States military officers, as +above stated, is the witness for the facts. In his message to the +Legislature of January, 1865, he says: + + "The gravest matter of military outrage has been, and yet is, the + arrest, imprisonment, and banishment of loyal citizens without a + hearing, and without even a knowledge of the charges against them. + There have been a number of this class of arrests, merely for + partisan political vengeance, and to force them to pay heavy sums to + purchase their liberation. How the spoils so infamously extorted are + divided, has not transpired to the public information. For partisan + political ends, General John B. Huston was arrested at midnight + preceding the election, and hurried off under circumstances of + shameful aggravation. He was, however, released in a few days; but + that does not atone for the criminality of his malicious arrest and + false imprisonment. The battle-scarred veteran, Colonel Frank + Wolford, whose name and loyal fame are part of his country's proudest + memories, and whose arrest for political vengeance should put a + nation's cheek to blush, is yet held in durance vile, without a + hearing and without an accusation, so far as he or his friends can + ascertain. + + "Lieutenant-Governor Jacobs, whose yet unclosed wounds were received + in battle for his country, was made a victim to partisan and personal + enmity, and hurried without a hearing and without any known + accusation through the rebel lines into Virginia. The action in this + case is in defiance of Federal and State Constitutions and laws, in + defiance of the laws of humanity and liberty, dishonors the cause of + our country, and degrades the military rank to the infamous uses of + partisan and personal vengeance. Other cases might be mentioned, but + these are selected because they are known to the whole country; the + acts of these men are part of the glorious history of loyal heroism." + +The next step in the progress of the subjugation of the State +government was taken by President Lincoln on July 5, 1864, when he +issued a proclamation establishing martial law throughout the State, +and the suspension of the writ of _habeas corpus_. Civil proceedings +were allowed to be continued, "which did not affect the military +operations or the constituted authorities of the Government of the +United States." Arrests of individuals by military force soon +commenced, and a large number of eminent Kentuckians of all +professions and pursuits were imprisoned. A group of persons, +consisting of judges, magistrates, wealthy merchants, and young +women, without having been allowed a hearing, or trial, or any +opportunity to vindicate themselves, were banished from the State. In +this destruction of the unalienable right of personal liberty, the +State government was passive; indeed, it was powerless to resist. + +A State election was to be held on the first Monday of August for +local officers and a Judge of the High Court of Appeals from one +district. Chief-Justice Duvall was one of the two candidates. On July +29th an order was issued by the Major-General, commanding, to the +sheriffs of the counties concerned, as follows: + + "You will not allow the name of Alvin Duvall to appear upon the + poll-books as a candidate for office at the coming election." + +Another name was substituted. The election of a President of the +United States was to be held in November, but the Government of the +United States seems to have regarded the vote of the State as +unnecessary to secure the reelection of its officials, and refrained +from interference. Under these circumstances, the Governor of the +State took courage and issued a proclamation to the election +officers. It is of no importance except as showing their powers and +duties, and how grossly they had neglected them at previous +elections. He said: + + "As no officer of any rank, from the President down, has any right or + authority to interfere with elections, no order to do so can legalize + the act. If there be sufficient power in the citizens present, at any + place where such interference may be attempted, to arrest the + offenders, and hold them over to answer to the violated laws, it will + be the duty of the sheriff to make the arrest in such case. He has + authority to require the aid of every citizen, and it should be + readily and promptly given, in defense of a common right--of a + blood-bought franchise. If the force employed to interfere with the + election be too great, at any place of voting, to be arrested, the + officers of election, in such case, should adjourn and not proceed + with the election. If you are unable to hold a free election, your + duty is to hold none at all." + +By enlistment, over twenty-two thousand of the most valuable slaves +in the State had gone into the service of the United States, and on +March 3, 1865, its Congress passed an act declaring that the wives +and children of all such soldiers should be free. But the final +moment was near at hand when the annihilation of more than one +hundred millions of property and the destruction of one of the most +important institutions of the State was to take place by one of those +fictions so peculiar to this administration of the Government of the +United States. That was the pretended adoption of a constitutional +amendment, prohibiting the existence of slavery in the United States. +When a whole people suffers itself to be cajoled in this +unaccountable manner by its unscrupulous rulers, it argues as little +regard for the fundamental law of the Union as for the rights of the +States. + +The subversion of the State government of Missouri by the Government +of the United States was more rapid and more desperate than in the +case of Kentucky. As previously stated, the Governor of the State, at +the commencement of the difficulties, proposed the most conciliatory +terms to the Government of the United States, which were rejected. He +then, like a Governor, sensible of his duty to protect the rights of +his people and of the sacred obligations of his official oath, issued +his proclamation calling into active service fifty thousand of the +State militia, "for the purpose of repelling invasion, and for the +protection of the lives, liberty, and property of the citizens." He +said: + + "A series of unprovoked and unparalleled outrages have been inflicted + upon the peace and dignity of this Commonwealth and upon the rights + and liberties of its people, by wicked and unprincipled men, + professing to act under the authority of the Government of the United + States; solemn enactments of your Legislature have been nullified; + your volunteer soldiers have been taken prisoners; your commerce with + your sister States has been suspended; your trade with your own + fellow-citizens has been and is subjected to the harassing control of + an armed soldiery; peaceful citizens have been imprisoned without + warrant of law; unoffending and defenseless men, women, and children + have been ruthlessly shot down and murdered; and other unbearable + indignities have been heaped upon your State and yourselves." + +The plea of the invader was contained in an order issued from +Washington to the commanding General in these words: + + "The President observes with concern that, notwithstanding the pledge + of the State authorities to coöperate in preserving the peace of + Missouri, loyal citizens in great numbers continue to be driven from + their homes. It is immaterial whether the outrages continue from + inactivity or indisposition on the part of the State authorities to + prevent them. It is enough that they continue, and it will devolve on + you the duty of putting a stop to them summarily by the force under + your command, to be aided by such troops as you may require from + Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois. . . . The authority of the United States + is paramount, and, whenever it is apparent that a movement, whether + by order of State authority or not, is hostile, you will not hesitate + to put it down." + +In this order the only pretext put forward is that of domestic +violence. But in that case the Constitution of the United States +gives no authority to the United States Government to interfere +except on the express conditions of an "application of the +Legislature, or of the Executive, when the Legislature can not be +convened." There had been no application of the Legislature or of the +Executive. On the contrary, the Governor of the State, like a brave +man, told the Executive of the United States to keep his hands off, +and to keep his military forces without the State, and he pledged +himself to preserve its peace and neutrality. But arguments or +pledges on the part of the victim have never yet stopped the progress +of the remorseless usurper. The subjugation of the State government +of Missouri to the will and designs of the Government at Washington +had been determined upon, and the sovereignty of the people was to be +crushed by troops from the sister States of Kansas, Iowa, and +Illinois. + +But the bravery of the Governor and the determination of the +Legislature caused the Government of the United States to depart from +its usually stealthy progress in the invasion of the State government +and the sovereignty of the people, and to adopt bolder measures. The +Governor was charged with purposes of treason and secession, for his +attempt faithfully to discharge the duties of a conscientious +Governor to the citizens. Says the commander of the United States +forces, in his proclamation: + + "The recent proclamation of Governor Jackson, by which he has set at + defiance the authorities of the United States and urged you to make + war upon them, is but a consummation of his treasonable purposes, + long indicated by his acts and expressed opinions, and now made + manifest." + +These are fine words to come from the satrap of a usurper who invades +a State of the Union without lawful permission or authority, with the +design to subvert its government and overthrow the sovereignty of its +people, and to be applied by him to the only Governor in the Northern +States who strove defiantly to protect the unalienable rights and +sovereignty of his constituents! + +Troops were now poured into the State by the Government of the United +States so rapidly as to render the successful opposition of the +lawful authorities impossible, and the control of a large portion of +the State was soon held by the military forces. The Governor, unable +to resist, retired to the southern part of the State. Meantime, the +State Convention, which had been called to consider the relations +between the Government of the United States and the State of +Missouri, and to adopt such measures for vindicating the sovereignty +of the State as were necessary, reassembled on the call of its +committee. Entirely forgetful of the objects for which the people had +called it together, it proceeded to declare the State offices vacant, +and to elect a provisional Governor and other officers entirely +subservient to the will and behests of the Administration at +Washington. The commanding General now declared martial law in the +State, and the emancipation of all slaves belonging to persons who +had taken an active part with us. This emancipation clause was soon +modified by the President as in advance of the times. + +The attention of the reader is called to the numerous usurpations and +violations of constitutional principles and of laws, by the +Government of the United States and its champions, contained in the +few lines of the preceding paragraph, viz.: the invasion with +military force, the expulsion of the lawful State authorities, the +assumption by the State Convention of unlawful powers, the election +and introduction of persons to offices not vacant, the abandonment of +all protection of the unalienable rights of the people, the +declaration of martial law without any authority for it, and the +attempt to emancipate the slaves in violation of every law and +constitutional principle. + +The severity of the Executive of the United States now began to be +felt by the citizens of the State. All disaffected persons were +silenced or arrested, prisoners of war were treated as criminals, and +every obstacle to complete subjugation to the will of the conqueror +sought to be removed. The State government was represented by a +provisional Governor; and a State Convention, that adjourned its +sessions from year to year, after dallying periodically with the +subject of the emancipation of the slaves, finally passed an +ordinance for that purpose, to take effect in 1870. This was not +immediate emancipation, so the disturbances were kept up in the State +until, at a session of the Legislature in February, 1864, a bill was +passed for a so-called State Convention to revise the State +Constitution, and the election of delegates in November. It is +remarkable how much the orders of the commanding General now +contained relative to disorderly persons. This was preparatory to the +occupation of the polls by the military force, and the exclusion of +all opposition voters. The delegates were elected, and the so-called +Convention assembled on January 6, 1865. An immediate emancipation +ordinance was passed, and the State organization was subjugated to do +the will of the usurper and to disregard the will of the sovereign +people. + + +[Footnote 81: Article V, amendment.] + +[Footnote 82: Article IV, amendment.] + +[Footnote 83: Article VIII, amendment.] + +[Footnote 84: Article I, amendment.] + +[Footnote 85: Article II, amendment.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + + Subjugation of the Northern States.--Humiliating Spectacle of New + York.--"Ringing of a Little Bell."--Seizure and Imprisonment of + Citizens.--Number seized.--Paper Safeguards of Liberty.--Other + Safeguards.--Suspension of the Writ of _Habeas Corpus_ absolutely + forbidden with One Exception.--How done.--Not able to authorize + another.--Abundant Protective Provisions in New York, but all + failed.--Case of Pierce Butler.--Arrest of Secretary Cameron.--The + President assumes the Responsibility of the Crime.--No Heed given to + the Writ of _Habeas Corpus_ issued by the Court.--The Governor + passive.--Words of Justice Nelson.--Prison overflowing.--How + relieved.--Oath required of Applicants for Relief.--Oath declined + by some.--Reasons.--Order forbidding the Employment of Counsel by + Prisoners.--Victims in almost Every Northern State.--Defeat at the + Elections.--Result.--Suit for Damages commenced.--Congress + interferes to protect the Guilty.--State Courts subjugated.--How + suspend _Habeas Corpus_.--Congress violates the Constitution.--What + was New York?--Writ suspended throughout the United States.-What is + "Loyalty"?--Military Domination.--Correspondence between General + Dix and Governor Seymour.--Seizure of Newspapers.--Governor orders + Arrest of Offenders.--Interference with the State Election.--Vote + of the Soldiers.--State Agents arrested.--Provost-Marshals + appointed in Every Northern State.--Their Duties.--Sustained by + Force.--Trials by Military Commission.--Trials at Washington.-- + Assassination of the President.--Trial of Henry Wirz.--Efforts to + implicate the Author.--Investigation of a Committee of Congress as + to Complicity in the Assassination.--Arrest, Trial, and Banishment + of Clement C. Vallandigham.--Assertions of Governor Seymour on the + Case. + + +Now follows the humiliating spectacle of the subjugation of the State +government of New York--the "Empire" State, as she calls herself-- +where, with all her men and treasures, it might have been supposed +that some stanch defenders of constitutional liberty would have +sprung up. On the contrary, under the pretext of "preserving the +Union," her deluded children aided to destroy the Constitution on +which the Union was founded, and put forth all their strength to +exalt the Government of the United States to supremacy. Thus the +States were brought to a condition of subjugation, and their +governments subverted from the protection of the rights for which +they were instituted. These unalienable rights of the people were +left without a protector or a shield before the crushing hand of the +usurper; the sovereignty of the people was set aside, and in its +place arose the sovereignty of the Government of the United States. +With the foundation undermined, the superstructure subverted, the +ends for which the Great Republic was organized entirely lost to +sight, and the true balance of the system destroyed, unless the +dormant virtue and love for their inherited rights shall arouse the +citizens to a vigorous effort to restore the republican institutions +and powers of the States, the emperors and kings of the earth have +only to await calmly the lapse of time to behold a fulfillment of +their evil prophecies in regard to the "Great Republic" of the world. + +To show how the laws were disregarded, and how despotically the +personal liberty of the citizen was invaded, let this example bear +witness: The Secretary of State at Washington, William H. Seward, a +favored son of the State of New York, would "ring a little bell," +which brought to him a messenger, to whom was given a secret order to +arrest and confine in Fort Lafayette a person designated. This order +was sent by telegraph to the United States Marshal of the district in +which would be found the person who was to be arrested. The arrest +being forcibly made by the marshal with armed attendants without even +the form of a warrant, the prisoner without the knowledge of any +charge against him was conveyed to Fort Hamilton and turned over to +the commandant. An aid with a guard of soldiers then conveyed him in +a boat to Fort Lafayette and delivered him to the keeper in charge, +who gave a receipt for the prisoner. He was then divested of any +weapons, money, valuables, or papers in his possession. His baggage +was opened and searched. A soldier then took him in charge to the +designated quarter, which was a portion of one of the casemates for +guns, lighted only from the port-hole, and occupied by seven or eight +other prisoners. All were subjected to prison fare. Some were +citizens of New York, and the others of different States. This manner +of imprisonment was subsequently put under the direction of the +Secretary of War, and continued at intervals until the close of the +war. + +In the brief period between July 1 and October 19, 1861, the +Secretary of State, William H, Seward, made such diligent use of his +"little bell," that one hundred and seventy-five of the most +respectable citizens of the country were consigned to imprisonment in +this Fort Lafayette, a strong fortress in the lower part of the +harbor of New York. A decent regard for the memory of the friend of +Washington, and for the services rendered to the colonies in their +struggle for independence, might have led Mr. Seward to select for +such base uses some other place than that which bore the honored name +of Lafayette. + +The American citizen has always, like the ancient Roman, felt that +his personal liberty was secure. He supposed himself to be surrounded +with numerous paper safeguards, which, together with the love of +justice and respect for law, common to his fellow-citizens, would be +sufficient for his protection against any usurper. These now proved +to be as weak as the paper upon which they were written. What were +these supposed safeguards? There was the Constitution of the State of +New York, an instrument for the protection and government of the +people. It had received the consent of the people of the State who +were governed by it, and therefore its powers were "just powers." Its +first object was to protect the unalienable rights of its citizens, +relative to which it contains various provisions in its Bill of +Rights: its declarations respecting personal liberty; its regulations +to secure and enforce the great writ of freemen, the _habeas corpus_; +the powers granted to the courts which it created; the Legislature; +the Executive, in whose hands was placed the richest purse and the +strongest sword of the sovereign States to protect the rights of its +citizens. + +Further safeguards were placed in the Constitution of the United +States. These were designed to restrain that Government from any +invasion of the citizen's personal liberty. They are as follows: + + "The right of the people to be secure in their persons . . . shall + not be violated, and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, + supported by oath, or affirmation, and particularly describing . . . + the persons to be seized." [86] + +Again: + + "No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, + without due process of law." [87] + +Again: + + "No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise + infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand + jury." [88] + +Again: + + "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a + speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and + district wherein the crime shall have been committed, and to be + informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted + with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for + obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of + counsel for his defense." [89] + +Among the enumerated powers of Congress is the following clause: + + "The privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended, + unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may + require." [90] + +This clause first forbids the suspension of the writ absolutely. A +single exception is then made by the words "unless the public safety +may require." A condition is attached to this exception which still +farther limits it, by the words "in cases of rebellion or invasion." +There is still another and far more sweeping limitation attached to +this clause. The writ must be suspended by an act of Congress, which +can be passed only when Congress is in session. This suspension must +be positive and absolute by Congress, not indefinite and dependent on +any future contingency. For the acts of Congress are not absolute +powers, if between enactment and enforcement they can be set aside by +a contingency, unless such contingency was attached in the clause of +the grant creating the power. But in these words, of the Constitution +there is no contingency expressed. Congress alone by positive +enactment can suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_. It can not +authorize the President to suspend its force, nor has he any +authority under the Constitution to do it. Neither can Congress make +an intermittent suspension of the force of the writ; but it must be +absolute under the specific condition. + +It is evident that the citizen of New York was abundantly provided +with the safeguards of personal liberty; yet they all proved to be of +no avail to secure and enforce his right in the hour of trial. A few +instances will afford an illustration of the facts. Mr. Pierce Butler +was suspected of corresponding with persons in the Confederate +States. He was arrested in Philadelphia on August 19, 1861, by order +of Simon Cameron, then Secretary of War, without process of law and +without any assigned cause. His trunks and drawers, wardrobe, and +entire apartments were searched, and his private papers taken by the +marshal and his four assistants. His office was also examined, and +his books and papers taken, and within an hour he was on his way to +Fort Lafayette with an armed guard. After five weeks of detention he +was liberated. No reason was given for his discharge any more than +for his arrest. As Mr. Cameron was about to sail as Minister to +Russia, in January ensuing, he was arrested for assault and battery +and false imprisonment, at the suit of Mr. Butler. The case was +brought to the knowledge of the President of the United States, and +on April 18, 1862, the Secretary of State, Seward, replied as follows: + + "The communication has been submitted to the President, and I am + directed by him to say in reply that he avows the proceeding of Mr. + Cameron referred to as one taken by him when Secretary of War, under + the President's directions, and deemed necessary for the prompt + suppression of the existing rebellion." + +The writ of _habeas corpus_ was issued by some of the State courts, +directing the officer in command at the fort to bring some one or +other of the prisoners into court for an investigation of the cause +and authority for his detention. But no attention was given to these +writs by the officer. Neither did the Governor of the State make any +effort to enforce the processes of the courts. He, perhaps, expected +that his efforts might be resisted by an overpowering force. But +expectations, of whatsoever nature, do not justify or excuse the +neglect of a positive duty. It is through such weaknesses that the +liberties of mankind have been too often lost. + +Thus the Constitution, the laws, the courts, the Executive of the +State of New York, were subverted, turned aside from the end for +which they were instituted, and all the specific arrangements were of +no avail to secure this guaranteed right of its citizens. Probably +every one of the prisoners was entirely innocent of any act whatever +that was criminal under the laws, either of the State or of the +United States. + +In opinion they were opposed to the military proceedings of the +Government of the United States; and these opinions they had +expressed, which liberty is a part of the birthright of freemen. +Indeed, Judge Nelson, of the Supreme Court of the United States, in +the Circuit of New York, in an opinion delivered about this time, +thus expressed himself: + + "Words, oral, written, or printed, however treasonable, seditious, or + criminal of themselves, do not constitute an overt act of treason + within the definition of the crime. When spoken, written, or printed, + in relation to an act or acts which, if committed with a treasonable + design, might constitute such overt act, they are admissible as + evidence, tending to characterize it and show the intent with which + the act was committed." + +Finally, the prison in New York Harbor became so full that many +prisoners were sent to Fort Warren in the harbor of Boston. At this +time the Government of the United States used the Old Capitol at +Washington, Fort McHenry of Baltimore, Fort Lafayette at New York, +and Fort Warren at Boston, for the confinement of those whom the +usurper designated as "state prisoners." Still further to relieve the +fullness of the prisons, two men, John A. Dix, of the army, and +Edwards Pierrepont, of civil life, were sent to investigate the cases +of the prisoners, and release some who were willing to take an "oath +of allegiance." Next it was made a condition precedent to an +investigation that the said oath should be taken by the prisoner. As +an instance, this proposal was made to two persons named Flanders, +citizens of the interior of New York. The oath was as follows: + + "I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect, and defend the + Constitution and Government of the United States against all enemies, + whether domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, + allegiance, and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution, or + law of any State Convention, or Legislature, to the contrary + notwithstanding; and, farther, that I do this with a full + determination, pledge, and purpose, without any mental reservation or + evasion whatsoever; and, further, that I will well and faithfully + perform all the duties which may be required of me by law." + +These persons declined to take the prescribed oath. The reasons which +they gave for this refusal furnish painful evidence of the extreme +subjugation of the government of the State of New York, and its +silent submission to the arbitrary and unconstitutional acts of the +Government of the United States, even at the sacrifice of the most +sacred rights of freemen. They said: + + "We have been guilty of no offense against the laws of our country, + but have simply exercised our constitutional rights as free citizens + in the open and manly expression of our opinions upon public affairs. + We have been placed here without legal charges, or, indeed, any + charges whatsoever being made against us, and upon no legal process, + but upon an arbitrary and illegal order of the Hon. William H. + Seward, Secretary of State of the United States. Every moment of our + detention here is a denial of our most sacred rights. We are entitled + to and hereby demand an unconditional discharge; and, while we could + cheerfully take the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United + States, because we are, always have been, and ever intend to be loyal + to that instrument (though at the same time protesting against the + right of the Government to impose even such oath upon us as the + condition of our discharge), we can not consent to take the oath now + required of us, because we hold no office of any kind under the + Government of the United States, and it is an oath unknown to and + unauthorized by the Constitution, and commits us to the support of + the Government though it may be acting in direct conflict with the + Constitution, and deprives us of the right of freely discussing, and + by peaceful and constitutional methods opposing its measures--a + right which is sacred to freedom, and which no American citizen + should voluntarily surrender. That such is the interpretation put + upon this oath by the Government, and such its intended effect is + plainly demonstrated by the fact that it is dictated to this as a + condition of our release from an imprisonment inflicted upon us for + do other cause than that we have exercised the above-specified + constitutional rights." + +One important fact which illustrates the flagrant outrage committed +on all these prisoners should not be omitted. The Constitution of the +United States declares as follows: + + "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right . . . + to have the assistance of counsel for his defense." + +On December 3, 1861, the commanding officer at Fort Lafayette came to +the prisoners' quarters, and read a document, of which the following +is a copy: + + "_To the political prisoners in Fort Lafayette:_ + + "I am instructed by the Secretary of State to inform you that the + Department of State of the United States will not recognize any one + as an attorney for political prisoners, and will look with distrust + upon all applications for release through such channels; and that + such applications will be regarded as additional reasons for + declining to release the prisoners. + + "And, further, that if such prisoners wish to make any communication + to the Government, they are at liberty to make it directly to the + State Department. + + "SETH C. HAWLEY." + +Space will not permit me further to notice the instances of this +immense class of cases. In almost every Northern State the victims of +this violence were to be found. That there was no just cause for +these invasions of the rights of the States, and of the citizens, was +demonstrated in the most decisive manner. At this time (November 4, +1862) the friends of the Administration of the United States +Government were decisively defeated at the elections. On November 22d +ensuing, the War Department issued an order releasing all except +prisoners of war. The order was muffled up in a phraseology suited to +hide from the observation of the people that the result of the +elections had stricken home to the sensibilities of the usurpers. It +said: + + "_Ordered_--1. That all persons now in military custody, who have + been arrested for discouraging volunteer enlistments, opposing the + draft,[91] or for otherwise giving aid and comfort to the enemy, in + States where the draft has been made or the quota of volunteers and + militia has been furnished, shall be discharged from further military + restraint." + +Thus these arrests were for a short period suspended, and then +vigorously renewed. + +Many of these persons who had been illegally seized and imprisoned +now commenced suits for damages. This led to another step on the part +of the Government of the United States, by which the judiciary of the +State was entirely subverted and deprived of all jurisdiction in +these cases. Congress passed an act on March 3, 1863, which provided +that any order of the President of the United States, or arrest made +under his authority, when pleaded, should be a defense, in all +courts, to any action or prosecution for any search, seizure, arrest, +or imprisonment made, done, or committed, or any acts omitted to be +done, under or by virtue of such order, or under color of any law of +Congress. The act further provided that all actions against officers +and others for torts in arrests might be removed for trial to the +next Circuit Court of the United States held in the district, and +said: + + "It shall then be the duty of the State court to accept the surety + and proceed no further in the cause or prosecution, and the bail that + shall have been originally taken shall be discharged." + +It will be noticed that by the terms of this act the case could be +removed to the Circuit Court when the defendant "filed a petition +stating the facts verified by affidavit." Thus the jurisdiction of +all the courts of the State of New York was made to terminate and +cease upon the simple word of the defendant accompanied by an +affidavit. But these courts were instituted by the consent of the +governed, for the protection of the personal freedom of the citizen; +yet in the cases brought before them they ordered the removal on the +ground that they involved the question of the constitutionality of an +act of Congress, over which the courts of the United States had a +jurisdiction. The absurdity of this plea is manifest; for it is +founded on the presumption that the question, whether, under +authority from the President of the United States, any one, without +intervention of the judicial tribunals, can incarcerate a citizen, is +a question which can be treated as constituting a case arising under +the Constitution of the United States. Any statute authorizing such +acts is palpably void, and not entitled to be a ground for a bearing +under an appeal. + +The subjugation of the government of the State of New York was made +in another section of the same act of Congress of March 3, 1863. It +declares: + + "That, during the present rebellion, the President of the United + States, whenever in his judgment the public safety may require it, is + authorized to suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ in + any case throughout the United States, or any part thereof." + +Let us turn to the words of the Constitution of the United States +which are contained in the grant of powers to Congress: + + "The privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended, + unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may + require it." + +It will be seen that two facts are required to exist before the +Congress of the United States can suspend the privilege of this writ. +Congress must, therefore, determine the existence of these facts +before it has power constitutionally to act. If it finds either fact +to exist and not the other, it has no power to suspend the privilege +of the writ. There must be rebellion, and the public safety must +require the suspension. When Congress finds these facts to exist, it +can enact the suspension. It is the judgment of Congress alone that +can determine that the public safety requires the suspension. This +can not be delegated to the judgment of any other department of the +Government. Therefore, when Congress tells the President, in the +above-mentioned act, that he is authorized to suspend the privilege +of this writ whenever, in his judgment, the public safety may require +it, then that body undertakes to do that for which it has no +authority in the Constitution. The States delegated the power solely +to Congress; an act to transfer the trust to any other depository +could rightfully have no force whatever. + +Now, the State of New York, in which this writ was thus suspended by +the Government of the United States, was one of the Northern States +and a most ardent advocate of the Union. It had contributed more men +and money to support the Government of the United States than any +other State, and than some whole sections of States. Peace reigned +throughout all its borders. Yet, in this quiet and "loyal" State, +whose people had given so freely to aid the Government of the United +States, a claim was now set up to the right to nullify the rights and +immunities of every citizen, by that Government which had already +nullified the powers of every court in the State. This was done by +the declaration of the President that "the public safety" required +the suspension of the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_. + +The act of Congress was passed on March 3, 1863, and on September +15th the President issued his proclamation, and, referring to the +authority claimed to have been granted by the act, he proceeded to +say: + + "_Whereas_, In the judgment of the President, the public safety does + require that the privilege of said writ shall now be suspended + throughout the United States, in cases where, by the authority of the + President of the United States, military, naval, and civil officers + of the United States, or either of them, hold persons under their + custody, either as prisoners of war, spies, or aiders or abettors of + the enemy, or officers, soldiers, or seamen, enrolled, drafted, or + mustered, or enlisted in, or belonging to, the land or naval forces + of the United States, or as deserters therefrom, or otherwise + amenable to military law, or to the rules or articles of war, or the + rules and regulations prescribed for military and naval service by + the authority of the President of the United States, or for resisting + a draft, or for any other offense against the military or naval + service: Therefore I do hereby proclaim and make known that the + privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ is suspended throughout the + United States in the several cases before mentioned throughout the + duration of said rebellion." + +No autocrat ever issued an edict more destructive of the natural +right to personal liberty. Not only was the State government of New +York deprived of the power to fulfill its obligations to protect and +preserve this right of its citizens, but every State government of +the Northern States was in like manner subverted. The only +distinction known among the citizens was that established by the +Government of the United States in answer to the question applied to +each one, "Is he loyal or disloyal?" The only test of loyalty was +based on submission, and, as usual in such cases, the most abject in +spirit were the most loyal to the usurper. Ail those liberties of +conduct and action which stamp the true freeman everywhere throughout +the world disappeared; and the suppressed voice, the apprehensive +look, and the cautious movements were substituted for the free +speech, the open brow, and fearless tread which had characterized the +American. + +Another step in the subjugation of the government of the State of New +York was made by the domination over it of the military power of the +Government of the United States. This took place in a time of peace +in the State, when the courts were all open and the civil +administration of affairs was unobstructed. On July 30, 1863, the +United States commanding General of that department addressed a +letter to Governor Seymour, saying: + + "As the draft under the act of Congress of March 3, 1863, for + enrolling and calling out the national forces, will probably be + resumed in this city (New York) at an early day, I am desirous of + knowing whether the military power of the State may be relied on to + enforce the execution of the law, in case of forcible resistance to + it. I am very anxious there should be perfect harmony of action + between the Federal Government and that of the State of New York; and + if, under your authority to see the laws faithfully executed, I can + feel assured that the act referred to will be enforced, I need not + ask the War Department to put at my disposal, for the purpose, troops + in the service of the United States." + +Governor Seymour replied on August 3d: + + "I have this day sent to the President of the United States a + communication in relation to the draft in this State. I believe his + answer will relieve you and me from the painful questions growing out + of an armed enforcement of the conscription law in this patriotic + State, which has contributed so largely and freely to the support of + the national cause during the existing war." + +On August 8th General Dix writes again: + + "It is my duty, as commanding officer of the troops in the service of + the United States in this department, if called on by the enrolling + officers, to aid them in resisting forcible opposition to the + execution of the law; and it is from an earnest desire to avoid the + necessity of employing for the purpose any of my forces, which have + been placed here to garrison the forts and protect the public + property, that I wished to see the draft enforced by the military + power of the State, in case of armed or organized resistance to + it. . . . I designed, if your coöperation could not be relied on, + to ask the General Government for a force which should be adequate + to insure the execution of the law and to meet any emergency growing + out of it." + +Meantime Governor Seymour received no answer to his letter to the +President. He had asked for a suspension of the draft, on the ground +that the enrollments in the city were excessive as compared with +other portions of the State, and that due credit was not given for +the past. He therefore replied to General Dix, saying: + + "As you state in your letter that it is your duty to enforce the act + of Congress, and, as you apprehend its provisions may excite popular + resistance, it is proposed you should know the position which will be + held by the State authorities. Of course, under no circumstances, can + they perform duties expressly confided to others, nor can they + undertake to relieve others from their proper responsibilities. But + there can be no violations of good order, or riotous proceedings, no + disturbances of the public peace, which are not infractions of the + laws of the State; and those laws will be enforced under all + circumstances. I shall take care that all the executive officers of + this State perform their duties vigorously and thoroughly, and, if + need be, the military power will be called into requisition. As you + are an officer of the General Government, and not of the State, it + does not become me to make suggestions to you with regard to your + action under a law of Congress. You will, of course, be governed by + your instructions and your own views of duty." + +On August 18th General Dix thus wrote to the Governor: + + "Not having received an answer from you, I applied to the Secretary + of War on the 14th inst. for a force adequate to the object. The call + was promptly responded to, and I shall be ready to meet all + opposition to the draft." + +The force sent by the Secretary of War, to keep the peace and +subjugate the sovereignty of the people, amounted to forty-two +regiments and two batteries. There was no occasion for the exertion +of their powers, but the wrong to the State of New York was none the +less gross. + +Again, the subjugation of the government of the State of New York by +the domination of the military power was made still more manifest by +another act on the part of the Government of the United States. A +spurious proclamation, seeming to have been issued by the President, +calling for four hundred thousand men, by a fraudulent imposition +appeared in two papers of New York City (the "Journal of Commerce" +and the "World") on the morning of May 18, 1864. It was immediately +contradicted by the authorities at Washington, and orders were +issued, under which the offices of these papers were entered by armed +men, the property of the owners seized, the premises held by force +for several days, and the publications suspended. At the same time +the office of the independent telegraph line was occupied by a +military force in the name of the Government of the United States. +The operators were taken into custody, and the proprietors of the +newspapers were ordered to be arrested and imprisoned. But these +orders were suspended. + +Governor Seymour immediately instructed the District Attorney to +proceed against the offenders, saying: + + "In the month of July last, when New York was a scene of violence, I + gave warning that 'the laws of the State must be enforced, its peace + and order maintained, and the property of its citizens protected at + every hazard.' The laws were enforced at a fearful cost of blood and + life. The declaration I then made was not intended merely for that + occasion, or against any class of men. It is one of an enduring + character, to be asserted at all times, and against all conditions of + citizens without favor or distinction. Unless all are made to bow to + the law, it will be respected by none. Unless all are made secure in + their rights of person and property, none can be protected." + +An investigation was made by one of the city judges, and warrants +were issued for the arrest of Major-General Dix and several of his +officers. They voluntarily appeared by counsel on July 6th, and the +argument was set down for the 9th. On that day the counsel for the +defense said: + + "Since this warrant was issued, the President of the United States + has issued another order to General Dix, which directs him that, + while this civil war lasts, he 'must not relieve himself from his + command, or be deprived of his liberty to obey any order of a + military nature which the President of the United States directs him + to execute.'" + +The result of the arguments was that the officers were held to await +the action of the grand jury, who, however, took no action on the +charges. The guilty person was arrested in two or three days after +the appearance of the proclamation, and imprisoned in Fort Lafayette; +the newspaper and telegraph offices were restored to the owners, and +the publications resumed. But the government of New York never +obtained any indemnification of these losses by its citizens. + +Another subversion of the State government was brought about by the +military interference on the part of the Government of the United +States with the State election. This was in 1864, when President +Lincoln and General McClellan were the candidates for the Presidency +of the United States. As usual, in all these cases, proceedings to +work up a pretended necessity for interference on the part of the +United States Government were commenced by the appearance of a +grandiloquent proclamation from the commanding General, Dix, telling +what horrible designs, there was reason to believe, the agents of the +Confederate States in Canada had prepared to be executed on +election-day, by an invasion of voters from Canada to colonize +different points. Therefore, to avert these dreadful dangers and +arrest the guilty parties, it was necessary that provost-marshals, +sustained by a military force, should be present with authority at +the polls. At the same time the State Department issued a dispatch, +saying: + + "Information has been received from the British provinces to the + effect that there is a conspiracy on foot to set fire to the + principal cities in the Northern States on the day of the + Presidential election." + +Thus was created an apparent necessity for the military force to be +very active on the day of election. Governor Seymour issued a +proclamation, saying: + + "There is no reason to doubt that the coming election will be + conducted with the usual quiet and order." + +Major-General Butler was sent to take command in the city, and seven +thousand additional men were placed in the forts of the harbor, and +proclamations were issued, threatening, by the United States +Government, the severest punishment upon every person who might +attempt improperly to vote at the election in the State of New York. + +The State Legislature, at its previous session, had passed an act to +provide for the vote of the soldiers in the field, to be taken +previous to the day of election. Agents were appointed by the State +government, to the localities where the soldiers were stationed, to +receive the votes. The informers of the United States Government +immediately brought charges of fraud against some of these agents, +and they were seized by the military authorities, sent to Washington, +cast into prison, and held to be tried by a military commission. The +Governor of New York immediately appointed Amasa J. Parker and two +other most respectable citizens as commissioners, to proceed to +Washington in behalf of the State and investigate the difficulties. +They informed the Governor that several hundred ballots, which had +been seized, were given up, and that they visited the principal agent +of the State of New York in his prison, through the permission of +Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. They reported thus: + + "The undersigned availed themselves of the permit granted them to + visit Colonel North, M. M. Jones, and Levi Cohn. They found them in + the 'Carroll Prison,' in close confinement. They then learned that + Messrs. North and Cohn had been confined together in one room, and + had not been permitted to leave it for a moment during the four days + they had been prisoners, even for the purposes of answering the calls + of nature. They had been supplied with meager and coarse + prison-rations, to be eaten in their room, where they constantly + breathed the foul atmosphere arising from the standing odor. They had + no vessel out of which to drink water, except the one furnished them + for the purpose of urination. They had but one chair, and had slept + three of the nights of their confinement upon a sack of straw upon + the floor. They had not been permitted to see a newspaper, and were + ignorant of the cause of their arrest. All communication between them + and the outer world had been denied them, and no friend had been + allowed to see them. The undersigned complained to the acting + superintendent, who seemed humanely disposed, but justified his + course by the prison rules and the instructions of his superiors." + +The commissioners further say: + + "From the best investigation the undersigned have been able to make, + though there may have been irregularities, they have found no + evidence that any frauds, either against any elector or the elective + franchise, have been committed by any person connected with the New + York agency." + +The commissioners then addressed a communication to the Secretary of +War. A few extracts from this communication will show how utter was +the subversion of the authority of the government of the State of New +York. They say: + + "They, North, Cohn, and Jones, were not in the military or naval + service of the United States, and by no law of which we are aware + were they subject to the martial and military laws of the United + States, or to the orders of the War Department. . . . The charges, so + far as we can learn, are not for the violation of any law of the + United States, but relate to acts purporting to have been done under + the law of the State of New York concerning elections, and making + provisions for soldiers voting in that State; it being claimed that + certain irregularities hare intervened which give reason to suspect + that frauds and forgeries are intended, and may be consummated. These + suspected and anticipated frauds have respect solely to the election + laws of the State of New York, and the action of the Government in + making the arrest is claimed to be justified upon the ground that, + unless thus prevented, frauds will be perpetrated against the + ballot-box at the approaching election in the State of New York. We + beg leave, in behalf of the State, respectfully to protest against + this jurisdiction, assumed as well over the alleged offense as over + the persons of the accused, who are citizens of the State, in its + employ, and entitled to its protection. The proper business of the + State agency is greatly interfered with by the arrest and detention + of the agents, and the State is deprived of its proper jurisdiction + over its agents and citizens, over offenses against its laws, and + over its own ballot-box and the exercise of the elective franchise + within its limits." + +The demands made by the State of New York through these commissioners +were refused. The persons arrested were finally tried before a +military commission, clearly without jurisdiction, in violation of +their personal rights, and in usurpation of the just powers of the +State. They were, however, acquitted and discharged, glad to get off +no worse. + +The proposed limits will not permit me further to present the details +relative to the subjugation of the State government of New York by +the Government of the United States. Neither can space be spared to +relate the details of the subjugation of the government of each +Northern State. In many the events were similar to those in New York; +in others they arose under dissimilar circumstances; but, in all, the +sovereignty of the people was entirely disregarded, and the operation +of the institutions which had been established for the protection of +their rights was suspended, or nullified, by a military force of the +Government of the United States. Only such events, therefore, can be +stated as serve to show how universal and how complete was the work +done by the United States Government to secure a recognition of its +supremacy, over not only acts but even words, from every citizen. All +were its subjects; the "loyal," as some were called, were its +friends, and could be trusted; the "disloyal" were its disaffected +subjects, and must be watched by spies and informers, and, if +necessary, put in prison to secure their passive submission. + +A military domination was established in all of the Northern States, +under the pretext of securing the arrest of deserters from the army. +This was accomplished on September 24, 1862, by the appointment of a +Provost-Marshal-General of the War Department at Washington, and in +each State one or more special provost-marshals, who were required to +report to and receive instructions from the Provost-Marshal-General. +It was made the duty of the special marshals-- + + "To arrest all deserters, whether regulars, volunteers, or militia, + and send them to the nearest military commander or military post, + where they can be cared for and sent to their respective regiments; + to arrest, upon the warrant of the Judge Advocate, all disloyal + persons subject to arrest under the orders of the War Department; to + inquire into and report treasonable practices, seize stolen or + embezzled property of the Government, detect spies of the enemy, and + perform such other duties as may be enjoined on them by the War + Department." + +To enable these marshals to perform their duties efficiently, they +were authorized to call on any available military force within their +respective districts, or else to employ the assistance of citizens, +constables, sheriffs, or police officers, so far as might be +necessary. No trial was allowed to any person thus arrested except +before a military commission consisting of military officers +designated for the purpose; the prosecutor was the Judge Advocate, +and the punishments were exemplary, unusual, and too often such as +were unknown to the laws. The State governments within whose domains +the courts were open, the civil institutions in quiet operation, and +the transactions of peaceful life uniform and constant, were +powerless to protect their citizens in their unalienable rights of +freedom of speech and personal liberty, and the mandates of their +courts were treated with contempt. In utter disregard of the +principles of civil liberty, a military control was established in +every Northern State, the declarations of rights in their +Constitutions were violated, their laws nullified, and the authority +of their governments subverted by an absolute and direct usurpation +on the part of the Government of the United States. + +The country was tilled with horror during 1865 by two trials held +before a military commission in the city of Washington. The first +commenced on May 13th, and ended on June 29th. The specification +was-- + + "That David E. Harold, Edward Spangler, Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt, + Michael O'Loughlin, Samuel Arnold, George A. Atzerott, Samuel A. + Mudd, and Mary E. Surratt, did on April 15, 1865, combine, + confederate, and conspire together to murder President Abraham + Lincoln, Vice-President Andrew Johnson, Lieutenant-General U. S. + Grant, and Secretary of State William H. Seward." + +President Lincoln had been shot, and Secretary Seward was badly +wounded with a knife. The others were uninjured. + +The sentence of the commission was that David E. Harold, G. A. +Atzerott, Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt, be hanged by the proper +military authority, under the direction of the Secretary of War, on +July 7, 1865. The others were sentenced to imprisonment at hard labor +for a term of years or for life. With only one day's delay, the +sentences were carried into execution. John H. Surratt escaped before +trial. He was sought for by the spies of the War Department half +round the world, and after a long time was found serving as a soldier +in the corps of Papal Zouaves at Rome. He was brought back to +Washington, tried, and acquitted. + +The insertion of my name with those of others, honorable gentlemen, +as "inciting and encouraging" these acts, served as an exhibition of +the malignant spirit with which justice was administered by the +authorities in Washington at that time. The case of Mrs. Surratt, at +whose house some of these persons had boarded, awakened much +sympathy. She was spoken of by her counsel, Reverdy Johnson, of +Maryland, as "a devout Christian, ever kind, affectionate, and +charitable," which was confirmed by evidence and uncontradicted. On +the day of the execution, her daughter, who was quite a devoted and +affectionate person, sought to obtain an audience with President +Johnson to implore at least a brief suspension of the sentence of her +mother. She was obstructed and prevented from seeing the President by +ex-Senator Preston King, of New York, and Senator James H. Lane, of +Kansas, who were reported to have been at the Executive Mansion to +keep guard over President Johnson. Each of these Senators at a later +period committed suicide. + +The trial of Major Henry Wirz was the next in importance which came +before a military commission. In April, 1865, President Johnson +issued a proclamation, stating that, from evidence in possession of +the "Bureau of Military Justice," it appeared that I, Jefferson +Davis, was implicated in the assassination of President Lincoln, and +for that reason he offered a reward of one hundred thousand dollars +for my capture. That testimony was subsequently found to be entirely +false, having been a mere fabrication. The manner in which this was +done will be presently stated. Meantime, certain persons of influence +and public position at that time, either aware of the fabricated +character of this testimony or convinced of its insufficiency to +secure my conviction on a trial, sought to find ample material to +supply this deficiency, in the great mortality of the soldiers we had +captured during the war and imprisoned at Andersonville.[92] + +Orders were therefore issued by the authorities of the United States +Government to arrest a subaltern officer, Captain Henry Wirz, a +foreigner by birth, poor, friendless, and wounded, and held as a +prisoner of war. He had been included in the surrender of General J. +E. Johnston. On May 7th he was placed in the "Old Capitol" Prison at +Washington. The poor man was doomed before he was heard, and the +permission to be heard according to law was denied him. Captain Wirz +had been in command at the Confederate prison at Andersonville. The +first charge alleged against him was that of conspiring with myself, +Secretary Seddon, General Howell Cobb, General Winder, and others, to +cause the death of thousands of the prisoners through cruelty, etc. +The second charge was alleged against himself for murder in violation +of the laws and customs of war. + +The military commission before which he was tried was convened by an +order of President Johnson, of August 19th, directing the officers +detailed for that purpose to meet as a special military commission on +August 20th, for the trial of such prisoners as might be brought +before it. The commission convened, and Wirz was arraigned on the +charges above mentioned, and pleaded not guilty. At the suggestion of +the Judge Advocate, Joseph Holt, he was remanded to prison and the +court adjourned. The so-called trial afterward came on, and lasted +for three months, but no evidence whatsoever was produced showing the +existence of such a conspiracy as had been charged. Wirz was, +however, pronounced guilty, and, in accordance with the sentence of +the commission, he was executed on November 10, 1865. + +On April 4, 1867, Mr. Louis Schade, of Washington, and the attorney +for Wirz on the trial, in compliance with the request of Wirz so to +do, as soon as the times should be propitious, published a +vindication of his character. The following is an extract from this +publication: + + "On the night previous to the execution of the prisoner, some parties + came to the confessor of Wirz (Rev. Father Boyle) and also to me. One + of them informed me that a high Cabinet officer wished to assure Wirz + that, if he would implicate Jefferson Davis with the atrocities + committed at Andersonville, his sentence should be commuted. He (the + messenger, whoever he was) requested me to inform Wirz of this. In + presence of Father Boyle, I told him next morning what had happened. + The Captain simply and quietly replied: 'Mr. Schade, you know that I + have always told you that I do not know anything about Jefferson + Davis. He had no connection with me as to what was done at + Andersonville. If I knew anything of him, I would not become a + traitor against him or anybody else to save my life.' Thus ended the + attempt to suborn Captain Wirz against Jefferson Davis." + +The following is an extract from a letter of Captain C. B. Winder to +Mrs. Davis, dated Eastern Shore of Virginia, January 9, 1867: + + "The door of the room which I occupied while in confinement at the + Old Capitol Prison, Washington, was immediately opposite Captain + Wirz's door--both of which were occasionally open. About two days + before Captain Wirz's execution, I saw three or four men pass into + his room, and, upon their coming out, Captain Wirz told me that they + had given him assurances that his life would be spared and his + liberty given to him if he (Wirz) could give any testimony that would + reflect upon Mr. Davis or implicate him directly or indirectly with + the condition and treatment of prisoners of war, _as charged_ by the + United States authorities; that he indignantly spurned these + propositions, and assured them that, never having been acquainted + with Mr. Davis, either officially, personally, or socially, it was + utterly impossible that he should know anything against him, and that + the offer of his life, dear as the boon might be, could not purchase + him to treason and treachery to the South and his friend." + +The following letter is from the Rev. Father F. E. Boyle, of +Washington: + + "WASHINGTON, D. C., _October 10, 1880._ + + "Hon. JEFFERSON DAVIS. + + "DEAR SIR: . . . I know that, on the evening before the day of the + execution of Major Wirz, a man visited me, on the part of a Cabinet + officer, to inform me that Major Wirz would be pardoned if he would + implicate Jefferson Davis in the cruelties of Andersonville. No names + were given by this messenger, and, upon my refusal to take any action + in the matter, he went to Mr. Louis Schade, counsel for Major Wirz, + with the same purpose and with a like result. + + "When I visited Major Wirz the next morning, he told me that the same + proposal had been made to him, and had been rejected with scorn. The + Major was very indignant, and said that, while he was innocent of the + cruel charges for which he was about to suffer death, he would not + purchase his liberty by perjury and a crime, such as was made the + condition of his freedom. I attended the Major to the scaffold, and + he died in the peace of God, and praying for his enemies. I know he + was indeed innocent of all the cruel charges on which his life was + sworn away, and I was edified by the Christian spirit in which he + submitted to his persecutors. Yours very truly, + + "F. E. BOYLE." + +In the other case of the fabrication of evidence by some of the +authorities in Washington relative to myself, it will be sufficient +here to present what others have said and done. The subject is +noticed in these pages only to show the desperate extremities to +which the agents of the Government of the United States proceeded in +order to compass my ignominious death. Three principal measures were +resorted to for the accomplishment of this object: the charge in the +case of Wirz, above mentioned; the fabrications in the case now under +consideration; and the cruel and inhuman treatment inflicted upon me +while a prisoner in Fortress Monroe. + +At the session of Congress of 1865-'66, a committee was appointed in +the House of Representatives "to inquire into and report upon the +alleged complicity of Jefferson Davis with the assassination of the +late President Lincoln," or words to that effect. George S. Boutwell +was chairman of the committee, and the majority of the members were +extreme advocates of the war. The charge emanated from the "Bureau of +Military Justice," as it was designated--a similar institution to +the "Secret Committee" of the French Revolution. Of this institution +Judge-Advocate Joseph Holt was the chief. After an investigation +continuing through several months, a majority of the committee made +their report to Congress. + + "That report not only failed to establish the charge, but the + committee were forced to confess in it that the witnesses, on whose + testimony Holt had affected to rely, were wholly untrustworthy. + Shortly after this report was presented to the House, Mr. A. J. + Rogers, of the committee, a very respectable member from New Jersey, + made a minority report. He asserted that much of the evidence was + altogether suppressed, and that the witnesses, who had received large + sums of money from Holt for testifying to the criminality of Mr. + Davis, recanted their evidence before the committee, and acknowledged + that they had perjured themselves by testifying to a mass of + falsehoods; that they had been tutored to do so by one S. Conover; + and that, from him down through all the miserable list, the very + names under which these hired informers were known to the public were + as false as the narratives to which they had sworn." [93] + +Much more might be added to show the evil purpose of these men, +together with the correspondence of Holt and his associates, but it +would be out of place if it was put in these pages. + +Another case of this kind occurred in the State of Ohio, in April, +1863, in the arrest, trial, and banishment of Clement L. +Vallandigham. On April 13th Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside, +commanding the Department, issued an order, declaring-- + + "That, hereafter, all persons found within our lines who commit acts + for the benefit of the enemies of our country will be tried as spies + or traitors, and, if convicted, will suffer death." (The different + classes of persons were then named in the order.) "The habit of + declaring sympathies for the enemy will no longer be tolerated in + this department. Persons committing such offenses will be at once + arrested, with a view to being tried as above stated, or sent beyond + our lines into the lines of their friends. It must be distinctly + understood that treason, expressed or implied, will not be tolerated + in this department." + +Mr. Vallandigham commented upon this order, on May 1st, at a public +meeting of citizens. Three days afterward a body of soldiers was sent +by railroad from Cincinnati to Dayton, who, with violence, broke into +his residence at three o'clock in the morning, seized, and hurried +him to the cars before a rescue could be made, and departed for +Cincinnati, where he was confined in a military prison. He was +brought to trial before a military commission on May 6th. The +specification made against him in the charge was that "he addressed a +large meeting of citizens at Mount Vernon, and did utter sentiments +in words, or in effect, as follows: declaring the present war 'a +wicked, cruel, and unnecessary war'; a war not being waged for the +preservation of the Union'; 'a war for the purpose of crushing out +liberty and creating a despotism'; 'a war for the freedom of the +blacks and the enslavement of the whites'; stating that, 'if the +Administration had so wished, the war could have been honorably +terminated months ago'; characterizing the military order 'as a base +usurpation of arbitrary authority'; declaring 'that he was at all +times and upon all occasions resolved to do what he could to defeat +the attempts now made to build up a monarchy upon the ruins of our +free government.'" He was adjudged as guilty, and sentenced to +confinement in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, during the war. This +sentence was changed by President Lincoln to banishment to the +Confederate States. This military usurpation was spoken of by +Governor Seymour, of New York, in a letter written at the time, in +these words: + + "The transaction involved a series of offenses against our most + sacred rights. It interfered with the freedom of speech; it violated + our rights to be secure in our homes against unreasonable searches + and seizures; it pronounced sentence without a trial, save one which + was a mockery, which insulted as well as wronged. The perpetrators + now seek to impose punishment, not for an offense against law, but + for a disregard of an invalid order, put forth in utter violation of + the principles of civil liberty. If this proceeding is approved by + the Government and sanctioned by the people, it is not merely a step + toward revolution, it is revolution; it will not only lead to + military despotism, it establishes military despotism. If it is + upheld, our liberties are overthrown. The safety of our persons, the + security of our property, will hereafter depend upon the arbitrary + wills of such military rulers as may be placed over us, while our + constitutional guarantees will be broken down. Even now the Governors + and the courts of some of the great Western States have sunk into + insignificance before the despotic powers claimed and exercised by + military men who have been sent into their borders." + +A large number of such arrests were made in Ohio, newspapers were +suspended, and editors imprisoned. Like scenes were very numerous in +Indiana and Illinois. In Pennsylvania arrests were made, newspapers +suspended, editors imprisoned, and offices destroyed. In New +Hampshire, Vermont, and Wisconsin many similar scenes occurred. The +provost-marshal system was used as a weapon of vindictiveness against +influential citizens of opposite political views throughout all the +Northern States. No one of such persons knew when he was safe. A +complaint of his neighbors, supported by affidavit of "disloyal" +words spoken or "disloyal" acts approved, received prompt attention +from all marshals. Everything was brought into subjection to the will +of the Government of the United States and its military officers. + +In view of all the facts here presented relative to the Northern +States, let the reader answer where the sovereignty _de facto_ +resided. Most clearly in the Government of the United States. That +presided over the ballot-box, held the keys of the prisons, arrested +all citizens at its pleasure, suspended or suppressed newspapers, and +did whatever it pleased under the declaration that the public welfare +required it. But, under the principles of American liberty, the +sovereignty is inherent in the people as an unalienable right; and, +for the preservation and protection of this and other rights, the +State governments were instituted. If, therefore, the people have +lost this inherent sovereignty, it is evident that the State +governments have failed to afford that protection for which they were +instituted. If they have thus failed, it has been in consequence of +their subversion and loss of power to fulfill the object for which +they were established. This subversion was achieved when the General +Government, under the pretext of preserving the Union, made war on +its creators the States, thus changing the nature of the Federal +Union, which could rightfully be done only by the sovereign, the +people of the States, in like manner as it was originally formed. If +they should permit their sovereignty to be usurped and themselves to +be subjugated, individuals might remain, States could not. Of their +wreck a nation might be built, but there could not be a Union, for +that implies entities united, and of a State which has lost its +sovereignty there may only be written, "_It was_." + + +[Footnote 86: Article IV, amendment.] + +[Footnote 87: Article V, amendment.] + +[Footnote 88: Article V, amendment.] + +[Footnote 89: Article VI, amendment.] + +[Footnote 90: Article I, section 9.] + +[Footnote 91: The first act of Congress providing for an enrollment and +draft was passed on March 8, 1363, three and a half months later than +this order.] + +[Footnote 92: See chapter on exchange of prisoners.] + +[Footnote 93: Baltimore "Gazette," September 25, 1866.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + + Inactivity of the Army of Northern Virginia.--Expeditions of Custer, + Kilpatrick, and Dahlgren for the Destruction of Railroads, the + Burning of Richmond, and Killing the Officers of the Government.-- + Repelled by Government Clerks.--Papers on Dahlgren's Body.--Repulse + of Butler's Raid from Bermuda Hundred.--Advance of Sheridan repulsed + at Richmond.--Stuart resists Sheridan.--Stuart's Death.--Remarks + on Grant's Plan of Campaign.--Movement of General Butler.--Drury's + Bluff.--Battle there.--Campaign of Grant in Virginia. + + +Both the Army of Northern Virginia and the army under General Meade +remained in a state of comparative inaction during the months of +January and February, 1864. + +On February 26, 1864, while General Lee's headquarters were at Orange +Court-House, two corps of the army of the enemy left their camp for +Madison Court-House. The object was, by a formidable feint, to engage +the attention of General Lee, and conceal from him their plans for a +surprise and, if possible, capture of the city of Richmond. This was +to be a concerted movement, in which General Butler, in command of +the forces on the Peninsula, was to move up and make a demonstration +upon Richmond on the east, while Generals Custer and Kilpatrick and +Colonel Dahlgren were to attack it and enter on the west and north. + +Two days later another army corps left for Madison Court-House, and +other forces subsequently followed. At the same time General Custer, +with two ten-inch Parrott guns and fifteen hundred picked men, +marched for Charlottesville by the James City road. His purpose was +to destroy the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, running by +Charlottesville to Gordonsville, where the junction was made of the +railroad running north from Lynchburg, with the Central running to +Richmond. The capture of the army stores there, the destruction of +the tracks running south, west, and east, and cutting the telegraph, +would have severed the communication between Lee's army and Richmond +by that route. This movement, with the destruction of railroads by +General Kilpatrick, and of the Central Railroad and the James River +and Kanawha Canal by Colonel Dahlgren, would have isolated that army +from its base of supplies. + +[Illustration: General Wade Hampton] + +Three hours later, on the same day on which General Custer started, +General Kilpatrick with five thousand picked cavalry and a light +battery of six guns, left Stevensburg, near Culpeper Court-House, for +the lower fords of the Rapidan. His object was to make a dash upon +Richmond for the purpose of releasing the United States prisoners, +and doing whatever injury might be possible. He moved rapidly, +destroying railroads and depots, and plundering the country, but +found no obstacle except in being closely harassed in his rear by +Colonel Bradley T. Johnson with his sixty Marylanders, who, with +extraordinary daring, activity, and skill, followed him until he +reached the line of the defenses of Richmond. There, while attacked +in the rear by Colonel Johnson and his pickets driven in, he was at +the same time opposed in front by Colonel W. H. Stevens, who, with a +detachment of engineer troops, manned a few sections of light +artillery. After an engagement of thirty minutes, Kilpatrick's entire +force began to retreat in the direction of the Meadow Bridge on the +Central Railroad. At night his camp-fires were discovered by General +Wade Hampton, who dismounted one hundred men to act as infantry, and, +supported by the cavalry, opened his two-gun battery upon the enemy +at short range. He then attacked the camp of Davies's and of a part +of two other brigades. The camp was taken, and the whole force of +Kilpatrick fled at a gallop, leaving one hundred and five prisoners +and more than one hundred horses. + +Colonel Dahlgren started with General Kilpatrick, but at +Spottsylvania Court-House was dispatched with five hundred men to +Frederickhall, a depot of the Central Railroad, where some eighty +pieces of our reserve artillery had been parked. His orders were to +destroy the artillery, the railroads, and telegraph-lines. Finding +the artillery too well guarded, he proceeded to destroy the line of +railroad as far as Hanover Junction. Thence he moved toward the James +River and Kanawha Canal, which he reached twenty-two miles west of +Richmond. Thence his command moved toward the city, pillaging and +destroying dwelling-houses, out-buildings, mills, canal-boats, grain, +and cattle, and cutting one lock on the canal. The first resistance +met was by a battalion of General G. W. C. Lee's force, consisting of +about two hundred and twenty of the armory-men, under command of +their major, Ford. This small body was driven back until it joined a +battalion of the Treasury Department clerks, who, in the absence of +their major, Henly, were led by Captain McIlhenney. The officers and +men were all clerks of the Treasury Department, and, like those of +other departments and many citizens of Richmond, who were either too +old or too young to be in the army, were enrolled and organized to +defend the capital in the absence of troops. Captain McIlhenney, as +soon as he saw the enemy, promptly arranged to attack. This was done +with such impetuosity that Dahlgren and his men wore routed, leaving +some eighteen killed, twenty to thirty wounded, and as many more +prisoners. About a hundred horses, with equipments, a number of +small-arms, and one three-inch Napoleon gun were captured. Our loss +was one captain and two lieutenants killed, three lieutenants and +seven privates wounded--one of the latter mortally. This feat of the +Clerks' Battalion commanded the grateful admiration of the people, +and the large concourse that attended the funeral of the fallen +expressed the public lamentation. + +Dahlgren now commenced his retreat. To increase the chances of +escape, the force was divided, he leading one party in the direction +of King and Queen County. The home guard of the country turned out +against the raiders, and, being joined by a detachment from the +Forty-second Battalion of Virginia Cavalry and some furloughed +cavalry-men of Lee's army, surprised and attacked the retreating +column of Dahlgren, killed the leader, and captured nearly one +hundred prisoners, with negroes, horses, etc. + +On the body of Dahlgren was found an address to his officers and men, +another paper giving special orders and instructions, and one giving +his itinerary, the whole disclosing the unsoldierly means and +purposes of the raid, such as disguising the men in our uniform, +carrying supplies of oakum and turpentine to burn Richmond, and, +after releasing their prisoners on Belle Isle, to exhort them to +destroy the hateful city, while on all was impressed the special +injunction that the city must be burned, and "Jeff Davis and Cabinet +killed." + +The prisoners, having been captured in disguise, were, under the +usages of war, liable to be hanged as spies, but their protestations +that their service was not voluntary, and the fact that as enlisted +men they were subject to orders, and could not be held responsible +for the infamous instructions under which they were acting, saved +them from the death-penalty they had fully incurred. Photographic +copies of the papers found on Dahlgren's body were taken and sent to +General Lee, with instructions to communicate them to General Meade, +commanding the enemy's forces in his front, with an inquiry as to +whether such practices were authorized by his Government, and also to +say that, if any question was raised as to the copies, the original +paper would be submitted. No such question was then made, and the +denial that Dahlgren's conduct had been authorized was accepted. + +Many sensational stories, having not even a basis of truth, were put +in circulation to exhibit the Confederate authorities as having acted +with unwarrantable malignity toward the deceased Colonel Dahlgren. +The fact was, that his body was sent to Richmond and decently +interred in the Oakwood Cemetery, where other Federal soldiers were +buried. The enormity of his offenses was not forgotten, but +resentment against him ended with his life. It was also admitted +that, however bad his preceding conduct had been, he met his fate +gallantly, charging at the head of his men when he found himself +inextricably encompassed by his foe. + +Custer and Kilpatrick, who were to coöperate with him in the +expedition, especially the first-named, manifested a saving degree of +"that rascally virtue," as Charles Lee, of Revolutionary memory, +called it. After the feeble demonstration upon some parked artillery +which has been described, he fancied that he heard the roaring of +cars coming with reënforcements, and retreated, burning the bridges +behind him--a precaution quite in vain, as there were none there to +pursue him. + +Kilpatrick, followed as above stated by Colonel Bradley T. Johnson, +who hung close upon his rear, finally reached the defenses of +Richmond. There, out of respect to the field artillery he +encountered, he turned off to cross the Chickahominy, and that night +he was routed by the cavalry command of our gallant cavalier General +Wade Hampton. Thus ended the combined movement with which Northern +papers had regaled their readers by announcing as made "with +instructions to sack the rebel capital." + +During the first week in May, Major-General B. F. Butler landed at +Bermuda Hundred with a considerable force, and moved up so as to cut +the telegraph line and reach by a raiding party the railroad at +Chester, between Richmond and Petersburg. General Ransom, then in +command of the defenses at Richmond and those of Drury's Bluff, with +a small force, attacked the advance of General Butler, and after a +sharp skirmish compelled him to withdraw. + +Meantime, because of the warning which Stuart had sent, General +Ransom was summoned to Richmond to resist an impending assault by +General Sheridan on the outer works north of the city. Taking the two +disposable brigades of Gracie and Fry and a light battery, he +hastened forward, arriving at the fortifications on the +Mechanicsville Turnpike; just in time to see a battery of artillery, +then entirely unsupported, repulse the advance of Sheridan. During +the night the clerks and citizens, under General G. W. Custis Lee, +had formed a thin line along part of the fortifications on the west +side of the city. As the day advanced, Oracle's brigade was thrown in +front of the works and pressed forward to feel Sheridan; but it was +regarded as worse than useless with two small brigades to engage in +an open country many times their number of well-appointed cavalry, +Sheridan showed no purpose to attack, but withdrew from before our +defenses, and the two brigades returned to the vicinity of Drury's +Bluff--the approach on the south side of James River, by forces +under General Butler, being then considered the most imminent danger +to Richmond. + +After the battle of the Wilderness, on May 4th and 5th, as hereafter +narrated, General Grant moved his army toward Spottsylvania +Court-House, and General Lee made a corresponding movement. At this +time Sheridan, with a large force of United States cavalry, passed +around and to the rear of our army, so as to place himself on the +road to Richmond, which, in the absence of a garrison to defend it, +he may have not unreasonably thought might be surprised and captured. + +Stuart, our most distinguished cavalry commander--fearless, faithful +Stuart--soon knew of Sheridan's movement, perceived its purpose, +and, with his usual devotion to his country's welfare, hastily +collected such of his troops as were near, and pursued Sheridan. He +fell upon Sheridan's rear and flank at Beaver Dam Station, where a +pause had been made to destroy the railroad, some cars, and +commissary's stores, and drove it before him. The route of the enemy +being unmistakably toward Richmond, Stuart, to protect the capital, +or at least to delay attack, so as to give time to make preparation +for defense, made a _détour_ around Sheridan, and by a forced march +got in front of him, taking position at a place called Yellow Tavern, +about seven or eight miles from Richmond. Here, with the daring and +singleness of purpose which characterized his whole career, he +decided, notwithstanding the great inequality between his force and +that of his foe, to make a stand, and offer persistent resistance to +his advance. The respective strength of the two commands, as given by +Colonel Heros von Borke, chief of General Stuart's staff, was, +Stuart, eleven hundred; Sheridan, eight thousand. While engaged in +this desperate service, General Stuart sent couriers to Richmond to +give notice of the approach of the enemy, so that the defenses might +be manned. + +Notwithstanding the great disparity of force, the contest was +obstinate and protracted, and fickle Fortune cheered our men with +several brilliant successes. Stuart, who in many traits resembled the +renowned Murat, like him was always a leader when his cavalry +charged. On this occasion he is represented when he was wounded to +have been quite in advance, to have fired the last load in his +pistol, and to have been shot by a fugitive whom he found cowering +under a fence, and ordered to surrender. The "heavy battalions" at +last prevailed, our line was broken, and our chieftain, though +mortally wounded, still kept in his saddle, invoking his men to +continue the fight.[94] Our gallant chieftain was brought wounded +into Richmond, a noble sacrifice on the altar of duty. + +Long accustomed to connect him only with daring exploits and +brilliant successes, there was much surprise and deeper sorrow when +the news spread through the city. Admired as a soldier, loved as a +man, honored as a Christian patriot, to whom duty to his God and his +country was a supreme law, the intense anxiety for his safety made us +all shrink from realizing his imminent danger. When I saw him in his +very last hours, he was so calm, and physically so strong, that I +could not believe that he was dying, until the surgeon, after I had +left his bedside, told me he was bleeding inwardly, and that the end +was near. + +Grant's plan of campaign, as now revealed to us, was to continue his +movement against Lee's army, and, if, as experience had taught him, +he should be unable to defeat it and move directly to his objective +point, Richmond, he was to continue his efforts so as to reach the +James River below Richmond, and thus to connect with the array under +General Butler, moving up on the south side of the James. The +topography of the country favored that design. The streams in the +country in which he was operating all trended toward the southeast, +and his change of position was frequently made under cover of them. +Butler, in the mean time, was ordered with the force of his +department, about twenty thousand, reënforced by Gilmer's division of +ten thousand, to move up to City Point, there intrench, and +concentrate all his troops as rapidly as possible. From this base he +was expected to operate so as to destroy the railroad connections +between Richmond and the South. On the 7th of May he telegraphed that +he had "destroyed many miles of railroad, and got a position which, +with proper supplies, we can hold out against the whole of Lee's +army." + +At this time Major-General Robert Ransom, as before mentioned, was in +command at Richmond, including Drury's Bluff. His force consisted, +for the defense of both places, of the men serving the stationary or +heavy artillery, and three brigades of infantry--Hunton's at +Chapin's Bluff, and Barton's and Gracie's for field service. To +these, in cases of emergency, the clerks and artisans in the +departments and manufactories, were organized, to be called out as an +auxiliary force when needed for the defense of the capital It was +with this field force that Ransom, as has been related, moved upon +Butler, and drove him from the railroad, the destruction of which he +had so vauntingly announced. + +A few days thereafter he again emerged from his cover, but this time +changed his objective point, and, diverging from the south bank of +the James River, moved toward Petersburg, and reached the railroad at +Port Walthal Junction, where he encountered some of General +Beauregard's command, which had been ordered from Charleston, and was +driven from the railroad and turnpike. The troops ordered from +Charleston with General Beauregard had, by May 14th, reached the +vicinity of Drury's Bluff. In connection with the works and +rifle-pits on the bluff, which were to command the river and prevent +the ascent of gunboats, an intrenched line had been constructed on a +ridge about a mile south of the bluff, running across the road from +Richmond to Petersburg. This ridge was higher than the ground on +which the fort was built, and was designed to check an approach of +the enemy from the south, as well as to cover the rear of the fort. +In the afternoon of the 14th I rode down to visit General Beauregard +at his headquarters in the field. Supposing his troops to be on the +line of intrenchment, I passed Major Drury's house to go thither, +when some one by the roadside called to me and told me that the +troops were not on the line of intrenchment, and that General +Beauregard was at the house behind me. + +My first question on meeting him was to learn why the intrenchments +were abandoned. He answered that he thought it better to concentrate +his troops. Upon my stating to him that there was nothing then to +prevent Butler from turning his position, he said he would desire +nothing more, as he would then fall upon him, cut him off from his +base, etc. + +According to my uniform practice never to do more than to make a +suggestion to a general commanding in the field, the subject was +pressed no further. We then passed to the consideration of the +operations to be undertaken against Butler, who had already advanced +from his base at Bermuda Hundred. I offered, for the purpose of +attacking Butler, to send Major-General Ransom with the field force +he had for the protection of Richmond. In addition to his high +military capacity, his minute knowledge of the country in which they +were to operate made him specially valuable. He reported to General +Beauregard at noon on the 15th, received his orders for the battle +which was to occur the next day, and about 10 P.M. was, with a +division of four brigades and a battery of light artillery, in +position in front of the breastworks. Colonel Dunovant, with a +regiment of cavalry not under Ransom's orders, was to guard the space +between his left and the river, so as to give him information of any +movement in that quarter. General Whiting, with some force, was +holding a defensive position at Petersburg. General Beauregard +proposed that the main part of it should advance and unite with him +in an attack upon Butler wherever he should be found between Drury's +and Petersburg. To this I offered distinct objection, because of the +hazard during a battle of attempting to make a junction of troops +moving from opposite sides of the enemy; and proposed that Whiting's +command should move at night by the Chesterfield road, where they +would not probably be observed by Butler's advance. This march I +supposed they could make so as to arrive at Drury's by or soon after +daylight. The next day being Sunday, they could rest, and, all the +troops being assigned to their positions, could move to make a +concerted attack at daylight on Monday. He spoke of some difficulty +in getting a courier who knew the route and could certainly deliver +the order to General Whiting. Opportunely, a courier arrived from +General Whiting, who had come up the Chesterfield road. He then said +the order would have to be drawn with a great deal of care, and that +he would prepare it as soon as he could. I arose to take leave, and +he courteously walked down the stairs with me, remarking as we went +that he was embarrassed for the want of a good cavalry commander. I +saw in the yard Colonel Chilton, assistant adjutant and +inspector-general, and said, "There is an old cavalry officer who was +trained in my old regiment, the First Dragoons, and who I think will +answer your requirements," Upon his expressing the pleasure it would +give him to have Colonel Chilton, I told him of General Beauregard's +want, and asked him if the service would be agreeable to him. He +readily accepted it, and I left, supposing all the preliminaries +settled. In the next forenoon Colonel Samuel Melton, of the adjutant +and inspector-general's department, called at my residence and +delivered a message from General Beauregard to the effect that he had +decided to order Whiting to move by the direct road from Petersburg, +instead of by the Chesterfield route, and, when I replied that I had +stated my objections to General Beauregard to a movement which gave +the enemy the advantage of being between our forces, he said General +Beauregard had directed him to explain to me that upon a further +examination he found his force sufficient; that his operations, +therefore, did not depend upon making a junction with Whiting. + +On Monday morning I rode down to Drury's, where I found that the +enemy had seized our line of intrenchments, it being unoccupied, and +that a severe action had occurred, with serious loss to us before he +could be dislodged. He had crossed the main road to the west, +entering a dense wood, and our troops on the right had moved out and +were closely engaged with him. We drove him back, frustrating the +attempt to turn the extreme right of our line. The day was wearing +away, a part of the force had been withdrawn to the intrenchment, and +there was no sign of purpose to make any immediate movement. General +Beauregard said he was waiting to hear Whiting's guns, and had been +expecting him for some time to approach on the Petersburg road. Soon +after this, the foe in a straggling, disorganized manner, commenced +crossing the road, moving to the east, which indicated a retreat, or +perhaps a purpose to turn our left and attack Fort Drury in rear. He +placed a battery in the main road and threw some shells at our +intrenchment, probably to cover his retiring troops. General Ransom, +in an unpublished report, says that, at the time he received the +order of battle, General Beauregard told him, "As you know the +region, I have given you the moving part of the army, and you will +take the initiative." He further states that at dawn of day he moved +to the south of Kingsland Creek, formed two lines with a short +interval, and at once advanced to the attack. A dense fog suddenly +enveloped him, so as to obscure all distant objects. Moving forward, +the skirmishers were quickly engaged, and the fighting was pressed so +vigorously that by sunrise he had captured a brigade of infantry, a +battery of artillery, and occupied about three quarters of a mile of +the enemy's temporary breastworks, which were strengthened by wire +interwoven among the trees in their front; this was not effected, +however, without considerable loss in killed and wounded, and much +confusion, owing to the denseness of the fog. General Ransom's report +continues: + + "Having no ammunition-wagons and requiring replenishment of infantry + cartridges, and knowing that delay would mar the effect of the + success gained, I sent instantly to Beauregard, reporting what had + happened, and asked that Ransom's brigade might come to me at once, + so that I might continue the pressure and make good the advantage + already gained." + +He then describes the further delay in getting ammunition, and his +renewal of the request for Ransom's brigade, which he had organized +and formerly commanded, but, instead of which, two small regiments +were sent to him, the timely arrival of which, it is to be gratefully +remembered, enabled him to repulse an advance of the enemy. It would +be neither pleasant nor profitable to dwell on the lost opportunity +for a complete victory, or to recount the possible consequences which +might have flowed from it. On the next morning, our troops moved down +the river road as far as Howlett's, about three or four miles, but +saw no enemy. The "back door" of Richmond was closed, and Butler +"bottled up." + +Soon after the affair at Drury's Bluff, General Beauregard addressed +to me a communication, proposing that he should be heavily reinforced +from General Lee's army, so as to enable him to crush Butler in his +intrenchments, and then, with the main body of his own force, +together with a detachment from General Lee's army, that he should +join General Lee, overwhelm Grant, and march to Washington. I knew +that General Lee was then confronting an army vastly superior to his +in numbers, fully equipped, with inexhaustible supplies, and a +persistence in attacking of which sufficient evidence had been given. +I could not therefore expect that General Lee would consent to the +proposition of General Beauregard; but, as a matter of courteous +consideration, his letter was forwarded with the usual formed +endorsement. General Lee's opinion on the case was shown by the +instructions he gave directing General Beauregard to straighten his +line so as to reduce the requisite number of men to hold it, and send +the balance to join the army north of the James. + + +[Footnote 94: Address of Major H. B. McClellan before Army of Northern +Virginia Association.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + + General Grant assumes Command in Virginia.--Positions of the + Armies.--Plans of Campaign open to Grant's Choice.--The Rapidan + crossed.--Battle of the Wilderness.--Danger of Lee.--The Enemy + driven back.--Flank Attack.--Longstreet wounded.--Result of the + Contest.--Rapid Flank Movement of Grant.--Another Contest.-- + Grant's Reënforcements.--Hanover Junction.--The Enemy moves in + Direction of Bowling Green.--Crosses the Pamunkey.--Battle at Cold + Harbor.--Frightful Slaughter.--The Enemy's Soldiers decline to + renew the Assault when ordered.--Loss.--Asks Truce to bury the + Dead.--Strength of Respective Armies.--General Pemberton.--The + Enemy crosses the James.--Siege of Petersburg begun. + + +It was in March, 1864, that Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, having +been appointed lieutenant-general, assumed command of the armies of +the United States. He subsequently proceeded to Culpeper and assumed +personal command of the Army of the Potomac, although nominally that +army remained under the command of General Meade. Reënforcements were +gathered from every military department of the United States and sent +to that army. + +On May 3d General Lee held the south bank of the Rapidan River, with +his right resting near the mouth of Mine Run and his left extending +to Liberty Mills, on the road from Gordonsville to the Shenandoah +Valley. Ewell's corps was on the right, Hill's on the left, and two +divisions of Longstreet's corps, having returned from East Tennessee, +were encamped in the rear near Gordonsville. The army of General +Grant had occupied the north bank of the Rapidan, with the main body +encamped in Culpeper County and on the Rappahannock River. + +While Grant with his immense and increasing army was thus posted, +Lee, with a comparatively small force, and to which few +reënforcements could be furnished, confronted him on a line +stretching from near Somerville Ford to Gordonsville. To Grant was +left the choice to move directly on Lee and attempt to defeat his +army, the only obstacle to the capture of Richmond, and which his +vast means rendered supposable, or to cross the Rapidan above or +below Lee's position. The second would fulfill the condition, so +imperatively imposed on McClellan, of covering the United States +capital; the third would be in the more direct line toward Richmond. +Of the three he chose the last, and so felicitated himself on his +unopposed passage of the river as to suppose that he had, unobserved, +turned the flank of Lee's army, got between it and Richmond, and +necessitated the retreat of the Confederates to some point where they +might resist his further advance. So little could he comprehend the +genius of Lee, that he expected him to be surprised, as appears from +his arrangements contemplating only combats with the rear-guard +covering the retreat. Lee, dauntless as he was sagacious, seized the +opportunity, which the movement of his foe offered, to meet him where +his artillery would be least available, where his massive columns +would be most embarrassed in their movements, and where Southern +individuality and self-reliance would be specially effective. Grant's +object was to pass through "the Wilderness" to the roads between Lee +and Richmond. Lee resolved to fight him in those pathless woods, +where mind might best compete with matter. + +Providence held its shield over the just cause, and heroic bands +hurled back the heavy battalions shattered and discomfited, as will +be now briefly described. + +In order to cross the Rapidan, Grant's army moved on May 3d toward +Germania Ford, which was ten or twelve miles from our right. He +succeeded in seizing the ford and crossing. The direct road from this +ford to Richmond passed by Spottsylvania Court-House, and, when Grant +had crossed the river, he was nearer than General Lee to Richmond. +From Orange Court-House there are two nearly parallel roads running +eastwardly to Fredericksburg. The one nearest the river is called the +"Stone Turnpike," and the other the "Plank-road." The road from the +ford to Spottsylvania Court-House crosses the Old Stone Turnpike at +the "Old Wilderness Tavern," and, two or three miles farther on, it +crosses the plank-road. + +As soon as Grant's movement was known, Lee's troops were put in +motion. Swell's corps moved on the Stone Turnpike, and Hill's corps +on the plank-road, into which Longstreet's force also came from his +camp near Gordonsville. Ewell's corps crossed Mine Run, and encamped +at Locust Grove, four miles beyond, on the afternoon of the 4th. On +the morning of the 5th it was again in motion, and encountered +Grant's troops in heavy force at a short distance from the Old +Wilderness Tavern, and Jones's and Battle's brigades were driven back +in some confusion. Early's division was ordered up, formed across the +pike, and moved forward. It advanced through a dense pine-thicket, +and, with other brigades of Rodes's division, drove the enemy back +with heavy loss, capturing several hundred prisoners and gaining a +commanding position on the right. Meantime, Johnson's division, on +the left of the pike, and extending across the road to Germania Ford, +was heavily engaged in front, and Hays's brigade was sent to his left +to participate in a forward movement. It advanced, encountered a +large force, and, not meeting with the expected coöperation, was +drawn back. Subsequently, Pegram's brigade took position on Hays's +left, and just before night an attack was made on their front, which +was repulsed with severe loss to the enemy. During the afternoon +there was hot skirmishing along the whole line, and several attempts +were made by the foe to regain the position from which he had been +driven. At the close of the day, Ewell's corps had captured over a +thousand prisoners, besides inflicting on the enemy very severe +losses in killed and wounded. Two pieces of artillery had been +abandoned and were secured by our troops. + +A. P. Hill, on the 4th, with Heth's and Wilcox's divisions of his +corps, moved eastwardly along the plank-road. They bivouacked at +night near Verdiersville, and resumed their march on the 5th with +Heth in advance. About 1 P.M. musketry firing was heard in front; the +sound indicated the presence of a large body of infantry. Kirkland's +brigade deployed on both sides of the plank-road, and the column +proceeded to form in line of battle on its flanks. Hill's advance had +followed the plank-road, while Ewell's pursued the Stone turnpike. +These parallel movements were at this time from three to four miles +apart. The country intervening and round about for several miles is +known as the "Wilderness," and, having very little open ground, +consists almost wholly of a forest of dense undergrowth of shrubs and +small trees. In order to open communication with Ewell, Wilcox's +division moved to the left, and effected a junction with Gordon's +brigade on Ewell's extreme right. The line of battle thus completed +extended from the right of the plank-road through a succession of +open fields and dense forest to the left of the Stone turnpike. It +presented a line of six miles, and the thicket that lay along the +whole front of our army was so impenetrable as to exclude the use of +artillery save only at the roads. Heth's skirmishers were driven in +about 3 P.M. by a massive column that advanced, firing rapidly. The +straggle thus commenced in Hill's front continued for two or three +hours unabated. Heth's ranks were greatly reduced, when Wilcox was +ordered to his support, but the bloody contest continued until night +closed over our force in the position it had originally taken. This +stubborn and heroic resistance was made by the divisions of Heth and +Wilcox, of Hill's corps, fifteen thousand strong, against the +repeated and desperate assaults of five divisions--four divisions of +Hancock's and one of Sedgwick's corps, numbering about forty-five +thousand men. Our forces completely foiled their adversaries, and +inflicted upon them most serious loss.[95] During the day the Ninth +Corps of the enemy under General Burnside, had come on the field. The +third division of Hill's corps, under General Anderson, and the two +divisions of Longstreet's corps, did not reach the scene of conflict +until dawn of day on the morning of the 6th. Simultaneously the +attack on Hill was renewed with great vigor. In addition to the force +he had so successfully resisted on the previous day, a fresh division +of the enemy's Fifth Corps had secured position on Hill's flank, and +coöperated with the column assaulting in front. After a severe +contest, the left of Heth's division and the right of Wilcox's were +overpowered before the advance of Longstreet's column reached the +ground, and were compelled to return. The repulsed portions of the +divisions were in considerable disorder. General Lee now came up, +and, fully appreciating the impending crisis, dashed amid the +fugitives, calling on the men to rally and follow him. + + "The soldiers, seeing General Lee's manifest purpose to advance with + them, and realizing the great danger in which he then was, begged him + to go to the rear, promising that they would soon have matters + rectified. The General waved them on with some words of cheer." [96] + +The assault was checked. + +Longstreet, having come up with two divisions, deployed them in line +of battle, and gallantly advanced to recover the lost ground. The +enemy was driven back over the ground he had gained by his assault on +Hill's line, but reformed in the position previously held by him. +About mid-day an attack on his left flank and rear was ordered by +Longstreet. For this purpose three brigades were detached, and, +moving forward, were joined by General J. R. Davis's brigade, which +had been the extreme right of Hill's line. Making a sufficient _détour_ +to avoid observation, and, rushing precipitately to attack the foe in +flank and reverse while he was preparing to resist the movement in +his front, he was taken completely by surprise. The assault resulted +in his utter rout, with heavy loss on that part of his line. + +Preparations were now made to follow up the advantages gained by a +forward movement of the whole line under General Longstreet's +personal direction. When advancing at the head of Jenkins's brigade, +with that officer and others, a body of Confederates in the wood on +the roadside, supposing the column to be a hostile force, fired into +it, killing General Jenkins, distinguished alike for civil and +military virtue, and severely wounding General Longstreet. The +valuable services of General Longstreet were thus lost to the army at +a critical moment, and this caused the suspension of a movement which +promised the most important results; and time was thus afforded to +the enemy to rally, reënforce, and find shelter behind his +intrenchments. Under these circumstances the commanding General +deemed it unadvisable to attack. + +On the morning of the 6th the contest was renewed on the left, and a +very heavy attack was made on the front, occupied by Pegram's +brigade, but it was handsomely repulsed, as were several subsequent +attacks at the same point. In the afternoon an attack was made on the +enemy's right flank, resting in the woods, when Gordon's brigade, +with Johnson's in the rear and followed by Pegram's, succeeded in +throwing it into great confusion, doubling it up and forcing it back +some distance, capturing two brigadier-generals and several hundred +prisoners. Darkness closed the contest. On the 7th an advance was +made which disclosed the fact that Grant had given up his line of +works on his right. During the day there was some skirmishing, but no +serious fighting. The result of these battles was the infliction of +severe loss upon the foe, the gain of ground, and the capture of +prisoners, artillery, and other trophies. The cost to us, however, +was so serious as to enforce, by additional considerations, the +policy of Lee to spare his men as much as was possible. + +A rapid flank movement was next made by Grant to secure possession of +Spottsylvania Court-House. General Lee comprehended his purpose, and +on the night of the 7th a division of Longstreet's corps was sent as +the advance to that point. Stuart, then in observation on the flank, +and ever ready to work or to fight as the one or the other should +best serve the cause of his country, dismounted his troopers, and, by +felling trees, obstructed the roads so as materially to delay the +march of the enemy. The head of the opposing forces arrived almost at +the same moment on the 8th; theirs, being a little in advance, drove +back our cavalry, but in turn was quickly driven from the strategic +point by the arrival of our infantry. On the 9th the two armies, each +forming on its advance as a nucleus, swung round and confronted each +other in line of battle. + +The 10th and 11th passed in comparative quiet. On the morning of the +12th the enemy made a very heavy attack on Ewell's front, and broke +the line where it was occupied by Johnson's division. At this time +and place the scene occurred of which Mississippians are justly +proud. Colonel Tenable, of General Lee's staff, states that, on the +receipt of one of the messages from General Rodes for more troops, he +was sent by General Lee to bring Harris's Mississippi brigade from +the extreme right; that General Lee met the brigade and rode at its +head until under fire, when a round shot passed so near to him that +the soldiers invoked him to go back; and when he said, "If you will +promise me to drive those people from our works, I will go back," the +brigade shouted the promise, and Colonel Venable says: + + "As the column of Mississippians came up at a double quick an + aide-de-camp came up to General Rodes with a message from Ramseur + that he could hold out only a few minutes longer unless assistance + was at hand. Your brigade was thrown instantly into the fight, the + column being formed into line under a tremendous fire and on very + difficult ground. Never did a brigade go into fiercer battle under + greater trials; never did a brigade do its duty more nobly." [97] + +A portion of the attacking force swept along Johnson's line to +Wilcox's left, and was checked by a prompt movement on that flank. +Several brigades sent to Ewell's assistance were carried into action +under his orders, and they all suffered severely. Subsequently, on +the same day, some brigades were thrown to the front, for the purpose +of moving to the left and attacking the flank of the column which +broke Ewell's line, to relieve the pressure on him, and recover the +part of the line which had been lost. These, as they moved, soon +encountered the Ninth Corps, under Burnside, advancing to the attack. +They captured over three hundred prisoners and three battle-flags, +and their attack on the enemy's flank, taking him by surprise, +contributed materially to his repulse. + +Taylor, in his "Four Years with General Lee," says that Lee, having +detected the weakness of "the salient" occupied by the division of +General Edward Johnson, of Ewell's corps, directed a second line to +be constructed across its base, to which he proposed to move the +troops occupying the angle. Suspecting another flank movement by +Grant, before these arrangements were quite completed, he ordered +most of the artillery at this portion of the lines to be withdrawn so +as to be available. Toward dawn on the 12th, Johnson, discovering +indications of an impending assault, ordered the immediate return of +the artillery, and made other preparations for defense. But the +unfortunate withdrawal was so partially and tardily restored, that a +spirited assault at daybreak overran that portion of the lines before +the artillery was put in position, and captured most of the division, +including its brave commander. + +The above mentioned attacking column advanced, under cover of a +pine-thicket, to within a very short distance of a salient defended +by Walker's brigade. A heavy fire of musketry and artillery, from a +considerable number of guns on Heth's line, opened with tremendous +effect upon the column, and it was driven back with severe loss, +leaving its dead in front of our works.[98] + +Several days of comparative quiet ensued. During this time the army +of General Grant was heavily reënforced from Washington. + + "In numerical strength his army so much exceeded that under General + Lee that, after covering the entire Confederate front with double + lines of battle, he had in reserve a large force with which to extend + his flank and compel a corresponding movement on the part of his + adversary, in order to keep between him and his coveted prize--the + capital of the Confederacy." [99] + +On the 18th another assault was made upon our lines, but it produced +no impression. On the 20th of May, after twelve days of skirmish and +battle at Spottsylvania against a superior force, General Lee's +information led him to believe that the enemy was about to attempt +another flanking movement, and interpose his army between the +Confederate capital and its defenders. To defeat this purpose +Longstreet was ordered to move at midnight in the direction of +Hanover Junction, and on the following day and night Swell's and +Hill's corps marched for the same point. + +The Confederate commander, divining that Grant's objective point was +the intersection of the two railroads leading to Richmond at a point +two miles south of the North Anna River, crossed his army over that +stream and took up a line of battle which frustrated the movement. + +Grant began his flanking movement on the night of the 20th, marching +in two columns, the right, under General Warren, crossing the North +Anna at Jericho Ford without opposition. On the 23d the left, under +General Hancock, crossing four miles lower down, at the Chesterfield +or County Bridge, was obstinately resisted by a small force, and the +passage of the river was not made until the 24th. After crossing the +North Anna, Grant discovered that his movement was a blunder, and +that his army was in a position of much peril. + +The Confederate commander established his line of battle on the south +side of the river, both wings refused so as to form an obtuse angle, +with the apex resting on the river between the two points of the +enemy's crossing, Longstreet's and Hill's corps forming the two +sides, and Little River and the Hanover marshes the base. Ewell's +corps held the apex or center. + +The hazard of Grant's position appears not to have been known to him +until he attempted to unite his two columns, which were four miles +apart, by establishing a connecting line along the river. Foiled in +the attempt, he discovered that the Confederate army was interposed +between his two wings, which were also separated by the North Anna, +and that the one could give no support to the other except by a +double crossing of the river. That the Confederate commander did not +seize the opportunity to strike his embarrassed foe and avail himself +of the advantage which his superior generalship had gained, may have +been that, concluding from past observation of Grant's tactics, he +felt assured that the "continuous hammering" process was to be +repeated without reference to circumstances or position. If Lee acted +on this supposition, he was mistaken, as the Federal commander, +profiting by the severe lessons of Spottsylvania and the Wilderness, +with cautious, noiseless movement, withdrew under cover of the night +of the 26th to the north side of the North Anna, and moved eastward +down to the Pamunkey River. + +At Hanover Junction General Lee was joined by Pickett's division of +Longstreet's corps, which had been on detached service in North +Carolina, and by a small force under General Breckinridge from +southwestern Virginia, twenty-two hundred strong. Hoke's brigade, of +Early's division, twelve hundred strong, which had been on detached +duty at the Junction, here also rejoined its division. On the 29th +the whole of Grant's army was across the Pamunkey, while General +Lee's army on the next day was in line of battle with his left at +Atlee's Station. By another movement eastward the two armies were +brought face to face at Cold Harbor on June 3d. Here fruitless +efforts were made by General Grant to pierce or drive back the forces +of General Lee. Our troops were protected by temporary earthworks, +and while under cover of these were assailed by the enemy: + + "But in vain. The assault was repulsed along the whole line, and the + carnage on the Federal side was fearful. I[100] well recall having + received a report, after the assault, from General Hoke--whose + division reached the army just previous to this battle--to the + effect that the ground in his entire front, over which the enemy had + charged, was literally covered with their dead and wounded; and that + up to that time he had not had a single man killed. No wonder that, + when the command was given to renew the assault, the Federal soldiers + sullenly and silently declined. 'The order[101] was issued through + the officers to their subordinate commanders, and from them descended + through the wonted channels; but no man stirred, and the immobile + lines pronounced a verdict, silent yet emphatic, against further + slaughter. The loss on the Union side in this sanguinary action was + over thirteen thousand, while on the part of the Confederates it is + doubtful whether it reached that many hundreds.' After some + disingenuous proposals, General Grant finally asked a truce to enable + him to bury his dead. Soon after this he abandoned his chosen line of + operations, and moved his army so as to secure a crossing to the + south side of James River. The struggle from the Wilderness to this + point covered a period of over one month, during which time there had + been an almost daily encounter of arms, and the Army of Northern + Virginia had placed _hors de combat_, of the army under General + Grant, a number exceeding the entire numerical strength, at the + commencement of the campaign, of Lee's army, which, notwithstanding + its own heavy losses and the reinforcements received by the enemy, + still presented an impregnable front to its opponent." + +By the report of the United States Secretary of War (Stanton), Grant +had, on the 1st of May, 1864, two days before he crossed the Rapidan, +120,380 men, and in the Ninth Army Corps 20,780, or an aggregate with +which he marched against Lee of 141,160. To meet this vast force, Lee +had on the Rapidan less than 50,000 men. By the same authority it +appears that Grant had a reserve upon which he could draw of 137,672. +Lee had practically no reserve, for he was compelled to make +detachments from his army for the protection of West Virginia and +other points, about equal to all the reënforcements which he +received. In the "Southern Historical Papers," vol. vi, page 144, +upon the very reliable authority of the editor, there appears the +following statement: + + "Grant says he lost, in the campaign from the Wilderness to Cold + Harbor, 39,000 men; but Swinton puts his loss at over 60,000, and a + careful examination of the figures will show that his real loss was + nearer 100,000. In other words, he lost about twice as many men as + Lee had, in order to take a position which he could have taken at + first without firing a gun or losing a man." + +On June 12th the movement was commenced by Grant for crossing the +James River. Pontoon-bridges were laid near Wilcox's Wharf for the +passage of his army. J. C. Pemberton, who, after the fall of +Vicksburg, was left without a command corresponding to his rank of +lieutenant-general in the provisional army, in order that he might +not stand idle, nobly resigned that commission, and asked to be +assigned to duty according to his rank in the regular army, which was +that of lieutenant-colonel. Ho was accordingly directed to report to +General Lee for service with the Army of Northern Virginia. Being a +skillful artillerist, he was directed to find a position where he +could place a mortar so as to throw shells on the enemy's bridge when +it should be put into use. By a daring reconnaissance and exact +calculation, he determined a point from which the desired effect +might be produced by vertical fire, over a wood. At the proper moment +he opened upon the bridge, and his expectations were verified by the +shells falling on the troops harassingly. This, his first service +with the Army of Northern Virginia, was interrupted by the failure to +send promptly a cohering force to protect the mortar, the position of +which was disclosed by its fire. The injury it inflicted caused the +Federal commander to send a detachment which drove away the gunners +and captured the mortar. + +On the 14th and 15th of June the crossing of Grant's army was +completed. It will be remembered that he had crossed the Rapidan on +the 3d of May. It had therefore taken him more than a month to reach +the south side of the James. In his campaign he had sacrificed a +hecatomb of men, a vast amount of artillery, small-arms, munitions of +war, and supplies, to reach a position to which McClellan had already +demonstrated there was an easy and inexpensive route. It is true that +the Confederate army had suffered severely, and, though the loss was +comparatively small to that of its opponents, it could not be +repaired, as his might be, from the larger population and his +facility for recruiting in Europe. To those who can approve the +policy of attrition without reference to the number of lives it might +cost, this may seem justifiable, but it can hardly be regarded as +generalship, or be offered to military students as an example worthy +of imitation. After an unsuccessful attempt, by a surprise, to +capture Petersburg, General Grant concentrated his army south of the +Appomattox River and commenced the operations to be related hereafter. + + +[Footnote 95: "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 96: "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 97: Letter from Colonel C. S Venable, "Southern Historical +Society Papers," vol. viii, p. 106, March, 1880.] + +[Footnote 98: "Memoir of the Last Year," etc, by General Early.] + +[Footnote 99: "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 100: Taylor, "Four Years with General Lee."] + +[Footnote 101: Swinton, "Army of the Potomac," p. 487.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + + Situation in the Shenandoah Valley.--March of General Early.--The + Object.--At Lynchburg.--Staunton.--His Force.--Enters Maryland.-- + Attack at Monocacy.--Approach to Washington.--The Works.-- + Recrosses the Potomac.--Battle at Kernstown.--Captures.--Outrages + of the Enemy.--Statement of General Early.--Retaliation on + Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.--Battle near Winchester.--Sheridan's + Force routed.--Attack subsequently renewed with New Forces.-- + Incapacity of our Opponent.--Early falls back.--The Enemy + retires.--Early advances.--Report of a Committee of Citizens on + Losses by Sheridan's Orders.--Battle at Cedar Creek.--Losses, + Subsequent Movements, and Captures.--The Red River Campaign.-- + Repulse and Retreat of General Banks.--Capture of Fort Pillow. + + +Before the opening of the campaign of 1864, the lower Shenandoah +Valley was held by a force under General Sigel, with which General +Grant decided to renew the attempt which had been made by Crook and +Averill to destroy the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad west of +Lynchburg as a means to his general purpose of isolating Richmond; +and a prompt movement of General Morgan had defeated those attempts +and driven off the invaders. Sigel, with about fifteen thousand men, +commenced his movement up the Valley of the Shenandoah. Major-General +Breckinridge, commanding in southwestern Virginia, was notified, on +the 4th of May, of the movement of Sigel, and started immediately +with two brigades of infantry to Staunton, at which place he arrived +on the 9th. The reserves of Augusta County, under Colonel Harmon, +were called out, numbering several hundred men, and the cadets of the +Military Institute at Lexington, numbering two hundred, voluntarily +joined him. With this force Breckinridge decided to march to meet +Sigel. General Imboden, with a cavalry force of several hundred, had +been holding, as best he might, the upper Valley, and joined +Breckinridge in the neighborhood of New Market, informing him that +Sigel then occupied that place. Breckinridge having marched so +rapidly from Staunton that it was probable that his advance was +unknown to the enemy, he determined to make an immediate attack. His +troops were put in motion at one o'clock, and by daylight was in line +of battle two miles south of New Market. Sigel seems to have been +unconscious of any other obstruction to the capture of Staunton than +the small cavalry force under Imboden. At this time Lee was engaged +with the vastly superior force of Grant, which had crossed the +Rapidan, and Sigel's was a movement to get upon our flank, and thus +coöperate with Grant in his attempt to capture Richmond. Breckinridge +had an infantry force not much exceeding three thousand. The hazard +of an attack was great, but the necessity of the case justified it. +Breckinridge's force was only enough to form one line of battle in +two ranks, the cadets holding the center between the two brigades. +There were no reserves, and Colonel Harmon's command formed the guard +for the trains. Skirmish lines were promptly engaged, and soon +thereafter the enemy fell back beyond New Market, where Sigel, +assuming the defensive, took a strong position, in which to wait for +an attack. Our artillery was moved forward, and opened with effect +upon the enemy's position; then our infantry advanced, "with the +steadiness of troops on dress parade, the precision of the cadets +serving well as a color-guide for the brigades on either side to +dress by. . . . The Federal line had the advantage of a stone wall +which served as a breastwork." [102] Sigel's cavalry attempted to turn +our right flank, but was repulsed disastrously, and in a few moments +the enemy was in full retreat, crossing the Shenandoah and burning +the bridge behind him. + +Breckinridge captured five pieces of artillery and over five hundred +prisoners, exclusive of the wounded left on the field. Our loss was +several hundred killed and wounded. General Lee, after receiving +notice of this, ordered Breckinridge to transfer his command as +rapidly as possible to Hanover Junction. The battle was fought on the +15th, and the command reached Hanover Junction on the 20th of May. + +Before General Breckinridge left the Valley, he issued an order +thanking his troops, "particularly the cadets, who, though mere +youths, had fought with the steadiness of veterans." + +Brigadier-General W. E. Jones had, with a small cavalry force, come +from southwestern Virginia to the Valley after Breckinridge's +departure, and this, with the command of Imboden, only sufficient for +observation, was all that remained in the Valley when the Federal +General David Hunter, with a larger force than Sigel's, succeeded the +latter. Jones, with his cavalry and a few infantry, encountered this +force at Piedmont, was defeated and killed. Upon the receipt of this +information, Breckinridge with his command was sent back to the +Valley. + +On June 13th Major-General Early, with the Second Corps of Lee's +army, numbering a little over eight thousand muskets and two +battalions of artillery, commenced a march to strike Hunter's force +in the rear, and, if possible, destroy it; then to move down the +Valley, cross the Potomac, and threaten Washington. On the 17th he +reached Lynchburg, and Hunter arrived at the same time. Preparations +were made for the attack of Hunter on the 19th, when he began to +retreat, and was pursued with much loss, until he was disposed of by +taking the route to the Kanawha River. On the 27th Early's force +reached Staunton on its march down the Valley. It now amounted to ten +thousand infantry and about two thousand cavalry, having been joined +by Breckinridge, and Colonel Bradley T. Johnson, with a battalion of +Maryland cavalry. The advance was rapid. Railroad bridges were +burned, the track destroyed, and stores captured. The Potomac was +crossed on the 5th and 6th of June, and the move was made through the +gaps of South Mountain to the north of Maryland Heights, which were +occupied by a hostile force. A brigade of cavalry was sent north of +Frederick to strike the railroads from Baltimore to Harrisburg and +Philadelphia, burn the bridges over the Gunpowder, and to cut the +railroad between Washington and Baltimore, and threaten the latter +place. The other troops moved forward toward Monocacy Junction, where +a considerable body of Federal troops under General Wallace was found +posted on the eastern bank of the Monocacy, with an earthwork and two +block-houses commanding both bridges. The position was attacked in +front and on the flank, and it was carried and the garrison put to +flight. Between six and seven hundred unwounded prisoners fell into +our hands, and the enemy's loss in killed and wounded was far greater +than ours, which was about seven hundred. + +An advance was made on the 10th nearly to Knoxville, on the +Georgetown Pike. On the next day it was continued to Washington, with +the hope of getting into the fortifications before they could be +manned. But the heat and the dust impeded the progress greatly. Fort +Stevens was approached soon after noon, and appeared to be lightly +manned, but, before our force could get into the works, a column of +the enemy from Washington filed into them on the right and left, +skirmishers were thrown out in front, and an artillery-fire was +opened on us from a number of batteries. An examination was now made +to determine if it were practicable to carry the defenses by assault. +"They were found to be exceedingly strong, and consisted of what +appeared to be inclosed forts for heavy artillery, with a tier of +lower works in front of each, pierced for an immense number of guns, +the whole being connected by curtains with ditches in front, and +strengthened by palisades and abatis. The timber had been felled +within cannon-range all around and left on the ground, making a +formidable obstacle, and every possible approach was raked by +artillery." As far as the eye could reach, the works appeared to be +of the same impregnable character. The exhaustion of our force, the +lightness of its artillery, and the information that two corps of the +enemy's forces had just arrived in Washington, in addition to the +veteran reserves and hundred-days-men, and the parapets lined with +troops, led us to refrain from making an assault, and to retire +during the night of the 12th. On the morning of the 14th General +Early recrossed the Potomac, bringing off the prisoners captured at +Monocacy and everything else in safety, including a large number of +beef-cattle and horses. There was some skirmishing in the rear +between our cavalry and that which was following us, and on the +afternoon of the 14th there was artillery-firing across the river at +our cavalry watching the fords. Meantime General Hunter had arrived +at Harper's Ferry and united with Sigel, and some skirmishing took +place; but General Early determined to concentrate near Strasburg, so +as to enable him to put the trains in safety, and mobilize his +command to make an attack. On the 22d he moved across Cedar Creek +toward Strasburg, and so posted his force as to cover all the roads +from the direction of Winchester. Learning on the next day that a +large portion of the column sent after him from Washington was +returning, and that the Army of West Virginia, under Crook, including +Hunter's and Sigel's forces, with Averill's cavalry, was at +Kernstown, he determined to attack at once. + +After the enemy's skirmishers had been driven in, it was discovered +that his left flank was exposed, and General Breckinridge was ordered +to move Echols's division undercover of some ravines on our right and +attack that flank. The attacking division struck the enemy's left +flank in open ground, doubling it up and throwing his whole line into +great confusion. The other divisions then advanced, and his rout +became complete. He was pursued by the infantry and artillery beyond +Winchester. Our loss was very light; his loss in killed and wounded +was severe. The whole defeated force crossed the Potomac, and took +refuge at Maryland Heights and Harper's Ferry. The road was strewed +with debris of the rapid retreat--twelve caissons and seventy-two +wagons having been abandoned, and most of them burned. + +On the 26th the Confederate force moved to Martinsburg: + + "While at Martinsburg," says General Early in his memoir, "it was + ascertained beyond all doubt that Hunter had been again indulging in + his favorite mode of warfare, and that, after his return to the + Valley, while we were near Washington, among other outrages, the + private residences of Mr. Andrew Hunter, a member of the Virginia + Senate, Mr. Alexander R. Boteler, an ex-member of the Confederate + Congress, as well as of the United States Congress, and Edmund I. + Lee, a distant relative of General Lee, all in Jefferson County, with + their contents, had been burned by his orders, only time enough being + given for the ladies to get out of the houses. A number of towns in + the South, as well as private country-houses, had been burned by + Federal troops, and the accounts had been heralded forth in some of + the Northern papers in terms of exaltation, and gloated over by their + readers, while they were received with apathy by others. I now came + to the conclusion that we had stood this mode of warfare long enough, + and that it was time to open the eyes of the people of the North to + its enormity by an example in the way of retaliation. I did not + select the cases mentioned as having more merit or greater claims for + retaliation than others, but because they had occurred within the + limits of the country covered by my command, and were brought more + immediately to my attention.[103] + + "The town of Chambersburg was selected as the one on which + retaliation should be made, and McCausland was ordered to proceed + with his brigade and that of Johnson's and a battery of artillery to + that place, and demand of the municipal authorities the sum of one + hundred thousand dollars in gold, or five hundred thousand dollars in + United States currency, as a compensation for the destruction of the + houses named and their contents; and in default of payment to lay the + town in ashes, in retaliation for the burning of those houses and + others in Virginia, as well as for the towns which had been burned in + other Southern States. A written demand to that effect was also sent + to the municipal authorities, and they were informed what would be + the result of a failure or a refusal to comply with it. I desired to + give the people of Chambersburg an opportunity of saving their town, + by making compensation for part of the injury done, and hoped that + the payment of such a sum would have the desired effect, and open the + eyes of people of other towns at the North to the necessity of urging + upon their Government the adoption of a different policy. + + "On July 30th McCausland reached Chambersburg, and made the demand as + directed, reading to such of the authorities as presented themselves + the paper sent by me. The demand was not complied with, the people + stating that they were not afraid of having their town burned, and + that a Federal force was approaching. The policy pursued by our army + on former occasions had been so lenient that they did not suppose the + threat was in earnest at this time, and they hoped for speedy relief. + McCausland, however, proceeded to carry out his orders, and the + greater part of the town was laid in ashes. He then moved in the + direction of Cumberland, but found it defended by a strong force. He + then withdrew and crossed the Potomac, near the mouth of the South + Branch, capturing the garrison and partly destroying the + railroad-bridge. Averill pursued from Chambersburg, and surprised and + routed Johnson's brigade, and caused a loss of four pieces of + artillery and about three hundred prisoners from the whole command." + +Meantime a large force, consisting of the Sixth, Nineteenth, and +Crook's corps, of the Federal army, had concentrated at Harper's +Ferry under Major-General Sheridan. After various manoeuvres, both +armies occupied positions in the neighborhood of Winchester. Early +had about eight thousand five hundred infantry fit for duty, nearly +three thousand mounted men, three battalions of artillery, and a few +pieces of horse-artillery. Sheridan's force, according to the best +information, consisted of ten thousand cavalry, thirty-five thousand +infantry, and artillery that greatly outnumbered ours both in men and +guns. + +On the morning of September 19th, the enemy began to advance in heavy +force on Ramseur's position, on an elevated plateau between Abraham's +Creek and Red Bud Run, about a mile and a half from Winchester, on +the Berryville road. Nelson's artillery was posted on Ramseur's line, +covering the approaches as far as practicable; and Lomax, with +Jackson's cavalry and a part of Johnson's, was on the right, watching +the valley of Abraham's Creek and the Front Royal road beyond, while +Fitzhugh Lee was on the left, across the Red Bud, with cavalry, +watching the interval between Ramseur's left and the Red Bud. These +troops held the enemy's main force in check until Gordon's and +Rodes's divisions arrived, a little after 10 A.M. Gordon was placed +under cover in rear of a piece of woods, behind the interval between +Ramseur's line and the Red Bud. Rodes was directed to form on +Gordon's right, in rear of another piece of woods. Meanwhile, we +discovered very heavy columns, that had been massed under cover +between the Red Bud and the Berryville road, moving to attack Ramseur +on his left flank, while another force pressed him in front. Rodes +and Gordon were immediately hurled upon the flank of the advancing +columns. But Evans's brigade, of Gordon's division, on the extreme +left of our infantry, was forced back through the woods from behind +which it had advanced by a column, which followed to the rear of the +woods and within musket-range of seven pieces of Braxton's artillery. +Braxton's guns stood their ground and opened with canister. The fire +was so well directed that the column staggered, halted, and commenced +falling back. Just then Battle's brigade moved forward and swept +through the woods, driving the enemy before it, while Evans's brigade +was rallied and coöperated. Our advance was resumed, and the enemy's +attacking columns, the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps, were thrown into +great confusion and fled from the field. General Early exclaims, "It +was a grand sight to see this immense body hurled back in utter +disorder before my two divisions, numbering very little over five +thousand muskets!" This affair occurred about 11 A.M., and a splendid +victory had been gained. But the enemy still had a fresh corps which +had not been engaged, and there remained his heavy force of cavalry. +Our lines were now formed across from Abraham's Creek to Red Bud, and +were very attenuated. There was still seen in front a formidable +force, and away to the right a division of cavalry massed, with some +artillery overlapping us at least a mile. Late in the afternoon, two +divisions of the enemy's cavalry drove in the small force that had +been watching it on the Martinsburg road, and Crook's corps, which +had not been engaged, advanced at the same time on the north side of +Red Bud and forced back our brigade of infantry and cavalry. A +considerable force of cavalry then swept along the Martinsburg road +to the skirts of Winchester, thus getting in the rear of our left +flank. This was soon driven back by two of Wharton's brigades, and +subsequently another charge of cavalry was also repulsed. But many of +the men in the front line, hearing the fire in the rear, and thinking +they were flanked and about to be cut off, commenced to fall back. At +the same time Crook's corps advanced against our left, and Evans's +brigade was thrown into line to meet it, but, after an obstinate +resistance, that brigade also retired. The whole front line had now +given way, but was rallied and formed behind some old breastworks, +and with the aid of artillery the progress of the enemy's infantry +was arrested. Their cavalry afterward succeeded in getting around on +our left, producing great confusion, for which there was no remedy. +We now retired through Winchester, a new line was formed, and the +hostile advance checked until nightfall. We then retired to Newton +without serious molestation. Our trains, stores, sick, and wounded +that could be removed had been sent to Fisher's Hill. This battle, +beginning with the skirmishing in Ramseur's front, had lasted from +daylight until dark, and, at the close of it, we had been forced back +two miles, after having repulsed the first attack with great +slaughter, and subsequently contested every inch of ground with +unsurpassed obstinacy. We deserved the victory, and would have gained +it but for the enemy's immense superiority in cavalry. In his memoir +General Early says: + + "When I look back to this battle, I can but attribute my escape from + utter annihilation to the incapacity of my opponent." + +Our loss was severe for the size of our force, but only a fraction of +that ascribed to us by the foe, while his was very heavy, and some +prisoners fell into our hands. + +On the 22d, after two days spent in reconnoitering, the enemy +prepared to make an attack upon our position at Fisher's Hill; but, +as our force was not strong enough to resist a determined assault, +orders were given to retire after dark. Before sunset, however, an +advance was made against Ramseur's left by Crook's corps. The +movement to put Pegram's brigades into line successively to the left +produced some confusion, when the enemy advanced along his entire +line, and, after a brief contest, our force retired in disorder. We +fell back to a place called Narrow Passage, all the trains being +removed in safety. Some skirmishing ensued as we withdrew up the +Valley, but without important result. + +On October 1st our force was in position between Mount Sidney and +North River, and the enemy's had been concentrated around +Harrisonburg and on the north bank of the river. On the 5th we were +reënforced by General Rosser with six hundred mounted men, and +Kershaw's division, numbering twenty-seven hundred muskets, with a +battalion of artillery. On the morning of the 6th it was discovered +that the foe had retired down the Valley. General Early then moved +forward and arrived at New Market with his infantry on the 7th. +Rosser pushed forward on the back and middle roads in pursuit of the +cavalry, which was engaged in burning houses, mills, barns, and +stacks of wheat and hay, and had several skirmishes with it. + +A committee, consisting of thirty-six citizens and the same number of +magistrates, appointed by the County Court of Rockingham County, for +the purpose of making an estimate of the losses of that county by the +execution of General Sheridan's orders, made an investigation, and +reported as follows: + + "Dwelling-houses burned, 30; barns burned, 450; mills burned, 31; + fences destroyed (miles), 100; bushels of wheat destroyed, 100,000; + bushels of corn destroyed, 50,000; tons of hay destroyed, 6,233; + cattle carried off, 1,750; horses carried off, 1,750; sheep carried + off, 4,200; hogs carried off, 3,350; factories burned, three; + furnaces burned, one. In addition there was an immense amount of + farming utensils of every description destroyed, many of them of + great value, such as reapers and thrashing-machines; also, household + and kitchen furniture, and money, bonds, plate, etc., pillaged." + +General Early, having learned that Sheridan was preparing to send a +part of his troops to Grant, moved down the Valley again on the 12th, +and reached Fisher's Hill. The enemy was found on the north bank of +Cedar Creek in strong force. He gave no indication of an intention to +move, nor did he evince any purpose of attacking us, though the two +positions were in sight of each other. At the same time it became +necessary for us to move back for want of provisions and forage, or +to attack him in his position with the hope of driving him from it. +An attack was determined upon by General Early, and, as he was not +strong enough to assault the fortified position in front, he resolved +to get around one of the enemy's flanks and attack him by surprise. +His plan of attack is thus stated by him: + + "I determined to send the three divisions of the Second Corps, to + wit, Gordon's, Ramseur's, and Pegram's, under General Gordon, to the + enemy's rear, to make the attack at 5 A.M., which would be a little + before daybreak on the 19th; to move myself with Kershaw's and + Wharton's divisions and all the artillery along the pike through + Strasburg, and attack the enemy on the front and left flank, as soon + as Gordon should become engaged, and for Bosser to move with his own + and Wickham's brigade on the back road across Cedar Creek, and attack + the enemy's cavalry simultaneously with Gordon's attack, while Lomax + should move by Front Royal, cross the river, and come to the Valley + pike, so as to strike the enemy wherever he might be, of which he was + to judge by the sound of the firing." + +Gordon moved at the appointed time. At 1 A.M. Kershaw and Wharton, +accompanied by General Early, advanced. At Strasburg, Kershaw moved +to the right on the road to Bowman's Mill, and Wharton moved along +the pike to Hupp's Hill, with instructions not to display his forces, +but to avoid notice until the attack began, when he was to move +forward, support the artillery when it came up, and send a force to +get possession of the bridge on the pike over the creek. Kershaw's +division got in sight of the enemy at half-past three o'clock. He was +directed to cross his division at the proper time over the creek as +quietly as possible, and to form it into column of brigades as he did +so, and advance in that manner against the left breastwork, extending +to the right or left as might be necessary. At half-past four he was +ordered forward, and, a very short time after he started, the firing +from Bosser on our left and the picket-firing at the ford at which +Gordon was crossing were heard. Kershaw crossed the creek without +molestation and formed his division as directed, and precisely at +five o'clock his leading brigade, with little opposition, swept over +the left work, capturing seven guns, which were at once turned on the +enemy. At the same time Wharton and the artillery were just arriving +at Hupp's Hill, and a very heavy fire of musketry was heard in the +rear from Gordon's column. Wharton had advanced his skirmishers to +the creek, capturing some prisoners, but the foe still held the works +on our left of the pike, commanding that road and the bridge, and +opened with his artillery on us. Our artillery was at once brought +into action, and opened on the enemy, but he soon evacuated his +works, and our men from the other columns rushed into them. Wharton +was immediately ordered forward, Kershaw's division had swept along +the enemy's works on the right of the pike, which were occupied by +Crook's corps, and he and Gordon had united at the pike, and their +divisions had pushed across it in pursuit. A delay of an hour at the +river had occurred in Gordon's movement, which enabled Sheridan +partially to form his lines after the alarm produced by Kershaw's +attack; and Gordon's, which was after daylight, was therefore met +with greater obstinacy by the enemy than it would otherwise have +encountered, and the fighting had been severe. Gordon, however, +pushed his advance with such energy, that the Nineteenth and Crook's +corps were in complete rout, and their camps, with a number of pieces +of artillery and a considerable quantity of small-arms, abandoned. +The Sixth Corps, which was on the right, and some distance from the +point attacked, had had time to get under arms and take position so +as to arrest our progress. A fog which had prevailed soon rose +sufficiently for us to see the Sixth Corps' position on a ridge to +the west of Middletown, and it was discovered to be a strong one. The +enemy had not advanced, but opened on us with artillery, and orders +were given to concentrate all our guns on him. In the mean time a +force of cavalry was moving along the pike, through the fields to the +right of Middletown, thus placing our right and rear in great danger. +Wharton was ordered to form his division at once, and take position +to hold that cavalry in check. Discovering that the Sixth Corps could +not be attacked with advantage on its left flank, because the +approach in that direction was through an open flat and across a +boggy stream with high banks, Gordon in conjunction with Kershaw was +ordered to assail the right flank, while a heavy fire of artillery +was opened from our right. In a short time eighteen or twenty guns +were concentrated on the enemy, and he was soon in retreat. Ramseur +and Pegram advanced at once to the position from which he was driven, +and just then his cavalry commenced pressing heavily on the right, +and Pegram's division was ordered to move to the north of Middletown +and take position across the pike against the cavalry. As soon as +Pegram moved, Kershaw was ordered from the left to supply his place. +Bosser had attacked the enemy promptly at the appointed time, but had +not been able to surprise him, as he was found on the alert on that +flank. There was now one division of cavalry threatening our right +flank, and two were on the left near the Back road, held in check by +Bosser. His force was so weak he could only watch. + +After he had been driven from his second position, the enemy had +taken a new one about two miles north of Middletown. An advance by +Gordon and Kershaw and Ramseur was ordered, but, after it had been +made for some distance, Gordon's skirmishers came back, reporting a +line of battle in front, behind breastworks, and an attack was not +made. + + "It was now apparent that it would not do," says General Early, "to + press my troops farther. They had been up all night and were much + jaded. In passing over rough ground to attack the enemy at dawn their + own ranks had been much disordered and the men scattered, and it had + required time to reform them. Their ranks were much thinned by the + absence of the men engaged in plundering the enemy's camps." + +It was determined, therefore, to try to hold what had been gained, +and orders were given to carry off the captured and abandoned +artillery, small-arms, and wagons. A number of bold attempts were +made, during the subsequent part of the day, by the enemy's cavalry, +to break our line on the right, but they were invariably repulsed. +Late in the afternoon, his infantry advanced against Ramseur's, +Kershaw's, and Gordon's lines, and the attack on Ramseur's and +Kershaw's fronts was handsomely repulsed; but a portion of the +assailants had penetrated an interval which was between Evans's +brigade on the extreme left and the rest of the line, when that +brigade gave way, and Gordon's other brigades soon followed. General +Gordon made every possible effort to rally his men and lead them +back, but without avail. This affair was soon known with +exaggerations along Kershaw's and Ramseur's lines, and their men, +fearing to be flanked, began to fall back in disorder, though no +force was pressing them. At the same time the enemy's cavalry, +observing the disorder in our ranks, made another charge on our +right, but was again repulsed. Every effort was made to rally the +men, but the mass of them continued to resist all appeals. Ramseur +succeeded in retaining with him two or three hundred men of his +division, and about the same number was retained by Major Goggin from +Conner's brigade; these, aided by several pieces of artillery, held +the whole force on our left in check for one hour and a half until +Ramseur was shot down, and the ammunition of the artillery was +exhausted. While the latter was being replaced by other guns, the +force that had continued steady gave way also. Pegram's and Wharton's +divisions and Wofford's brigade had remained steadfast on the right, +and resisted every effort of the cavalry, but no portion of this +force could be moved to the left without leaving the pike open to the +cavalry, which would have destroyed all hope at once. Every effort to +rally the men in the rear having failed, these troops were ordered to +retire. The disorder soon extended to them. The greater part of the +infantry was halted at Fisher's Hill, and Rosser, whose command had +retired in good order on the Back road, was ordered to that point +with his cavalry to cover the retreat, and hold that position until +the troops were beyond pursuit. He fell back on the forenoon of the +20th, when the enemy had not advanced to that place. The troops were +halted at Newmarket, seven miles from Mount Jackson. Our loss in the +battle of Cedar Creek was twenty-three pieces of artillery, some +ordnance, and medical wagons and ambulances, about 1,860 killed and +wounded, and something over a thousand prisoners; 1,500 prisoners +were captured from the enemy and brought off, and his loss in killed +and wounded was very heavy. We had in this battle about 8,500 muskets +and a little over forty pieces of artillery. Sheridan's cavalry +numbered 8,700, and his infantry force was fully as large as at +Winchester. + +Subsequently General Early confronted Sheridan's whole force north of +Cedar Creek for two days, November 11th and 12th, without an attack +being made upon him. On November 27th the fortified post at New Creek +on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was surprised and captured by +General Rosser. Two regiments of Federal cavalry with their arms and +colors were taken, and eight pieces of artillery and a very large +amount of ordnance, quartermaster, and commissary stores fell into +our hands. Eight hundred prisoners, four pieces of artillery, and +some wagons and horses were brought off. When the campaign closed, +the invader held precisely the same position in the Valley which he +held before the opening of the campaign in the spring. + +In the Red River country of Louisiana, it became certain in February, +1864, that the enemy was about to make an expedition against our +forces under General Richard Taylor, not so much to get possession of +the country as to obtain the cotton in that region. Their forces were +to be commanded by Major-General Banks, and to consist of his +command, augmented by a part of Major-General Sherman's army from +Vicksburg, and accompanied by a fleet of gunboats under Admiral +Porter. With these the force under General Steele, in Arkansas, was +to coöperate. Taylor's forces at this time consisted of Harrison's +mounted regiment with a four-gun battery, in the north toward Monroe; +Mouton's brigade, near Alexandria; Polignac's, at Trinity, on the +Washita, fifty-five miles distant; Walker's division, at Marksville +and toward Simmsport, with two hundred men detached to assist the +gunners at Fort De Russy, which, though still unfinished, contained +eight heavy guns and two field-pieces. Three companies of mounted men +were watching the Mississippi, and the remainder of a regiment was on +the Têche. + +On March 12th Admiral Porter, with nineteen gunboats and ten thousand +men of Sherman's army, entered the Red River. A detachment on the +14th marched to De Russy and took possession of it. On the 15th the +advance of Porter reached Alexandria, and on the 19th General +Franklin left the lower Têche with eighteen thousand men to meet him. +General Steele, in Arkansas, reported his force at seven thousand +men. The force of General Taylor at this time had increased to five +thousand and three hundred infantry, five hundred cavalry, and three +hundred artillerymen; and Liddel on the north had about the same +number of cavalry and a four-gun battery. Some reënforcements were +soon received. On March 31st Banks's advance reached Natchitoches, +and Taylor moved toward Pleasant Hill, arriving on the next day. On +April 4th and 5th. He moved to Mansfield, concentrating his force in +that vicinity. There two brigades of Missouri infantry and two of +Arkansas, numbering four thousand and four hundred muskets, joined +him. On April 7th the enemy were reported from Pleasant Hill to be +advancing in force, but their progress was arrested by a body of our +cavalry. + +General Taylor then selected his position in which to wait for an +attack expected on the next day. It was in the edge of a wood, +fronting an open field eight hundred yards in width and twelve +hundred in length, through the center of which the road to Pleasant +Hill passed. On the opposite side of the field was a fence separating +it from the pine-forest, which, open on the higher ground and filled +with underwood on the lower, spread over the country. The position +was three miles in front of Mansfield, and covered a cross-road +leading to the Sabine. On each side of the main Mansfield-Pleasant +Hill road at two miles' distance, was a road parallel to it, and +these were connected by this Sabine cross-road. + +On the 8th General Taylor disposed, on the right of the road to +Pleasant Hill, Walker's infantry division of three brigades with two +batteries; on the left, Mouton's two brigades and two batteries. As +the horsemen came in from the front, they took position, dismounted, +on Mouton's left. A regiment of horsemen was posted on each of the +parallel roads, and cavalry with a battery held in reserve on the +main road. Taylor's force amounted to 5,300 infantry, 3,000 mounted +men, and 500 artillerymen; total, 8,800. Banks left Grand Ecore with +an estimated force of 25,000. + +As the enemy showed no disposition to advance, a forward movement of +the whole line was made. On the left our forces crossed the field +under a heavy fire and entered the wood, where a bloody contest +ensued, which resulted in gradually turning their right, which was +forced back with loss of prisoners and guns. On the right little +resistance was encountered until the wood was entered. Finding that +our force outflanked the opponent's left, the right brigade was kept +advanced, and we swept everything before us. + +His first line, consisting of all the mounted force and one division +of the Thirteenth Corps, was in full flight, leaving prisoners, guns, +and wagons in our hands. Two miles to the rear of the first position, +the Second Division of the Federal Thirteenth Corps was brought up, +but was speedily routed, losing guns and prisoners. The advance was +continued. Four miles from the original position, his Nineteenth Army +Corps was found drawn up on a ridge overlooking a small stream. Sharp +work followed, but, as our force persisted, his fell back at +nightfall. Twenty-five hundred prisoners, twenty pieces of artillery, +several stands of colors, many thousands of small-arms, and two +hundred and fifty wagons, were taken. + +On the next morning the enemy was found about a mile in front of +Pleasant Hill, which occupies a plateau a mile wide from west to east +along the Mansfield road. His lines extended across the plateau from +the highest ground on the west, his left, to a wooded height on the +right of the Mansfield road. Winding along in front of this position +was a dry gully cut by winter rains, bordered by a thick growth of +young pines. This was held by his advanced infantry, his main line +and guns being on the plateau. The force of General Taylor-- +Churchill's brigade having joined him now--amounted to twelve +thousand five hundred men against eighteen thousand of General Banks, +among them the fresh corps of General A. J. Smith. The action +commenced about 4.30 P.M. It was the plan of General Taylor, as no +offensive movement on the part of the enemy was anticipated, to turn +both his flanks and subject him to a concentric fire and overwhelm +him. The right was successfully turned, but our force on his left did +not proceed far enough to outflank him. An obstinate contest ensued, +with much confusion, and failure to execute the plan of battle. Night +ended the conflict on our right, and both sides occupied their +original positions. General Banks made no attempt to recover the +ground from which his right and center had been driven. During the +night he retreated, leaving four hundred wounded, and his dead +unburied. On the next morning he was pursued twenty miles before his +rear was overtaken, and on the road were found stragglers, and +burning wagons and stores. Our loss in the two actions of Mansfield +and Pleasant Hill was twenty-two hundred. At Pleasant Hill the loss +was three guns and four hundred and twenty-six prisoners. The loss of +the enemy in killed and wounded was larger than ours. We captured +twenty guns and twenty-eight hundred prisoners, not including +stragglers. Their campaign was defeated. In the second volume of the +"Report of the Committee on the Conduct of the War," page 239, a +report of Admiral Porter, dated Grand Ecore, April 14, 1864, says: + + "The army here has met with a great defeat, no matter what the + generals try to make of it," etc. + +On April 21st General Banks retreated from Grand Ecore to Alexandria, +harassed by a small cavalry force. A large part of our forces had +been taken by General E. K. Smith to follow General Steele. On April +28th Porter's fleet was lying above the falls, then impassable, and +Banks's army was in and around Alexandria behind earthworks. On May +13th both escaped from Alexandria, and on May 19th Banks crossed the +Atchafalaya, and the campaign closed at the place where it began. +Porter was able to extricate his eight ironclads and two wooden +gunboats by building a dam with transports, as shown in the adjoining +cut. General Banks boasted that the army obtained ten thousand bales +of cotton, to which Admiral Porter added five thousand more as +collected by the navy. This was the compensation reported for the +loss of many lives, much public property, and a total defeat. Even +for the booty as well as for the escape of their fleet, they were +probably indebted to the unfortunate withdrawal of a large part of +Taylor's force, as mentioned above.[104] + +On April 12, 1864, an attack was made by two brigades of General N. +B. Forrest's force, under Brigadier-General J. R. Chalmers, upon Fort +Pillow. This was an earthwork on a bluff on the east side of the +Mississippi, at the mouth of Coal Creek. It was garrisoned by four +hundred men and six pieces of artillery. General Chalmers promptly +gained possession of the outer works and drove the garrison to their +main fortifications. The fort was crescent-shaped, the parapet eight +feet in height and four feet across the top, surrounded by a ditch +six feet deep and twelve feet in width. About this time General +Forrest arrived and soon ordered his forces to move up. The brigade +of Bell, on the northeast, advanced until it gained a position in +which the men were sheltered by the conformation of the ground, which +was intersected by a ravine. The other brigade, under McCulloch, +carried the intrenchments on the highest part of the ridge, +immediately in front of the southeastern face of the fort, and +occupied a cluster of cabins on its southern face and about sixty +yards from it. The line of investment was now short and complete, +within an average distance of one hundred yards. It extended from +Coal Creek on the north, which was impassable, to the river-bank +south of the fort. In the rear were numerous sharpshooters, well +posted on commanding ridges, to pick off the garrison whenever they +exposed themselves. At the same time, our forces were so placed that +the artillery could not be brought to bear upon them with much effect +except by a fatal exposure of the gunners. During all this time a +gunboat in the river kept up a continuous fire in all directions, but +without effect. General Forrest, confident of his ability to take the +fort by assault, which it seemed must be perfectly apparent to the +garrison, and desiring to prevent further loss of life, sent a demand +for an unconditional surrender, with the assurance that they should +be treated as prisoners of war. The answer was written with a pencil +on a slip of paper, "Negotiations will not attain the desired +object." Meantime, three boats were seen to approach, the foremost of +which was apparently loaded with troops, and, as an hour's time had +been asked for to communicate with the officers of the gunboat, it +seemed to be a pretext to gain time for reënforcements. General +Forrest, understanding also that the enemy doubted his presence and +had pronounced the demand to be a trick, declared himself, and +demanded an answer within twenty minutes whether the commander would +fight or surrender. Meanwhile, the foremost boat indicated an +intention to land, but a few shots caused her to withdraw to the +other side of the river, along which they all passed up. The answer +from the fort was a positive refusal to surrender. Three companies on +the left were now placed in an old rifle-pit and almost in the rear +of the fort, and on the right a portion of Barton's regiment of +Bell's brigade was also under the bluff and in the rear of the fort. + +On the signal, the works were carried without a halt. As the troops +poured into the fortification the enemy retreated toward the river, +arms in hand and firing back, and their colors flying, doubtless +expecting the gunboats to shell us away from the bluff and protect +them until they could be taken off or reënforced. As they descended +the bank an enfilading and deadly fire was poured in upon them from +right and left by the forces in rear of the fort, of whose presence +they were ignorant. To this was now added the destructive fire of the +regiments that had stormed the fort. Fortunately some of our men cut +down the flag, and the firing ceased. Our loss was twenty killed and +sixty wounded. Of the enemy two hundred and twenty-eight were buried +that evening and quite a number next day. We captured six pieces of +artillery and about three hundred and fifty stand of small-arms. The +gunboat escaped up the river. + + +[Footnote 102: I. Stoddard Johnston, "Southern Historical Society +Papers," June, 1879, p. 258, _et seq_.] + +[Footnote 103: "I had often seen delicate ladies who had been plundered, +insulted, ind rendered desolate by the acts of our most atrocious +enemies, and, while they did not call for it, yet in the anguished +expressions of their features while narrating their misfortunes, +there was a mute appeal to every manly sentiment of my bosom for +retribution, which I could no longer withstand. On my passage through +the lower Valley into Maryland, a lady had said to me, with tears in +her eyes: 'Our lot is a hard one, and we see no peace; but there are +a few green spots in our lives, and they are when the Confederate +soldiers come along and we can do something far them.' May God defend +and bless these noble women of the Valley, who so often ministered to +the wounded, sick, and dying Confederate soldiers, and gave their +last morsel of bread to the hungry! They bore with heroic courage the +privations, sufferings, persecutions, and dangers to which the war, +which was constantly waged in their midst, exposed them, and upon no +portion of the Southern people did the disasters, which finally +befell our army and country, fall with more crushing effect than on +them."] + +[Footnote 104: "Destruction and Reconstruction," Taylor, p. 162, _et. +seq_.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + + Assignment of General J. E. Johnston to the Command of the Army of + Tennessee.--Condition of his Army.--An Offensive Campaign + suggested.--Proposed Objects to be accomplished.--General + Johnston's Plans.--Advance of Sherman.--The Strength of the + Confederate Position.--General Johnston expects General Sherman to + give Battle at Dalton.--The Enemy's Flank Movement via Snake Creek + Gap to Resaca.--Johnston falls back to Resaca.--Further Retreat to + Adairsville.--General Johnston's Reasons.--Retreat to Cassville.-- + Projected Engagement at Kingston frustrated.--Retreat beyond the + Etowah River.--Strong Position at Alatoona abandoned.--Nature of + the Country between Marietta and Dallas.--Engagements at New Hope + Church.--Army takes Position at Kenesaw.--Senator Hill's Letter.-- + Death of Lieutenant-General Polk.--Battle at Kenesaw Mountain.-- + Retreat beyond the Chattahoochee.--Results reviewed.--Popular + Demand for Removal of General Johnston.--Reluctance to remove him.-- + Reasons for Removal.--Assignment of General J. B. Hood to the + Command.--He assumes the Offensive.--Battle of Peach-tree Creek.-- + Death of General W. H. T. Walker.--Sherman's Movement to + Jonesboro.--Defeat of Hardee.--Evacuation of Atlanta.--Sherman's + Inhuman Order.--Visit to Georgia.--Suggested Operations.--Want of + coöperation by the Governor of Georgia.--Conference with Generals + Beauregard, Hardee, and Cobb, at Augusta.--Departure from Original + Plan.--General Hood's Movement against the Enemy's Communications.-- + Partial Successes.--Withdrawal of the Army to Gadsden and Movement + against Thomas.--Sherman burns Atlanta and begins his March to the + Sea.--Vandalism.--Direction of his Advance.--General Wheeler's + Opposition.--His Valuable Service.--Sherman reaches Savannah.-- + General Hardee's Command.--The Defenses of the City.--Assault and + Capture of Fort McAlister.--The Results.--Hardee evacuates Savannah. + + +On December 16, 1863, I directed General J. E. Johnston to transfer +the command of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana to +Lieutenant-General Polk, and repair to Dalton, Georgia, to assume +command of the Army of Tennessee, representing at that date an +effective total of 43,094. My information led me to believe that the +condition of that army, in all that constitutes efficiency, was +satisfactory, and that the men were anxious for an opportunity to +retrieve the loss of prestige sustained in the disastrous battle of +Missionary Ridge. I was also informed that the enemy's forces, then +occupying Chattanooga, Bridgeport, and Stevenson, with a detached +force at Knoxville, were weaker in numbers than at any time since the +battle of Missionary Ridge, and that they were especially deficient +in cavalry and in artillery and train-horses. I desired, therefore, +that prompt and vigorous measures be taken to enable our troops to +commence active operations against the enemy as early as practicable. +It was important to guard against the injurious results to the morale +of the troops, which always attend a prolonged season of inactivity; +but the recovery of the territory in Tennessee and Kentucky, which we +had been compelled to abandon, and on the supplies of which the +proper subsistence of our armies mainly depended, imperatively +demanded an onward movement. I believed that, by a rapid +concentration of our troops between the scattered forces of the +enemy, without attempting to capture his intrenched positions, we +could compel him to accept battle in the open field, and that, should +we fail to draw him out of his intrenchments, we could move upon his +line of communications. The Federal force at Knoxville depended +mainly for support on its connection with that at Chattanooga, and +both were wholly dependent on uninterrupted communication with +Nashville. Could we, then, by interposing our force, separate these +two bodies of the enemy, and cut off his communication from Nashville +to Chattanooga by destroying the railroad, both conditions were +fulfilled. Of the practicability of this movement I had little doubt; +of its expediency, if practicable, there could be none. I impressed +repeatedly upon General Johnston by letter, and by officers of my +staff and others, sent to him by me for the purpose of putting him in +possession of these views, the importance of a prompt aggressive +movement by the Army of Tennessee. The following were among the +considerations presented to General Johnston, at my request, by +Brigadier-General W. N. Pendleton, chief of artillery of the Army of +Northern Virginia, on April 16, 1864: + +1. To take the enemy at disadvantage while weakened, it is believed, +by sending troops to Virginia, and having others still absent on +furlough. + +2. To break up his plans by anticipating and frustrating his +combinations. + +3. So to press him in his present position as to prevent his heavier +massing in Virginia. + +4. To defeat him in battle, and gain great consequent strength in +supplies, men, and productive territory. + +5. To prevent the waste of the army incident to inactivity. + +6. To inspirit the troops and the country by success, and to +discourage the enemy. + +7. To obviate the necessity of falling back, which might probably +occur if our antagonist be allowed to consummate his plans without +molestation. + +General Johnston cordially approved of an aggressive movement, and +informed me of his purpose to make it as soon as reënforcements and +supplies, then on the way, should reach him. He did not approve the +proposed advance into Tennessee. He believed that the Federal forces +in Tennessee were not weaker, but if anything stronger, than at +Missionary Ridge; that defeat beyond the Tennessee would probably +prove ruinous to us, resulting in the loss of his army, the +occupation of Georgia by the enemy, the "piercing of the Confederacy +in its vitals," and the loss of all the southwestern territory. He +proposed, therefore, to stand on the defensive until strengthened, +"to watch, prepare, and strike" as soon as possible. As soon as +reënforced, he declared his purpose to advance to Ringgold, attack +there, and, if successful, as he expected to be, to strike at +Cleveland, cut the railroad, control the river, and thus isolate East +Tennessee, and, as a consequence, force his antagonist to give battle +on this side of the Tennessee River. Simultaneously with, and in aid +of, this movement, General Johnston proposed that a large cavalry +force should be sent to Middle Tennessee, in the rear of the enemy. +These operations, he thought, would result in forcing the Federal +army to evacuate the Tennessee Valley, and make an advance into the +heart of the State safely practicable. + +The irreparable loss of time in making any forward movement as +desired having sufficed for the combinations which rendered an +advance across the Tennessee River no longer practicable, I took +prompt measures to enable General Johnston to carry out immediately +his own proposition to strike first at Ringgold and then at +Cleveland, proposing that General Buckner should threaten Knoxville, +General Forrest advance into or threaten Middle Tennessee, and +General Roddy hold the enemy in northern Alabama, and thus prevent +his concentration in our front. This movement, although it held out +no such promise as did the plan of advance before the enemy had had +time to make his combinations, might have been attended with good +results had it been promptly executed. But no such movement was made +or even attempted. General Johnston's belief that General Grant would +be ready to assume the offensive before he could be prepared to do +so, proved too well founded, while his purpose, if the Federal army +did not attack, that we should prepare and take the initiative +ourselves, was never carried out.[105] + +On the morning of May 2, 1864, General Johnston discovered that the +enemy, under the command of General Sherman, was advancing against +him, and two days subsequently it was reported that he had reached +Ringgold (about fifteen miles north of Dalton) in considerable force. + +At this date the official returns show that the effective strength of +the Army of Tennessee, counting the troops actually in position at +Dalton and those in the immediate rear of that place, was about fifty +thousand. When to these is added General Polk's command (then _en +route_), and the advance of which joined him at Resaca, the effective +strength of General Johnston's army was not less than 68,620 men of +all arms, excluding from the estimate the thousands of men employed +on extra duty, amounting, as General Hood states, to ten thousand +when he assumed command of the army. + + + Army at Dalton, May 1, 1864, according to General + Johnston's estimates[106] . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,652 infantry. + 2,812 artillery. + 2,392 cavalry. + Mercer's brigade, joined May 2d . . . . . . . . . 2,000 infantry. + Thirty-seventh Mississippi Regiment, _en route_ 400 " + Dibrell's and Harrison's brigades in rear, + recruiting their horses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,336 cavalry. + Martin's division at Cartersville . . . . . . . . 1,700 " + ------ + 49,292 + Polk's command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,330 + ------ + Total effective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,620 + +To enable General Johnston to repulse the hostile advance and assume +the offensive, no effort was spared on the part of the Government. +Almost all the available military strength of the south and west, in +men and supplies, was pressed forward and placed at his disposal. The +supplies of the commissary, quartermaster, and ordnance departments +of his army were represented as ample and suitably located. The +troops, encouraged by the large accessions of strength which they saw +arriving daily, and which they knew were marching rapidly to their +support, were eager to advance, and confident in their power to +achieve victory and recover the territory which they had lost. Their +position was such as to warrant the confident expectation of +successful resistance at least. Long mountain-ranges, penetrated by +few and difficult roads and paths, and deep and wide rivers, seemed +to render our position one from which we could not be dislodged or +turned, while that of the enemy, dependent for his supplies upon a +single line of railroad from Nashville to the point where he was +operating, was manifestly perilous. The whole country shared the hope +which the Government entertained, that a decisive victory would soon +be won in the mountains of Georgia, which would free the south and +west from invasion, would open to our occupation and the support of +our armies the productive territory of Tennessee and Kentucky, and so +recruit our army in the West as to render it impracticable for the +enemy to accumulate additional forces in Virginia. + +On May 6th the Confederate forces were in position in and near +Dalton, which point General Johnston believed that General Sherman +would attack with his whole force. This belief seems to have been +held by General Johnston until the evening of May 12th, when, having +previously learned the proximity of the advance of Lieutenant-General +Polk's command, and that the rest of his troops were hurrying forward +to reënforce him, but discovering that the main body of Sherman's +army was moving round his left flank, via Snake-Creek Gap to Resaca, +under cover of Rocky-Face Mountain, he withdrew his troops from +Dalton and fell back on Resaca, situated on the Western and Atlantic +Railroad, eighteen miles south of Dalton on a peninsula formed by the +junction of the Oostenaula and Conasauga Rivers. The Confederate +position at this place was strengthened by continuous rifle-pits and +strong field-works, by which it was protected on the flanks on the +above-named rivers, and a line of retreat across the Oostenaula +secured. Information, on May 15th, that the right of the Federal army +was crossing the Oostenaula near Calhoun (four miles south of +Resaca), thus threatening his line of communications, induced General +Johnston to fall back from Resaca toward Adairsville, thirteen miles +south on the railroad. General Johnston, in accounting for his +abandonment of his strong position at Dalton, and of his subsequent +position at Resaca, states that he was dislodged from the first +position--that in front of Dalton--by General Sherman's movement to +his right through Snake-Creek Gap, threatening our line of +communication at Resaca; and from the position taken at Resaca to +meet that movement, by a similar one on the part of the Federal +General toward Calhoun--the second being covered by the river, as +the first had been by the mountains. + +After abandoning Resaca, General Johnston hoped to find a good +position near Calhoun; but, finding none, he fell back to a position +about a mile north of Adairsville, where the valley of the Oothcaloga +was supposed from the map to be so narrow that his army, formed in +line of battle across it, could hold the heights on both flanks. On +reaching this point, however, it was found that the valley was so +much broader than was supposed, that the army, in line of battle, +could not obtain the anticipated advantage of ground. Hence a further +retreat to Cassville was ordered, seventeen miles farther south, and +a few miles to the east of the railroad. Here, supposing that the +Federal army would divide, one column following the railroad through +Kingston and the other the direct road to the Etowah Railroad Bridge +through Cassville, General Johnston hoped that the opportunity would +be offered him to engage and defeat one of the enemy's columns before +it could receive aid from the other, and, as the distance between +them would be greatest at Kingston, he determined to attack at this +point. The coming battle was announced in orders to each regiment of +the army. + +The battle, for causes which were the subject of dispute, did not +take place as General Johnston had originally announced, and, instead +of his attacking the divided columns of the enemy, the united Federal +army was preparing to attack him. Here our army occupied a position +which General Johnston describes as "the best that he saw during the +war," but owing, as he represents, to an expressed want of confidence +on the part of lieutenant-Generals Hood and Polk in their ability to +resist the enemy, the army was again (May 19, 1864) ordered to +retreat beyond the Etowah. + +General Hood, in his official report, and in a book written by him +since the war, takes a very different view of the position in rear of +Cassville, and states that he and General Polk explained that their +corps were on ground commanded and enfiladed by the batteries of the +enemy, therefore wholly unsuited for defense, and, unless it was +proposed to attack, that the position should be abandoned. General +Shoup, a scientific and gallant soldier, confirms this opinion of the +defects of the position, as does Captain Morris, chief-engineer of +the Army of Mississippi, and others then on duty there.[107] + +The next stand of our army was at Alatoona, in the Etowah Mountains, +and south of the river of that name; but the reported extension of +the Federal army toward Dallas, threatening Marietta, was deemed to +necessitate the evacuation of that strong position. The country +between Dallas and Marietta, eighteen miles wide, and lying in a due +westerly direction from the latter place, constitutes a natural +fortress of exceptional strength. Densely wooded, traversed by ranges +of steep hills, seamed at intervals by ravines both deep and rugged, +with very few roads, and those ill constructed and almost impassable +to wheels, it is difficult to imagine a country better adapted for +defense, where the advantages of numerical superiority in an invading +army were more thoroughly neutralized, or where, necessarily ignorant +of the topography, it was compelled to advance with greater caution. + +The engagements at New Hope Church, June 27th and 28th, though severe +and marked by many acts of gallantry, did not result in any advantage +to our army. Falling back slowly as the enemy advanced to Acworth +(June 8th), General Johnston made his next stand in that mountainous +country that lies between Acworth and Marietta, remarkable for the +three clearly defined eminences: Kenesaw Mountain, to the west of the +railroad, and overlooking Marietta; Lost Mountain, half-way between +Kenesaw and Dallas, and west of Marietta; and Pine Mountain, about +half a mile farther to the north, forming, as it were, the apex of a +triangle, of which Kenesaw and Lost Mountains form the base. These +heights are connected by ranges of lower heights, intersected by +numerous ravines, and thickly wooded. The right of our army rested on +the railroad, the line extending four or five miles in a westerly +direction, protected by strong earthworks, with abatis on every +avenue of approach. While the enemy, feeling his way slowly, was +skirmishing on the right of our position, our army, our country, and +mankind at large, sustained an irreparable loss on June 13th in the +death of that noble Christian and soldier, Lieutenant-General Polk. +Having accompanied Generals Johnston and Hardee to the Confederate +outpost on Pine Mountain, in order to acquaint himself more +thoroughly with the nature of the ground in front of the position +held by his corps, he was killed by a shot from a Federal battery six +or seven hundred yards distant, which struck him in the chest, +passing from left to right. Since the calamitous fall of General +Albert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh and of General T. J. Jackson at +Chancellorsville, the country sustained no heavier blow than in the +death of General Polk. + +On June 18th, heavy rains having swollen Nose's Creek on the left of +our position so that it became impassable, the Federal army, under +cover of this stream, extended its lines several miles beyond +Johnston's left flank toward the Chattahoochee, causing a further +retrograde movement by a portion of his force. For several days brisk +fighting occurred at various points of our line. + +The cavalry attack on Wheeler's force on the 20th, the attack upon +Hardee's position on the 24th, and the general assault upon the +Confederate position on the 27th were firmly met and handsomely +repulsed. On the 4th of July, it having been reported by General G. +W. Smith, in command of about a thousand militia, and occupying the +extreme left of our army, that the enemy's "cavalry was pressing him +in such force that he would be compelled to abandon the ground he had +been holding and retire before morning to General Shoup's line of +redoubts," [108] constructed on the high ground near the Chattahoochee +and covering the approaches to the railroad-bridge and Turner's +Ferry, General Johnston deemed it necessary to abandon his position +at Kenesaw on July 5th and fall back to the line constructed by +General Shoup, as the enemy's position covered one of the main roads +to Atlanta, and was nearer to that city than the main body of General +Johnston's force. On the 9th, Sherman having crossed the +Chattahoochee with two corps on the day previous, the Confederate +army crossed that river and established itself two miles in its rear. + +Thus, from Dalton to Resaca, from Resaca to Adairsville, from +Adairsville to Alatoona (involving by the evacuation of Kingston the +loss of Rome, with its valuable mills, foundries, and large +quantities of military stores), from Alatoona to Kenesaw, from +Kenesaw to the Chattahoochee, and then to Atlanta; retreat followed +retreat, during seventy-four days of anxious hope and bitter +disappointment, until at last the Army of Tennessee fell back within +the fortifications of Atlanta. The Federal army soon occupied the arc +of a circle extending from the railroad between Atlanta and the +Chattahoochee River to some miles south of the Georgia Railroad (from +Atlanta to Augusta) in a direction north and northeast of Atlanta. We +had suffered a disastrous loss of territory. + +Whether the superior numerical strength of the enemy, by enabling him +to extend his force beyond the flank of ours, did thereby necessitate +the abandonment of every position taken by our army, and whether the +enemy, declining to assault any of our intrenched camps, would have +ventured to leave it in rear, upon his only line of communication and +supply, or whether we might have obtained more advantageous results +by a vigorous and determined effort to attack him in detail during +some of his many flank movements--are questions upon which there has +been a decided conflict of opinion, and upon which it would be for me +now neither useful nor pleasant to enter. When it became known that +the Army of Tennessee had been successfully driven from one strong +position to another, until finally it had reached the earthworks +constructed for the exterior defense of Atlanta, the popular +disappointment was extreme. The possible fall of the "Gate City," +with its important railroad communication, vast stores, factories for +the manufacture of all sorts of military supplies, rolling-mill and +foundries, was now contemplated for the first time at its full value, +and produced intense anxiety far and wide. From many quarters, +including such as had most urged his assignment, came delegations, +petitions, and letters, urging me to remove General Johnston from the +command of the army, and assign that important trust to some officer +who would resolutely hold and defend Atlanta. While sharing in the +keen sense of disappointment at the failure of the campaign which +pervaded the whole country, I was perhaps more apprehensive than +others of the disasters likely to result from it, because I was in a +position to estimate more accurately their probable extent. On the +railroads threatened with destruction, the armies then fighting the +main battles of the war in Virginia had for some time to a great +degree depended for indispensable supplies, yet I did not respond to +the wishes of those who came in hottest haste for the removal of +General Johnston; for here again, more fully than many others, I +realized how serious it was to change commanders in the presence of +the enemy. This clamor for his removal commenced immediately after it +became known that the army had fallen back from Dalton, and it +gathered volume with each remove toward Atlanta. Still I resisted the +steadily increasing pressure which was brought to bear to induce me +to revoke his assignment, and only issued the order relieving him +from command when I became satisfied that his declared purpose to +occupy the works at Atlanta with militia levies and withdraw his army +into the open country for freer operations, would inevitably result +in the loss of that important point, and where the retreat would +cease could not be foretold. If the Army of Tennessee was found to be +unable to hold positions of great strength like those at Dalton, +Resaca, Etowah, Kenesaw, and on the Chattahoochee, I could not +reasonably hope that it would be more successful in the plains below +Atlanta, where it would find neither natural nor artificial +advantages of position. As soon as the Secretary of War showed me the +answer which he had just received in reply to his telegram to General +Johnston, requesting positive information as to the General's plans +and purposes, I gave my permission to issue the order relieving +General Johnston and directing him to turn over to General Hood the +command of the Army of Tennessee. I was so fully aware of the danger +of changing commanders of an army while actively engaged with the +enemy, that I only overcame the objection in view of an emergency, +and in the hope that the impending danger of the loss of Atlanta +might be averted. + +The following extracts are made from a letter of the Hon. Benjamin H. +Hill, of Georgia, written at Atlanta, October 12, 1878, and handed to +me by the friend to whom it was addressed: + +* * * * * + +"On Wednesday or Thursday, I think the 28th or 29th of June, 1864, a +messenger came to my house, sent, as he said, by General Johnston, +Senator Wigfall, of Texas, and Governor Brown, of Georgia. + +"The purpose of his mission, as he explained, was to persuade me to +write a letter to President Davis urging him to order either Morgan +or Forrest with five thousand men into Sherman's rear, etc. . . . + +"The result of this interview was a determination on my part to go at +once to see General Johnston, and place myself at his service. I +reached his headquarters near Marietta, on the line of the Kenesaw, +on Friday morning, which was the last day of June or the first day of +July. We had a full and free interview, and I placed myself +unreservedly at his disposal. + +"He explained at length that he could not attack General Sherman's +army in their intrenchments, nor could he prevent Sherman from +ditching round his (Johnston's) flank and compelling his retreat. + +"The only method of arresting Sherman's advance was to send a force +into his rear, cut off his supplies, and thus compel Sherman either +to give battle on his (Johnston's) terms or retreat. In either case, +he thought, he could defeat Sherman, and probably destroy his army. + +"I said to him, 'As you do not propose to attack General Sherman in +his intrenchments, could you not spare a sufficient number of your +present army, under Wheeler or some other, to accomplish this work?' + +"He said he could not--that he needed all the force he had in front. + +"He then said that General Morgan was at Arlington, Virginia, with +five thousand cavalry, and, if the President would so order, this +force could be sent into Sherman's rear at once. + +"He also said that Stephen D. Lee had sixteen thousand men under him +in Mississippi, including the troops under Forrest and Roddy, and +that, if Morgan could not be sent, five thousand of those under +Forrest could do the work. Either Morgan or Forrest, with five +thousand men, could compel Sherman to fight at a disadvantage or +retreat, and there was no reason why either should not be sent if the +President should give the order. He explained that he (General +Johnston) had had a consultation with Senator Wigfall and Governor +Brown, the result of which was the messenger to me to secure my +coöperation to influence President Davis to make the order. I +repelled the idea that any influence with the President was needed, +and stated that, if the facts were as General Johnston reported them, +the reënforcement would be sent on his request. + +[Illustration: J. E. Johnston] + +"But the situation was so critical, involving, as I believed and +explained at length to General Johnston, the fate of the Confederacy, +that I said I would go in person to Richmond and lay all the facts +before the President, and I did not doubt he would act promptly. + +"I then said to General Johnston: 'How long can you hold Sherman +north of the Chattahoochee River? This is important, because I must +go to Richmond, and Morgan must go from Virginia or Forrest from +Mississippi, and this will take some time, and all must be done +before Sherman drives you to Atlanta.' General Johnston did not +answer this question with directness, but gave me data which +authorized me to conclude that he could hold Sherman north of the +Chattahoochee River at least fifty-four days, and perhaps sixty days. +I made this calculation with General Johnston's data in his presence, +and told him the result, and he assented to it. When this result was +stated, General Hood, who was present, said, 'Mr. Hill, when we leave +our present line, we will, in my judgment, cross the Chattahoochee +River very rapidly.' 'Why, what makes you think that?' said General +Johnston, with some interest. 'Because,' answered General Hood, 'this +line of the Kenesaw is the strongest line we can get in this country. +If we surrender this to Sherman, he can reconnoiter from its summit +the whole country between here and Atlanta, and there is no such line +of defense in the distance.' + +"'I differ with your conclusion,' said General Johnston. 'I admit +this is a strong line of defense, but I have two more strong lines +between this and the river, from which I can hold Sherman a long +time.' + +"I was delayed _en route_ somewhat, and reached Richmond on Sunday +morning week, which I think was the 9th day of July. I went to the +hotel, and in a few moments was at the Executive mansion. + +"This interview with Mr. Davis I can never forget. + +"I laid before him carefully, and in detail, all the facts elicited +in the conversation with General Johnston, and explained fully the +purpose of my mission. When I had gone through, the President took up +the facts, one by one, and fully explained the situation. I remember +very distinctly many of the facts, for the manner as well as matter +stated by Mr. Davis was impressive. 'Long ago,' said the President, +'I ordered Morgan to make this movement upon Sherman's rear, and +suggested that his best plan was to go directly from Abingdon through +East Tennessee. But Morgan insisted that, if he were permitted to go +through Kentucky and around Nashville, he could greatly recruit his +horses and his men by volunteers. I yielded, and allowed him to have +his own way. He undertook it, but was defeated, and has retreated +back, and is now at Abingdon with only eighteen hundred men, very +much demoralized, and badly provided with horses.' He next read a +dispatch from General Stephen D. Lee, to the effect that A. J, Smith +had left Memphis with fifteen thousand men, intended either as a +reënforcement for Sherman or for an attack on Mobile; that, to meet +this force, he (Lee) had only seven thousand men, including the +commands of Forrest and Roddy. He would like to have reënforcements, +but anyhow, with or without reënforcements, 'he should meet Smith, +and whip him, too.' 'Ah! there is a man for you,' said Mr. Davis. And +he did meet Smith with his inferior force, and whipped him, too. He +next read a dispatch from a commander at Mobile (who, I think, was +General Maury), to the effect that Canby was marching from New +Orleans with twenty thousand men, and A. J. Smith from Memphis with +fifteen thousand, intending to make a combined attack on Mobile. To +meet this force of thirty-five thousand men he had four thousand, and +Lee, with Forrest and Roddy, seven thousand, making eleven thousand +in all. He asked for reënforcements. + +"After going fully through this matter, and showing how utterly +General Johnston was at fault, as to the numbers of troops in the +different commands, the President said, 'How long did you understand +General Johnston to say he could hold Sherman north of the +Chattahoochee River?' From fifty-four to sixty days I said, and +repeated the facts on that subject as above stated. Thereupon the +President read me a dispatch from General Johnston, announcing that +he had crossed or was crossing the Chattahoochee River." + +* * * * * + +"The next day (Monday), Mr. Seddon, the Secretary of War, called to +see me. He asked me to reduce my interview with General Johnston to +writing, for the use of the Cabinet, and I did so, and gave it to +him. Mr. Seddon said he was anxious for General Johnston's removal, +and he was especially anxious because, he said, he was one of those +who was responsible for his appointment. He had urged his appointment +very earnestly, but it was a great mistake, and he desired to do all +he could, even at this late day, to atone for it. The President, he +said, was averse to the removal. He made the appointment against his +own convictions, but thought it a very hazardous thing to remove him +now, and he would not do it, if he could have any assurance that +General Johnston would not surrender Atlanta without a battle. + +"Other members of the Cabinet, I know, had views similar to those +expressed by Mr. Seddon. The question, or rather the situation, was +referred to General Lee, but he declined to give any positive advice, +and expressed regret that so grave a movement as the removal of +General Johnston, under the circumstances existing, should be found +to be necessary." [109] + +* * * * * + + "During all the time, a telegraphic correspondence was kept up with + General Johnston--the object being to ascertain if he would make a + determined fight to save Atlanta. His answers were thought to be + evasive. Finally, the question was put to General Johnston + categorically to this effect: 'Will you surrender Atlanta without a + fight?' To this the answer was regarded as not only evasive, but as + indicating the contemplated contingency of surrendering Atlanta, on + the ground that the Governor of the State had not furnished, as + expected, sufficient State troops to man the city while the army was + giving battle outside. 'This evasive answer to a positive inquiry,' + said one of the Cabinet to me, 'brought the President over. He + yielded very reluctantly.' I was informed of the result at once, and + was also informed that Mr. Davis was the last man in the Cabinet to + agree to the order of removal.". . . + +General Hood assumed command on the 18th of July. In his report of +the operations of the army while under his command, he states that +the effective strength of his force on that day was forty-eight +thousand seven hundred and fifty men of all arms. + +Feeling that the only chance of holding Atlanta consisted in assuming +the offensive by forcing the enemy to accept battle, General Hood +determined, on the 20th of July, to attack the corps of Generals +Thomas and Schofield, who were in the act of crossing Peachtree +Creek, hoping to defeat Thomas before he could fortify himself, then +to fall on Schofield, and finally to attack McPherson's corps, which +had reached Decatur, on the Georgia Railroad, driving the enemy back +to the creek and into the narrow space included between that stream +and the Chattahoochee River. Owing to an unfortunate misapprehension +of the order of battle and the consequent delay in making the attack, +the movement failed. On the 21st, finding that McPherson's corps was +threatening his communications, General Hood resolved to attack him +at or near Decatur, in front and on flank, turn his left, and then, +following up the movement from the right to the left with his whole +army, force the enemy down Peachtree Creek. This engagement was the +hottest of the campaign, but it failed to accomplish any other +favorable result than to check General McPherson's movement upon the +communications of our army, while it cost heavily in the loss of many +officers and men, foremost among whom was that _preux_ chevalier and +accomplished soldier, Major-General W. H. T. Walker, of Georgia. + +Beyond expeditions by the enemy, for the most part by cavalry, to +destroy the lines of railroad by which supplies and reënforcements +could reach Atlanta, and successful efforts on our part to frustrate +their movements, resulting in the defeat and capture of General +Stoneman and his command near Macon, the utter destruction of the +enemy's cavalry force engaged by General Wheeler at Newnan, and the +defeat of Sherman's design to unite his cavalry at the Macon and +Western Railroad, and effectually destroy that essential avenue for +the conveyance of stores and ammunition for our army, no movement of +special importance took place between July 22d and August 26th, at +which latter date it was discovered that Sherman had abandoned his +works upon our right, and, leaving a considerable force to hold his +intrenched position at the railroad-bridge over the Chattahoochee, +was marching his main body to the south and southwest of Atlanta, to +use it, as he himself has expressed it, "against the communications +of Atlanta, instead of against its intrenchments." On the 30th, it +being known that he was moving on Jonesboro, the county town of +Clayton County, about twenty miles south of Atlanta, General Hood +sent two corps under General Hardee to confront him at that point, in +the hope that he could drive him across Flint River, oblige him to +abandon his works on the left, and then be able to attack him +successfully in flank. The attack at Jonesboro was unsuccessful. +General Hardee was obliged, on September 1st, to fall back to +Lovejoy's, seven miles south of Jonesboro, on the Macon and Western +Railroad. Thus, the main body of the Federal army was between Hardee +and Atlanta, and the immediate evacuation of that city became a +necessity. There was an additional and cogent reason for that +movement. Owing to the obstinately cruel policy which the United +States Government had pursued for some time, of refusing on any terms +to exchange prisoners of war, upward of thirty thousand prisoners +were at Andersonville in southwestern Georgia at this time. To guard +against the release and arming of these prisoners, General Hood +thought it necessary to place our army between them and the enemy, +and abandon the project, which he thought feasible, of moving on +Sherman's communications and destroying his depots of supplies at +Marietta. + +Upon abandoning Atlanta, Hood marched his army in a westerly +direction, and formed a junction with the two corps which had been +operating at Jonesboro and Lovejoy's under General Hardee. + +General Sherman, desisting from any further aggressive movement in +the field, returned to Atlanta, which had been formally surrendered +by the Mayor on September 2d, with the promise, as reported, on the +part of the Federal commander, that non-combatants and private +property should be respected. Shortly after his arrival, the +commanding General of the Federal forces, forgetful of this promise, +and on the pretense that the exigencies of the service required that +the place should be used exclusively for military purposes, issued an +order directing all civilians living in Atlanta, male and female, to +leave the city within five days from the date of the order (September +5th). Since Alva's atrocious cruelties to the noncombatant population +of the Low Countries in the sixteenth century, the history of war +records no instance of such barbarous cruelty as that which this +order designed to perpetrate. It involved the immediate expulsion +from their homes and only means of subsistence of thousands of +unoffending women and children, whose husbands and fathers were +either in the army, in Northern prisons, or had died in battle. In +vain did the Mayor and corporate authorities of Atlanta appeal to +Sherman to revoke or modify this inhuman order, representing in +piteous language "the woe, the horror, and the suffering, not to be +described by words," [110] which its execution would inflict on +helpless women and infant children. His only reply was: + + "I give full credit to your statements of the distress that will be + occasioned by it, and yet shall not revoke my order, because my + orders are not designed to meet the humanities of the case." + +At the time appointed, the women and children were expelled from +their houses, and, before they were passed within our lines, +complaint was generally made that the Federal officers and men who +were sent to guard them had robbed them of the few articles of value +they had been permitted to take from their homes. The cowardly +dishonesty of its executioners was in perfect harmony with the temper +and spirit of the order. + +During the month of September the Federal army in and around Atlanta +made no movement beyond strengthening its defenses and collecting +within it large quantities of military supplies. General Hood, +meantime, held his troops in the vicinity of Jonesboro. His reports +to the War Department represented the morale of his army as "greatly +impaired by the recurrence of retreat," decreasing in numbers day by +day, and the surrounding country devoid of natural strength or any +advantageous position upon which he could retire. With a view to +judge better the situation, and then determine after personal +inspection the course which should seem best to pursue, I visited +General Hood's headquarters at Palmetto. The crisis was grave. It was +not to be expected that General Sherman would remain long inactive. +The rapidity with which he was collecting recruits and supplies at +Atlanta indicated that he contemplated a movement farther south, +making Atlanta a secondary base. To rescue Georgia, save the Gulf +States, and retain possession of the lines of communication upon +which we depended for the supplies of our armies in the field, an +effort to arrest the further progress of the enemy was necessary; and +to this end the railroads in his rear must be effectually torn up, +the great railroad-bridge over the Tennessee River at Bridgeport +destroyed, and the communication between Atlanta, Chattanooga, and +Nashville completely cut off. Could this be accomplished, all the +fruits of Sherman's successful campaign in Georgia would be blighted, +his capture of Atlanta would become a barren victory, and he would +probably be compelled to make a retreat toward Tennessee, at every +mile of which he might be harassed by our army. Or, should he, +relying on Atlanta as a base, push forward through Georgia to the +Atlantic coast, our army, having cut his communications north of +Atlanta, could fall upon his rear, and, with the advantages of a +better knowledge of the country, of the surrounding devoted +population, of the auxiliary force to be expected under the +circumstances, and our superiority in cavalry, it was not +unreasonable to hope that retributive justice might overtake the +ruthless invader. + +My first object was to fill up the depleted ranks of the army, to +bring the absentees and deserters back to the ranks, and induce the +Governor and State officials to coöperate heartily and earnestly with +the Confederate Government in all measures that might be found +necessary to give the proposed movement a reasonable prospect of +success. + +The avowed objection of the Governor of Georgia to the acts of +Congress providing for raising troops by conscription, and his +persistent opposition to the authority of the Confederate Executive +to appoint the generals and staff officers of the volunteer +organizations received from the States to form the provisional army +of the Confederacy, caused him frequently to obstruct the Government +officials in the discharge of their duty, to withhold the assistance +which he might be justly expected to render, and, in the +contemplation of his own views of the duties and obligations of the +Executive and legislative departments of the General Government, to +lose sight of those important objects, the attainment of which an +exalted patriotism might have told him depended on the coöperation of +the State and Confederate governments. The inordinate exemption from +military service as State officials of men between the ages of +eighteen and forty-live (it was estimated that the number of exempts +in November, 1864 amounted to fifteen thousand) was an abuse which I +endeavored in vain to correct. Were the majority of the men thus +exempted, and who remained at home "that the army might be fed," +really engaged in that important service, the end might be said to +justify the means; but, for any less exigent demand, patriotism and +humane consideration for the brave men at the front required that the +number of these exempts should be reduced to the minimum, if, indeed, +the number of those unfit for military duty was not sufficient to +perform this service. After a thorough inspection of the Army of +Tennessee at Palmetto, after conference with several prominent +Georgians, and notably with that pure patriot and distinguished +statesman and soldier. General Howell Cobb, whose brain and heart and +means and energies were all at the service of his country, I +proceeded to Augusta during the first week of October, in order, with +Generals Hardee and Cobb and other officers of prominence, to meet +and confer with General Beauregard, whom I had just assigned to the +command of the Military Division of the West, and to impart to him my +views as to the exigencies of the occasion, and how I thought that +they might be most advantageously met. + +Before this time General Hood had already crossed the Chattahoochee +with his entire force, moving against the enemy's line of +communication. General Forrest, with a strong force of cavalry, had +been ordered to Tennessee to strike the railroad from Nashville to +Chattanooga. During my visit to Hood's army, I learned that the +morale of it had been partially restored, many absentees had returned +to duty, and the waning hope of the people was beginning to revive. + +The plan of operations which I had discussed with General Hood while +at his headquarters was fully explained to General Beauregard at +Augusta, and by him cordially approved. It comprised the occupation +of a strong position on the enemy's line of communication by the +railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga, the capture of his depots +of supplies and the small garrisons left to guard them. If this, as +was probable, should cause Sherman to move to attack as in position, +in that case, if the tone of the troops justified it, a battle should +be joined; otherwise, he should retreat toward Gadsden, where +supplies would be collected, and, should Sherman follow him so far, +then there, on the dividing line of the States of Georgia and +Alabama, the largest practicable number of militia and home-guards of +both States would be assembled as an auxiliary force, and there a +final stand should be made for a decisive battle. If victorious, as +under the circumstances it was hoped we should be, the enemy could +not retreat through the wasted country behind him, and must surrender +or disperse. If Sherman should not pursue our retiring army to +Gadsden, but return to Atlanta to march toward the seacoast, he was +to be pursued, and, by our superiority in cavalry, to be prevented +from foraging on the country, which, according to our information as +to his supplies on hand at Atlanta, and as to his inadequate means of +transportation, would be indispensable for the support of his troops. +Should Sherman, contrary to that information, have supplies and +transportation sufficient to enable him to march across the country, +and he should start toward the seacoast, the militia, the local +troops, and others who could be employed, should obstruct the roads +and fords in his front by felling trees, and, by burning bridges and +other available means, delay his progress until his provisions should +be consumed and absolute want should deplete if not disintegrate his +army. It was supposed that Augusta, on account of our principal +powder-manufactory and some important workshops being located there, +would be the first objective point of Sherman, should he march toward +the east. General Hood's calculation was that, taking a route north +of Sherman, where he would have smaller streams to cross, he could +reach Augusta as soon as Sherman. + +General Cobb, the local commander in Georgia, in addition to +obstructing roads, etc., was, in the last supposed contingency, to +assemble at Augusta the invalid soldiers, the militia, and others to +defend the place. General George W. Rains, an accomplished soldier +and military engineer, was instructed to enlarge and strengthen the +defenses of the place, and General G. R. Rains, the author of the +system of defense by sub-terra shells, was, on the coming of the +enemy, to apply his invention to the threatened approaches of the +town. There was another contemplated contingency, viz., that Sherman, +emboldened by his recent successes, would move against Hood with such +overweening confidence as might offer to the latter the opportunity +to strike in detail. + +After the full conversation with General Beauregard above noticed, +General Hardee was called in and asked to give his opinion on the +plan, which I regarded as entitled to great consideration, not only +because of his high capacity as a soldier, but also because of his +long connection with the Army of Tennessee, and minute knowledge of +the country in which it was proposed to operate. He had previously +been made fully aware of the plans and purposes discussed between +General Hood and myself, and stated to General Beauregard +substantially that, while he could not say the plan would succeed, he +was confident it was the best which we could adopt, and that, if it +failed, none other with our means would succeed. General Beauregard +left for General Hood's headquarters, as I supposed, to aid in the +execution of the proposed plan, to the success of which the larger +command with which he was invested, it was hoped, would contribute. + +General Hood moved as was expected upon the enemy's line of +communication, and his successes at Big Shanty and Acworth, in +capturing those stations and thoroughly destroying the railroad +between them, and his partial success at Allatoona, caused Sherman, +leaving one corps to garrison Atlanta, to move out with his main body +to restore his communications. Hood further succeeded in destroying +the railroad from Resaca to Tunnel Hill, capturing the enemy's posts +at Tilton, Dalton, and Mill-Creek Gap; but, not deeming his army in +condition to risk a general engagement, withdrew his forces in a +southwesterly direction toward Gadsden, which place he reached +October 20th, finding there supplies adequate for the wants of his +troops. Sherman had turned back toward Atlanta, and Hood, instead of +hanging on his rear, not allowing him to repair the damage to the +railroad, and otherwise harassing him in his march as much as +possible, after conference with General Beauregard, decided to +continue his march into Tennessee.[111] His reasons for this change +of plan are elaborately and forcibly presented in his book, "Advance +and Retreat," published since the war, and in which he emphatically +contradicts the attempt which has been made to represent that +campaign into Tennessee as one projected by me. The correspondence of +General Sherman, published in the same work, shows that Hood was not +far wrong in the supposition that Sherman would follow the movement +made on his line of communication; the only error being that he could +thus draw him beyond the limits of Georgia. After my return to +Richmond, a telegram from General Beauregard informed me of the +change of programme. My objection to that movement remained, and, +though it was too late to regain the space and time which had been +lost, I replied promptly on November 30, 1864, as follows: + + "General BEAUREGARD, care of Colonel W. M. Browne, _Augusta, Georgia._ + + "Yours of 24th received. It is probable that the enemy, if short of + supplies, may move directly for the coast. When that is made + manifest, you will be able to concentrate your forces upon the one + object, and I hope, if you can not defeat his attempt, that you may + reduce his army to such condition as to be inefficient for further + operations. + + "Until Hood reaches the country proper of the enemy, he can scarcely + change the plans for Sherman's or Grant's campaigns. They would, I + think, regard the occupation of Tennessee and Kentucky as of minor + importance. + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +To the arguments offered to show that our army could not, after it +had reached the Tennessee River, have effectually pursued Sherman in +his march through southern Georgia, it is only needful to reply that +the physical difficulties set forth would not have existed, had our +army commenced the pursuit from Gadsden. + +To make the movement into Tennessee a success, even so far as to +recover that country, it was necessary that it should be executed so +promptly as to anticipate the concentration of the enemy's forces, +but unforeseen and unavoidable delays occurred, which gave full time +for preparation. After having overcome many vexatious detentions, +Hood on the 20th of November completed his crossing of the Tennessee +River at Gunter's Landing, and moved forward into Tennessee on the +route to Nashville, whither Sherman had sent General Thomas for the +protection of his depots and communications against an apprehended +attack by cavalry under General Forrest. + +Most unwilling to criticise the conduct of that very gallant and +faithful soldier who, battle-scarred and mutilated, survived the war, +and whose recent death our country has so much deplored, I must say +after the event, as I did before it, that I consider this movement +into Tennessee ill-advised. + +Thomas having been sufficiently reënforced in Tennessee to enable him +to hold Hood in check, and Sherman relieved from the necessity of +defending himself against an active army, and of protecting a long +line of railroad communication with a fortified base in his rear, +resolved upon his march to the sea, abandoning Atlanta, after having +first utterly destroyed that city by fire. Not a single house was +spared, not even a church. Similar acts of vandalism marked the +progress of the Federal army at Rome, Kingston, Acworth, Marietta, +and every town or village along its route, thus carrying out General +Sherman's order "to enforce a devastation more or less relentless" +along the line of his march, where he only encountered helpless women +and children. The arson of the dwelling-houses of non-combatants and +the robbery of their property, extending even to the trinkets worn by +women, made the devastation as relentless as savage instincts could +suggest. + +On November 16th Sherman left his intrenchments around Atlanta, and, +dividing his army into two bodies, each from twenty-five to thirty +thousand strong, the one followed the Georgia Railroad in the +direction of Augusta, and the other took the line of the Macon and +Western Railroad to Jonesboro. Avoiding Macon and Augusta, they +passed through central Georgia, taking Milledgeville on the way, +marching in compact column, and advancing with extreme caution, +although only opposed by detachments of Wheeler's cavalry and a few +hastily formed regiments of raw militia. Partial efforts were made to +obstruct and destroy the roads in the front and on the flanks of the +invading army, and patriotic appeals by prominent citizens were made +to the people, to remove all provisions from its path, but no +formidable opposition was made, except at the railroad-bridge over +the Oconee, where Wheeler, with a portion of his command and a few +militia, held the enemy in check for two or three days. With his +small force, General Wheeler daringly and persistently harassed, and, +when practicable, delayed the enemy's advance, attacking and +defeating exposed detachments, deterring his foragers from venturing +far from the main body, defending all cities and towns along the +railroad lines, and affording protection to depots of supplies, +arsenals, and other important Government works. The report of his +operations from November 14th to December 20th displays a dash, +activity, vigilance, and consummate skill, which justly entitle him +to a prominent place on the roll of great cavalry leaders. By his +indomitable energy, operating on all sides of Sherman's columns, he +was enabled to keep the Government and commanders of our troops +advised of the enemy's movements, and, by preventing foraging parties +from leaving the main body, he saved from spoliation all but a narrow +tract of country, and from the torch millions worth of property which +would otherwise have been certainly consumed. + +It soon became manifest that Savannah was General Sherman's objective +point. That city was occupied by General W. J. Hardee with about +eighteen thousand men, a considerable portion of which was composed +of militia, local troops, reserves, and hastily organized regiments +and battalions made up of convalescents from the hospitals and +artisans from the Government shops. On the 10th of December the +enemy's columns reached the immediate vicinity of Savannah, and on +the 12th they occupied a semicircular line extending from the +Savannah River to the Savannah and Gulf Railroad. The defenses of the +city were strong, the earthworks and other fortifications were +flanked by inundated rice-swamps extending across the peninsula +formed by the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers, and the causeways leading +through them were well fortified by works mounting heavy guns. With a +sufficient force to occupy his long lines of defense, General Hardee +could have sustained a protracted siege. The city was amply supplied, +and its lines of communication were still open. Although Sherman had +reached Savannah, he had not yet opened communication with the +Federal fleet. Fort McAllister, situated on the right bank of the +Ogeechee, about six miles from Ossabaw Sound, was a serious obstacle +in his way, as it was a work of considerable strength, mounting +twenty-one heavy guns, a deep and wide ditch extending along its +front, with every avenue of approach swept by the guns mounted upon +its bastions. The fort was held by a garrison of two hundred and +fifty men under the command of experienced officers. The work was +attacked on the evening of the 13th, and carried by assault after a +short and feeble resistance. In consequence of the loss of this fort, +Sherman speedily opened communication with the fleet, and became +perfectly secure against any future want of supplies. This also +enabled him to obtain heavy ordnance for use against the city. He +proceeded immediately to take measures to invest Savannah, and in a +few days had succeeded in doing so on every side of the city except +that fronting the river. While Hardee's troops had not yielded a +single position or lost a foot of ground, with the exception of Fort +McAllister, when, on December 20th, he discovered that Sherman had +put heavy siege-guns in position near enough to bombard the city, and +that the enemy was threatening Union Causeway, which extends across +the large swamps that lie between Savannah and Charleston, and +offered the only practicable line of retreat, he determined to +evacuate the place rather than expose the city and its inhabitants to +bombardment. He also thought holding it had ceased to be of any +special importance, and that his troops could do more valuable +service in the field. Accordingly, on the night of December 20th, +having destroyed the navy-yard, the ironclads, and other Government +property, and razed the fortifications below the city, he withdrew +his army and reached Hardeeville on the evening of the 22d, without +hindrance or molestation on the part of the enemy. + +[Illustration: General John B. Hood] + +Having heretofore stated my objections to the plan of sending Hood's +army into Tennessee after the fall of Atlanta, I will now follow it +in that campaign, relying for the facts on the official report of +General Hood of the 15th of February, 1865. The fidelity and +gallantry of that officer and the well-known magnanimity of his +character are a sufficient guarantee of the impartiality of his +narration. + +He reported the arrival of his army at Gadsden on the 20th of +October, 1864, where he was joined by General P. G. T. Beauregard, +commanding the military department. He writes that, after withdrawing +from Atlanta, his hope had been that Sherman in following might offer +an opportunity to strike him in detail, but in this he was +disappointed. Hood reported that the morale of his army, though +improved, was not such as, in the opinion of his corps commanders, +would justify a general engagement while the enemy remained united. +At Gadsden he found a thorough supply of shoes and other stores, but, +after a full and free conference with General Beauregard at +Tuscumbia, he decided to cross the Tennessee and move against Thomas, +who with his corps had been detached by Sherman and sent into Middle +Tennessee. General Beauregard had sent orders to General Forrest to +move with his cavalry into Tennessee; the main body of Hood's cavalry +had been sent to follow Sherman. As the orders to Forrest were +accidentally delayed, and Hood had not cavalry enough to protect his +trains, he was compelled to wait for the coming of Forrest, and, to +hasten the meeting, moved down the river as far as Florence, where he +arrived on the 31st of October. This unfortunate delay gave the enemy +time to repair the railroad to Chattanooga, and accumulate supplies +at Atlanta for a march thence toward the Atlantic coast. Forrest's +cavalry joined on the 21st of November, and the movement began. The +enemy's forces at that time were concentrated at Pulaski and at +Lawrenceburg. Hood endeavored to place his army between these forces +and Nashville, but our cavalry, having driven off the enemy at +Lawrenceburg, gave notice of our advance, and on the 23d he evacuated +Pulaski and moved rapidly by the turnpike and railroad to Columbia. +On the evening of the 27th of November our army took position in +front of the works at that place. During the night the town was +evacuated, and a strong position was taken on the opposite side of +the river, about a mile and a half distant. On the evening of the +28th General Forrest crossed Duck River a few miles above Columbia, +and in the morning of the 29th Stewart's and Cheatham's corps +followed the cavalry, leaving Lieutenant-General Stephen D. Lee's +corps confronting the enemy at Columbia. The cavalry and the two +infantry corps moved in light marching order, the object being, by +advancing rapidly on roads parallel to the Columbia and Franklin +turnpike at or near Spring Hill, to cut off that portion of the foe +at Columbia. The movement having been discovered after Hood's forces +had got well on the flank of the enemy, he began to retreat along the +turnpike toward Spring Hill. About noon of that day the cavalry +attacked his trains, but found them too strongly guarded to be +captured. The retreat was rapidly conducted along the turnpike, with +flankers thrown out to protect the main column. Near Spring Hill +Major-General Cheatham, being in the advance, commenced to come in +contact with the retreating column about two miles from Spring Hill. +He was ordered to attack vigorously, and get possession of the +turnpike. This was so feebly executed that he failed to attain the +object, and the enemy passed on toward Spring Hill. Though the golden +opportunity had passed with daylight, Hood did not abandon the hope +of effecting by a night movement the end he sought. Accordingly, +Lieutenant-General Stewart was furnished with a guide, and ordered to +move his corps beyond Cheatham's, and place it across the road beyond +Spring Hill. In the dark and confusion, he did not succeed in getting +the position desired. About midnight, ascertaining that the enemy was +moving in disorder, with artillery, wagons, and troops intermixed, +Hood sent instructions to General Cheatham to advance a heavy line of +skirmishers, still further to impede the retreat. This was not +accomplished. The enemy continued to move along the road in hurry and +confusion nearly all the night. Thus was lost a great opportunity for +striking him for which we had labored so long--the greatest this +campaign had offered, and one of the greatest during the war. +Lieutenant-General S. D. Lee, left in front of the enemy at Columbia, +was instructed to press him the moment he abandoned his position at +that point. He did not abandon his works until dark, showing that his +trains obstructed the road for fifteen miles during the day and a +great part of the night. At daylight Hood pursued the enemy so +rapidly as to compel him to burn a number of his wagons. On the hills +about four miles south of Franklin, he made demonstration as if to +give battle, but, when our forces deployed for the attack, he retired +to Franklin. + +From dispatches captured at Spring Hill, Hood learned that Schofield +was instructed by Thomas to hold that position until Franklin could +be made secure, and thus knew that it was important to attack +Schofield promptly, and concluded that, if he should escape at +Franklin, he would gain the fortifications about Nashville. Hood +reports that "the nature of the position was such as to render it +inexpedient to attempt any other flank movement, and I therefore +determined to attack him in front and without delay." + +As this was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, and its results +materially affected the future, before entering on an account of it, +I pause for some general reflections. It is not quite easy to +determine what my gallant friend Hood meant by the expression, "the +nature of the position." It may have referred to the probability that +the enemy, if he attempted a flank movement, would retreat rapidly, +as he had done from Columbia, and it is now known that a part of his +troops and a large part of his train had already been sent across the +Harpeth River. Thomas's dispatch indicated a purpose to hold +Franklin; and its relation to Murfreesboro, where a garrison was +maintained, would seem to render this a probable part of a plan to +maintain communication with Chattanooga. Franklin had to us, as a +mere _military_ question, no other value than that the road to +Nashville led through it. Whether it would have been possible to turn +the position so promptly as to strike the enemy's line of retreat is +a question which no doubt General Hood considered and decided in the +negative, otherwise he would surely have preferred to attack the +enemy on the march rather than in his intrenchments, especially as +these were so near to the town that Hood was restrained from using +his artillery on account of the women and children resident in it. +The position itself was favorable for defense; the Harpeth River by a +short bend flows on two sides of the town, and the works in front had +the center so boldly salient, their flanks resting on the river, as +to inclose the town in something like a square, two sides being river +and two sides intrenchment. The exterior line of defense had been +recently and hastily constructed; the interior line was much +stronger. Behind the town there were two bridges, one on the main +road leading through it, and the other a pontoon-bridge a short +distance above it. Hood had served with distinction under Lee and +Jackson, and his tactics were of that school. If he had, by an +impetuous attack, crushed Schofield's army, without too great a loss +to his own, and Forrest could have executed his orders to capture the +trains when Schofield's army was crushed, we should never have heard +complaint because Hood attacked at Franklin, and these were the hopes +with which he made his assault. + +On the 30th of November he formed his line of battle. At 4 P.M. he +gave the order to advance; his troops moved gallantly forward, +carried the first line, and advanced against the interior works; here +the engagement was close and fierce; the combatants occupied the +opposite sides of the intrenchments, our men carrying them in some +places, many being killed entirely inside the enemy's works. Some of +the Tennesseeans, after years of absence, saw again their homes, and +strove with desperation to expel the invader from them; the contest +continued till near midnight, when the enemy abandoned his works and +crossed the river, leaving his dead and wounded behind him, We had +won a victory, but it was purchased at fearful cost. General Hood, in +his letter of December 11, 1864, written near Nashville, reported his +entire loss at about four thousand five hundred, and among them was +Major-General Cleburne, Brigadier-Generals Gist, John Adams, Strahl, +and Granberry, all well known to fame, and whose loss we could ill +afford to bear. Around Cleburne thickly lay the gallant men who, in +his desperate assault, followed him with the implicit confidence that +in another army was given to Stonewall Jackson; and in the one case, +as in the other, a vacancy was created which could never be filled. +Hood reported that the number of dead left on the field by the enemy +indicated that his loss was equal to or near our own; that those of +our men who were captured were inside the enemy's works. + +The next morning at daylight, the wounded being cared for and the +dead buried, Hood moved forward toward Nashville, about eighteen +miles distant, and Forrest with his cavalry closely pursued the +enemy. On the 2d of December our army took position in front of +Nashville about two miles from the city, Lieutenant-General Lee's +corps in the center resting on the Franklin turnpike, Cheatham's on +the right, Stewart's on the left, and the cavalry on each flank. Hood +then commenced to construct detached works to cover the flanks, +should offensive movements be attempted against our flank and rear. +The enemy still held Murfreesboro with a garrison of about six +thousand, strongly fortified; he also had small forces at Chattanooga +and Knoxville. It was supposed that he would soon have to take the +offensive to relieve his garrisons at those points, or cause them to +be evacuated, in which latter case Hood hoped to capture the forces +at Murfreesboro, and thus open communication with Georgia and +Virginia; and he thought, if attacked in position, that he could +defeat Thomas, gain possession of Nashville with its abundant +supplies, and thus get the control of Tennessee. The people of the +country, in the mean time, were able and willing to furnish our army +with supplies, and we had captured rolling-stock to put the railroad +to Pulaski in successful operation. + +Hood sent Major-General Forrest with the greater part of his cavalry +and a division of infantry against Murfreesboro. The infantry did not +fulfill expectation, and it was withdrawn. Mercer's and Palmer's +brigades of infantry were sent to replace the division. Nothing of +importance occurred until the morning of the 15th, and the enemy, +having been reënforced by about fifteen thousand men from the +trans-Mississippi, attacked simultaneously both flanks of our line. +On our right he was repulsed with heavy loss; but on our left, toward +evening, he earned some of the partially completed redoubts. During +the night of the 15th our line was shortened and strengthened, the +left being thrown back and dispositions made to meet any renewed +attack. The corps of Major-General Cheatham was transferred from our +right to the left. Early on the 16th of December the enemy made a +general attack on our lines, accompanied by a heavy fire of +artillery. All his assaults were repulsed with heavy loss until 3.30 +P.M., when a portion of our line to the left of the center suddenly +gave way. Up to this time no battle ever progressed more favorably-- +the troops in excellent spirits, waving their colors and bidding +defiance to the enemy; but the position he then gained being such as +to enfilade us, caused our entire line to give way in a few moments +and our troops to retreat in the direction of Franklin, most of them +in great confusion. Confidence in the ability to hold the line had +caused the artillery-horses to be sent to the rear for safety, and +the abandonment of the position was so unexpected and sudden that it +was not possible to bring forward the horses to remove the guns which +had been placed in position, and fifty-four of them were consequently +lost. Our loss in killed and wounded was small. At Brentwood, about +four miles from the field of battle, the troops were partially +rallied, and Lieutenant-General S. D, Lee took command of the +rear-guard and encamped for the night. On leaving the field, Hood +sent one of his staff-officers to inform General Forrest of our +defeat, and to direct him to rejoin the army with as little delay as +possible, but heavy rains had so swollen the creeks that he was +unable to effect the junction with his main force until it reached +Columbia. During the 17th the enemy's cavalry pressed boldly on the +retreating column, the open character of the country being favorable +to cavalry operations. Lieutenant-General Lee, commanding the +covering force, was severely wounded, but not until after he and the +corps he commanded had rendered such service as to receive the +special commendation of the General commanding the army. + +Hood reports that when he left the field before Nashville he had +hoped to be able to remain in Tennessee, on the line of Duck River; +but, after arriving at Colombia, he became convinced that the +condition of the army made it necessary to recross the Tennessee +without delay. On the 21st he resumed his march for Pulaski, leaving +Major-General Walthall, with five infantry brigades, and General +Forrest, with the main body of his cavalry, at Columbia, to cover the +movements of the army. The retreat continued, and on the 25th, 26th, +and 27th, the army, including the rear-guard, crossed the Tennessee +River at Bainbridge. The enemy had followed the rear-guard with all +his cavalry and three corps of infantry to Pulaski, and thence the +cavalry continued the pursuit to the Tennessee River. After crossing +the river, the army moved by easy marches to Tupelo, Mississippi. +General Hood reported his losses in the Tennessee campaign to have +been about ten thousand men, including prisoners, and that when he +arrived at Tupelo he had 18,500 infantry and artillery, and 2,306 +cavalry. I again quote from General Hood's report: + + "Here, finding so much dissatisfaction throughout the country, as, in + my judgment, greatly to impair, if not destroy, my usefulness, and + counteract my exertions, and with no desire but to serve my country, + I asked to be relieved, with the hope that another might be assigned + to the command who might do more than I could hope to accomplish. + Accordingly, I was so relieved on the 23d of January, by authority of + the President." + +Though, as General Hood states in his book, page 273, I was "averse +to his going into Tennessee," he might well assume that I "was not, +as General Beauregard and himself, acquainted with the true condition +of the army" when they decided on the Tennessee campaign. Of the +manner in which he conducted it, Isham G. Harris, the Governor of +Tennessee, a man of whose judgment, integrity, and manhood I had the +highest opinion, wrote to me, on the 25th of December, 1864: + + ". . . I have been with General Hood from the beginning of this + campaign, and beg to say, disastrous as it has ended, I am not able + to see anything that General Hood has done that he should not, or + neglected any thing that he should, have done, . . . and regret to + say that, if all had performed their parts as well as he, the results + would have been very different." + +To this I will only add that General Hood was relieved at his +reiterated request, made from such creditable motives as are +expressed in the extract above, taken from his official report, and +that it was in no wise due to a want of confidence in him on my part. + + +[Footnote 105: It was during this time, i. e.. in March and April, 1864, +that Forrest made his extraordinary expedition from north Mississippi +across Tennessee to Paducah, Kentucky, and continued his operations +against depots of supplies, lines of communication, and troops moving +to reënforce Sherman--having, on June 11th, a severe action in +Tishemingo with a force estimated at eight or nine thousand, supposed +to be on their way to join Sherman. The energy, strategy, and high +purposes of Forrest, during all this period, certainly entitle him to +higher military rank than that of a partisan, and enroll him in the +list of great cavalry commanders. Some of his other expeditions are +elsewhere mentioned in these pages.] + +[Footnote 106: "Narrative," p. 302.] + +[Footnote 107: "Advance and Retreat," by J. B. Hood, pp. 98-116.] + +[Footnote 108: Johnston's "Narrative," p. 346.] + +[Footnote 109: Mr. Seddon, ex-Secretary of War, in a letter written to +me on the 10th of February, 1879, states, in regard to his interview +with General Lee, that it was held after the determination had been made +"to remove General Johnston from his command at Atlanta," and says of +the purpose of the interview with General Lee: "It was designed +merely to secure General Lee's estimate of qualifications in the +selection of a successor for the command."] + +[Footnote 110: Mayor Calhoun's Petition to General Sherman, September 11, +1864.] + +[Footnote 111: "Advance and Retreat," by General J. B. Hood; letter of +General Beauregard to President Davis, p. 278, _et seq_.] + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + + Exchange of Prisoners.--Signification of the Word "loyal."--Who is + the Sovereign?--Words of President Lincoln.--The Issue for which we + fought.--Position of the United States Government.--Letters of + Marque granted by us.--Officers and Crew First Prisoners of the + Enemy.--Convicted as "Pirates."--My Letter to President Lincoln.-- + How received.--Act of Congress relating to Prisoners.--Exchanges, + how made.-Answer of General Grant.--Request of United States + Congress.--Result.--Commissioners sent.--Agreement.--Disputed + Points.--Exchange arranged.--Order to pillage issued.--General + Pope's Order.--Proceedings.--Letter of General Lee relative to + Barbarities.--Answer of General Halleck.--Case of Mumford.--Effect + of Threatened Retaliation.--Mission of Vice-President Stephens.--A + Failure.--Excess of Prisoners.--Paroled Men.--Proposition made by + us.--No Answer.--Another Arrangement.--Stopped by General Grant.-- + His words, "Put the Matter offensively."--Exchange of Slaves.-- + Proposition of Lee to Grant.--Reply of Grant.--Further Reply.--His + Dispatch to General Butler.--Another Proposition made by us.--No + Answer.--Proposition relative to Sick and Wounded.--Some + exchanged.--The Worst Cases asked for to be photographed.-- + Proposition as to Medicines.--No Answer.--A Final Effort.-- + Deputation of Prisoners sent to Washington.--A Failure.-- + Correspondence between Ould and Butler.--Order of Grant.--Report of + Butler.--Responsibility of Grant for Andersonville.--Barbarities of + the United States Government.--Treatment of our Men in Northern + Prisons.--Deaths on Each Side. + + +Perhaps there was no question in the treatment of which the true +character and intentions of the Government of the United States was +so clearly exposed as in the exchange of prisoners. That we should +dare to resort to arms for the preservation of our rights, and "to +secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity," was +regarded by our enemies as most improbable. Their aspirations for +dominion and sovereignty, through the Government of the Union, had +become so deep-seated and apparently real as to cause that +Government, at its first step, to assume the haughtiness and +imperiousness of an absolute sovereign. "I appeal to all loyal +citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort," said President +Lincoln, in the first proclamation, calling for seventy-five thousand +men. The term "loyal" has no signification except as applied to the +sovereign of an empire or kingdom. In a republic the people are the +sovereign, and the term "loyal" or its opposite can have no +signification except in relation to the true sovereign. To say, +therefore, that the agent of the sovereign people, the representative +of the system they have organized to conduct their common affairs, +composed the real sovereign, and that loyalty or disloyalty is of +signification in relation to this sovereign alone, is not only a +perversion of language, but an error, that leads straight to the +subversion of all popular government and the establishment of the +monarchical or consolidated form. The Government of the United States +is now the sovereign here, says President Lincoln in this +proclamation, and loyalty consists in the maintenance of that +sovereignty against all its foes. The sovereignty of the people and +of the several and distinct States, in his mind, was only a weakness +and enthusiasm of the fathers. The States and the people thereof had +become consolidated into a national Union. "I appeal," says President +Lincoln, "to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this +effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our +national Union." + +The Confederate States refused thus "to favor, facilitate, and aid +this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence +of a national Union." They not only refused to aid, but they took up +arms to defeat the consummation of such a monstrous usurpation of +popular rights and popular sovereignty. It was evident that, if no +efforts for a rescue were made, the time would soon come when the +rights of all the States might be denied, and the hope of mankind in +constitutional freedom be for ever lost. This was the usurpation. +This lay at the foundation of the war. Every subsequent act of the +Government was another step in the same direction, all tending +palpably to supremacy for the Government of the United States, the +subjugation of the States, and the submission of the people. + +This was the adversary with whom we had to struggle, and this was the +issue for which we fought. That we dared to draw our swords to +vindicate the rights and the sovereignty of the people, that we dared +to resist and deny all sovereignty as inherently existing in the +Government of the United States, was adjudged an infamous crime, and +we were denounced as "rebels." It was asserted that those of us "who +were captured should be hung as rebels taken in the act." Crushing +the corner-stone of the Union, the independence of the States, the +Federal Government assumed toward us a position of haughty arrogance, +refused to recognize us otherwise than as insurrectionists and +"rebels," who resisted and denied its usurped sovereignty, and who +were entitled to no amelioration from the punishment of death, except +such as might proceed only from the promptings of mercy. + +On April 17, 1861, I issued a proclamation in which I offered to +grant letters of marque and reprisal to seamen. On April 19th +President Lincoln issued a counter-proclamation, declaring that, "if +any person, under the pretended authority of said States, or under +any other pretense, shall molest a vessel of the United States, or +the persons or cargo on board of her, such person shall be held +amenable to the laws of the United States for the prevention and +punishment of piracy," which was death. + +Some small vessels obtained these letters of marque and were +captured. Their officers and crew constituted the first prisoners +that fell into the hands of the enemy. They were immediately +imprisoned, and held for trial as pirates. The trial came on later in +the year. A report of it states that "the views of all the judges +seemed to center upon the one point, that these men were taken in +arms against the Government of the United States, and that, inasmuch +as the laws of that Government did not recognize the authority under +which the men acted, there was no course but to condemn them." + +As soon as the treatment of these prisoners was known in Richmond, +before their trial and as early as July 6, 1861, I sent by a special +messenger a communication to President Lincoln, in substance as +follows: + + "Haying learned that the schooner Savannah, a private armed vessel in + the service and sailing under a commission issued by the authority of + the Confederate States of America, had been captured by one of the + vessels forming the blockading squadron off Charleston Harbor, I + directed a proposition to be made to the commanding officer of the + squadron for an exchange of officers and crew of the Savannah for + prisoners of war held by this Government, 'according to number and + rank.' To this proposition, made on the 19th ultimo, Captain Mercer, + the officer in command of the blockading squadron, made answer, on + the same day, that 'the prisoners' (referred to) 'are not on board + any of the vessels under my command.' + + "It now appears, by statements made without contradiction in + newspapers published in New York, that the prisoners above mentioned + were conveyed to that city, and have been treated not as prisoners of + war, but as criminals; that they have been put in irons, confined in + jail, brought before courts of justice on charges of piracy and + treason; and it is even rumored that they have been convicted of the + offenses charged, for no other reason than that they bore arms in + defense of the rights of this Government and under the authority of + its commission. + + "I could not, without grave discourtesy, have made the newspaper + statements above referred to the subject of this communication, if + the threat of treating as pirates the citizens of this Confederacy, + armed for its service on the high-seas, had not been contained in + your proclamation of the 19th of April last. That proclamation, + however, seems to afford a sufficient justification for considering + these published statements as not devoid of probability. + + "It is the desire of this Government so to conduct the war now + existing as to mitigate its horrors as far as may be possible, and, + with this intent, its treatment of the prisoners captured by its + forces has been marked by the greatest humanity and leniency + consistent with public obligation. Some have been permitted to return + home on parole, others to remain at large, under similar conditions, + within this Confederacy, and all have been furnished with rations for + their subsistence, such as are allowed to our own troops. It is only + since the news has been received of the treatment of the prisoners + taken on the Savannah, that I have been compelled to withdraw these + indulgences, and to hold the prisoners taken by us in strict + confinement. + + "A just regard to humanity and to the honor of this Government now + requires me to state explicitly that, painful as will be the + necessity, this Government will deal out to the prisoners held by it + the same treatment and the same fate as shall be experienced by those + captured on the Savannah; and, if driven to the terrible necessity of + retaliation by your execution of any of the officers or crew of the + Savannah, that retaliation will be extended so far as shall be + requisite to secure the abandonment of a practice unknown to the + warfare of civilized man, and so barbarous as to disgrace the nation + which shall be guilty of inaugurating it. + + "With this view, and because it may not have reached you, I now renew + the proposition made to the commander of the blockading squadron, to + exchange for the prisoners taken on the Savannah an equal number of + those now held by us according to rank." + +This communication was taken by Colonel Thomas Taylor, who was +permitted to visit Washington, but was refused an audience with +President Lincoln. He was obliged to content himself with a verbal +reply from General Winfield Scott that the communication had been +delivered to President Lincoln, and that he would reply in writing as +soon as possible. No answer ever came. We were compelled to select by +lot from among the prisoners in our hands a number to whom we +proposed to mete out the same fate which might await the crew of the +Savannah. These measures of retaliation arrested the cruel and +illegal purposes of the enemy. + +Meantime, as early as May 21, 1861, the Confederate Congress passed +an act which provided that-- + + "All prisoners of war taken, whether on land or sea, during the + pending hostilities with the United States, shall be transferred by + the captors from time to time, and as often as convenient, to the + Department of War; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, + with the approval of the President, to issue such instructions to the + quartermaster-general and his subordinates as shall provide for the + safe custody and sustenance of prisoners of war, and the rations + furnished prisoners of war shall be the same in quantity and quality + as those furnished to enlisted men in the army of the Confederacy." + +This law of Congress was embodied in the orders issued from the War +Department and from the headquarters in the field, and no order was +ever issued in conflict with its humane provisions. + +Nevertheless, the Government of the United States, forgetful of the +conduct of Great Britain toward her revolted colonies, apparently +refused all consideration of the question of exchange of prisoners, +as if impressed with the idea that it would derogate from the dignity +of its position to accept any interchange of courtesy. An exchange +was therefore occasionally made by the various commanders of troops +under flags of truce, while the Federal Government made the paltry +pretense of not knowing it. We released numbers at different points +on parole, and the matter was compromised in various ways. +Fifty-seven wounded soldiers were unconditionally released at +Richmond and sent home. In response, twenty of our soldiers, mostly +North Carolinians, were released from Bedloe's Island, New York, and +sent to Fortress Monroe, to be discharged on condition of taking the +oath, so called, of loyalty to the United States Government. +Thirty-seven confined in the military prison at Washington were +released on taking the oath. On September 3d an exchange was made +between General Pillow and Colonel Wallace, of the United States +Army. Whereupon General Polk proposed an exchange to General Grant, +who replied, on October 14th: + + "I can, of my own accordance, make none. I recognize no 'Southern + Confederacy' myself, but will communicate with higher authorities + for their views." + +An exchange was made on October 23d between General McClernand and +General Polk. Subsequently, on November 8th, General Grant offered to +surrender to General Polk certain wounded men and invalids +unconditionally. To this proposition General Polk replied: + + "My own feelings would prompt me to waive again the unimportant + affectation of declining to recognize these States as belligerents in + the interest of humanity; but my Government requires all prisoners to + be placed at the disposal of the Secretary Of War." + +On November 1st General Fremont made an agreement with General Price, +in Missouri, by which certain persons named were authorized to +negotiate for the exchange of any persons who might be taken +prisoners of war, upon a plan previously arranged. General Hunter, +who succeeded General Fremont, on November 7th, repudiated this +agreement. A proposition made in the Confederate Congress to return +the prisoners captured by us at first Manassas, without any formality +whatever, would doubtless have prevailed but for the difficulty in +reference to the crew of the Savannah. + +But this determination of the United States Government, not to meet +us on the equal footing consistent with the modern usages of war and +exchange prisoners, thus far prevented any general arrangement for +that object. In consequence, however, of the clamors of the Northern +people for the restoration of their friends, both Houses of Congress +united in a request to President Lincoln to take immediate steps for +a general exchange. Instead of complying with this request, two +respectable commissioners were, however, appointed to visit the +prisoners we held, relieve their necessities, and provide for their +comfort at the expense of the United States. It is impossible to +conceive any reason for such conduct, unless it was to exasperate and +"fire up the Northern heart," as it was expressed, and thus cause the +people to make greater efforts for our devastation. This action on +the part of the Government was at a later day known by the expression +"waving the bloody shirt." + +The commissioners arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, but were not allowed +to proceed any farther. A readiness on our part to negotiate for a +general exchange was manifested, and agreed to by them. This was +subsequently approved at Washington. Shortly afterward, on February +14, 1862, an arrangement was made between General Howell Cobb on our +part and General Wool, the commander at Fortress Monroe, by the terms +of which the prisoners of war in the hands of each Government were to +be exchanged man for man, the officers being assimilated as to rank; +our privateersmen were to be exchanged on the footing of prisoners of +war; any surplus remaining on either side was to be released; and +during the continuance of hostilities prisoners taken on either side +should be paroled. The exchange proceeded, and about three hundred in +excess had been delivered, when it was discovered that not one of our +privateersmen had been released, and that our men taken prisoners at +Fort Donelson, instead of being paroled, had been sent into the +interior. Some of the hostages we held for our privateersmen had gone +forward, but the remainder were retained. Being informed of this +state of affairs, I recommended to Congress that all of our men who +had been paroled by the United States Government should be released +from the obligations of their parole so as to bear arms in our +defense, in consequence of this breach of good faith on the part of +that Government. It was subsequently said, on behalf of the United +States Government, that the detention of our privateersmen had been +intended to be only temporary, to make it certain that the hostages +were coming forward. + +It is further stated that the only unadjusted point between Generals +Cobb and Wool was, that the latter was unwilling that each party +should agree to pay the expenses of transporting their prisoners to +the frontier, and this he promised to refer to his Government. At a +second interview, on March 1, 1862, General Wool informed General +Cobb that his Government would not consent to pay these expenses, and +thereupon General Cobb promptly receded from his demand, and agreed +to the terms proposed by the other side. But General Wool, who had +said at the beginning of the negotiation, "I am clothed with full +power for the purpose of arranging for the exchange of prisoners," +was now under the necessity of stating that "his Government had +changed his instructions." And thus the negotiations were abruptly +broken off, and the matter left where it was before.[112] After these +negotiations had begun, the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson had +given to the United States a considerable preponderance in the number +of prisoners held by them, and they at once returned to their +original purpose of an equal treatment. + +A suspension of exchange for some months ensued. Finally, a storm of +indignation beginning to arise among the Northern people at the +conduct of their Government, it was forced to yield its absurd +pretensions, and, on July 22, 1862, a cartel for the exchange of +prisoners was executed, based on the cartel of 1812 between the +United States and Great Britain. In accordance with these terms an +exchange commenced, and by the middle of August most of the officers +of rank on either side, who had been for any long period in +captivity, were released. + +On the same day on which the cartel was signed, an order was issued +by the Secretary of War, in Washington, under instructions from +President Lincoln, empowering the military commanders in Virginia and +elsewhere "to seize and use any property, real or personal, which may +be necessary or convenient for their several commands for supplies or +for other military purposes," and "to keep accounts sufficiently +accurate and in detail to show quantities and amounts and from whom +it shall come, as a basis upon which compensation can be made in +proper cases." This was simply a system of plunder, for no +compensation would be made to any person unless he could prove his +fidelity to the Government of the United States. + +On the next day, Major-General Pope, in command of the United States +forces near Washington,[113] issued a general order directing the +murder of our peaceful inhabitants as spies, if found quietly tilling +the farms in his rear, even outside of his lines; and one of his +brigadier-generals seized upon innocent and peaceful inhabitants to +be held as hostages, to the end that they might be murdered in cold +blood if any of his soldiers were killed by some unknown persons, +whom he designated as "bushwhackers." Under this state of facts, I +issued a general order, recognizing General Pope and his commissioned +officers to be in the position which they had chosen for themselves-- +that of robbers and murderers, and not that of public enemies, +entitled, if captured, to be considered as prisoners of war. Some of +the military authorities of the United States seemed to suppose that +better success would attend a savage war, in which no quarter was to +be given and no age or sex to be spared, than had hitherto been +secured by such hostilities as were alone recognized to be lawful by +civilized men. We renounced our right of retaliation on the innocent, +and continued to treat the soldiers of General Pope's army as +prisoners of war, confining our repressive measures to the punishment +only of commissioned officers as were willing participants in such +crimes. General Pope was soon afterward removed from command. + +In August a letter involving similar principles was addressed by +General R. E. Lee to the commanding General at Washington, General +Halleck, making inquiries as to the truth of the case of William B. +Mumford, reported to have been murdered at New Orleans by +Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, and of Colonel John Owens, reported +to have been murdered in Missouri by order of Major-General Pope. I +had also been credibly informed that numerous other officers of the +army of the United States within the Confederacy had been guilty of +felonies and capital offenses, which are punishable by all laws human +and divine. Inquiries were made by letter relative to a few of the +best-authenticated cases. It was announced that Major-General Hunter +had armed slaves for the murder of their masters, and had thus done +all in his power to inaugurate a servile war, which is worse than +that of the savage, inasmuch as it super-adds other horrors to the +indiscriminate slaughter of all ages, sexes, and conditions. + +In a letter, dated Port Royal, South Carolina, June 23, 1862, General +Hunter said: + + "It is my hope to have organized by the end of next fall, and to be + able to present to the Government, from forty-eight to fifty thousand + of these hardy and devoted soldiers." + +Brigadier-General Phelps was reported to have initiated at New +Orleans the example set by General Hunter in South Carolina. +Brigadier-General G. N. Fitch was stated in the public journals to +have murdered in cold blood two peaceful citizens, because one of his +men, when invading our country, was killed by some unknown person +while defending his home. General Lee was further directed by me to +say that, if a reply was not received in fifteen days, it would be +assumed that the alleged facts were true, and were sanctioned by the +Government of the United States, and on that Government would rest +the responsibility of retaliatory measures. The reply of the +commanding General (Halleck) at Washington was in these words: + + "As these papers are couched in language insulting to the Government + of the United States, I most respectfully decline to receive them." + +On August 20, 1862, I issued an order threatening retaliation for the +lives of peaceable citizens reported to have been executed by +Brigadier-General Fitch. That report was afterward ascertained to be +untrue. On the next day I issued another order, which, after reciting +the principal facts, directed that Major-General Hunter and +Brigadier-General Phelps should be no longer held and treated as +public enemies of the Confederate States, but as outlaws; and that in +the event of the capture of either of them, or that of any other +commissioned officer employed in drilling, organizing, or instructing +slaves, with a view to their armed service in this war, he should not +be regarded as a prisoner of war, but held in close confinement for +execution as a felon, at such time and place as may be ordered. + +In the case of William B. Mumford, a letter was received from General +Halleck, dated August 7, 1862, stating sufficient causes for a +failure to make an earlier reply to the letter of July 6th; asserting +that "no authentic information had been received in relation to the +execution of Mumford, but measures will be immediately taken to +ascertain the facts of the alleged execution," and promising that +General Lee should be duly informed thereof. Subsequently, on +November 25, 1862, our agent for the exchange of prisoners, Mr. +Robert Ould, under my instructions, addressed the agent of the United +States, informing him that the explanation promised on August 7th had +not been received; and that, if no answer was sent within fifteen +days, it would be considered that an answer was declined. On December +3d our agent, Mr. Ould, was apprised by the agent of the United +States that his letter had been forwarded to the Secretary of War at +Washington, and no answer was returned, which was regarded as a tacit +admission of the charge. Besides, I had received evidence fully +establishing the fact that the said Mumford, a citizen of the +Confederacy, was actually and publicly executed in cold blood by +hanging after the occupation of New Orleans by the forces under +General Benjamin F. Butler, when said Mumford was an unresisting and +non-combatant captive, and for no offenses even alleged to have been +committed by him subsequent to the date of the occupation of the +city. It appeared that the silence of the Government of the United +States and its maintenance of Butler in high office, under its +authority, afforded evidence too conclusive that it sanctioned his +conduct, and was determined that he should remain unpunished for +these crimes. I therefore pronounced and declared the said Butler a +felon, deserving capital punishment, and ordered that he be no longer +considered and treated as a public enemy of the Confederate States, +but as an outlaw and common enemy of mankind; and that, in the event +of his capture, the officer in command should cause him to be +immediately executed by hanging. + +These measures of retaliation were in conformity with the usages of +war, and were adapted to check and punish the cruelties of our +adversary. + +At length, so many difficulties were raised and so many complaints +made in the execution of the cartel, that, for the sake of the +unfortunate prisoners, I resolved to seek an adjustment through the +authorities at Washington. For this purpose Vice-President Stephens +offered his services as a commissioner. The following papers will +show the proposition we were prepared to make, and illustrate the +disposition with which our humane designs were regarded by the enemy: + + "RICHMOND, _July 2, 1863._ + + "Hon. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, _Richmond, Virginia._ + + "SIR: Having accepted your patriotic offer to proceed as a military + commissioner under flag of truce to Washington, you will receive + herewith your letter of authority to the Commander-in-Chief of the + Army and Navy of the United States. The letter is signed by me, as + Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate land and naval forces. + + "You will perceive from the terms of the letter that it is so worded + as to avoid any political difficulties in its reception. Intended + exclusively as one of those communications between belligerents which + public law recognizes as necessary and proper between hostile forces, + care has been taken to give no pretext for refusing to receive it on + the ground that it would involve a tacit recognition of the + independence of the Confederacy. Your mission is simply one of + humanity, and has no political aspect. + + "If objection is made to receiving your letter on the ground that it + is not addressed to Abraham Lincoln as President, instead of + Commander-in-Chief, etc., then you will present the duplicate letter + which is addressed to him as President and signed by me as President. + To this latter, objection may be made on the ground that I am not + recognized to be President of the Confederacy. In this event you will + decline any further attempt to confer on the subject of your mission, + as such conference is admissible only on the footing of perfect + equality. + + "My recent interviews with you have put you so fully in possession of + my views, that it is scarcely necessary to give you any detailed + instructions, even were I at this moment well enough to attempt it. + My whole purpose is in one word to place this war on the footing of + such as are waged by civilized people in modern times, and to divest + it of the savage character which has been impressed on it by our + enemies, in spite of all our efforts and protests. War is full enough + of unavoidable horrors under all its aspects, to justify and even to + demand of any Christian rulers who may be unhappily engaged in + carrying it on, to seek to restrict its calamities and to divest it + of all unnecessary severities. You will endeavor to establish the + cartel for the exchange of prisoners on such a basis as to avoid the + constant difficulties and complaints which arise, and to prevent for + the future what we deem the unfair conduct of our enemies in evading + the delivery of the prisoners who fall into their hands; in retarding + it by sending them on circuitous routes, and by detaining them + sometimes for months in camps and prisons; and in persisting in + taking captives non-combatants. + + "Your attention is also called to the unheard-of conduct of Federal + officers in driving from their homes entire communities of women and + children, as well as of men, whom they find in districts occupied by + their troops, for no other reason than because these unfortunates are + faithful to the allegiance due to their States, and refuse to take an + oath of fidelity to their enemies. + + "The putting to death of unarmed prisoners has been a ground of just + complaint in more than one instance; and the recent execution of + officers of our army in Kentucky, for the sole cause that they were + engaged in recruiting service in a State which is claimed as still + one of the United States, but is also claimed by us as one of the + Confederate States, must be repressed by retaliation if not + unconditionally abandoned, because it would justify the like + execution in every other State of the Confederacy; and the practice + is barbarous, uselessly cruel, and can only lead to the slaughter of + prisoners on both sides--a result too horrible to be contemplated + without making every effort to avoid it. + + "On these and all kindred subjects you will consider your authority + full and ample to make such arrangements as will temper the present + cruel character of the contest, and full confidence is placed in your + judgment, patriotism, and discretion that, while carrying out the + objects of your mission, you will take care that the equal rights of + the Confederacy be always preserved." + + + "HEADQUARTERS, RICHMOND, _July 2, 1863._ + + "SIR: As Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval forces now waging + war against the United States, I have the honor to address this + communication to you, as Commander-in-Chief of their land and naval + forces. + + "Numerous difficulties and disputes have arisen in relation to the + execution of the cartel of exchange heretofore agreed on by the + belligerents, and the commissioners for the exchange of prisoners + have been unable to adjust their differences. Their action on the + subject of these differences is delayed and embarrassed by the + necessity of referring each subject as it arises to superior + authority for decision. I believe that I have just grounds of + complaint against the officers and forces under your command for + breach of the terms of the cartel, and, being myself ready to execute + it at all times in good faith, I am not justified in doubting the + existence of the same disposition on your part. + + "In addition to this matter, I have to complain of the conduct of + your officers and troops in many parts of the country, who violate + all the rules of war, by carrying on hostilities, not only against + armed foes, but against non-combatants, aged men, women, and + children; while others not only seize such property as is required + for the use of your forces, but destroy all private property within + their reach, even agricultural implements; and openly avow the + purpose of seeking to subdue the population of the districts where + they are operating, by the starvation that must result from the + destruction of standing crops and agricultural tools. + + "Still, again, others of your officers in different districts have + recently taken the lives of prisoners who fell into their power, and + justify their act by asserting a right to treat as spies the military + officers and enlisted men under my command, who may penetrate for + hostile purposes into States claimed by me to be engaged in the + warfare now waged against the United States, and claimed by the + latter as having refused to engage in such warfare. + + "I have heretofore, on different occasions, been forced to make + complaint of these outrages, and to ask from you that you should + either avow or disclaim having authorized them, and have failed to + obtain such answer as the usages of civilized warfare require to be + given in such cases. + + "These usages justify, and indeed require, redress by retaliation, as + the proper means of repressing such cruelties as are not permitted in + warfare between Christian peoples. I have, notwithstanding, refrained + from the exercise of such retaliation, because of its obvious + tendency to lead to a war of indiscriminate massacre on both sides, + which would be a spectacle so shocking to humanity and so disgraceful + to the age in which we live and the religion we profess, that I can + not contemplate it without a feeling of horror that I am disinclined + to doubt you would share. + + "With the view, then, of making one last solemn attempt to avert such + calamities, and to attest my earnest desire to prevent them, if it be + possible, I have selected the bearer of this letter, the Hon. + Alexander H. Stephens, as a military commissioner to proceed to your + headquarters under flag of truce, there to confer and agree on the + subjects above mentioned; and I do hereby authorise the said + Alexander H. Stephens to arrange and settle all differences and + disputes which may have arisen or may arise in the execution of the + cartel for exchange of prisoners of war, heretofore agreed on between + our respective land and naval forces; also to agree to any just + modification that may be found necessary to prevent further + misunderstandings as to the terms of said cartel; and finally to + enter into such arrangement or understanding about the mode of + carrying on hostilities between the belligerents as shall confine the + severities of the war within such limits as are rightfully imposed, + not only by modern civilization, but by our common Christianity. I + am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS, + + "_Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval forces of the Confederate + States._ + + "To ABRAHAM LINCOLN, + + "_Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval fores of the United + States._" + +On July 3, 1863, Mr. Stephens proceeded down the James River under a +flag of truce, and when near Newport News his further progress was +arrested by the orders of the Admiral of the enemy's fleet. The +object of his mission, with a request for permission to go to +Washington, was made known to that officer, who, by telegraph, +communicated with the Government at Washington. The reply of that +Government was: + + "The request is inadmissible. The customary agents and channels are + adequate for all needful military communications and conference + between the United States forces and the insurgents." + +This was all the notice ever taken of our humane propositions. We +were stigmatized as insurgents, and the door was shut in our faces. +Does not this demonstrate an intent to subjugate our States? + +From the correspondence of our exchange commissioner, Judge Ould, it +appears that, from the date of the cartel on July 22, 1862, until the +summer of 1863, we had an excess of prisoners. During the interval +deliveries were made as fast as the enemy furnished transportation. +Indeed, upon more than one occasion they were urged to send increased +means of transportation. It was never alleged that we failed or +neglected to make prompt deliveries of prisoners who were not held +under charges when they had the excess. On the other hand, the cartel +was openly and notoriously violated by the Washington authorities. +Officers and men were kept in confinement, sometimes in irons or +doomed to cells, without charge or trial. Many officers were kept in +confinement even after the notices published by the enemy had +declared them to be exchanged. + +In the summer of 1863 the authorities at Washington insisted upon +exchanges limited to such as were held in confinement on either side. +This was resisted as in violation of the cartel. Such a construction +not only kept in confinement the excess on either side, but ignored +all paroles which were held by the Confederate Government. These were +very many, being the paroles of officers and men who had been +released on capture. The authorities at Washington at that time held +few or no paroles. They had all, or nearly all, been surrendered. We +gave prisoners as an equivalent for them. As long as we had the +excess of prisoners, matters went on smoothly enough; but, as soon as +the posture of affairs in that respect was changed, the cartel could +no longer be observed. So long as the United States Government held +the paroles of Confederate officers and men, they were respected and +made the basis of exchange; but when equivalents were obtained for +them, and no more were in hand, they would not recognize the paroles +which were held by us. In consequence of the position thus assumed by +the Government of the United States, the requirement of the cartel +that all prisoners should be delivered within ten days was +practically nullified. The deliveries which were afterward made were +the results of special agreements. + +The wish of the Confederate Government, which it was hoped had been +accomplished by the cartel, was the prompt release of all prisoners +on both sides, either by exchange or parole. When, in 1864, the +cartel was so disregarded by the enemy as to indicate that prisoners +would be held long in confinement, Andersonville, in Georgia, was +selected for the location of a principal prison. The site was chosen +because of its supposed security from raids, together with its +salubrity, the abundance of water and timber, and the productive +farming country around it. General Howell Cobb, then commanding in +Georgia, employed a large number of negro laborers in the +construction of a stockade and temporary shelter for the number of +prisoners it was expected would be assembled there. The number, +however, rapidly increased, and, by the middle of May, gangrene and +scurvy made their appearance. General John H. Winder, who had been +stationed in Richmond in charge of the police and local guards, as +well as the general control of prisoners, went to Andersonville in +June, and found disease prevailing to such an extent that, to abate +the pestilence, he immediately advised the removal of prisoners to +other points. As soon as arrangements could be made, he was +instructed to disperse them to Millen and elsewhere, as in his +judgment might be best for their health, comfort and safety. In July +he made arrangements to procure vegetables, recommended details of +men to cultivate gardens, and that hospital accommodations should be +constructed outside of the prison; all of which recommendations were +approved, and as far as practicable executed. In September General +Winder, with the main body of the prisoners, removed first to Millen, +Georgia, and then to Florence, South Carolina. + +Major Wirz thereafter remained in command at Andersonville, and the +testimony of Chief-Surgeon Stevenson, of the hospital at +Andersonville, bears testimony to the success with which Wirz +improved the post, and the good effect produced upon the health of +the prisoners. This unfortunate man--who, under the severe +temptation to which he was exposed before his execution, exhibited +honor and fidelity strongly in contrast with his tempters and +persecutors--it now appears, was the victim of men whom, in his +kindness, he paroled to take care of their sick comrades, and who, +after having violated their parole, appeared to testify against him. + +In like manner has calumny pursued the memory of General John H. +Winder, a man too brave to be cruel to anything within his power, too +well bred and well born to be influenced by low and sordid motives. I +have referred only to a few of the facts illustrative of his kindness +to the prisoners after he went to Georgia, and they were in keeping +with his conduct toward the prisoners at Richmond. This latter fact, +together with his sterling integrity and soldierly character, had +caused his selection for the chief control of Confederate prisons. + +The Adjutant-General, Samuel Cooper, a man as pure in heart as he was +sound in judgment, was the classmate of Winder; their lives had been +passed in the array in frequent intercourse; and General Cooper, in a +letter of July 9, 1871, wrote that "General Winder, who had the +control of the Northern prisoners, was an honest, upright, and humane +gentleman, and as such I had known him for many years. He had the +reputation, in the Confederacy, of treating the prisoners confided to +his general supervision with great kindness and consideration." + +In January, 1864, and even earlier, it became manifest that, in +consequence of the complication in relation to exchanges, the large +mass of prisoners on both sides would remain in captivity for many +long and weary months, if not for the duration of the war. In order +to alleviate the hardships of confinement on both sides, our +commissioner, on January 24, 1863, addressed a communication to +General E. A. Hitchcock, United States commissioner of exchange, in +which he proposed that all prisoners on each side should be attended +by a proper number of their own surgeons, who, under rules to be +established, should be permitted to take charge of their health and +comfort. + +It was also proposed that these surgeons should act as commissaries, +with power to receive and distribute such contributions of money, +food, clothing, and medicines as might be forwarded for the relief of +the prisoners. It was further proposed that these surgeons should be +selected by their own Government, and that they should have full +liberty at any and all times, through the agents of exchange, to make +reports, not only of their own acts, but of any matters relating to +the welfare of the prisoners. + +To this communication no reply of any kind was ever made. + +Again, Commissioner Ould, in a communication published in August, +1868, further says: + + "About the last of March, 1864, I had several conferences with + General B. F. Butler, then agent of exchange at Fortress Monroe, in + relation to the difficulties attending the exchange of prisoners, and + we reached what we both thought a tolerably satisfactory basis. The + day that I left there General Grant arrived. General Butler says he + communicated to him the state of the negotiations, and 'most emphatic + verbal directions were received from the Lieutenant-General not to + take any step by which another able-bodied man should be exchanged + until further orders from him'; and that on April 30, 1864, he + received a telegram from General Grant 'to receive all the sick and + wounded the Confederate authorities may send you, but send no more in + exchange.' Unless my recollection fails me, General Butler also, in + an address to his constituents, substantially declared that he was + directed, in his management of the question of exchange with the + Confederate authorities, to put the matter _offensively, for the + purpose of preventing an exchange_." + +The signification of the word "offensively," in the preceding line, +relates to the exchange of negro soldiers. The Government of the +United States contended that the slaves in their ranks were such no +longer; that it was bound to accord to them, when made prisoners, the +same protection that it gave all other soldiers. We asserted the +slaves to be property, under the Constitution of the United States +and that of the Confederate States, and that property recaptured from +the enemy in war reverts to its owner, if he can be found, or it may +be disposed of by its captor. + +On October 1st, when the number of prisoners was large on either +side. General Lee addressed a note to General Grant, saying: + + "With a view of alleviating the sufferings of our soldiers, I have + the honor to propose an exchange of the prisoners of war belonging to + the armies operating in Virginia, man for man, or upon the basis + established by the cartel." + +On the next day General Grant replied: + + "I could not of a right accept your proposition further than to + exchange those prisoners captured within the last three days, and who + have not yet been delivered to the commanding General of prisoners. + Among those lost by the armies operating against Richmond were a + number of colored troops. Before further negotiations are had upon + the subject, I would ask if you propose delivering these men the same + as white soldiers." + +On the next day General Lee said, in rejoinder: + + "In my proposition of the 1st inst., to exchange the prisoners of war + belonging to the armies operating in Virginia, I intended to include + all captured soldiers of the United States, of whatever nation and + color, under my control. Deserters from our service and negroes + belonging to our citizens are not considered subjects of exchange, + and were not included in my proposition. If there are any such among + those stated by you to have been captured around Richmond, they can + not be returned." + +On October 20th General Grant finally answered, saying; + + "I shall always regret the necessity of retaliating for wrong done + our soldiers, but regard it my duty to protect all persons received + into the army of the United States, regardless of color or + nationality; when acknowledged soldiers of the Government are + captured, they must be treated as prisoners of war, or such treatment + as they receive inflicted upon an equal number of prisoners held by + us." + +This was "putting the matter offensively, for the purpose of +preventing an exchange," as recommended by General Grant for the +adoption of General Butler. + +But let us return to the progress of negotiations. In a dispatch from +General Grant to General Butler, dated City Point, August 18, 1864, +the former says: + + "On the subject of exchange, however, I differ from General + Hitchcock. It is hard on our men held in Southern prisons not to + exchange them, but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight + our battles. Every man released on parole, or otherwise, becomes an + active soldier against us at once, either directly or indirectly. If + we commence a system of exchange, which liberates all prisoners + taken, we will have to fight on until the whole South is + exterminated. If we hold those caught, they amount to no more than + dead men. At this particular time to release all rebel prisoners + North would insure Sherman's defeat, and would compromise our safety + here." + +We now proposed to the Government of the United States to exchange +the prisoners respectively held, officer for officer and man for man. +We had previously declined this proposal, and insisted on the terms +of the cartel, which required the delivery of the excess on either +side on parole. At the same time we sent a statement of the mortality +prevailing among the prisoners at Andersonville. + +As no answer had been received relative to this proposal, a +communication was sent, on August 22, 1864, to Major-General E. A. +Hitchcock, United States commissioner of exchange, containing the +same proposal which had been before delivered to the assistant +commissioner, and a request was made for its acceptance. + +No answer was received to either of these letters, and on August 31st +the assistant commissioner stated that he had no communication on the +subject from the United States Government, and that he was not +authorized to make an answer. + +This offer, which would have released every soldier of the United +States confined in our prisons, was not even noticed. Indeed, the +United States Government had, at that time, a large excess of +prisoners, and the effect of the proposal, if carried out, would have +been to release all the prisoners belonging to it, while a large +number of ours would have remained in prison awaiting the chances of +the capture of their equivalents. + +Thus, having ascertained that exchanges could not be made, either on +the basis of the cartel, or officer for officer and man for man, we +offered to the United States Government their sick and wounded +without requiring any equivalents. On these terms, we agreed to +deliver from ten to fifteen thousand at the mouth of the Savannah +River; and we further added that, if the number for which +transportation might be sent could not be readily made up from sick +and wounded, the difference should be supplied with well men. +Although the offer was made in the summer, the transportation did not +arrive until November. And as the sick and wounded were at points +distant from Georgia, and could not be brought to Savannah within a +reasonable time, five thousand well men were substituted. In return, +some three thousand sick and wounded were delivered to us at the same +place. The original rolls showed that some thirty-five hundred had +started from Northern prisons, and that death had reduced the number +during the passage to about three thousand. + +On two occasions we were specially asked to send the very sick and +desperately wounded prisoners, and a particular request was made for +men who were so seriously sick that it was doubtful whether they +would survive a removal a few miles down James River. Accordingly, +some of the worst cases, contrary to the judgment of our surgeons, +but in compliance with the piteous appeals of the sick prisoners, +were sent away, and after being delivered they were taken to +Annapolis, Maryland, and there photographed as specimen prisoners. +The photographs at Annapolis were terrible indeed, but the misery +they portrayed was surpassed by some of those we received in exchange +at Savannah. Why was there this delay between the summer and November +in sending vessels for the transportation of sick and wounded, for +whom no equivalents were asked? Were Federal prisoners left to +suffer, and afterward photographed "to aid in firing the popular +heart of the North"? + +In the summer of 1864, in consequence of certain information +communicated to our commissioner, Mr. Ould, by the Surgeon-General of +the Confederate States, as to the deficiency of medicines. Mr. Ould +offered to make purchases of medicines from the United States +authorities, to be used exclusively for the relief of the Union +prisoners. He offered to pay gold, cotton, or tobacco for them, and +even two or three prices if required. At the same time he gave +assurances that the medicines would be used exclusively for the +treatment of Union prisoners; and moreover agreed, on behalf of the +Confederate States, if it were insisted on, that such medicines might +be brought into the Confederate lines by the United States surgeons, +and dispensed by them. Incredible as it may appear, it is, +nevertheless, strictly true that no reply was ever received to this +offer. + +One final effort was now made to obtain an exchange. This consisted +in my sending a delegation from the prisoners at Andersonville to +plead their cause before the authorities at Washington. It was of no +avail. President Lincoln refused to see them. They were made to +understand that the interests of the Government of the United States +required that they should return to prison and remain there. They +carried back the sad tidings that their Government held out no hope +of their release. + + "We have a letter from the wife of the chairman of that delegation + (now dead) in which she says that her husband always said that he was + more contemptuously treated by Secretary of War Stanton than he ever + was at Andersonville." [114] + +Another prisoner, Henry M. Brennan, writes: + + "I was at Andersonville when the delegation of prisoners spoken of by + Jefferson Davis left there to plead our cause with the authorities at + Washington; and nobody can tell, unless it be a shipwrecked and + famished mariner, who sees a vessel approaching and then passing on + without rendering the required aid, what fond hopes were raised, and + how hope sickened into despair, waiting for the answer that never + came. In my opinion, and that of a good many others, a good part of + the responsibility for the horrors of Andersonville rests with + General U. S. Grant, who refused to make a fair exchange of + prisoners." + +The following extracts are from the official report of Major-General +Butler to "the Committee on the Conduct of the War," which was +appointed by a joint resolution of Congress, during the war: + + "Mr. Ould left on the 31st of March, 1864, with the understanding + that I would get authority and information from my Government, by + which all disputed points could be adjusted, and would then confer + with him further, either meeting him at City Point or elsewhere for + that purpose. In the mean time exchanges of sick and wounded, and + special exchanges, should go on. + + "General Grant visited Fortress Monroe on April 1st, being the first + time I had ever met him. To him the state of the negotiations as to + exchange[115] was verbally communicated; and most emphatic directions + were received from the Lieutenant-General not to take any step by + which another able-bodied man should be exchanged, until further + orders from him." + +General Butler next gives the following from General Mulford, United +States assistant agent of exchange, addressed to him: + + "GENERAL: The Confederate authorities will exchange prisoners on the + basis heretofore proposed by our Government--that is, man for man. + This proposition was proposed formally to me after I saw you." + +General Butler's report continues as follows: + + "Accident prevented my meeting the rebel commissioner, so that + nothing was done; but after conversation with General Grant, in reply + to the proposition of Mr. Ould to exchange all prisoners of war on + either side held, man for man, officer for officer, I wrote an + argument showing our right to our colored soldiers. This argument set + forth our claims in the most offensive form possible, consistently + with ordinary courtesy of language, for the purpose of carrying out + the wishes of the Lieutenant-General that no prisoners of war should + be exchanged. This paper was published so as to bring a public + pressure by the owners of slaves upon the rebel Government, in order + to forbid their exchange." + +The report continues: + + "In case the Confederate authorities took the same view as General + Grant, believing that an exchange 'would defeat Sherman and imperil + the safety of the Armies of the Potomac and the James,' and therefore + should yield to the argument, and formally notify me that their + former slaves captured in our uniform would be exchanged as other + soldiers were, and that they were ready to return us all our + prisoners at Andersonville and elsewhere in exchange for theirs, then + I had determined, with the consent of the Lieutenant-General, as a + last resort to prevent exchange, to demand that the outlawry against + me should formally be reversed and apologized for, before I would + further negotiate the exchange of prisoners. But the argument was + enough, and the Confederates never offered to me afterward to + exchange the colored soldiers who had been slaves, held in prison by + them." + +Further on in the report General Butler gives the history of some +naval exchanges, in the course of which colored prisoners were +delivered, and concludes his observations on that head as follows: + + "It will be observed that the rebels had exchanged all the naval + colored prisoners, so that the negro question no longer impeded the + exchange of prisoners; in fact, if we had demanded the exchange of + all, man for man, officer for officer, they would have done it." + +The conclusion of the report is as follows: + + "I have felt it my duty to give an account with this particular + carefulness of my participation in the business of exchange of + prisoners, the orders under which I acted, and the negotiations + attempted, which comprises a faithful narration of all that was done, + so that all may become a matter of history. The great importance of + the questions; the fearful responsibility for the many thousands of + lives which, by the refusal to exchange, were sacrificed by the most + cruel forms of death, from cold, starvation, and pestilence of the + prison-pens of Raleigh and Andersonville, being more than all the + British soldiers killed in the wars of Napoleon; the anxiety of + fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers, wives, to know the exigency + which caused this terrible, and perhaps, as it may have seemed to + them, useless and unnecessary, destruction of those dear to them, by + horrible deaths, each and all have compelled me to this exposition, + so that it may be seen that those lives were spent as a part of the + system of attack upon the rebellion, devised by the wisdom of the + General-in-Chief of the armies, to destroy it by depletion, depending + upon our superior numbers to win the victory at last. The loyal + mourners will doubtless derive solace from this fact, and appreciate + all the more highly the genius which conceived the plan, and the + success won at so great a cost." + +Sufficient facts have been presented to satisfy every intelligent and +candid mind of our entire readiness to surrender, for exchange, all +the prisoners in our possession, whenever the Government of the +United States would honestly meet us for that purpose. At any hour +perfect arrangements could have been made with us for the restoration +to it of all its soldiers held as prisoners by us, if its authorities +at Washington had consented so to do. On them rests the criminality +for the sufferings of these prisoners. + +Further, the Government of the United States, in order to effect our +subjugation, devastated our fields, destroyed our crops, broke up our +railroads, and thus interrupted our means of transportation, and +reduced our people, our armies, and consequently their soldiers, who +were our prisoners, all alike, to the most straitened condition for +food. Our medicines for the sick were exhausted, and, contrary to the +usage of civilized nations, they were made, by our enemy, contraband +of war. After causing these and other distressing events--of which +Atlanta, where the women and children were driven into the fields and +their houses burned, and Columbia, with its smoking and plundered +ruins, were prominent examples--after every effort to excite our +slaves to servile war--this Government of the United States turned +to the Northern people, and, charging us with atrocious cruelties to +their sons, who were our prisoners, appealed to them again and again +to recruit the armies and take vengeance upon us by our abject +subjugation or entire extermination. It was the last effort of the +usurper to save himself. + +But there is another scene to be added to these cruelties. During all +this time, Northern prisons were full of our brave and heroic +soldiers, of whom there were about sixty thousand. The privations +which they suffered, the cruelties inspired by the malignant spirit +of the Government, which were inflicted upon them, surpass any +records of modern history: yet we have had no occasion to seek out a +Wirz for public trial before an illegal court, that we might conceal +behind him our own neglect and cruel sacrifice of them. That we might +clothe our brave men in the prisons of the United States Government, +I made an application for permission to send cotton to Liverpool, and +therewith purchase the supplies which were necessary. The request was +granted, but only on condition that the cotton should be sent to New +York and the supplies bought there. This was done by our agent, +General Beale. The suffering of our men in Northern prisons caused +the application; that it was granted, refutes the statement that our +men were comfortably maintained. + +Finally, to the bold allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners on our +side, and humane treatment and adequate supplies on that of our +opponents, it is only necessary to offer two facts: First, the report +of the Secretary of War, E. M. Stanton, made on July 19, 1866, shows +that, of all the prisoners in our hands during the war, only 22,576 +died; while, of the prisoners in our opponents' hands, 26,246 died. +Second, the official report of Surgeon-General Barnes, an officer of +the United States Government, states that, in round numbers, the +number of Confederate States prisoners in their hands amounted to +220,000, the number of United States prisoners in our hands amounted +to 270,000. Thus, out of the 270,000 in our hands, 22,000 died; while +of the 220,000 of our soldiers in their hands, 26,000 died. Thus, +more than twelve per cent. of the prisoners in our opponents' hands +died, and less than nine per cent. of the prisoners in our hands died. + +When, in this connection, it is remembered how much our resources +were reduced, that our supply of medicines required in summer +diseases was exhausted, and that Northern men when first residing at +the South must undergo acclimation, and that these conditions in the +Northern States were the reverse in each particular--the fact that +greater mortality existed in Northern than in Southern prisons can +only be accounted for by the kinder treatment received in the latter. +To present the case in a sentence--we did the best we could for +those whom the fortune of war had placed at our mercy; and the enemy, +in the midst of plenty, inflicted cruel, wanton deprivation on our +soldiers who fell within his power. + +In regard to the failure in the exchange of prisoners, General B. F. +Butler has irrefutably fixed the responsibility on the Government at +Washington and on General Grant. The obstacles thus thrown in the way +were not only persistently interposed, but artfully designed to be +insurmountable. + +On the other hand, the Confederate Government, through Colonel Ould, +its commissioner of exchanges, sought by all practicable means to +execute the obligations of the cartel, and otherwise to relieve the +suffering of prisoners kept in confinement; through a delegation of +the Federal prisoners at Andersonville, it sought to attract the +notice of their Government to their sufferings; and, finally, +confiding in the chivalry characteristic of soldiers, sought, through +General Lee, to make an arrangement with General Grant for the +exchange of all the prisoners held in their respective commands, and +as many more as General Grant could add in response to all held by +the Confederate Government.[116] + + +[Footnote 112: "Southern Historical Society Papers," March, 1876.] + +[Footnote 113: See chapter xxxiv.] + +[Footnote 114: Editor of Southern Historical Society Papers.] + +[Footnote 115: "The negotiations as to exchange, to which General Butler +refers, were the points of agreement between General Butler and +myself, under which exchanges of all white and free black soldiers, +man for man and officer for officer, were to go on, leaving the +question as to slaves to be disposed of by subsequent arrangement."-- +(Letter of Mr. Ould, June, 1879.)] + +[Footnote 116: For full and exact information, compiled from official +records and other documents, the reader is referred to "Treatment of +Prisoners," by J. William Jones, D. D., and to "The Southern Side: or +Andersonville Prison, compiled from Official Documents" by R. +Randolph Stevenson, M. D.] + + + + +CHAPTER L. + + Subjugation the Object of the Government of the United States.--The + only Terms of Peace offered to us.--Rejection of all Proposals.-- + Efforts of the Enemy.--Appearance of Jacques and Gilmore + at Richmond.--Proposals.--Answer.--Commissioners sent to Canada.-- + The Object.--Proceedings.--Note of President Lincoln.--Permission + to visit Richmond granted to Francis P. Blair.--Statement of my + Interview with him.--My Letter to him.--Response of President + Lincoln.--Three Persons sent by me to an Informal Conference.-- + Their Report.--Remarks of Judge Campbell.--Oath of President + Lincoln.--The Provision of the Constitution and his Proclamation + compared.--Reserved Powers spoken of in the Constitution.--What are + they, and where do they exist?--Terms of Surrender offered to our + Soldiers. + + +That it was the purpose of the Government of the United States to +subjugate the Southern States and the Southern people, under the +pretext of a restoration of the Union, is established by the terms +and conditions offered to us in all the conferences relative to a +settlement of differences. All were comprehended in one word, and +that was subjugation. If the purpose had been an honorable and +fraternal restoration of the Union as was avowed, methods for the +adjustment of difficulties would have been presented and discussed; +propositions for reconciliation with concessions and modifications +for grievances would have been kindly offered and treated; and a way +would have been opened for a mutual and friendly intercourse. How +unlike this were all the propositions offered to us, will be seen in +the proceedings which took place in the conferences, and in the terms +of surrender offered to our soldiers. It should be remembered that +mankind compose one uniform order of beings, and thus the language of +arbitrary power has the same signification in all ages. When Major +Pitcairn marched the British soldiers upon the common, at Lexington, +in Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, and, drawing his sword, rushed +upon the little line of Continentals, exclaiming: "Disperse, ye +rebels! throw down your arms and disperse!" he expressed the same +conditions which were offered to us in all our negotiations with the +President of the United States and his generals. Does any one doubt +that Major Pitcairn meant subjugation, or that Great Britain meant +subjugation? Let them as dispassionately construe the Government of +the United States in its declarations to us. + +Several efforts were made by us to communicate with the authorities +at Washington without success. Commissioners were sent before +hostilities were begun, and the Government of the United States +refused to receive them, or hear what they had to say. A second time +I sent a military officer with a communication addressed by myself to +President Lincoln. The letter was received by General Scott, who did +not permit the officer to see Mr. Lincoln, but promised that an +answer would be sent. No answer was ever received. The third time a +gentleman was sent whose position, character, and reputation were +such as to insure his reception, if the enemy had not been determined +to receive no proposals whatever from our Government. Vice-President +Stephens made a patriotic tender of his services, in the hope of +being able to promote the cause of humanity; and, although little +belief was entertained of his success, I cheerfully yielded to his +suggestions, that the experiment should be tried. The enemy refused +to let him pass through their lines or to hold any conference with +him. He was stopped before he reached Fortress Monroe. + +If we would break up our Government, dissolve the Confederacy, +disband our armies, emancipate our slaves, take an oath of +allegiance, binding ourselves to obedience to it and to disloyalty to +our own States, the Government of the United States proposed to +pardon us, and not to deprive us of anything more than the property +already robbed from us, and such slaves as still remained. In order +to render the proposals so insulting as to secure their rejection, +the President of the United States joined to them a promise to +support with his army one tenth of the people of any State who would +attempt to set up a government over the other nine tenths; thus +seeking to sow discord among the people of the several States, and to +excite them to civil war in furtherance of his ends. + +The next movement relating to the accommodation of differences +occurred in July, 1864, and consisted in the appearance at Richmond +of Colonel James F. Jacques, of the Seventy-eighth Illinois Infantry, +and James R. Gilmore, of Massachusetts, soliciting an interview with +me. They stated that they had no official character or authority, +"but were fully possessed of the views of the United States +Government, relative to an adjustment of the differences existing +between the North and the South," and did not doubt that a free +interchange of views would open the way to official negotiations, +etc. They had crossed our lines through a letter of General Grant to +Colonel Ould, commissioner for the exchange of prisoners. The +Secretary of State, Mr. Benjamin, to whom they were conducted, +accompanied them to my office. Colonel Jacques expressed the ardent +desire he felt, in common with the men of their army, for a +restoration of peace, using such emphatic terms as that the men would +go home in double-quick time if they could only see peace restored. +Mr. Gilmore addressed me, and in a few minutes conveyed the +information that the two gentlemen had come to Richmond impressed +with the idea that the Confederate Government would accept a peace on +the basis of a reconstruction of the Union, the abolition of slavery, +and the grant of an amnesty to the people of the States as repentant +criminals. In order to accomplish the abolition of slavery, it was +proposed that there should be a general vote of all the people of +both federations, in mass, and the majority of the vote thus taken +was to determine that as well as all other disputed questions. These +were stated to be Mr. Lincoln's views. The impudence of the remarks +could only be extenuated because of the ignorance displayed and the +profuse avowal of the kindest motives and intentions. + +I answered that, as these proposals had been prefaced by the remark +that the people of the North were a majority, and that a majority +ought to govern, the offer was, in effect, a proposal that the +Confederate States should surrender at discretion, admit that they +had been wrong from the beginning of the contest, submit to the mercy +of their enemies, and avow themselves to be in need of pardon for +their crimes; that extermination was preferable to dishonor. I stated +that, if they were themselves so unacquainted with the form of their +own government as to make such propositions, Mr. Lincoln ought to +have known, then giving them his views, that it was out of the power +of the Confederate Government to act on the subject of the domestic +institutions of the several States, each State having exclusive +jurisdiction on that point, still less to commit the decision of such +a question to the vote of a foreign people. Having no disposition to +discuss questions of state with such persons, especially as they bore +no credentials, I terminated the interview, and they withdrew with +Mr. Benjamin. + +The opening of the spring campaign of 1864 was deemed a favorable +conjuncture for the employment of the resources of diplomacy. To +approach the Government of the United States directly would have been +in vain. Repeated efforts had already demonstrated its inflexible +purpose--not to negotiate with the Confederate authorities. +Political developments at the North, however, favored the adoption of +some action that might influence popular sentiment in the hostile +section. The aspect of the peace party was quite encouraging, and it +seemed that the real issue to be decided in the Presidential election +of that year, was the continuance or cessation of the war. A +commission of three persons, eminent in position and intelligence, +was accordingly appointed to visit Canada, with a view to negotiation +with such persons in the North as might be relied upon to aid the +attainment of peace. The commission was designed to facilitate such +preliminary conditions as might lead to formal negotiations between +the two Governments, and they were expected to make judicious use of +any political opportunity that might be presented. + +The commissioners--Messrs. Clay, of Alabama; Holcombe, of Virginia; +and Thompson, of Mississippi--established themselves at Niagara +Falls in July, and on the 12th commenced a correspondence with Horace +Greeley, of New York. Through him they sought a safe-conduct to +Washington. Mr. Lincoln at first appeared to favor an interview, but +finally refused on the ground that the commissioners were not +authorized to treat for peace. His final announcement to them was the +following: + + "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C, _July 18, 1864._ + + "_To whom it may concern:_ + + "Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the + integrity of the whole union, and the abandonment of slavery, and + which comes by and with an authority that can control the armies now + at war against the United States, will be received and considered by + the Executive Government of the United States, and will be met by + liberal terms on other substantial and collateral points, and the + bearer or bearers thereof shall have safe conduct both ways. + + "ABRAHAM LINCOLN." + +This movement, like all others which had preceded it, was a failure. + +On December 30, 1864, I received a request from Mr. Francis P. Blair, +a distinguished citizen of Montgomery County, Maryland, for +permission to visit Richmond for certain personal objects, which was +conceded to him. On January 12, 1865, he visited me, and the +following statement of our interview was immediately afterward +prepared: + + "RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, _January 12, 1865._ + + "_Memorandum of a confidential conversation held this day with F. + P. BLAIR, of Montgomery County, Maryland._ + + "Mr. Blair stated that, not receiving an answer to his application + for permission to visit Richmond, which had been sent from the + headquarters of General Grant's army, he returned to Washington and + there received the reply which had been made to his application, but + by some means had been withheld from him and been forwarded after + having been opened; that he had originally obtained permission to + visit Richmond from Mr. Lincoln, after stating to him that he (Mr. + Blair) had for many years held friendly relations with myself. Mr. + Lincoln stopped him, though he afterward gave him permission to visit + me. He stated, in explanation of his position, that he, being a man + of Southern blood, felt very desirous to see the war between the + States terminated, and hoped by an interview with me to be able to + effect something to that end; that, after receiving the pass which + had been sent to him by my direction, he sought before returning to + have a conversation with Mr. Lincoln; had two appointments for that + purpose, but on each occasion was disappointed, and, from the + circumstances, concluded that Mr. Lincoln avoided the interview, and + therefore came not only without credentials but without such + instructions from Mr. Lincoln as enabled him to speak for him. His + views, therefore, were to be regarded merely as his own, and said + they were perhaps merely the dreams of an old man, etc. He said, + despairing of being able to see me, he had determined to write to me, + and had the rough draft of a letter which he had prepared, and asked + permission to read it. Soon after commencing to do so, he said + (pleasantly) that he found his style was marked by his old pursuit, + and that the paper appeared too much like an editorial. He omitted, + therefore, portions of it, reading what he considered the main points + of his proposition. He had recognized the difference of our positions + as not entitling him to a response from me to the arguments and + suggestions which he desired to offer. I therefore allowed him to + read without comment on my part. When he had finished, I inquired as + to his main proposition, the cessation of hostilities and the union + of the military forces for the common purpose of maintaining the + 'Monroe doctrine'--how that object was to be reached. He said that + both the political parties of the United States asserted the Monroe + doctrine as a cardinal point of their creed; that there was a general + desire to apply it to the case of Mexico. For that purpose a secret + treaty might be made, etc. I called his attention to my past efforts + for negotiation, and my inability to see--unless Mr. Lincoln's + course in that regard should be changed--how we were to take the + first step. He expressed the belief that Mr. Lincoln would now + receive commissioners, but subsequently said he could not give any + assurance on that point, and proposed to return to Washington to + explain his project to Mr. Lincoln, and notify me, if his hope proved + well founded, that Mr. Lincoln would now agree to a conference for + the purpose of entering into negotiations. He affirmed that Mr. + Lincoln did not sympathize with the radical men who desired the + devastation and subjugation of the Southern States, but that he was + unable to control the extreme party, which now had great power in the + Congress, and would at the next session have still more; referred to + the existence of two parties in the Cabinet, to the reluctant + nomination of Mr. Chase to be Chief-Justice, etc. For himself, he + avowed an earnest desire to stop the further effusion of blood, as + one every drop of whose blood was Southern. He expressed the hope + that the pride, the power, and the honor of the Southern States + should suffer no shock; looked to the extension of Southern territory + even to the Isthmus of Darien, and hoped, if his views found favor, + that his wishes would be realized; reiterated the idea of State + sovereignty, with illustrations, and accepted the reference I made to + explanation given in the 'Globe,' when he edited it, of the + proclamation of General Jackson. + + "When his attention was called to the brutal atrocities of their + armies, especially the fiendish cruelty shown to helpless women and + children, as the cause of a deep-seated hostility on the part of our + people, and an insurmountable obstacle to an early restoration of + fraternal relations, he admitted the necessity for providing a new + channel for the bitter waters, and another bond than that of former + memories and interests. This was supposed to be contained in the + proposed common effort to maintain the 'Monroe doctrine' on the + American Continent. It was evident that he counted on the + disintegration of the Confederate States if the war continued, and + that in any event he regarded the institution of slavery as doomed to + extinction. I thought any remark by me on the first proposition would + lead to intimations in connection with public men which I preferred + not more distinctly to hear than as manifested in his general + remarks; on the latter point, for the reason stated, the inequality + of his responsibility and mine, I preferred to have no discussion. + The only difficulty which he spoke of as insurmountable was that of + existing engagements between European powers and the Confederate + States. This point, when referred to a second time as the dreaded + obstacle to a secret treaty which would terminate the war, was met by + me with a statement that we had now no such complication, were free + to act as to us should seem best, and desired to keep state policy + and institutions free from foreign control. Throughout the conference + Mr. Blair appeared to be animated by a sincere desire to promote a + pacific solution of the existing difficulty, but claimed no other + power than that of serving as a medium of communication between those + who had thus far had no intercourse, and were therefore without the + co-intelligence which might secure an adjustment of their + controversy. To his hopeful anticipation in regard to the restoration + of fraternal relations between the sections, by the means indicated, + I replied that a cessation of hostilities was the first step toward + the substitution of reason for passion, of sense of justice for a + desire to injure, and that, if the people were subsequently engaged + together to maintain a principle recognized by both, if together they + should bear sacrifices, share dangers, and gather common renown, that + new memories would take the place of those now planted by the events + of this war, and might, in the course of time, restore the feelings + which preexisted. But it was for us to deal with the problems before + us, and leave to posterity questions which they might solve, though + we could not; that, in the struggle for independence by our colonial + fathers, had failure instead of success attended their effort, Great + Britain, instead of a commerce which has largely contributed to her + prosperity, would have had the heavy expense of numerous garrisons, + to hold in subjection a people who deserved to be free and had + resolved not to be subject. Our conference ended with no other result + than an agreement that he would learn whether Mr. Lincoln would adopt + his (Mr. Blair's) project, and send or receive commissioners to + negotiate for a peaceful solution of the questions at issue; that he + would report to him my readiness to enter upon negotiations, and that + I knew of no insurmountable obstacle to such a treaty of peace as + would secure greater advantage to both parties than any result which + arms could achieve. + + "_January 14, 1865._ + + "The foregoing memorandum of conversation was this day read to Mr. + Blair, and altered in so far as he desired, in any respect, to change + the expressions employed. + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +The following letter was given by me to Mr. Blair: + + "RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, _January 12, 1865._ + + "F. P. BLAIR, Esq. + + "SIR: I have deemed it proper and probably desirable to you to give + you in this form the substance of remarks made by me to be repeated + by you to President Lincoln, etc., etc. + + "I have no disposition to find obstacles in forms, and am willing + now, as heretofore, to enter into negotiations for the restoration of + peace, am ready to send a commission whenever I have reason to + suppose it will be received, or to receive a commission if the United + States Government shall choose to send one. That, notwithstanding the + rejection of our former offers, I would, if you could promise that a + commissioner, minister, or other agent would be received, appoint one + immediately, and renew the effort to enter into conference with a + view to secure peace to the two countries. + + "Yours, etc., JEFFERSON DAVIS." + + + "WASHINGTON, _January 18, 1865._ + + "F. P. BLAIR, Esq. + + "SIR: You having shown me Mr. Davis's letter to you of the 12th + instant, you may say to him that I have constantly been, am now, and + shall continue ready to receive any agent whom he or any other + influential person now resisting the national authority may + informally send to me with the view of securing peace to the people + of our one common country. + + "Yours, etc., A. LINCOLN." + +When Mr. Blair returned and gave me this letter of Mr. Lincoln of +January 18th, it being a response to my note to Mr. Blair of the +12th, he said it had been a fortunate thing that I gave him that +note, as it had created greater confidence in Mr. Lincoln regarding +his efforts at Richmond. Further reflection, he said, had modified +the views he formerly presented to me, and that he wanted to have my +attention for a different mode of procedure. + +He had, as he told Mr. Lincoln, held friendly relations with me for +many years; they began as far back as when I was a schoolboy at +Lexington, Kentucky, and he a resident of that place. In later years +we had belonged to the same political party, and our views had +generally coincided. There was much, therefore, to facilitate our +conference. He then unfolded to me the embarrassment of Mr. Lincoln +on account of the extreme men in Congress and elsewhere, who wished +to drive him into harsher measures than he was inclined to adopt; +whence it would not be feasible for him to enter into any arrangement +with us by the use of political agencies; that, if anything +beneficial could be effected, it must be done without the +intervention of the politicians. He, therefore, suggested that +Generals Lee and Grant might enter into an arrangement by which +hostilities would be suspended, and a way paved for the restoration +of peace. I responded that I would willingly intrust to General Lee +such negotiation as was indicated. + +The conference then ended, and, to report to Mr. Lincoln the result +of his visit, Mr. Blair returned to Washington. He subsequently +informed me that the idea of a military convention was not favorably +received at Washington, so it only remained for me to act upon the +letter of Mr. Lincoln. + +I determined to send, as commissioners or agents for the informal +conference, Messrs. Alexander H. Stephens, R. M. T. Hunter, and John +A. Campbell. + +A letter of commission or certificate of appointment for each was +prepared by the Secretary of State in the following form: + + "In compliance with the letter of Mr. Lincoln, of which the foregoing + is a copy, you are hereby requested to proceed to Washington City for + conference with him upon the subject to which it relates," etc. + +This draft of a commission was, upon perusal, modified by me so as to +read as follows: + + "RICHMOND, _January 28, 1865._ + + "In conformity with the letter of Mr. Lincoln, of which the foregoing + is a copy, you are requested to proceed to Washington City for an + informal conference with him upon the issues involved in the existing + war, and for the purpose of securing peace to the two countries." + +Some objections were made to this commission by the United States +officials, because it authorized the commissioners to confer for the +purpose "of securing peace to the two countries"; whereas the letter +of Mr. Lincoln, which was their passport, spoke of "securing peace to +the people of our one common country." But these objections were +finally waived. + +The letter of Mr. Lincoln expressing a willingness to receive any +agent I might send to Washington City, a commission was appointed to +go there; but it was not allowed to proceed farther than Hampton +Roads, where Mr. Lincoln, accompanied by Mr. Seward, met the +commissioners. Seward craftily proposed that the conference should be +confidential, and the commissioners regarded this so binding on them +as to prevent them from including in their report the discussion +which occurred. This enabled Mr. Seward to give his own version of it +in a dispatch to the United States Minister to the French Government, +which was calculated to create distrust of, if not hostility to, the +Confederacy on the part of the power in Europe most effectively +favoring our recognition. + +Why Mr. Lincoln changed his purpose, and, instead of receiving the +commissioners at Washington, met them at Hampton Roads, I can not, of +course, explain. Several causes may be conjecturally assigned. The +commissioners were well known in Washington, had there held high +positions, and, so far as there was any peace party there, might have +been expected to have influence with its members; but a more +important inquiry is: If Mr. Lincoln previously had determined to +hear no proposition for negotiation, and to accept nothing less than +an unconditional surrender, why did he propose to receive informally +our agent? If there was nothing to discuss, the agent would have been +without functions. + +I think the views of Mr. Lincoln had changed after he wrote the +letter to Mr. Blair of June 18th, and that the change was mainly +produced by the report which he made of what he saw and heard at +Richmond on the night he staid there. Mr. Blair had many +acquaintances among the members of the Confederate Congress; and all +those of the class who, of old, fled to the cave of Adullam, +"gathered themselves unto him." + +Mr. Hunter, in a published article on the peace commission, referring +to Mr. Blair's visit to Richmond, says: "He saw many old friends and +party associates. Here his representations were not without effect +upon his old confederates, who for so long had been in the habit of +taking counsel with him on public affairs." He then goes on to +describe Mr. Blair as revealing dangers of such overwhelming disaster +as turned the thoughts of many Confederates toward peace more +seriously than ever before. That Mr. Blair saw and noted this serious +inclining of many to thoughts of peace, scarcely admits of a doubt; +and, if he believed the Congress to be infected by a cabal +undermining the Executive in his efforts successfully to prosecute +the war, Mr. Lincoln may be naturally supposed thence to have reached +the conclusion that he should accept nothing but an unconditional +surrender, and that he should not allow a commission from the +Confederacy to visit the United States capital. + +The report of the commissioners, dated February 5, 1865, was as +follows: + + "_To the President of the Confederate States:_ + + "SIR: Under your letter of appointment of the 28th ult. We proceeded + to seek 'an informal conference' with Abraham Lincoln, President of + the United States, upon the subject mentioned in the letter. The + conference was granted and took place on the 30th ult., on board of a + steamer anchored in Hampton Roads, where we met President Lincoln and + the Hon. Mr. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States. It + continued for several hours, and was both full and explicit. We + learned from them that the message of President Lincoln to the + Congress of the United States, in December last, explains clearly and + distinctly his sentiments as to the terms, conditions, and method of + proceeding by which peace can be secured to the people, and we were + not informed that they would be modified or altered to obtain that + end. We understood from him that no terms or proposals of any treaty, + or agreement looking to an ultimate settlement, would be entertained + or made by him with the authorities of the Confederate States, + because that would be a recognition of their existence as a separate + power, which under no circumstances would be done; and, for a like + reason, that no such terms would be entertained by him for the States + separately; that no extended truce or armistice (as at present + advised) would be granted or allowed without a satisfactory assurance + in advance of the complete restoration of the authority of the + Constitution and laws of the United States over all places within the + States of the Confederacy; that whatever consequences may follow from + the reestablishment of that authority must be accepted; but that + individuals subject to pains and penalties under the laws of the + United States might rely upon a very liberal use of the power + confided to him to remit those pains and penalties if peace be + restored. + + "During the conference, the proposed amendment to the Constitution of + the United States adopted by Congress on the 31st ultimo was brought + to our notice. + + "This amendment provides that neither slavery nor involuntary + servitude, except for crime, should exist within the United States, + or any place within their jurisdiction, and that Congress should have + power to enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Very + respectfully, etc., + + "ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, + + "R. M. T. HUNTER, + + "JOHN A. CAMPBELL." + +Thus closed the conference, and all negotiations with the Government +of the United States for the establishment of peace. Says Judge +Campbell, in his memoranda: + + "In conclusion, Mr. Hunter summed up what seemed to be the result of + the interview: that there could be no arrangements by treaty between + the Confederate States and the United States, or any agreements + between them; that there was nothing left for them but unconditional + submission." + +By reference to the message of President Lincoln of December 6, 1864, +which is mentioned in the report, it appears that the terms of peace +therein stated were as follows: + + "In presenting the abandonment of armed resistance to the national + authority on the part of the insurgents, as the only indispensable + condition to ending the war on the part of the Government, I retract + nothing heretofore said as to slavery. I repeat the declaration made + a year ago, that 'while I remain in my present position I shall not + attempt to retract or modify the emancipation proclamation, nor shall + I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of that + proclamation, or by any act of Congress.' + + "If the people should, by whatever mode or means, make it an + executive duty to reënslave such persons, another, and not I, must be + their instrument to perform it." + +On the 4th of March, 1861, President Lincoln appeared on the western +portico of the Capitol at Washington, and in the presence of a great +multitude of witnesses took the following oath: + + "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of + President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, + preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." + +The first section of the fourth article of the Constitution of the +United States is in these words: + + "No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws + thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or + regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but + shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or + labor may be due." + +The intelligent reader will observe that the words of this section, +"in consequence of any law or regulation therein," embrace a +President's emancipation proclamation, as well as any other +regulation therein. Thus the Constitution itself nullified Mr. +Lincoln's proclamation, and made it of no force whatever. Yet he +assumed and maintained, with all the military force he could command, +that it set every slave free. Which is the higher authority, Mr. +Lincoln and his emancipation proclamation or the Constitution? If the +former, then what are constitutions worth for the protection of +rights? + +Again he says: + + "Nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of + that proclamation or by an act of Congress." + +But the Constitution says he shall return them-- + + "but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service + is due." + +Who shall decide? Which is sovereign, Mr. Lincoln and his +proclamation or the Constitution? The Constitution says: + + "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be + made in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land." + +Was it thus obeyed by Mr. Lincoln as the supreme law of the land? It +was not obeyed, but set aside, subverted, overturned by him. But he +said in his oath: + + "I do solemnly swear that I will, to the best of my ability, + preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." + +Did he do it? Is such treatment of the Constitution the manner to +preserve, protect, and defend it? Of what value, then, are paper +constitutions and oaths binding officers to their preservation, if +there is not intelligence enough in the people to discern the +violations, and virtue enough to resist the violators? + +Again the report says: + + "We understood from him that no terms or proposals of any treaty or + agreement looking to an ultimate settlement would be entertained or + made by him with the authorities of the Confederate States, because + that would be a recognition of their existence as a separate power, + which under no circumstances would be done; and, for a like reason, + that no such terms would be entertained by him for the States + separately." + +Now the Constitution of the United States says, in Article X: + + "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, + nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States + respectively, or to the people." + +Within the purview of this article of the Constitution the States are +independent, distinct, and sovereign bodies--that is, in their +reserved powers they are as sovereign, separate, and supreme as the +Government of the United States in its delegated powers. One of these +reserved powers is the right of the people to alter or abolish any +form of government, and to institute a new one such as to them shall +seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness; that power is +neither "delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor +prohibited by it to the States." On the contrary, it is guaranteed to +the States by the Constitution itself in these words: + + "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, + nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States + respectively, or to the people." + +Mark the words, "are reserved to the States respectively, or to the +people." No one will venture to say that a sovereign State, by the +mere act of accession to the Constitution, delegated the power of +secession. The assertion would be of no validity if it were made; for +the question is one of fact as to the powers delegated or not +delegated to the United States by the Constitution. It is absurd to +ask if the power of secession in a State is delegated to the United +States by the Constitution, or prohibited by it to the States. No +trace of the delegation or prohibition of this power is to be found +in the Constitution. It is, therefore, as the Constitution says, +"reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." + +The Convention of the State of New York, which ratified the +Constitution of the United States on July 26, 1788, in its resolution +of ratification said: + + "We do declare and make known . . . that the powers of Government may + be reassumed by the people, whensoever it shall become necessary to + their happiness; that every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is + not by the said Constitution clearly delegated to the Congress of the + United States, or to the departments of the Government thereof, + remains to the people of the several States, or to their respective + State governments, to whom they may have granted the same. . . . + Under these impressions, and declaring that the rights aforesaid can + not be abridged or violated," etc., etc., "we, the said delegates, in + the name and in behalf of the people of the State of New York, do, by + these presents, assent to and ratify the said Constitution." + +With this and other conditions stated in the resolution of +ratification, it was accepted and approved by the other States, and +New York became a member of the Union. The resolution of Rhode Island +asserts the same reservation in regard to the reassumption of powers. + +It is unnecessary to examine here whether this reserved power exists +in the States respectively or in the people; for, when the +Confederate States seceded, it was done by the people, acting +through, or in conjunction with, the State, and by that power which +is expressly reserved to them in the Constitution of the United +States. When Mr. Lincoln, therefore, issued his proclamation calling +for seventy-five thousand men to subjugate certain "combinations too +powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial +proceedings," he not only thereby denied the validity of the +Constitution, but sought to resist, by military force, the exercise +of a power clearly reserved in the Constitution, and reaffirmed in +its tenth amendment, to the States respectively or to the people for +their exercise. But, in order to justify his flagrant disregard of +the Constitution, he contrived the fiction of "combinations," and +upon this basis commenced the bloody war of subjugation with all its +consequences. Thus, any recognition of the Confederate States, or of +either of them, in his negotiations, would have exposed the +groundlessness of his fiction. But the Constitution required him to +recognize each of them, for they had simply exercised a power which +it expressly reserved for their exercise. Thus it is seen who +violated the Constitution, and upon whom rests the responsibility of +the war. + +It has been stated above that the conditions offered to our soldiers +whenever they proposed to capitulate, were only those of subjugation. +When General Buckner, on February 16, 1862, asked of General Grant to +appoint commissioners to agree upon terms of capitulation, he replied: + + "No terms, except unconditional and immediate surrender, can be + accepted." + +When General Lee asked the same question, on April 9, 1865, General +Grant replied: + + "The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood. By the + South laying down their arms, they will hasten that most desirable + event, save thousands of human lives and hundreds of millions of + property not yet destroyed." + +When General Sherman made an agreement with General Johnston for +formal disbandment of the army of the latter, it was at once +disapproved by the Government of the United States, and Sherman +therefore wrote to Johnston: + + "I demand the surrender of your army on the same terms as were given + to General Lee at Appomattox, on April 9th, purely and simply." + +It remains to be stated that the Government which spurned all these +proposals for peace, and gave no terms but unconditional and +immediate surrender, was instituted and organized for the purposes +and objects expressed in the following extract, and for no others: + + "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect + union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for + the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the + blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and + establish this Constitution for the United States of America." + + +[Footnote 117: General Hampton's letter to General Sherman, February 27, +1865.] + +[Footnote 118: "The Story of the Great March, from the Diary of a Staff +Officer." By Brevet Major George Ward Nichols, Aide-de-Camp to +General Sherman. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1865, pp. 112, _et seq_.] + + + + +CHAPTER LI. + + General Sherman leaves Savannah.--His March impeded.--Difficulty In + collecting Troops to oppose him.--The Line of the Salkehatchie.-- + Route of the Enemy's Advance.--Evacuation of Columbia.--Its + Surrender by the Mayor.--Burning the City.--Sherman responsible.-- + Evacuation of Charleston.--The Confederate Forces in North + Carolina.--General Johnston's Estimate.--General Johnston assigned + to the Command.--The Enemy's Advance from Columbia to Fayetteville, + North Carolina.--"Foraging Parties."--Sherman's Threat and + Hampton's Reply.--Description of Federal "Treasure-Seekers" by + Sherman's Aide-de-Camp.--Failure of Johnston's Projected Attack at + Fayetteville.--Affair at Kinston.--Cavalry Exploits.--General + Johnston withdraws to Smithfield.--Encounter at Averysboro.-- + Battles of Bentonville.--Union of Sherman's and Schofield's + Forces.--Johnston's Retreat to Raleigh. + + +After the evacuation of Savannah by General Hardee, it soon became +known that General Sherman was making preparations to march northward +through the Carolinas with the supposed purpose of uniting his forces +with those of General Grant before Richmond. General Hardee, having +left detachments at proper points to defend the approaches to +Charleston and Augusta, Georgia, withdrew the rest of his command to +the first-named city. General Wheeler's cavalry held all the roads +northward, and, by felling trees and burning bridges, obstructed +considerably the enemy's advance, which in the early part of January +was still further impeded by the heavy rains which had swollen the +rivers and creeks far beyond their usual width and depth. + +The seriously impaired condition of our railroad communications in +Georgia and Alabama, the effect of the winter rains on the already +poor and ill-constructed country roads, the difficulty in collecting +and transporting supplies, to impeded the concentration of our +available forces, that Generals Beauregard and Hardee--the former at +Columbia, South Carolina, and the latter at Charleston--could only +retard, not prevent, the onward march of the enemy. At the outset of +his movement the Salkehatchie River presented a very strong line of +defense. Its swollen condition at that time, and the wide, deeply +inundated swamps on both sides, rendered it almost impossible to +force or outflank the position if adequately defended. It might have +been better if we had then abandoned the attempt to hold cities of no +strategic importance, and concentrated their garrisons at this point, +where the chances of successful resistance were greater than at any +subsequent period of the campaign. For, even if our expectation had +been disappointed, and had the superior numerical force of the enemy +compelled us to withdraw from this line, the choice of several good +positions was open to us, any one of which, by moving upon converging +lines, we could reach sooner than was possible to Sherman, whose +passage of the river must have been much encumbered and delayed by +his trains. Of these defensive positions, Branchville and Orangeburg +may be regarded as eligible: had Sherman headed his columns toward +Charleston, our forces would have been in position to attack him in +front and on the flank. Had his objective point been Augusta, he +would have had our army in his rear; and had, as proved to be the +case, Columbia been the place at which he aimed, our army would have +been able to reach there sooner than he could. + +[Illustration: Lieutenant-General William J. Hardee] + +General Sherman left Savannah January 22, 1865, and reached +Pocotaligo on the 24th. On February 3d he crossed the Salkehatchie +with slight resistance at River's and Beaufort bridges, and thence +pushed forward to the South Carolina Railroad at Midway, Bamberg, and +Graham's. After thoroughly destroying the railroad between these +places, which occupied three or four days, he advanced slowly along +the line of the railroad, threatening Branchville, the junction of +the railroads from Augusta to Columbia and Charleston. For a short +time it was doubtful whether he proposed to attack Augusta, Georgia, +where it was well known we had our principal powder-mill, many +important factories and shops, and large stores of army supplies; but +on the 11th it was found that he was moving north to Orangeburg, on +the road from Branchville to Columbia, the latter city being the +objective point of his march. Early on the morning of the 16th the +head of his columns reached the Congaree opposite Columbia. The +bridge over that stream had been burned by our retreating troops, but +a pontoon bridge, built by the enemy under cover of strong +detachments who had crossed higher up at Saluda Factory, enabled the +main body to pass the river and enter the city on the morning of the +17th, the Confederate troops having previously evacuated it. On the +same day the Mayor formally surrendered the city to Colonel Stone, +commanding a brigade of the Fifteenth Corps, and claimed for its +citizens the protection which the laws of civilized war always accord +to non-combatants. In infamous disregard not only of the established +rules of war, but of the common dictates of humanity, the defenseless +city was burned to the ground, after the dwelling-houses had been +robbed of everything of value, and their helpless inmates subjected +to outrage and insult of a character too base to be described. + +Hypocrisy is the tribute which vice pays to virtue; therefore General +Sherman has endeavored to escape the reproaches for the burning of +Columbia by attributing it to General Hampton's order to burn the +cotton in the city, that it might not fall into the hands of the +enemy. General Hampton has proved circumstantially that General +Sherman's statement is untrue, and, though in any controversy to +which General Hampton may be a party, no corroborative evidence is +necessary to substantiate his assertion of a fact coming within his +personal observation, hundreds of unimpeachable witnesses have +testified that the burning of Columbia was the deliberate act of the +Federal soldiery, and that it was certainly permitted, if not +ordered, by the commanding General. The following letter of General +Hampton will to those who know him be conclusive: + + "WILD WOODS, MISSISSIPPI, _April 21, 1866._ + + "To Hon. REVERDY JOHNSON, _United States Senate._ + + "SIR: A few days ago I saw in the published proceedings of Congress + that a petition from Benjamin Kawles, of Columbia, South Carolina, + asking for compensation for the destruction of his house by tho + Federal army, in February, 1865, had been presented to the Senate, + accompanied by a letter from Major-General Sherman. In this letter + General Sherman uses the following language: 'The citizens of + Columbia set fire to thousands of bales of cotton rolled out into the + streets, and which were burning before we entered Columbia; I, + myself, was in the city as early as nine o'clock, and I saw these + fires, and knew that efforts were made to extinguish them, but a high + and strong wind prevented. I gave no orders for the burning of your + city, but, on the contrary, the conflagration resulted from the great + imprudence of cutting the cotton bales, whereby the contents were + spread to the wind, so that it became an impossibility to arrest the + fire. I saw in your Columbia newspaper the printed order of General + Wade Hampton, that on the approach of the Yankee army all the cotton + should thus be burned, and, from what I saw myself, I have no + hesitation in saying that he was the cause of the destruction of your + city.' + + "This charge, made against me by General Sherman, having been brought + before the Senate of the United States, I am naturally most + solicitous to vindicate myself before the same tribunal. But my State + has no representative in that body. Those who should be her + constitutional representatives there are debarred the right of + entrance into those halls. There are none who have the right to speak + for the South; none to participate in the legislation which governs + her; none to impose the taxes she is called upon to pay, and none to + vindicate her sons from misrepresentation, injustice, or slander. + Under these circumstances, I appeal to you, in the confident hope you + will use every effort to see that justice is done in this matter. + + "I deny, emphatically, that any cotton was fired in Columbia by my + order. I deny that the citizens 'set fire to thousands of bales + rolled out into the streets.' I deny that any cotton was on fire when + the Federal troops entered the city. I most respectfully ask of + Congress to appoint a committee, charged with the duty of + ascertaining and reporting all the facts connected with the + destruction of Columbia, and thus fixing upon the proper author of + that enormous crime the infamy he richly deserves. I am willing to + submit the case to any honest tribunal. Before any such I pledge + myself to prove that I gave a positive order, by direction of General + Beauregard, that no cotton should be fired; that not one bale was on + fire when General Sherman's troops took possession of the city; that + he promised protection to the city, and that, in spite of his solemn + promise, he burned the city to the ground, deliberately, + systematically, and atrociously. I, therefore, most earnestly request + that Congress may take prompt and efficient measures to investigate + this matter fully. Not only is this due to themselves and to the + reputation of the United States army, but also to justice and to + truth. Trusting that you will pardon me for troubling you, I am, very + respectfully, your obedient servant, + + "WADE HAMPTON." + +Were this the only instance of such barbarity perpetrated by General +Sherman's army, his effort to escape the responsibility might be more +successful, because more plausible; but when the eulogists of his +exploits note exultingly that "wide-spreading columns of smoke rose +wherever the army went," when it is incontrovertibly true that the +line of his march could be traced by the burning dwelling-houses and +by the wail of women and children pitilessly left to die from +starvation and exposure in the depth of winter, his plea of "not +guilty" in the case of the city of Columbia can not free him from the +reprobation which outraged humanity must attach to an act of cruelty +which only finds a parallel in the barbarous excesses of +Wallenstein's army in the Thirty Years' War, and which, even at that +period of the world's civilization, sullied the fame of that +otherwise great soldier. + +In consequence of General Sherman's movements, it was considered +advisable to evacuate Charleston (February 17th), that General +Hardee's command might become available for service in the field; and +thus that noble city and its fortresses, which the combined military +and naval forces of the United States, during an eighteen months' +siege, had failed to reduce, and which will stand for ever as +imperishable monuments of the skill and fortitude of their defenders, +were, on February 21st, without resistance, occupied by the Federal +forces under General Q. A. Gillmore. + +Fort Sumter, though it now presented the appearance of a ruin, was +really better proof against bombardment than when first subjected to +fire. The upper tier of masonry, from severe battering, had fallen on +the outer wall, and shot and shell served only to solidify and add +harder material to the mass. Over its rampart the Confederate flag +defiantly floated until the city of Charleston was evacuated. + +Every effort that our circumstances permitted was immediately and +thenceforward made to collect troops for the defense of North +Carolina. General Hood's army, the troops under command of General D. +H. Hill at Augusta, General Hardee's force, a few thousand men under +General Bragg, and the cavalry commands of Generals Hampton and +Wheeler, constituted our entire available strength to oppose +Sherman's advance. These were collected as rapidly as our broken +communications and the difficulty of gathering and transporting +supplies would permit. + +After the fall of Columbia, General Beauregard, commanding the +military department, retreated toward North Carolina. The Army of +Tennessee (Hood's) was moving from the west to make a junction with +the troops retiring from South Carolina. The two forces, if united +with Hardee's command, then moving in the same direction, would, it +was hoped, be able to make effective resistance to Sherman's advance. +In any event it was needful that they should be kept in such relation +to Lee's army as to make a junction with it practicable. In this +state of affairs I was informed that General Beauregard, after his +troops had entered North Carolina, had decided to march to the +eastern part of that State. This would leave the road to Charlotte +open to Sherman's pursuing column, which, interposing, would prevent +the troops coming from the west from joining Beauregard, enable him +to destroy our force in detail by the joint action of his own army +and that of Schofield, commanding the district of Wilmington. The +anxiety created by this condition of affairs caused me, after full +correspondence with General Lee, to suggest to him to give his views +to General Beauregard, and I sent to General Beauregard's +headquarters the chief-engineer, General J. F. Gilmer, he being +possessed fully of my opinions and wishes. General Beauregard +modified his proposed movements so as to keep his forces on the left +of the enemy's line of march until the troops coming from Hood's army +could make a junction. These were the veteran commands of Stevenson, +Cheatham, and Stewart. Lieutenant-General S. D. Lee, though he had +not entirely recovered from a wound received in the Tennessee +campaign, was at Augusta, Georgia, collecting the fragments of Hood's +army to follow the troops previously mentioned. They had not moved +together, and the first-named division had reached Beauregard's army +in South Carolina. + +Though it contained an implied compliment, General Lee was not a +little disturbed by occasional applications made to have troops +detached from his army to reënforce others. The last instance had +been a call from General Beauregard for reënforcements from the Army +of Virginia. He had always been attentive, and ready as far as he +could, to meet the wants of other commands of our army, but at this +time those who knew his condition could not suppose he had any men to +spare; yet the fact of thinking so was a compliment to his success in +resisting the large army which was assailing his small one. There had +always been entire co-intelligence and accord between General Lee and +myself, but the Congress about this time thought his power would be +increased by giving him the nominal dignity of general-in-chief, +under which he resumed, as far as he could, the general charge of +armies from which, at his urgent solicitation, I had relieved him +after he took command, in the field, of the Army of Northern Virginia. + +A few days subsequent to the events in North Carolina to which +reference has been made, General Lee proposed to me that General J. +E. Johnston should be put in command of the troops in North Carolina. +He still had the confidence in that officer which I had once felt, +but which his campaigns in Mississippi and Georgia had impaired. With +the understanding that General Lee was himself to supervise and +control the operations, I assented to the assignment. General +Johnston, on the 23d of February, at Charlotte, North Carolina, +relieved General Beauregard and assumed command. General Lee's first +instructions to General Johnston were to "concentrate all available +forces and drive back Sherman." The first part of the instructions was +well executed; the last part of it was more desirable than practicable, +though the brief recital made herein of the events of the campaign +claimed the credit due to a vigorous effort. + +General Johnston's force, according to his estimate, when he took +command, amounted to about sixteen thousand infantry and artillery, +and four thousand cavalry; if to this be added the portion of the +Army of Tennessee, about twenty-five hundred men, under command of +General Stephen D, Lee, which afterward joined the army at +Smithfield, North Carolina, and that of General Bragg's command at +Goldsboro, which amounted to about eight thousand, the aggregate +would be about thirty thousand five hundred men of all arms. + +After leaving Columbia, the course of the Federal army through +Winnsboro, across the Catawba at Rocky Mount, Hanging Rock, and +Peay's Ferry, and in the direction of Cheraw on the Great Pedee, +indicated that it would attempt to cross the Cape Fear River at +Fayetteville, North Carolina--a town sixty miles south of Raleigh, +and of special importance, as containing an arsenal, several +Government shops, and a large portion of the machinery which had been +removed from Harper's Ferry--and effect a junction at that point +with General Schofield's command, then known to be at Wilmington. Up +to this time, while no encounter of any magnitude had taken place, +the enemy's progress had been much impeded by the Confederate +cavalry, and the robbery of private citizens by gangs of armed +banditti, called "foraging parties," was in a large measure +prevented. The right of an army to forage as it advances through an +enemy's country is not questioned. But the right to forage, to +collect food for men and horses, does not mean the right to rob +household furniture, plate, trinkets, and every conceivable species +of private property, and to burn whatever could not be carried away, +together with the dwellings. General Sherman complained that some of +these "foragers," who were caught in the commission of the +above-named offenses, and had added thereto the greater crime of +assaulting women, had been summarily dealt with by some of those +whose wives and daughters they had outraged, and whose homes they had +made desolate; and he informed General Hampton that in retaliation he +had ordered a number of Confederate prisoners of war to be put to +death. To arrest this brutality General Hampton promptly informed him +that, "for every soldier of mine murdered by you, I shall have +executed at once two of yours, giving in all cases preference to any +officers who may be in our hands," and adding, with a view to check +the inhuman system of burning the houses of those citizens whom they +had robbed, that he had ordered his men "to shoot down all of your +men who are caught burning houses." [117] This notice and the +knowledge that General Hampton would keep his word, produced, it is +believed, a very salutary effect, and thereafter the fear of +punishment wrought a reform which the dictates of honor and humanity +had been powerless to effect. + +The historian of Sherman's "Great March," in his illustrated +narrative of that expedition, describes both with pen and pencil the +manner in which "with untiring zeal the soldiers hunted for concealed +treasures. . . . Wherever the army halted," he writes, "almost every +inch of ground in the vicinity of the dwellings was poked by ramrods, +pierced with sabers, or upturned with spades," searching for +"valuable personal effects, plate, jewelry, and other rich goods, as +well as articles of food, such as hams, sugar, flour, etc. . . . It +was comical," adds the chronicler, "to see a group of these +red-bearded, barefooted, ragged veterans punching the unoffending +earth in an apparently idiotic but certainly most energetic way. If +they 'struck a vein,' a spade was instantly put into requisition, and +the coveted wealth was speedily unearthed. Nothing escaped the +observation of these sharp-witted soldiers. A woman standing upon the +porch of a house, apparently watching their proceedings, instantly +became an object of suspicion, and she was watched until some +movement betrayed a place of concealment. The fresh earth recently +thrown up, a bed of flowers just set out, the slightest indication of +a change in appearance or position, all attracted the gaze of these +military agriculturists. It was all fair spoil of war, and the search +made one of the excitements of the march." [118] The author of the +work from which the foregoing is an extract was an aide-de-camp on +the staff of General Sherman. The playful manner in which he +describes these habitual acts of plunder of "plate, jewelry and other +rich goods" from private and undefended dwellings shows that not +only was such conduct not forbidden by the military authorities, but +that it was permitted and applauded, that it was practiced "wherever +the army halted" under the eye of the staff-officers of the General +commanding, and was looked upon as one of the pleasurable +"excitements of the march." Indeed, so agreeable was the impression +made by these scenes of robbery of women's "rich goods" that he has +adorned his narrative with a full-page illustration, exhibiting a +plantation home surrounded by soldiers engaged, as this staff-officer +humorously terms it, in "treasure-seeking," while the lady of the +house--its only apparent occupant--stands upon the veranda, with +hands uplifted, beseeching them not to steal the watch and chain +which they are taking out of a vessel which they have just dug up. +That the foreign mercenaries, of which the Federal army was largely +composed, should have been guilty of such disgraceful conduct, when +free from the observation of their officers, is conceivable; but it +is difficult to imagine that, in the nineteenth century, such acts as +are described above could be committed habitually, in view of the +officer of highest rank in the army of a civilized country, and not +merely pass unpunished or unrebuked, but be recorded with conspicuous +approval in the pages of a military history. + +The advance of the enemy's columns across the Catawba, Lynch's Creek, +and the Pedee, at Cheraw, though retarded as much as possible by the +vigilant skill of our cavalry under Generals Hampton, Butler, and +Wheeler, was steady and continuous. General Johnston's hope that, +from the enemy's order of moving by wings, sometimes a day's march +from each other, he could find an opportunity to strike one of their +columns in the passage of the Cape Fear River, when the other was not +in supporting distance, was unhappily disappointed. + +On March 6th, near Kinston, General Bragg with a reënforcement of +less than two thousand men attacked and routed three divisions of the +enemy under Major-General Cox, capturing fifteen hundred prisoners +and three field-pieces, and inflicting heavy loss in killed and +wounded. This success, though inspiring, was on too small a scale to +produce important results. During the march from the Catawba to the +Cape Fear several brilliant cavalry affairs took place, in which our +troops displayed their wonted energy and dash. Among these the most +conspicuous were General Butler's at Mount Elon, where he defeated a +detachment sent to tear up the railroad at Florence; General +Wheeler's attack and repulse of the left flank of the enemy at +Hornesboro, March 4th; a similar exploit by the same officer at +Rockingham on the 7th; the attack and defeat by General Hampton of a +detachment on the 8th; the surprise and capture of General +Kilpatrick's camp by General Hampton on the morning of the 10th, +driving the enemy into an adjoining swamp, and taking possession of +his artillery and wagon-train, and the complete rout of a large +Federal party by General Hampton with an inferior force at +Fayetteville on the 11th. + +As it was doubtful whether General Sherman's advance from +Fayetteville would be directed to Goldsboro or Raleigh, General +Johnston took position with a portion of his command at Smithfield, +which is nearly equidistant from each of those places, leaving +General Hardee to follow the road from Fayetteville to Raleigh, which +for several miles is also the direct road from Fayetteville to +Smithfield, and posted one division of his cavalry on the Raleigh +road, and another on that to Goldsboro. On the 16th of March General +Hardee was attacked by two corps of the enemy, a few miles south of +Averysboro, a place nearly half-way between Fayetteville and Raleigh. +Falling back a few hundred yards to a stronger position, he easily +repelled the repeated attacks of these two corps during the day, and, +learning in the evening that the enemy's corps were moving to turn +his left, he withdrew in the night toward Smithfield. + +Early in the morning of the 18th General Johnston obtained definite +information that General Sherman was marching on Goldsboro, the right +wing of his army being about a day's march distant from the left. +General Johnston took immediate steps to attack the head of the left +wing on the morning of the 19th, and ordered the troops at Smithfield +and General Hardee's command to march at once to Bentonville and take +position between that village and the road on which the enemy was +advancing. An error as to the relative distance which our troops and +those of the enemy would have to move, exaggerating the distance +between the roads on which the enemy was advancing and diminishing +the distance that our troops would have to march, caused the failure +to concentrate our troops in time to attack the enemy's left wing +while in column; but, when General Hardee's troops reached +Bentonville in the morning, the attack was commenced. The battle +lasted through the greater part of the day, resulting in the enemy's +being driven from two lines of intrenchments, and his taking shelter +in a dense wood, where it was impracticable for our troops to +preserve their line of battle or to employ the combined strength of +the three arms. On the 20th the two wings of the Federal army, +numbering, as estimated by General Johnston, upward of seventy +thousand, came together and repeatedly attacked a division of our +force (Hoke's) which occupied an intrenched position parallel to the +road to Averysboro; but every attack was handsomely repulsed. On the +next day (21st) an attempt by the enemy to reach Bentonville in the +rear of our center, and thus cut off our only route of retreat, was +gallantly defeated by an impetuous and skillful attack, led by +Generals Hardee and Hampton, on the front and both flanks of the +enemy's column, by which he was compelled to retreat as rapidly as he +had advanced. In this attack. General Hardee's only son, a noble boy, +charging gallantly with the Eighth Texas Cavalry, fell mortally +wounded. On the night of the 21st our troops were withdrawn across +Mill Creek, and in the evening of the 22d bivouacked near Smithfield. +On the 23d the forces of General Sherman and those of General +Schofield were united at Goldsboro, where they remained inactive for +upward of two weeks. + +On the 9th of April the Confederate forces took up the line of march +to Raleigh, and reached that city early in the afternoon of the same +day closely followed by the Federal army. + + + + +CHAPTER LII. + + Siege of Petersburg.--Violent Assault upon our Position.--A Cavalry + Expedition.--Contest near Ream's Station.--The City invested with + Earthworks.--Position of the Forces.--The Mine exploded, and an + Assault made.--Attacks on our Lines.--Object of the Enemy.--Our + Strength.--Assault on Fort Fisher.--Evacuation of Wilmington.-- + Purpose of Grant's Campaign.--Lee's Conference with the + President.--Plans.--Sortie against Fort Steadman.--Movements of + Grant farther to Lee's right.--Army retires from Petersburg.--The + Capitulation.--Letters of Lee. + + +After the battle of Cold Harbor, the geography of the country no +longer enabled General Grant, by a flank movement to his left, to +keep himself covered by a stream, and yet draw nearer to his +objective point, Richmond. He had now reached the Chickahominy, and +to move down the east bank of that stream would be to depart further +from the prize he sought, the capital of the Confederacy. His +overland march had cost him the loss of more men than Lee's army +contained at the beginning of the campaign. He now, from +considerations which may fairly be assumed to have been the result of +his many unsuccessful assaults on Lee's army, or from other +considerations which I am not in a position to suggest, decided to +seek a new base on the James River, and to attempt the capture of our +capital by a movement from the south. With this view, on the night of +June 12th he commenced a movement by the lower crossings of the +Chickahominy toward the James River. General Lee learned of the +withdrawal on the next morning, and moved to our pontoon-bridge above +Drury's Bluff. While Grant's army was making this march to James +River, General Smith, with his division, which had arrived at Bermuda +Hundred, was, on the night of the 14th, directed to move against +Petersburg, with an additional force of two divisions, it being +supposed that this column would be sufficient to effect what General +Butler's previous attempts had utterly failed to accomplish, the +capture of Petersburg and the destruction of the Southern Railroad. +On the morning of the 15th the attack was made, the exterior redoubts +and rifle-pits were carried, and the column advanced toward the inner +works, but the artillery was used so effectively as to impress the +commander of the assailants with the idea that there must be a large +supporting force of infantry, and the attack was suspended so as to +allow the columns in rear to come up. + +Hancock's corps was on the south side of the James River, before the +attack on Petersburg commenced, and was ordered to move forward, but +not informed that an attack was to be made, nor directed to march to +Petersburg until late in the afternoon, when he received orders to +move to the aid of General Smith. It being night when the junction +was made, it was deemed prudent to wait until morning. Had they known +how feeble was the garrison, it is probable that Petersburg would +have been captured that night; but with the morning came another +change, as marked as that from darkness to light. Lee crossed the +James River on the 15th, and by a night march his advance was in the +entrenchments of Petersburg before the morning for which the enemy +was waiting. The artillery now had other support than the old men and +boys of the town. + +The Confederates promptly seized the commanding points and rapidly +strengthened their lines, so that the morning's reconnaissance +indicated to the enemy the propriety of postponing an attack until +all his force should arrive. + +On the 17th an assault was made with such spirit and force as to gain +a part of our line, in which, however, the assailants suffered +severely. Lee had now constructed a line in rear of the one first +occupied, having such advantages as gave to our army much greater +power to resist. On the morning of the 18th Grant ordered a general +assault, but finding that the former line had been evacuated, and a +new one on more commanding ground had been constructed, the assault +was postponed until the afternoon; then attacks were made by heavy +columns on various parts of our line, with some partial success, but +the final result was failure everywhere, and with extraordinary +sacrifice of life. + +With his usual persistence, he had made attack after attack, and for +the resulting carnage had no gain to compensate. The eagerness +manifested leads to the supposition that it was expected to capture +the place while Lee with part of his force was guarding against an +advance on Richmond by the river road. The four days' experience +seems to have convinced Grant of the impolicy of assault, for +thereafter he commenced to lay siege to the place. On the 21st a +heavy force of the enemy was advanced more to our right, in the +vicinity of the Weldon Railroad, which runs southward from +Petersburg. But General Lee, observing an interval between the left +of the Second and right of the Sixth of the enemy's corps, sent +forward a column under General A. P. Hill, which, entering the +interval, poured a fire into the flank of one corps on the right and +the other on the left, doubling their flank divisions up on their +center, and driving them with disorder and with heavy loss. Several +entire regiments, a battery, and many standards were captured, when +Hill, having checked the advance which was directed against the +Weldon Railroad, withdrew with his captures to his former position, +bringing with him the guns and nearly three thousand prisoners. + +On the same night, a cavalry expedition, consisting of the divisions +of Generals Wilson and Kautz, numbering about six thousand men, was +sent west to cut the Weldon, Southside, and Danville Railroads, which +connected our army with the south and west. This raid resulted in +important injury to our communications. The enemy's cavalry tore up +large distances of the tracks of all three of the railroads, burning +the wood-work and laying waste the country around. But they were +pursued and harassed by a small body of cavalry under General W. H. +F. Lee, and, on their return near Ream's Station, were met, near +Sapponey Church, by a force of fifteen hundred cavalry under General +Hampton. That officer at once attacked. The fighting continued +fiercely throughout the night, and at dawn the enemy's cavalry +retreated in confusion. Near Ream's Station, at which point they +attempted to cross the Weldon Railroad, they were met by General +Fitzhugh Lee's horsemen and a body of infantry under General Mahone, +and the force completed their discomfiture. After a brief attempt to +force their way, they broke in disorder, leaving behind them twelve +pieces of artillery, and more than a thousand prisoners, and many +wagons and ambulances. The railroads were soon repaired, and the +enemy's cavalry was for the time rendered unfit for service. + +Every attempt made to force General Lee's lines having proved +unsuccessful, General Grant determined upon the method of slow +approaches, and proceeded to confront the city with a line of +earthworks, and, by gradually extending the line to his left, he +hoped to reach out toward the Weldon and Southside Railroads. To +obtain possession of these roads now became the special object with +him, and all his movements had regard to that end. Petersburg is +twenty-two miles south of Richmond, and is connected with the south +and west by the Weldon and Southside Railroads, the latter of which +crosses the Danville Railroad, the main line of communication between +Richmond and the Gulf States. With the enemy once holding these roads +and those north of the city, Richmond would be isolated, and it would +have been necessary for the Confederate army to evacuate eastern +Virginia. + +It will be seen from what has been written that, though the +operations against Petersburg have been ordinarily called a siege, it +could not in strictness of language be so denominated, as the +communications in the rear, as well as to the north and south, were +still open. It was really a conflict between opposing intrenchments. + +General Grant had crossed a force into Charles City, on the north +bank of the James, and thus menaced Richmond with an assault from +that quarter. His line extended thence across the neck of the +peninsula of Bermuda Hundred, and east and south of Petersburg, where +it gradually stretched westward, approaching nearer and nearer to the +railroads bringing the supplies for our army and for Richmond. The +line of General Lee conformed to that of General Grant. In addition +to the works east and southeast of Richmond, an exterior line of +defense had been constructed against the hostile forces at Deep +Bottom, and, in addition to a fortification of some strength at +Drury's Bluff, obstructions were placed in the river to prevent the +ascent of the Federal gunboats. The lines thence continued facing +those of the enemy north of the Appomattox, and, crossing that +stream, extended around the city of Petersburg, gradually moving +westward with the works of the enemy. The struggle that ensued +consisted chiefly of attempts to break through our lines. These it is +not my purpose to notice _seriatim_; some of them, however, it is +thought necessary to mention. While at Petersburg, the assaults of +the enemy were met by a resistance sufficient to repel his most +vigorous attacks; our force confronting Deep Bottom was known to be +so small as to suggest an attempt to capture Richmond by a movement +on the north side of the James. On the 26th of July a corps of +infantry was sent over to Deep Bottom to move against our +pontoon-bridges near to Drury's Bluff, so as to prevent Lee from +sending reënforcements to the north side of the James, while Sheridan +with his cavalry moved to the north side of Richmond to attack the +works which, being poorly garrisoned, it was thought might be taken +by assault. Lee, discovering the movement after the enemy had gained +some partial success, sent over reënforcements, which drove him back +and defeated the expedition. On the night of the 28th the infantry +corps (Hancock's) was secretly withdrawn from the north side of the +river, to coöperate in the grand assault which Grant was preparing to +make upon Lee's intrenchments. The uniform failure, as has been +stated, of the assaults upon our lines had caused the conclusion that +they could only succeed after a breach had been made in the works. +For that purpose a subterranean gallery for a mine was run under one +of our forts. General Burnside, who conducted the operation, thus +describes the work: + + "The main gallery of the mine is five hundred and twenty-two feet in + length, the side-galleries about forty feet each. My suggestion is + that eight magazines be placed in the lateral galleries, two at each + end, say a few feet apart, at right angles to the side-gallery, and + two more in each of the side-galleries, similarly placed by pairs, + situated equidistant from each other, and the end of the galleries, + thus: + + [Illustration: Mine Galleries] + + "I proposed to put in each of the eight magazines from twelve to + fourteen hundred pounds of powder, the magazines to be connected by a + trough of powder instead of a fuse." + +It appears that it was decided that the charge should be eight +thousand pounds instead of the larger amount proposed.[119] Between +four and five o'clock on the morning of the 30th of July the mine was +exploded, and simultaneously the enemy's batteries commenced firing, +when, as previously arranged, the column of attack moved forward to +the breach, with instructions to rush through it and seize the crest +of a ridge in rear of our fort, so as to interpose a force between +our troops and in rear of our batteries. A question had arisen as to +whether the assaulting column should consist of white or negro +troops; of each, there were brigades in General Burnside's division, +which occupied that part of the line nearest to the mine, and +therefore seems to have been considered as the command from which the +troops to constitute the storming column must be selected. The +explosion was destructive to our artillery and its small supporting +force immediately above the mine. + +An opening, one hundred and fifty feet long, sixty feet wide, and +thirty feet deep, suddenly appeared in the place of the earthworks, +and the division of the enemy selected for the charge rushed forward +to pierce the opening. A Southern writer[120] thus describes what +ensued: + + "The white division charged, reached the crater, stumbled over the + _debris_, were suddenly met by a merciless fire of artillery + fusillading them right and left and of infantry fusillade them in + front; faltered, hesitated, were badly led, lost heart, gave up the + plan of seizing the crest in rear, huddled into the crater man on top + of man, company mingled with company; and upon this disordered, + unstrung, quivering mass of human beings, white and black--for the + black troops had followed--was poured a hurricane of shot, shell, + canister, musketry, which made the hideous crater a slaughter-pen, + horrible and frightful, beyond the power of words. All order was + lost; all idea of charging the crest abandoned. Lee's infantry was + seen concentrating for the carnival of death; his artillery was + massing to destroy the remnants of the charging divisions; those who + deserted the crater, to scramble over the debris and run back, were + shot down; then all that was left to the shuddering mass of blacks + and whites in the pit was to shrink lower, evade the horrible + _mitraille_, and wait for a charge of their friends to rescue them or + surrender." + +The forces of the enemy finally succeeded in making their way back, +with a loss of about four thousand prisoners, and General Lee, whose +casualties were small, reestablished his line without interruption. +This affair was subsequently investigated by a committee of the +Congress of the United States, and their report declared that "the +first and great cause of the disaster was the employment of white +instead of black troops to make the charge." + +Attacks continued to be made on our lines during the months of August +and September, but, as in former instances, they were promptly +repulsed. On August 18th the enemy seized on a portion of the Weldon +Railroad near Petersburg, and on the 25th this success was followed +up by an attempt, under General Hancock, to take possession of +Reams's Station on the same road, farther south. He was defeated by +Heth's division and a portion of Wilcox's, under the direction of +General A. P. Hill, and, having lost heavily, was compelled to +retreat. These events did not, however, materially affect the general +result. The enemy's left gradually reached farther and farther +westward, until it had passed the Vaughan, Squirrel Level, and other +roads running southwestward from Petersburg, and in October was +established on the left bank of Hatcher's Run. The movement was +designed to reach the Southside Railroad. A heavy column crossed +Hatcher's Run, and made an obstinate attack on our lines, in order to +break through to the railroad. This column was met in front and flank +by Generals Hampton and W. H. F. Lee, with dismounted sharpshooters. +Infantry was hastened forward by General Lee, and the enemy was +driven back. This closed for the winter active operations against our +lines at Petersburg. + +When the campaign opened on the Rapidan, General Lee's effective +strength was in round numbers sixty thousand of all arms; that of +General Grant at the same time one hundred and forty thousand. In the +many battles fought before the close of the campaign. Grant's loss +had been a multiple of that sustained by Lee; but the large +reënforcements he had received, both before and after he crossed the +James River, repaired his losses, and must have increased the +numerical disparity between the two armies; yet, notwithstanding the +great superiority in the number of his force, the long-projected +movement for the reduction of Fort Fisher and the capture of +Wilmington was delayed, because of Grant's unwillingness to detach +any of his troops for that purpose until after active operations had +been suspended before Petersburg. + +It was proposed to make a combined land and naval attack-- +Major-General B. F, Butler to command the land-forces, and Admiral D. +D. Porter the fleet. The enemy seems about this time to have +conceived a new means of destroying forts; it was, to place a large +amount of powder in a ship, and, having anchored off the fort, to +explode the powder and so destroy the works and incapacitate the +garrison as to enable a storming party to capture them. How near to +Fort Fisher it was expected to anchor the ship I do not know, nor +have I learned how far it was supposed the open atmosphere could be +made to act as a projectile. General Whiting, the brave and highly +accomplished soldier, who was in command of the defenses of +Wilmington, stated that the powder-ship did not come nearer to Fort +Fisher than twelve or fifteen hundred yards. He further stated that +he heard the report of the explosion at Wilmington, and sent a +telegram to Colonel Lamb, the commanding officer at the fort, to +inquire what it meant, and was answered, "Enemy's gunboat blown up." +No effect, as might have been anticipated, was produced on the +fort.[121] From the same source it is learned that the combined force +of this expedition was about six thousand five hundred land-troops +and fifty vessels of war of various sizes and classes, several +ironclads, and the ship charged with two hundred and thirty-five tons +of powder. Some of the troops landed, but after a reconnaissance of +the fort, which then had a garrison of about six thousand five +hundred men, the troops were reembarked, and thus the expedition +ended. + +On January 15, 1865, the attempt was renewed with a larger number of +troops, amounting, after the arrival of General Schofield, to +twenty-odd thousand. Porter's fleet also received additional vessels, +making the whole number fifty-eight engaged in the attack. The +garrison of Fort Fisher had been increased to about double the number +of men there on the 24th of December. The iron-clad vessels of the +enemy approached nearer the fort than on a former occasion, and the +fire of the fleet was more concentrated and vastly more effective. +Many of the guns in the fort were dismounted, and the parapets +seriously injured, by the fire. The garrison stood bravely to their +guns, and, when the assault was made, fought with such determined +courage as to repulse the first column, and obstinately contended +with another approaching from the land-side, continuing the fight +long after they had got into the fort. Finally, overwhelmed by +numbers, and after the fort and its armament had been mainly +destroyed by a bombardment--I believe greater than ever before +concentrated upon a fort--the remnant of the garrison surrendered. +The heroic and highly gifted General Whiting was mortally, and the +gallant commander of the fort, Colonel Lamb, was seriously, wounded. +They both fell into the hands of the enemy. General Hoke, +distinguished by brilliant service on other fields, had been ordered +down to support the garrison, and under the directions of General +Bragg, commanding the department, had advanced to attack the +investing force, but a reconnaissance convinced them both that his +command was too weak to effect the object. The other forts, of +necessity, fell with the main work, Fisher, and were abandoned. Hoke, +with his small force retiring through Wilmington, after destroying +the public vessels and property, to prevent them from falling into +the hands of the enemy, slowly fell back, fighting at several points, +and seeking to find in the separation of the vastly superior army +which was following him opportunity to attack a force the number of +which should not greatly exceed his own, and finally made a junction +with General Johnston, then opposing Sherman's advance through North +Carolina. + +The fixed purpose of General Grant's campaign of 1864 was the capture +of Richmond, the Confederate capital. For this he had assembled the +large army with which he crossed the Rapidan and fought the numerous +battles between there and the James River. For this he had moved +against Petersburg, the capture of which in itself was not an object +so important as to have justified the effort made to that end. It was +only valuable because it was on the line of communication with the +more southern States, and offered another approach to Richmond. In +his attack upon Petersburg it will be seen from the events already +described that he adopted neither of the two plans which were open to +him: the one, the concentration of all his efforts to break the line +covering Petersburg; the other, to move his army round it and seize +the Weldon and Southside Railroads, so as to cut off the supplies of +Lee's army and compel the evacuation of both Petersburg and Richmond. +Had there been approximate equality between his army and that of Lee, +he could not wisely have ventured upon the latter movement against a +soldier so able as his antagonist; but the vast numerical superiority +of Grant's army might well have induced him to invite Lee to meet him +in the open field. He did, however, neither the one nor the other, +but something of both. + +In the opening of the campaign of 1865, he continued, as he had done +in 1864, to extend his line to the left, seeking, after having gained +the Weldon Railroad, to reach still farther to that connecting +Petersburg with the Richmond and Danville Railroad. Lee, with a +well-deserved confidence in his troops and his usual intrepidity, +drew from his lines of defense men enough to enable him for a long +time to defeat the enemy in these efforts, by extension to turn his +right flank. After Grant's demonstration on the north side of the +James by sending over Hancock's corps had been virtually abandoned by +its withdrawal, Longstreet's corps, which had been sent to oppose it, +remained for a long time on the north side of the James. Finally, +General Ewell with a few troops, the Richmond reserves, and a +division of the navy under Admiral Semmes, held the river and land +defenses on the east side of Richmond. + +General A. R. Lawton, who had become the quartermaster-general of the +Confederate army, ably supported by Lewis E. Harvie, President of the +Richmond and Danville Railroad, increased the carrying capacity of +that line so as to compensate for our loss of the use of the Weldon +Railroad. At the same time, General St. John, chief of the +commissariat, by energetic efforts and the use of the Virginia Canal, +kept up the supplies of General Lee's army, so as to secure from him +the complimentary acknowledgment, made about a month before the +evacuation of Petersburg, that the army there had not been so well +supplied for many months. + +During the months of February and March, Lee's army was materially +reduced by the casualties of battle and the frequency of absence +without leave. I will not call these absentees deserters, because +they did not leave to join the enemy, and again, because in some +instances where the facts were fully developed, they had gone to +their necessitous families with intent to return and resume their +places in the line of battle. His cavalry force had been also +diminished by the absence of General Hampton's division, to which +permission had been given to go to their home, South Carolina, to get +fresh horses, and also to fill up their ranks. Long, arduous, and +distant service had rendered both necessary. + +In the early part of March, as well as my memory can fix the date, +General Lee held with me a long and free conference. He stated that +the circumstances had forced on him the conclusion that the +evacuation of Petersburg was but a question of time. He had early and +fully appreciated the embarrassment which would result from losing +the workshops and foundry at Richmond, which had been our main +reliance for the manufacture and repair of arms as well as the +preparation of ammunition. The importance of Richmond in this regard +was, however, then less than it had been by the facilities which had +been created for these purposes at Augusta, Selma, Fayetteville, and +some smaller establishments; also by the progress which was being +made for a large armory at Macon, Georgia. To my inquiry whether it +would not be better to anticipate the necessity by withdrawing at +once, he said that his artillery and draught horses were too weak for +the roads in their then condition, and that he would have to wait +until they became firmer. There naturally followed the consideration +of the line of retreat. A considerable time before this General Hood +had sent me a paper, presenting his views and conclusion that, if it +became necessary for the Army of Northern Virginia to retreat, it +should move toward Middle Tennessee. The paper was forwarded to +General Lee and returned by him with an unfavorable criticism, and +the conclusion that, if we had to retreat, it should be in a +southwardly direction toward the country from which we were drawing +supplies, and from which a large portion of our forces had been +derived. In this conversation the same general view was more +specifically stated, and made to apply to the then condition of +affairs. The programme was to retire to Danville, at which place +supplies should be collected and a junction made with the troops +under General J. E. Johnston, the combined force to be hurled upon +Sherman in North Carolina, with the hope of defeating him before +Grant could come to his relief. Then the more southern States, freed +from pressure and encouraged by this success, it was expected, would +send large reënforcements to the army, and Grant, drawn far from his +base of supplies into the midst of a hostile population, it was +hoped, might yet be defeated, and Virginia be delivered from the +invader. Efforts were energetically continued, to collect supplies in +depots where they would be available, and, in furtherance of the +suggestion of General Lee as to the necessary improvement in the +condition of his horses, the quartermaster-general was instructed to +furnish larger rations of corn to the quartermaster at Petersburg. + +Though of unusually calm and well-balanced judgment, General Lee was +instinctively averse to retiring from his enemy, and had so often +beaten superior numbers that his thoughts were no doubt directed to +every possible expedient which might enable him to avoid retreat. It +thus fell out that, in a week or two after the conference above +noticed, he presented to me the idea of a sortie against the enemy +near to the right of his line. This was rendered the more feasible, +from the constant extension of Grant's line to the left, and the +heavy bodies of troops he was employing to turn our right. The +sortie, if entirely successful, so as to capture and hold the works +on Grant's right, as well as three forts on the commanding ridge in +his rear, would threaten his line of communication with his base, +City Point, and might compel him to move his forces around ours to +protect it; if only so far successful as to cause the transfer of his +troops from his left to his right, it would relieve our right, and +delay the impending disaster for the more convenient season for +retreat. + +Fort Steadman was the point against which the sortie was directed; +its distance from our lines was less than two hundred yards, but an +abatis covered its front. For this service, requiring equal daring +and steadiness, General John B. Gordon, well proved on many +battle-fields, was selected. His command was the remnant of Ewell's +corps, troops often tried in the fiery ordeal of battle, and always +found true as tempered steel. Before daylight, on the morning of the +25th of March, Gordon moved his command silently forward. His +pioneers were sent in advance to make openings through the +obstructions, and the troops rushed forward, surprised and captured +the garrison, then turned the guns upon the adjacent works and soon +drove the enemy from them. A detachment was now sent to seize the +commanding ground and works in the rear, the batteries of which, +firing into the gorges of the forts on the right and left, would soon +make a wide opening in Grant's line. The guides to this detachment +misled it in the darkness of a foggy dawn far from the point to which +it was directed. In the mean time the enemy, recovering from his +surprise and the confusion into which he had been extensively thrown, +rallied and with overwhelming power concentrated both artillery and +infantry upon Gordon's command. The supporting force which was to +have followed him, notwithstanding the notice which was given by the +victorious cheer of his men when they took Fort Steadman, failed to +come forward, and Gordon's brilliant success, like the Dead Sea +fruit, was turned to ashes at the moment of possession. It was +hopeless, with his small force unsupported, to retain the position he +had gained. It only remained as far as practicable to withdraw his +command to our line, and this the valiant soldier promptly proceeded +to do; some of his men were killed on the retreat, many became +prisoners--I believe all, or nearly all, of those who had been +detached to seize other works, and had not rejoined the main body. + +The following letter from General Gordon furnishes some important +details of the attack: + + "ATLANTA, GEORGIA, _October 16, 1880._ + + "MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: The attack upon Fort Steadman was made on the + night of the 25th March, or rather before light on the morning of the + 26th March, 1865. A conference had been held between General Lee and + myself at his headquarters the 10th of March, which resulted in + General Lee's decision to transfer my corps from the extreme right of + our army to the trenches in and around Petersburg, with the purpose + of enabling me to carefully examine the enemy's lines, and report to + him my belief as to the practicability of breaking them at any point. + Within a week after being transferred to this new position, I decided + that Fort Steadman could be taken by a night assault, and that it + might be possible to throw into the breach thus made in Grant's lines + a sufficient force to disorganize and destroy the left wing of his + army before he could recover and concentrate his forces, then lying + beyond the James and Appomattox Rivers. Fort Steadman was the point + at which the earthworks of General Grant most nearly approached our + own. This fort was located upon what was known as Hare's Hill, and + was in front of the city of Petersburg, and of the point on our lines + known as Colquitt's Salient. The two hostile lines could not have + been more than two hundred to two hundred and fifty yards apart at + this point; and the pickets were so close together that it was + difficult to prevent constant conversation between those of the + Confederate and Federal armies. Fort Steadman was upon the main line + of General Grant's works, and flanked on either side by a line of + earthworks and other forts, which completely commanded every foot of + the intervening space between the hostile lines. In rear of Fort + Steadman were three other forts, two of which, and perhaps all three, + could command Fort Steadman, in case of its capture by our forces. + These forts in rear of Steadman were protected by an almost + impenetrable abatis, while, in front of Fort Steadman itself, and of + the main line of which it was a part, was a line of sharpened + fence-rails, with the lower ends buried deeply in the ground, their + middle resting upon horizontal poles and wrapped with + telegraph-wires, and their upper ends sharpened and elevated to the + height of four and a half or five feet. These rails, which formed the + obstruction in front of General Grant's lines at Fort Steadman and + along the flanking works, were, as I said, wrapped with + telegraph-wire where they rested on the horizontal poles, so as to + prevent an attacking force from pressing them apart, and buried in + the ground too deeply to be pulled up, and, sharpened at the upper + end, were too high to be mounted by my men. This obstruction, + therefore, had to be cut away with axes before the attacking force + could enter the fort or lines. + + "General Lee, after considering the plan of assault and battle which + I submitted to him, and which I shall presently describe, gave me + orders to prepare for the movement, which was regarded by both of us + as a desperate one, but which seemed to give more promise of good + results than any other hitherto suggested. General Lee placed at my + disposal, in addition to my own corps, a portion of A. P, Hill's and + a portion of Longstreet's, and a detachment of cavalry--in all, + about one half of the army. + + "The general plan of the assault and battle was this: To take the + fort by a rush across the narrow space that lay between it and + Colquitt's Salient, and then surprise and capture, by a stratagem, + the commanding forts in the rear, thus opening a way for our troops + to pass to the rear, and upon the bank of the left wing of Grant's + army, which was to be broken to pieces by a concentration of all the + forces at my command moving upon that flank. During the night of the + 25th my preparations were made for the movement before daylight. I + placed three officers in charge of three separate bodies of men, and + directed them, as soon as the lines of Fort Steadman should be + carried by the assaulting column, to rush through the gap thus + produced to the three rear forts--one of these officers and bodies + of men to go to each fort, and to approach them from their rear by + the only avenue left open and seize those forts. A guide was placed + with each of these officers, who was to conduct him and his troops to + the rear of the front, which he was to surprise. A body of the most + stalwart of my men was organized to move in advance of all the + troops, armed with axes, with which they were to cut down the + obstruction of sharpened and wire-fastened rails in front of the + enemy's lines. + + "Next to these were to come three hundred men, armed with bayonets + fixed and empty muskets, who were to mount and enter the fort as the + axemen cut away the obstruction of sharpened rails, bayoneting the + pickets in front and gunners in the fort if they resisted, or sending + them to our rear if they surrendered. Next were to cross the three + officers and their detachments, who were to capture the three rear + forts. Next, a division of infantry was to cross, moving by the left + flank, so as to be in position when halted, and fronted to move + without any confusion or delay immediately down General Grant's + lines, toward his left, capturing his troops, or forcing them to + abandon their works and form under our advancing fire at right angles + to his line of works. + + "Next was to cross the cavalry, who were to ride to the rear, cut the + enemy's telegraph-lines, capture his pontoons, and prevent or delay + the crossing of reënforcements from beyond the Appomattox. Next, my + whole force was to swell the column of attack. Then, as the front of + our lines were cleared of the enemy's troops, our divisions were to + change front and join in pressing upon the enemy and driving him + farther from the other wing of General Grant's army, and widening the + breach. Strips of white cloth were tied around the shoulders of our + men, so as to designate them in the darkness. + + "Just before daylight, when all was ready, I gave the signal, and the + axemen rushed across, followed by the bodies armed with bayonets and + empty muskets, who captured and sent to the rear the enemy's pickets. + The axemen cut away the sharpened rails so rapidly as scarcely to + cause a halt of the troops following, who mounted the enemy's works + and seized his guns and gunners in the fort, clearing the way and + giving safe passage to detachments and larger bodies which were to + follow and which did follow. The fort and most of the lines between + the fort and the river were captured with the loss of but one man, so + far as I could learn. We captured eleven heavy guns, nine mortars, + about seven hundred prisoners, as I now recollect, among whom was the + brigadier commanding that portion of the line, General McLaughlin. + + "Everything was moving as well as I could have desired, when, one + after another, all three of the officers, sent to the rear to capture + by stratagem the rear forts, sent messengers to inform me that they + had passed successfully through the lines of the enemy's reserves in + rear of Fort Steadman, and were certainly beyond the rear forts, but + that their guides had been lost or had deserted, and that they could + not find the forts. + + "Although I heard nothing afterward of these guides, yet I did learn + of the fate of the three officers and their commands. Some were shot + down after daylight, some were captured, and a few, very few, made + their way back to our lines. The failure of that portion of the + programme left, of course, these three forts manned by the enemy, and + his heavy guns made it impossible to carry out literally the details + of the plan. Then a large body of the troops sent by General Lee from + General Longstreet's corps were delayed by the breaking down of + trains, or by some other cause, and did not arrive at the appointed + hour, which caused so great a delay that we did not get in the fort + and upon the enemy's flank at as early an hour as was expected, and + daylight found us with the plan only half executed. At daylight, all + the commanding forts in the rear, which we had failed to capture, + opened upon Fort Steadman and that portion of the enemy's lines held + by our troops. Reënforcements were rapidly brought up, so that it + became too hazardous, as General Lee thought, to go forward or + attempt it. So he ordered me back (I may say here that I entirely + approved of this decision of General Lee). Up to this hour we had + lost but few men, and these had been killed or wounded mainly by + artillery. But now the enemy's infantry came up and made several + assaults. They were repulsed by our troops in Fort Steadman and in + the enemy's works on its flanks. It was in the effort to withdraw the + troops that our principal loss occurred. A raking tire was kept up + across the intervening space over which we had moved in capturing the + fort, I was wounded in recrossing to Colquitt's Salient, and many of + our men were killed and wounded in making the same passage back to + our works. + + "As I said at the outset, this attack was regarded by both General + Lee and myself as very hazardous; but it seemed necessary to do more + than sit quietly waiting for General Grant to move upon our right, + while each day was diminishing our strength by disease and death. + + "Let me also add that the movement made at Hare's Hill mast have + proved a great success but for the unforeseen and unavoidable + miscarriages to which I have referred. + + "I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + + "J. B. GORDON. + + "Hon. JEFFERSON DAVIS, _Mississippi_." + +Immediately following, and perhaps in consequence of this sortie, an +extensive attack was made upon our lines to the left of Fort +Steadman, but without any decisive results. On the 27th of March the +main part of Grant's forces confronting Richmond were moved over to +the lines before Petersburg, and his left was on the same day joined +by Sheridan's division of cavalry. It will be remembered that Lee had +sent Longstreet to the north side of the James as soon as he +discovered that Grant had sent a corps across with the supposed +purpose of attacking Richmond from that side. It was intended that +Longstreet should return whenever the enemy withdrew his main force +from the north side of the James; but it appears that this was so +secretly done as to conceal the fact from General Longstreet, and +that both Hancock and Ord had joined Grant, to swell his forces by +two corps before our troops returned to join Lee. Grant, thus +strengthened, made a more determined movement to gain the right of +Lee's position; before, however, he was ready to make his assault, +Lee marched with a comparatively very small force, took the +initiative, and on the 31st struck the enemy's advance, and repulsed +him in great confusion, following until confronted by the heavy +masses formed in open ground in the rear, when Lee withdrew his men +back to their intrenchments. + +A strategic position of recognized importance was that known as Five +Forks. Lee had stationed there Major-General Pickett with his +division, and some additional force. On the next day, the 1st of +April, this position was assaulted, and our troops were driven from +it in confusion. The unsettled question of time was now solved. + +Grant's massive columns, advancing on right, left, and center, +compelled our forces to retire to the inner line of defense, so that, +on the morning of the 2d, the enemy was in a condition to besiege +Petersburg in the true sense of that term. Battery Gregg made an +obstinate defense, and, with a garrison of about two hundred and +fifty men, held a corps in check for a large part of the day. The +arrival of Longstreet's troops, and the strength of the shorter line +now held by Lee, enabled him to make several attempts to dislodge his +assailant from positions he had gained. In one of these, the +distinguished soldier whose gallantry and good conduct it has +frequently been my pleasure to notice, Lieutenant-General A. P. Hill, +who had so often passed unscathed through storms of shot and shell, +yielded up the life he had, in the beginning of the war, consecrated +to the Confederate cause; and his comrades, while mourning his loss, +have drawn consolation from the fact that he died before our flag was +furled in defeat. + +Retreat was now a present necessity. All that could be done was to +hold the inner lines during the day, and make needful preparations to +withdraw at night. In the forenoon of Sunday, the 2d, I received, +when in church, a telegram announcing that the army would retire from +Petersburg at night, and I went to my office to give needful +directions for the evacuation of Richmond, the greatest difficulty of +which was the withdrawal of the troops who were on the defenses east +of the city, and along the James River. + +The event had come before Lee had expected it, and the announcement +was received by us in Richmond with sorrow and surprise; for, though +it had been foreseen as a coming event which might possibly, though +not probably, be averted, and such preparation as was practicable had +been made to meet the contingency when it should occur, it was not +believed to be so near at hand. + +At nightfall our army commenced crossing the Appomattox, and, before +dawn, was far on its way toward Amelia Court-House, Lee's purpose +being, as previously agreed on in conference with me, to march to +Danville, Virginia. By a reference to the map, it will be seen that +General Grant, starting from the south side of the Appomattox, had a +shorter line to Danville than that which General Lee must necessarily +follow, and, if Grant directed his march so as to put his forces +between Danville and those of Lee, it was quite possible for him to +effect it. This was done, and thus Lee was prevented from carrying +out his original purpose, and directed his march toward Lynchburg. +The enemy, having first placed himself across the route to Danville, +at Jetersville, subsequently took up the line of Lee's retreat. His +large force of cavalry, and the exhausted condition of the horses of +our small number of that arm, gave the pursuing foe a very great +advantage; but, worn and reduced in numbers as Lee's army was, the +spirit it had always shown flashed out whenever it was pressed. A +division would turn upon a corps and drive it; and General Fitzhugh +Lee, the worthy successor of the immortal Stuart, with a brigade of +our emaciated cavalry, would drive a division of their pursuers. +These scenes were repeatedly enacted during the long march from +Petersburg to Appomattox Court-House, and have been so vividly and +fully described by others that I will pass to the closing event. + +Lee had never contemplated surrender. He had, long before, in +language similar to that employed by Washington during the +Revolution, expressed to me the belief that in the mountains of +Virginia he could carry on the war for twenty years, and, in +directing his march toward Lynchburg, it may well be that as an +alternative he hoped to reach those mountains, and, with the +advantage which the topography would give, yet to baffle the hosts +which were following him. On the evening of the 8th General Lee +decided, after conference with his corps commanders, that he would +advance the next morning beyond Appomattox Court-House, and, if the +force reported to be there should prove to be only Sheridan's +cavalry, to disperse it and continue the march toward Lynchburg; but, +if infantry should be found in large force, the attempt to break +through it was not to be made, and the correspondence which General +Grant had initiated on the previous day should be reopened by a flag, +with propositions for an interview to arrange the terms of +capitulation. Gordon, whose corps formed the rear-guard from +Petersburg, and who had fought daily for the protection of the +trains, had now been transferred to the front. On the next morning, +before daylight, Lee sent Colonel Venable, one of his staff, to +Gordon, commanding the advance, to learn his opinion as to the +chances of a successful attack, to which Gordon replied, "My old +corps is reduced to a frazzle, and, unless I am supported by +Longstreet heavily, I do not think we can do anything more." When +Colonel Venable returned with this answer to General Lee, he said, +"Then there is nothing left me but to go and see General Grant." + +At that time Longstreet, covering the rear, was threatened by Meade, +so that there was no ability to reënforce Gordon, and thus to explain +why General Lee then realized that the emergency had arisen for the +surrender of his army which, in his note to General Grant of the +previous day, he had said he did not believe to exist. Colonel +Venable, at early dawn, had left Gordon with about five thousand +infantry, and Fitzhugh Lee with about fifteen hundred cavalry, and +Colonel Carter's battalion of artillery, forming his line of battle +to attack the enemy, which, so far as then known, consisted of +Sheridan's cavalry, which had got in front of our retreating column. +The assault was made with such vigor and determination as to drive +Sheridan for a considerable distance; and, if this had been the only +obstacle, the road would have been opened for Lee to resume his march +toward Lynchburg. After Gordon had advanced nearly a mile, he was +confronted by a large body of infantry, subsequently ascertained to +be about eighty thousand. To attack that force was, of course, +hopeless, and Gordon commenced falling back, and simultaneously the +enemy advanced, but suddenly came to a halt. Lee had sent a flag to +Grant, who had consequently ordered a suspension of hostilities. + +A leader less resolute, an army less heroically resisting fatigue, +constant watching, and starvation, would long since have reached the +conclusion that surrender was a necessity. Lee had left Petersburg +with not more than twenty thousand infantry, five thousand cavalry, +and four thousand artillery. Men and horses all reduced below the +standard of efficiency by exposure and insufficient supplies of +clothing, food,[122] and forage, only the mutual confidence between +the men and their commander could have sustained either under the +trials to which they were subjected. It is not a matter of surprise +that the army had wasted away to a mere remnant, but rather that it +had continued to exist as an organized body still willing to do +battle. All the evidence we have proves that the proud, cheerful +spirit both of the army and its leader had resisted the extremes of +privation and danger, and never sunk until confronted by surrender. + +General Grant, in response to a communication under a white flag made +by General Lee, as stated above, came to Appomattox, where a suitable +room was procured for their conference, and, the two Generals being +seated at a small table. General Lee opened the interview thus: + + "General, I deem it due to proper candor and frankness to say at the + very beginning of this interview that I am not willing even to + discuss any terms of surrender inconsistent with the honor of my + army, which I am determined to maintain to the last." + +General Grant replied: + + "I have no idea of proposing dishonorable terms, General, but I would + be glad if you would state what you consider honorable terms." + +General Lee then briefly stated the terms upon which he would be +willing to surrender. Grant expressed himself as satisfied with them, +and Lee requested that he would formally reduce the propositions to +writing. + +To present a full and satisfactory account of the circumstances and +terms of the surrender, as well as the events immediately preceding +the evacuation of Petersburg, and the retreat thence to Appomattox +Court-House, I annex the subjoined letters: + + "APPOMATTOX COURT-HOUSE, _April 9, 1865._ + + "General R. E. LEE, _commanding Confederate States Army:_ + + "In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th + inst., I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern + Virginia on the following terms, to wit: + + "Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy + to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained + by such officers as you may designate. + + "The officers to give their individual parole not to take arms + against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, + and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for + the men of their commands. + + "The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked + and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. + + "This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their + private horses or baggage. + + "This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their + homes, not to be disturbed by the United States authority so long as + they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside. + + "Very respectfully, + + "U. S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General._" + + + "HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _April 9, 1865._ + + "GENERAL: I have received your letter of this date containing the + terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by + you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your + letter of the 8th inst., they are accepted. I will proceed to + designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect. + + "Very respectfully, your obedient servant, + + "R. E. LEE." + + + "PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, 3 P.M., _April 2, 1865._ + + "His Excellency JEFFERSON DAVIS, _Richmond, Virginia._ + + "MR. PRESIDENT: Your letter of the 1st is just received. I have been + willing to detach officers to recruit negro troops, and sent in the + names of many who are desirous of recruiting companies, battalions, + or regiments, to the War Department. After receiving the general + orders on that subject establishing recruiting depots in the several + States, I supposed that this mode of raising the troops was + preferred. I will continue to submit the names of those who offer for + the service, and whom I deem competent, to the War Department; but, + among the numerous applications which are presented, it is difficult + for me to decide who are suitable for the duty. I am glad your + Excellency has made an appeal to the Governors of the States, and + hope it will have a good effect. I have a great desire to confer with + you upon our condition, and would have been to Richmond before this, + but, anticipating movements of the enemy which have occurred, I felt + unwilling to be absent. I have considered our position very critical; + but have hoped that the enemy might expose himself in some way that + we might take advantage of, and cripple him. Knowing when Sheridan + moved on our right that our cavalry would be unable to resist + successfully his advance upon our communications, I detached + Pickett's division to support it. At first Pickett succeeded in + driving the enemy, who fought stubbornly; and, after being reënforced + by the Fifth Corps (United States Army), obliged Pickett to recede to + the Five Forks on the Dinwiddie Court-House and Ford's road, where, + unfortunately, he was yesterday defeated. To relieve him, I had to + again draw out three brigades under General Anderson, which so + weakened our front line that the enemy last night and this morning + succeeded in penetrating it near the Cox road, separating our troops + around the town from those on Hatcher's Run. This has enabled him to + extend to the Appomattox, thus inclosing and obliging us to contract + our lines to the city. I have directed the troops from the lines on + Hatcher's Run, thus severed from us, to fall back toward Amelia + Court-House, and I do not see how I can possibly help withdrawing + from the city to the north side of the Appomattox to-night. There is + no bridge over the Appomattox above this point nearer than Goode's + and Bevil's over which the troops above mentioned could cross to the + north side, and be made available to us; otherwise I might hold this + position for a day or two longer, but would have to evacuate it + eventually; and I think it better for us to abandon the whole line on + James River to-night, if practicable. I have sent preparatory orders + to all the officers, and will be able to tell by night whether or not + we can remain here another day; but I think every hour now adds to + our difficulties. I regret to be obliged to write such a hurried + letter to your Excellency, but I am in the presence of the enemy, + endeavoring to resist his advance. + + "I am most respectfully and truly yours, + + "R. E. LEE, _General._" + + +[Footnote 119: Testimony of General Burnside, "Report of Committee on +the Conduct of the War," vol. i, pp. 16, 17, 1865.] + +[Footnote 120: John Esten Cooke, "Life of General R. E. Lee."] + +[Footnote 121: "Report of Committee on the Conduct of the War" 1865, +vol. ii, pp. 106, 107.] + +[Footnote 122: Falsehood and malignity have combined to invent and +circulate a baseless story to the effect that food ordered to Amelia +Court-House for Lee's troops, was by the Administration at Richmond +diverted from its destination, and the soldiers thus left to needless +suffering. A further notice will be taken of this slander in a subsequent +chapter, and that it had not one atom of truth in it will be shown by +conclusive testimony.] + + + + +CHAPTER LIII. + + General Lee advises the Evacuation of Richmond.--Withdrawal of the + Troops.--The Naval Force.--The Conflagration in Richmond.-- + Telegram of Lee to the President.--The Evacuation complete.--The + Charge of the Removal of Supplies intended for Lee's Army.--The + Facts.--Arrangement with General Lee.--Proclamation.--Reports of + Scouts. + + +When, on the morning of the 2d of April, the main line of the +defenses of Petersburg was broken, and our forces driven back to the +inner and last line, General Lee sent the telegram, to which +reference has been already made, and advised that Richmond should be +evacuated simultaneously with the withdrawal of his troops that +night. This left little time for preparation, especially in the +matter of providing transportation for the troops holding the eastern +defenses of Richmond. To supply the cavalry, artillery, and +army-wagons with horses, had so exhausted the stock of Virginia as to +leave the quartermaster's department little ability to supplement the +small transportation possessed, or required by troops regarded as a +stationary defense. The consequence was, that their withdrawal had to +be made under circumstances which involved unusual embarrassments +upon the march; but soldiers, sailors, and citizens, constituting the +"reserves," vied with each other in the performance of the hard duty +to which they were called--a night march over unknown roads, to join +a retreating army, pursued by a powerful enemy having large bodies of +cavalry. The opposing lines of intrenchment north of the James were +so near to each other, that our forces could only withdraw when it +was too dark for observation; this required that the movement should +be postponed until the moon went down, which was at a late hour of +the night. + +The circumstances attending the withdrawal of Ewell's corps were such +as to make its safety the subject of special solicitude. It was small +in comparison to that retiring from Petersburg, had a greater +distance to march before a junction could be made with the main body, +and most of the men were unused to marching. From reports received +long after the event, I am able to give the principal occurrences of +their campaign. + +General G. W. C. Lee moved his division from Chapin's Bluff across +the James River, on the Wilton Bridge; the wagons having been loaded +under the preparatory order, were sent up in the afternoon to cross +at Richmond, and the division moved on to a short distance beyond +Tomahawk Church, where it encamped on the night of the 3d. General +Kershaw's division, with dismounted men of Gary's cavalry brigade, +crossed at Richmond and moved on to the same encampment. Having +ascertained that the Appomattox could not be crossed on the route +they were pursuing, the column was turned up to the railroad-bridge +at the Mattoax Station, which was prepared for the passage of +artillery and troops, and the two divisions, with their trains, +crossed on the night of the 4th and encamped on the hills beyond the +river. On the next day the column moved on to Amelia Court-House; it +was now joined by the Naval Battalion, under Commodore Tucker, and +the artillery battalion of Major Frank Smith, which had been +withdrawn from Howlett's Bluff; both of these were added to G. W. C. +Lee's division. The supply-train not being able to cross the +Appomattox River near Meadville, went farther up, and, having +effected a crossing, proceeded with safety until about four miles +from Amelia Court-House, where it was destroyed by a detachment of +the enemy's cavalry on the morning of the 5th, with the baggage of G. +W. C. Lee's division and about twenty thousand good rations. + +At Amelia Court-House Ewell's corps made a junction with Lee's army, +but forced marches with men most of whom were untrained by previous +campaign had greatly reduced the number of Ewell's command, and the +want of rations now was impairing their efficiency. From that place +his corps moved in rear of Anderson's, followed by the train of Lee's +army, which was covered in rear by Gordon's corps. The march was much +impeded by the wagon-trains, consequently slow, and, from frequent +halts, fatiguing. About noon of the 6th, after crossing a small +stream within several miles of Sailor's Creek, the enemy's cavalry +made an attack at the point where the wagon-train turned off to the +right. Skirmishers from Lee's division were thrown out, and soon +repelled the attack; but it was thought necessary to retain these +troops in that position until the trains had passed. General Gordon, +who protected the rear, had frequent combats with the pursuers. As +soon as the trains were out of the way, Ewell's troops moved on after +Anderson's corps. On crossing Sailor's Creek, General Ewell reports +that he met General Fitzhugh Lee, from whom he learned that a large +force of cavalry held the road in front of Anderson, and was so +strongly posted that he had halted. Lee's and Kershaw's divisions +moved on to close upon Anderson; but Gordon having followed the wagon +and artillery train, the enemy's cavalry and also infantry appeared +in the rear, and commenced an attack upon Kershaw's division. +Anderson had proposed to Ewell that, if he would hold the enemy in +check who was coming up on the rear, he would attack the cavalry in +front, to open our line of march in that direction. Lee's and +Kershaw's divisions were therefore formed in line of battle faced to +the rear. Anderson made the attack, but failed. Meantime an +artillery-fire was opened on Kershaw's and Lee's divisions; they, +having no artillery to reply, were subjected to the severe trial of +standing under a fire which they could not return. In their praise, +it was said they unflinchingly bore the test. Supposing probably that +their artillery-fire had demoralized our troops, the enemy's infantry +advanced. They were repulsed, and that portion which attacked G. W. +C. Lee's artillery brigade was charged by it, and driven back across +Sailor's Creek. The enemy had now turned the flank of Kershaw's +division and obliged it to retire. Ewell, while seeking some route by +which his command might be extricated, was captured, and the enemy +closed in on Lee's division, surrounding it on every side. Firing +ceased, and the division was captured. A like fate befell the +division of Kershaw. A portion of Anderson's corps escaped, but +Ewell's was all captured. This corps, when it left Richmond, numbered +about six thousand men. At the battle of Sailor's Creek there +remained about three thousand. The fatigue of constant marching for +days and nights to men unaccustomed to such service might +sufficiently explain the diminution; but to this must be added the +want of rations for the last two days of their campaign. Twenty-eight +hundred were taken prisoners, and about a hundred and fifty killed +and wounded. From General Ewell's report, I learn that the force of +the enemy engaged at Sailor's Creek amounted to thirty thousand men. +In closing his report be says: + + "The discipline preserved by General G. W. C. Lee in camp and on the + march, and the manner in which he handled his troops in action, fully + justified the request I had made for his promotion. General Kershaw, + who had only been a few days under my command, behaved with his usual +coolness and judgment." + +Lest any should suppose, from the remark of General Ewell, that I had +been unwilling or reluctant to promote my aide-de-camp. Colonel G. W. +C. Lee, it is proper to state that the only obstacle to be overcome +was Lee's objection to receiving promotion. With refined delicacy he +shrank from the idea of superseding men who had been actively serving +in the field, and in one case where the objection did not seem to me +to have any application, he so decidedly preferred to remain with me, +that I yielded to his wishes; but gave him additional rank to command +the local troops for the defense of Richmond. His valuable services +in that capacity, on various occasions, sustained my high opinion of +him as a soldier, and his conduct on that retreat, and in the battle +of "Sailor's Creek," for which he is commended, was only what I +anticipated. + +Of the forces constituting the defense of Richmond on the 2d of +April, it only remains to account for the naval force in the James. +After General Ewell had withdrawn his command, Admiral Semmes +embarked the crews of his gunboats on some small steamers, set fire +to his war-vessels, and proceeded up the river to the landing +opposite Richmond. Here he found no land transportation awaiting him, +and the last railroad train had left at early dawn. He, however, with +the energy and capacity so often elsewhere displayed by him, on +finding the railroad station deserted, commenced a search for +material which, with his steam engineers, he could make available. He +states that a few straggling passenger-cars lay uncoupled along the +track, and that there was also a small engine, but no fire, and no +fuel to make one. They coupled the cars together, his marine sappers +and miners cut up a fence for steam-fuel, and thus he got under way, +but the engine proved insufficient to draw the train, and at an +up-grade he was brought to a halt immediately after starting. One of +his engineers, however, found in the workshops another engine; with +the two he was able to proceed, and thus to transport his sailors to +Danville, the best mode known to him to execute the order sent to him +by the Secretary of the Navy, "You will join General Lee in the field +with all your forces." [123] When General Longstreet was withdrawn +from the north side of the James, Colonel Shipp, Commandant of the +Virginia Institute, with the Battalion of Cadets, youths whose +gallantry at the battle of New Market has been heretofore noticed, +and such convalescents in Richmond as were able to march, moved down +to supply the vacancy created by the transfer of Longstreet's force +to Petersburg. General Ewell, in command at Richmond, had for its +defense the naval force at Drury's Bluff under Commander Tucker, +which was organized as a regiment and armed with muskets. On the +north side of the James were General Kershaw's division of +Confederate troops and General G. W. C, Lee's division, composed +mostly of artillery-men armed as infantry, and the "reserves," or +"local troops," coöperating with these was Admiral Semmes's naval +force on the James. On the night of the 2d of April these forces were +withdrawn, and took up their line of march to join General Lee's army +on its retreat. + +In obedience to a law of the Congress, General Ewell had made +arrangements to burn the tobacco at Richmond whenever the evacuation +of the city should render the burning necessary, to prevent the +tobacco from falling into the hands of the enemy. Orders were also +given to destroy certain property of the Confederate States, +exceptions being made as in the case of the arsenal, the burning of +which would endanger the city. To prevent the possibility of a +general conflagration he had advised with the Mayor and City Council, +and the necessary precautions were believed to have been taken. +General Ewell's report, December 20, 1865, published in the +"Historical Society Papers" (vol. i, p. 101), satisfactorily +establishes the fact that the conflagration in Richmond of April 3, +1865, did not result from any act of the public authorities. The +burning of the tobacco was only resorted to when the alternative was +to burn or allow it to fall into the hands of the enemy, who, there +was no doubt, would take it without making compensation to the +owners. It was a disagreeable necessity, and therefore every +opportunity was allowed to the owners of that and other articles of +export to place them, if possible, beyond the danger of being applied +to the use of the hostile Government. There is no similitude between +the destruction of public property made by us and the like act of the +invader in our country. The property we destroyed belonged to the +Confederate States only. Armories and ship-yards destroyed by them-- +those, for instance, at Harper's Ferry and Norfolk--were the +property of the States in common, which the Federal Government had +emphatically declared it was its bounden duty to preserve, and which +was its first plea in justification of the act of sending an armed +force against the Southern States. + +The conflagration at Richmond occurred on the morning of the 3d of +April, after I had left the city, and I therefore have only such +knowledge in regard to it as was subsequently acquired from others. +Those who would learn specifically the facts and speculations in +regard to it are referred to the report of General Ewell, which has +been above cited. Suffice it to say, the troops of neither army were +considered responsible for that calamity. + +On Sunday, the 2d of April, while I was in St. Paul's church. General +Lee's telegram, announcing his speedy withdrawal from Petersburg, and +the consequent necessity for evacuating Richmond, was handed to me. I +quietly rose and left the church. The occurrence probably attracted +attention, but the people of Richmond had been too long beleaguered, +had known me too often to receive notice of threatened attacks, and +the congregation of St. Paul's was too refined, to make a scene at +anticipated danger. For all these reasons, the reader will be +prepared for the announcement that the sensational stories which have +been published about the agitation caused by my leaving the church +during service were the creations of fertile imaginations. I went to +my office and assembled the heads of departments and bureaus, as far +as they could be found on a day when all the offices were closed, and +gave the needful instructions for our removal that night, +simultaneously with General Lee's withdrawal from Petersburg. The +event was not unforeseen, and some preparation had been made for it, +though, as it came sooner than was expected, there was yet much to be +done. My own papers were disposed as usual for convenient reference +in the transaction of current affairs, and as soon as the principal +officers had left me the executive papers were arranged for removal. +This occupied myself and staff until late in the afternoon. By this +time the report that Richmond was to be evacuated had spread through +the town, and many who saw me walking toward my residence left their +houses to inquire whether the report was true. Upon my admission of +the painful fact, qualified, however, by the expression of my hope +that we would under better auspices again return, the ladies +especially, with generous sympathy and patriotic impulse, responded, +"If the success of the cause requires you to give up Richmond, we are +content." + +The affection and confidence of this noble people in the hour of +disaster were more distressing to me than complaint and unjust +censure would have been. + +In view of the diminishing resources of the country on which the Army +of Northern Virginia relied for supplies, I had urged the policy of +sending families as far as practicable to the south and west, and had +set the example by requiring my own to go. If it was practicable and +desirable to hold the south side of the James, then, even for merely +material considerations, it was important to hold Richmond, and this +could best have been done if there had been none there save those who +could aid in its defense. If it was not practicable and desirable to +hold the south side of the James, then Richmond would be isolated, +and if it could have been defended, its depots, foundries, workshops, +and mills could have contributed nothing to the armies outside, and +its possession would no longer have been to us of military +importance. Ours being a struggle for existence, the indulgence of +sentiment would have been misplaced. + +Being alone in Richmond, the few arrangements needful for my personal +wants were soon made after reaching home. Then, leaving all else in +care of the housekeeper, I waited until notified of the time when the +train would depart; then, going to the station, started for Danville, +whither I supposed General Lee would proceed with his army. + +In a previous chapter I promised to expose the fiction which imputed +to me the removal of supplies intended for Lee's army at Amelia +Court-House, Though manufactured without one fiber of truth, it has +been copied into so many books, formed the staple of so many +jeremiads, and pointed so many malignant reflections, that I deem it +proper for myself and others concerned now to present the evidence +which will overthrow this baseless fabric. + +General I. M. St. John, Commissary-General of the Confederate Army, +was requested by me, after the close of the war, to prepare a report +in reply to the widely circulated story that Lee's army had been +compelled to evacuate Petersburg, and subsequently to surrender +because the Administration had failed to provide food for their +support. On the 14th of July, 1873, General St. John addressed to me +a report of the operations and condition of the commissariat +immediately preceding the surrender of Lee's and Johnston's armies. +That report, together with confirmatory statements, will be found in +the "Southern Historical Society Papers" for March, 1877. From it and +the accompanying documents I propose to make brief extracts. + +General St. John says that in February, 1865, when he took charge of +the commissary bureau, on account of the military status he + + "found that the Army of Northern Virginia was with difficulty + supplied day by day with reduced rations. . . . I at once proceeded + to organize a system of appeal and of private contribution as + auxiliary to the regular operations of the commissary service. With + the earnest and very active aid of leading citizens of Virginia and + North Carolina, this effort was attended with results exceeding + expectation. . . . On or before March 15, 1865, the + Commissary-General was able to report to the Secretary of War that, + in addition to the daily issue of rations to the Army of Northern + Virginia, there lay in depot along the railroad between Greensboro, + North Carolina, Lynchburg, Staunton, and Richmond, at least ten days' + rations of bread and meat, collected especially for that army, and + subject to the requisition of its chief commissary officer; also that + considerably over 300,000 rations were held in Richmond as a special + reserve. . . . There was collected by April 1, 1865, in depot, + subsistence stated in detail as follows: + + "At Richmond, Virginia, 300,000 rations bread and meat; at Danville, + 500,000 rations bread; at Danville, 1,500,000 rations meat; at + Lynchburg, 180,000 rations bread and meat; at Greensboro, North + Carolina, and vicinity, 1,500,000 rations bread and meat. + + "In addition, there were considerable supplies of tea, coffee, and + sugar carefully reserved for hospital issues chiefly. These returns + did not include the subsistence collections by the field-trains of + the Army of Northern Virginia, under orders from its own + headquarters, nor the depot collections at Charlottesville, Staunton, + and other points upon the Virginia Central Railroad, to meet + requisitions from the Confederates operating in the Valley and + western Virginia. South and west of Greensboro, North Carolina, the + depot accumulations were reserved first to meet requisitions for the + forces operating in the Carolinas, and the surplus for Virginia + requisitions. . . ." + +The report then refers to a conference between the Secretary of War +(Breckinridge) and the General commanding (Lee) with the +Quartermaster-General (Lawton) and the Commissary-General (St. John). +After a general discussion of the wants of the army in clothing, +forage, and subsistence, to an inquiry by General Lee, General St. +John replied: + + "That a daily delivery by cars and canal-boats, at or near Richmond, + of about five hundred tons of commissaries' stores was essential to + provide for the Richmond siege reserve and other accumulations + desired by the General commanding; that the depot collections were + already sufficient to assure the meeting of these requisitions, and, + if the then existing military lines could be held, the + Commissary-General felt encouraged as to the future of his own + immediate department." + +The procuring of supplies was only one of the difficulties by which +we were beset. The deteriorated condition of the railroads and the +deficiency of rolling-stock embarrassed transportation, and there was +yet another: the cavalry raids of the enemy frequently broke the +railroads and destroyed trains. General Lawton, with great energy and +good judgment, under the heavy pressure of the circumstances, +improved the railroad transportation. I quote again from the report +of General St. John: + + "Upon the earliest information of the approaching evacuation, + instructions were asked from the War Department and the General + commanding for the final disposition of the subsistence reserve in + Richmond, then reported by Major Claiborne, post commissary, to + exceed in quantity 350,000 rations. The reply, 'Send up the Danville + Railroad if Richmond is not safe,' was received from the army + headquarters, April 2, 1865, and too late for action, as all railroad + transportation had then been taken up, by superior orders, for the + archives, bullion, and other Government service, then deemed of prior + importance. All that remained to be done was to fill every accessible + army-wagon; and this was done, and the trains were hurried southward." + +It will be seen from this statement that the reply was only directed +to the removal of the subsistence reserve if Richmond was not safe. +It can not be supposed that such a reply emanated from General Lee, +as he surely never contemplated an attempt to hold Richmond after +Petersburg was evacuated. General St. John then adds: + + "On March 31st, or possibly the morning of April 1st, a telegram was + received at the bureau in Richmond, from the commissary officer of + the Army of Northern Virginia, requesting breadstuffs to be sent to + Petersburg. Shipment was commenced at once, and was pressed to the + extreme limit of transportation permitted by the movement of General + Longstreet's corps (then progressing southward). No calls, by letter + or requisition, from the General commanding, or from any other + source, official or unofficial, had been received either by the + Commissary-General or the Assistant Commissary-General; nor (as will + be seen by the appended letter of the Secretary of War) was any + communication transmitted through the department channels to the + bureau of subsistence, for the collection of supplies at Amelia + Court-House. Had any such requisition or communication been received + at the bureau as late as the morning of April 1st, it could have been + met from the Richmond reserve with transportation on south-bound + trains, and most assuredly so previous to General Longstreet's + movement." + +On the morning of the 3d the Commissary-General left Richmond and +joined General R. E. Lee at Amelia Springs. There were at that time +about eighty thousand rations at Farmville, "there held on trains for +immediate use." On the morning of the 6th the Commissary-General +asked General Lee whether he should send those rations down the +railroad or hold them at Farmville. Not receiving instructions, the +rations remained at Farmville, and on the 7th the army passing there +took a portion of them. On the morning of the 8th the subsistence +trains on the railroad at Pamphlin's Station, twenty miles west of +Farmville, were attacked by the enemy's cavalry and captured, or +burned to avoid capture. The surrender followed on the subsequent +day. The foregoing extracts, I think, prove unquestionably that no +orders were received to place supplies for Lee's army at Amelia +Court-House; that sufficient supplies were in depot to answer the +immediate wants of the army, and that the failure to distribute them +to the troops on their retreat was due to the active operations of +the enemy on all our lines of communication; hence, when the +Commissary-General applied to General Lee for instructions as to +where supplies should be placed, he says, "General Lee replied in +substance that the military situation did not permit an answer." +Lest, however, what has been given should not seem conclusive to +others, I add confirmatory testimony. General John C. Breckinridge, +in a letter to General I. M. St. John, of date May 16, 1871, wrote: + + "A few days before the evacuation of Richmond you reported to me that + besides supplies accumulated at different distant points in Virginia + and North Carolina, you had ten days' rations accessible by rail to + [General Lee] and subject to the orders of his chief commissary. I + have no recollection of any communication from General Lee in regard + lo the accumulation of rations at Amelia Court-House. . . . The + second or third day after the evacuation, I recollect you said to + General Lee in my presence that you had a large number of rations (I + think eighty thousand) at a convenient point on the railroad, and + desired to know where you should place them. The General replied that + the military situation made it impossible to answer." + +In a letter of the date of September, 1865, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas +G. Williams, assistant commissary-general, wrote to General St. John, +and from his letter I make the following extract: + + "On the morning of April 2, 1865, the chief commissary of General + Lee's army was asked by telegram what should be done with the stores + in Richmond. No reply was received until night; he then suggested + that, if Richmond was not safe, they might be sent up on the + Richmond and Danville Railroad. As the evacuation of Richmond was + then actively progressing, it was impracticable to move those + supplies. . . . In reply to your question with regard to the + establishment of a depot of supplies at Amelia Court-House, I have + to say that I had no information of any such requisition or demand + upon the bureau." + +Major J. H. Claiborne, assistant commissary-general, in a letter to +General I. M. St. John, from Richmond, June 3, 1873, wrote: + + "No order was received by me, and (with full opportunities of + information if it had been given) I had no knowledge of any plan to + send supplies to Amelia Court-House. Under such circumstances, with + transportation afforded, there could readily have been sent about + three hundred thousand rations, with due regard to the demand upon + this post." + +During the retreat, supplies were found at Pamphlin's Depot, +Farmville, Danville, Saulsbury, and Charlotte. Major B. P. Noland, +chief commissary for Virginia, wrote to General St. John, April 16, +1874. After saying that he had read with care the report of General +St. John, and expressing the opinion that it was entirely correct, of +which no one in the Confederacy had better opportunities to judge, he +writes: + + "I think the plan adopted by your predecessor, Colonel Northrop + (which was continued by you), for obtaining for the use of the army + the products of the country, was as perfect and worked as effectively + as any that could have been devised. . . . I left Richmond at one + o'clock of the night Richmond was evacuated, with orders from you to + make Lynchburg my headquarters, and be ready to forward supplies from + that point to the army. I never heard of any order for the + accumulation of supplies at Amelia Springs." + +Lewis E. Harvie, a distinguished citizen of Virginia, and who at the +close of the war was President of the Richmond and Danville and +Piedmont Railroads, wrote to General St. John on January 1, 1876. +From his letter I make the following extracts, referring to the +condition of affairs in 1865. He writes: + + "The difficulties of obtaining supplies were very great, particularly + when the roads under my charge were cut, and transportation suspended + on them, which was the case on one or two occasions for several + weeks. Engines and care, and machinery generally, on these roads were + insufficient and inadequate from wear and tear to accomplish the + amount of transportation required for the Government. . . . The + Richmond and Danville and Piedmont Railroads were kept open, and + about that time we added largely to its rolling-stock by procuring + engines and cars from the different roads on the route of the + Virginia and Tennessee Railroad west. Starvation had stared the Army + of Northern Virginia in the face; and the commissary department + organized an appeal to the people on the line of the Richmond and + Danville Railroad for voluntary contributions of supplies, and a + number of gentlemen of influence, character, and position, including + the most eminent clergymen of the State, addressed them in several + counties, urging them to furnish the supply wanted. + + "No one who witnessed can ever forget the results. Contribution was + universal, and supplies of food sufficient to meet the wants of the + army at the time were at once sent to the depots on the road until + they were packed and groaned under their weight; and I affirm that at + the time of the evacuation of Richmond, the difficulty of delivering + supplies sufficient for the support of the Army of Northern Virginia + under General Lee was solved and surmounted, for I know that abundant + supplies were in reach of transportation on the Richmond and Danville + Railroad, being massed in Danville, Charlotte, and at other points; + and, from the increased motive power above referred to, they could + have been delivered as fast as they were required. . . . At the time + of the evacuation of the city, there were ample supplies in it, as + well as on the railroad west of Amelia Court-House, to have been + delivered at the latter place for the retreating army, if its numbers + had been double what they were. No orders were ever given to any + officers or employee of the Richmond and Danville Railroad to + transport any supplies to Amelia Court-House for General Lee's army, + nor did I ever bear that any such orders were sent to the commissary + department on the occasion of the evacuation of Richmond, until after + the surrender of the army." + +Mr. Harvie then recites his interview, held on Saturday, the day +before evacuation, with the Quartermaster-General, the Secretary of +War, and myself, from whom he learned that he might go home for a +fortnight, there being no expectation that Richmond would be +evacuated in the mean time. He adds that the next day he was informed +by telegraph of the proposed evacuation, and returned to Richmond, at +which place he conferred with myself and the Secretary of War about +the route to be taken by the wagon supply-train, and that he had a +long conversation with me on the care, during our night-ride to +Danville. + +In regard to sending supplies to Amelia Court-House, he writes: + + "I have never believed that any orders to place supplies of food at + Amelia Court-House were received by the commissary department at the + time of the evacuation of the city, because from Richmond, or from + the upper portions of the railroad, if required, they could at once + have been transported without any delay or difficulty. Neither the + road nor the telegraph was cut or disturbed until the day after the + evacuation of the city." + +It may perhaps be thought that the amount of evidence adduced is +greater than necessary to disprove the very improbable assertion +that, instead of burden-cars, a passenger train had been loaded with +provisions for Lee's army at Amelia Court-House, and that these +passenger-cars, without being permitted to unload the freight, had, +in reckless disregard of the wants of our worn and hard-pressed +defenders, been ordered to proceed immediately to Richmond, thus +leaving them to starvation, and the necessity to surrender, in order +to enable the executive department to escape; but, as I had no +personal knowledge of the matter, it was necessary to quote those +whose functions brought them into closer communication with the +subject to which the calumny related. + +In the night of the 2d, the same on which General Ewell evacuated the +defenses of the capital and General Lee withdrew from Petersburg, I +left Richmond and reached Danville on the next morning. + +Neither the president of the railroad, who was traveling with me, nor +I knew that there was anything which required attention at Amelia +Court-House or other station on the route. Had General Lee's letter +to me, written on the afternoon of the 2d, been received at Richmond, +which I think it was not, the fact that he proposed to march to +Amelia Court-House would have been known; but it would have been +unjust to the officers of the commissary department to doubt that any +requisition made or to be made for supplies had received or would +receive the most prompt and efficient attention. If, however, I had +known that General Lee wanted supplies placed at Amelia Court-House, +I would certainly have inquired as to the time of reaching that +station, and have asked to have the train stopped so as to enable me +to learn whether the supplies were in depot or not. The unfounded +calumny, after perhaps having given it more consideration than it was +worth, is now dismissed. + +Though the occupation of Danville was not expected to be permanent, +immediately after arriving there rooms were obtained, and the +different departments resumed their routine labors. Nothing could +have exceeded the kindness and hospitality of the patriotic citizens. +They cordially gave as an "Old Virginia welcome," and with one heart +contributed in every practicable manner to cheer and aid us in the +work in which we were engaged. + +The town was surrounded by an intrenchment as faulty in location as +construction. I promptly proceeded to correct the one and improve the +other, while energetic efforts were being made to collect supplies of +various kinds for General Lee's army. + +The design, as previously arranged with General Lee, was that, if he +should be compelled to evacuate Petersburg, he would proceed to +Danville, make a new defensive line of the Dan and Roanoke Rivers, +unite his army with the troops in North Carolina, and make a combined +attack upon Sherman; if successful, it was expected that reviving +hope would bring reënforcements to the army, and Grant, being then +far removed from his base of supplies, and in the midst of a hostile +population, it was thought we might return, drive him from the soil +of Virginia, and restore to the people a government deriving its +authority from their consent. With these hopes and wishes, neither +seeking to diminish the magnitude of our disaster nor to excite +illusory expectations, I issued, on the 5th, the following +proclamation, of which, viewed by the light of subsequent events, it +may fairly be said it was over-sanguine: + + "The General-in-Chief found it necessary to make such movements of + his troops as to uncover the capital. It would be unwise to conceal + the moral and material injury to our cause resulting from its + occupation by the enemy. It is equally unwise and unworthy of us to + allow our energies to falter and our efforts to become relaxed under + reverses, however calamitous they may be. For many months the largest + and finest army of the Confederacy, under a leader whose presence + inspires equal confidence in the troops and the people, has been + greatly trammeled by the necessity of keeping constant watch over the + approaches to the capital, and has thus been forced to forego more + than one opportunity for promising enterprise. It is for us, my + countrymen, to show by our bearing under reverses, how wretched has + been the self-deception of those who have believed us less able to + endure misfortune with fortitude than to encounter danger with + courage. + + "We have now entered upon a new phase of the struggle. Relieved from + the necessity of guarding particular points, our army will be free to + move from point to point, to strike the enemy in detail far from his + base. Let us but will it, and we are free. + + "Animated by that confidence in your spirit and fortitude which never + yet failed me, I announce to you, fellow-countrymen, that it is my + purpose to maintain your cause with my whole heart and soul; that I + will never consent to abandon to the enemy one foot of the soil of + any of the States of the Confederacy; that Virginia--noble State, + whose ancient renown has been eclipsed by her still more glorious + recent history; whose bosom has been bared to receive the main shock + of this war; whose sons and daughters have exhibited heroism so + sublime as to render her illustrious in all time to come--that + Virginia, with the help of the people and by the blessing of + Providence, shall be held and defended, and no peace ever be made + with the infamous invaders of her territory. + + "If, by the stress of numbers, we should be compelled to a temporary + withdrawal from her limits or those of any other border State, we + will return until the baffled and exhausted enemy shall abandon in + despair his endless and impossible task of making slaves of a people + resolved to be free. + + "Let us, then, not despond, my countrymen, but, relying on God, meet + the foe with fresh defiance and with unconquered and unconquerable + hearts. + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +While thus employed, little if any reliable information in regard to +the Army of Northern Virginia was received, until a gallant youth, +the son of General Henry A. Wise, came to Danville, and told me that, +learning Lee's army was to be surrendered, he had during the night +mounted his fleet horse, and, escaping through and from the enemy's +cavalry, some of whom pursued him, had come quite alone to warn me of +the approaching event. Other unofficial information soon followed, +and of such circumstantial character as to prove that Lieutenant +Wise's anticipation had been realized. + +Our scouts now reported a cavalry force to be moving toward the south +around the west side of Danville, and we removed thence to +Greensboro, passing a railroad-bridge, as was subsequently learned, a +very short time before the enemy's cavalry reached and burned it. I +had telegraphed to General Johnston from Danville the report that Lee +had surrendered, and, on arriving at Greensboro, conditionally +requested him to meet me there, where General Beauregard at the time +had his headquarters, my object being to confer with both of them in +regard to our present condition and future operations. + + +[Footnote 123: "Memoirs of Service Afloat," Admiral Semmes, pp. +811-815.] + + + + +CHAPTER LIV + + Invitation of General Johnston to a Conference.--Its Object.--Its + Result.--Provisions on the Line of Retreat.--Notice of President + Lincoln's Assassination.--Correspondence between Johnston and + Sherman.--Terms of the Convention.--Approved by the Confederate + Government.--Rejected by the United States Government.-- + Instructions to General Johnston.--Disobeyed.--Statements of + General Johnston.--His Surrender.--Movements of the President + South.--His Plans.--Order of General E. E. Smith to his Soldiers.-- + Surrender.--Numbers paroled.--The President overtakes his Family.-- + His Capture.--Taken to Hampton Roads, and imprisoned in Fortress + Monroe. + + +The invitation to General Johnston for a conference, noticed in a +previous chapter, was as follows: + + "GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, _April 11 1865--12 M._ + + "General J. E. JOHNSTON, _headquarters, via Raleigh:_ + + "The Secretary of War did not join me at Danville. Is expected here + this afternoon. + + "As your situation may render best, I will go to your headquarters + immediately after the arrival of the Secretary of War, or you can + come here; in the former case our conference must be without the + presence of General Beauregard. I have no official report from + General Lee. The Secretary of War may be able to add to information + heretofore communicated. + + "The important question first to be solved is, At what point shall + concentration be made, in view of the present position of the two + columns of the enemy, and the routes which they may adopt to engage + your forces before a proposed junction with General Walker and + others. Your more intimate knowledge of the data for the solution of + the problem deters me from making a specific suggestion on that + point. + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +In compliance with this request, General J. E. Johnston came up from +Raleigh to Greensboro, and with General Beauregard met me and most of +my Cabinet at my quarters in a house occupied by Colonel J. Taylor +Wood's family. Though I was fully sensible of the gravity of our +position, seriously affected as it was by the evacuation of the +capital, the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, and the +consequent discouragement which these events would produce, I did not +think we should despair. We still had effective armies in the field, +and a vast extent of rich and productive territory both east and west +of the Mississippi, whose citizens had evinced no disposition to +surrender. Ample supplies had been collected in the railroad depots, +and much still remained to be placed at our disposal when needed by +the army in North Carolina. + +The failure of several attempts to open negotiations with the Federal +Government, and notably the last by commissioners who met President +Lincoln at Hampton Roads, convinced me of the hopelessness under +existing circumstances to obtain better terms than were then offered, +i. e., a surrender at discretion. My motive, therefore, in holding an +interview with the senior generals of the army in North Carolina was +not to learn their opinion as to what might be done by negotiation +with the United States Government, but to derive from them +information in regard to the army under their command, and what it +was feasible and advisable to do as a military problem. + +The members of my Cabinet were already advised as to the object of +the meeting, and, when the subject was introduced to the generals in +that form, General Johnston was very reserved, and seemed far less +than sanguine. His first significant expression was that of a desire +to open correspondence with General Sherman, to see if he would agree +to a suspension of hostilities, the object being to permit the civil +authorities to enter into the needful arrangements to terminate the +existing war. Confident that the United States Government would not +accept a proposition for such negotiations, I distinctly expressed My +conviction on that point, and presented as an objection to such an +effort that, so far as it should excite delusive hopes and +expectations, its failure would have a demoralizing effect both on +the troops and the people. Neither of them had shown any disposition +to surrender, or had any reason to suppose that their Government +contemplated abandoning its trust--the maintenance of the +Constitution, freedom, and independence of the Confederate States. +From the inception of the war, the people had generally and at all +times expressed their determination to accept no terms of peace that +did not recognize their independence; and the indignation manifested +when it became known that Mr. Lincoln had offered to our +commissioners at Hampton Roads a surrender at discretion as the only +alternative to a continuance of the war assured me that no true +Confederate was prepared to accept peace on such terms. During the +last years of the war the main part of the infantry in the Army of +Northern Virginia was composed of men from the farther South. Many of +these, before the evacuation of Petersburg and especially about the +time of Lee's surrender, had absented themselves to go homeward, and, +it was reported, made avowal of their purpose to continue the +struggle. I had reason to believe that the spirit of the army in +North Carolina was unbroken, for, though surrounded by circumstances +well calculated to depress and discourage them, I had learned that +they earnestly protested to their officers against the surrender +which rumor informed them was then in contemplation. If any shall +deem it a weak credulity to confide in such reports, something may be +allowed to an intense love for the Confederacy to a thorough +conviction that its fall would involve ruin, both material and moral, +and to a confidence in the righteousness of our cause, which, if +equally felt by my compatriots, would make them do and dare to the +last extremity. + +But if, taking the gloomiest view, the circumstances were such as to +leave no hope of maintaining the independence of the Confederate +States--if negotiations for peace must be on the basis of reunion +and the acceptance of the war legislation--it seemed to me that +certainly better terms for our country could be secured by keeping +organized armies in the field than by laying down our arms and +trusting to the magnanimity of the victor. + +For all these considerations I was not at all hopeful of any success +in the attempt to provide for negotiations between the civil +authorities of the United States and those of the Confederacy, +believing that, even if Sherman should agree to such a proposition, +his Government would not ratify it; but, after having distinctly +announced my opinion, I yielded to the judgment of my constitutional +advisers, of whom only one held my views, and consented to permit +General Johnston, as he desired, to hold a conference with General +Sherman for the purpose above recited. + +Then, turning to what I supposed would soon follow, I invited General +Johnston to an expression of his choice of a line of retreat toward +the southwest. He declared a preference for a different route from +that suggested by me, and, yielding the point, I informed him that I +would have depots of supplies for his army placed on the route he had +selected. The commissary-general, St. John, executed the order, as +shown in his report published in the "Southern Historical Society +Papers," vol. viii, pp. 103-107. + +Referring to the period which followed the surrender of the Army of +Northern Virginia, General I. M. St. John, Commissary-General +Confederate States Army, writes: + + "The bureau headquarters were continued in North Carolina until the + surrender of that military department. During the interval + preparations were made for the westward movement of forces as then + contemplated. In these arrangements the local depots were generally + found so full and supplied so well in hand, from Charlotte southwest, + that the commissary-general was able to report to the Secretary of + War that the requisitions for which he was notified to prepare could + all be met. The details of this service were executed, and very ably, + by Major J. H. Claiborne, then, and until the end, assistant + commissary-general." + +Major Claiborne, in his report, writes: + + "Being placed under orders as assistant commissary-general, I + forwarded supplies from South Carolina to General J. E. Johnston's + army, and also collected supplies at six or seven named points in + that State for the supposed retreat of General Johnston's army + through the State. This duty, with a full determination at the + evacuation of this city [Richmond] to follow the fortunes of our + cause, gave me opportunity of ascertaining the resources of the + country for my department. The great want was that of transportation, + and specially was it felt by all collecting commissaries for a few + months before the surrender." + +It will thus be seen that my expectations, referred to above, caused +adequate provision to be made for the retreat of our army, if that +result should become necessary by the failure of the attempt to open +negotiations for an honorable peace. I had never contemplated a +surrender, except upon such terms as a belligerent might claim, as +long as we were able to keep the field, and never expected a +Confederate army to surrender while it was able either to fight or to +retreat. Lee had only surrendered his army when it was impossible for +him to do either one or the other, and had proudly rejected Grant's +demand, in the face of overwhelming numbers, until he found himself +surrounded and his line of retreat blocked by a force much larger +than his own. + +After it had been decided that General Johnston should attempt +negotiation with General Sherman, he left for his army headquarters; +and I, expecting that he would soon take up his line of retreat, +which his superiority in cavalry would protect from harassing +pursuit, proceeded with my Cabinet and staff toward Charlotte, North +Carolina. While on the way, a dispatch was received from General +Johnston announcing that General Sherman had agreed to a conference, +and asking that the Secretary of War, General J. C. Breckinridge, +should return to coöperate in it. The application was complied with, +and the Postmaster-General, John H. Reagan, also went at my request. +He, however, was not admitted to the conference. + +We arrived at Charlotte on April 18, 1865, and I there received, at +the moment of dismounting, a telegram from General Breckinridge +announcing, on information received from General Sherman, that +President Lincoln had been assassinated. An influential citizen of +the town, who had come to welcome me, was standing near me, and, +after remarking to him in a low voice that I had received sad +intelligence, I handed the telegram to him. Some troopers encamped in +the vicinity had collected to see me; they called to the gentleman +who had the dispatch in his hand to read it, no doubt supposing it to +be army news. He complied with their request, and a few, only taking +in the fact, but not appreciating the evil it portended, cheered, as +was natural at news of the fall of one they considered their most +powerful foe. The man, who invented the story of my having read the +dispatch with exultation, had free scope for his imagination, as he +was not present, and had no chance to know whereof he bore witness, +even if there had been any foundation of truth for his fiction. + +For an enemy so relentless in the war for our subjugation, we could +not be expected to mourn; yet, in view of its political consequences, +it could not be regarded otherwise than as a great misfortune to the +South. He had power over the Northern people, and was without +personal malignity toward the people of the South; his successor was +without power in the North, and the embodiment of malignity toward +the Southern people, perhaps the more so because he had betrayed and +deserted them in the hour of their need. The war had now shrunk into +narrow proportions, but the important consideration remained to so +conduct it that, if failing to secure our independence, we might +obtain a treaty or _quasi_-treaty of peace which would secure to the +Southern States their political rights, and to the people thereof +immunity from the plunder of their private property. + +I found some cavalry at Charlotte, and soon had the satisfaction to +increase them to five brigades, They had been on detached service, +and were much reduced in numbers. Among the troopers who assembled +there was the remnant of the command which had spread terror north of +the Ohio, under the command of their dauntless leader, General John +Hunt Morgan. Their present chief, worthy to be the successor of that +hero, was General Basil Duke. Among the atrocious, cowardly acts of +vindictive malice which marked the conduct of the enemy, none did or +could surpass the brutality with which the dying and dead body of +Morgan was treated. Hate, the offspring of fear, they might feel for +the valorous soldier while he lived, but even the ignoble passion, +vengeance, might have been expected to stop when life was extinct. + +On April 13, 1865, General Johnston wrote to General Sherman as +follows: + + "The results of the recent campaign in Virginia have changed the + relative military condition of the belligerents. I am therefore + induced to address you, in this form, the inquiry whether, to stop + the further effusion of blood and the devastation of property, you + are willing to make a temporary suspension of active operations; + . . . the object being to permit the civil authorities to enter into + the needful arrangements to terminate the existing war." + +General Sherman replied, on the 14th: + + "I am fully empowered to arrange with you any terms for the + suspension of hostilities between the armies commanded by you and + those commanded by myself, and will be willing to confer with you to + that end," etc., etc.[124] + +In the same volume, at page 327, General Sherman describes an +interview with Mr. Lincoln, held at City Point on the 27th and 28th +of March preceding, in which he says: + + "Mr. Lincoln distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and + the people of North Carolina that, as soon as the rebel armies laid + down their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once + be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and + that, to avoid anarchy, the State governments then in existence, with + their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the + government _de facto_ till Congress could provide others." + +In a letter of D. D. Porter, vice-admiral, written in 1866, giving +his recollections of that interview, in the same volume, page 330, is +found the following paragraph: + + "The conversation between the President and General Sherman, about + the terms of surrender to be allowed Joe Johnston, continued. Sherman + energetically insisted that he could command his own terms, and that + Johnston would have to yield to his demands; but the President was + very decided about the matter, and insisted that the surrender of + Johnston's army must be obtained on any terms." + +Hence it appears that Sherman was authorized to say that he was fully +empowered to arrange for the suspension of hostilities; and, +moreover, that he was instructed by Mr. Lincoln to give "any terms" +to obtain the surrender of Johnston's army. + +In regard to the memorandum or basis of agreement, Sherman states, in +the same volume, page 353, that, while in consultation with General +Johnston, a messenger brought him a parcel of papers from Mr. Reagan, +Postmaster-General; that Johnston and Breckinridge looked over them, +and handed one of them to him, which he found inadmissible, and +proceeds: + + "Then, recalling the conversation with Mr. Lincoln at City Point, I + sat down at the table and wrote off the terms which I thought + concisely expressed his views and wishes." + +But, while these matters were progressing, Mr. Lincoln had been +assassinated, and a vindictive policy had been substituted for his, +which avowedly was, to procure a speedy surrender of the army upon +any terms. His evident wish was to stop the further shedding of +blood; that of his successors, like Sherman's, to extract all which +it was possible to obtain. From the memoranda of the interview +between Mr. Lincoln and Sherman it is clearly to be inferred that, +but for the untimely death of Mr. Lincoln, the agreement between +Generals Sherman and Johnston would have been ratified; and the +wounds inflicted on civil liberty by the "reconstruction" measures +might not have left their shameful scars on the United States. + +General Sherman, in his "Memoirs," vol. ii, page 349, referring to a +conversation between himself and General Johnston at their first +meeting, writes: + + "I told him I could not believe that he or General Lee, or the + officers of the Confederate army, could possibly be privy to acts of + assassination, but I would not say as much for Jeff Davis, George + Saunders, and men of that stripe." + +On this I have but two remarks to make: First, that I think there +were few officers in the Confederate army who would have permitted +such a slanderous imputation to be made by a public enemy against the +chief executive of their Government; second, that I could not value +the good opinion of the man who, in regard to the burning of +Columbia, made a false charge against General Wade Hampton, and, +having left it to circulate freely for ten years, then in his +published memoirs makes this disgraceful admission: + + "In my official report of this conflagration, I distinctly charged it + to General Wade Hampton, and confess I did so pointedly, to shake the + faith of his people in him," etc. + + + "Memorandum, or basis of agreement, made this 18th day of April, A. + D. 1865, near Durham Station, and in the State of North Carolina, by + and between General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding the Confederate + army, and Major-General W. T. Sherman, commanding the army of the + United States in North Carolina, both present: + + "1. The contending armies now in the field to maintain their _status + quo_, until notice is given by the commanding General of either one + to its opponents, and reasonable time, say forty-eight hours, allowed. + + "2. The Confederate armies now in existence to be disbanded and + conducted to the several State capitals, there to deposit their arms + and public property in the State Arsenal, and each officer and man to + execute and file an agreement to cease from acts of war, and abide + the action of both Federal and State authorities. The number of arms + and munitions of war to be reported to the chief of ordnance at + Washington City, subject to future action of the Congress of the + United States, and in the mean time to be used solely to maintain + peace and order within the borders of the States respectively. + + "3. The recognition by the Executive of the United States of the + several State governments, on their officers and Legislatures taking + the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States; and, + where conflicting State governments have resulted from the war, the + legitimacy of all shall be submitted to the Supreme Court of the + United States. + + "4. The reestablishment of all Federal courts in the several States, + with powers as defined by the Constitution and laws of Congress. + + "5. The people and inhabitants of all States to be guaranteed, so far + as the Executive can, their political rights and franchises, as well + as their rights of person and property, as defined by the + Constitution of the United States and of the States respectively. + + "6. The Executive authority of the Government of the United States + not to disturb any of the people by reason of the late war, so long + as they live in peace and quiet, abstain from acts of armed + hostility, and obey laws in existence at any place of their residence. + + "7. In general terms, war to cease, a general amnesty, so far as the + Executive power of the United States can command, or on condition of + the disbandment of the Confederate armies, the distribution of arms, + and resumption of peaceful pursuits by officers and men, as hitherto + composing said armies. Not being fully empowered by our respective + principals to fulfill these terms, we individually and officially + pledge ourselves to promptly obtain necessary authority, and to carry + out the above programme. + + "W. T. SHERMAN, _Major-General, etc., etc._ + + "J. E. JOHNSTON, _General, etc., etc._" + +The reader will not fail to observe that the proposition for a +suspension of hostilities to allow the civil authorities to +negotiate, was not even entertained; that the agreement was, in fact, +a military convention, in which all reference to the civil +authorities was excluded, except by the admission that the +negotiators respectively had principals from whom they must obtain +authority, i. e., ratification of the agreement into which they had +entered. There seemed to be a special dread on the part of the United +States officials lest they should do something which would be +construed as the recognition of the existence of a government which +for four years they had been vainly trying to subdue. Now, as on +previous occasions, I cared little for the form, and therefore only +gave my consideration to the substance of the agreement. In +consideration of the disbandment of our armies it provided for the +recognition of the several State governments, guaranteed to the +people of the States their political rights and franchises, as well +as their rights of person and property as defined by the Constitution +of the United States and other States respectively; promised not to +disturb any of the people by reason of the late war, and generally +indicated that the United States Government was to be restricted to +the exercise of the powers delegated in the Constitution. + +Though this convention, if ratified, would not have all the binding +force of a treaty, it secured to our people the political rights and +safety from pillage, to obtain which I proposed to continue the war. +I, therefore, with the concurrence of my constitutional advisers, +addressed General Johnston as follows: + + "CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, _April 24, 1865._ + + "General J. E. JOHNSTON, _Greensboro, North Carolina._ + + "The Secretary of War has delivered to me the copy you handed to him + of the basis of an agreement between yourself and General Sherman. + Your action is approved. You will so inform General Sherman; and, if + the like authority be given by the Government of the United States to + complete the arrangement, you will proceed on the basis adopted. + + "Further instructions will be given after the details of the + negotiation and the methods of executing the terms of agreement when + notified by you of the readiness on the part of the General + commanding United States forces to proceed with the arrangement. + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS." + +From the terms of this letter it will be seen that I doubted whether +the agreement would be ratified by the United States Government. The +opinion I entertained in regard to President Johnson and his venomous +Secretary of War, Stanton, did not permit me to expect that they +would be less vindictive after a surrender of our army had been +proposed than when it was regarded as a formidable body defiantly +holding its position in the field. Whatever hope others entertained +that the existing war was about to be peacefully terminated, was soon +dispelled by the rejection of the basis of agreement on the part of +the Government of the United States, and a notice from General +Sherman of termination of the armistice in forty-eight hours after +noon of the 24th of April, 1865. + +General Johnston communicated to me the substance of the above +information received by him from General Sherman, and asked for +instructions. I have neither his telegram nor my reply, but can give +it substantially from memory. It was that he should retire with his +cavalry, and as many infantry as could be mounted upon draught-horses, +and some light artillery, the rest of the infantry to be disbanded, +and a place of rendezvous appointed. It was unnecessary to say anything +of the route, as that had been previously agreed on, and supplies +placed on it for his retreating army. This order was disobeyed, and he +sought another interview with Sherman, to renew his attempt to reach an +agreement for a termination of hostilities. Meantime, General Hampton, +commanding the cavalry of Johnston's army, came to me at Charlotte, +told me that he feared the army was to be surrendered, and wished +permission to withdraw his part of it and report to me. I gave the +permission, extending it to all the cavalry, which was in accordance +with the instructions I had sent to General Johnston. He returned +immediately, but I have since learned from him that the cavalry had +been included in a proposition to surrender, before he reached them. + +After the expiration of the armistice, I rode out of Charlotte, +attended by the members of my Cabinet (except Attorney-General Davis, +who had gone to see his family, residing in that section, and the +Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Trenholm, who was too ill to accompany +me), my personal staff, and the cavalry which had been concentrated +from different, and some of them distant, fields of detached service. +The number was about two thousand, and they represented six brigade +organizations; though so much reduced in numbers, they were in a good +state of efficiency, and among their officers were some of the best +in our service. To the troops of this command, whose gallantly had +been displayed on many fields, there is due from me a special +acknowledgment for the kind consideration shown to me on the marches +from Charlotte, when the dark shadows which gathered round us +foretold the coming night. General Hampton, finding his troops had +been included in the surrender, endeavored to join me to offer his +individual service, and to share my fate whatever it might be. He +accidentally failed to meet me. + +I must now recur to two extraordinary statements made by General J. +E. Johnston in regard to myself while at Charlotte, North Carolina, +on pages 408 and 409, Johnston's "Narrative." The first is that at +Greensboro, on the 19th of April-- + + "Colonel Archer Anderson, adjutant-general of the army, gave me two + papers, addressed to me by the President. The first directed me to + obtain from Mr. J. N. Hendren, Treasury Agent, thirty-nine thousand + dollars in silver, which was in his hands, subject to my order, and + to use it as the military chest of the army. The second, received + subsequently by Colonel Anderson, directed me to send this money to + the President at Charlotte. This order was not obeyed, however. As + only the military part of our Government had then any existence, I + thought that a fair share of the fund still left should be + appropriated to the benefit of the army." + +And so, as revealed in his "Narrative," he took the money, and +divided it among the troops. + +When my attention was called to this statement by one who had read +the "Narrative," I wrote to Colonel Anderson, referred to book and +page, and inquired what letters from me as there described he had +received. He responded: + + "I do not remember anything connected with the subject, except that + there was a payment of silver coin to the army at Greensboro, and I + have no papers which would afford information." + +My letter-book contains no such correspondence, but has a letter +which renders more than doubtful the assertion that I wrote others +such as described. The only letter found in my letter-book on the +subject of the funds in charge of Hendren is the following: + + "GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, _April 15, 1865._ + + "Mr. HENDREN, _C. S. Treasurer, Greensboro, North Carolina._ + + "SIR: You will report to General Beauregard with the treasure in your + possession, that he may give to it due protection as a military chest + to be moved with his army train. For further instructions you will + report to the Secretary of the Treasury. + + "JEFFERSON DAVIS. + + "Official: F. R. LUBBOCK, _Colonel and A. D. C._" + +From the above it will be seen that, while I exercised authority to +assign officers to their posts or places of duty, I assumed no +control over the public Treasury; but in that connection referred the +subordinate to his chief, the Secretary of the Treasury, by whom +alone could warrants be drawn against the public funds. How very +improbable, then, it is, that I wrote to have the money in the hands +of a treasurer sent to me personally! Yet this is what General +Johnston claims to have resisted, when without any lawful authority +he distributed the money himself. The second statement is: + + "As there was reason to suppose that the Confederate Executive had a + large sum in specie in its possession, I urged it earnestly, in + writing, to apply a part of it to the payment of the army. This + letter was intrusted to Lieutenant-Colonel Mason, who was instructed + to wait for an answer. Its receipt was acknowledged by telegraph, and + an answer promised. After waiting several days to no purpose. Colonel + Mason returned without one." + +Not recollecting to have met Colonel Mason at Charlotte, I wrote to +him, calling his attention to the statement, and asking what was the +fact. Not receiving a reply, I renewed the inquiry, but, though +considerable time has elapsed, he has not answered. It is quite +possible that I might have met the gentleman without recollecting it, +but not at all probable that I should have received such a letter and +have forgotten it. Such intrusion of advice as to what should be done +with the money in the Treasury, and the speculative opinion as to the +amount there, I must suppose would have been very promptly rejected +if it had been presented to me. For years there had been irregularity +and delay in the payment of the troops, and surely no one regretted +it more than myself, or had for years tried more sedulously to +correct it; but, expecting the army to continue in the field, it was +indispensable to have the means of obtaining the necessary supplies +for it. + +The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Trenholm, was ill before we +reached Charlotte, and quite so during our stay there, but he knew +there was not a large sum of specie in the Treasury, and with +patriotic desire had been using it to supply the troops after +Confederate money became unavailable for purchases. He did not +contemplate the abandonment of our cause, and it would not have taken +him a minute to answer that more than all the money he had would be +needed in future military operations. + +On the 26th, the day on which the armistice terminated, General +Johnston again met General Sherman, who offered the same terms which +had been made with General Lee, and he says, "General Johnston, +without hesitation, agreed to, and we executed the following," which +was the surrender of General Johnston's troops, with the condition of +their being paroled and the officers being permitted to retain their +side-arms, private horses, and baggage. + +It is true that these were the terms accepted by Lee, but the +condition of the two armies was very different. Lee's supplies had +been cut off, his men were exhausted by fatigue and hunger; he had no +reënforcements in view; notwithstanding the immense superiority in +numbers and equipments of the enemy pursuing, he had from point to +point fought them in rear and on both flanks, and had, the day before +his line of retreat was closed, rejected the demand for surrender, +and only yielded to it after his starving little army had been +surrounded by masses through which he tried to, but could not, cut +his way. + +Johnston's line of retreat was open, and supplies had been placed +upon it. His cavalry was superior to that of the enemy, as had been +proved in every conflict between them. Maury and Forrest and Taylor +still had armies in the field--not large, but strong enough to have +collected around them the men who had left Johnston's army and gone +to their homes to escape a surrender, as well as those who under +similar circumstances had left Lee. The show of continued resistance, +I then believed, as I still do, would have overcome the depression +which was spreading like a starless night over the country, and that +the exhibition of a determination not to leave our political future +at the mercy of an enemy which had for four years been striving to +subjugate the States would have led the United States authorities to +do, as Mr. Lincoln had indicated--give any terms which might be +found necessary speedily to terminate the existing war. + +Those who look back upon the period when the States were treated as +subject provinces, and the Congress left to legislate at its will-- +when a war professedly waged to bring the seceding States back to the +Union, with all the rights and privileges guaranteed by the +Constitution, was followed by the utter disregard of those rights, +and the miscalled peace was a state of vindictive hostility--will +probably think continued war was not the greatest of evils. + +I quote again from the "Memoirs" of Sherman, vol. ii, p. 349. +Referring to the first interview, he writes: + + "I then told Johnston that he must be convinced that he could not + oppose my army, and that, since Lee had surrendered, he could do the + same with honor and propriety. He plainly and repeatedly admitted + this, and added that any further fighting would be '_murder_'; but he + thought that, instead of surrendering piecemeal, we might arrange + terms that would embrace _all_ the Confederate armies." + +Sherman further writes that he told Johnston that the terms given to +General Lee's army were most generous and liberal, which he states +Johnston "admitted, but always recurred to the idea of a universal +surrender, embracing his own army, that of Dick Taylor, in Louisiana +and Texas, and of Maury, Forrest, and others, in Alabama and +Georgia." Considering the character of the authority cited, and the +extraordinary proposition to provide for a universal surrender by a +district commander, it may be well supposed to require confirmation. +I therefore quote from General Richard Taylor, "Destruction and +Reconstruction," page 224: + + "Intelligence of the Johnston-Sherman convention reached us, and + Canby and I were requested by the officers making it to conform to + its terms until the civil authorities acted." + +The advice may have been well enough, but, as there was an +established channel of communication, and an order of responsibility +necessary for effective coöperation in the public service, something +more than courtesy required that the Executive should have been +advised if not consulted. I had left Charlotte with no other sure +reliance against any cavalry movement of the enemy than the force +which was with me; that, however, I believed to be sufficient for any +probable exigency, if the reënforcements hoped for should not join us +on the way. We proceeded at easy stages; some of the command thought +we went too slow. After making two halts of about half a day each, we +reached the Savannah River. I crossed early in the morning of the 4th +of May, with a company, which had been detailed as my escort, and +rode some miles to a farmhouse, where I halted to get breakfast and +have our horses fed. Here I learned that a regiment of the enemy were +moving upon Washington, Georgia, which was one of our depots of +supplies, and I sent back a courier with a pencil-note addressed to +General Vaughn, or the officer commanding the advance, requesting him +to come on and join me immediately. After waiting a considerable +time, I determined to move on with my escort, trusting that the +others would overtake us, and that, if not, we should arrive in +Washington in time to rally the citizens to its defense. When I +reached there, scouts were sent out on the different roads, and my +conclusion was that we had had a false alarm. The Secretary of State, +Mr. Benjamin, being unaccustomed to traveling on horseback, parted +from me, at the house where we stopped to breakfast, to take another +mode of conveyance and a different route from that which I was +pursuing, with intent to rejoin me in the trans-Mississippi +Department. At Washington, the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Mallory, +left me temporarily to attend to the needs of his family. The +Secretary of War, Mr. Breckinridge, had remained with the cavalry at +the crossing of the Savannah River. During the night after my arrival +in Washington, he sent in an application for authority to draw from +the treasure, under the protection of the troops, enough to make to +them a partial payment. I authorized the acting Secretary of the +Treasury to meet the requisition by the use of the silver coin in the +train. When the next day passed without the troops coming forward, I +sent a note to the Secretary of War, showing the impolicy of my +longer delay, having there heard that General Upton had passed within +a few miles of the town on his way to Augusta to receive the +surrender of the garrison and military material at that place, in +conformity with orders issued by General Johnston. This was my first +positive information of his surrender. Not receiving an immediate +reply to the note addressed to the Secretary of War, General +Breckinridge, I spoke to Captain Campbell, of Kentucky, commanding my +escort, explained to him the condition of affairs, and telling him +that his company was not strong enough to fight, and too large to +pass without observation, asked him to inquire if there were ten men +who would volunteer to go with me without question wherever I should +choose. He brought back for answer that the whole company volunteered +on the terms proposed. Gratifying as this manifestation was, I felt +it would expose them to unnecessary hazard to accept the offer, and +told him, in any manner he might think best, to form a party of ten +men. With these. Captain Campbell, Lieutenant Barnwell, of South +Carolina, Colonels F. E. Lubbock, John Taylor Wood, and William +Preston Johnston, of my personal staff, I left Washington. Secretary +Reagan remained for a short time to transfer the treasure in his +hands, except a few thousand dollars, and then rejoined me on the +road. This transfer of the treasure was made to Mr. Semple, a bonded +officer of the navy, and his assistant, Mr. Tidball, with +instructions, as soon as it could be safely done, to transport it +abroad and deliver it to the commercial house which had acted as the +financial agent of the Confederate Government, and was reported to +have incurred liabilities on its account. + +Mr. Reagan overtook me in a few hours, but I saw no more of General +Breckinridge, and learned subsequently that he was following our +route, with a view to overtake me, when he heard of my capture, and, +turning to the east, reached the Florida coast unmolested. On the way +he met J. Taylor Wood, and, in an open boat, they crossed the straits +to the West Indies. No report reached me at that time, or until long +afterward, in regard to the cavalry command left at the Savannah +River; then it was to the effect that paroled men from Johnston's +army brought news of its surrender, and that the condition of +returning home and remaining unmolested embraced all the men of the +department who would give their parole, and that this had exercised a +great influence over the troops, inclining them to accept those +terms. Had General Johnston obeyed the order sent to him from +Charlotte, and moved on the route selected by himself, with all his +cavalry, so much of the infantry as could be mounted, and the light +artillery, he could not have been successfully pursued by General +Sherman. His force, united to that I had assembled at Charlotte, +would, it was believed, have been sufficient to vanquish any troops +which the enemy had between us and the Mississippi River. + +Had the cavalry with which I left Charlotte been associated with a +force large enough to inspire hope for the future, instead of being +discouraged by the surrender in their rear, it would probably have +gone on, and, when united with the forces of Maury, Forrest, and +Taylor, in Alabama and Mississippi, have constituted an army large +enough to attract stragglers, and revive the drooping spirits of the +country. In the worst view of the case it should have been able to +cross the trans-Mississippi Department, and there uniting with the +armies of E. K. Smith and Magruder to form an army, which in the +portion of that country abounding in supplies, and deficient in +rivers and railroads, could have continued the war until our enemy, +foiled in the purpose of subjugation, should, in accordance with his +repeated declaration, have agreed, on the basis of a return to the +Union, to acknowledge the Constitutional rights of the States, and by +a convention, or _quasi_-treaty, to guarantee security of person and +property. To this hope I persistently clung, and, if our independence +could not be achieved, so much, at least, I trusted might be gained. + +Those who have endured the horrors of "reconstruction," who have, +under "carpet-bag rule," borne insult, robbery, and imprisonment +without legal warrant, can appreciate the value which would have +attached to such limited measure of success. + +When I left Washington, Georgia, with the small party which has been +enumerated, my object was to go to the south far enough to pass below +the points reported to be occupied by Federal troops, and then turn +to the west, cross the Chattahoochee, and then go on to meet the +forces still supposed to be in the field in Alabama. If, as now +seemed probable, there should be no prospect of a successful +resistance east of the Mississippi, I intended then to cross to the +trans-Mississippi Department, where I believed Generals E. K. Smith +and Magruder would continue to uphold our cause. That I was not +mistaken in the character of these men, I extract from the order +issued by General E. K. Smith to the soldiers of the trans-Mississippi +Army on the 21st of April, 1865: + + "Great disasters have overtaken us. The Army of Northern Virginia and + our General-in-Chief are prisoners of war. With you rest the hopes of + our nation, and upon you depends the fate of our people. . . . Prove + to the world that your hearts have not failed in the hour of + disaster. . . . Stand by your colors--maintain your discipline. The + great resources of this department, its vast extent, the numbers, the + discipline, and the efficiency of the army, will secure to our + country terms that a proud people can with honor accept." + +General Magruder, with like heroic determination, invoked the troops +and people of Texas not to despond, and pointed out their ability in +the interior of that vast State to carry on the war indefinitely. + +General D. H. Maury, after his memorable defense of Mobile, withdrew +his forces on the 12th of April, at the last moment, and moved toward +Meridian. Commodore Farrand, commanding our navy at Mobile Bay, +withdrew his armed vessels and steamers up the Tombigbee River, and +planted torpedoes in the Alabama below. Forrest and Maury had about +eight thousand men, but these were veterans, tried in many hard +engagements, and trained to the highest state of efficiency. Before +Maury withdrew from Mobile, news had been received of Lee's +surrender. Taylor says the news was soon disseminated through his +army, but that the men remained steadfast, and manifested a +determination to maintain the honor of our aims to the last. On pages +224 and 225 of his book, he gives an account of the intelligence +received of the Johnston-Sherman convention of the 18th of April, and +of the meeting between Canby and himself to arrange terms for his +army, and an agreement that there should be an armistice; but he +says, two days after that meeting, news was received of Johnston's +surrender, and the capture of President Davis. The latter was untrue, +and he does not say who communicated it, but that he was at the same +time notified that the Johnston-Sherman convention had been disavowed +by the United States Government, and notice given for the termination +of the armistice. Under these circumstances he asked General Canby to +meet him again, and on the 8th of May, two days before I was actually +captured, but which he supposed had already occurred, he agreed with +Canby on terms for the surrender of the land and naval forces in +Mississippi and Alabama. These terms were similar to those made +between Johnston and Sherman; the mounted men were to retain their +horses, being their private property. + +On the 26th of May, the chief of staff of General E. Kirby Smith, and +the chief of staff of General Canby, at Baton Rouge, arranged similar +terms for the surrender of the troops in the trans-Mississippi +Department. On May 11th, after the last army east of the Mississippi +had surrendered, but before Kirby Smith had entered into terms, the +enemy sent an expedition from the Brazos Santiago against a little +Confederate encampment some fifteen miles above. The camp was +captured and burned, but, in the zeal to secure the fruits of +victory, they remained so long collecting the plunder, that General +J. E. Slaughter heard of the expedition, moved against it, and drove +it back with considerable loss, sustaining very little injury to his +command. This was, I believe, the last armed conflict of the war, +and, though very small in comparison to its great battles, it +deserves notice as having closed the long struggle--as it opened-- +with a Confederate victory. + +The total number of prisoners paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina, +as reported by General Schofield, was 36,817; in Georgia and Florida, +as reported by General Wilson, 52,543; aggregate surrender under the +capitulation of General J. E. Johnston, 89,270.[125] How many of this +last number were men who left General Johnston's army to avoid the +surrender, or were on detached service from the armies of Virginia +and North Carolina, I have no means of ascertaining. + +The total number in the Department of Alabama and Mississippi paroled +by General Canby, under agreement with General Richard Taylor, of the +8th of May, 1865, as reported, was 42,293,[126] to which may be added +of the navy a small force--less than 150. The number surrendered by +General E. Kirby Smith, commanding the trans-Mississippi Department, +as reported, was 17,686.[127] To this small dimension had General +Smith's army been reduced when he accepted the terms to which a +reference has already been made. This reduction resulted from various +causes, but it is believed was mainly due to the reluctance of a +large part of his army to accept a parole, preferring to take +whatever hazard belonged to absenting themselves without leave and +continuing their character of belligerents. A few, but so far as I +know very few, even went to the extent of expatriating themselves, +and joined Maximilian in Mexico. Against no one as much as myself did +the hostility of our victorious enemy manifest itself, but I was +never willing to seek the remedy of exile, and always advised those +who consulted me against that resort. The mass of our people could +not go; the few who were able to do so were most needed to sustain +the others in the hour of a common adversity. The example of Ireland +after the Treaty of Limerick, and of Canada after its conquest by +Great Britain, were instructive as to the duty of the influential men +to remain and share the burden of a common disaster. + +With General E. K. Smith's surrender the Confederate flag no longer +floated on the land; but one gallant sailor still unfurled it on the +Pacific. Captain Waddell, commanding the Confederate cruiser +Shenandoah, swept the ocean from Australia nearly to Behring's +Straits, making many captures in the Okhobak Sea and Arctic Ocean. In +August, 1865, he learned from the captain of a British ship that the +Confederacy, as an independent Government, had ceased to exist. With +the fall of his Government his right to cruise was of course +terminated; he therefore sailed for the coast of England, entered the +Mersey, and on November 6, 1865, and in due form, surrendered his +vessel to the British Government. She was accepted and subsequently +transferred to the United States. + +After leaving Washington in the manner and for the purpose heretofore +described, I overtook a commissary and quartermaster's train, having +public papers of value in charge, and, finding that they had no +experienced woodsman with it, I gave them four of the men of my small +party, and went on with the rest. On the second or third day after +leaving Washington, I heard that a band of marauders, supposed to be +stragglers and deserters from both armies, were in pursuit of my +family, whom I had not seen since they left Richmond, but of whom I +heard, at Washington, that they had gone with my private secretary +and seven paroled men, who generously offered their services as an +escort, to the Florida coast. Their route was to the east of that I +was pursuing, but I immediately changed direction and rode rapidly +across the country to overtake them. About nightfall the horses of my +escort gave out, but I pressed on with Secretary Reagan and my +personal staff. It was a bright moonlight night, and just before day, +as the moon was sinking below the tree-tops, I met a party of men in +the road, who answered my questions by saying they belonged to an +Alabama regiment; that they were coming from a village not far off, +on their way homeward. Upon inquiry being made, they told me they had +passed an encampment of wagons, with women and children, and asked me +if we belonged to that party. Upon being answered in the affirmative, +they took their leave. + +After a short time I was hailed by a voice which I recognized as that +of my private secretary, who informed me that the marauders had been +hanging around the camp, and that he and others were on post around +it, and were expecting an assault as soon as the moon went down. A +silly story had got abroad that it was a treasure-train, and the +_auri sacra fames_ had probably instigated these marauders, as it +subsequently stimulated General J. H. Wilson, to send out a large +cavalry force to capture the same train. For the protection of my +family I traveled with them two or three days, when, believing that +they had passed out of the region of marauders, I determined to leave +their encampment at nightfall, to execute my original purpose. My +horse and those of my party proper were saddled preparatory to a +start, when one of my staff, who had ridden into the neighboring +village, returned and told me that he had heard that a marauding +party intended to attack the camp that night. This decided me to wait +long enough to see whether there was any truth in the rumor, which I +supposed would be ascertained in a few hours. My horse remained +saddled and my pistols in the holsters, and I lay down, fully +dressed, to rest. Nothing occurred to rouse me until just before +dawn, when my coachman, a free colored man, who faithfully clung to +our fortunes, came and told me there was firing over the branch, just +behind our encampment. I stepped out of my wife's tent and saw some +horsemen, whom I immediately recognized as cavalry, deploying around +the encampment. I turned back and told my wife these were not the +expected marauders, but regular troopers. She implored me to leave +her at once. I hesitated, from unwillingness to do so, and lost a few +precious moments before yielding to her importunity. My horse and +arms were near the road on which I expected to leave, and down which +the cavalry approached; it was therefore impracticable to reach them. +I was compelled to start in the opposite direction. As it was quite +dark in the tent, I picked up what was supposed to be my "raglan," a +water-proof, light overcoat, without sleeves; it was subsequently +found to be my wife's, so very like my own as to be mistaken for it; +as I started, my wife thoughtfully threw over my head and shoulders a +shawl. I had gone perhaps fifteen or twenty yards when a trooper +galloped up and ordered me to halt and surrender, to which I gave a +defiant answer, and, dropping the shawl and raglan from my shoulders, +advanced toward him; he leveled his carbine at me, but I expected, if +he fired, he would miss me, and my intention was in that event to put +my hand under his foot, tumble him off on the other side, spring into +his saddle, and attempt to escape. My wife, who had been watching, +when she saw the soldier aim his carbine at me, ran forward and threw +her arms around me. Success depended on instantaneous action, and, +recognizing that the opportunity had been lost, I turned back, and, +the morning being damp and chilly, passed on to a fire beyond the +tent. Our pursuers had taken different roads, and approached our camp +from opposite directions; they encountered each other and commenced +firing, both supposing they had met our armed escort, and some +casualties resulted from their conflict with an imaginary body of +Confederate troops. During the confusion, while attention was +concentrated upon myself, except by those who were engaged in +pillage, one of my aides, Colonel J. Taylor Wood, with Lieutenant +Barnwell, walked off unobserved. His daring exploits on the sea had +made him, on the part of the Federal Government, an object of special +hostility, and rendered it quite proper that he should avail himself +of every possible means of escape. Colonel Pritchard went over to +their battle-field, and I did not see him for a long time, surely +more than an hour after my capture. He subsequently claimed credit, +in a conversation with me, for the forbearance shown by his men in +not shooting me when I refused to surrender. + +Wilson and others have uttered many falsehoods in regard to my +capture, which have been exposed in publications by persons there +present--by Secretary Reagan, by the members of my personal staff, +and by the colored coachman, Jim Jones, which must have been +convincing to all who were not given over to believe a lie. For this +reason I will postpone, to some other time and more appropriate +place, any further notice of the story and its variations, all the +spawn of a malignity that shames the civilization of the age. We +were, when prisoners, subjected to petty pillage, as described in the +publications referred to, and in others; and to annoyances such as +military _gentlemen_ never commit or permit. + +On our way to Macon we received the proclamation of President Andrew +Johnson offering a reward for my apprehension as an accomplice in the +assassination of the late President A. Lincoln. Some troops by the +wayside had the proclamation, which was displayed with vociferous +demonstrations of exultation over my capture. When we arrived at +Macon I was conducted to the hotel where General Wilson had his +quarters. A strong guard was in front of the entrance, and, when I +got down to pass in, it opened ranks, facing inward, and presented +arms. + +A commodious room was assigned to myself and family. After a while +the steward of the hotel called and inquired whether I would dine +with General Wilson or have dinner served with myself and family in +my room. I chose the latter. After dinner I received a message from +General Wilson, asking whether he should wait upon me, or whether I +would call upon him. I rose and accompanied the messenger to General +Wilson's presence. We had met at West Point when he was a cadet, and +I a commissioner sent by the Congress to inquire into the affairs of +the Academy. After some conversation in regard to former times and +our common acquaintance, he referred to the proclamation offering a +reward for my capture. Taking it for granted that any significant +remark of mine would be reported to his Government, and fearing that +I might never have another opportunity to give my opinion to A. +Johnson, I told him there was one man in the United States who knew +that proclamation to be false. He remarked that my expression +indicated a particular person. I answered that I did, and the person +was the one who signed it, for he at least knew that I preferred +Lincoln to himself. Some other conversation then occurred in regard +to the route on which we were to be carried. Having several small +children, one of them an infant, I expressed a preference for the +easier route by water, supposing then, as he seemed to do, that I was +to go to Washington City. He manifested a courteous, obliging temper, +and, either by the authority with which he was invested or by +obtaining it from a higher power, my preference as to the route was +accorded. I told him that some of the men with me were on parole, and +that they all were riding their own horses--private property--that +I would be glad they should be permitted to retain them, and I have a +distinct recollection that he promised me it should be done; but I +have since learned that they were all deprived of their horses, and +some who were on parole, viz., Major Moran, Captain Moody, Lieutenant +Hathaway, Midshipman Howell, and Private Messec, who had not violated +their obligations of parole, but had been captured because they were +found voluntarily traveling with my family to protect them from +marauders, were sent with me as prisoners of war, and all +incarcerated, in disregard of the protection promised when they +surrendered. At Augusta we were put on a steamer, and there met +Vice-President Stephens; Hon. C. C. Clay, who had voluntarily +surrendered himself upon learning that he was included in the +proclamation for the arrest of certain persons charged with +complicity in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln; General Wheeler, the +distinguished cavalry officer, and his adjutant, General Ralls. My +private secretary, Burton N. Harrison, had refused to be left behind, +and, though they would not allow him to go in the carriage with me, +he was resolved to follow my fortunes, as well from sentiment as the +hope of being useful. His fidelity was rewarded by a long and +rigorous imprisonment. At Port Royal we were transferred to a +sea-going vessel, which, instead of being sent to Washington City, +was brought to anchor at Hampton Roads. One by one all my companions +in misfortune were sent away, we knew not whither, leaving on the +vessel only Mr. Clay and his wife and myself and family. After some +days' detention, Clay and myself were removed to Fortress Monroe, and +there incarcerated in separate cells. Not knowing that the Government +was at war with women and children, I asked that my family might be +permitted to leave the ship and go to Richmond or Washington City, or +to some place where they had acquaintances, but this was refused. I +then requested that they might be permitted to go abroad on one of +the vessels lying at the Roads. This was also denied; finally, I was +informed that they must return to Savannah on the vessel by which we +came. This was an old transport-ship, hardly seaworthy. My last +attempt was to get for them the privilege of stopping at Charleston, +where they had many personal friends. This also was refused--why, I +did not then know, have not learned since, and am unwilling to make a +supposition, as none could satisfactorily account for such an act of +inhumanity. My daily experience as a prisoner shed no softer light on +the transaction, but only served to intensify my extreme solicitude. +Bitter tears have been shed by the gentle, and stern reproaches have +been made by the magnanimous, on account of the needless torture to +which I was subjected, and the heavy fetters riveted upon me, while +in a stone casemate and surrounded by a strong guard; but all these +were less excruciating than the mental agony my captors were able to +inflict. It was long before I was permitted to hear from my wife and +children, and this, and things like this, was the power which +education added to savage cruelty; but I do not propose now and here +to enter upon the story of my imprisonment, or more than merely to +refer to other matters which concerns me personally, as distinct from +my connection with the Confederacy. + + +[Footnote 124: "Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman," vol. ii, pp. 346, +347.] + +[Footnote 125: "Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman," vol. ii, p. 370.] + +[Footnote 126: "Annual Cyclopaedia," 1865, p. 11.] + +[Footnote 127: Ibid.] + + + + +CHAPTER LV. + + Number of the Enemy's Forces in the War.--Number of the Enemy's + Troops from Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee.--Cruel + Conduct of the War.--Statements in 1862.--Statements in 1863.-- + Emancipation Proclamation.--Statements in 1864.--General Hunter's + Proceedings near Lynchburg.--Cruelties in Sherman's March through + South Carolina. + + +On April 25th, at Raleigh, North Carolina, General J. E. Johnston +capitulated to General Sherman, as has been stated, and his army was +disbanded. On May 4th General B. Taylor capitulated with the last of +our forces east. + +The number of men brought into the field by the Government of the +United States during the war, according to the official returns in +the Adjutant-General's office, Washington, was 2,678,967. In addition +to these, 86,724 paid a commutation. + +The rapidity with which calls for men were made by that Government +during the last eighteen mouths of the war, and the number brought +into the field, were as follows: + + Men furnished + Calls of October 17, 1863, and February 1, 1864, for + 500,000 men for three years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317,092 + Call of March 14, 1864, for 200,000 men for three years 259,515 + Militia for one hundred days, April to July, 1864 . . . . 83,612 + Call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men . . . . . . . . . 385,163[128] + Call of December 19, 1864, for 300,000 men . . . . . . . 211,752 + --------- + Total men furnished in eighteen months . . . . . . . . 1,257,134 + + +The number of men furnished on call of the United States Government, +previous to October 17, 1863, was as follows: + + Men furnished + Call of April 15, 1861, for 75,000 men for three months 91,816 + Call of May 3, 1861, for 500,000 men . . . . . . . . . . 700,680 + Men furnished in May and June, 1862, for three months . . 15,007 + Call of July 2, 1862, for 300,000 men for three years . . 421,465 + Call of August 4, 1862, for 300,000 militia for nine + months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87,588 + Proclamation of June 15, 1863, for militia for six months 16,361 + Volunteers and militia at various times, of sixty days + to one year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,760 + Volunteers and militia at various times for three years 75,156 + --------- + Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,421,833 + + +The number of men furnished to the armies of the United States by the +States of Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Tennessee, was as follows: + + States. Men furnished. + Kentucky . . . . . . . 70,760 equal to 70,832 three years' men. + Maryland . . . . . . . 46,638 " 41,275 " " " + Missouri . . . . . . . 109,111 " 86,530 " " " + Tennessee . . . . . . . 31,092 " 26,394 " " " + ------- ------- + Total . . . . . . . . 262,601 225,031 + + +The public debt of the Government of the United States on July 1, +1861, and on July 1, 1865 was as follows: + + Debt, July 1, 1861 . . . . . . . $90,867,828.68 + " July 1, 1865 . . . . . . . 2,682,593,026.53 + ---------------- + Increase in four years . . . . . $2,591,725,197.85 + +Of the manner in which our adversaries conducted the war I had +frequent occasion to remark. Those observations made at the time +present a more correct representation of facts than could be given in +more recent statements. In a message to Congress on August 15, 1862, +I said: + + "The perfidy which disregarded rights secured by compact, the madness + which trampled on obligations made sacred by every consideration of + honor, have been intensified by the malignancy engendered by defeat. + These passions have changed the character of the hostilities waged by + our enemies, who are becoming daily less regardful of the usages of + civilized war and the dictates of humanity. Rapine and wanton + destruction of private property, war upon non-combatants, murder of + captives, bloody threats to avenge the death of an invading soldiery + by the slaughter of unarmed citizens, orders of banishment against + peaceful farmers engaged in the cultivation of the soil, are some of + the means used by our ruthless invaders to enforce the submission of + a free people to a foreign sway. Confiscation bills, of a character + so atrocious as to insure, if executed, the utter ruin of the entire + population of these States, are passed by their Congress and approved + by their Executive. The moneyed obligations of the Confederate + Government are counterfeited by citizens of the United States, and + publicly advertised for sale in their cities, with a notoriety that + sufficiently attests the knowledge of their Government; and the + soldiers of the invading armies are found supplied with large + quantities of these forged notes as a means of despoiling the country + people by fraud out of such portions of their property as armed + violence may fail to reach. Two at least of the generals of the + United States are engaged, unchecked by their Government, in exciting + servile insurrection, and in arming and training slaves for warfare + against their masters, citizens of the Confederacy." + +Again, in January, 1863, I said, with regard to the conduct of the +war by our adversaries: + + "It is my painful duty again to inform you of the renewed examples of + every conceivable atrocity committed by the armed forces of the + United States at different points within the Confederacy, and which + must stamp indelible infamy, not only on the perpetrators, but on + their superiors, who, having the power to check these outrages on + humanity, numerous and well authenticated as they have been, have not + yet in a single instance, of which I am aware, inflicted punishment + on the wrong-doers. Since my last communication to you, one General + McNeil murdered seven prisoners of war in cold blood, and the demand + for his punishment has remained unsatisfied. The Government of the + United States, after promising examination and explanation in + relation to the charges made against General B. F. Butler, has, by + its subsequent silence, after repeated efforts on my part to obtain + some answer on the subject, not only admitted his guilt, but + sanctioned it by acquiescence. . . . Recently I have received + apparently authentic intelligence of another general by the name of + Milroy, who has issued orders in West Virginia for the payment of + money to him by the inhabitants, accompanied by the most savage + threats of shooting every recusant, besides burning his house, and + threatening similar atrocities against any of our citizens who shall + fail to betray their country by giving him prompt notice of the + approach of any of our forces. And this subject has also been + submitted to the superior military authorities of the United States, + with but faint hope that they will evince any disapprobation of the + act. + + "A proclamation, dated on January 1, 1863, signed and issued by the + President of the United States, orders and declares all slaves within + ten of the States of the Confederacy to be free, except such as are + found in certain districts now occupied in part by the armed forces + of the enemy. We may well leave it to the instinct of that common + humanity, which a beneficent Creator has implanted in the breasts of + our fellow-men of all countries, to pass judgment on a measure by + which several millions of human beings of an inferior race-- + peaceful, contented laborers in their sphere--are doomed to + extermination, while at the same time they are encouraged to a + general assassination of their masters by the insidious + recommendation 'to abstain from violence, unless in necessary + self-defense.'" + +The war, which in its inception was waged for forcing us back into +the Union, having failed to accomplish that purpose, passed into a +second stage, in which it was attempted to conquer and rule our +States as dependent provinces. Defeated in this design, our enemies +entered upon another, which could have no other purpose than revenge +and plunder of private property. In May, 1864, it was still +characterized by the barbarism with which it had been previously +conducted. Aged men, helpless women and children appealed in vain to +the humanity which should be inspired by their condition, for +immunity from arrest, incarceration, or banishment from their homes. +Plunder and devastation of the property of non-combatants, +destruction of private dwellings, and even of edifices devoted to the +worship of God, expeditions organized for the sole purpose of sacking +cities, consigning them to the flames, killing the unarmed +inhabitants, and inflicting horrible outrages on women and children, +were some of the constantly recurring atrocities of the invader. + +On June 19, 1864, Major-General Hunter began his retreat from before +Lynchburg down the Shenandoah Valley. Lieutenant-General Early, who +followed in pursuit, thus describes the destruction he witnessed +along the route: + + "Houses had been burned, and helpless women and children left without + shelter. The country had been stripped of provisions, and many + families left without a morsel to eat. Furniture and bedding had been + cut to pieces, and old men and women and children robbed of all the + clothing they had, except that on their backs. Ladies' trunks had + been rifled, and their dresses torn to pieces in mere wantonness. + Even the negro girls had lost their little finery. At Lexington he + had burned the Military Institute with all its contents, including + its library and scientific apparatus. Washington College had been + plundered, and the statue of Washington stolen. The residence of + ex-Governor Letcher at that place had been burned by orders, and but + a few minutes given Mrs. Letcher and her family to leave the house. + In the county a most excellent Christian gentleman, a Mr. Creigh, had + been hung, because, on a former occasion, he had killed a straggling + and marauding Federal soldier while in the act of insulting and + outraging the ladies of his family." [129] + +A letter dated Charleston, September 14, 1865, written by Rev. Dr. +John Bachman, then pastor of the Lutheran Church in that city, +presents many facts respecting the devastation and robberies by the +enemy in South Carolina. So much as relates to the march of Sherman's +army through parts of the State is here presented: + + "When Sherman's army came sweeping through Carolina, leaving a broad + track of desolation for hundreds of miles, whose steps were + accompanied with fire, and sword, and blood, reminding us of the + tender mercies of the Duke of Alva, I happened to be at Cash's Depot, + six miles from Cheraw. The owner was a widow, Mrs. Ellerbe, + seventy-one years of age. Her son, Colonel Cash, was absent. I + witnessed the barbarities inflicted on the aged, the widow, and young + and delicate females. Officers, high in command, were engaged tearing + from the ladies their watches, their ear and wedding rings, the + daguerreotypes of those they loved and cherished. A lady of delicacy + and refinement, a personal friend, was compelled to strip before + them, that they might find concealed watches and other valuables + under her dress. A system of torture was practiced toward the weak, + unarmed, and defenseless, which, as far as I know and believe, was + universal throughout the whole course of that invading army. Before + they arrived at a plantation, they inquired the names of the most + faithful and trustworthy family servants; these were immediately + seized, pistols were presented at their heads; with the most terrific + curses, they were threatened to be shot if they did not assist them + in finding buried treasures. If this did not succeed, they were tied + up and cruelly beaten. Several poor creatures died under the + infliction. The last resort was that of hanging, and the officers and + men of the triumphant army of General Sherman were engaged in + erecting gallows and hanging up these faithful and devoted servants. + They were strung up until life was nearly extinct, when they were let + down, suffered to rest awhile, then threatened and hung up again. It + is not surprising that some should have been left hanging so long + that they were taken down dead. Coolly and deliberately these + hardened men proceeded on their way, as if they had perpetrated no + crime, and as if the God of heaven would not pursue them with his + vengeance. But it was not alone the poor blacks (to whom they + professed to come as liberators) that were thus subjected to torture + and death. Gentlemen of high character, pure and honorable and + gray-headed, unconnected with the military, were dragged from their + fields or their beds, and subjected to this process of threats, + beating, and hanging. Along the whole track of Sherman's army, traces + remain of the cruelty and inhumanity practiced on the aged and the + defenseless. Some of those who were hung up died under the rope, + while their cruel murderers have not only been left unreproached and + unhung, but have been hailed as heroes and patriots. The list of + those martyrs whom the cupidity of the officers and men of Sherman's + army sacrificed to their thirst for gold and silver, is large and + most revolting. If the editors of this paper will give their consent + to publish it, I will give it in full, attested by the names of the + purest and best men and women of our Southern land. + + "I, who have been a witness to these acts of barbarity that are + revolting to every feeling of humanity and mercy, was doomed to feel + in my own person the effects of the avarice, cruelty, and despotism + which characterized the men of that army. I was the only male + guardian of the refined and delicate females who had fled there for + shelter and protection. I soon ascertained the plan that was adopted + in this wholesale system of plunder, insult, blasphemy, and + brutality. The first party that came was headed by officers, from a + colonel to a lieutenant, who acted with seeming politeness, and told + me that they only came to secure our firearms, and when these were + delivered up nothing in the house should be touched. Out of the + house, they said, they were authorized to press forage for their + large army. I told them that along the whole line of the march of + Sherman's army, from Columbia to Cheraw, it had been ascertained that + ladies had been robbed and personally insulted. I asked for a guard + to protect the females. They said that there was no necessity for + this, as the men dare not act contrary to orders. If any did not + treat the ladies with proper respect, I might blow their brains out. + 'But,' said I, 'you have taken away our arms, and we are + defenseless.' They did not blush much, and made no reply. Shortly + after this came the second party, before the first had left. They + demanded the keys of the ladies' drawers, took away such articles as + they wanted, then locked the drawers and put the keys in their + pockets. In the mean time, they gathered up the spoons, knives, + forks, towels, table-cloths, etc. As they were carrying them off, I + appealed to the officers of the first party; they ordered the men to + put back the things; the officer of the second party said he would + see them d----d first; and, without further ado, packed them up, and + they glanced at each other and smiled. The elegant carriage and all + the vehicles on the premises were seized and filled with bacon and + other plunder. The smokehouses were emptied of their contents and + carried off. Every head of poultry was seized and flung over their + mules, and they presented the hideous picture in some of the scenes + in 'Forty Thieves.' Every article of harness they did not wish was + cut in pieces. + + "By this time the first and second parties had left, and a third + appeared on the field. They demanded the keys of the drawers, and, + on being informed that they had been carried off, coolly and + deliberately proceeded to break open the locks, took what they + wanted, and when we uttered words of complaint were cursed. Every + horse, mule, and carriage, even to the carts, was taken away, and, + for hundreds of miles, the last animal that cultivated the widow's + corn-field, and the vehicles that once bore them to the house of + worship, were carried off or broken into pieces and burned. + + "The first party that came promised to leave ten days' provisions, + the rest they carried off. An hour afterward, other hordes of + marauders from the same army came and demanded the last pound of + bacon and the last quart of meal. On Sunday, the negroes were dressed + in their best suits. They were kicked, and knocked down and robbed of + all their clothing, and they came to us in their shirtsleeves, having + lost their hats, clothes, and shoes. Most of our own clothes had been + hid in the woods. The negroes who had assisted in removing them were + beaten and threatened with death, and compelled to show them where + they were concealed. They cut open the trunks, threw my manuscripts + and devotional books into a mud-hole, stole the ladies' jewelry, hair + ornaments, etc., tore many garments into tatters, or gave the rest to + the negro women to bribe them into criminal intercourse. These women + afterward returned to us those articles that, after the mutilations, + were scarcely worth preserving. The plantation, of one hundred and + sixty negroes, was some distance from the house, and to this place + successive parties of fifty at a time resorted for three long days + and nights, the husbands and fathers being fired at and compelled to + fly to the woods. + + "Now commenced scenes of licentiousness, brutality, and ravishment + that have scarcely had an equal in the ages of heathen barbarity, I + conversed with aged men and women, who were witnesses of these + infamous acts of Sherman's unbridled soldiery, and several of them, + from the cruel treatment they had received, were confined to their + beds for weeks afterward. The time will come when the judgment of + Heaven will await these libidinous, beastly barbarians. During this + time, the fourth party, whom, I was informed by others, we had the + most reason to dread, had made their appearance. They came, as they + said, in the name of the great General Sherman, who was next to God + Almighty. They came to burn and lay in ashes all that was left. They + had burned bridges and depots, cotton-gins, mills, barns, and + stables. They swore they would make the d---d rebel women pound + their corn with rocks, and eat their raw meal without cooking. They + succeeded in thousands of instances. I walked out at night, and the + innumerable fires that were burning as far as the eye could reach, in + hundreds of places, illuminated the whole heavens, and testified to + the vindictive barbarity of the foe. I presume they had orders not to + burn occupied houses, but they strove all in their power to compel + families to fly from their houses that they might afterward burn + them. The neighborhood was filled with refugees who had been + compelled to fly from their plantations on the seaboard. As soon as + they had fled, the torch was applied, and, for hundreds of miles, + those elegant mansions, once the ornament and pride of our inland + country, were burned to the ground. + + "All manner of expedients were now adopted to make the residents + leave their homes for the second time. I heard them saying, 'This is + too large a house to be left standing, we must contrive to burn it.' + Canisters of powder were placed all around the house, and an + expedient resorted to that promised almost certain success. The house + was to be burned down by firing the outbuildings. These were so near + each other that the firing of the one would lead to the destruction + of all. I had already succeeded in having a few bales of cotton + rolled out of the building, and hoped, if they had to be burned, the + rest would also be rolled out, which could have been done in ten + minutes by several hundred men who were looking on, gloating over the + prospect of another elegant mansion in South Carolina being left in + ashes. The torch was applied, and soon the large storehouse was on + fire. This communicated to several other buildings in the vicinity, + which, one by one, were burned to the ground. At length the fire + reached the smoke-house, where they had already carried off the bacon + of two hundred and fifty hogs. This was burned, and the fire was now + rapidly approaching the kitchen, which was so near the dwelling-house + that, should the former burn, the destruction of the large and noble + edifice would be inevitable. + + "A captain of the United States service, a native of England, whose + name I would like to mention here, if I did not fear to bring down + upon him the censure of the abolitionists as a friend to the rebels, + mounted the roof, and the wet blankets we sent up to him prevented + the now smoking roof from bursting into flames. I called for help to + assist us in procuring water from a deep well; a young lieutenant + stepped up, condemned the infamous conduct of the burners, and called + on his company for aid; a portion of them came cheerfully to our + assistance; the wind seemed almost by a miracle to subside; the house + was saved, and the trembling females thanked God for their + deliverance. All this time, about one hundred mounted men were + looking on, refusing to raise a hand to help us; laughing at the idea + that no efforts of ours could save the house from the flames. + + "My trials, however, were not yet over, I had already suffered much + in a pecuniary point of view. I had been collecting a library on + natural history during a long life. The most valuable of these books + had been presented by various societies in England, France, Germany, + Russia, etc., who had honored me with membership, and they or the + authors presented me with these works, which had never been for sale, + and could not be purchased. My herbarium, the labor of myself and the + ladies of my house for many years, was also among these books. I had + left them as a legacy to the library of the Newbury College, and + concluded to send them at once. They were detained in Columbia, and + there the torch was applied, and all were burned. The stealing and + burning of books appear to be one of the programmes on which the army + acted, I had assisted in laying the foundation and dedicating the + Lutheran Church at Columbia, and there, near its walls, had recently + been laid the remains of one who was dearer to me than life itself. + To set that brick church on fire from below was impossible. The + building stood by itself on a square but little built up. One of + Sherman's burners was sent up to the roof. He was seen applying the + torch to the cupola. The church was burned to the ground, and the + grave of my loved one desecrated. The story circulated, that the + citizens had set their own city on fire, is utterly untrue, and only + reflects dishonor on those who vilely perpetrated it. General Sherman + had his army under control. The burning was by his orders, and ceased + when he gave the command. + + "I was now doomed to experience in person the effects of avarice and + barbarous cruelty. The robbers had been informed in the neighborhood + that the family which I was protecting had buried one hundred + thousand dollars in gold and silver. They first demanded my watch, + which I had effectually secured from their grasp. They then asked me + where the money had been hid. I told them I knew nothing about it, + and did not believe there was a thousand dollars worth in all, and + what there was had been carried off by the owner, Colonel Cash. All + this was literally true. They then concluded to try an experiment on + me which had proved so successful in hundreds of other instances. + Coolly and deliberately they prepared to inflict torture on a + defenseless, gray-headed old man. They carried me behind a stable, + and once again demanded where the money was buried, or 'I should be + sent to hell in five minutes.' They cocked their pistols and held + them to my head. I told them to fire away. One of them, a + square-built, broad-faced, large-mouthed, clumsy lieutenant, who had + the face of a demon, and who did not utter five words without an + awful blasphemy, now kicked me in the stomach until I fell breathless + and prostrate. As soon as I was able, I rose again. He once more + asked me where the silver was. I answered as before, 'I do not know.' + With his heavy, elephant foot he now kicked me on my back until I + fell again. Once more I arose, and he put the same question to me. I + was nearly breathless, but answered as before. Thus was I either + kicked or knocked down seven or eight times. I then told him it was + perfectly useless for him to continue his threats or his blows. He + might shoot me if he chose. I was ready and would not budge an inch, + but requested him not to bruise and batter an unarmed, defenseless + old man. 'Now,' said he, 'I'll try a new plan. How would you like to + have both your arms cut off?' He did not wait for an answer, but, + with his heavy sheathed sword, struck me on my left arm, near the + shoulder. I heard it crack; it hung powerless by my side, and I + supposed it was broken. He then repeated the blow on the other arm. + The pain was most excruciating, and it was several days before I + could carve my food or take my arm out of a sling, and it was black + and blue for weeks. (I refer to Dr. Kollock, of Cheraw.) At that + moment the ladies, headed by my daughter, who had only then been made + aware of the brutality practiced upon me, rushed from the house, and + came flying to my rescue. 'You dare not murder my father,' said my + child; 'he has been a minister in the same church for fifty years, + and God has always protected, and will protect him.' 'Do you believe + in a God, miss?' said one of the brutal wretches; 'I don't believe in + a God, a heaven, nor a hell.' 'Carry me,' said I, 'to your General.' + I did not intend to go to General Sherman, who was at Cheraw, from + whom, I was informed, no redress could be obtained, but to a general + in the neighborhood, said to be a religious man. Our horses and + carriages had all been taken away, and I was too much bruised to be + able to walk. The other young officers came crowding around me very + officiously, telling me that they would represent the case to the + General, and that they would have him shot by ten o'clock the next + morning. I saw the winks and glances that were interchanged between + them. Every one gave a different name to the officers. The brute + remained unpunished, as I saw him on the following morning, as + insolent and as profane as he had been on the preceding day. + + "As yet, no punishment had fallen on the brutal hyena, and I strove + to nurse my bruised body and heal my wounds, and forget the insults + and injuries of the past. A few weeks after this I was sent for to + perform a parochial duty at Mars Bluff, some twenty miles distant. + Arriving at Florence in the vicinity, I was met by a crowd of young + men connected with the militia. They were excited to the highest + pitch of rage, and thirsted for revenge. They believed that among the + prisoners that had just arrived on the railroad-car, on their way to + Sumter, were the very men who committed such horrible outrages in the + neighborhood. Many of their houses had been laid in ashes. They had + been robbed of every means of support. Their horses had been seized; + their cattle and hogs bayoneted; their mothers and sisters had been + insulted, and robbed of their watches, ear and wedding rings. Some of + their parents had been murdered in cold blood. The aged pastor, to + whose voice they had so often listened, had been kicked and knocked + down by repeated blows, and his hoary head had been dragged about in + the sand. They entreated me to examine the prisoners and see whether + I could identify the men that had inflicted such barbarities on me. I + told them I would do so, provided they would remain where they were + and not follow me. The prisoners saw me at a distance, held down + their guilty heads, and trembled like aspen-leaves. All cruel men are + cowards. One of my arms was still in a sling. With the other I raised + some of their hats. They all begged for mercy. I said to them, 'The + other day you were tigers--you are sheep now.' But a hideous object + soon arrested my attention. There sat my brutal enemy--, the vulgar, + swaggering lieutenant, who had ridden up to the steps of the house, + insulted the ladies, and beaten me most unmercifully. I approached + him slowly, and, in a whisper asked him: 'Do you know me, sir?--the + old man whose pockets you first searched, to see whether he might not + have a penknife to defend himself, and then kicked and knocked him + down with your fist and heavy scabbard?' He presented the picture of + an arrant coward, and in a trembling voice implored me to have mercy: + 'Don't let me be shot; have pity! Old man, beg for me! I won't do it + again! For God's sake, save me! O God, help me!' 'Did you not tell my + daughter there was no God? Why call on him now?' 'Oh, I have changed + my mind; I believe in a God now.' I turned and saw the impatient, + flushed, and indignant crowd approaching. 'What are they going to do + with me?' said he. 'Do you hear that sound--click, click?' 'Yes,' + said he, 'they are cocking their pistols.' 'True,' said I; 'and if I + raise a finger you will have a dozen bullets through your brain.' + 'Then I will go to hell; don't let them kill me. O Lord, have mercy!' + Speak low,' said I, 'and don't open your lips.' The men advanced. + Already one had pulled me by the coat. 'Show us the men.' I gave no + clew by which the guilty could be identified. I walked slowly through + the car, sprang into the waiting carriage, and drove off." + + +[Footnote 128: Reduced by excess on previous calls.] + +[Footnote 129: "Memoir of the Last Year of the War," by Lieutenant-General +Early.] + + + + +CHAPTER LVI. + + Final Subjugation of the Confederate States.--Result of the + Contest.--A Simple Process of Restoration.--Rejected by the United + States Government.--A Forced Union.--The President's Proclamation + examined.--The Guarantee, not to destroy.--Provisional Governors.-- + Their Duties.--Voters.--First Movement made in Virginia.-- + Government set up.--Proceedings.--Action of So-called + Legislature.--Constitutional Amendment.--Case of Dr. Watson.-- + Civil Rights Bill.--Storm brewing.--Congress refuses to admit + Senators and Representatives to Seats.--Committee on + "Reconstruction."--Freedmen's Bureau.--Report of Committee.-- + Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.--Extent of Ratification.-- + Another Step taken by Congress.--Military Commanders appointed over + Confederate States, with Unlimited Powers.--Reconstruction by the + Bayonet.--Course of Proceedings required.--Two Governments for Each + State.--Major-Generals appointed.--Further Acts of Congress.-- + Proceedings commenced by the Major-General at Richmond.--Civil + Governor appointed.--Military Districts and Sub-districts.-- + Registration.--So-called State Convention.--So-called + Legislature.--Its Action.--Measures required by Congress for the + Enfranchisement of Negroes adopted by the So-called Legislature.-- + Assertion of Senator Garret Davis.--State represented in Congress. + + +When the Confederate soldiers laid down their arms and went home, all +hostilities against the power of the Government of the United States +ceased. The powers delegated in the compact of 1787 by these States, +i. e., by the people thereof, to a central organization to promote +their general welfare, had been used for their devastation and +subjugation. It was conceded, as the result of the contest, that the +United States Government was stronger in resources than the +Confederate Government, and that the Confederate States had not +achieved their independence. + +Nothing remained to be done but for the sovereigns, the people of +each State, to assert their authority and restore order. If the +principle of the sovereignty of the people, the cornerstone of all +our institutions, had survived and was still in force, it was +necessary only that the people of each State should reconsider their +ordinances of secession, and again recognize the Constitution of the +United States as the supreme law of the land. This simple process +would have placed the Union on its original basis, and have restored +that which had ceased to exist, the Union by consent. Unfortunately, +such was not the intention of the conqueror. The Union of free-wills +and brotherly hearts, under a compact ordained by the people, was not +his object. Henceforth there was to be established a Union of force. +Sovereignty was to pass from the people to the Government of the +United States, and to be upheld by those who had furnished the money +and the soldiers for the war. + +The first step required, therefore, in the process for the +reconstruction of the new and forced Union, was to prepare those who +had been the late champions of the sovereignty of the people to +become suitable subjects under the new sovereign. Standing +defenseless, stripped of their property, and exposed, as it was +asserted, to the penalties of insurrection on the one hand, and that +of treason on the other, the President of the United States, Mr. +Andrew Johnson, who, as Vice-President, became President after the +death of Mr. Lincoln, on May 29, 1865, thus addressed them: + + "To the end, therefore, that the authority of the Government of the + United States may be restored, and that peace, order, and freedom may + be reestablished, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, + do proclaim and declare that I hereby grant to all persons who have + directly or indirectly participated in the existing rebellion, except + as hereinafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all + rights of property, except as to slaves, and except in cases where + legal proceedings under the laws of the United States providing for + the confiscation of property of persons engaged in the rebellion have + been instituted; but on the condition, nevertheless, that every such + person shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation, + and thenceforward keep and maintain said oath inviolate; and which + oath shall be registered for permanent preservation, and shall be of + the tenor and effect following, to wit: + + "I, ---- ----, do solemnly swear, or affirm, in presence of + Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support and defend + the Constitution of the United States and the Union thereunder, and + that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws + and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion + with reference to the emancipation of slaves, so help me God." + +The permission to take this oath was withheld from large classes of +citizens. It will be seen that there are two stipulations in this +oath, the first faithfully to support the Constitution of the United +States and the Union thereunder. This comprises obedience to the laws +made in conformity to the Constitution, and is all that is requisite +in the simple oath of allegiance of an American citizen. The second +stipulation is: + + "To abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which + have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the + emancipation of slaves." + +What need was thereof this second stipulation? Because the laws were +not enacted, nor the proclamation issued under any grant of power in +the Constitution or under its authority. Now, the exercise of a power +by Government, for which it has no constitutional authority, is not +only a usurpation, but it destroys the sanction of all written +instruments of government. Also, what has become of the unalienable +right of property, which all the State governments were created to +protect and preserve? Where was the sovereignty of the people under +these proceedings? Yet the Confederate citizen was required to bind +himself by an oath to abide by and faithfully support all these +usurpations; the alternative being to resist the Government, or to +aid and abet a violation of the Constitution. + +Meanwhile, each of the late Confederate States was occupied by a +military force of the Government of the United States, and military +orders were the supreme law; and that Government thereby proceeded to +establish a State organization based on the principle of its own +sovereignty. In the first place, the President of the United States +issued a proclamation in such terms as to be applicable to each of +the Confederate States wherever its affairs were in such process of +subjugation as to permit the commencement of the proposed +organization. This proclamation begins by setting forth four +propositions as the basis of his authority: First, the Constitution +declares that the United States shall guarantee to every State in the +Union a republican form of government, and protect each against +invasion and domestic violence. Second, the President is +Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, as well as chief civil +executive officer, and bound to take care that the laws be faithfully +executed. Third, the rebellion, in its revolutionary progress, +deprived the people of all civil government. Fourth, it becomes +necessary and proper to enforce and carry out the obligations of the +United States to the people of the State in securing it in the +enjoyment of a republican form of government. Therefore, etc. + +These propositions call for a notice as well because of their fallacy +as their enormity. The third declares that the so-called rebellion, +in its progress, deprived the people of each Confederate State of all +civil government. There was a government over each Confederate State, +then existing and in full operation. It was, in all its internal +relations, the same government which existed when the State was a +member of the Union, whereby it was recognized by the Government of +the United States and by the other States as a lawful and republican +State government. It had been created by the free consent of the +people of the State, and they had defended it with their lives and +their fortunes. It had been denied by the Government of the United +States that any one of the Confederate States was a foreign state or +outside the Union by its secession. There was, therefore, neither in +law nor in fact, any foundation for the assertion that the so-called +rebellion had deprived the people of each Confederate State of all +civil government. + +Having thus stripped each Confederate State of all civil government, +it was asserted that the Constitution declares that the United States +shall guarantee to each State a republican form of government. But to +guarantee is not to create, to organize, or to bring into existence. +This can be done for a State government only by the free and +unconstrained action of the whole people of a State. The creation of +such a government is beyond the powers of the Government of the +United States, as has already been shown. After a republican +government has been instituted by the people, the Constitution +requires the United States to guarantee its existence, and thereby +forbids them or their Government to overthrow it and set up a +creature of its own. The duty to guarantee commands the preservation +of that which already exists. Such were the governments of the +Confederate States before the war and after the war. Thus the power +granted in the Constitution to preserve and guarantee State +governments was perverted to overthrow and destroy republican +governments, and to erect in their places military Governors, +Legislatures, and judicial tribunals. + +The third proposition is that the President is Commander in-Chief of +the Army and Navy and the chief civil executive. His troops already +occupied each of these States, and held the people in subjection. His +proclamation was therefore merely a military order from the hand of +the conqueror. Everything which he can do under such a character +partakes of the nature, simply and solely, of martial law. Therefore +he proceeds under the fourth proposition, wherein it "becomes +necessary and proper to carry out the obligations of the United +States to the people" of each Confederate State, "in securing them in +the enjoyment of a republican form of government." The American +people were now about to witness, on an extensive scale, the +tyrannical experiment of instituting republican governments by the +processes of martial law. They had declared it to be a self-evident +truth that it was "the right of the people to alter or to abolish it +[their government], and to institute a new government, laying its +foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such +form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and +happiness." [130] This principle of the sovereignty of the people was +now rejected, and the sovereignty of fleets and armies was +substituted. + +"Now, therefore," says the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, +and the chief civil executive officer of the United States, "in +obedience to the high and solemn duties imposed upon me by the +Constitution of the United States, and for the purpose of enabling +the loyal people of said State (or States) to organize a State +government, whereby justice may be established, domestic tranquillity +restored, and loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, +liberty, and property, I do hereby appoint ---- ---- provisional +Governor of the State" It will be here noticed that all the +proceedings are undertaken for the sake of the "loyal" persons in the +State. Who is to decide what persons are "loyal"? He who issues the +military order--the President and his agent the provisional +Governor; and they naturally will decide those to be loyal who +support and obey their orders. The free assent and dissent which are +the basis of the validity of every political action under our system, +are unknown in this case. + +The duty of the provisional Governor is declared in the proclamation +to be, "to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary +and proper for convening a convention composed of delegates to be +chosen by that portion of the people of the State who are 'loyal' to +the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering and +amending the Constitution thereof." In the third of the four +propositions laid down as the basis of authority for the President's +proceedings, above mentioned, it is declared that the so-called +rebellion, "deprived the people of the State of all civil +government"; but here it is made the first duty of the provisional +Governor to procure a convention of "loyal" persons "to alter and +amend the Constitution" of the State. Thus it seems that there was a +State in existence, and a Constitution in full vigor, notwithstanding +the above declaration of the President to the contrary. This was that +Constitution of the State which was in force during that long and +peaceful period through which the Constitution of the United States +was observed, and constitutional laws enacted. Now it was to be +altered and amended from what the sovereign people of those days had +ordained it to be, at the command, and to conform to the views, of +another sovereign. The nature of those alterations and amendments +will be stated hereafter. + +This convention was to possess the authority to exercise all the +powers necessary "to restore the State to its constitutional +relations with the Federal Government." It was further provided that +no person should vote unless he had taken the amnesty oath mentioned +on a previous page, and was a qualified voter previous to the +secession of the State. The convention or the subsequent Legislature +was to prescribe the qualification of all voters afterward--"a +power," says the President, "the people of the several States +composing the Federal Union have rightfully exercised from the origin +of the Government to the present time." The proclamation then +continued: "And I do hereby direct: first, that the military +commander of the department and all officers and persons in the +military and naval service aid and assist the said provisional +government in carrying into effect this proclamation; and they are +enjoined to abstain from in any way hindering, impeding, or +discouraging 'loyal' people from the organization of a State +government as herein authorized." The proclamation closed with +instructions to the Secretary of each department of the Government to +proceed to put in operation his department within the limits of the +State. + +The first movement for the restoration of the Confederate States to +the Union under subjugation was commenced in Virginia. Richmond was +occupied by the forces of the United States Government, and the +authority of all State officers elected during the war was annulled. +Affairs remained in this position until May 9, 1865, when the +President of the United States issued an order declaring all the acts +and proceedings of the political, military, and civil organizations +in the State which had been in insurrection against the United States +to be null and void; and that all persons who should attempt to +exercise any authority as under the late State or Confederate +officers, should be deemed and taken as in rebellion, etc. At this +time Francis H. Pierpont, who had assumed to exercise the office of +Governor of Virginia over ten counties around Alexandria, was +recognized by the President as the true Governor of the State. He was +aided to remove the seat of his government from Alexandria to +Richmond, and there maintained by the military force. No hostile +opposition, however, was anywhere manifested, while at Alexandria +delegates from the ten counties had assembled in convention and +assumed to amend the State Constitution, and the little so-called +legislative body had undertaken to pass various acts of importance. +The so-called Governor, in presenting a summary of them, concluded by +saying, "Thus, State sovereignty--the _status_ of the African race-- +the armed resistance to the Government of the United States--are +disposed of." An election for a new Legislature and State officers +was held on October 12th. All were allowed to vote who had not held +office under the State government or the Confederacy during the war, +after they had taken the amnesty oath. The so-called Legislature +assembled and entered upon the regulation of all the affairs of the +State. A general act of vagrancy was passed, whereupon the +major-general in command issued an order "that no magistrate, civil +officer, or other person shall, in any way or manner, apply, or +attempt to apply, the provisions of the said statute to any colored +person in this department." At the municipal election in Richmond, +the Mayor, Attorney, and Superintendent of the Poor, elected, were +persons who had held office under the Confederate States. They were +not allowed by the military authority to qualify, and subsequently +declined. + +In 1865 the Congress of the United States passed an act which +provided that the following amendment to the Constitution should be +submitted to the Legislatures of the several States for ratification +or rejection: + + "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 its jurisdiction. + + "SECTION 2. Congress shall have full power to enforce this article by + appropriate legislation." + +One Dr. James L. Watson was tried for killing a negro in Rockbridge +County, and acquitted. Major-General Schofield, in command of the +military forces of the department, immediately ordered his arrest and +trial by a military commission. On the assembling of the commission a +writ of _habeas corpus_ was sued out of the Circuit Court of Richmond +in behalf of Watson, and served on the General. In his answer, he +declined compliance with the writ, saying: + + "Dr. Watson is held for trial by military commission, under the + authority of the act of Congress of July 16, 1866, which act directs + and requires the President, through the commissioner and officers of + the Freedmen's Bureau, to exercise military jurisdiction over all + cases and questions concerning the free enjoyment of the right to + have full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings concerning + personal liberty, personal security, etc., by all citizens, without + respect to race or color, or previous condition of slavery, of the + States whose constitutional relations to the Government of the United + States have been discontinued by the rebellion, and have not been + restored." + +In the mean time, the United States Attorney-General having examined +the case, and reported that, in his opinion, the military commission +had not competent jurisdiction, the President thereupon directed that +the commission be dissolved and the prisoner discharged without delay. + +Meantime Congress had passed an act, known as the Civil Rights Bill, +and a case came before the Circuit Court, at Alexandria, in which one +of the parties offered to produce negro evidence. The Judge (Thomas) +ruled that, inasmuch as the State laws of Virginia forbade the +introduction of negro testimony in civil suits to which white men +alone were parties, the evidence of the negro was inadmissible; and +that Congressional legislation could not impair the right of the +States to decide what classes of persons were competent to testify in +her courts. + +A storm was now brewing which was soon to involve the President and +Congress in open conflict. The reader will remember that, during the +period in which these proceedings took place in Virginia, similar +ones occurred in all the remaining Confederate States. Not only in +Virginia, but in several of the other States, some persons had been +voted for as members of Congress, but in no case had they been +admitted to seats. This was one of the measures taken by Congress to +indicate its disapproval of the President's plan for the treatment of +the late Confederate States. + +The difficulties that now arose between the President and Congress +had reference entirely to the affairs of the Confederate States. The +plan of the President left the negroes to the care of the States +alone after the establishment of their emancipation. Congress desired +them to be made American citizens, secure in all the rights of +freemen and voters. The refusal to admit Senators and Representatives +to Congress from the Confederate States served to arrest the +operation of the President's plans to hold these States in abeyance. + +No compromise could be made between the two. Each appealed to the +Constitution, forgetful that each had sustained all its ruthless +violations during the last four years. Congress, therefore, commenced +an independent action, and in its reckless course sought, +unsuccessfully, to rid itself of the President by impeachment. Its +first act, at the commencement of the session, in December, 1865, was +the appointment, by a large majority in each House, of a joint +Committee of Fifteen, to which was referred all questions relating to +the conditions and manner in which Congress would recognize the late +Confederate States as members of the Union. Meantime the credentials +of all persons sent as Representatives and Senators from them were +laid upon the table in each House, there to remain until the final +action of the Committee of Fifteen. This was followed by the passage, +in February, 1866, of "an act to establish a bureau for the relief of +freedmen, refugees, and abandoned lands." It proposed to establish +military jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing +refugees and freedmen. This bill was vetoed by the President, and +passed over his veto. + +In March an act was passed "to protect all persons in the United +States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their +vindication." The first section declared all persons born in the +United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding +Indians not taxed, to be citizens of the United States, and +enumerates the rights to be enjoyed by those so declared to be +citizens. The second section affords discriminating protection to +colored persons in the full enjoyment of all the rights secured to +them by the preceding section. This bill was vetoed by the President, +and passed over his veto. + +On June 8, 1866, a majority and a minority report were made by the +Committee of Fifteen. Meanwhile, a report had been made from the same +committee, at a previous date, in the form of an amendment to the +Constitution, which was debated and amended in each House, and +finally passed by the requisite majority in each. Thus was to be +secured the political support and votes of the negroes, who were +expected to be the controlling citizens of the late Confederate +States. + +The amendment to the Constitution was now submitted to the +Legislatures of all the States, to be valid as a part of the +Constitution, when ratified by three fourths, in the following form: + + "ARTICLE--, 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. + + "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 the United States shall neither assume + nor 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." + +It may here be stated that the restoration of the late Confederate +States to all the rights and privileges of States as co-equal members +of the Union, under the plan of President Johnson, received the +approval of the executive and judicial branches of the Government +soon after the cessation of hostilities. Congress, however, not only +withheld its assent, but, during its session in 1866, required as a +condition precedent to a recognition of any one of these States, and +the admission of its Representatives and Senators to seats, the +adoption by its Legislature of the above-mentioned amendment. The +question really involved in this amendment was the admission to +citizenship and the ballot of the negroes in these States. It was the +acknowledged fact that the authority to determine this question +resided in the States severally and nowhere else. The amendment +itself, in its second section, recognized the authority to grant or +withhold the elective franchise as existing in the State governments. + +This amendment was submitted to the Legislatures of the States +immediately after its adoption by Congress in June, 1866, and by +March 30, 1867, it had been ratified by twenty States, including West +Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, and Tennessee, and rejected by +thirteen, including Delaware and Kentucky, and eleven of the late +Confederate States. There were thirty-four States at that time, and +thirty had voted. A ratification by three fourths was required to +make it valid. + +When this amendment was presented for ratification to the Legislature +of Virginia at its session commencing December, 1866, it was rejected +in the Senate by a unanimous vote, and in the House by a vote of +seventy-four to one. Meantime the Freedmen's Bureau was organized and +put in operation in the State, but the military occupation continued, +and the condition of affairs remained unchanged during the +proceedings of Congress to construct its plan for subjugation. + +After the vote of the States up to March, 1867, it was manifest that +no real advance had been made in the extension of the franchise to +the negro population of the States. In this position of affairs +Congress, on March 2d, adopted an entirety new system of measures +relative to the late Confederate States, The fiction upon which these +measures were based is thus expressed in the preamble of the first +act: + + "_Whereas_, No legal State governments, or adequate protection for + life or property, now exists in the rebel States of Virginia, North + Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, + Florida, Texas, and Arkansas; 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_," etc. + +These States were then divided into five military districts, and it +was further provided: + + "Until the people of the said rebel States shall by law be admitted + to representation to the Congress of the United States, all civil + governments that may exist therein shall be deemed provisional only, + and shall be in all respects subject to the paramount authority of + the United States, at any time to abolish, modify, control, and + supersede the same, and in all elections to any office under such + provisional governments, all persons shall be entitled to vote under + the provisions of the fifth section of this act." + +Thus these States, when held by military force as conquered +territory, with the sovereignty of the people extinct, were not +allowed to claim to possess any rights under the Federal +Constitution, or any other than such as might be granted by the will +of the conqueror. It was asserted that the right to regulate the +elective franchise, recognized as belonging to the States in the +Union, could not attach to those out of the Union, and having only +provisional political institutions. Congress then proceeded to +declare, in the fifth section of the bill, the terms upon which a +late Confederate State could become a member of the Union: + + "SECTION 5. 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, + twenty-one 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 been 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 XIV, 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," etc. + +The bill became a law, notwithstanding the veto of the President. + +On March 4th a new Congress commenced its session, and on March 23d a +supplement to the preceding act was passed. It ordered a registration +to be made of the qualified voters in each military sub-district of +the State, an election to be held for the State Convention to draft a +Constitution for the State, and for delegates to such convention; and +that such Constitution should be submitted to the voters for adoption +or rejection, and upon its adoption a State government should be +organized, etc. The registration was required to be made of all +citizens as defined by the "act to protect all persons in the United +States in their civil rights," etc. Many disqualifications of voters, +arising from participation in the war, were also expressed. This act +also became a law, notwithstanding the objections of the President. + +It will be seen that this act contemplated two distinct governments +in each of the ten States--the one military and the other civil. +Both were provisional, and both were to continue until the new State +Constitution was framed, and the State was admitted to representation +in Congress. The two were to be carried on together, and the people +were made subject to both and obliged to obey both. The law was next +put in operation by constituting the districts, as follows: 1. +Virginia, commander, Major-General Schofield; 2. North Carolina and +South Carolina, commander, Major-General Sickles; 3. Georgia, +Florida, and Alabama, commander, Major-General John Pope; 4. +Mississippi and Arkansas, commander, Major-General Ord; 5. Louisiana +and Texas, commander, Major-General Sheridan. + +Previous to adjournment, on July 19, 1867, Congress passed an +additional supplement to the act of March 3d and the supplement of +March 23d. It declared the intent and meaning of the previous acts to +have been: that the civil governments of the ten States were not +legal governments, and, if continued, were to be subject in all +respects to the military commanders and the paramount authority of +Congress. It made the acts of the military commanders subject only to +the disapproval of the General of the Army, U. S. Grant, and +authorized them to remove any person from office under the State +government. It further defined the classes disfranchised, and +directed that no district commander should be bound in his action by +any opinion of any civil officer of the United States. + +The President vetoed the bill, and in his message said: + + "Thus, over all these ten States, this military government is now + declared to have unlimited authority. It is no longer confined to the + preservation of the public peace, the administration of criminal law, + the registration of voters, and the superintendence of elections; + but, 'in all respects,' is asserted to be paramount to the existing + civil governments. It is impossible to conceive any state of society + more intolerable than this, and yet it is to this condition that + twelve millions of American citizens are reduced by the Congress of + the United States. Over every foot of the immense territory occupied + by these American citizens, the Constitution of the United States is + theoretically in full operation. It binds all the people there, and + should protect them; yet they are denied every one of its sacred + guarantees. Of what avail will it be to any one of these Southern + people, when seized by a file of soldiers, to ask for the cause of + arrest, or for the production of the warrant? Of what avail to ask + for the privilege of bail when in military custody, which knows no + such thing as bail? Of what avail to demand a trial by jury, process + for witnesses, a copy of the indictment, the privilege of counsel, or + that greater privilege, the writ of _habeas corpus_?" + +Congress having thus completed its plan of operations, the crashing +wheels of subjugation began to move forward. Let us proceed with the +narration of affairs in Virginia. + +On the appearance of Major-General Schofield at Richmond, all the +proceedings of the so-called civil government, for the organization +and restoration of the State to the Union, at once ceased, and he +assumed command. A board of army officers was named by the commanding +General for the purpose of selecting suitable persons for appointment +as registering officers throughout the State. In making the +selections, the preference was given, first, to officers of the army +and of the Freedmen's Bureau, on duty in the State; second, to +persons who had been discharged from the Federal army, after +"meritorious" services during the war; third, to "loyal" citizens of +the county or city where they were to serve. On April 2d an order +appeared from the major-general, suspending all elections, whether +State, county, or municipal, "under the provisional government," +until after the registration was completed. A lecture on the +"Chivalry of the South," advertised to be delivered in Lynchburg, was +suppressed by the order of the post commander at that place. A +warning was given by the major-general to the editor of the Richmond +"Times," which said, "The efforts of your paper to foster enmity, +create disorder, and lead to violence, can no longer be tolerated." +On the refusal of five magistrates of the Corporation Council of +Norfolk to receive the testimony of a negro, they were arrested on a +process issued under the Civil Bights Bill, and held to bail to +appear before the District Court. All armed organizations in the +State were disbanded. Inflammatory meetings of freedmen and those who +sought their political alliance were held in different parts of the +State. + +Military commissioners were appointed over sub-districts for the +suppression of disorder and violence, for the protection of all +persons in their so-called rights of person and property, and clothed +with all the powers of justices of a county or police magistrates of +a city. The State was also divided into sub-districts, and commanders +appointed over the same. These officers were empowered to exercise a +general supervision over the military commissioners, and to furnish +them, when necessary, with sufficient military force to enable them +to discharge their duties. Further orders relative to the +qualification of voters were issued by the major-general, in which it +was declared that "all persons who voluntarily joined the rebel army, +and all persons in that army, whether volunteers or conscripts, who +committed voluntarily any hostile act, were thereby engaged in +insurrection or rebellion; and all who voted for the ordinance of +secession, gave aid and comfort to the enemy. Also all who +voluntarily furnished supplies of food, or clothing, arms, +ammunition, horses, or mules, or any other material of war, +participated in the rebellion," and were disfranchised. The whole +number registered was 116,982 whites and 104,772 blacks. The vote for +the Convention was 14,835 whites and 92,507 blacks; against the +Convention, 61,249 whites and 638 blacks. + +The Convention assembled on December 3d and adjourned on April 17, +1868. The Bill of Eights adopted declared that-- + + "The State shall ever remain a member of the United States of + America, and the people thereof a part of the American nation, and + all attempts, from whatever source, and upon whatever pretext, to + dissolve said Union, or to sever said Union, are unauthorized, and + ought to be resisted with the whole power of the State. + + "The Constitution of the United States, and the laws of Congress + passed in pursuance thereof, constitute the supreme law of the land, + to which paramount allegiance and obedience are due from every + citizen, anything in the Constitution, ordinances, or laws of any + State to the contrary notwithstanding." + +Suffrage was granted to every male citizen twenty-one years of age. +All officers of the State were required to take the following oath: + + "I, ---- ----, do solemnly swear that I will support and + maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States and the + Constitution and laws of the State of Virginia; and that I recognize + and accept the civil and political equality of all men before the + law," etc. + +In addition, all State, city, and county officers were required to +take the test-oath prescribed by Congress on July 2, 1862, as follows: + + "I do solemnly swear that I have never borne arms against the United + States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily + given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons + engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have never sought or + accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office + whatever, under any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility + to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to + any pretended government, authority, power, or Constitution within + the United States, hostile or inimical thereto; and I do further + swear that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support + and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, + foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to + the same; that I will take this obligation freely, without any mental + reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and + faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to + enter." + +Major-General Schofield, in an address to the Convention in +opposition to these stringent provisions, said: + + "You can not find in some of the counties a sufficient number of men + who are capable of filling the offices, and who can take the oath you + have prescribed here, I have no hesitation in saying that I believe + it impossible to inaugurate a government upon that basis." + +Meantime the so-called Constitution was adopted by the Convention, +and June 2d fixed for the popular vote upon it. But no appropriation +was made for the expenses of the election, and it was not held. +Major-General Stoneman now succeeded Major-General Schofield. + +The utter subjugation of the sovereign people of Virginia was now +manifest. Not a public act of the least importance could they do +without the consent of the military chief who ruled over them, and +who was a stranger in their State. Finding the provisions of this +Constitution were so restrictive as to exclude from the elective +franchise nearly all of the most intelligent and best-educated +citizens, on account of their participation in the late war, a +movement was commenced for a modification of these clauses or their +entire omission. The sovereignty of the people was extinct, so no +relief could be secured except through the action of the sovereign +sitting in Washington. Congress, therefore, passed an act authorizing +the President (Grant), at such time as he might deem best, to submit +the Constitution to the registered voters of Virginia, and also +submit to a separate vote such provisions of the Constitution as he +thought proper. The act also required the Legislature that should be +elected to ratify the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the +Constitution of the United States, as a condition precedent "to the +readmission of the State into the Union." + +The fifteenth article of amendment to the Constitution was passed by +Congress in February, 1869, and submitted to the Legislatures of the +States. It was as follows: + + "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." + +On the passage of the amendment by the United States Senate, Senator +Garrett Davis, of Kentucky, said: + + "Sir, your amendments to the Constitution are all void; they are of + no effect. They were proposed by a mutilated Congress; they were + proposed by a mutilated House of Representatives and Senate." + +The election in Virginia took place on July 6, 1869. The vote on the +Constitution was, for it, 206,233; against it, 9,189. For the +disfranchising clause, 84,404; against it, 124,361. In favor of the +test-oath clause, the votes were, 83,114; against it, 124,106. State +officers and a Legislature were chosen. + +Meantime the civil or provisional Governor had been removed by the +military commander, Major-General Stoneman, and the commander of the +first district put in the vacancy. At the same time the +President-Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals was a staff-officer +of the General commanding, and assigned to that duty; and another one +of the judges of that court was an officer of the Federal army, +receiving his appointment from the same source. + +On October 5th the Legislature assembled, the State officers-elect +having already entered upon their duties. The fourteenth and +fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution were adopted, +and Senators elected to Congress. On January 26, 1870, a bill for the +admission of the State into the Union, "without further condition," +was passed. Her subjugation was now completed. The military +commanders were withdrawn, and she was left in the hands of +"carpet-baggers." + + +[Footnote 130: Declaration of Independence.] + + + + +CHAPTER LVII. + + Final Subjugation of the Confederate States (continued).--Slaves + declared free by Military Commanders in North Carolina.--Provisional + Governor.--Convention.--Military Commander.--Governor-elect turned + out.--His Protest.--Members of Congress admitted.--Proceedings in + South Carolina.--Arrest of Judge Aldrich.--Military Reversal of + Sentence of the Court.--Post Commanders.--Jurors.--Proceedings in + Georgia.--President's Plan.--Plan of Congress enforced.--Other + Events.--Proceedings in Florida.--Rival Conventions.--Plan of + Congress enforced.--Proceedings in Alabama.--Suspension of Bishop + Wilmer by the Military Commander.--Military Authority.--Action of + Congress.--Proceedings in Mississippi.--Constitutionality of the + Act of Congress before the Supreme Court.--Remarks of Chief-Justice + Chase.--Military Arrests.--Removals.--The Chief-Justice of the + State resigns.--The So-called Constitution rejected.--Ames + appointed Governor.--Proceedings in Louisiana.--Plan of Congress + enforced.--Other Measures.--Arkansas.--Texas.--Opinion of the + United States Attorney-General on Military Commanders.--Consequences + that followed the Measures of Congress.--Increase in State Debts.-- + Increase in Frauds and Crimes.--Examples.--Investigating Committees + of Congress.--The Unalienable Rights of Man.--The Sovereignty of + the People and the Supremacy of Law gone. + + +In the preceding chapter the reader will find a narration of the +series of measures, adopted by the Government of the United States, +to complete the final subjugation of the State of Virginia. The same +series was applied, in the same order, to each of the Confederate +States. It is, therefore, unnecessary to repeat the narration of +these details in their application to the other States. But there +were some concurrent incidents and some flagrant outrages in each one +which should be stated, in order to afford a full and comprehensive +view of the universal denial of unalienable personal rights, the +destruction of civil institutions, the disregard of laws, and the +cruel and ignominious treatment, inflicted by the authority of the +Government of the United States upon individuals in every part of the +Southern country. + +In North Carolina, immediately on the cessation of hostilities, the +Federal General issued an order, declaring that "all persons +heretofore held in the State as slaves are now free, and that it is +the duty of the army to maintain the freedom of such persons." +Another order was then issued, defining and regulating the relations +of the freedmen and whites. President Johnson issued his proclamation +on May 29th, appointing a provisional Governor, W. W. Holden, as in +the case of Virginia. On August 8th the Governor issued his +proclamation for an election of delegates to a State Constitutional +Convention on September 12th, and stated who would be permitted to +vote, and the manner of election. The election was held, and the +so-called Convention assembled on October 2, 1865. Its first act +declared the uninterrupted existence of the State in the Union, and +that the ordinance of secession was null and void. The next +prohibited slavery. The payment of the debt contracted during the +war, by any future Legislature, was forbidden. The repeal of the +secession ordinance and the prohibition of slavery were ratified by +the people. An election for State officers and members of Congress +was held in November, and those who had taken the amnesty oath were +the voters. The so-called Legislature-elect held a session and +ratified the amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting +slavery. On December 23d the Governor-elect (Worth) was inaugurated, +and the provisional Governor retired, acknowledging Worth to be the +legal and "loyal" Governor. Thus the State was subjugated on the plan +of President Johnson. + +The affairs of the State were thus conducted until the military acts +of Congress went into operation, and on March 23, 1867, Major-General +Sickles issued his order assuming command. On April 11th he issued an +order for the relief of debtors, by prohibiting imprisonment for +debt, and ordering the stay of all proceedings for the collection of +debts for twelve months. Writs of execution issuing out of the United +States Circuit Court were not allowed to be served by the military +commander at Wilmington. The question was taken to the Attorney-General +at Washington, and General Sickles appeared in his own defense. It was +decided by the acting Attorney-General to be "simply a case of a high +misdemeanor, legally contemplated." General Sickles was removed, and +Major-General Canby succeeded. The State registration was completed +In October, and contained the names of 103,060 whites and 71,657 blacks. +The so-called election for a Convention was held in November, and the +Convention assembled on February 14, 1868. The Bill of Rights adopted +contained similar clauses to the one adopted by the Virginia Convention. +The Constitution was ratified, and State officers, members of the +Legislature, and representatives to Congress were elected on April +23d. The vote for the Constitution was 93,118; against it, 74,109. +The so-called Republicans had a majority of seventy on joint ballot +in the Legislature. + +The State officers elected under the plan of President Johnson had +continued in the peaceful administration of their duties. Therefore, +on the day of the inauguration of the newly-elected Governor (Holden) +the existing Governor (Worth) made a spirited protest, saying: + + "I do not recognize the validity of the late election, under which + you and those coöperating with you claim to be invested with the + civil government of the State. You have no evidence of your election, + save the certificate of a major-general of the United States Army. I + regard all of you as, in effect, appointees of the military power of + the United States, and not as deriving your powers from the consent + of those you claim to govern. Knowing, however, that you are backed + by military force here, which I could not resist if I would, I do not + deem it necessary to offer a futile opposition, but vacate the office + without the ceremony of actual eviction, offering no further + opposition than this, my protest. I would submit to actual expulsion + in order to bring before the Supreme Court of the United States the + question as to the constitutionality of the legislation under which + you claim to be the rightful Governor of the State, if the past + action of that tribunal furnished any hope of a speedy trial. I + surrender the office to you under what I deem military duress, + without stopping, as the occasion would well justify, to comment on + the singular coincidence that the present State government is + surrendered, as without legality, to him whose own official sanction, + but three years ago, declared it valid. + + "I am, very respectfully, + + "JONATHAN WORTH, + + "_Governor of North Carolina._" + +The so-called Legislature assembled on the appointed day, and the +fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was at +once ratified, and on July 11, 1868, the President announced by +proclamation that "North Carolina had complied with the conditions +prescribed by Congress for her restoration to an equal place in the +Union of States." + +In South Carolina, proceedings were commenced on June 20, 1865, when +President Johnson issued a proclamation similar to the one in the +case of Virginia, and appointed Benjamin F. Perry as provisional +Governor of the State. He continued all persons in office on taking +the amnesty oath, and all laws in force prior to the secession of the +State were maintained except those conflicting with the proclamation; +delegates to a so-called State Convention were elected on the first +Monday of September, and the Convention assembled on the 13th to +amend the State Constitution. The ordinance of secession was repealed +and slavery abolished. Blacks were made witnesses in all cases where +the rights or property of persons of that class were involved. An +election of State officers and a so-called Legislature were held. The +latter convened on October 25th. The thirteenth amendment to the +Constitution of the United States prohibiting slavery was ratified. +On November 29th the provisional Governor retired, and the so-called +Governor-elect (Orr) was inaugurated. The work of the Legislature was +very complete. The courts were open to all persons, with equal civil +rights, without distinction of color, and Major-General Sickles, +commander of the Military Department of North Carolina and South +Carolina, ordered all civil and criminal cases to be tried before +them in which the parties were civilians. Previous to this order, and +after the cessation of hostilities, provost-marshals and military +courts were detailed for duty all over the State. These officers knew +only the law martial, and generally very little of that; and took +jurisdiction of all cases both civil and criminal, occasioning great +annoyance, expense, and vexation, deciding as their prejudice, +caprice, or ignorance suggested. After the completion of the +so-called State government, however, the vacancies on the bench were +filled, and the courts opened throughout the State. + +Still the people were made to feel that the military hand was over +all. A case occurred in the court in Charleston, before Judge A. P. +Aldrich, in which a white man was indicted for petty larceny, tried, +and found guilty. The punishment prescribed by the law of the State +for this offense was whipping. To this punishment the offender was +sentenced. On the next day an armed soldier came to the court-house +inquiring for the Judge, who was absent. To an inquiry of the sheriff +as to his business, he replied that he was ordered to require the +Judge to report at General Bennet's headquarters, who was the +military commander of the district. On the next day another soldier +in full uniform came to the lodgings of the Judge with a note from +the General requesting the former to report at headquarters. + +The reply of the Judge was: "As I have no business with you, I +decline to report. If you have business with me, it will give me +great pleasure to receive you." + +On the next day an adjutant appeared saying: "The General is very +much engaged, and asks you to come to his office. I will wait your +convenience." + +"I see I am under arrest," replied the Judge. "I will go now." + +The adjutant, in full uniform, escorted him through the most public +parts of the city to headquarters, and, entering the office, +announced him. The General was sitting, with his cap on, and writing. +After some time, having finished, he looked up and said, "Sit down," +adding, "That was a curt note you sent to me yesterday." + +"No, sir," answered the Judge, "I intended it to be respectful, but, +as I had no business with you, I did not see why I should be required +to come to your office." + +"Do you dispute the authority of the United States Government?" asked +the General, tartly. + +"No, sir; I am here in obedience to that authority, but I have always +supposed that, as a mere matter of courtesy, when one gentleman has +business with another, he calls on him. As a matter of etiquette, I +believe a Judge of the Superior Court of a State is equal in rank to +a brevet brigadier-general." + +"We will not discuss the question of rank," replied the General, "but +General Sickles requests you to revoke your sentence of the other day +and impose some other penalty." + +The Judge replied: "I do not impose the penalty; it is the law, and I +have no discretion." + +He then explained the law, and said there was no relief except by a +pardon of the Governor, or by taking the prisoner out of the custody +of the sheriff. A few days after, the prisoner was taken from the +custody of the Sheriff and discharged. The proceeding was brought to +the knowledge of the so-called Governor, who applied to General +Sickles to suspend his order, but the latter declined; whereupon the +Judge, then at Columbia, to hold the court of the circuit, declared +that he would adjourn the court and not proceed on his circuit; that +he would not go through the farce of holding a court when judgments +and sentences could be arrested and prevented by military order. He +then adjourned the court, and passed an order refusing to hold courts +while the military order was in force. General Sickles also issued an +order reversing a judgment of the Supreme Court. The President about +the same time countermanded a like order of the General in North +Carolina, and the Judge resumed his duties. + +Under the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, the State was divided +into ten military districts, and a post commander appointed for each. +All local officers, who were regularly elected by the people, were to +be appointed by these commanders. Military orders were issued from +time to time containing social regulations, etc. One on the subject +of criminal arrests and trials required all sheriffs, marshals, and +police officers to report to the Provost-Marshal-General of the +district, their names, residence, official station, salary, and the +authority by which they were appointed; also to investigate and +report all particulars of any crime committed, to the +Provost-Marshal-General, setting forth name, residence, and +description of the offender with the nature of the offense, and steps +taken to secure punishment. Sheriffs were directed to make a full +report of the condition of all jails and prisons within their +jurisdiction. All civil officers in charge of any jail, prison, or +workhouse, were required to make full monthly reports of each inmate +under their care. All sheriffs, constables, and police officers were +required "to obey and execute the lawful orders of the +Provost-Marshal-General, to the same effect as they are required by +law to obey and execute writs, warrants, or other process issued by +civil magistrates," and any resistance or refusal to execute the same +subjected the offender to trial by military commission. + +Details of the plan to be followed in making the registration were +fully laid down, and the order then contained the following +instructions: + + "Boards will take notice that, according to section 10 of the act of + July 19, 1867, they are not to be bound in their action by any + opinion of any civil officer of the United States. + + "Boards are instructed that all the provisions of the several acts of + Congress cited are to be liberally construed, to the end that all the + intents thereof be fully and perfectly carried out. + + "It is made the duty of the commanding General to remove from office + all persons who are disloyal to the Government of the United States, + or who use their official influence in any manner to hinder, delay, + prevent, or obstruct the due and perfect administration of the + reconstruction acts." + +On September 5, 1867, Major-General Canby took command. General +Sickles, on announcing his retirement, said: + + "The undersigned avails himself of the occasion to acknowledge the + fidelity and zeal with which the officers and troops under his + command have discharged their duties." + +The question of the qualification of jurors now became important. +General Canby issued an order on September 13th, which required the +jurors to be drawn from the "qualified voters," which included the +newly emancipated slaves. The Judges met, and sent a respectful +request to the General to change the order to conform to the law of +the State. By the jury law, as it then stood, no person was qualified +to serve as a juror unless he was a free white man, twenty-one years +of age. The Judges were sworn to enforce this law and the +Constitution of the State. No notice was taken of the application. At +the next court in Edgefield, Judge Aldrich, charging the grand jury, +brought to their notice the order, the law and the Constitution, and +the oath of office, and then declared "he could not and would not +obey the order." On going to open the court a few days after, the +adjutant of the post delivered to him a military order suspending him +from office. He proceeded and opened the court, read the order and +stated the circumstances, and, laying aside his gown, directed the +sheriff "to let the court stand adjourned while justice is +stifled." [131] The major-general appointed another Judge to the +vacancy. + +The registration of voters was completed in the middle of October, +and amounted to 46,346 whites and 78,982 blacks. The vote on a State +Convention was taken on November 19th and 20th, and resulted, for the +Convention, 130 whites and 68,876 blacks; against the Convention, +2,801 whites. The delegates were 34 whites and 63 blacks. The +Convention assembled on January 14, 1868. The Bill of Rights +contained provisions similar to that of Virginia, and the +Constitution was made to conform to the will of Congress. The +ratification of the Constitution, and the election of State officers +and a Legislature, took place on April 14, 15, and 16, 1868. The vote +for the Constitution was 70,758; against it, 27,288; not voting, but +registered, 35,551. The Legislature, with a majority of forty-eight +blacks, assembled on July 6th. The fourteenth constitutional +amendment was adopted, and the construction of the State by Congress +was completed practically on July 13, 1868. + +In Georgia, on the cessation of hostilities, the Governor issued a +proclamation calling a session of the Legislature. But the commanding +General issued an order declaring the proclamation to be null and +void. Another military officer, in a letter to the Governor, stated +that he was instructed by the President to say to him, that "the +persons who incited the war and carried it on will not be allowed to +assemble at the call of their accomplice to act again as the +Legislature of the State, and again usurp the authority and +franchises. In calling the Legislature together again, without the +permission of the President, you have perpetrated a fresh crime; and, +if any person presumes to answer or acknowledge your call, he will be +immediately arrested." The military authorities of the United States +then took the control of affairs until the appointment of James +Johnson, on June 17th, by the President, as provisional Governor of +the State, by a proclamation similar to the one issued in the case of +Virginia. On July 13th he issued a proclamation prescribing the +regulations for a State Convention. Provost-marshals had been +stationed all over the State to regulate local affairs, and the laws +in force previous to 1861 were ordered to be enforced. Delegates were +elected on October 4th, and the so-called State Convention assembled +on October 25th. The ordinance of secession was repealed. The payment +of the war debt was prohibited. The emancipation of the slaves was +expressly recognized, and a so-called election for State officers, +members of the Legislature and of Congress, was appointed to be held +on November 15th. The Legislature assembled on December 4th, and +unanimously adopted the thirteenth amendment to the Federal +Constitution, prohibiting the existence of slavery. Charles J. +Jenkins, Governor-elect, was inaugurated, and on December 19, 1865, +the provisional Governor relinquished the conduct of the State +affairs to the constituted authorities. The Freedmen's Bureau Act and +the Civil Rights Act of Congress were enforced by the military +authorities. + +The State Legislature again assembled on November 1, 1866. The +ratification of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the +United States was repassed to a joint committee of each House, which +reported a resolution to refuse to ratify the same. In the Senate it +was adopted unanimously, and in the House by a vote of 132 to 2. On +April 1, 1866, Major-General John Pope assumed command in the third +military district, containing Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. An +unsuccessful effort was made by the State at this time to bring the +question of the constitutionality of the "reconstruction" acts of +Congress before the Supreme Court. Governor Jenkins took part in the +application to the Supreme Court, and, while at Washington, issued an +address to the people of the State, urging them to take no action +under the laws. He was called upon to make an explanation on his +return by General Pope, as parts of the address were declared in +violation of the military order of the latter. But as the so-called +Governor had not seen the order, his offense was excused. A mayor and +aldermen for Augusta were appointed by General Pope; also the sheriff +and deputy for Bartow County, and other officers. + +An order was issued that jurors should be selected from the list of +qualified voters. Judge Reese, of Ocmulgee District, wrote to General +Pope, declaring that, under his oath to sustain the laws, he could +not conform to the order. General Pope replied with an attempt to +show him that he owed allegiance, first of all, to the authority of +the United States, as represented by the military power in the State. +The argument was of no avail, and the Judge was prohibited from +holding court. + +The registration of votes was completed early in September, The +number registered was 188,647, and the whites had a majority of about +2,000. The election of delegates to the State Convention took place +from October 29th to November 3d. Of the delegates, 133 were whites +and 33 blacks. The Convention assembled on December 13th, and soon +adjourned to January 8, 1868. Meantime, Major-General Meade had +relieved General Pope as military commander. The Convention, before +this adjournment, ordered the Comptroller to levy a tax to pay its +expenses, and directed the State Treasurer to advance forty thousand +dollars for its pay and mileage. The ordinance was sent to the +Treasurer, endorsed with instructions from General Pope to pay. The +Treasurer refused to advance the money, as he was prohibited by the +Constitution to do so, except on the warrant of the Governor. General +Meade requested the Governor to issue the warrant. He replied that +the Constitution forbade any money to be drawn from the Treasury +except on an appropriation, whereupon General Meade removed both +officers, and appointed others. + +The provisions required by the acts of Congress were adopted in the +so-called new Constitution. At the same time, certain provisions were +inserted, which were intended to afford relief to the people. The +Convention, therefore, by resolution, requested General Meade to +require the courts to enforce them "until the State was restored to +its regular relations with the United States, and the State +organization was in full force." An order was, therefore, issued by +the General requiring the courts and officers of the State government +to enforce the provisions, in all respects, the same as if they had +regularly taken effect. One of the Judges, having refused to comply +with this order, was removed by General Meade. + +The so-called election on the Constitution, and for State officers, +and Legislature, and members of Congress, was held on April 20th and +following days. The State Constitution was declared to be ratified; +Rufus W. Bullock, the so-called Republican candidate, was declared to +be elected Governor by a majority of seven thousand votes. The +Legislature assembled on July 4, 1868, with three Senators and +twenty-five Representatives who were negroes. The fourteenth +amendment to the Federal Constitution was adopted, and all the +conditions of Congress were fulfilled; and on July 28, 1868, she was +declared to be restored to the Union. Subsequently it appeared that +the State Convention had made no provision which could be construed +as expressly giving the black man a right to hold office, and all +these members were expelled from the Legislature. The matter was +taken up by Congress, and the State was not fully recognized as in +the Union until 1870. + +The proceedings in Florida commenced with the usual proclamation of +President Johnson. It was issued on July 13, 1865, and appointed +William Marvin provisional Governor of the State. On August 3d he +issued a proclamation prescribing such rules and regulations as were +deemed necessary for the choice of members of a so-called State +Constitutional Convention, and appointed October 10th for the day of +election, and October 25th as the day on which the delegates should +meet. They "annulled" the secession ordinance, passed an ordinance +prohibiting slavery, with a preamble in these words: "_Whereas_, +slavery has been destroyed in this State by the Government of the +United States; therefore," etc. Another ordinance declared void the +liabilities contracted for the war. Freedmen were made competent +witnesses in any matter wherein a colored person was concerned. An +election of State officers, of the members of the Legislature, and of +Representatives in Congress, was ordered to be held on November 29th, +and the Legislature were required to meet on December 18th. Governor +David S. Walker was inaugurated on December 21st, and on January 18, +1866, the provisional Governor surrendered the conduct of the State +to the so-called constitutional authorities. At this session of the +Legislature, the Lower House unanimously refused to ratify the +fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The +military rule which has prevailed in local affairs was relaxed on +April 27, 1866, and all civilians under military arrest were turned +over to the civil authorities for trial. + +On April 1, 1867, Major-General Pope assumed command under the act of +Congress of March 2d. On June 18th a superintendent of registration +was appointed, and the conditions for the registration of voters were +prescribed. The result of the registration was 11,148 whites and +15,434 blacks. The election of delegates to the so-called State +Constitutional Convention was held on November 14th, 15th and 16th, +and on January 20, 1868, the Convention assembled, and contained +seventeen blacks as members. A disgraceful quarrel arose in the +Convention, and twenty members absented themselves. The twenty-one +remaining claimed to be a quorum, and formed a Constitution, and +adjourned. The absentees then returned, and, with three or four from +the other side, organized and proceeded to form a Constitution. The +others appeared and claimed their seats. Great disorder prevailed, +but by the intervention of Major-General Meade, and by putting in the +chair his sub-commander, some degree of order was restored, and such +an arrangement effected that the second Constitution was completed. +All the requisite measures under it were adopted, and on June 29th, +the surrender of the so-called government of the State by the +military power of the United States to the civil authority was made. +The political quarrel continued long afterward. + +In Alabama the proclamation of President Johnson was issued on June +21, 1865, by which Lewis C. Parsons was appointed provisional +Governor and the usual proceedings prescribed. On July 20th the +Governor issued a proclamation, which renewed the powers of the +persons holding the township offices in the State; called a State +Constitutional Convention to assemble on September 10th, and +reordained the civil and criminal laws, except those relating to +slaves, as they existed previous to 1861, and prescribed other +regulations. A peaceful election was held, and the delegates to the +so-called Convention assembled and took an oath to support the +Constitution of the United States and the Union thereof, and all +proclamations relative to the emancipation of slaves. Slavery was +prohibited, the war debt declared void, and the secession ordinance +repealed. An election for State officers, members of the Legislature, +and Representatives in Congress, was ordered on the first Monday of +November. The new Constitution was not submitted to a vote of the +people on account of the delay it would occasion. Robert M. Patton +was elected Governor, and the Legislature assembled on November 20th. +The amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting +the existence of slavery was ratified, and on December 18, 1865, the +provisional Governor surrendered the conduct of the affairs of the +State to the Governor-elect. + +During the existence of the Confederate Government, the Protestant +Episcopal Church South was established, and the prayer for the +President of the United States and all in civil authority, in the +"Book of Common Prayer," was changed to one for the Confederate +authorities. Upon the restoration of the authority of the United +States, the prayer for the President was omitted altogether, by the +recommendation of Bishop Wilmer; whereupon Major-General Woods issued +an order by which the Bishop and all his clergy in the diocese of +Alabama "were suspended from their functions and forbidden to preach +or perform divine service." The order was subsequently set aside by +President Johnson. + +At the session of the Legislature in November, 1866, the fourteenth +amendment to the United States Constitution was rejected by an +overwhelming majority. + +On assuming command of the Third Military Division under the act of +Congress of March 2, 1867, Major-General Pope assigned Major-General +Swayne to the "administration of the military reconstruction bill" in +Alabama. On April 8th the order directing the proceedings in the +registration of voters was issued. Special instructions were issued, +as in all the other States, to boards of registers which declared +that clerks and reporters of the Supreme Court and inferior courts, +and clerks to ordinary county courts, treasurers, county surveyors, +receivers of tax-returns, tax-collectors, tax-receivers, sheriffs, +justices of the peace, coroners, mayors, recorders, aldermen, +councilmen of any incorporated city or town, who were ex-officers of +the Confederacy, and who, previous to the war, occupied these offices +and afterward participated in the war, were all disqualified and not +entitled to registration. Meantime the municipal officers were +removed in several places, and in the city of Mobile the police +administration was suspended and the maintenance of public order +assumed by the commander of the military force. Finally, the chief +officers and councilmen of the city were removed, and others +appointed by the district commander. + +The registration was completed in August, and amounted to 72,748 +whites and 88,243 blacks. The vote on the Convention and for +delegates was given on the first three days of October. A hundred +delegates were chosen, of whom ninety-six were "radicals"--seventeen +of them were blacks. On November 5th the so-called Convention +assembled and adopted all the amendments required by the act of +Congress. The election for the ratification of the Constitution, for +State officers, members of the Legislature, and Representatives in +Congress, was held on February 4, 1868. A majority of all the +registered vote was required to ratify the Constitution, which was +85,000. The vote cast was 75,000. + +On June 20, 1868, Congress passed an act which declared that each of +the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, +Alabama, and Louisiana, should be admitted to representation when its +Legislature had ratified the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution +of the United States, and farther, "upon the fundamental condition +that the Constitution of neither of said States shall ever be so +amended or changed as to deprive any citizen, or class of citizens, +of the United States of the right to vote in said State, who are +entitled to vote by the Constitution thereof, herein recognized, +except as a punishment for crime," etc. + +The so-called State Legislature assembled on July 13th, and Articles +XIII and XIV as amendments to the Constitution of the United States +were ratified. The conduct of the affairs of the State was now +transferred by General Meade to the new civil authorities. + +Mississippi, immediately after the cessation of hostilities, was +occupied by a military force of the United States. Meantime the +Governor called an extra session of the Legislature, and made +provision for a Constitutional Convention; but these measures were +set aside by the proclamation of President Johnson, on June 13th, +appointing William L. Sharkey provisional Governor. The system of +measures embraced in the plan of the President for the restoration of +the Confederate States to the Union was immediately commenced and +completed in the election of Benjamin G. Humphreys for Governor, with +the other State officers, members of the Legislature, and +Representatives in Congress. + +The fourteenth amendment of the Constitution was unanimously rejected +by the Legislature in January, 1867. + +Under the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, Major-General Ord assumed +command of the Fourth Military Division, consisting of Mississippi +and Arkansas. Governor Humphreys sought immediately to bring the +question of the constitutionality of this act before the United +States Supreme Court. Arguments were heard upon it by the Court. The +motion was to enjoin and restrain President Johnson and Major-General +Ord from executing the act and supplements. It was denied, and +Chief-Justice Chase, on delivering the opinion, said: + + "If the President refuses obedience, it is needless to observe that + the Court is without power to enforce its process. If, on the other + hand, the President complies with the order of the Court, and refuses + to execute the act of Congress, is it not clear that a collision may + occur between the executive and the legislative departments of the + Government? May not the House of Representatives impeach the + President for such refusal?" + +Major-General Ord, immediately after assuming command, proceeded to +organize boards for the registration of voters and prescribe their +qualifications and disqualifications. The latter were so numerous as +to embrace, in all these States, every white who had voluntarily done +the most simple act to aid or favor any person engaged in the +Confederate service, or had incited, by words, others to render such +aid, while the entire class of blacks were not disqualified by such +acts, as it was assumed that they were done by compulsion. Thus the +aim and end of registration, after this manner, in a State, were to +throw the entire political power into the hands of the negroes. + +Orders were now issued directing the military to coöperate with the +civil officers to break up the crime of horse-stealing, to secure to +labor its share of the crops, and to protect debtor and creditor from +sacrifices by forced sales; to suspend for a time certain sales under +execution; to prohibit interference with the legal tenant; to +ascertain if distillers had paid their taxes; to investigate +complaints made by citizens of persecution by civil authorities; to +notify State and municipal officers of the laws of Congress for the +organization of their governments on the basis of suffrage without +regard to color; to subordinates of the Freedmen's Bureau to +investigate all charges against landholders; to require supervisors, +inspectors, and boards of registration to obtain the names of +suitable persons, white or black, to act as clerks and judges of +elections; to close strictly all bar-rooms and saloons for the day +when political meetings were held; to remove the city marshal, three +justices of the peace, and four members of the City Council of +Vicksburg; to appoint other persons to fill the vacancies, who were +required to take the test oath of Congress; to forbid the assembling +of bodies of citizens under any pretense; to transfer the papers to a +military commission whenever a person who had been in the Federal +service was indicted and apprehended an unfair trial; to notify +overseers of the poor that any neglect to provide for colored paupers +would be regarded as a neglect of duty, etc. + +The roistered names amounted to 46,636 whites and 60,167 blacks. The +military appointment for delegates to the Convention was such as to +give to thirty-two counties, having small colored majorities, seventy +of the representatives, and to twenty-nine counties, having small +white majorities, thirty representatives. On November 5th the +election was held, and the so-called Convention assembled on January +8, 1868. The ordinance of secession was declared null and void; the +existence of slavery prohibited; payment of the war debt forbidden; +universal suffrage established, excepting only criminals; an election +to ratify the Constitution and for the election of State officers, a +Legislature, and Representatives in Congress, was ordered to be held +on June 22d, and a large number of radical amendments adopted. At the +election the Constitution was rejected by a majority of 7,629. The +opposition candidate was also elected Governor. + +On October 1, 1867, the Chief-Justice of the State, A. H. Handy, sent +his resignation to the Governor. He said: + + "It is apparent that the character and dignity of the Court can not + be maintained, and that its powers must be held and exercised in + subordination to the behests of a military commander." + +On December 28, 1867, Major-General Ord was succeeded by +Major-General McDowell. On June 15th the latter issued an order +removing Governor Humphreys and appointing Major-General A. Ames to +the vacancy. Governor Humphreys declined to vacate the office, saying +that the attempt to remove him was a "usurpation of the civil +government of Mississippi, unwarranted by and in violation of the +Constitution of the United States." A squadron of soldiers was sent +by the military commander of the post, which marched in and took +possession of the office. The house of the Governor was then demanded +for the new incumbent of the office. As Governor Humphreys refused to +vacate it, a file of soldiers came and ejected him. + +After the rejection of the so-called new Constitution, its friends +applied to Congress, as the sovereign, to throw out the vote of +several counties and declare the Constitution to be adopted. This +action was recommended on the ground, as they said, that the election +had not been fairly conducted, and that violence and intimidation +had, in many parts of the State, prevented a full and just vote. The +Constitution was defeated, not, as thus alleged, by fraud and +intimidation, but distinctly for the reason that it was more +vindictive in its spirit than the people, white or black, would +tolerate, and more prescriptive in its provisions than the acts of +Congress required. + +In March, 1869, the provisional Governor of the State, Major-General +A. Ames, was made the military commander of the Fourth Military +District. At the same time a joint resolution was passed by Congress, +which ordered that all persons holding office in Mississippi, who +could not take the test-oath prescribed in 1862, should be removed +from office. By the aid of this weapon it was expected that General +Ames would make the State organization so-called Republican. +Meanwhile Congress passed an act which authorized the President to +submit the Constitution of the State to another election by the +people, with a separate vote on its objectionable section. +Preparations for this election were commenced by the issue of an +order of the military commander prescribing stringent regulations +relative to the requisites of voters for registration. The election +was held on November 30 and December 1, 1869, and the Constitution +was ratified. The vote against disfranchising citizens for serving +under the Confederacy during the war was almost unanimous. The +so-called Legislature assembled on January 11, 1870. The fourteenth +and fifteenth amendments of the United States Constitution were +adopted, and on February 12th an act of Congress was passed by which +the State was permitted to be represented in that body. + +At the beginning of 1865 Louisiana was under the State government +constructed by General Banks, as has been stated in previous pages. +It occupied New Orleans, and extended its control to the extremity of +the military lines. Within this limit it was treated practically as a +restored portion of the Union. The United States military draft was +enforced. Much disorder in civil affairs prevailed, and some serious +disturbances occurred up to the time when Congress undertook its plan +of restoration. There was, in fact, a military rule during all that +period. On March 19, 1867, Major-General Sheridan was assigned to the +command of the Fifth Military District, embracing Louisiana and +Texas, in accordance with the act of Congress of March 2d. By this +act the existing State government was "declared to be only +provisional, and subject to be abolished, modified, controlled, or +superseded." Major-General Sheridan began his proceedings with the +removal of certain obnoxious officials who were, in his opinion, +dangerous to the peace of the community. The registration of voters +was ordered to commence on May 1st. To an application to General +Grant, the commander-in-chief, for more definite instructions, by +Major-General Sheridan, the former replied on June 28th: + + "Enforce your own construction of the military bill, until ordered to + do otherwise." + +The Legislature having appropriated four million dollars for the +repairs of levees, and appointed a board to discharge the duties, +Governor Wells became dissatisfied with their action, and appointed +another board. Disputes arising between the two boards, Major-General +Sheridan removed both, and appointed a third, and enforced its +authority. In April, Major-General Sheridan, writing to General +Grant, said: + + "I fear I shall be obliged to remove Governor Wells, of this State, + who is impeding me as much as he can." + +General Grant replied: + + "I would advise that no removals of Governors of States be made at + present. It is a question now under consideration whether the power + exists, under the law, to remove, except by special act of Congress, + or by trial under the sixth section of the act promulgated in Orders + 33 (act of March 2d)." + +On June 3d Major-General Sheridan issued an order, removing the +so-called Governor, saying that, "having made himself an impediment +to the faithful execution of the act of Congress of March 2d, by +directly and indirectly impeding the General in command in the +faithful execution of the law," etc., Benjamin F. Flanders was +appointed to fill the vacancy. + +The registration ceased on July 31st, with the names of 44,732 whites +and 82,907 blacks. Extensive removals from office were now made-- +among others, twenty-two members of the City Council of New Orleans, +also the city treasurer and city surveyor, a justice of peace, +sheriff, etc. On August 17th Major-General Sheridan was relieved, and +Major-General Hancock succeeded. "Impediments to reconstruction under +the laws of Congress" continued to be removed, and other persons +assigned to their places. + +The election for delegates to the so-called Convention was held on +September 27th and 28th, and that body assembled on November 23d. The +measures required by the act of Congress were adopted, and an +election for its ratification and for State officers, and a +Legislature, was held on April 17th and 18th. The Constitution was +ratified, and the State officers and members of the Legislature were +elected. Meantime Major-General Hancock was relieved, and succeeded +by Major-General Buchanan. + +After the election, the registrars of the State proposed to install +the newly elected officers under the provisions of an ordinance of +the Convention. But they were notified by Major-General Buchanan that +it could not be done without permission. To avoid any question as to +the persons who should hold the offices of so-called Governor and +Lieutenant-Governor after the meeting of the Legislature, the +district commander was directed by General Grant to remove the former +incumbents by military order and set up the individuals lately +elected as their successors. This was done on June 27th, and on the +29th the so-called Legislature assembled in pursuance of a notice +from the commanding General. The fourteenth amendment to the United +States Constitution was adopted; and, as by the act of Congress of +June 25th, Louisiana had been restored to representation in that +body, the commanding General on July 13, 1868, transferred the +administration of civil affairs to the State officers. + +I will not pursue these odious details further. Suffice it to say +that Texas and Arkansas, having passed through the same military +process as their sister Confederate States, were admitted to +representation in Congress, the former in 1870 and the latter in 1868. + +It will be seen that the power usurped by Congress was without a +limitation, and extended to all the political, civil, and social +relations. Many of the military commanders seem to have regarded +their authority as equally comprehensive. The Attorney-General of the +United States, in his official opinion on these acts of Congress, +addressed to the President on June 12, 1867, says: + + "It appears that some of the military commanders have understood this + grant of power as all-comprehensive, conferring on them the power to + remove the executive and judicial officers of the State, and to + appoint other officers in their places; to suspend the legislative + power of the State; to take under their control, by officers + appointed by themselves, the collection and disbursement of the + revenues of the State; to prohibit the execution of the laws of the + State by the agency of its appointed officers and agents; to change + the existing laws in matters affecting purely civil and private + rights; to suspend or enjoin the execution of the judgments and + decrees of the established State courts; to interfere in the ordinary + administration of justice in the State courts, by prescribing new + qualifications for jurors; and to change, upon the ground of + expediency, the existing relations of the parties to contracts, + giving protection to one party by violating the rights of the other + party." + +Many instances are then related by the Attorney-General to confirm +his statements. Some of these are worthy of the attention of the +reader, although they may have been mentioned on a preceding page. In +one district the so-called Governor of a State was deposed under a +threat of military force, and another person, called a Governor, +appointed by the military commander to fill the place--thus +presenting the strange spectacle of an official intrusted with chief +power to execute the laws of a State, whose authority was not +recognized by the laws he was called on to execute. + +In the same district a Judge was, by military order, ejected from his +office, and a private citizen was appointed Judge in his place by +military authority, and exercised criminal jurisdiction "over all +crimes, misdemeanors, and offenses" committed within the territorial +jurisdiction of the court. This military appointee was certainly not +authorized, as a member of a military tribunal, to try any one for an +offense; and he had just as little authority, as a Judge of a +criminal court of the State, to try and punish any offender. This +person was sole judge in a criminal court whose jurisdiction extended +to the life of the accused. In capital cases he might well change +places with the criminal, for, if the latter had unlawfully taken +life, so too did the Judge. + +In another district, a military order commanded the nominal Governor +of the State to forbid the assembling of the Legislature, and thus +suspended the proper legislative power of the State. In the same +district an order was issued "to relieve the Treasurer of the State +from the duties, bond, books, papers, etc.", appertaining to his +office, and to put an "assistant quartermaster of the United States +Volunteers" in place of the removed Treasurer. The duties of this +quartermaster-treasurer were thus summed up: He was to make to the +headquarters of the district "the same reports and returns required +from the Treasurer, and a monthly statement of the receipts and +expenditures; he will pay all warrants for salaries which may be or +become due, and legitimate expenditures for the support of the +Penitentiary, State Asylum, and the support of the provisional State +government; but no scrip or warrants for outstanding debts of other +kind than those specified, will be paid without special authority +from these Headquarters. He will deposit funds in the same manner as +though they were those of the United States." These instances will +suffice, although many more might be related. + +Illegal, unjust, and vindictive as were these gross usurpations of +the Congress of the United States in their immediate results, the +consequences which followed were still more disastrous. When the late +Confederate States were restored to representation in Congress, a +large portion of their white citizens remained disfranchised, and the +political power of each was in the hands of the blacks and the +remnant of the whites. Nor was the military force withdrawn, but it +was placed in convenient localities, under the pretext of maintaining +order, but in reality to sustain the new rulers. It must be manifest +that the sovereignty of the people was now extinct, and those ruled +who had the bayonets on their side. With the disfranchised were the +intelligence, the virtue, and the political experience; with the +voters were the ignorance, the lawless passions, and soon a body of +political adventurers from the Northern States, greedy for power and +plunder. These quickly won for themselves the distinctive epithet of +"carpet-baggers". The governments under the control of such popular +sovereigns demonstrated the vindictiveness rather than wisdom of +Congress, and soon brought forth their natural fruits of anarchy, +fraud, and crime. One or two examples must suffice in which to +exhibit these results. + + +The debt of the ten Confederate States in 1874 was as follows: + + Virginia, funded and unfunded . . . . . . . . $45,718,119.73 + North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,921,848.05 + South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,866,627.35 + Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,620,809.27 + Georgia . . . . . . . . $8,105,500 funded + 8,000,000 fraudulent 16,105,500.00 + Alabama $10,452,593.30 + 15,051,000.00 railroad endorsement 15,503,593.30 + Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,558,629.24 + Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,933,407.90 + Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,012,421.00 + Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,561,000.00 + --------------- + $148,801,955.80 + +It is not claimed that all this amount of indebtedness had been +accumulated since the close of the war. Some of the States had debts +previous to the war, but a large proportion of the amount had been +contracted by the spendthrift governments instituted by Congress, and +very little could be found to offset the expenditure. + +Again, in Arkansas, on April 16th, Governor Brooks seized and +occupied the State-House with a body of armed men and two cannon. On +the same day, Governor Baxter proclaimed martial law, and marched +with a body of armed men from St. John's College to the Anthony +House, and established his headquarters there. Guards were placed +along the principal streets, and the State-House was completely +surrounded by a cordon of sentinels. Subsequently, he marched to +attack the State-House, but a body of troops belonging to the +Government of the United States appeared before it. Two so-called +Republican Governors of the State, with their troops, were about to +fight for the executive office. + +In Louisiana, on January 4, 1875, a body of troops of the Government +of the United States, on the order of Governor W. P. Kellogg, marched +into the hall of the House of Representatives of the State +Legislature, while that body was in session, and forcibly seized and +took out five members as not entitled to seats. The General in +command (De Trobriand) then proceeded to eject the Clerk, and +arrested the proceedings of the House. When expostulated with by the +Speaker, he replied: "I am but a soldier. These are my orders." The +members then retired. + +In Mississippi, on December 7, 1874, a serious conflict occurred in +Vicksburg between whites and blacks, which resulted in great loss of +life and caused a widely-spread alarm. It grew out of frauds +committed by public officers. + +Again, during the exciting contest in Arkansas, the Congress of the +United States appointed a committee to investigate the affairs in +that State, and "whether said State had now a government republican +in form, the officers of which are duly elected, and, as now +organized, ought to be recognized by the Government of the United +States." + +On December 24, 1874, the Congress of the United States appointed a +committee to proceed to New Orleans, and investigate the state of +affairs in Louisiana. This committee reported on January 14, 1875, +that "they could not agree upon any recommendation; but, upon the +situation in Louisiana, as it appeared before us, we are all agreed." + +The same Congress, before its adjournment, appointed a committee to +proceed to Mississippi and make an investigation of the state of +affairs there. Thus committees were kept quite busy in traveling back +and forth to these States, and much of the time of Congress was +occupied in discussing their affairs, and in efforts to reconcile the +quarreling factions of so-called Republicans in them, to the great +detriment of the public interests. + +Where now were the unalienable rights of man, and sovereignty of the +people, with their safeguards; a Constitution with limited powers, +the reserved rights of the States, and the supremacy of law equally +over both rulers and ruled? All were gone. + +It will be seen that, through all these proceedings, the Government +of the United States controlled as the sovereign, and sovereignty of +the people was extinct. The measures adopted were those prescribed by +the Government of the United States; and, subordinate to these and +subject to the conditions of these, such others were permitted as the +necessities of the people required. Affairs were not in such disorder +when the Constitution of the United States was adopted. The uppermost +then had come to be the undermost now, and that which was nothing +then had grown to be over all now. Will it always be thus? Was the +inherent sovereignty of the people destroyed by shot and shell? + +The intelligent reader must perceive that this invasion of the +natural and unalienable rights of man, the subjugation of the +sovereignty of the people, the monstrous usurpations of powers not +granted in the Constitution, the trampling under foot of the reserved +rights of the States, the disregard of the supremacy of law, and the +assumption of the sovereignty of the Government of the United States +as the corner-stone of our future political edifice, is a revolution +in our system of Government, deep-seated, reaching to the +foundations, and sending the poisonous waters of despotism throughout +all the branches fed from this fountain. The Confederate States +resisted it from the beginning. They drew their swords for the +sovereignty of the people, and they fought for the maintenance of +their State governments in all their reserved rights and powers, as +the only true and natural guardians of the unalienable rights of +their citizens, among which the most sacred is, that only the consent +of the governed can give vitality and existence to any civil or +political institution. + +This overthrow of the rights of freemen and the establishment of such +new relations required a complete revolution in the principle of the +government of the United States, the subversion of the State +governments, the subjugation of the people, and the destruction of +the fraternal Union. The work has been done. Will it stand? Have the +eternal principles of the Declaration of Independence been hid from +our sight for ever? Or, will they again come forth, "redeemed, +disenthralled, regenerated," and rally the reunited people to shout +in thunder-tones for sovereignty of the people and the unalienable +rights of man? + +It has been shown in previous pages that the State governments were +instituted to be the special guardians of these unalienable rights of +man; but henceforth they must be the sworn defenders of the +Government of the United States, not of the Constitution and laws +enacted in pursuance thereof, but of such interpolations and +perversions of them as, in cases of necessity, that Government should +find it convenient to make. Whenever it pleases, it can set them +aside; and, whenever it wills, it can destroy them. Unalienable +rights are unknown to this war-begotten theory of the Constitution. +The day has come in which mankind behold this Government founding its +highest claims to greatness and glory upon deeds done in utter +violation of those rights which belonged to its own citizens in every +State, North and South. The palladium of the freeman, the Bills of +Rights, the limitations of power, the written Constitutions, have all +lost their sacred authority, and not a man or a State dare, +single-handed, gainsay the will of the agency which, feeling power, +has forgotten right. It has put its hand on the ballot-box, and the +declaration is made that it is not safe to trust the people to vote, +except under the inspection of its authority, after the example set +by the Roman emperors. When the cause was lost, what cause was it? +Not that of the South only, but the cause of constitutional +government, of the supremacy of law, of the natural rights of man. + +[Footnote 131: This incident in the conduct of the Judge recalls a like +exhibition of judicial purity and independence which occurred in the +colonial history of South Carolina, and which I present by extracts +from the charge of Judge William Henry Drayton, delivered November, +1774. Referring to the nature of the civil liberties of the Carolina +colonists, he said: "This is the distinguishing character: English +people can not be taxed, nay, they can not be bound by any law unless +by their consent, expressed by themselves or their representatives of +their own election. This colony was settled by English subjects; by a +people from England herself--a people who brought over with them, +who planted in this colony, and who transmitted to posterity the +invaluable rights of _Englishmen_--rights which no time, no +contract, no climate can diminish. . . . By all the ties which +mankind hold most dear and sacred; your reverence to your ancestors; +your love to your own interests; your tenderness to your posterity; +by the lawful obligations of your oath, I charge you to do your duty; +to maintain the laws, the rights, the Constitution of your country, +even at the hazard of your lives and fortunes. + +"Some county judges style themselves the King's servants, a style +which sounds harshly in my ears, inasmuch as the being a servant +implies obedience to the orders of the master, and such judges might +possibly think that, in the present situation of American affairs, my +charge is inconsistent with my duty to the King. But for my part, in +my judicial character, I know no master but the law; I am a servant, +not to the King, but to the Constitution." . . . In the course of his +charge, he quotes a "learned judge" as saying: "Every new tribunal +erected for the decision of facts, without the intervention of a +jury, is a step toward aristocracy, the most oppressive of absolute +governments; and it is therefore a duty which every man owes to his +country, his friends, his posterity, and himself, to maintain to the +utmost of his power this valuable Constitution in all its rights, to +restore it to its ancient dignity, if at all impaired; to amend it +wherever it is defective, and, above all, to guard with the most +jealous circumspection against the introduction of new and arbitrary +methods of trial, which, under a variety of plausible pretenses, may +in time perceptibly undermine this best preservative of English +liberty."--("American Archives," Fourth Series, vol. i, pp. 959, +960.)] + + + + +CONCLUSION. + + +My first object in this work was to prove, by historical authority, +that each of the States, as sovereign parties to the compact of +Union, had the reserved power to secede from it whenever it should be +found not to answer the ends for which it was established. If this +has been done, it follows that the war was, on the part of the United +States Government, one of aggression and usurpation, and, on the part +of the South, was for the defense of an inherent, unalienable right. + +My next purpose was to show, by the gallantry and devotion of the +Southern people, in their unequal struggle, how thorough was their +conviction of the justice of their cause; that, by their humanity to +the wounded and captives, they proved themselves the worthy +descendants of chivalric sires, and fit to be free; and that, in +every case, as when our army invaded Pennsylvania, by their respect +for private rights, their morality and observance of the laws of +civilized war, they are entitled to the confidence and regard of +mankind. + +The want of space has compelled me to omit a notice of many noble +deeds, both of heroic men and women. The roll of honor, merely, would +fill more than the pages allotted to this work. To others, who can +say _cuncta quorum vidi_, I must leave the pleasant task of paying +the tribute due to their associate patriots. + +In asserting the right of secession, it has not been my wish to +incite to its exercise: I recognize the fact that the war showed it +to be impracticable, but this did not prove it to be wrong; and, now +that it may not be again attempted, and that the Union may promote +the general welfare, it is needful that the truth, the whole truth, +should be known, so that crimination and recrimination may for ever +cease, and then, on the basis of fraternity and faithful regard for +the rights of the States, there may be written on the arch of the +Union, _Esto perpetua_. + + + + +Note.--The publishers are responsible for the orthography of these +volumes. + +[Illustration: Map of Yorktown & Williamsburg, Virginia] +[Illustration: Map of Operations in Kentucky and Tennessee] +[Illustration: Map of Battle of Gettysburg] + + + + +INDEX TO VOL. II. + +_Abandonment of the Peninsula_, recommended by General J. E. +Johnston, 86; a defensive position nearer to Richmond proposed, 86; +the question discussed in a conference of officers, 87; plan of +General Johnston, 87; concentration of all troops, 87; objections, +87; not adopted, 87; measures determined on, 87. + +ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY, Secretary of State, correspondence with the +British Secretary of State relative to the deportation of slaves in +war, 8, 9; on the restoration of slaves captured in war, 163; says +private property, including slaves, can not be taken by the usages of +war, 170. + +_Agents of the State of New York_ to take the vote of her soldiers at +the Presidential election, 492; seized with the votes and locked up +in prison by the orders of the Government of the United States, 492; +the description of the imprisonment, 493. + +_Aggressions_, the authors of, having acquired power, were eager for +the spoils of victory, 160; the series of, about to be consummated, +182. + +_Alabama_, the cruiser, her condition when leaving Liverpool, 250. + +_Alarm at Washington_, created by the operations of Jackson in the +Shenandoah Valley, 105. + +ALDRICH, Judge A. P., arrested, 741; removed by a military officer, +744. + +ANDERSON, General G. B., in command at Sharpsburg, 336. + +ANDERSON, General J. R., placed in observation before General +McDowell be fore Fredericksburg, 101. + +ANDERSON, General R. H., in command at Sharpsburg, 336. + +_Andersonville_, occasion for its selection for the confinement of +prisoners of war, 596; its location, 596; preparations, 596; +treatment, 597. + +_Anomaly among Governments_, the Government of the United States, 453. + +_Arkansas_, proceedings to institute a State Government inaugurated +by order of President Lincoln, 302; his order, 303; the State +Constitution amended by assumption, or by assuming it to be amended, +303; movements in the northern part of the State, 304; further +proceedings, 304; vote for Article XIII of the United States +Constitution, 304; fraud triumphant, 304. + +_Arkansas, The ram_, fight at the mouth of the Yazoo, 242; enters the +Mississippi and runs through the enemy's fleet, 242; description of +the vessel, 243; destined for attack on Baton Rouge, 243; failure of +her engines, 244. + +_Arms and munitions of war_ manufactured in the United States for +Turkey in her late war with Russia, 276. + +_Army of Northern Virginia_, changes of position before Richmond, +101; re turns to the vicinity of Richmond after McClellan reached +Westover, 152. + +_Army of Tennessee_ under General A. S. Johnston, its strength after +fall of Donelson, 39; moves to Murfreesboro, 39; its concentration, +39; joins Beauregard at Corinth, 39. + +_Army of the United States_, new generals assigned to command, and +new departments created, 18; under General McClellan--its size when +reported to be crippled for want of reënforcements, 106; size of our +army, 106. + +_Army of Virginia_, order of President Lincoln creating, 135; the +commander, and the forces, 135. + +ASHBY, General TURNER, commands rear-guard, 112; attacked by +Fremont's cavalry, 112; killed, 112; remarks of General Jackson, 112. + +_Assertion, An_, often made during the war, 451. + +_Atlanta, The_, a cruiser's name changed to Tallahassee, 265; +commanded by Commander John Taylor Wood, 265; her cruise along the +New England coast, 265. + +_Atlanta_ evacuated by General Hood, 563; surrendered by the Mayor to +General Sherman, with the promise that non-combatants and private +property should be respected, 563; Order of Sherman directing all +civilians, mole and female, living in Atlanta to leave the city +within five days from September 5th, 564; Vain appeals of the Mayor +and corporate authorities for a modification of the order, 561; reply +of Sherman, 564. + +_Atrocities of the war_: letter of the President to General Lee, 315; +In the Shenandoah Valley, 531; retaliation of General Early, 531; +Butler's proceedings in New Orleans, 232; Pope's military orders in +Virginia, 313; Sherman's expulsion of the inhabitants of Atlanta, +564; march to Savannah, 570; Sherman's burning of Columbia, 627; the +order of President Lincoln to military commanders, 588; order of +General Pope, 588; letter of General Lee to General Halleck, 589; +efforts of General Hunter to inaugurate a servile war, 589: +proceedings of Brigadier-General Phelps, 589; do. of General Butler, +589; extracts from the official report of Major-General Butler to the +Committee on the Conduct of the War relative to the exchange of +prisoners, 603; extract from the message to the Confederate Congress, +in August, 1862, 707; do. in January, 1863, 707; varied stages of the +war, 708; atrocities of Major-General Hunter in the Shenandoah +Valley, 709; statement of Rev. John Bachman of the devastations of +the enemy in South Carolina, 710-715. + +_Attrition, The policy of_, can hardly be regarded as generalship, or +be offered to military students as an example worthy of imitation, +526. + +BACHMAN, Rev. Dr. JOHN, statement of the devastations of the enemy in +South Carolina, 710-715. + +BANKS, Major-General N. P., exclamation of relief on his escape from +Jackson across the Potomac, 106; succeeds General Butler at New +Orleans, 289; expedition into the Red River country, 541; his force, +543; battles at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, 543, 544; obtains cotton +in the Red River country, 545. + +BARKSDALE, Brigadier-General WILLIAM, commands the force placed at +Fredericksburg to resist the enemy's crossing, 353. + +BARRON, Captain SAMUEL, commands at Hatteras Inlet, 77; is bombarded +by the enemy's fleet, and capitulates, 77. + +BARRY, Colonel WILLIAM S., commander of the burial party at Corinth, +390; his reception by General Rosecrans, 390. + +_Baton Rouge_, its importance, 243; occupied by the enemy, 243; +attacked, 244; failure of entire success by the breakdown of the ram +Arkansas, 244. + +_Battalion of cadets_, their services at Richmond, 665. + +BEAUREGARD, General P. G. T., takes command in West Tennessee, 51; +moves to Corinth, 51; states cause of delay of movements toward +Shiloh, 55; report of result of first day's battle of Shiloh, 60; his +force at Corinth, 73; his estimate of the enemy, 73; retreats to +Tupelo, 74; declines to let Bragg go to Mississippi, 74; his health. +74; certificates of his physicians, 74; transfers the command to +General Bragg and retires to Bladen Springs. 75; statement of the +case, 765 in command near Drury's Bluff, 511; interview with the +President, 511; position of the forces, 512; movements of the enemy, +513; the affair at Drury's bluff, 513; his proposal for a campaign, +514; assigned to the military division of the West, 566; retreats +toward North Carolina, 630; decides to march to the eastern part of +the State, 630; effect of this move, 630; modifies his proposed +movement, 631. + +_Beaver Dam_, its naturally strong position near Mechanicsville, 134; +engagement near, 134. + +_Belligerents_--in no instance from the opening to the close of the +war did the United States Government speak of us as belligerents, +278; why was it? 278; the signification of the word, combined with +existing circumstances, expressed something it was in no degree +willing to admit before the world, 278; its war was against the +people within the limits of the Confederate States, and were they a +mob or organized political communities? 279; then it was a war +against the States which the world could not justify, 279; opinion of +Justice Green, of the United States Supreme Court, 281; case of the +Santissima Trinidad, 281. + +BENJAMIN, JUDAH P., Secretary, letter to General A. S. Johnston, 40; +report on the proceedings of Generals Floyd and Pillow requested, 40. + +_Berwick Bay_, capture of the works of the enemy at, 419; the spoils +taken, 419. + +_Big Black_ River railroad-bridge, topographical features of the +position, 409; results of the retreat of Pemberton from, 410. + +BLAIR, FRANCIS P., visits Richmond, 612; conversation with the +President, 612; letter given to him, 615; answer of Mr. Lincoln, 615; +return of Mr. Blair, 616 his statements, 616; further movements, 617; +his visit, 618. + +_Blockade The_, its effect upon English manufactures, 344; +intervention of the Governments of France and England to alleviate +the distress, 344; the passiveness of neutral Europe relative to, +373; other blockades compared, 373; facts shown relative to our +ports, 374; Great Britain assumes to make a change in the principles +announced at Paris, 375; dispatch of the British Minister, 375; +illustration of the importance of this change, 375; other matters +injurious to us, 376; letters of the British Government to United +States, 379, 380; marked encouragement given to persevere in the +blockade, 380; statement of the British Government as to the blockade +of the Southern ports, 381; further facts, 381. + +BOWEN, General JOHN S., detached from Vicksburg to Grand Gulf, 397; +retreats toward Grand Gulf, 399; one of the best soldiers of the +Confederate service, 416. + +_Bowling Green_, position of General A. S. Johnston's center turned, +36; the consequences, 36, 37; its evacuation, 37. + +BRAGG, General BRAXTON, commands a division of Beauregard's forces in +West Tennessee, 51; sent from Pensacola, 54; account of Johnston's +efforts, 54; commands a corps at battle of Shiloh, 55; statement of +affairs at battle of Shiloh, 59; ordered to command the department +under General Lovell, 74; Beauregard declines to permit his departure +owing to ill health, 74; receives the command from Beauregard, 75; +report of subsequent proceedings, 75; advances from Tupelo and +occupies Chattanooga, 382; marches from Chattanooga and enters +Kentucky, 383; passes to the rear of General Buell in Middle +Tennessee, 383; thus relieves north Alabama and Middle Tennessee from +the presence of the enemy, 383; issues an address to the people of +Kentucky, 383; gives battle to the enemy at Perryville, 383; losses, +384; falls back before reënforcements to the enemy, 384; takes +position at Murfreesboro, 384; begins the conflict at Murfreesboro, +385; its result, 385; falls back to Tullahoma, 385; takes a position +south of Chattanooga, 429; his movements, 429; concentrates at +Chickamauga, 429; forms his line of battle, 430; the conflict, +431-433. + +_Brazil_, Government of, demands the restoration of the cruiser +Florida, 262; letter of Mr. Seward, 262. + +BRECKINRIDGE, Brigadier-General JOHN C, commands a corps at battle of +Shiloh, 55; commands the attack at Baton Rouge, 244; commands in +south-western Virginia, 527; his movements and skirmishes, 528; +ordered to Hanover Junction, 528; returns, 529. + +BRENT, Major, attacks and captures the gunboat Indianola, 241. + +BROWN, Commander, commands the ram Arkansas, 242. + +BROWN, Major, report of the surrender of Fort Donelson, 34. + +BUCHANAN, Captain FRANKLIN, commands the Virginia, 196; fight at +Hampton Roads, 197; commands the ironclad Tennessee in the conflict +in Mobile Bay, 206. + +BUCKNER, General SIMON, commands a division at Fort Donelson, 29; in +command at Knoxville, 426. + +BUELL, General D. C, assigned to command in Kentucky, 18; his +threatening position, 38; his force after fall of Donelson, 39; moves +his army to join Grant at Pittsburg Landing, 54; progress of his +advance, 54; statement of the condition of Grant's army after the +battle of Shiloh, 70; retreats from Nashville to Louisville, fearing +for the safety of the latter city, 383. + +BULLOCK, Captain JAMES D., his integrity and efficiency as naval +agent at Liverpool, 248. + +_Burglary_, the State government throws its shield over the citizen +for his protection against, 452. + +BURNSIDE, General AMBROSE, commands expedition against the coast of +North Carolina, 79; succeeds McClellan in command of the army, 351; +attempts to throw bridges across the river be fore Fredericksburg, +352; finally crosses and lays his bridges, 353; attacks our army, +354; is repulsed, 355; withdraws, 356; losses, 356; the causes he +assigned for his failure, 356; subsequent inactivity of his army, +357; removed from command, 357. + +BUTLER, General B. F., commands expedition against the coast of North +Carolina, 79; advances to New Orleans, 223; a reign of terror +follows, 232; lands at Bermuda Hundred, 507; makes a raid to Chester, +508; compelled to withdraw, 508; moves out again to Fort Walthal +Junction, 511; repulsed by troops of General Beauregard from +Charleston, 511; commissioner for the exchange of prisoners, 598. + +_Captures on the high seas_, the position taken by Washington and +Jefferson in 1793, 270. + +CAMPBELL, JOHN A., appointed to confer with Mr. Lincoln, 617. + +_Cause, The_, that was lost. What cause was it? 763. + +_Cedar Creek_, Early's battle with the enemy at, 538-540. + +_Cedar Run_, its location, 317; the battle at, 317, 319; the forces, +317; losses, 319. + +_Chambersburg, Pennsylvania_, retaliatory measures inflicted on, 531, +532. + +_Chancellorsville_, forces of the enemy converge near, from the fords +of the Rapidan, 357; Anderson's rear-guard attacked by cavalry, 357; +Lee moves toward, 358; turns the enemy's right, 358; a position of +great natural strength assumed by the enemy, 358; his lines, 358, +359; effort to turn his right flank and gain his rear, 359; to be +done by Jackson with three divisions, 359; success of the movement, +359, 360; the attack in front, 360; Jackson wounded, 360; battle +renewed next day, 361; the enemy retreats toward the Rappahannock, +361; strengthens his position, 361; attack from Fredericksburg on +Lee's rear, 362, 363; battle near Salem Church, 363; attack renewed +on Hooker, 364; enemy recross the river, 364; losses, 364; strength, +365; a brief and forcible account of the battle, 365, 366. + +_Change of plans_, necessary after the fall of Fort Donelson, 39. + +"_Change of base_," by McClellan, explanation of, by the Comte de +Paris, 104. + +_Charge_, against the Government of the United States, 454. + +_Charleston Harbor_, the Confederate naval force in, 204; its +strength and efficiency, 204; exploit of the ironclads Palmetto State +and Chicora, 206; number of torpedoes in the harbor, 208; evacuated +by General Hardee, 629; occupied by the enemy's forces, 630; +condition of Fort Sumter, 630. + +_Chattanooga_, Grant arrives after the battle of Chickamauga and +assumes command, 434; his description of the situation, 434; his +operations, 435; movements of General Hooker, 435; arrival of +Sherman, 435; attack made by the whole force of the enemy's center, +436; get possession of rifle-pits at the foot of Missionary Ridge, +and commence the ascent of the mountain, 436; our forces withdraw, +436; losses, 436; occupied by the enemy, 429. + +_Chickahominy River_, its character and course, 122; rising from +heavy rains, 124; position of General Sumner, 124. + +_Chickamauga_, Bragg concentrates at, 429; forms his line of battle, +430; commencement of the contest, 430; movements of the forces, 431; +Confederate troops engaged, 431; Bragg reorganizes his command, 432; +strength of the opposing forces, 432; Bragg's order of battle, 432; +movement of troops, 433; enemy yields along the whole line, 433; +withdraws at night, 433; his losses, 433. + +CHILTON, Colonel R H., remarks on the talents of General Lee, +displayed in the preparation and command of his army, 129. + +_Cincinnati_, alarm at the approach of General E. K. Smith, 382. + +_Citizens_, Southern, confined in cells to await the punishment of +piracy, 2; peaceful, an indiscriminate warfare waged upon, 2. + +_Citizen's life_, is it in danger? the State guarantees protection, +451; his personal liberty is guaranteed by the State, 451; his +property guaranteed from unlawful seizure and destruction by the +State, 452. + +_Citizenship and the ballot_ is wholly within the control of each +State, 729; efforts of Congress to wrest it from each Confederate +State to confer on the negroes, 729. + +_Civil government in Maryland_, overthrown by the military force of +the United States, 461. + +_Clarence, The_, fitted out as a tender to the Florida, 261. + +CLEBURNE, Major-General, killed at the battle of Franklin, 577. + +_Coast defenses_, the system adopted, 78; topography of the coast, +78; description of the fortifications constructed, 79; several points +captured by the enemy, 79; state of affairs when General Lee assumed +command of the Department of the Carolinas and Florida, 80; his plans +for coast defenses, 80; the system he organized, 80; its success, 81. + +COBB, General HOWELL, arranges a cartel for the exchange of prisoners +with General Wool, 587. + +COLBURN, Colonel, captured at Spring Hill by Generals Van Dorn and +Forrest, 426. + +_Cold Harbor_, fearful carnage of Grant's soldiers, 524; they +sullenly and silently decline to renew the assault, 524. + +_Columbia, South Carolina_, approach of General Sherman's army, 627; +the Mayor surrenders the city, 627; infamous disregard of the +established rules of war, 627; the city burned, 627; attributed by +Sherman to an order of General Hampton to burn the cotton, 627; +denied by General Hampton, 627; his letter, 628; other atrocities of +Sherman's army, 629. + +_Columbus, Kentucky_, threatened by the enemy, 18. + +_Combinations of insurrectionists,_ the Southern people declared to +be, by the United States Government, 2. + +_Conciliatory terms_ offered by the Governor of a State for the sake +of peace, rejected by the United States Government, 2. + +_Confederate Government_, early efforts to buy ships, 245; the +lawfulness of its maritime acts demonstrated, 269; its acts relative +to cruisers sustained and justified by international law, 274; by the +interpretations of American jurists, 274; by antecedent acts of the +United States Government, 274; instances, 275, 276. + +_Confederate States_ regarded by United States Government as in the +Union, 177; yet deprived of all the protections of the Constitution, +177; all their conduct pertaining to the war consisted in just +efforts to preserve to themselves and their posterity rights and +protections guaranteed in the Constitution, 178; their sagacity +vindicated by President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, 190. + +_Confederate States, The final subjugation of_: when the Confederate +soldiers laid down their arms and went home, all hostilities against +the power of the United States Government ceased, 718; the result of +the contest, 718; a simple process of restoration, 718; rejected by +the United States Government, 718; a forced union, 719; the amnesty +proclamation of President Johnson, 719; the oath required to be +taken, 719; large classes of citizens excluded, 720; its +stipulations, 720; the reason for them, 720; the Government of the +United States proceeds to establish State organizations based on the +principle of its own sovereignty, 720; terms of the next +proclamation, 720; the argument it contained examined, 721; the four +propositions, 721; a provisional Governor appointed for each +Confederate State,723; his duties, 723; to secure a convention to +alter the State Constitution according to the views of the Government +of the United States, 723; instructions to the military authorities, +724; the first movement in Virginia, 724; the so-called Governor, +Francis H. Pierpont, brought from Alexandria and established at +Richmond, 724; new Legislature elected, 726; acts passed, 726; the +amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the +existence of slavery, 726; interference of the military officers of +the United States Government with the administration of civil +affairs, 726; a case under the Civil Rights Bill, 726; a storm +brewing between the President and Congress, relative to affairs of +Confederate States, 726; the plan of the President left the negroes +to the care of the States, Congress desired them to be American +citizens and voters, 726; Congress refused to admit Senators and +Representatives elect from the Confederate States to arrest the +operation of the President's plan and hold these States in abeyance, +727; proceedings of Congress, 727; a Committee of Fifteen appointed, +727; the Freedmen's Bureau Act, 727; the Civil Rights Act, 727; the +fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution, 723; the +adoption of this amendment by a State Legislature required before its +Senators and Representatives could take seats in Congress, 729; the +question really involved in this amendment, 729; to force from the +State citizenship and the ballot for the negroes, 729; rejected by +Virginia, 729; a new system of measures now adopted by Congress, 730; +the fiction upon which they were based, 730; Confederate States +divided into five military districts, 730; the States held as +conquered territory. 730; possessing no rights unless granted by the +will of the conqueror, 730; terms upon which they could become +members of the Union, 731; supplement to this act requiring +registration of voters, etc., 731; two distinct governments in each +State, one military, the other civil, 732; the military commanders, +732; a second supplement, 732; words of President Johnson on vetoing +the bill, 732; Major-General Schofield assumes command in Richmond, +733; a board of army officers appointed to designate officers for the +registration of voters, 733; interference of the military with civil +and social affairs, 733; military officers appointed over +sub-districts, 734; military regulations adopted, 734; the vote +taken, 734; the so-called Convention assembles, 734; Bill of Bights +adopted, 734; amendments, 735; test-oath of Congress adopted, 735; so +stringent that in some counties men could not be found capable of +filling the offices, 735; words of General Schofield, 735; utter +subjugation of the people of Virginia manifest, 736; President Grant +authorized to submit the stringent amendments to a vote of the people +of the State, by Congress, 736; all the amendments to the United +States Constitution passed by the so-called Legislature, 736; the +Senators and Representatives allowed to take seats in Congress, 737. + +The same series of measures applied in the same order to each +Confederate State, 738; in North Carolina the military commander +issues an order declaring all slaves to be free, 738; other orders, +738; Constitutional Convention, 738; secession ordinance declared +void, 738; payment of the war debt prohibited, 738; Governor elected +and inaugurated, 739; the military commander orders the stay of all +proceedings for the collection of debts, 739; proceedings under the +measures of Congress, 739; so-called Constitutional Convention and +election, 739; the Governor surrenders his office because he has not +power strong enough to keep it, 739; his protest, 740; Constitutional +amendments adopted, 740; Senators and Representatives take seats in +Congress, 740. + +Proceedings in South Carolina, 740; provost-marshals and military +courts detailed for duty all over the State 741; the officers knew +only martial law, 741; interference of the military commander with +the judges of the State courts, 741; the arrest of Judge A. P, +Aldrich, 741; a criminal rescued from the sentence of the law by +military force, 741; the Judge refuses to hold his court, 742; the +State divided into ten military districts, 743; a post-commander +appointed to each, 743; all local officers appointed by the +commanders, 743; military orders issued, 743; details of +registration,743; qualifications of jurors such as to include newly +emancipated slaves, 744; in conflict with the jury law of the State, +744; proceedings of Judge Aldrich, 744; is suspended from office, +744; opens his court, states the circumstances, and declares it +adjourned so long as justice was stifled, 744; a similar instance in +the colonial history of South Carolina, 744; proceedings under the +acts of Congress, and the results, 745. + +In Georgia, the Governor, on the cessation of hostilities, called a +session of the Legislature, 745; the commanding General declares the +proclamation null and void, 745; message to the Governor from the +President of the United States, 746; charged with committing a fresh +crime by his act, 746; proceedings under the provisional Governor, +746; these set aside by the military commander of Congress, 747; an +unsuccessful effort to test the constitutionality of the acts of +Congress, 747; the Governor took part in the effort, 747; called to +an account by the military commander as violating an order of the +latter, 747; the matter of jurors, 747; Judge Reese prohibited from +holding court, 747; proceedings under the acts of Congress, 747; +conflict of the Treasurer and Governor with the military commander, +747; both removed from office by the latter and others appointed, +748; the so-called Convention requests the commanding General to +require the courts to enforce certain of its regulations, 748; one of +the Judges of the Supreme Court refuses, and is removed, 748; other +proceedings completed, and the State declared to be restored to the +Union, 748; it appeared some of the measures were defective as to +giving the ballot to the negro, 748; members of the Legislature +expelled, 748; the State held in abeyance by Congress, 748. + +In Florida, the proceedings commenced and completed under President +Johnson's proclamation, 748, 749; all set aside by the military +commander under the acts of Congress, 749; a so-called Constitutional +Convention assembles, 749; a disgraceful quarrel and split ensue, +749; the majority form a Constitution, 749; the minority, with some +members of the majority, form another, 749; the commanding General +puts his sub-commander in the chair, and the latter Constitution is +adopted, 749; all requisite measures adopted, 749; the State restored +to the Union, 750. + +In Alabama, the proceedings under President Johnson's proclamation +were completed, and State officers elected, 750; the commanding +General suspends the Protestant Episcopal bishop and his clergy from +their functions, and forbids to preach or perform divine service, +750; the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution +rejected by an overwhelming majority, 751; proceedings commenced +under the acts of Congress, 751; military orders issued, 751; all +civil officers whatever, who were ex-officers of the Confederacy, +removed and disqualified from registration, 751; municipal officers +removed, 751; police administration suspended in Mobile, 751; +registration completed, 751; Congress declares the condition upon +which North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and +Louisiana shall be admitted to the Union, 752; amendments to the +United States Constitution adopted, 752; conduct of affairs +transferred to the civil authorities, 752. + +In Mississippi, the Governor calls an extra session of the +Legislature, 752; set aside by a proclamation of President Johnson, +752; the system of measures under President Johnson's plan completed, +752; the military commander assumes command, under the acts of +Congress, 752; the question of the constitutionality of the acts +brought before the United States Supreme Court, 752; the opinion of +Chief-Justice Chase, 753; boards of registration organized, 753; +disqualifications of voters most sweeping, 753; object to throw the +entire political power into the hands of the negroes, 753; vast +number of military orders issued, 755; public local officers removed, +and others appointed in their places, 753; the Constitution rejected +by a large majority, 754; the Chief-Justice resigns, 764; his +reasons, 754; the Governor removed, and another appointed by the +military commander, 754; the former refuses to retire, 764; a squad +of soldiers sent to dispossess him, 754; ejected from his house by a +file of soldiers, 754; cause of the rejection of the Constitution, +755; Congress authorizes the President of the United States to submit +the Constitution to another election by the people, 756; sweeping +disqualifications of voters ordered, 755; Constitution ratified, 755; +the constitutional amendments adopted, 755; the State permitted to be +represented in Congress, 755. + +Louisiana continues under the government set up by General Banks, +756; the military commander under the acts of Congress assumes +command, 756; the existing government declared to be only provisional +and subject to be abolished, modified, controlled, or superseded,756; +officers removed, 756; registration ordered, 756; the military +commander fears he shall be obliged to remove Governor Wells, 756; +correspondence with General Grant, 756; the Governor removed and +another appointed, 756; twenty-two members of the City Councils of +New Orleans removed, 757; Sheriff, City Treasurer, Surveyor, justice +of peace removed, 757; declared to be "impediments to reconstruction," +757; newly elected officers not allowed to be installed without +permission of the commanding General, 757; the Governor and +Lieutenant-Governor by military order, now removed, those newly elected +set up by the military commander, 757; all requisitions complied with, +757. + +Texas and Arkansas passed through the same military process as their +sister Confederate States, 757. + +Usurpations of the military commanders, 758; regarded their authority +as comprehensive as the usurpations of Congress, 758; declaration of +United States Attorney-General, 758; instances related, 758, 759; the +disastrous consequences that followed, 759; increase of the debts of +these States, 760; in Arkansas two so-called Republican Governors of +the State with their troops about to fight for the Executive office, +761; in Louisiana a body of troops enter the Legislature in session +and take out five members, 761; in Mississippi a bloody conflict +between whites and blacks, 761; a committee of Congress sent to +Arkansas to "inquire if the State had a government republican in +form," 761; a committee of Congress sent to New Orleans to +investigate the state of affairs, 761; a like committee sent to +Mississippi, 761; where were the unalienable rights of men and the +sovereignty of the people with their safeguards? 762; when the cause +was lost, what cause was it? 763. + +_Conference_ of Generals A. S. Johnston and Beauregard after the loss +of Forts Henry and Donelson, 36; conclusions, 36. + +_Confiscation Act of the United States Congress_, provisions of one +of its most indicative sections, 6; a forfeiture of all claim to +persons held to service, 6; conceded that Congress had no power over +slavery, 6; one of the reserved powers of the States, 7; a +reservation equally in time of war and in peace, 7; forfeiture for +treason does not touch the case, 7; a conviction by trial must +precede forfeiture, 7; the forfeiture can be only during life, 7: +final freedom to slaves can not be thus obtained, 7; other +limitations, 7; due process of law not an act of Congress, 7; words +of Thaddeus Stevens, 8; who pleads the Constitution against our +action? 8; the object of, 164; adjudication, sale, etc, required for +confiscation by national law, 164; compared with the act of Congress, +164; sections of the act of August 6, 1861, 165; do. of the act of +July 17, 1862, 166; amount of property subject to the provisions of +the act, 167; number of persons liable to be affected by it, 167; +another feature of the confiscation act, 168; equally flagrant and +criminal, 168; trial by jury excluded and forfeiture of property made +absolute, 168; heavy fines imposed and the property sold in fee, 168; +treated as traitors and enemies, 169; first object to be secured by +confiscation was emancipation, 169. + +_Conflict, the last armed, of the war_, like the first, a Confederate +victory, 698. + +_Congress, Provisional_, its third session, 3; removal of departments +of the Government to Richmond authorized, 3; cause of removal stated +in the President's message, 3; first efforts of the enemy to be +directed against Virginia, 8; acts at its third session, 6; +proceedings relative to the removal of General A. S. Johnston, 38. + +_Congress, The United States_, conceded that it had no power over +slavery, 6; a power reserved to the States, 7; this reservation +continued in time of war as in peace, 7; the attempt to exercise a +power of confiscation was a mere usurpation, 7; forfeiture for +treason does not reach the case, 7; words of the Constitution, 7; no +forfeiture with conviction, and only during life, 7; article of first +amendment to the Constitution, 7; "due process of law" not an act of +Congress, 7; who pleads the Constitution against our action? 8; in +1862, declares that the struggle is for existence, and the Government +may resort to any measure that self-defense would justify, 159; the +self-defense of the Government, how authorized by the Constitution, +159; slavery declared to be the cause of all the troubles, 159; +inaugural of President Lincoln, 160; commences to legislate for the +abolition of slavery. 160; asserts that it had the power to interfere +with the institution, 160; the plea of necessity, the source of the +power, 161; usurpations embraced in its system of legislation, 161; +the powers granted in the Constitution, 162; to make foreign war, +162; confiscation, 162; international law on the capture of private +property, 163; its conditions compared with the act of Congress, 164; +another alarming usurpation of, 170; the argument advanced for its +support, 170; the theory on which it was based, 170; another step in +the usurpations for the destruction of slavery, 172; emancipation in +the District of Columbia, 172; prohibits that which the Constitution +commands--a most flagrant usurpation, 175. + +_Constitutional liberty_, vindicated by the triumph of the +Confederate States, 14; the wound to the principles of, committed by +the Government of the United States, 279; the crashing blow to the +hopes that mankind had begun to repose in this latest effort for +self-government, 279; sought to palliate the offense by asserting a +fiction that its immense fleets and armies were only a police +authority to put down insurrection, 280. + +_Constitution, The_, every restraint of, broken through by the +Government of the United States, 2; this was declared by the United +States Government to be for the preservation of, 6; the course +attempted to be pursued by it under this pretext of preserving the +Constitution, 6; violations of, under the confiscation act of +Congress relative to private property, 7; violations of, in the +treatment of seized and imprisoned citizens, 14; its provisions +afforded no protection to the citizens, 15; the United States +Government transformed in to a military despotism, 15; what cause for +such acts, 15; answer to the question, 15; powers of, not changed by +circumstances, 161; or by peace or war, 161; do. of the United +States, who were really destroying? 170; theory that it was suspended +by actual hostilities, 170; these gave to Congress sovereign power, +170; new relations of citizens and subject to extraordinary +penalties, 170; power of Congress thus unlimited, 170. + +_Constitution of the United States_, a fatal subversion of, 293. + +_Constitutions, Paper_, of what value are they? 622. + +_Constitution of Tennessee_, was it amended by the consent of the +people of Tennessee, the only sovereigns known under our +institutions, or by consent of the Government of the United States, +the usurping sovereign? 457. + +_Contest, The_, is not over; it has only entered on a new and +enlarged arena, 294. + +CONYNGHAM, Captain GUSTAVUS, commands a cruiser fitted out in France +by United States Government, 275; appointed by filling up a blank +commission from John Hancock, 275; captured and ignominiously +confined, 276; retaliatory measures of United States Congress, 276. + +COOK, Colonel, stands, with Twenty-seventh North Carolina regiment, +boldly in line at Sharpsburg without a cartridge, 336. + +COOPER, Adjutant-General SAMUEL, testimony relative to General +Winder's humane treatment of prisoners of war, 598. + +_Corinth_, our force concentrated at, before the battle of Shiloh, +55; its position, 71; a strategic point of importance, 72; Hallock +advances against it, 72; his precautions, 72; report of Sherman, 72; +intrenched approaches, 73; further report of Sherman, 73; its +position and importance, 387; attempt to capture it by Generals Van +Dorn and Price, 389; battle mainly fought by Price's division, 389; +delay in the attack, 389; course of the battle, 390; fresh troops +arrive to the enemy, 390; our army retires to Chewalla, 390; losses, +390. + +_Cotton_, measures of the United States Government to obtain our +cotton, 343; the necessity for it, 344; words of the British +Secretary of State, 344; efforts of foreign governments to obtain +increased exportation, 344; letter of Minister Adams, 344; letter of +Mr. Seward, 344; military expeditions fitted out by the United States +Government to obtain it, 345; act of the United States Congress to +"provide for the collection of duties, and for other purposes," 345; +sections of the act, 346; the President authorized by proclamation to +forbid all commercial intercourse with any of our States, 346; +forfeiture of all goods _in transitu_, and the vessel, 346; +authorized then to reopen the trade for cotton and tobacco by +licenses to the most suitable persons for the end in view, 347; no +grant of power in the Constitution to Congress to pass such an act, +or to the President to approve, in violation of his oath, 347; a +power reserved to the States to regulate commercial intercourse +between their citizens, 347; the case of Carpenter, who refused to +obtain the required permit, 128; decision of Chief-Justice Taney, +348; a civil war or any other war does not enlarge the powers of the +Federal Government over the states or people beyond what the compact +has given to it, 348; issue of the President's proclamation, 349; +military expeditions fitted out to occupy our ports where cotton and +other valuable products were usually shipped, 349; collectors +appointed and licenses granted, 349; special agents appointed to +receive and collect all abandoned or captured property, 349; views of +General Grant on the operation of this system, 350; our country +divided into thirteen districts from Wheeling to Natchez, 350; a +vigorous traffic, 350. + +_Crime of the Government of Great Britain_, in the eyes of the +Government of the United States, was the recognition of the +Confederate States as a belligerent, 272; letter of Secretary Seward, +277; the unparalleled virtue of a Queen's proclamation, 277; the +effect of one more, 277; a Mexican _pronunciamiento_ 277; +irrationality of United States Government, 278. + +_Crimes and horrors_, how easy for the Northern people, by a simple +obedience to the provisions of the Constitution, to have avoided the +commission of all these! 181. + +CRITTENDEN, General GEORGE B., statement of battle of Fishing Creek, +19; takes command, 19; position of his force, 19; advances to attack +General Thomas, 20; destitution of his men, 21; unsuccessful attack, +21; movements afterward, 21, 22. + +_Cruisers_, Confederate: the Sumter, her career, 247; no secrecy in +building the Alabama, 350; she sails from Liverpool as a +merchant-ship, 250; her name, 250; description of her, 251; changed +to a man-of-war, 251; her armament, 252; her fight with the Hatteras, +253; capture of an Aspinwall steamer, 253; her cruise, 254; arrival +at Cherbourg, 255; the Kearsarge, her size and strength, 356; +description of the fight of the Alabama with the Kearsarge, 256, 257; +comparison of the vessels, 258; the United States Government absurdly +demands from the English Government the rescued sailors, 256; reply +of Lord John Russell, 256; the Georgia, 262; her career, 262; the +Shenandoah, 263; her career, 262; the Nashville, 263; her cruise, +363; the Tallahassee, 364; the Chickamauga, 364; the cruiser Florida, +original name Oreto, 250; difficulty at Nassau; 259; arrives at Green +Kay, 259; changed to a cruiser, 259; sickness and loss of crew, 259; +arrives at Havana, 260; arrives at Mobile, 260; repaired and +equipped, 260; runs the blockade, 261; her cruise, 261; seized in the +port of Bahia, 262; taken to Hampton Roads, 262; sunk by artifice, +263; demand of Brazil, 262; letter of Mr. Seward, 263; the +circumstances of their construction, 270; Minister Adams's claim for +damages, 270; reply of Earl Russell, 270; answer of Mr. Seward to the +declaration, 271; response of Earl Russell, 271; the proceedings of +the Confederate Government relating to, justified by international +law, 274; and by its own antecedent acts, 274; fitting out cruisers +in France during the Revolutionary War, 274; action of Dr. Franklin +and Silas Deane, 275; cruise of Captain Wickes, 275; do. captain +Conyngham, 275; retaliatory action of U. S. Congress, 276. + +_Cumberland Gap_, its position and strength, 427; commanded by +Brigadier-General Frazier, 427; his force, 427: position of General +Rosecrans,427; General Burnside advances from Kentucky, 427; General +Buckner retires, 427; Frazier, seeing the futility of resistance, +surrenders, 427; note in explanation, 427; further movements of the +enemy, 428. + +CUSTER, General, marches on a raid, 504; his object, 504; coöperation +of General Kilpatrick and Colonel Dahlgren, 504; after a feeble +demonstration on some parked artillery, retreats, burning bridges +where there was no one to pursue, 507. + +DAHLGREN, Colonel JOHN, starts with General Kilpatrick, 505; proceeds +to Hanover Junction, thence to the canal West of Richmond, 505; +pillages, destroys dwellings, out-buildings, mills, canal-boats, +grain and cattle, 505; encounters a body of armory men, citizens and +clerks of Richmond, and is routed, 506; retreats, 506; attacked by +the Home Guard of King's and Queen's Counties and is killed and his +force put to flight, 506; papers found on his body, showing his +purposes, 506; his burial, 507; a denial that his conduct was +authorized, 507. + +_Damages for personal injuries_, obtained from the offender by the +State government, 452; claimed by the United States Government +against our cruisers, 283; transfer of ships to foreign owners, 284; +increase in the foreign commerce of the country, 284; decline in +American tonnage, 284; in articles of export, 284; increase in rates +of insurance, 284. + +_Danville_, arrival of the President and Cabinet, 676; routine work +of the departments resumed, 676; proclamation of the President, 676, +677. + +DAVIS, Brigadier-General J. R., movements of his brigade at the +Wilderness struggle, 519. + +DAVIS, Senator GARRETT, remarks on the confiscation act of the United +States Congress, 167. + +DAVIS, JEFFERSON, message at the third session of the Provisional +Congress, 3; the schooner, treatment of her crew by the United States +Government, 11; letter to President Lincoln relative to the crew of +the Savannah, 11; instructions relative to retaliatory measures, 11; +answer to members of Congress that requested the removal of General +A. S. Johnston, 88; letter to General A. S. Johnston on state of +affairs, 41; reply to A. S. Johnston's letter, 47; orders Bragg to +command In Mississippi, 74; detained by Beauregard, 74; command +transferred to him by Beauregard, 74; statement of the case, 75; +letter to General J. E. Johnston on the announcement of his intention +to evacuate the Peninsula and Norfolk, 92; sends General Randolph, +Secretary of War, and Mr. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy, to arrange +for the removal of stores and machinery from Norfolk, 92; +conversation with General J. E. Johnston relative to his plans before +Richmond, 101; letter to General J. E. Johnston, 103; goes to meet +him, and finds the whole army had fallen back across the +Chickahominy, 103; the explanation given, 103; remarks relative to +the situation, 103; dissatisfaction with military affairs around +Richmond, 120; conversation with Lee, 120; had no doubts that +Johnston was fully in accord in the purpose to defend Richmond until +recently, 120; his remark to his volunteer aide, 120; plan of +Johnston, 120; goes to the expected battle-field, 121; proceedings, +122; in danger of going into the enemy's camp, 128; meets General G. +W. Smith, 129; announces the assignment of Lee to the command, 129; +conversations with Lee, 131; plan for the future, 131; conversation +with Lee relative to the movements of McClellan, 132; do. with regard +to that of Jackson, 132; offensive-defensive policy inaugurated, 132; +his address on the defeat of McClellan's army, 311; letter to General +Lee on the action of the military authorities of the United States +changing the character of the war into a campaign of indiscriminate +robbery and murder, 315, 316; letter to General Lee in Maryland, 333; +letter to Governor Pettus to get every man into the field, 400; sent +a dispatch to General Bragg for aid for Vicksburg, 411; reply, 412; +response, 412; importance of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, 422; anxiety +of the Administration to hold them, 422; visits Hood's headquarters, +565; his views, 565; conference at Augusta with Beauregard and +others, 566; reply to Hood's change of programme, 569; letter to +President Lincoln, relative to prisoners captured in our privateers, +583; order relative to General Pope, 588; issues retaliatory orders +relative to Generals Hunter and Phelps, 590; efforts to seek an +adjustment of difficulties relative to the exchange of prisoners +through the authorities at Washington, 591; appoints Vice-President +Stephens as a commissioner, 591; letter of instructions, 591; letter +to President Lincoln, 593; the result, 595; conference with General +Lee on the state of affairs, 648; the programme adopted, 648; +receives a telegram from General Lee, advising the evacuation of +Richmond, 661; unprepared state of transportation, 661; receives +notice of General Lee's withdrawal, 667; arrangements, 667; starts +for Danville, 686; arrival, and resumption of routine labors, 676; +issues a proclamation, 676, 677; proposes a conference with General +J.E. Johnston, in North Carolina, 678; his letter, 678; they meet at +Greensboro, 679; state of affairs, 679; object of the conference, +680; proceedings at the conference, 680; conference between Johnston +and Sherman assented to, 681; the route of retreat, 681; supplies +placed on the route, 682; letter of General St. John, 682; do. of +Major Claiborne, 682; proceeds to Charlotte with his Cabinet, 683; +news of the assassination of President Lincoln, 683; remarks, 633; +obtains an increased cavalry force, 684; correspondence between +Generals Johnston and Sherman, 684; Sherman's interview with +President Lincoln, 684; result of the conference with Sherman, 685; +memorandum of agreement, 686; the agreement, a military convention, +687; approved, 687; letter to General Johnston, 688; the basis of +agreement rejected by the United States Government, 689; instruction +to General Johnston, 689; disobeyed, 689; proceeds from Charlotte, +690; statements of General Johnston, 690; explanation, 691; Johnston +surrenders to Sherman, 692; difference in the condition of his army +from Lee's, 692; the former's line of retreat open, and supplies on +it, 692; importance of continued resistance, 693; statement of +General Taylor, 694; the Executive should have been advised, 694; +further movements of the President, 694; his companions, 694; first +information of Johnston's surrender, 695; a small escort selected, +695; Secretary Reagan transfers the money in the Confederate Treasury +to the financial agent who had incurred liabilities, 695; Johnston +could not have been successfully pursued by Sherman, 696; +considerations, 696; thus foiled the enemy's purpose of subjugation, +696; purpose of the President, 697; forces in the trans-Mississippi +Department, 697; General E. K. Smith's address to his soldiers, 697: +the other forces of the Confederacy, 698; surrenders east of the +Mississippi, 698; the lost armed conflict of the war, 698; surrender +of General E. K. Smith, 698; the total number of prisoners paroled at +the close of the war, 699; the Shenandoah the last to float the +Confederate flag, 700; further movements of the President, 700; turns +aside to find his family; 700; apprehensions of on attack of +marauders, 701; preparations to leave, 701; awaiting nightfall, 701; +approach of the enemy, 701; surprise and capture, 701; some of the +escort escape, 702; pillage and annoyances, 703; taken to Macon, 703; +proceed to Port Royal, 704; transferred in a steamer and taken to +Hampton Roads, 704; imprisoned in Fortress Monroe, 704. + +_Delegation from the prisoners_ sent from Andersonville to plead +their cause before the authorities at Washington, 602; President +Lincoln refuses to see them, 602; the answer that the interests of +the Government of the United States required that they should return +to prison and remain there, 602; letter from the wife of the chairman +of the delegation, 603; letter from a prisoner, 603. + +"_Delightful excitement_," exclamation of Jackson in the hottest of the +battle at Port Republic, 115. + +_De Russy, Fort_, token possession of, by the enemy, 542. + +_Destruction of our institutions_, the powers of a common government, +created for the common and equal protection to the interests of all, +were to be arrayed for, 182. + +_Distinction in its nature and objects_ between the Government of the +States and the State governments, 454, 455. + +_District of Columbia_, act of Congress of United States to +emancipate slaves in, 172; right of private property guaranteed in, +by the Constitution, 173; its words, 173; conditions on which such +property might be taken under the Constitution, 173. + +_Disunion, bloodshed, and war_, the consummation verbally of the +original antislavery purposes attended with, 188. + +DIXON, Lieutenant, as an engineer examines and reports on the sites +and condition of Forts Henry and Donelson, 24. + +_Donaldsonville_, a battery elected at, which interrupts river +navigation by the enemy, 420. + +_Donelson, Fort_, reason for the selection of the site, 24; its +position, 24; report relative to the fort, 24; details of the fort +and its situation, 28; officers in command, 29; strength of force, +29; the attack, 29; fire of a gunboat, 29; boat disabled, 29; attack +of the ironclads--all their advantages overcome by our heavy guns, +30; scatter destruction through fleet, 30; it retires to Cairo for +repairs, 30; their loss, 31; effect of their fire on our batteries, +31; reënforcements to the enemy, 31; plan of the Confederate +generals, 31; condition of things, 31; vacillation of our commanders, +32; the first success and subsequent loss, 32; consultation of the +commands, 33; condition of the troops, 33; the command transferred to +General Buckner, 33; Generals Pillow and Floyd retire, 34; part of +General Floyd's force left behind, 34; advantages gained by the +enemy, 34; surrender, 34; effects, 36. + +_ Donelson and Henry_, the consequences of their loss, 36; change of +plans, 39. + +_Drury's Bluff_, a defensive position on the James River, 102; +enemy's fleet open fire on the fort, 102; injuries to the fleet, 102; +report of Lieutenant Jeffers, 102; its position and works, 511; +General Beauregard in command, 511; the battle with Butler's force, +512-514. + +"_Due diligence_"; on this foundation was based the claim for damages +by the United States Government at the Geneva Conference, 278. + +"_Due process of law_" assumed by the United States Government to +mean an act of Congress, 7. + +DUNCAN, General, had command of the coast defenses at New Orleans, +212; his report of the passage of the forts below New Orleans by the +enemy's fleet, 215; do. on their skillful and gallant defense, 216; +address to the garrisons, 217. + +_Duration of the Government of the United States_, to have declared +it perpetual would have destroyed the sovereignty of the people, +which possesses the inherent right to alter or abolish their +Government when it ceases to answer the ends for which it was +instituted, 45. + +EARLY, General JUBAL E., remarks on the line of defense constructed +by General Magruder at Warwick River, 86; resists the enemy at +Yorktown, 89; report of his conflict before Williamsburg with a force +under General Hancock, 95; further statements, 96; badly wounded and +obliged to retire, 96; engaged at the battle of Cedar Run, 817; +commands Ewell's division at Sharpsburg, 336; resists the attacks of +the enemy on Fredericksburg, 362; regains his former position, 363; +with a force drives Hunter out of the Valley, and advances to the +Potomac and crosses, 529; sends a force to strike the railroads from +Baltimore to Harrisburg, 529; puts to flight a body of troops under +Wallace, 529; approaches Fort Stevens, near Washington, 530; too +strong to assault, 530; recrosses the Potomac, 530; attacks the enemy +at Kernstown, 531; moves to Martinsburg, 531; appearance of Sheridan +with a large force, 533; Early attacks his force near Winchester, +533, 534; retires to Newton, 535; escapes annihilation by the +incapacity of his enemy, 536; withdraws up the Valley, 536; +subsequently moves down the Valley again, 536; the destruction caused +by Sheridan's orders, 536; Early reaches Fisher's Hill, 536; attacks +the enemy at Cedar Creek, 537; his plan, 537; the battle, 538; his +success and subsequent disaster, 540; his losses, 541; subsequently +confronts Sheridan's force north of Cedar Creek, 541; other attacks, +541. + +_Edith, The_, a cruiser, name changed to Chickamauga, 265; runs the +blockade under a full moon, 265; her cruise, 265. + +_Election, The_, in 1861, officers of the Provisional Government +chosen for the permanent Government, 17. + +_Elections in Maryland_, interfered with by an armed force of the +United States Government, 464, 465. + +_Elkhorn, or Pea Ridge, battle of_, 50; its object, 51; losses, 51. + +ELLIOTT, Colonel STEPHEN, Jr., refused to be relieved at Fort Sumter, +204; salutes his flag on evacuation, 204. + +_Elon, Mount_, General Butler defeats a detachment of Sherman's force +sent to tear up the railroad at Florence, 635. + +_Emancipation_, efforts of United States Congress to effect +emancipation of slaves by confiscation, 7; violation of the +Constitution, 7; efforts to effect by pillage and deportation, 8; by +President Lincolns order to military; commanders, 9; by Generals +Fremont and T. W. Sherman, 10; the first object to be secured by the +confiscation act, 169; the coöperation of the United States, +recommended by President Lincoln, 179; his reasons, 179; to be +consummated under the war-power, 179; as artful scheme to awaken +controversy in the Southern states, 179; measure approved by +Congress, 180; the terms proposed, 180, expressly forbidden by the +Constitution, 180; order of General Hunter countermanded as too soon, +181; the President claims the right to issue such a one, 181; the +proposition of emancipation with compensation, 183; its failure in +Congress, 184; the preliminary proclamation, 187; its terms, 186; the +necessity for it examined, 187. + +_Enemies and traitors_, the twofold relation in which the United +States Government sought to place us, 169; its practical operation, +169. + +_Englishmen_ cheer the Virginia in Hampton Roads, 201. + +_Events, Review of_, that brought such unmerited censure on General +A. S. Johnston, 48. + +_Evidence, Fabrication of_, attempted by some of the authorities of +of Washington in order to compass the death of the President of the +Con federate States, 498, 499; the investigation and report before +the United States Congress, 500. + +EWELL, General, engaged at the battle of Cedar Run, 317; unites with +General Jackson for operations in the Shenandoah Valley, 106; +conflict with Fremont near Harrisonburg, 113; serving as a gunner, +116; repulses the enemy at Bristoe Station, 323; commands the Second +Corps of Lee's army, 437; storms Winchester, and captures or puts +Milroy's army to flight, 439; enters Maryland, 439; encamps near +Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 440; occupies the left at Gettysburg, 443. + +_Facts on record_, such as will make our posterity blush, 167. + +FARRAGUT, Commodore, commands the enemy's fleet at New Orleans, 214; +its strength and numbers, 214; report of his passage of the forts, +216; sends a detachment to hoist the United States flag on New +Orleans Custom-House, 231. + +FARRAND, Commander, commands at Drury's Bluff, 102. + +_Fayetteville, North Carolina_, Sherman's army approaches, 632; +brutality of his forces, 632, 633; description of Sherman's march by +his historian, 633; "the pleasurable excitements of the march," 634. + +FERGUSON, General, drives off the enemy that seek to get to the +Yazoo, 395. + +"_Fire up the Northern heart_," what was signified by the expression, +386. + +_Fisher, Fort_, a movement by a force from Grant's army with the +fleet to attack below Wilmington, 645; an attempt to destroy it by +the explosion of a powder-ship, 645; its failure, 645; subsequently a +renewed attempt, 645; the attack, 645; surrender of the fort, 646. + +_Fishing Creek_, the battle of. 19; statement of General Crittenden, +19; the battle a necessity, 21; the case considered, 22; causes of +the ill success, 22; retreat of our force, 23; the question of +crossing to the light bank of the Cumberland considered, 23. + +_Five Forks_, a strong position on Lee's line assaulted and carried +by the enemy, 655. + +_Five thousand million dollars_, amount of property subject to be +acted on by the provisions of the confiscation act of the United +States Congress, 167. + +FIZER, Lieutenant-Colonel, his bold expedient to resist the crossing +of the enemy at Fredericksburg. 353. + +_Flag, The Confederate_, the Shenandoah the last to float it, 700. + +_Flagrant violation of the Constitution, Another_, the discharge of a +fugitive under the confiscation act, 176; words of the act, 176. + +FLANDERS, Messrs., citizens of New York, 482; incarcerated by the +Government of the United States in Fort Lafayette, 482; required to +take an oath of allegiance before the Government permitted their case +to be investigated, 482; the oath, 483; their refusal, 483; their +reasons, 483. + +_Fleet of the enemy_, prepared for moving down the Mississippi River, +75; its progress, 76. + +FLOYD. General, commands at Fort Donelson, 29; retires from Fort +Donelson, 34; correspondence relative to his conduct at Donelson, 40, +41. + +_Forces, The United States_, number of men brought into the field by +the Government of the United States during the war, 706. + +_Foreign powers_, our States falsely represented in every court of +Europe, 2; adopt a position of neutrality, 12. + +_Foreign relations_, recognized by leading European Governments as a +belligerent, 368; principles upon which the States were originally +constituted and upon which the Union was farmed explained, 368; +commissioners early sent abroad by us, 368; previous communications +of the Government of the United States assuming the attitude of a +sovereign over the Confederate States, and threatening Europe if it +acknowledged it as having an independent existence, 369; error of +European nations, 369; answer of foreign Governments in consequence, +369; re fuse to side with either party, 369; the consequence--a +prolongation of hostilities, 370; other matters in which less than +justice was rendered to us by "neutral" Europe, and undue advantage +given to the aggressors, 370; both parties prohibited from bringing +prizes into their ports, 370; the value of the weapon thus wrested +from our grasp, 371; their policy in reference to the blockade was so +shaped as to cause the greatest injury to the Confederacy, 371; +declaration of principles of the Paris Congress, 372; proposals that +the Confederacy should accede to it, 372; acceded to, with the +exception of privateering, 873; reasons for the exception, 373; the +passiveness of "neutral" Europe relative to its declaration, 373; the +pretension of blockading thousands of miles, 373; other blockades, +373; facts shown, 374; the mediation proposed by France to Great +Britain and Russia, 376; dispatch of the French Minister, 376; reply +of Great Britain, 378; reply of Russia, 378; communication to the +French Minister at Washington by his Government, 378; the initiative +of all measures left by foreign powers to the governments of France +and Great Britain, 379. + +FORREST, Colonel N. B., at Fort Donelson, 34; interview with Major +Brown, 34; his expedition from North Mississippi to Paducah, +Kentucky, 550; ordered to strike the railroad from Nashville to +Chattanooga, 566; his movements with General Hood's army, 574; sent +to Murfreesboro, 577. + +_Forty-two regiments and two batteries_ sent by the Government of the +United States into the State of New York to maintain the subjugation +of its sovereign people, 490. + +_France_, her proposed mediation between the belligerents, 376. + +FRANKLIN, General, his division disembarked before the evacuation of +York town, 90; his force reembarks after the evacuation of Yorktown, +97; lands near West Point and threatens the flank of our line of +march, 98. + +FRAZIER, Brigadier-General I. W., commands at Cumberland Gap, 427; +approach and strength of the enemy, 427; seeing the inutility of +resistance, surrenders on demand of General Burnside, 427; a note in +explanation by the author, 427. + +_Frazier's Farm_, the battle at, one of the most remarkable of the +war, 146; strength of forces, and losses, 147. + +_Fredericksburg_, its situation, 352; the enemy attempt to lay +bridges and cross the Rappahannock, 352; repulsed, 352; our troops +withdrawn and bridges laid, 352; attack and repulse of Burnside's +army, 354, 355; withdraws at night, 356; losses, 356; strength of +opposing forces, 356. + +_Free consent of the governed_, the only source of all "just powers" +of government, 452. + +FREMONT, General JOHN Cl, issues a proclamation confiscating real and +personal property in Missouri, 10; repulsed at Strasburg with ease, +111; follows and attacks General Ashby, 112. + +_Fugitives_, their forfeiture ordered, 2; military commanders +forbidden to interfere in their restoration, 2. + +_Galveston_, summoned to surrender, 232; the reply, 232; the state of +affairs, 233; subsequent approach of the enemy, and occupation of the +city, 233; arrival of General Magruder, 233; gathers a force to +attack the enemy, 233; protects his steamboats with cotton-bales, +234; attacks the fleet, 234; captures the Harriet Lane, 234; demands +a surrender of the enemy's fleet, 234; it escapes under cover of a +flag of truce, 235. + +GARDNER, Major-General, in command at Port Hudson, 395; yields Port +Hudson to General Banks after the capitulation of Vicksburg, 420; his +gallant defense, 421. + +GARFIELD, JAMES A., commands in north eastern Kentucky, 18. + +_Geneva Conference_, adjustment proposed by Great Britain, 283; +results in the Geneva Conference, 283; the ground of its action, 283. + +_Georgia_, the campaign of 1864; General J. E. Johnston ordered to +the command of the Army of Tennessee at Dalton, 547; total effective +strength of the army, 547; positions of the enemy, 547; an onward +movement demanded, 548; considerations relative thereto, 548; do. +presented to General Johnston, 548, 549; his approval of an +aggressive movement, 548; his proposition, 549; prompt measures taken +to enable him to carry out his proposition, 549; no movement at +tempted, 550; Sherman advances against him, 550; official returns of +the strength of the army, 550; efforts of the Government to +strengthen Johnston, 551; his position, 551; hopes of the country, +551; he withdraws from Dalton and falls back to Resaca, 552; the +position, 552; falls back from Resaca to Adairsville, 552; his +reasons, 552; a further retreat to Cassville, 553; a coming battle +announced, 553; it did not take place, 553; another retreat beyond +Etowah, 553; the position in rear of Cassville held by Generals Polk +and Hood, 553; the next stand at Alatoona, 553; Marietta evacuated, +553; the state of the country between Dallas and Marietta, 553; +engagements at New Hope Church, 554; the next stand made by General +Johnston between Acworth and Marietta, 554; character of the country, +554; death of Lieutenant General Polk, 554; brisk fighting for some +days, 555: the pressure on General G. W. Smith, 555; falling back to +the Chattahoochee, 555; losses of mills, foundries, and military +stores in these retreats, 555; position of the enemy, 555; questions +upon which there has been a decided conflict of opinion, 556; the +extreme popular disappointment, 556; the possible fall of the "Gate +City" produced intense anxiety, 556; the removal of General Johnston +demanded, 556; apprehensive of disasters that might result from it, +556; the clamors for his removal, 557; Johnston relieved and Hood +appointed, 557; letter of Hon. B. H. Hill, 557; Hood assumes command, +561; his effective strength, 562; resolved to attack the enemy, 562; +the movement fails, 562; attacks McPherson's corps, 562; various +successful expeditions, 562; Sherman moves to the south and southwest +of Atlanta, 562, 563; evacuation of Atlanta a necessity, 563; Hood +marches westerly, 563; Atlanta surrendered Sherman, 563; inhabitants +expelled by Sherman and robbed by his soldiers 564; the enemy +inactive, 564; Hood's report of the state of his army, 564; visit of +the President to his headquarters, 565; view of the situation, 565; +efforts to fill up the army, 565; action of the Governor of Georgia, +565; exemption of citizens from military service, 566; Hood moves +against the enemy's communications, 566; Forrest ordered to strike +the Nashville road, 566; improvement in the condition of Hood's army, +567; the plan of operations discussed, 567; opinion of General +Hardee, 568; proceeding: of Beauregard, 568; movements of Hood, 568; +withdraws toward Gadsden, 569; conference with Beauregard, 569; +decides to march into Tennessee, 569; telegram of General Beauregard, +569; change of programme, 569; reply, 569; Hood crosses the +Tennessee, 570; the movement ill advised, 570; Sherman's destructive +march, 570; moves from Atlanta, 571; harassed by Wheeler's cavalry, +571; Hardee at Savannah, 572; Sherman reaches Savannah, 572; Fort +McAllister taken, 572; preparations of the enemy to bombard Savannah, +572; Hardee evacuates, 573. (See HOOD, General J. B.) + +_Gettysburg_, the enemy met in from Gettysburg and driven through the +town, 440; instructions given not to bring on a general engagement, +440; statement of General Pendleton, chief of artillery, 441; +preparations for general engagement delayed, 442; the position at +Gettysburg, 442; main purpose of the movement across the Potomac, +442; Lee decides to renew the attack, 443; the position of our line, +443; the conflict of the second day, 443; Lee determines to continue +the assault, 443; general plan unchanged, 443; the continued +conflict, 444; its results, 444; army retires, 444; prisoners and +loss, 444; strength of forces, 446; the wisdom of the strategy +justified the result, 447; the battle was unfortunate, 447; +considerations, 447; most eventful struggle of the war, 448. + +GLASELL, Com. W. T., attacks the New Ironsides frigate with +torpedoes, 208. + +_Gloucester Point_, its position, 83; McClellan urges an attack in +rear, 85; a detachment could have turned it, 90. + +GORDON, General JOHN B., selected to command the sortie against Fort +Steadman, in Grant's lines before Petersburg, 649; its result, 649; +his letter furnishing details, 650-654. + +_Government permanent, The_, its inauguration welcomed, 1. + +_Government of the United States_, rejected adjustment by +negotiation, and chose to attempt subjugation, 5; the course how +pursued, 5; recognized the separate existence of the Confederate +States by an interdictive embargo and blockade of all their commerce +with United States, 5; manner in which the war was conducted, 5; not +a government resting on the consent of the governed, 6; tendency of +its actions directly to the emancipation of slaves, 9; caution of +General McClellan, 9; instructions to General T. W. Sherman, in South +Carolina, to receive all persons, whether slaves or not, 10; other +orders, 10; willing to accede to the terms of the Treaty of Paris, +12; its offer declined by foreign powers, 13; the terms upon which +the offer was made, 13; its object, in 1862, to assail us with every +instrument of destruction that could be devised, 158; all its efforts +directed to our subjugation or extermination, 159; the aid of +Congress called in, 159; did acts which it was expressly made in the +Constitution its duty to prevent, 176; words of the Constitution, +177; what all its acts consisted in, 178; has no natural rights, 181; +insincerity of her complaints to Great Britain for the construction +of our ships, 249; statement of Mr. Laird, 249; employed its +war-vessels to catch blockade-runners instead of capturing our light +cruisers on the ocean, 266; action of its State Department, 266; +appeals to Great Britain to prevent the so-called pirates from +violating international law, 267; a mortifying exhibition of +deception and unmanliness, 267; reclamation sought for, 267; what +international law recognizes, 267; effort of the United States +Government to contract in England for the construction of iron-plated +vessels, 268; other proceedings, 268; statement of Lord Russell, 268; +United States Government profited most by unjustifiable war +practices, 268; upon its interference, a State government immediately +ceases to be republican, 310; its acts of reconstruction entirely +unconstitutional, revolutionary, subversive of the Constitution, and +destructive of the Union, 310; what is it? 453; an organization of a +few years' duration, 453; it might cease to exist, and the States and +people continue prosperous, peaceful, and happy, 453; it sprang from +certain circumstances in the course of human affairs, 453; has no +warrant or authority but the ratification of the sovereign States, +453; unlike the governments of the States instituted for the +protection of the unalienable rights of man, it has only its +enumerated objects, 453; it keeps no records of property, and +guarantees no possession of an estate, 453; marriage it can neither +confirm nor annul, 453; partakes of the nature of an incorporation, +453; right of the people to alter or abolish it, 453; its duration, +454; objects, 454; distinct in its nature and objects from the State +governments, 454; its true character and intentions toward us +exposed, 580; aspirations for dominion and sovereignty, 581; the term +"loyal," its signification, 581; meaning of President Lincoln's +words, 581; hope of mankind in constitutional freedom be for ever +lost, 582; the foundation of the war, 582; the issue for which we +fought, 582; why we were called rebels, 582. + +GRANT, General U. S., starts from Cairo with a force to attack Fort +Henry, 26; strength of his force, 26; his movements, 26; moves to +invest Fort Donelson, 29; strength of his force, 29; takes command at +Pittsburg Landing, 52; condition of his army after the battle of +Shiloh, 70; masses a heavy force along the Memphis and Charleston +Railroad, 391; moves south and camps near Water Valley, 391; country +teeming with forage, 391; his object, 391; moves down the Mississippi +to Young's Point, 393; retreat to Memphis compelled by Van Dorn's +destruction of supplies at Holly Springs, 393; attempt to pass to the +rear of Fort Pemberton, 394; do. to enter the Yazoo above Haines's +Bluff, 395; Grant's army, 395; attempts to cut a canal, 396; +unsuccessful, 396; another at attempt to cut one near Milliken's +Bend, 596; lands below Vicksburg, 398; advances into Mississippi to +strike either Jackson or Vicksburg, 399; his expectation of an attack +in his rear by General Johnston, 423; preparations to resist it, 423; +statement of an officer of his army, 424; arrives at Chattanooga and +assumes command, 434; his description of the situation, 434; his +first movement, 435; other operations, 436; his plan of campaign +revealed, 510; to connect with the army of Butler on the south side +of the James, 510; appointed lieutenant-general, 515; assumes command +of armies of United States, 515; his reënforcements, 515; position of +Lee's and Grant's forces, 515; movements open to the choice of +General Grant, 516; the movement which was made, 516; Grant +encountered in the Wilderness, 516; movements of Grant to cross the +Rapidan, 516; his contest in the Wilderness, 517-520; moves to +Spottsylvania Court-House, 520; the battle there, 520, 521; heavily +reënforced, 522; his blunder at Hanover Junction, 523; crosses the +Pamunkey, 524; moves to Cold Harbor, 524; attempts to pierce or drive +back Lee's forces, 524; fearful carnage of his soldiers, 524; his +soldiers sullenly and silently decline to renew the assault, 524; his +force before he crossed the Rapidan, 525; his losses from the +Wilderness to Cold Harbor, 525; statement of Swinton, 525; crosses +the James and concentrates at Petersburg, 525, 526; makes a campaign +of a month and sacrifices a hecatomb of men, 526; his instructions to +General Butler relative to the exchange of prisoners, 599; replies to +General Lee's letters, 599, 600; dispatch to General Butler, 600; +seeks a new base on the James River, 637; advances to Petersburg, +637; the purpose of his campaign, 646; two plans open for him in the +attack on Petersburg, 646; the campaign of 1865, 647. (See +_Petersburg_.) + +_Great Britain_, her treatment of private property in wars with us, 8. + +_Greece_, recognition of her independence by the United States +Government in the war with Turkey, 276. + +GREEN, Brigadier-General MARTIN, attacks the enemy landing below +Vicksburg, 398; one of the best soldiers ii the Confederate service, +416; died a Vicksburg, 417. + +GREGG, Brigadier-General, attacked by a large body of the enemy near +Vicksburg, 404. + +_Gregg, Battery_, makes an obstinate defense with a small force, 655. + +GRIERSON, Colonel, his raid through Mississippi, 399. + +GRIFFITH, Brigadier-General RICHARD, killed near Savage Station, 141. + +_Gunboats_, efforts to construct, on the Tennessee River, 25; the +fleet prepared by the United States Government, 25; of the enemy +disabled and defeated at Fort Donelson, 30; the terror inspired by +them in the early period of the war, 240; successful contests with +them by river-boats impaired the estimate put upon them, 240; the +appearance of the Indianola, 240; fight with the Webb and Queen of +the West, 241; captured, 241; the ram Arkansas, 242; fight in the +Yazoo, 242; on the Mississippi, 242. + +_Haines's Bluff_, attempt of General Sherman to reduce our work at, +and gain the rear of Vicksburg, 392; unsuccessful, 393. + +HALLECK, Major-General H. W., assumes command of the enemy's forces +at Shiloh, 71; advances on Corinth, 71; assigned to command by enemy +in the West, 18; his threatening position, 18. + +HAMILTON, ALEXANDER, statement regarding war between the States, 5. + +HAMPTON, General WADE, attacks Kilpatrick at night, and routs his +force, 503; letter relative to burning cotton, 628; successes against +the enemy at and near Fayetteville, North Carolina, 635; endeavors to +obtain his cavalry, 689; finds it surrendered with Johnston's army, +689. + +HANCOCK, General, commands an assault at Williamsburg, 94; chivalric +remark respecting the Fifth North Carolina and Twenty-fourth Virginia +Regiments, 96. + +_Hanover Junction_, the peril of Grant's army near, 523. + +HARDEE, General W. G., commands a corps at the battle of Shiloh, 55; +holds Savannah, 571; conflict with the enemy at Bentonville, North +Carolina, 636. + +HARRIS, Governor ISHAM G., on the skill of General Hood in his +campaign, 580. + +HARVIE, LEWIS E., efforts to increase the capacity of the Danville +Railroad after the loss of the Weldon, 673. + +_Hatteras Inlet_, its position and strength, 77; attacked by military +and naval expedition of the enemy, 77; it capitulates, 77. + +HAYES, General, his regiment sadly cut up, 116; explanation, 116. + +_Hecatomb of men_ sacrificed by General Grant to reach a position to +which McClellan had already demonstrated there was an easy and +inexpensive route, 526. + +_Henry, Fort_, its position, 24; report relative to, 24; its +condition, 24; strength of our force at, 26; attacked by the enemy, +26; defended by seventy-five men while our main body retire to Fort +Donelson, 26; cannonade of the ironclads, 26; response of the fort, +27; damage to the enemy's fleet, 27; our losses, 28; surrender of the +fort, 28. + +HETH, General, stubborn resistance made by his division, 518. + +HIGGINS, Colonel, in command at the forts below New Orleans, 211; his +skill and gallantry in the defense, 218. + +_Highwayman, The_, is he henceforth to be the lord of the highway? +183. + +HILL, General A. P., advances upon Mechanicsville, 134; forces the +enemy to take refuge on the left bank of Beaver Dam, 134; reaches New +Cold Harbor, 136; becomes hotly engaged, 137; continues the pursuit +to Frazier's Farm, 142; his gallant bearing at Frazier's Farm, 146; +engaged with his division at the battle of Beaver Run, 319; reaches +Sharpsburg and reënforces General Jones in the battle there, 337; +commands the rear-guard as the army retires from Sharpsburg, 342; +drives the enemy into the Potomac, 342; his report, 342; commands the +Third Corps of Lee's army, 437; occupies the line in front of +Fredericksburg, 438; leaves for the Valley, 439; crosses the Potomac, +440; occupies the center at Gettysburg, 443; penetrates an interval +of Grant's force at Petersburg and inflicts great loss, 639; killed +in action, 655. + +HILL, Hon. BENJAMIN H., his letter relative to interviews with +General Johnston and President Davis, 557-561. + +HILL, General D. H., his services at Seven Pines, 125; forms on the +extreme left of the line, 137; drives the enemy in confusion toward +the Chickahominy, 138; gallantly engages the enemy at Malvern Hill, +168; crosses the Potomac and encamps near Frederick, 330; crosses +South Mountain and moves toward Boonesboro, 330; his position at the +battle of Sharpsburg, 335; stationed near Fredericksburg, 351. + +HOKE, General, moves against the enemy attacking Fort Fisher, 646; +retires with his small force, 646. + +HOLLINS, Commander, aids with gunboats to repulse Major-General Pope +at New Madrid, 76; commands our squadron at New Orleans, 211; +commands the river fleet at New Orleans, 222. + +_Holly Springs_, an immense depot of supplies accumulated by General +Grant for his march on Vicksburg, 391; surprised and captured by +General Van Dorn, 391; supplies destroyed, 391. + +HOLMES, General, his movement, 142; a mistake, 142; ordered by +General Lee, 142; remains under fire of enemy's gunboats, 143; +incorrect statements made, 143; their correction, 148; the fire upon +his position, 143; withdraws, 144; importance of his position +developed too late, 144; his character, 144. + +HOOD, General J. B., at Sharpsburg battle, 335; account of the +contest on the left at Sharpsburg, 339; appointed to command the Army +of Tennessee, 557; arrives at Gadsden, 573; condition of his army, +573; decides to cross the Tennessee and move against Thomas, 573; an +unfortunate delay, 573; his movements, 574; position of the enemy, +574; pursues him to Franklin, 576; position at Franklin, 576; +considerations, 576; line of battle formed, 576; the battle, 576; +moves toward Franklin, 577; position of the enemy, 577; enemy +reënforced, 578; Hood's line retreats in confusion, 578; retires +pressed by the enemy, 578; crosses the Tennessee, 579; losses, 579; +relieved, 579; moves his forces from the west to aid in the defense +of North Carolina, 630. + +HOOKER, Major-General JOSEPH, succeeds General Burnside in the +command of the Federal army, 357; resumes active operations, 357; a +feint before Fredericksburg, 358; a considerable force crosses the +fords of the Rapidan, 357; converged near Chancellorsville, 357; +attacked and repulsed by Lee, 359, 360; recrosses the Rappahannock, +364; arrival near Chattanooga, 435; his movements, 435; scales the +western slope of Lookout Mountain, 436; position of his army at +Fredericksburg in the spring of 1863, 437; retires from +Fredericksburg along the Potomac toward Washington, 439; crosses the +Potomac, 440; this menaces Lee's communications, 440. + +_Hornesboro_, left flank of the enemy under Sherman repulsed by +General Wheeler, 635. + +_Houses searched_ for arms by an armed force of the United States +Government in Baltimore, 464. + +HUGER, General, delays the evacuation of Norfolk, 99; halted at +Petersburg, 100; moves to the north side of the James River and joins +General Johnston, 100; his movements affected by the rain, 125; +statement of General Rodes, 126; his line of march, 127; the +impediments, 127; expected by Longstreet, 127; ordered to pursue the +enemy, 141; his route, 142; his progress, how delayed, 144; +encounters a battery of rifled guns, 144; it is driven off, 145; +probable effect of his non-arrival in time, 146; gallant attack at +Malvern Hill, 148; placed at the Norfolk Navy-Yard for its +protection, 202; ordered to evacuate by General Johnston, 202; order +delayed by Secretary of War, 202; the fruits of Huger's system and +energy, 202, 203. + +HUGER, Lieutenant THOMAS B., commands the McRae at New Orleans, 221. + +HUNTER, Major-General, issues an order declaring the slaves in his +department for ever free, 181; countermanded as too soon, 181. + +HUNTER, R. M. T., appointed to confer with Mr. Lincoln, 617. + +"_I have no lawful right to do so_," words of President Lincoln +relative to his interference with slavery, 160. + +IMBODEN, General, makes a demonstration toward Romney, 438; joins +Breckinridge in the upper Valley, 527. + +_Indianola, The_, a gunboat on the Mississippi, 240; her size and +force, 240; captured by our river-boats, 241. + +_Insane extravagances_, an apology for presenting such, to readers +under a constitutional Government of limited powers, 171. + +_Intention, The_, to violate our constitutional right shown, 174. + +_Interference with "the just powers" of a State_ causes a subversion +and subjugation of them, 460. + +_International law_, every restraint of, broken through by the +Government of the United States, 2; violations of, by the Government +of the United States in the pillage and deportation of private +property, 8. + +_Ironclads_, the first conflict between, 201. + +_Island No. 10_, its situation, 76; its bombardment, 76; a portion of +our force retires and the remainder surrender, 76. + +_Issue, the sole_, involved in the conflict of the United States +Government with the Confederate States, 293; an illustration, 293; +the question still lives, 294; the strife not over until the tyrant's +plea is bound in chains strong as adamant, 294; for which we fought, +582; the rights and sovereignty of the people, 582. + +_Iuka_, a force of the enemy encountered by General Little, 387; a +bloody contest, 387; enemy driven back with a loss of nine guns, 387; +Grant arrives too late, 387. + +Jackson, General T. J., rapid movements in the Shenandoah Valley, +106; attacks Port Royal, 106; arrives at Strasburg, 111; repulses +Fremont, 111; marches up the Valley. 111; reaches Harrisonburg and +turns toward Port Republic, 111; reaches Port Republic, 112; battle +with General Shields near Port Republic, 114; description of him by +General Taylor, 115; material results of this campaign in the Valley, +117; motives which influenced Jackson, 118; his object effected, 118; +recruits his forces, 118; reattacks the enemy, 118; drives him across +the Potomac, 119; plan to bring his force from the Valley to +Richmond, 131; the design masked, 131; instructions to Jackson, 131; +before reënforced, he routs the enemy and then follows Lee's +instructions, 132; directions to, under the order of battle by Lee, +133; ordered to pursue the enemy, 141; his route, 142; probable +effect of his non-arrival in time, 146; arrives on the battle-field, +147; forms his line, 147; his remark on the retreating foe, 150; +ordered with his division to Gordonsville to resist the advance of +General Pope, 312; fights the enemy at Cedar Run, 317; reënforcements +sent to, 320; his movement round the right of General Pope, 322; +attacks left flank of the enemy, 324; battle ensued, 324; enemy +retires, 324; subsequent battle of Manassas, 324; defeat of the +enemy, 326, 327; advances to intercept the retreat, 327; battle at Ox +Hill, 327; enemy escapes, 327; moves to attack Harper's Ferry, 330; +reduces Harper's Ferry, 332; extent of the surrender, 333; position +at Sharpsburg battle, 335; directed to advance toward Fredericksburg, +351; position of his corps at Fredericksburg, 354; turns the enemy's +right at Chancellorsville, 360; wounded by mistake in the darkness, +360. + +_Jackson, Mississippi_, held by General J. E. Johnston, 425; +assaulted by Sherman, 425; Johnston withdraws across Pearl River, 425. + +JENKINS, General, advances toward Winchester, 438; penetrates to +Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 439. + +JOHNSTON, General A. S., confronted by new commanders, 18; his +position altered by the loss of Forts Henry and Donelson, 36; his +preparations for retreat, 37; his successful retreat, 37; the enemy +unaware, 37; reaches Nashville, 38; public excitement, 38; +proceedings in Congress, 38; his removal asked, 38; answer of the +President, 38; Johnston's letter to the Secretary of War, 38; his +plans and further movements, 39; movements after the fall of +Donelson, 39; letter from the Secretary of War, 40; do. from the +President, 41; his reply relative to affairs, 42-47; review of the +events that brought such censure upon him, 48; his object to +concentrate at Corinth and fight the enemy in detail, 54; Grant first +and Buell afterward, 54; forces sent to him, 54; Bragg's account of +Johnston's efforts, 34; orders of battle at Shiloh, 55; the march, +55; its progress, 56; exclamation, "This is not war," 56; delay and +its cause, 56; his purpose, 57; his telegram to the President, 57; +the answer, 57; importance of an early attack, 57; conference with +generals, 60; progress of the battle, 58, 59; death of Johnston, 66; +circumstances, 66; case of Turenne, 68; incident at Buena Vista, 68. + +JOHNSON, ANDREW. Lincoln, President, appoints Andrew Johnson military +Governor of Tennessee, 285; his object, 285. + +JOHNSON, Colonel BRADLEY T., harasses the rear of General Judson +Kilpatrick, 505. + +JOHNSTON, General JOSEPH E., ordered to the Peninsula of Virginia, +84; directed to proceed and examine the condition of affairs, 86; +recommends the abandonment of the Peninsula, 86; the recommendation +discussed, 87; anticipates that McClellan will soon advance and +attack Centreville, 87; his plan of operation in the Peninsula, 87; +writes to Commander Tatnall to proceed with the Virginia to York +River, 90; announces his intention to evacuate Yorktown, 92; policy +before Richmond, 101; remark that he expected to give up Richmond, +120; his plan for attacking McClellan, 120; unexpected firing, 122; +assigned to the Southern Department, 402; reply to General +Pemberton's request for cavalry, 402; orders to General Johnston, +403; telegram to the Secretary of War, 404; stops at Jackson and +corresponds with Pemberton, 405; dispatch to General Pemberton, 405; +reply, 406; further dispatches, 408; telegrams to the President and +Secretary of War, 412; communication to Pemberton, 413; entertained +quite different views from General Pemberton, 422; efforts to supply +the army of the former, 423; his message to General Pemberton, 423; +reply to the suggestion of relieving Port Hudson, 423; another +report, 423; falls back to Jackson after the surrender, 424; +appearance of the enemy, 424; extract from his report, 424; movements +of Sherman, 424; withdraws from Jackson, 426; directed to assume the +command of the Army of Tennessee, 547; total effective of the army, +547; position of the enemy's forces, 547; an onward movement +demanded, 548; considerations presented to General Johnston, 548; his +approval of an aggressive movement, 548; his proposition, 549; his +subsequent movements, 550-557; clamors for his removal, 557; +relieved, and Hood appointed, 557; put in command of the troops in +North Carolina, 631; relieves General Beauregard, 631; instructions +from General Lee, 632; Johnston's force, 632; his movements, 632; his +purposes, 634; takes position at Smithfield. 635; failure to +concentrate against the enemy's left wing, 636; moves to Raleigh, +637; conference with the President, 679-681; correspondence with +General Sherman, 684; the idea of a universal surrender, 699. + +JOINVILLE, Prince de, describes the effect produced by the refusal of +President Lincoln to send McDowell's corps to reënforce General +McClellan, 90; extract from his letter, 90. + +JONES, Lieutenant Catesby Ap R., commands the Virginia in the combat +with the Monitor, 200; signals the Monitor to renew the combat +without success, 201. + +JONES, General J. K., at Sharpsburg battle, 335. + +JONES, General SAMUEL, commanded in southwest Virginia, 426. + +JONES, General W. E., encounters Hunter in the Valley, and is killed, +529. + +_Just powers_ of government, only those which are derived from the +free and unconstrained consent of the governed, 2252; object and end +for which they are derived, 452. + +KEARNEY, Major-General, left dead on the field, 327. + +_Kelly's Ford_, attack and surprise of the enemy at, 449. + +KENNON, Lieutenant BEVERLY, sinks the Varuna at New Orleans, 221; his +report, 221. + +KENT, Chancellor, on the rights of belligerents, 271. + +_Kentucky_, the first step taken for the subjugation of the State +government and the people consisted in an interference, by an armed +force, of the Government of the United States with the voters at the +State election, 468; object to secure the rejection of as many votes +as possible antagonistic to the emancipation measures of the +Government of the United States, 468; none allowed to be candidates +but its friends, 468; martial law declared by General Burnside, +commander of the Department of Ohio, 468; orders regulating the +election issued by military commanders in the State, 469; armed +soldiers stationed at the polls, 469; the result, 469; statement of +the Governor,469; its meaning, 470; negroes enrolled as soldiers by +the United States Government, 470; verbal arrangement effected at +Washington by the Governor, 470; his complaint of its offensive +violations, 470; arrest of peaceful citizens by soldiers of the +United States Government, 470; outrages described by the Governor, +470; declaration of martial law throughout the State by President +Lincoln, and the suspension of the writ of _habeas corpus_, 471; a +large number of eminent citizens arrested by the military force of +the Government of the United States, 471; judges, merchants, and +young women banished from the State without a trial or hearing, 471; +at a State election for Judge of the High Court of Appeals, the +commanding General of the United States Government orders that the +name of the Chief-Justice shall not be allowed to appear on the +poll-books as a candidate, 472; the duties of the Governor relating +to elections, 472; twenty thousand slaves enlisted in the armies of +the Government of the United States, 472; United States Congress +passes an act declaring that the wives and children of these soldiers +shall be free, 473; everything swept away by the emancipation +proclamation, 473. + +_Kernstown_, the enemy at, attacked by Early, 531; routs him, 531. + +KERSHAW, General, moves his division toward Amelia Court-House, 662. + +KILPATRICK, General, marches to make a dash on Richmond, 505; +harassed in his rear by Colonel Bradley T. Johnson and sixty +Marylanders, 505; reaches the defenses of Richmond, 505; an +engagement, 505; retreats and is attacked at night by General Wade +Hampton, 505; enemy fled on a gallop, 505. + +KINGSBURY, Lieutenant, remark relative to the battle of Buena Vista, +68. + +_Kinslon, North Carolina_, a body of Sherman's force attacked and +routed by General Bragg, 635. + +LAIRD, Mr., senior, applied to, to build vessels for the Northern +Government, 248; his statement in the British House of Commons, 248; +extracts from, letters, 248; statement of the condition of the +Alabama when she sailed, 249; presents records of the Custom-House on +exports to Northern States, 249. + +LAMB, Colonel, seriously wounded in the defense of Fort Fisher, 646. + +_Language of the Governor of Maryland_, on the interference by the +United States Government with the State elections, 465, 466. + +_Last fragments of the Constitution_ to be thrown aside to secure our +subjugation, 170. + +_Law, International_, on the capture and confiscation of private +property in war, 163. + +LAWTON, General A. R., ordered to unite with Jackson in the Valley, +133; at Sharpsburg battle, 335; quartermaster of the Confederate +army, 647. + +LEE, General Robert E., assumes command of the Carolinas and Florida, +80; his plans for coast defense, 80; the system he organized, 80; its +success, 81; takes command of the army around Richmond, 130; +commences the construction of earthworks, 130; plans for the future, +131; answer to the President, 132; his order of battle in the attack +on General McClellan, 134; advances against General Pope, 312; battle +of Cedar Run, 317; its success, 320; enemy falls back, 320; moves up +the Rappahannock, 321; skirmishes along the fords, 321; Jackson +crosses the river, but falls back owing to a storm, 321; Longstreet +ordered to his support, 322; position of Jackson, 322; position of +the enemy, 322; forces ordered from Richmond, 322; plan of operations +now determined on, 322; movement of Jackson round the right of Pope's +army, 322; Manassas Junction depot captured at night, 323; Ewell +repulses the enemy at Bristoe Station and joins Jackson, 323; +position of General Pope, 323; Taliaferro halts at the Manassas +battle-field, 324; joined by Hill and Ewell, 324; attack of Jackson +on enemy's left flank, 324; enemy retire, 324; battle of Manassas, +324; retreat of the enemy, 326; night puts an end to the pursuit, +327; enemy retreats to Washington, 327; strength of forces, 328; +losses, 328; marches toward Leesburg, 328; decided to cross the +Potomac, 329; reasons for the decision, 329; the plan, 330; movements +of the divisions, 330; slow advance of the enemy, 331; order of +General Lee found by the enemy, 331; facts relative to the lost +order, 331; action at Boonsboro Gap, 332; retires to Sharpsburg, 382; +Harper's Ferry reduced by General Jackson, 332; forces concentrated +at Sharpsburg, 333; letter from the President, 333; address to the +people of Maryland by General Lee, 333; concentrates at Sharpsburg, +334; fights the battle at Sharpsburg, 335, 336; strength of Lee's +army, 338; position of his forces on the next day, 338; withdraws his +army south of the Potomac, 338; moves to Martinsburg and then to the +vicinity of Bunker Hill, 338; the contest on the left, 389; strength +of armies and losses, 342; advances to Fredericksburg, 351; takes a +position to resist an advance of the enemy after crossing the river, +352; advance of Burnside to lay bridges, 352; repelled with great +slaughter, 352, 353; Lee's forces in order and position, 354; the +attack by Burnside's army, 354, 355; its repulse, 355; withdrawn in +the night, 356; a period of inactivity ensues, 357; distribution of +his army, 357; some unimportant engagements, 357; movements of the +enemy indicate the resumption of active operations, 357; our +dispositions made with a view to resist a direct advance, 357; leaves +sufficient to hold the lines and moves the rest of his force toward +Chancellorsville, 358; his successful attack upon Hooker, 359, 360; +in full possession of the field, 361; enemy's successful attack +before Fredericksburg, 362; threatens our communications, 362; +reënforcements sent to Salem Church, 362; enemy repulsed and broke, +363; attack renewed on Hooker, 364; enemy recrosses the river and +retires from Fredericksburg, 364; reorganizes his forces in the +spring of 1863, 437; decides by a bold movement to attempt to +transfer hostilities to the north side of the Potomac, 437; movement +of his forces, 438; further movements, 439, 440; concentrates at +Gettysburg, 440; decides to renew the attack of the first day, 443; +the conflict, 443; determines to continue the conflict, 443; retires +toward the Potomac, 444; crosses, 445; strength of his army at +Gettysburg, 446; do. of Meade, 446; losses, 446; his report, 446; +testimony of General Meade, 447; moves to attack the flank of the +enemy, 449; result, 449; affair at Kelly Ford, 449; puts his troops +in motion soon as Grant's movement was known, 517; his troops +encountered near Old Wilderness tavern, 517; the engagement, 517; +further movements, 518; the line of battle, 518; the struggle, 518; +the adversary completely foiled, 518; the attack renewed, 519; Lee +comes on the field, 519; the assault checked, 519; attack on the +left, 519; the foe surprised and routed, 519; Longstreet wounded by +mistake, 520; on the next day an attack on the right and left flank, +520; Grant makes a rapid flank movement to Spottsylvania Court-House, +520; Lee's movement in advance, 520; on the next day the armies swung +round on their advance and confronted each other in line of battle, +521; a proud scene for Mississippians, 521; the contest of the day, +521; capture of General E. Johnson and most of his division, 522; +divines Grant's objective point and frustrates him, 528; the peril of +Grant's army, 528; reënforcements to Lee, 524; Grant's movements to +Cold Harbor, 524; fruitless efforts of Grant to drive back Lee's +forces, 6524; fearful carnage of the enemy, 524; his force on the +Rapidan with which to meet Grant, 525; his letter to General Halleck +relative to the execution of William B. Mumford, 590; letters to +General Grant relative to the exchange of prisoners, 599, 600; +crosses the James at Drury's Bluff, 637; occupies the intrenchments +at Petersburg, 638; his defense of, 640; conference with the +President on the state of affairs, 648; the programme adopted, 648; +presents the idea of a sortie, 649; adopted, 649; its failure, 650; +his letter to the President stating final movements, 660. + +LEE, General G. W. C., moves his division from Chapin's Bluff to +retreat from Richmond, 662; his promotion, 664. + +LEE, General W. H. F., watches the fords of the Rappahannock with his +cavalry, 352; repulses a cavalry expedition near Ream's Station, 639. + +_Legislature of a State_, some of its members seized and confined in +a distant prison, 2. + +_Liberty_, its fundamental principles denied by the action of the +Government of the United States in Tennessee, 456; the people the +source of all power, 460. + +_Life, personal liberty, and property_, their protection to be could +only in the State governments, 451. + +LINCOLN, President, his message, 6; recommends the colonization of +the negroes at some places in a climate congenial to them, 6; refuses +the repeated requests of General McClellan for McDowell's corps, 91; +writes to McClellan, 91; do. on the strength of his forces, 91; +relative to request for Parrott guns, 92; words of his inaugural +relative to the institution of slavery, 160; the principle thus +announced, 160; message to Congress saying, "It is startling to think +that Congress can free a slave within a State," 169; how the deed +should be attempted, 169; a deceptive use of language, 170; message +to Congress approving the act to emancipate slaves in the District of +Columbia, 172; extract, 172; previous action of Congress, 172; a +series of usurpations by, 178; recommends the adoption of a +resolution that the United States ought to coöperate with any State +which might adopt the gradual abolition of slavery, 179; his reasons +for the measure, 179; objections, 179; his proclamation declaring the +emancipation proclamation of General Hunter void, 181; extract, 181; +his subsequent remarks, 181; remarks to border States Representatives, +183; charges of remissness of his abolition supporters, 185; demands +of Chicago Christians of, 186; answer of Mr. Lincoln, 186; declaration +of his intentions in the proclamation of April 15, 1861, 189; his +declaration under oath, 189; his declarations to the Cabinets of Great +Britain and France, 190; object of such declarations, 190; his boast of +the effect of his emancipation proclamation, 192; the facts presented, +192; his proclamation for making a Union State out of a fragment of a +Confederate State, 297; his reliance on the "war power" declared, +298; declines to prevent the interference with the elections in +Maryland by an armed force of the United States Government, 465; +announcement of his terms of peace, 612; meets our commissioners at +Hampton Roads, 618; results, 619; statement in his message to +Congress on December 6, 1864, 620; the words of his inauguration +oath, 620; words of the Constitution, 621; his words, 621; the +Constitution the supreme law, 621; his oath, 621. + +LITTLE, General HENRY, services at the battle of Pea Ridge, 51; +attacks Rosecrans near Iuka, 387; a bloody contest, 387; he is +killed, 387; remarks, 387. + +LONG, General A. L., description of our coast defenses, 79. + +LONGSTREET, General JAMES, report on battle at Seven Pines, 124; +ordered to attack, 127; explains the delay, 127; made the attack +successfully by aid of Hill, 127; ordered to make a diversion in +favor of Hill, 137; the feint converted into an attack, 137; +continues the pursuit to Frazier's Farm, 145; manner in which he led +his reserve to the rescue at Frazier's Farm, 146; joins Jackson at +Manassas, 324; crosses South Mountain and moves toward Boonsboro, +330; his position at Sharpsburg, 335; occupies the left at +Fredericksburg, 353; recalled from the James River to Chancellorsville, +363; commands the left wing at Chickamauga, 432; besieges Burnside in +Knoxville, 436; moves to Virginia and joins Lee, 436; commands the First +Corps of Lee's army in the spring of 1863, 437; movement to draw Hooker +farther from his base, 439; crosses the Potomac, 440; occupies the right +at Gettysburg, 443; drives the enemy back at the Wilderness struggle, 519; +severely wounded by mistake, 519; further movements, 519. + +LORD CHIEF BARON of the Exchequer, his charge in England in the case +of our ship the Alexandra, 272; the rights of belligerents, 272, 273. + +LORING, General, joins General Bowen near Grand Gulf, 402. + +_Louisiana_ proceedings of General Butler after the occupation of New +Orleans, 287; martial law declared and a military Governor appointed, +287; atrocities committed upon the citizens, 287, 288; Order No. 28, +289; cold-blooded execution of William B. Mumford, 289; local courts +set up, 290; military power attempts to administer civil affairs, +290; order of President Lincoln creating a State court, 290; words of +the Constitution, 292; the court a mere instrument of martial law, +292; asserted his right to do so on the ground of necessity, 292; the +doctrine of necessity considered, 293-295; election of members of +Congress on proclamation of the military Governor, 296; what the law +required, 296; its violation sustained by Congress, 296; proclamation +of President Lincoln to make a State out of a fragment of a State, +297; a so-called election for State officers and members of a State +Constitutional Convention held, 301; so-called State Convention, 302; +attempts to amend the State Constitution, 302; Louisiana not a +republican State, 302; not instituted by the consent of the governed, +302; attempt by the United States Government to enforce a fiction, +302; subversion of the State government, 458; registration of voters +required by the United States Government, 458; the oath, 458; +punishment of perjury threatened, 458; proclamation entering an +election of State officers, 458; further conditions, 458; effect of +these proceedings, 459; effect of these proceedings was to establish +a number of persons pledged to support the United States Government +as voters and State government, 459; this work could be done only by +the sovereign people, 459. + +_Louisiana_, an iron-clad, her capacity, 219; destroyed, 219; her +incomplete condition at the defense of New Orleans, 220. + +LOVELL, General, sent with a brigade to Corinth, 54; expresses +satisfaction with the land defenses at New Orleans, 213; evacuates +the city, 217; at New Orleans after the fleet passed the forts, 222; +withdraws his force, and public property, 223. + +"_Loyal_," the word, its signification, 581. + +"_Loyalty or disloyalty_," the only distinction among citizens of the +Northern States, in their relation to the Government of the United +States, 488. + +MADISON, James, statement regarding war between the States, 5. + +MAFFITT, Captain JOHN N., takes command of the cruiser Florida, 259; +detained in Nassau by yellow fever, 259; sails for Havana, 260; goes +to Mobile for equipment of his vessel, 260; enemy's fleet gather off +the harbor to prevent his escape, 260; runs the blockade and +skillfully evades the enemy, 260; his cruises, 261; fits out the +tender Clarence, 261; captures of the Florida, 261; Maffit, through +sickness, relieved of the command, 261. + +MAGRUDER, General JOHN B., in command on the Virginia Peninsula, 83; +constructs an intrenched line across the Peninsula at Warwick River, +83; his force, 83; the form and construction of the line to resist +McClellan's advance, 83; other means of defense, 84; a second line +constructed near Williamsburg, 84; his position on the arrival of +General McClellan, 84; its advantages, 85; falls back to the line of +Warwick River, 85; his labor in constructing and strengthening his +defenses, 86; statement of General Early, 86; attempts to break his +line, 88; he orders sorties, 88; the enemy in strong force, 89; +compelled by illness to leave his division, 94; deficiency of land +transportation on the withdrawal from Yorktown, 94; constructed +defenses at Williamsburg, 94; ordered to pursue the enemy, 141; +attacks, 141; gallant attack at Malvern Hill, 148; assigned command +of the Department of Texas, 233; his conflict in Galveston Harbor +with the enemy's fleet, 234; his success, 234; his report, 235. + +_Magruder, Fort_, the largest work at Williamsburg, 94. + +_Malvern Hill_, its situation, 147; occupied by McClellan's army, +147; its position, 147; arrangement of our army, 147; use of +artillery impracticable, 148; a general advance ordered, 148; not +simultaneous, 148; the attack on the right, 148; approach of +darkness, 149; nearness of the combatants after the conflict closed, +149; an informal truce established, 140; rain in the morning, and the +enemy's position entirely deserted, 149; evidence of precipitate +retreat, 149; the foe at Harrison's Landing, 150. + +MALLORY, Secretary S. R., his efforts to complete the construction of +vessels for the defense of New Orleans, 226, 227; inquiries relative +to the raft below New Orleans, 229. + +_Manassas_, the second battle at, 324: retreat of the enemy, 326; +night put an end to the pursuit, 327. + +MANN, DUDLEY, our representative in Belgium, 368. + +_Mansfield_, battle at, between the forces of General Taylor and +General Banks, 542. + +_Maritime war_, the losses of, briefly stated, 282. + +MARCY, WILLIAM E., on the capture of private property in war, 163. + +_Marque, letters of_, issued by the President of the Confederate +States, 582; vessels captured, 582; treatment of the prisoners, 582; +opinion of United States Court, 582. + +MARSHALL, General HUMPHREY, opposed to Colonel Garfield in Kentucky, +18; strength of his force, 18; falls back as Garfield advances, 18; +takes position at at Middle Creek, 19; attacked by Garfield, 19; +report of Marshall, 19; result, 19. + +MARSHALL, Chief-Justice JOHN, on the capture and confiscation of +private property, 163. + +_Marshals, Provost-General_ and special, appointed by the Government +of the United States in all the Northern States, 495; their duties, +495; civil officers and soldiers made subject to their orders, 495; a +military control established in every Northern State by the +Government of the United States, 496. + +_Maryland_, a military force of United States Government occupies +Baltimore, 460; order of the commander declaring martial law, 461; +this force had no constitutional permission to come into Maryland, +461; the civil government suspended, 461; where were the "just +powers" of the State government at this time, 461; suspended by the +commanding General, 461; invasion of some of the unalienable rights +of the citizens, 461; provisions of the United States Constitution, +462; instances of the violations of personal liberty, 462; case of +John Merryman, 463; number of personal arrests in one month, 464; +seizure of newspapers, 464; houses searched for arms, 464; +interference with the State elections by armed force of the United +States Government, 464, 465; President declines to prevent it, 465; +proclamation of the Governor, 465, 466; result, 466; Constitutional +Convention assembled, 467; objections to the Constitution, 467; +voters required to take an oath previous to voting at an election +where the adoption or rejection of the oath was one of the issues, +467; the so-called Constitution declared adopted and the slaves +emancipated, 467; cautious and stealthy proceedings of the United +States Government, 468. + +MASON, JOHN M., our representative in London, 368. + +MAURY, Captain W. L., commands the cruiser Georgia, 263. + +_McAllister, Fort_, taken by Sherman's force, 572. + +MCCLELLAN, General GEORGE B., cautions the authorities at Washington +against their emancipation measures, 9; assigned to the chief command +of army of the United States, 18; presents an argument to President +Lincoln against an advance by Centreville and Manassas, but in favor +of a movement down the Chesapeake Bay into the Rappahannock River, +82; his reconnaissance, 82; its results stated by him in a letter, +82; the latter movement approved, 82; reason for ordering his +transports to Washington, 83; concentrates at Fortress Monroe, 83, +84; advances up the Peninsula, 85; repulsed in several assaults at +Yorktown, commences a siege by regular approaches, 85; letter to +Secretary Stanton on the strength of our forces, 85; reports the +strength of his own force, 86; his views at Yorktown, 89; testimony +before the Committee on the Conduct of the War, 89; report on the +affair between Hancock and Early at Williamsburg, 94; statement of +General Early, 94; testimony at the court-martial of McDowell, 105; +his position regarded as critical, 135; reasons, 135; his failure +apparently anticipated by the United States Government, 135; +reënforcements to, cut off, 135; position behind Powhite Creek, 136; +retreats from Frazier's Farm to Malvern Hill, 147; its situation, +147; his position, 147; his letter on the manner of conducting the +war, 314; part of his forces leave Westover, 320; report of his +strength at Sharpsburg, 342; moves his army southward from +Sharpsburg, 351; approaches Fredericksburg, 351; removed from +command, 351. + +MCCOWN, Brigadier-General J. P., as signed to command of Island No. +10, 52. + +MCCULLOCH, General BEN, killed in the battle of Pea Ridge, 50. + +MCLAWS, General, ordered to seize Maryland Heights, 330; embarrassed +by the presence of the enemy, 333; marches to Sharpsburg, 333. + +MCRAE, Colonel, succeeds to the command after General Early retires +wounded at Williamsburg, 96; report of subsequent events, 96. + +MEADE, General GEORGE G., succeeds General Hooker, 443; his position +at Gettysburg, 443; continues to strengthen his line, 444; his +opinion that an attack on Lee would have resulted disastrously, 445; +his testimony, 447; moves a force to Madison Court-House, 504; a +feint to engage the attention of Lee, 504; other plans for the +surprise and capture of Richmond, 504. + +_Medicines_, proposal by our commissioner to purchase medicines of +the United States authorities, to be used exclusively for the relief +of the Union prisoners, 602; no reply ever received, 602. + +_Memphis_, advance of the enemy's fleet toward, 77; encounters our +fleet and has one ram disabled, 77; our fleet retires, 77; occupation +of the town by the enemy no longer disputed, 77. + +MERRYMAN, JOHN, seized in his bed by an armed force of the United +States Government, 463; writ of _habeas corpus_ granted, 463; +disobeyed, 463; decision of Chief-Justice Taney, 463. + +_Military commissions_, two trials before, filled the country with +horror, 496; specification in the first, 496; for the assassination +of the President, 496; the sentence, 496; insertion of the name of +the President of the Confederate States among those of the +conspirators, an exhibition of the malignancy of the Government of +the United States, 496; the case of Mrs. Surratt awakened much +sympathy, 497; efforts to obtain a respite, 497; the trial of Major +Wirz, 497; proclamation of President Johnson against the President of +the Confederate States, 497; the condemnation of Wirz, 498; efforts +to prevail upon him to implicate the President of the Confederate +States in the great mortality of Northern soldiers as prisoners, 498; +declaration of Mr. Louis Schade, of Washington, 498; letter of +Captain C. B. Winder, 499; do. of Rev. F. E. Boyle, 499; order of +General Burnside in Ohio, 501; comments of C. L. Vallandigham on the +order, 501, 502; his arrest, trial, and sentence to imprisonment in +Boston Harbor, 502; letter of Governor Seymour on the military +usurpation, 502; similar proceedings in Indiana, Illinois, +Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Vermont, 502, 503. + +_Military power_, its attempt to administer civil affairs, 290; a +subversion of fundamental principles, 290. + +_Mine Run_, unsuccessful movement of General Meade, 449; his loss, +450. + +_Mississippi, west of_, active operations in the beginning of 1862, +49. + +_Mississippi River_ surrendered by the loss of Vicksburg and Port +Hudson, 425. + +_Missouri_, proposal of President Lincoln to make an irrepealable +compact with, 180; forbidden by the Constitution, 180; its words, +180; a proposal to the State to surrender its sovereignty, 180; most +conciliatory propositions of the Governor rejected by the Government +of the United States, 473; he calls fifty thousand State militia into +active service for the purpose of repelling invasion and for the +protection of the lives, liberty, and property of the citizens, 473; +his words, 473; order from Washington to the commanding General, 474; +this order a pretext for domestic violence, 474; terms of the +Constitution on which the Government of the United States may +interfere in a State, 474; the bravery of the Governor, 474; charged +by the Government of the United States with purposes of treason, 474, +475; words of the military commander, 475; troops of United States +Government poured into the State, 475; proceedings of the State +Convention, 475; violations of constitutional principles committed, +475; final proceedings, 476. + +_Mexico_, our treatment of private property in the war with, 8. + +_Mobile Harbor_, its defenses, 205; torpedoes also used, 205; combat +with Admiral Farragut's fleet, 206; quite creditable to the +Confederacy, 206; bombardment of the forts, 207; torpedoes, 209. + +_Money in the Confederate Treasury_, transferred to the financial +agent of the Government by Secretary Reagan, 695. + +MONROE, JOHN T., the Mayor of New Or leans, 231; reply to the demands +of Commodore Farragut, 231. + +_Monstrous crime, A_, fearlessly charged as committed by the +Government of the United States against Constitutional liberty in the +subversion and subjugation of the State governments, 453. + +MORGAN, General, attacks a brigade of the enemy at Hartsville, 384; +the brigade surrenders, 384; defeats the efforts of the enemy in the +Shenandoah Valley, 527. + +MORRIS, Captain C. M., commands the cruiser Florida, 261; enters the +harbor of Bahia, 262; ship seized by the enemy, 262. + +MOTT, Colonel CHRISTOPHER, killed at Williamsburg, 99; a brave +soldier in the war with Mexico, 99. + +MUMFORD, WILLIAM B., his cold-blooded execution by Major-General +Butler at New Orleans, 289; letter of General Lee to General Halleck, +relative to the execution of, 590. + +_Murfreesboro_, position of General Bragg at, 384; his strength. 384; +Rosecrans advances to attack him, 384; Rosecrans's strength, 384; +position of our line, 384; conflict begun by General Bragg, 385; +result of the series of engagements, 385. + +MURRAY, E. C, contracts for building the Louisiana at New Orleans, +225; his testimony, 225. + +_Muskets_ of obsolete patterns and shotguns used by our soldiers at +Fishing Creek, 22. + +_Nashville_, effect of its evacuation by General A. S. Johnston, 40; +demands for his removal, 40; Congress takes the matter in hand, 40. + +_Navy Department, The_, its organization, 194; two classes of vessels, +104; discussions and experiments relative to floating batteries, 194; +agreement relative to Norfolk Navy-Yard, 195; disregarded, 195; +destruction of property, 196; the Merrimac transformed into the +ironclad Virginia, 196; her trial-trip, 196; her consorts, 196; fleet +of the enemy, 197; the Virginia makes an attack, 197; destruction of +the frigate Cumberland, 197; destruction of the frigate Congress, +198; Buchanan wounded, 199; appearance of the Monitor, 199; Virginia +attacks and drives her into shoal water, 200. + +"_Necessity_," pleaded by Congress to justify its usurpations of +power, 161; extent of this power from necessity, 179; the existence +of the necessity tested, 187; the doctrine of, incorporated as an +unwritten clause of the Constitution of the United States, 293; what +is this necessity? 293; a fundamental maxim, 293; no man can be +trusted with the exercise of power and be the judge of its limits, +293; the grants of power in the Constitution limited, 293; limits all +disregarded, and the people accepted the plea of necessity, 293; a +fatal subversion of the United States Constitution, 293; the sole +issue of the war, 293; the question still lives, 294; all nations and +peoples that adopt a confederated agent of government will become +champions of our cause, 295. + +_Neutrality, Peaceful, of a State_, all propositions for, refused by +the Government of the United States, 2. + +_Neutral nations_, what is their duty under international law with +regard to the construction and equipment of cruisers for either +belligerent, and the supply of warlike stores, 269; proceedings of +the United States after the Revolutionary War, 269; demands of the +British plenipotentiary, 269; reply of Mr. Jefferson, 269; the +admission of Washington, 270; attempt of United States Government to +contract, if successful, would have been a direct violation of +international law, 270; circumstances of the construction of our +cruisers, 270; Minister Adams's claim for damages, 270; Earl +Russell's reply, 270; Mr. Seward's answer to Earl Russell, 271; the +response of the latter, 271; views of Chancellor Kent, 271; views of +President Pierce in a message to Congress, 272; charge of the Lord +Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 272, 273. + +_New Ironsides_, attacks on her with torpedoes, 208. + +_New Madrid_, assaulted by Major-General Pope, 76; assault repulsed +three times, 76; the place evacuated, 76. + +_New Orleans_, its importance, 210; numerous approaches for an +attacking party, 210; an attack apprehended to come from up the +river, 210; the bar at the mouth of the river, 211; means of defense +in preparation, 211; the forts, 211; their armament, 211; their +condition stated by General Duncan, 212; the garrisons, 212; the +construction of a raft, 212; repeated failures, 212; general plan of +defense for the city, 213; two lines of works, 213; course of the +exterior one, 213; course of the interior one, and its location, 213; +opinion of General Lovell, 213; guns on the interior line of defense, +213; the ironclads, 214; the main reliance for defense on the forts, +with the obstructions, 214; force of the enemy's fleet, 214; +bombardment of the forts, 214; preparations to pass the forts, 214; +movements of the fleet, 215; Duncan's report of its passage of the +forts, 215; further movements of the fleet, 216; statement of General +Smith respecting the forts on the river, 216; do. of General Duncan, +216; the effect of the darkness of the night, 216; surrender of the +city demanded, 217; evacuated by General Lovell, 217; surrender of +the forts demanded, 217; refused, 217; address of General Duncan to +the garrisons, 217; skill and gallantry of Colonel Higgins, 218; +revolt of the garrison of Fort Jackson, 218; forts surrendered, 219; +destruction of the Louisiana, 219; state of the other defenses +afloat, 220; damage to the enemy's fleet, 221; loss of the Varuna, +221; action of other vessels, 221; confusion in the city when the +fleet arrived, 222; batteries below the city, 222; the city saved +from bombardment, 223; General Lovell retires with his force, 223; +causes assigned for the fall of, 224; their consideration, 224; its +fall a great disaster, 225; attack on the naval constructors and +Secretary of the Navy, 225; testimony, 226; efforts of the Secretary, +226; number of guns sent to, 228; iron plates not to be procured, +228; laboratory at, 228; Commodore Farragut demands the surrender of +the city, 231; request that the United States flag shall be hoisted +on public buildings, 231; reply of the Mayor, 231; Farragut sends a +detachment to hoist and guard the flag, 231; arrival of General +Butler, 232; a reign of terror, pillage, and a long train of +infamies, 232; brief reference to the history of the city, 231. + +_New York_, its subjugation, 477; unalienable right of the people +left without a protector, 477; ringing of a little bell, 478; +proceedings at the arrest and imprisonment of an individual, 478; +number arrested and imprisoned, 478; safeguards of the citizen for +the protection of his unalienable rights, 479; what they were in New +York, 479; worthless as the paper on which they were printed, 479; +further safeguards in the Constitution of the United States, 479; the +writ of _habeas corpus_ and the only conditions on which it can be +suspended, 480; instances of the violations of the safeguards of the +citizens in New York by the Government of the United States, 481; +President Lincoln adopts them as his act, 481; utter disregard of the +writ of _habeas corpus_ in New York, 481; the Constitution, the laws, +the courts, the Executive authority of the State, subverted and +turned from the end for which they were instituted, 482; opinion of +Mr. Justice Nelson on the military proceedings of the Government of +the United States, 482; prison of New York Harbor overflows, 482; +surplus sent to Boston Harbor, or Washington, or Baltimore prisons, +482; attempt to relieve them by sending persons to investigate the +cases of those willing to take an oath of allegiance to the +Government of the United States, 482; made a condition precedent that +the prisoner should take the oath, 482; the oath, 483; case of +Messrs. Flanders who refuse the oath, 483; words of the Constitution +declaring that the accused shall have the right of counsel, 484; +Government of the United States refuses to recognize the counsel of +prisoners, and looks with distrust on all such applications, 484; +victims of this violence found in almost every Northern State, 484; +result of the elections causes an order for the release of prisoners +to be issued by the Government of the United States, 484; the order, +485; another step for the subjugation of the judiciary of the State, +485; an act of Congress authorizes the removal of all actions against +officers of the Government for tests in arrests, for trial to the +Circuit Court of the Government itself, 485; its command to the State +courts, 485; the obedience of the New York courts to the command, +486; subjugation of New York and the Northern States by the +suspension of the writ of _habeas corpus_ in their limits, 486; two +facts required to exist before Congress could pass such an act, 486; +Congress violates the Constitution, 487; what was New York? 488; the +proclamation of the President suspending the writ of _habeas corpus_ +throughout all the Northern States, 488; no autocrat ever issued an +edict more destructive of the natural right to personal liberty, 488; +the subversion of the governments of the Northern States, 488; all +those liberties of conduct and action which stamp the true freeman +were gone, 488; another step in the subjugation of the State of New +York, 488; letter of the commanding General of the United States +forces in New York to the Governor of the State, 488; reply of the +Governor, 489; response of the commanding General, 489; rejoinder of +the Governor, 489; the commanding General now states to the Governor +that the Government of the United States has sent to him "a force +adequate to the object," 490; forty-two regiments and two batteries +sent to New York, 490; another act manifesting the subjugation of the +government of the State by the military power of the Government of +the United States, 490; seizure of newspaper offices in New York by +soldiers under the orders of the Government of the United States, +490; the Governor of the State causes the commanding General to be +taken into custody, 491; the instructions sent by the Government of +the United States to the commanding General that "he must not be +deprived of his liberty to obey any order of a military nature which +the President directs him to execute," 491; the authority of New York +was subjugated, 491; another act of subjugation was the interference +of the Government of the United States with the Presidential election +in the State, 491; a pretended necessity worked up, 491; details of +the preparations, 492; military force increased, 492; vote of the +soldiers in the field to be taken, 492; agents sent by the State to +take the vote seized by soldiers of the Government of the United +States and imprisoned, 492; the description of the imprisonment, 493; +demands of the State in behalf of their agents, 493; refused by the +Government of the United States, 494; tried before a military +commission, 494; terms upon which the State acceded to the Union, 623. + +_Norfolk_, its evacuation delayed for the removal of property, 93; an +expedition by the enemy against, contemplated, 100; account of the +Comte de Paris, 100; its evacuation and occupation by the enemy, 100; +detachments previously sent to General Anderson, near Fredericksburg +and elsewhere, 101. + +_Norfolk Navy-Yard_, destruction at, 195. + +_North Carolina_, efforts to concentrate our troops to resist the +army of General Sherman, 630. + +_Northern people_, amazing insensibility to the crisis before them, +4; would not realize the resistance that would be made, 4; blind to +palpable results, 4; a league with the spirit of evil, 4; its +condition, 4; slow to comprehend the reality of armed resistance, 5. + +_Northern States_, provisions for the freedom of speech, of the +press, and the personal liberty of the citizen daily violated in, 8; +the events in them similar to those in New York, 494; sovereignty of +the people entirely disregarded by the Government of the United +States, 494; the operation of the institutions established for the +protection of the rights of the people, nullified by the military +force of the Government of the United States, 495; a military +domination established, 495; general and special provost-marshals +appointed in every State, 495; their duties, 496; the forces granted +to aid them, 495; military control established in every Northern +State, by the usurpation of the Government of the United States, 496. + +_Oath_, the voters in Maryland required to take an oath previous to +voting at an election where one of the questions was the adoption or +rejection of the oath, 467. + +_Object of the war_, the declaration of Congress, 189. + +_Objects_ for which the Government of the United States was +instituted, stated in the preamble of the Constitution, 454. + +_Obstinacy, extreme_, observable in the original party of abolition, +4. + +_Offensive-defensive policy_, how inaugurated at Richmond, 132; its +successful result, 132. + +"_Offensively_," signification of the word as used by General Grant +relative to the exchange of prisoners, 599. + +_Open brow and fearless tread of the American citizen_, all were gone +in the Northern States, 488. + +_Organization of "just powers_" the object for which it is done, 452. + +_Origin of the United States Government,_ sprang from certain +circumstances, which existed in the course of human affairs, 453; the +articles of agreement made by certain friendly States proposing to +form a society of States, 453. + +"_Other purposes_" the signification of the words explained in an act +of the United States Congress, 345. + +OULD, ROBERT C, our commissioner for the exchange of prisoners, 595; +his proposals to the United States commissioner, 598; no reply ever +made, 598; his communication relative to conferences with General +Butler, the United States commissioner of exchange, 598. + +_Outrages in Kentucky_, by the soldiers of the Government of the +United States, described by the Governor, 470. + +_Panic at Washington_, its cause, 106; movements of Jackson in the +Shenandoah Valley, 106; pursues General Banks across the Potomac, +106; excitement with General Geary, 106; alarm of the enemy at +Catlett's Station, 107; retreat of Duryea to Centreville and telegram +to Washington for help, 107; telegrams of Secretary Stanton to +Northern Governors for militia to defend Washington, 107; call of the +Governor of New York, 107; call of the Governor of Pennsylvania, 107; +call of the Governor of Massachusetts, 108; call of the Governor of +Ohio, 108; order of Secretary Stanton taking military possession of +all the Northern railroads, 109; order of President Lincoln to +General McDowell, 109. + +_Paris Congress, The_, its declaration of principles, 372. + +_Paul Jones_, destroyed many of his prizes 281; all ports closed to +us, 370. + +_Peace negotiations_, our subjugation was the purpose of the +Government of the United States, 608; established by the terms and +conditions offered to us, 608; Major Pitcairn's words, 609; +commissioners sent before hostilities, 609; next a letter sent, 609; +the third time a commissioner sent, 609; not allowed to pass, 609; +the next movement was the appearance of two persons from Washington, +610; their propositions, 610; Mr. Lincoln's views, 610; they depart, +611; Three commissioners appointed to visit Canada, 611; announcement +of Mr. Lincoln, 612; visit of Mr. Francis P. Blair, 612; confidential +conversation with the President, 612, 615; letter given to Mr. Blair, +615; answer of Mr. Lincoln, 616; return of Mr. Blair, 616; his +statements, 616; military convention suggested, 617; com missioners +appointed, 617; their commission, 617; objections, 617; meeting at +Hampton Roads, 618; Mr. Seward's version, 618; change of Mr. +Lincoln's views as to the place of meeting, 618; Mr. Blair's visit, +618; statement of Mr. Hunter, 618; remarks, 619; report of the +commissioners, 619; closing of negotiations, 620; statement of Judge +Campbell, 620; terms of peace stated in Mr. Lincoln's message to +Congress on December 6, 1864, 620; his actions compared with the +Constitution, 621; reserved rights of the States, 622; terms on which +Now York ratified the Constitution, 623; who violated the +Constitution? 624; who is responsible for the war? 624; terms of +surrender offered to our soldiers, 624. + +PEGRAM, Commander R. B., sails the Nashville, 264. + +PEMBERTON, General J. C, holds a position on the Tallahatchie and +Yazoo Rivers, 392; ingenious device to turn it, 392; in command at +Vicksburg, 395; sends General Bowen to Grand Gulf, 397; assigns +troops to respective positions after crossing the Big Black River, +399; concentrates all troops for the defense of Vicksburg, in rear, +400; instructions to his officers, 401; dispatches to other +commanders, 401; the policy manifested of meeting the enemy in the +hills east of the point of debarkation, 402; his want of cavalry, +402; letter to General Johnston, 402; reply, 402; report on the +advance of the enemy from Bruinsburg, 403; concentrates his forces to +cheek the invading army, 403; telegram to General Johnston, 403; +instructions to General Stevenson, 404; dispatch from General +Johnston, 405; answer, 405; calls a council of officers, 405; +dispatch to General Johnston, 406; moves his force, 406; appearance +of the enemy, 406; dispatch from General Johnston, 406; reply and a +retrograde movement, 407; encounters the enemy, 407; orders to +General Loring, 407; not obeyed, 407; the day lost, 408; dispatches +from General Johnston, 408; considerations, 408; concentrates at +Vicksburg, 410; remarks on a communication from General Johnston, +413; a former correspondence with the President, 413; his confidence +that the siege would be raised, 413; his decision to hold Vicksburg, +413; progress of the siege, 413; states the causes that led to the +capitulation, 415; resigns his rank, 526; shells Grant's army as it +crosses a bridge of the James River, 526. + +PENDLETON, General W. N., strives to bring long-range guns to bear on +Malvern Hill, 148; his statement of the appearance at Gettysburg, +441; presents considerations to General J. E. Johnston, 548. + +_Peninsula The Virginia_, all our disposable forces ordered there, +83; its topography and means of defense, 83, 84; movements, 85, 88; +strengthening the defenses continued, 88; new defenses constructed, +88; attempts to break Magruder's line at Dam No. 1, 88; the enemy in +strong force, 89; our forces continue the retreat toward Richmond, +98; flank of our line of march threatened by General Franklin, 98; +driven to the protection of his gunboats, 98; army retreat to the +Baltimore Cross-Roads and Long Bridge, 98. + +_Perryville_, its location, 383; the battle at, 383; its result, 384. + +_Persons_ seized in Baltimore by an armed force of the United States +Government, 464. + +_Personal liberty_, proclamation of President Lincoln suspending the +writ of _habeas corpus_ in the Northern States, 488; no autocrat ever +issued an edict more destructive of the natural right to personal +liberty, 488; every Northern State government subverted, 488. + +_Petersburg_, an assault by the advance of Grant's army, 638; +repulsed, 638; another assault with a large force, 638; a failure +everywhere, with an extraordinary sacrifice of life, 639; repeated +attacks, with increased carnage, 639; a heavy force advanced to our +right, 639; an interval of the enemy's force penetrated by General A. +P. Hill, and his flanks doubled up with great loss, 639; a cavalry +expedition to the Weldon and other railroads, 639; a fight near +Ream's station, 639; enemy retreat in confusion, 639; a method of +slow approaches adopted by Grant, 640; his object to obtain +possession of the Weldon and Southside Railroads, 640; Grant menaces +Richmond, 640; his line, 640; General Lee's line, 640; movement to +attack the works at Richmond, 641; defeated, 641; a mine run under +one of our forts, 641; a description, 642; a question relative to +negro troops, 642; results of the explosion, 643; repeated attacks on +our lines made and repulsed, 644; force of General Lee at the opening +of the campaign, 644; do. of General Grant, 644; a movement against +Fort Fisher, 644; opening of the campaign of 1865, 647; Grant extends +his line to the left and gains the Weldon Railroad, 647; the troops +in Richmond, 647; capacity of the Richmond and Danville Railroad +increased, 647; diminution of General Lee's forces, 647; his +conference with the President, 648; general view of the state of +affairs, 648; a sortie against Grant's lines determined on by General +Lee, 648; commanded by General John B. Gordon, 649; its failure, 650; +letter of General Gordon, 650-654; an extensive attack by the enemy +follows, 654; secret concentration of the enemy's forces, 654; more +determined effort to gain the right of Lee, 655; the advance repulsed +by General Lee, 655; our strong position at Five Forks assaulted and +carried by the enemy, 655; Battery Gregg makes an obstinate defense, +655; Lieutenant-General A. P. Hill killed, retreat became a +necessity, 655; inner lines held during the day, 655; army retires at +night toward Amelia Court-House, 656; Grant's advantages of position, +656; his movements, 656; Lee's subsequent conference with his +officers, 657; their plan, 657; frustrated, 657; position of Lee's +forces, 657; movements of his advance and rear, 657, 658; condition +of General Lee's army and its weakness, 658; sends a communication to +General Grant, 658; a conference, 658; terms of surrender agreed +upon, 659; the terms, 659; Lee's letter to the President, 660. + +PETTUS, Lieutenant-Colonel E. W., leads volunteers to recover a +redoubt at Vicksburg, 415. + +PIERCE, President, remarks in his annual message on the rights of +belligerents, 272. + +_Pillow, Fort_, its situation, 76; bombardment by the enemy's fleet +commenced, 76; it becomes untenable and is evacuated, 76; captured by +General N. B. Forrest, 545. + +PILLOW, General GIDEON J., commands at Fort Donelson, 29; retires +from Fort Donelson, 34; correspondence relative to his course at +Donelson, 40, 41. + +_Pirate, A_, who is one? 280; statement of the Attorney-General of +Great Britain, 280. + +_Pirates_, some of the Southern people denounced as, 2. + +_Pittsburg Landing_, topographical description, 52, 53. + +_Plan, The_, of President Lincoln to make a Union State out of a +fragment of a Confederate State, 297; the war-power his main +reliance, 298; does not contain a single feature to secure a +republican form of government, nor a single provision authorized by +the Constitution of the United States, 298. + +_Pleasant Hill_, General Banks routed by the force of General Taylor, +544. + +_Plunder, A system of_, the order of President Lincoln to military +commanders, 588. + +_Policy and purposes of the United States Government_, their odious +features revealed, 3. + +POLK, Major-General LEONIDAS, evacuates Columbus, 51; his account of +his movement, 52; commands a corps at battle of Shiloh, 55; commands +the attack on the enemy at Perryville, 383; commands the right wing +at Chickamauga, 432; command of the Department of Mississippi and +East Louisiana transferred to him, 547; killed at an outpost on Pine +Mountain, 554; the greatness of his loss, 554. + +POPE, Major-General JOHN, assaults New Madrid and is repulsed, 76; +occupies the place after evacuation, 76; assigned to the command of +the Army of Virginia, 135; commands the Army of Virginia, 312; +advances south from Washington, 312; order to his army to subsist on +the country, 312; order to dispense with supply or baggage trains, +313; order to hold the inhabitants responsible for all assaults, +etc., 313; order "to arrest all disloyal citizens," etc., 314; thus +announces a policy of pillage, outrage on unarmed citizens, and +arson, 314; letter of General McClellan, 314; his forces near +Culpeper Court-House, 317; defeated at Cedar Run, 320; losses, 320; +his forces increased by Burnside's corps, 320; Jackson advances +against him, 320; reënforcements sent to, 322; his subsequent +movements, 323, 327. + +_Port Hudson_, its situation, 420; defenses, 420; assaulted by +General Banks, 420; resort to regular approaches, 420; after the +capitulation of Vicksburg, its importance ceased, 420; surrendered by +Major-General Gardner, 420; losses, 420; the gallantry of its +defense, 421. + +_Port Republic_, its position, 112; battle near, 212; defeat of the +enemy, 117; prisoners, 117; pursuit, 117. + +_Port Royal_, a harbor of South Carolina, 77; its situation, 77; its +defenses, 78; strength of the enemy's fleet, 78; their attack, 78; +the forts abandoned, 78. + +PORTER, Admiral, statement of the efficiency of torpedoes used by us +for naval defense, 207; relieves his fleet by a dam above Alexandria +on the Red River, 544. + +_Ports, Southern,_ blockaded for the destruction of their commerce, 2. + +_Power, where found_, for the United States to coöperate with a State +in emancipation? 179. + +_Powhite Creek_, the position of McClellan behind, 136. + +PRICE, Major-General STERLING, commands in Missouri, 50; his +movements, 50; battle at Pea Ridge, 50; commands in West Tennessee, +386; moves to Iuka, 386; enemy abandons stores and retires, 386; +letter from General Ord, 387; reply, 387; unites with General Van +Dorn, 387; the combined force, 388; moves upon Corinth, 388; the +battle fought at first mainly by his division, 389; the enemy +reënforced, 389; army retires, 390. + +PRINCE de JOINVILLE on the junction of McDowell with McClellan, 105. + +_Prisoners, Exchange of_, increase in their numbers in 1861, 13; +vacillating and cruel conduct of the United States Government, 13; +their false theory of combinations, 13; its obstacle, 13; if the +theory was true, hanging was the legitimate punishment, 13; why were +not their prisoners hung? 13; tenacity with which the enemy clung to +the theory, 13; the issues involved 14; further obstacles to +exchange, 14; moved by clamors of the people, United States +Government shut its eyes, 14; some exchanged by military commanders, +14; condition of captured soldiers at the close of 1861, 14; citizens +arrested and held as prisoners, 14; violations of the Constitution, +14; object to clothe the Government with absolute power, 15; efforts +of the Government of the United States to implicate the President of +the Confederate States in the mortality of Northern prisoners, 497; +declarations of Major-General Grant, 497; captures of, in our +privateers, 582; treatment, 582; opinion of United States court, 582, +583; communication sent to President Lincoln by special messenger, +583; the communication, 583; no answer made, 584; act of Confederate +Congress, 584; United States Government refuses to consider the +question of exchange, 585; some exchanges made by officers, 585; +exchange proposed to General Grant in 1861, 585; subsequently offers +to surrender some, 586; reply of General Polk, 586; agreement of +Fremont with General Price, 586; repudiated by General Hunter, 686; +"fire up the Northern heart," 586; commissioners sent from Washington +to Norfolk, 586; the result, 586; difficulties, 587; arrangement of +Generals Cobb and Wool, 587; abruptly broken off, 587; suspension +ensued, 688; indignation at the North, 588; a cartel executed, based +on that of 1812, 588; order of President Lincoln to military +commanders, issued on the same day, to seize and use our property, +588; a system of plunder, 588; order of General Pope to murder +peaceful inhabitants as spies, 588; letter of General Lee to General +Halleck, 589; answer, 590; proceedings of General Hunter, 589; of +Brigadier-General Phelps, 589; retaliatory orders, 590; letter of +General Lee to General Halleck relative to the execution of William +B. Mumford, 590; result, 590; efforts to seek an adjustment of +difficulties through the authorities at Washington, 591; +Vice-President Stephens sent as a commissioner, 591; instructions, +591: letter to President Lincoln, 593; Stephens not allowed to +proceed beyond Newport News, 595; correspondence of our exchange +commissioners, 595; demands of the authorities at Washington, 596; +the wish of the Confederate Government, 596; Andersonville, the +occasion of its selection, 596; advantages of its location, 596; its +preparation, 597; diseases, 597; successful efforts of Major Wirz for +the benefit of the prisoners, 597; humane and kind treatment by +General Winder, 597; statement of Adjutant-General Cooper, 598; a +proposal made to the United States commissioner that all prisoners on +each side should be attended by a proper number of their own +surgeons, 598; further proposals, 598; no reply ever made, 598; +statements of General Butler, 598; letters between Generals Lee and +Grant, 600; dispatch of General Grant to General Butler, 600; another +proposal to the United States Government, 600; no answer received, +601; the offer would have released every soldier of the United States +in our prisons, 601; other offers, 601; requested to send the worst +cases, 602; photographs taken at Annapolis and circulated, 602; worse +cases received by us, 602; proposal to purchase medicines from the +United States authorities to be used exclusively for the relief of +the Union prisoners, 602; no reply ever received, 602; a delegation +of the prisoners at Andersonville sent to Washington to plead their +cause, 602; President Lincoln refuses to see them, 602; their return +and report, 602; letter from the wife of the chairman, 603; letter +from another prisoner, 603; extracts from the official report of +Major-General Butler to the Committee on the Conduct of the War, +603-605; our readiness to surrender for exchange all the prisoners in +our possession, 605; Northern prisons full of our soldiers, 606; +cotton sent by us to New York, and sold to purchase clothing for our +soldiers, 606; report of Secretary Stanton, 607; number of prisoners +that died in our hands, 607; number that died in the hands of the +United States Government, 607; report of Surgeon-General Barnes, 607; +number of Confederate prisoners, 607; number of United States +prisoners, 607; further considerations, 607, 608; the number paroled +at the close of the war, 699. + +_Private property_, its pillage and destruction not permitted by the +laws of war, 8; our war with Mexico, how conducted, 8; action of +Great Britain around Point Comfort in 1781, 8; restoration stipulated +in the Treaty of Ghent in 1815, 8; correspondence of John Quincy +Adams with the British Secretary of State, on the deportation of, 8, +9; order of President Lincoln to arrest all persons who arrested +slaves as fugitives, 9; language of General McClellan, 9; action of +Fremont in Missouri, 10; of General T. W. Sherman in South Carolina, +10; do. of others, 10; how made subject to confiscation by United +States Congress, 168; conditions upon which its inviolability might +be broken under the Constitution of the United States, 173. + +_Privateering not piracy_, remarks of Earl Derby, 12; do. of the Lord +Chancellor of England, 12. + +_Privateers_, resorted to not for purposes of gain, 10; a small fleet +soon fitted out, 10; their cruises, 10; proclamation of President +Lincoln, 10; another violation of international law, 11; its threat +not executed, 11; the case of the schooner Savannah, 11; retaliation +threatened, 11; the case of the schooner Jefferson Davis, 11; remarks +of Earl Derby, 12; do. of the Lord Chancellor of England, 12. + +_Prize court_, the attempt to get our private property into, to be +tried by the laws of war, 169. + +_Prizes_, captured by foreign-built cruisers of the United States +during the Revolutionary War, 276; more than six hundred, 276; both +belligerents forbidden by European nations to bring prizes into their +ports, 370. + +_Queen's proclamation, The_, the force ascribed to it by the United +States Government, 277. + +RAINS, General G. R., inventor of sub-terra shells, 97; describes +their use in the retreat from Williamsburg and its effect, 97, 98; +placed in charge of our submarine defenses, 208. + +RAINS, Brigadier-General J. G., ordered to report to General Johnston +at Jackson, in connection with torpedoes and sub-terra shells, 424. + +RANDOLPH, General, Secretary of War, his testimony relative to +affairs at Norfolk and the position of Yorktown, 93. + +RANSOM, Major-General, Summoned to Richmond from Drury's Bluff to +resist an impending assault of General Sheridan, 508; his movements +and success, 508; his position and force, 510; reports to General +Beauregard at Drury's Bluff, 512; his part in the action with +Butler's force, 514. + +READ, Lieutenant C. W., commands the tender Clarence, 261. + +REAGAN, Secretary JOHN H., transfers the money in the Confederate +Treasury, 695. + +_Reconnaissances_, made by the enemy with the design to take and keep +control of the seacoast of Georgia, 78. + +_Records of property_, kept under the authority of the State +government, 452. + +_Republican government_, the whole science of, where found, 298; +words of the Declaration of Independence, 298; civil and political +sovereignty is in the individual, 299; no human government has any +inherent, original sovereignty, 299; derives its just powers from the +consent of the governed, 299; all other powers than those thus +derived are not just powers, 299; a government exercising powers not +just has no right to survive, 299; who, then, had a right to +institute a government for a State? 239; only the people of the +State,299; how could the Government of the United States appear in a +State and attempt to institute a State government? 299; only as an +invader and a usurper, 299; how could an invader institute a +republican State government, which can be done only by the free +consent of the people themselves? 300; the absurdity of the +pretension, 300; President Lincoln's plan of one tenth, 300; one +tenth of the voters can not establish a republican State government, +300; an effort to enforce a fiction, 300; who were the voters? 301; +those whose consent had been bound by the oath given by the usurper, +301; such a Government derives its powers from the consent of the +usurper, 301; an attempt to destroy true republicanism, 301; a true, +its source, 452; how secured, 452. + +_Reserved powers of the Constitution_, sovereignty of the States +therein. 622. + +_Revolutionists_, who were the? 170. + +_Richmond_, removal of the Government to, authorized, 3; detached +works around it perfected by Lee, 119; intrenched line commenced by +Lee, 130; position of hostile forces, 130; conversations relative to +its defense and the defeat of the enemy, 131; offensive-defensive +policy adapted, 132; preparations for the campaign after Seven Pines +battle, 133; reënforcement sent to Jackson in the Valley, 133; +noticed by the enemy, 133; his unsuccessful attack on Williamsburg +road, 133; route of Jackson covered by Stuart, 133; directions to +Jackson under the order of battle, 133; the order of battle, 133; +position of the respective troops, 134; Hill forces the enemy to take +refuge on the left bank of Beaver Dam, 134; a strong position, 134; +movement of other forces, 134; engagement closes at dark, 134; +critical position of McClellan, 135; action of the United States +Government, 135; renewal of the battle at dawn, 135; arrival of +Jackson, 136; enemy abandons his works, 136; advance of our forces +resumed according to the order, 136; destruction of munitions by the +retreating enemy, 136; takes a position behind Powhite Creek, 136; A. +P. Hill hotly engages, 137; enemy north of the Chickahominy, 137; +fierce battle, 137; Longstreet ordered to make a diversion, 137; +strength of the enemy's position, 137; Jackson's right division forms +on Longstreet's left, 137: position of D. H. Hill, 137; completion of +the lines, 138; a general advance, 138; enemy back to the woods on +the bank of the Chickahominy, 138; night put an end to pursuit, 138; +in the morning none of the enemy north of the Chickahominy, 139; York +River Railroad, 139; enemy in motion south of the river, 139; the +line abandoned, 139; position of the enemy, 139; topography of the +country, 139; on the next morning enemy's works found to be +evacuated, 140; movement of our forces, 140; condition of the enemy's +works, 140; enemy's position, 141; Savage Station, 141; darkness, +141; enemy crosses White-Oak Swamp, 142; resist the rebuilding the +bridge, 142; enemy at Frazier's Farm, 142; we had no maps of the +country in which we were operating, 142; consequent mistakes, 142; +battle at Frazier's Farm, 145; nearly the entire field in our +possession at its close, 146; the siege of, raised, 152; McClellan at +Westover, and his expedition frustrated, 153; prisoners captured in +the battles around Richmond, 153; losses, 153; statement of the +strength of our army at different periods, 153, 154; suggestions on +the delay of Lee, 155; other details relative to the strength of our +army, 156, 157; effective force of General McClellan, 158; the most +effective way to relieve was to reënforce Jackson and advance on +General Pope, 320; its evacuation advised by General Lee, 661; lack +of transportation, 661; movement of the troops, 666; Ewell's corps, +662; G. W. C. Lee's and Kershaw's, 662; other forces, 662; the rear +followed by the enemy, 663; frequent combats, 663; Ewell captured, +664; G. W. C. Lee's division captured, 664; engagement at Sailor's +Creek, 664; the naval force, 665; their retreat to Danville, 665; +troops in and around Richmond, 665; orders given to destroy certain +property of the Confederate States, 666; the conflagration did not +result from any act of the public authorities, 666; distinction from +the case of Harper's Ferry, 666; the troops of neither army +considered responsible, 667; notice of General Lee's withdrawal sent +to the President at church, 667; his proceedings, 667; removal of +families, 668; the President starts for Danville, 668; the supplies +prepared for Lee's army, 669; report of General St. John, in charge +of the commissary bureau, 669; extracts, 669; the daily delivery by +cars and canal-boats, 670; further evidence to expose unfounded +statements, 671; rations on the line of retreat, 671; letter of +General Breckinridge, 672; letter of the assistant commissary-general, +672; other letters, 673, 674. + +_Richmond, Kentucky_, enemy routed by General E. E. Smith, 382. + +_Rights unalienable_, shall man no more take up arms in defense of? +182. + +_Rights of belligerents_, letter of Earl Russell, 271; views of +Chancellor Kent, 271; of President Pierce, 272; charge of the Lord +Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 272, 273. + +_Rivers_, the principal difficulty in the way of a successful defense +of, by us, 25; preparations made for resistance, 25. + +_Roanoke River_, torpedoes planted there, 209; effect on the enemy, +209. + +RODES, General, statement of the obstacles to General Huger's +movement at Seven Pines, 126; in command at Sharpsburg, 336; captures +Martinsburg, with stores, artillery, and a body of the enemy, 439. + +RODGERS, Colonel W. P., killed at Corinth, 390; his character, 390. + +ROSECRANS, General, succeeds General Buell, 384; advances upon the +position of General Bragg at Murfreesboro, 384; a battle ensues, 385; +subsequently assigned to the command of the force under General Grant +in West Tennessee, 385; his character, 389; treatment of the dead and +wounded at Corinth, 390; occupies Chattanooga, 429; moves on the rear +of General Bragg, 429; concentrates before General Bragg, 432; +concentrates in Chattanooga, 433; reënforcements sent to him, and +Grant assigned to the command, 434. + +RUSSELL, Lord JOHN, answer to the demand of the Government of the +United States for the sailors rescued from the sinking Alabama, 258; +his letter stating that the United States Government profited most by +unjustifiable maritime practices, 268; on the principle contended for +by her Majesty's Government, 271. + +_Sabine Pass_, its importance, 236; appearance of the enemy's fleet, +236; only means of defense, 236; a report of the engagement, 237; two +gunboats surrendered to forty-two men, 238; the fleet retires, 238; +names of the defenders, 239; success in holding their prisoners, 239; +an unparalleled feat, 239; mistaken reports of the enemy, 239. + +_Safeguards_, for the protection of the personal liberty of the +citizen in New York, 479; worthless as the paper on which they were +printed, 479. + +_Savage Station_, numbers found in the hospital, 141. + +_Savannah, The_, schooner, treatment of her crew by the United States +Government, 11; its harbor defenses, 205; their condition, 205. + +SCHOPF, General, commands a force of the enemy at Fishing Creek, 23. + +_Security, perfect and complete_, duty of the State government to +give to all its citizens, 452. + +SEDDON, JAMES A., Secretary of War, replies to General Johnston as to +the numbers of his army near Vicksburg, 412. + +_Self-defense_ of the Government, how authorized by the Constitution, +159. + +SEMMES, Commander RAPHAEL, resigns at Washington, 246; enters +Confederate service, 240; obtains the Sumter for a cruiser, 246; +description of her and her preparation, 246; runs the blockade, 247; +career on the sea, 247; her captures, 247; takes command of the +Alabama, 250; collects the old officers of the Sumter, 250; sails for +Terceira, 250; his first impressions on seeing his ship, 251; +proceeds to sea and reads his commission and enrolls his men, 251; +sails for Galveston, 252; decoys out one of the blockading ships, +252; fights and sinks the Hatteras, 253; captures and bonds the +steamer Ariel, 254; a cruise in every sea, 254; arrives at Cherbourg +to repair his ship, 255; appearance of the Kearsarge, 255; a notice +to her captain, 255; defective powder of the Alabama, 255; questions +considered, 256; his report of the engagement with the Kearsarge, +256; Alabama sinks and crew rescued by an English vessel, 257; narrow +escape of the Kearsarge, 257; clad in secret armor, 258; the +Government of the United States demands the rescued sailors, 258; +answer of Lord John Russell, 258; his statement of closed ports, 282; +commands the naval fores at Richmond, 665; order to him from the +Secretary of the Navy, 665. + +_Seven Pines_, position of the respective forces, 121; movements of +the enemy, 122; unexpected firing heard, 122; the line of battle, +122, 123; General Johnston wounded and removed, 123; events on the +left, 124; most serious conflict on the right, 124; report of +Longstreet, 124; Huger's delay, 127; Longstreet waits, 127; why did +not the left coöperate? 127; no way appears to have been practicable +to put the enemy to flight, 127; our losses, 127; that of the enemy, +128; evidence of our success, 128; our aggregate force, 128; that of +the enemy, 128; cause of the withdrawal of our forces on the day +after the battle, 128; position of the forces, 130. + +SEWARD, Secretary, letter on the export of cotton, 344. + +_Sharpsburg_, General Hood's account of the contest on the left, 339; +an account by Colonel Taylor, 241; testimony of General Sumner, 341; +do. of General McClellan, 342; strength of the armies, 343; Lee +concentrates his forces at, 333; address to the people of Maryland, +333; the battle at, 335-338. + +_Shenandoah Valley_, operations by which it was cleared of the +enemy's forces, 439; enemy's losses, 439; movements of the enemy to +destroy the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, 527. + +SHERIDAN, General, moves with a large force around and to the rear of +General Lee's army, 508; pursued by Stuart, 509; strength of the +respective forces, 509; Stuart places himself in front and resists +the advance of Sheridan, 509; he retires, 509; appears in the Valley +with a large force, 535. + +SHERMAN, General W. T., leads a division up the Tennessee, 52; +disembarks at Pittsburg Landing, 52; report of advance on Corinth, +72; its evacuation, 73; enters the Yazoo River to reduce Haines's +Bluff and attack Vicksburg in the rear, 392; repulsed with heavy +loss, 392; reaches Chattanooga with his force, 435; his movements, +436; prepares to march northward through the Carolinas, 625; position +of our forces, 625, 626; leaves Savannah, 626; his movements, 626; +arrives at Columbia, 627; the Mayor surrenders the city. 627; unites +with General Schofield at Goldsboro, 636. + +SHIELDS, General, advances toward Jackson's position at Port +Republic, 113; conflict at the bridge, 113; his position, 114; +attacked by Jackson, 114. + +"_Shields's brave boys_" preserve their organization to the last, +117; tough work, if Shields had been on the field, 117. + +_Shiloh_, description of the battle-field, 52, 53; the battle of-- +advance of our forces, 56; delay, 56; cause, 56; importance of attack +at the earliest moment, 57; Buell's advance, 58; result of an earlier +or later attack, 59; purpose of General Johnston, 59; his order of +attack, 59; monograph of General Bragg, 59; result of the first day, +60; one encampment of the enemy not taken, 61; the disastrous +consequences, 61; causes of the failure, 61; statement of the author +of the "Life of General Johnston," 61; report of General Chalmers on +the failure, 62; report of Brigadier-General Jackson, 62; report of +General Hardee, 63; report of Major-General Polk, 63; report of +General Gilmer, chief engineer, 63; statement of General Bragg, 64; +statement of Colonel Geddes, of the Eighth Iowa Volunteers, 65; +report of General Beauregard, 66; some remote causes of this failure, +66; death of General Johnston, 66; its circumstances, 66; +consequences to be expected from Grant's defeat, 68; instance of +Marshal Turenne, 68; Buena Vista, 68; fate of an army and fortunes of +a country hung on one man, 69; confidence in his capacity, 69; at +nightfall our vantage-ground abandoned, 70; the enemy reoccupy, 70; +statement of Buell as to the condition of Grant's army, 70; +reënforcements of the enemy cross the river, 70; advance of the enemy +in the morning, 71; our retreat was a necessity, 71; strength of our +army, 71; casualties, 71; effective force of General Grant, 71; his +casualties, 71; his army reorganized under General Halleck, 71; +advance on Corinth, 71. + +_Ships of war_, equipped and sent from ports of the United States to +Brazil in her struggle with Spain for independence, 276; do. sold to +Russia in her war with England and France, 276. + +_Six million people_, the number of persons subject to be acted upon +by the confiscation act of the United States Congress, 167. + +_Slavery_, declared by Congress to be the cause of all the troubles, +159; wise and patriotic statesmen might easily have furnished relief, +159. + +_Slaves_, unconstitutional measures taken by Congress to effect the +emancipation of, 159; grounds upon which its proceedings were based, +159; their power found in the plea of necessity, 161; emancipation by +confiscation, 162; emancipation in the District of Columbia, 172; +prohibition of the extension of slavery to the Territories, 174; +prohibiting the return of fugitives by military or naval officers, +174; another instance of the flagrant violation of the Constitution, +175; declaration by Congress of the objects for which the war was +waged, 189; unconstitutional measures taken by President Lincoln to +effect the emancipation of, 179; message recommending the coöperation +of the United States for the emancipation of, in any State, 179; +countermands the order of General Hunter, and claims for himself to +issue one for emancipation, 181; conference with Senators and +Representatives of the border States to effect emancipation, 183; an +attempt to effect emancipation by compensation, 184; issues a +preliminary proclamation for emancipation, 187; the final +proclamation emancipation, 192; his declaration in the proclamation +calling for seventy-five thousand men, 189. + +SLIDELL, JOHN, our representative in Paris, 368. + +SMITH, General E. K., occupies Knoxville. East Tennessee, 382; +advances into Kentucky, 382; conflict at Richmond, 382; advances to +Frankfort, 383; great alarm in Cincinnati, 382; unites his forces +with those of General Bragg, 383; orders to, for the relief of +Vicksburg, 417; his movement, 417; his address to his soldiers, 697. + +_South, The_, nature of the division of sentiment in, 5; a question +of expediency, 5. + +_Southern people_, their love and sacrifices for the Union, 160. + +_Southern States_, one of the causes of their withdrawal from the +Union, 181. + +_Sovereignty of the State government_, the representative and the +constituted agent of the inherent sovereignty of the individual, 452. + +_Spanish provinces_ of South America, their independence recognized +by the United States, 276. + +"_Spare neither men nor money_," orders of the Secretary of the Navy +to complete ironclads at New Orleans, 227. + +_Spottsylvania Court-House_, twelve days of skirmish and battle at, +between Lee and Grant, 523. + +_State, A_, rent asunder and a new one formed of the fragment, 2. + +_State governments_, the subjugation of, 450; a revolution unlike any +other that may be found in the history of mankind, 451; an assertion +often made during the war, 451; objects for which the State +governments were instituted, 451; where must the American citizen +look for the security of the rights with which he has been endowed by +his Creator? 451; to the State government, 451; the powers of the +State government are just powers, 451; is the citizen's life in +danger? the State guarantees his protection, 451; is the citizen's +personal liberty in danger? the State guarantees it, 451; duty of the +State government to give its citizens perfect and complete security, +452; necessarily sovereign within its own domain, 452; its entire +order founded on the free consent of the governed, 452; this consent +gives just powers, 452; all else are usurpations, 452; how these +powers are organized, 452; its object, 452; subversion and +subjugation of a State government, how accomplished, 452; the +commission of such a subversion and subjugation fearlessly charged +upon the Government of the United States as a monstrous crime against +constitutional liberty, 453; distinction in nature and objects +between the Government of the United States and the State +governments, 453. + +_States, The_, the principles upon which they were originally +constituted and upon which the Union was formed explained, 368. + +STEPHENS, A. H., sent as commissioner relative to the exchange of +prisoners to Washington, 591; not allowed to come to Washington, 595; +appointed to confer with Mr. Lincoln, 617. + +STEVENS, THADDEUS, his remark, "Who pleads the Constitution against +our proposed action" of confiscation? 8; declaration in Congress on +the admission of West Virginia, 308. + +STEVENS, Lieutenant, commands the Arkansas at Baton Rouge, 244. + +STEVENSON. Major-General, resists the force of the enemy near +Vicksburg, 407; report of the conflict at the redoubt before +Vicksburg, 415. + +"_Stop thief!_" The old trick exemplified, 191. + +STREIGHT. Colonel, captured by General Forrest, 426. + +STUART, General J. E. B., sent with cavalry to cover the approach of +Jackson from the enemy, 133; subsequent confidential instructions +from Lee, 133; engaged with cavalry on detached service, 150; his +march down the enemy's line of communication described, 150; opens +fire on the enemy with a light howitzer, 151; effect on the enemy, +described by General Casey, 151; remains east of the mountains to +observe the enemy, 330; at Sharpsburg battle, 335; attacked by the +enemy at Kelly's Ford, 438; encounters the enemy's cavalry, 439; left +to guard the passes of the mountains, 440; makes a circuit of the +Federal army, 440; pursues Sheridan in a dash upon Richmond. 509; +places himself in front of Sheridan and resists his advance, 509; is +mortally wounded, 510; his death and character, 510. + +_Subjugation of the Southern States_, the Intention of the Government +of the United States, 3; established by the course pursued by it.3; +evasion and final rejection of every proposition for a peaceful +settlement, 3; its extreme obstinacy, 4; observable in the original +party of abolition, 4; futile warnings of its suicidal tendency, 4; +not contending for a principle, but supremacy, 4; no compromise, 4; +of the States by the Government of the United States, 450; object of +the State governments, 451; how accomplished, 452: of the government +of the Stale of New York, by the domination over it of the military +power of the Government of the United States, 488. + +_Sub-terra shells_, effect produced on the enemy by their use on the +retreat from Williamsburg, 97. + +_Subversion of a State government_, how accomplished, 454. + +_Sumter, Fort_, its brave and invincible defense, 204; the manner of +its evacuation, 204; salute and cheers, 204. + +_Sumter, The cruiser_, her preparation and career, 246, 247. + +_Supplies_ for Lee's army at Petersburg, a statement of facts, +668-670; letter of General Breckinridge, 672; do. of the assistant +commissary-general, 672; another letter, 673; supplies on the +retreat, 673; letter of President Harvie, of the Richmond and +Danville Railroad, 673, 674; do. relative to sending supplies to +Amelia Court-House, 675. + +_Supremacy_, when the contest is for, there will be no concessions, 4. + +SURRATT, Mrs., her case awakening much sympathy, 497; efforts to +obtain a respite, 497. + +TALIAFERRO, General, commands Virginia forces at Norfolk, 195; +commands Jackson's division at Cedar Run, 319. + +TANEY, Chief-Justice, decision in the Carpenter case, 348; a civil +war, or any other war, does not enlarge the powers of the Federal +Government over the States or the people beyond what the compact has +given to it, 348; grants the writ of _habeas corpus_ in the case of +John Merryman, 463; disobeyed, 463; decision of the Court, 463. + +TATNALL, Commander JOSIAH, objections to proceeding to York River +with the Virginia, 91; takes command of the Virginia, 202; his +statement respecting the Virginia, 203; has charge of the harbor +defense of Savannah, 201. + +TAYLOR, General RICHARD, his description of the dangerous moment of +the battle at Port Republic, 116; movements against the enemy west of +the Mississippi, 418; proceeds to raise the siege of Port Hudson by +cutting the communications of General Banks, 419; his movements after +the capitulation of Port Hudson, 422; commands in the Red River +country, 541; his force and movements, 542; encounters General Banks, +542; battle at Mansfield, 542; defeat of Banks at Pleasant Hill, 543, +544. + +TAYLOR, Colonel THOMAS, takes a letter to President Lincoln relative +to prisoners, 584. + +TAYLOR, Brigadier-General, of New Jersey, advances to recover the +stores captured at Manassas Junction, 323; routed, 323. + +_Tennessee_, measures adopted to occupy and fortify strong positions +after her secession, 24; Forts Henry and Donelson, 24; our forces in, +51; their concentration, 52; a military Governor appointed, 285; +public officers driven from office, 285; newspaper offices closed, +285; citizens arrested and imprisoned, 285; election of members of +Congress ordered, 286; a State organization attempted, 286; +qualifications of voters determined and fixed by the military officer +of the Government of the United States, 286; the oath, 286; +amendments to the regular State Constitution attempted, 287; declared +to be adopted by a vote of twenty-five thousand out of a hundred and +forty-five thousand citizens, 287; called "guaranteeing a republican +form of government," as required by the United States Constitution, +287; many positions held by the enemy in, 385; the aggregate force, +385; Rosecrans assigned to command, 385; most important position at +Corinth, 386; plan of the enemy, 886; Vicksburg, the point of attack, +386; Generals Price and Van Dorn in command of our forces, 386; the +former moves from Tupelo to Iuka, 386; the enemy retreats, abandoning +stores, 386; unites with General Van Dorn for an attack on Corinth, +387; battle at Iuka, 387; strength of Van Dorn, 387: do. of the +enemy, 388; attempt to surprise Corinth before reënforcements were +received, 388; its secession proceedings founded on true republican +principles, 455; the proceedings of the Government of the United +States 455; it denies the fundamental principles of liberty, 456; its +proceedings founded on the assumption of the sovereignty of the +Government of the United States, not on the principle of the +sovereignty of the people, 456; invasion of the rights of popular +liberty, 456; efforts to erect a State government subject to the +United States Government, 456; limitation of the will of the voter, +456; voter's right to cast his ballot dependent on the permission of +the United States Government, 456; further conditions required of the +voter, 457; who was the sovereign in Tennessee? 457; the Government +of the United States, 457; where was the government of the State of +Tennessee and the sovereign people? 457; the former was subverted and +overthrown, and the latter subjugated, 457; amendments to the +Constitution, 457; guaranteed to be a republican State, 458; Hood's +campaign in, 578. + +_Tennessee_, an iron-clad, 206; her combat with the enemy's fleet in +Mobile Harbor, 206. + +_Texas_, recognition of her independence by United States Government +in the war of the former with Mexico, 276. + +_Theory of combinations_, of President Lincoln, the issues involved, +14. + +"_The pressure is still upon me_," words of President Lincoln +relative to forcible emancipation, 181. + +THOMAS, General, commands the enemy's forces at Fishing Creek, 20. + +TILGHMAN, General LLOYD, commands at Fort Henry, 26; his bravery, 28; +loses his life in battle near Vicksburg, 409. + +TOOMBS, General ROBERT, defends the bridge over the Antietam, 337. + +_Torpedoes_, probably more effective than any other means of naval +defense, 207; statement of Admiral Porter as to their successful use +by us, 207; secret of our success was the sensitive primer, 208; how +the torpedoes were made, 208; three essentials to success, 208; +exploits with them in Charleston Harbor, 208; their use at Roanoke +River, 209; successful use at Mobile, 209. + +TRIMBLE, General, volunteers to capture the enemy's depot at Manassas +Junction, 323. + +TURENNE, Marshal, of France, an example, 68. + +_Umpire, Who is the_, on the question of secession, 16; not the +United States Government, as it has no inherent, original +sovereignty, 16; but the States and their people, 16; the case of +South Carolina, 16. + +_United States_, number of men furnished during the war, 706; do. to +the United States Government by Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, and +Missouri, 706; debt contracted by the United States Government, 706. + +Usurpations of the Government of the United States during the year +1861, 2; the mother of all the, the unhallowed attempt to establish +the absolute sovereignty of the Government of the United States by +the subjugation of the States and their people, 16; embraced in the +system of legislation devised by the United States Congress, 161; of +United States Congress, another alarming one brought out, 170; the +argument by which it was supported, 170; the war-power, 171; another +step for the destruction of slavery, 172; emancipation in the +District of Columbia, 172. + +Usurpations of Congress, the next step in usurpation, the passage of +an act prohibiting slavery in the Territories, 174; words of the act, +174; an act making an additional article of war passed, 174; all +military and naval officers prohibited from efforts to return +fugitives from labor, 174; the words of the Constitution, 175; +Congress directly forbids that which the Constitution commands, 175; +excuse of a state of war groundless, 175; a series of, committed by +President Lincoln, 178; all exercises of power not derived from the +free consent of the governed, 452; in what it consisted, 582. + +_Usurper, The_, the last effort to save himself, 606. + +VAN DORN, General EARL, assigned to command west of the Mississippi, +50; his movements, 50; battle of Elkhorn, or Pea Ridge, 50; his +strength, 50; his object, 51; losses, 51; march to join A. S. +Johnston, 51; in command in north Mississippi, 386; unites with +General Price, 387; his strength, 387; the strength of the enemy, +388; character and conduct of, 388; moves to surprise Corinth, 388; +its result, 389; his hazardous retreat. 390; surprises and captures +Holly Springs and destroys its depot of supplies, 391. + +VENABLE, Colonel C. S., statement of the attack of Mississippians +under a promise to General Lee, 521. + +_Vessels_ destroyed by torpedoes in Southern waters, 210. + +_Vicksburg_, a combined movement against, by land and by the +Mississippi River, planned by the enemy, 392; the position of General +Pemberton, 392; an ingenious device to turn that position, 392; +attempt of Sherman to reduce Haines's Bluff, 392; Grant lands his +army at Young's Point, 393; attempt to pass to the rear of Fort +Pemberton, 394; also to enter the Yazoo above Haines's Bluff, 394; +position of Admiral Porter and his fleet in Deer Creek, 394; position +of Grant's force, 395; Pemberton in command at, 395; unsuccessful +attempt to cut a canal across the peninsula, 396; do. to connect the +river with the bayou at Milliken's Bend, 396; gunboats attempt to run +the batteries, 397; the enemy commence ferrying troops from the +Louisiana to the Mississippi shore, 398; resistance by our troops, +398; battle near Port Gibson, 398; attempt of Grant to get in rear of +General Bowen, 398; he retreats toward Grand Gulf, 399; joined by +General Loring, 399; Grant advances into Mississippi, 399; +concentration of General Pemberton at, 410; strength of the position, +410; length of fortified line, 410; Pemberton's force, 410; efforts +to strengthen the relieving army, 411; dispatches for aid to the +relieving army, 412; siege commenced, 413; assault, 414; bombardment +from the mortar fleet, 414; position of, 414; progress of the siege, +414; another assault, 414; report of General Stevenson, 415; causes +that led to the capitulation, 415; the losses, 417; other efforts to +relieve, 417; movement of General E. K. Smith, 417. + +_Victors, Who were the_, when the war closed? 294; let the verdict of +mankind decide, 295. + +_Virginia_, first efforts of the enemy directed against her, 3; +greater perversion of republican principles in, by the Government of +the United States, than in any other State, 304; its secession, 304; +opposition in northwestern counties, 304; they hold a convention to +reorganize the government of Virginia, 305; assume to be the State of +Virginia, 305; consent to the formation of a new State, 305; action +of United States Congress, 305; these proceedings viewed in the light +of fundamental principles, 306; involved insurrection, revolution, +and secession, 306; the United States Government the nursing-mother +to the whole thing, 306; words of the United States Constitution, +307; the fraud examined, 307; words of Thaddeus Stevens, 308; +so-called government of Virginia migrates from Wheeling to +Alexandria, 308; subsequent order of President Johnson, 308; +proceedings under the order, 309; such a State government not in the +interest of the people, but of the Government of the United States, +309; voters required first to protect the Government of the United +States, 309. + +_Virginia_, former frigate Merrimac, 196; transformed into an +ironclad, 196; her armament, 196; and the Monitor, the combat +between, 200; the latter seeks safety in shoal water, 200; refitted +after her conflict, 201; invites the Monitor to a new contest, 201; +declined, 201; dashes upon the enemy's fleet, 202; abandoned and +burned, 203; the reasons, 203. + +_Voter_ in Tennessee, The, the limitation of his will, 456; his right +to cast his ballot vested in the permission of the Government of the +United States as his sovereign, 456. + +WADDELL, Lieutenant J. J., commands the cruiser Shenandoah, 264. + +WALKER, General J. G., movement of his troops at Sharpsburg, 336. + +WALKER, General W. H. T., commences the attack at Chickamauga, 430; +killed in the attack on McPherson's corps, 562. + +_War, The_, manner in which it was con ducted by the Government of +the United States, 5; how inappropriate to preserve a voluntary +Union, 6; enlarged its proportions during the year 1861, 16; points +possessed by the enemy, 17; his supply of men and resources of war, +17; a succession of glorious victories to us, 17; the foundation of +the, 582. + +WARD, Colonel, his conduct at Yorktown, 88, 89; killed at +Williamsburg, 99; report of General Early on his gallantry, 99. + +WARLEY, Lieutenant, attacks the enemy's vessels at New Orleans, 221. + +"_War-power, The_, of the United States Government," the theory on +which it was based, 171; its unlimited extent, 171; the specious +argument for, 171; words of the Constitution, 171; President Lincoln +declares his main reliance on it, 298. + +_Washington Artillery_, organized in New Orleans, 337; its frequent +and honorable mention in the reports of battles, 337. + +_Washington_ threatened by General Early, 530. + +_Watchword, The_, "The abolition of slavery by the force of arms for +the sake of the Union," 186. + +_Westover_ reached by McClellan's army, 152; protection of the +gunboats, 152; his position, 152; inexpedient to attack him, 152. + +WHEATON, on the capture and confiscation of private property, 163. + +WHEELER, General, destroys supplies and baggage in the rear of +Rosecrans's army advancing to Murfreesboro, 384; movements with his +cavalry at Chickamauga, 432. + +_Which is the higher authority_, Mr. Lincoln's emancipation +proclamation, or the Constitution? 621. + +WHITE, Colonel, advances to the Susquehanna, 440. + +WHITING, General, sent to reënforce Jackson in the Valley, 133; he is +killed in the defense of Fort Fisher, 646. + +_Who is the criminal?_ Let posterity answer, 178. + +_Why were they not hung?_ Our soldiers taken prisoners, "as rebels +and traitors," 13. + +WICKES, Captain, commands a cruiser fitted out in France by United +States Government in the Revolutionary War, 275. + +WILCOX, General, stubborn resistance made by his division, 518. + +_Wilderness, The_, the nature of the country, 518; the battle at, +518-520. + +WILKINSON, Commander John, commands the Chickamauga, 265; her cruise, +265. + +_Williamsburg_, its position on the Virginia Peninsula, 94; line of +defenses constructed by General Magruder, 94; attack of Hancock, 94; +report of General Early on the attack, 95, 96; claim of the enemy to +have achieved a victory at, refuted, 97; strength of our force, 97; +McClellan's estimate, 97; further retreat of our army, 97; our +strength in the principle action at, 98; the position held as long as +was necessary, 99; losses, 99. + +_Wilmington, North Carolina_, its defensive works, 204. + +WINDER, Brigadier-General CHARLES S., attacks the position of General +Shields, 114; critical condition, 115; killed at the bottle of Cedar +Run, 318; report of General Jackson, 318; his character and an act of +heroism, 318. + +WINDER, General JOHN H., his kindness to prisoners of war, 597. + +WIRZ, Major, his successful efforts for the benefits of the +prisoners, 597. + +WOOD, Captain JOHN T., attacks armed vessels in the Rappahannock in +ope boats, 223. + +WOOD, Commander JOHN TAYLOR, commands the Tallahassee, 265; her +cruise, 265. + +_Yazoo Pass_, proposal to pass boats through, 392. + +_Yorktown_, strengthening the defenses continued, 91; further +improvements on the works, 91; arrangements for evacuation commenced, +92; army withdrawn from the line of Warwick River, 93; evacuation +made successfully, 93: loss of property, 94; statement of General +Early, 94. + +ZOLLICOFFER, General, commands at Mill Springs, 19; his position, 19; +General Thomas advances against him, 19; Crittenden takes command and +moves to attack Thomas, 20; Zollicoffer killed, 21. + + + + +THE END OF VOL. II. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rise and Fall of the Confederate +Government, Volume 2, by Jefferson Davis + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42315 *** |