3 } 
 
THE TRIP 
 
 STEAMER OCEANUS 
 
 hxi ^imt^i' mi i^hmk^tm, #* tf . 
 
 Comprising the Incidents of the Excursion, the Appearance, at that tune, of the 
 
 City, and the entire Programme of Exercises at the Re-raising 
 
 of the Flag over the Ruins of 
 
 FORT SUMTER, 
 
 APRIL 14rth, 1865 
 
 BY A COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE PASSENGERS OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 BROOKLYN : 
 ■THE UNION" STEAM PRINTING HOUSE, 10 FRONT STREET. 
 
 18G5. 
 
 Oc-V., 
 

 C<\ 
 
 Kntered, according to Ait ol Congress, in tlie yeiir lMi5. 
 
 Bv J. CLEMENT KRENCH am. EDWARD CAKY. 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern Distrii t ot New York. 
 
• I 
 
 I- 
 
 INTEODUCTORY N^OTE. 
 
 The preparation of this hook, whatever may be its reception 
 bv those to whom it is dedicated, has been a hibor of love. 
 Unsought, and ahnost under protest, the work was under- 
 taken, at the unanimous request of the passengers of the 
 " Oeeanus." It was an addition to stated professional duties, 
 which the committee appointed were exceedingly reluctant to 
 accept. But, once begun, it brought its reward continually, 
 in the joy of living over again minutely, every scene which 
 made the excm-sion to Charleston the most memorable as to 
 object, enjoyment and inspiration, which our national history 
 has ever made possible. 
 
 The work etfects no faultlessness. In the brief space during 
 which it was composed, there was little opportunity for elabo- 
 ration. It professes to be, not a treatise upon national affairs, 
 nor yet a discussion of principles, but a current, unimagina- 
 tive, and therefore we trust, a perfectly truthful narration of 
 scenes and incidents, from the hour the "Oceanus" left the 
 wharf, until she brought us there again. The writers describe 
 not only what was seen and enjoyed by themselves, but by 
 hundreds of others, who are asked to bear witness to the 
 faithfuhiess of these records. 
 
IV rXTRODFOTOKV. 
 
 'rin' (Iilay ill issiiiim the iiifiiiorial. has arisen I'roin the 
 iieeessarv ()f'eii|Kiti<iii ol" time in the nieclianical execution. P)Ut 
 it' any have inihiiijed impatien(>e. we eontidently believe that 
 they will i)e amply repaid hy the style of typography, illns- 
 ti-ation and ireneral linisli. in which the work is |)resented. 
 
 The committee, to whom tln' pi-epai'ation ot' the volume 
 was entrusted, would gratefully acknowledge the kindly as- 
 sistance, through coiiimunicated incidents, gleanings from the 
 press, notices of relics, and manifestations of deep interest in 
 the work, rendered liy many of their fellow- voyagers. 
 
 To Mr. E. Anthony, of the firm '• K. Sc FT. T. Anthony," 
 No. 501 Broadway, New Yoi-k. who had an artist in the field, 
 and who kindly |)ermitted his copy-righted views to be used 
 for illustration, the committee of piil)licatiou woidd tender their 
 hearty thanks, in the name of the •" Humtcr Club.'' 
 
 In conclusion, they would state that this book is not an 
 avant-(!Ourier. Authorship was as far from their intention as 
 desire. An edition, covering but fcnv more copies than tliose 
 actually subscribed for hy the passengers of the " Oceanus," 
 is all that will be issued. The public may therefore rest 
 assured, that it will then be out of ])rint. and in this case, the 
 Script\n-al assertion. " of making many books there is no end." 
 will liavi^ a positive exception. 
 
 If. in the pei'usal of these pages, those who visited the ruined 
 city and the storied Fort, shall experience any satisfaction ; if 
 in coming years, it shall (b'light any one to remember the 
 histoi'ic excursion, the bettei- by these simple recoi'ds ; if any 
 impulse shall be given to the sacred cause of loyalty to our 
 common couuti-y, the whole desire of those who now commit 
 them to the public view, will be altundantly answered. 
 
Wa l|fe Sumter Club, 
 
 Extemporized in origin : unexampled in occasion ; abounding with the representatives 
 
 of pulpit, press, forum, and counting-room : graced with feminine 
 
 beauty and culture ; a synonym for patriotic 
 
 devotion to 
 
 •"^ "T H 13 F iia A © © F © 10 M. inrM 1 © B 9 "> => 
 
 the anniversary of whose resurrection in Charleston Harbor it is henceforth to 
 
 celebrate with 
 "FEAST OF REASON, AND FLOW OF LOYAL SOUL, 
 
 this volume is primarily and cordially 
 
 4^ IC D I C A T E D . 
 
THE TRIP OF THE OCEANUS 
 
 Jf0ti ^Emtigr amir (^terlfstoE, S^mii; ftEiriEFlteE. 
 
 <^ c2:> ^ ^ ^.' 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 When the welcome intelligence reached the North 
 that Charleston was occupied by the victorious legions 
 of Gen. Sherman, the expectation was universal that a 
 day would he appointed for the formal raising of the 
 Fnited States Hag over the ruins of Fort Sumter. 
 
 That expectation, our President did not disappoint. 
 With that unerring discernment of appropriate times 
 and seasons, for which he was ever remarkable, he 
 named the fourteenth of April, the fourth anniversary 
 of the surrender, and the lowering of the banner for a 
 four years' banishment. From the first appearance of 
 this proclamation, it was felt that the occasion would 
 
6 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 be one around wliicli national and historic interest would 
 gather. Upon that day, every loyal son of the United 
 States would exult, and give praise to God ; every trai- 
 tor or sympathizer with treason, if not too hardened, 
 would blush for the temerity and wickedness which at- 
 tempted dishonor to the nation's standard ; every well- 
 wisher to the American liepublic, in foreign lands, 
 would sing in his heart a glad " Te Deumy 
 
 It was known that a steamer, officially commissioned, 
 would convey to the Fort all those who were to take 
 active ])art in the exercises, together with a few more 
 favored individuals ; but what should they do, who 
 were not within that charmed circle, the '■'■ ignoMle vul- 
 gus^-- who were not so happy as Government patronage, 
 just at this time, would have made them? Fortunately, 
 a few gentlemen, to whom all the passengers of the 
 Oceanus, upon that ever-memorable excursion, will always 
 be grateful, conceived and executed a plan to afford 
 this pleasure to a goodly number of their fellow-citizens. 
 
 These gentlemen were Messrs. Stephen M. Griswold 
 and Edwin A. Studwell, of Brooklyn, who subsequently 
 associated with themselves Mr. Edward Cai-y, Editor of 
 The JJnion^ whose services were confined, however, to 
 issuing the tickets and receiving the money at the office 
 of that paper. In pursuance of a jdan arranged by these 
 gentlemen, the steamer " Oceanus" was chartered of the 
 Neptune Steamship Company, G. S. Howland, President, 
 for nine days, for which time she was turned over to 
 the Committee for a trip to Charleston, and such other 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 points as tlie passengers sliould decide to visit. Origi- 
 nally, the plan of the trip embraced not only Charleston 
 Harbor and Fort Sumter, but Hilton Head, Fort Fisher, 
 Fortress Monroe, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and possibly City 
 Point, to which — ^when we heard of the fall of the Rebel 
 capital — Richmond, also, was conditionally added. The 
 expenses of the trip were divided among the passengers 
 equally, so that $100 paid for berth and meals for the 
 round trip. 
 
 The first announcement of the proposed excursion was 
 made in The Union of March 30th, in a very modest 
 and succinct manner; the statement was repeated on the 
 following day, and also made from Mr. Beecher's pulpit 
 on Sunday. The result was a rush for tickets, beginning 
 on the 31st, and increasing to such an extent that on 
 Monday, the 3d of April, the Committee enlarged the 
 number of passengers from one hundred and fifty, as 
 originally determined, to one hundred and eighty. The 
 scenes in the office of The Union were extremely 
 amusing, resulting from the earnestness of the applicants, 
 their nervous anxiety each to secure the best accommo- 
 dations possible, and from the hearty good humor w^ith 
 which all treated each other. The increase in the num- 
 ber of passengers wholly failed to satisfy the demand ; 
 twice as many would have eagerly taken the opportunity 
 to go, if possible, and another party was projected, which 
 was abandoned only because no other suitable steamer 
 could be obtained. 
 
 Finally, on the eighth of April, it was duly announced 
 
8 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 that all the preparations were completed. The contract* 
 for the l)t)at had been duly signed, the tickets disposed 
 of, passes obtained for the passengers individually, and 
 a very liberal general permit, direct from the AVar De- 
 partment, for the vessel — the latter largely through the 
 kind offices of Mr, H. C. Bowen, of the Independent ; 
 the provender had been stored, the vessel put in sea- 
 o-oinof order, and Hon. Cyrus P. Smith, President of the 
 Union Ferr}^ Company, had kindly proffered the use of 
 one of the largest of the East River ferry-boats to trans- 
 fer the passengers from the foot of Montague Street to 
 the dock of the Oceanus, at the foot of Robinson Street, 
 on the North River, whence the excursionists were to 
 start at noon, precisely, of the 10th. 
 
 On the morning of the lOtli, at half-past ten, the 
 Fulton Ferry boat Peconic started with her joyous com- 
 pany, which was duly transferred to the Oceanus. The 
 scenes at the wharf of the steamer were characteristic: 
 the passengers coming on board in good time and cheer- 
 ily, while many were still awaiting a possible vacancy. 
 The only addition to the company was Col, Howard, i>f 
 the 128th Colored Regiment, who was eager to reach 
 his command at Charleston, having just come from 
 Sherman's triumphant army at Savannah, where he had 
 been attached to the staff of his br(jtlier. Gen. Howard. 
 The time for departure having come, the crowd upon 
 the wharf gathered to bid us God-speed. 
 
 And a God-speed we had — possibly barring the speed — 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 9 
 
 but with good cheer, good nature, faitliful seas, grand 
 ninsic, glowing patriotism, congenial company, hearts over- 
 brinnning with joy — save the last Dark Day — and pre- 
 eminent Divine favor, from the hour that we waved our 
 adieus, till agaiu we touched the wharf at the foot of 
 Robinson Street — all of which we will proceed to nar- 
 rate witii as much faithfulness as possible in the next 
 and succeeding chapters. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 At 10 minutes past 12 oY-lock M., April lOtli, tlie 
 screw of the good steamer Ocean us began its recalcitra- 
 tion, slowly pushing its precious and happj freight out 
 upon the bosom of the river. Cheer upon cheer broke 
 forth from the crowd gathered upon the wharf, re- 
 sponded to by the passengers tilling every available 
 standing place upon the vessel's landward side ; hats 
 and handkerchiefs were waved in the air, and parting 
 messages exchanged, until the shouting and signals be- 
 came futile by the increasing distance. It was evident 
 that we had left hundreds of envious and yet congratu- 
 latory hearts behind. We bore our enjoyment and 
 honors meekly. 
 
 The day was in unhappy mood. All the morning 
 the skies had lowered. A iin«, tiltering mist had only 
 slightly dampened our ardor. Now the rain increased, 
 and a tenuous fog thickened gradually over the surface 
 of the bay. It was not an auspicious inauguration of 
 our voyage, but the doubting were assured by tlie hope- 
 ful, who quoted the venerable and philosophic maxim 
 " A bad beginning makes a good ending." 
 
 In the smooth waters of the harbor, we were pluming 
 
TEip OF thp: oceanus. 11 
 
 ourselves upon the delightful steadiness of the steamer. 
 The inexperienced were sure that the discomforts of a 
 sea voyage, must have been greatly overstated. Now 
 we pass Governor's Island, and the familiar landmarks 
 in our own enterprising City ; we leave upon our left, 
 Fort Lafayette, that boarding place of sundry treason- 
 enacting individuals, and upon our right, the fortifica- 
 tions and heights of Staten Island ; now we point out 
 the low sandy waste of Coney Island, and desci'y in 
 the misty distance the light-house of Sandy Hook. It 
 is the opinion of the writer that somewhere near this 
 locality the hitherto staid steamer began to lose its re- 
 putation for steadiness, and certain passengers, whose 
 temperance and sobriety is proverbial, to exhibit strange 
 symptoms of inebriety. Upon this point, however, owing 
 to temporary aberration of his own intellect, he would 
 prefer not to be considered authority. Yet he has suf- 
 ficient distinctness of memory to recall a peculiarly 
 gyratory motion among the passengers, as they attempted 
 to navigate the cabin, the clutching here and there of 
 an outsider at the gunwale, and occasional visages of 
 more than ordinary pallor. Pie remembers one gentle- 
 man of portly carriage and still happy face, standing 
 near the cabin entrance with his friends, who, upon a 
 sudden roll of the vessel, was caught just behind the 
 knees by an opportune chair, and, as he was tilted over 
 backward into its cushioned receptacle, remarked some- 
 what drily, " I believe I'll sit down," The situation, 
 which had been in a good degree comical, was now be- 
 
12 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS, 
 
 coming more serious, when suddenly — ruh — thump — stoji — 
 and we were aground. We liad struck the sand-sjMt, 
 and all the tem])est of the screw only suffic^ed to beat 
 the shallow waters into unavailing foam at the stern. 
 We hailed our supposed deliverer in a })uffing, spitting 
 steam-tug, just in the offing, but which, upon being 
 lashed to the great hulk of the Oceanus, appeared like 
 an ant tugging at a kernel of corn, and was about as 
 efficient. Signal was given foi' a ]>ilot-boat, which soon 
 came bearing down before the breeze, and when within 
 fifty yards, dropped a row-boat astern, containing a [)ilot, 
 and two oarsmen. Soon an order comes for the gen- 
 tlemen to go forward, as the vessel is aground aft. We 
 all go out upon the forward deck, and stand with com- 
 mendable i~»atience in the sifting rain. The etfect be- 
 comes speedily apparent, for, deju'essed at the bow by 
 such a weiglit of corporeal and mental ballast, tlie ship 
 swings clear of the sand, and Ave discover by the buoys 
 that we are drifting free. A few (pierulous iiulividuals 
 undertake t(» chaffer with the old salt, who stands M'ith 
 arms akimbo upon the window casement of the pilot- 
 house. They soon learn that the experience of twenty 
 years at sea not only perfects the nautical science, but 
 sharpens the wits of a New York Harbor })ilot. 
 
 "Can't you take us out this afternoon T' asks an im- 
 patient passenger. 
 
 " I reckon \ can, if )ou say so,'' responds the son of 
 Neptune ; " but you'd better lay here to-night." 
 
 " Why 
 
 so 
 
 y" 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 13 
 
 "Yon o-entleinen want to go to Charleston, don't you?" 
 
 " (Jf course" — from a dozen voices. 
 
 " Wall, you'd ])etter lay here then to-night, tor it's 
 goin' to be a Averry dirty, nasty night outside." 
 
 Meanwhile, the (Jonnnittee are holding a conference 
 with the captain, and returning, submit the (juestion to 
 the vote of the passengers, which, by a very lai'ge ma- 
 jority, is decided in favor of remaining for clearer weather, 
 until morning if necessary; accordingly, while a few of 
 the opposition are warmly debating the possibilities of 
 danger and too long delay, lest we might miss the cele- 
 bration of the coming Friday, with a rush and noise like 
 small thunder down goes the anchor, and we lie as mo- 
 tionless in the shallow waters at Sandy Hook as if 
 moored at the wharf at the foot of Robinson St. The 
 temporarily sea-sick reappear. The cabins are tilled with 
 groups of ladies and gentlemen joyously discussing the 
 morning news of the suri'ender of Lee, the prospects of 
 the excursion, and the sensil)le conclusion to wait for 
 brighter skies ; or, disposed in various attitudes, and with 
 nondescript pens and pencils, and extemporized bits of 
 letter ]iaper, writing a few words to home friends, jocu- 
 larly dating their missives, "^On Sandy Hook." A well- 
 known fellow-citizen of the happiest countenance acts as 
 collecter of these epistles, and is the mail-carrier to the 
 pilot. 
 
 The Chairman of the Committee summons the passen- 
 gers to the deck below, and explains to them the ar- 
 rangements for the trip, the sea-worthiness of the vessel, 
 
14 TRIP OF THE OCKANUS. 
 
 the capacity and variety of the larder, and answers the 
 queries of the inquisitive with satisfactory minuteness 
 and good nature. 
 
 Notliing was left us now hut to kill time in the nu)st 
 entertaining and proiitable manner })ossible ; and it was 
 to the quick intelligence of a lady that we were indebted 
 for a patriotic meeting in the evening, which was the 
 jubilant key-note for all its successors; a series of meet- 
 ings, whose enjoyableness in all the elements of patriotic 
 fervor and eloquence, pathos, breadth, wit, and humor, 
 is seldom equaled. 
 
 The meeting of Monday evening was organized by 
 the appointment of Hon. Cyrus P. Smith, President ; 
 Hon. Edward A. Lambert, Joshua Leavitt, D. D., Henry 
 C. Bowen, Hon. A. M. Wood, and S. M. Griswold, Vice- 
 Presidents, Hon. George Hall and Mr. E. A. Studwell, 
 Secretaries. Mr. Wm. B. Bradbury kindly consented to 
 act as Director-General of music, the piano being gener- 
 ously furnished for the trip by Messrs. Sawyer & Thomp- 
 son. 
 
 The most humorous introduction was given to the 
 exercises by the facetious proposition to sing, in begin- 
 ning, "We are out on the ocean sailing'' — the most 
 perfect burlesque upon our situation, fast at the end of 
 an anchor chain, and as motionless as the hills of Nevi- 
 sink. When the explosion of laughter which greeted 
 this announcement had sul)sided, the familiar Sabbath- 
 school glee was sung with a will. Peculiarly suggestive 
 to many seemed the last three lines : 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 15 
 
 "When we all are safely landed 
 Over on that golden shore, 
 We icill walk about the city," etc., etc. 
 
 Rev. Tlieo. L. Ciiyler was called upon to state the 
 object of the meeting'. For half an hour he stated it 
 witli anecdote and illustration, reminiscence and appeal, 
 in a strain of fervid, patriotic eloquence, and resumed 
 his seat amidst a storm of applause. His speech was a 
 Utting preparation for the soul-stirring song, " Rally 
 round the tlag, boys!" which followed at "his request. 
 We may remark, in i)assing, that throughout the entire 
 excursion, the unusual amount of excellent musical as 
 M'ell as speaking talent Avas brought into daily i-equisition. 
 
 The second s})eaker of the evening was Rev. O. B. 
 Frothingham, whose well-considered, earnest, and timely 
 address was listened to with very marked attention. 
 
 Rev. H. M. Gallaher, of the l^assau Street Baptist 
 Church, a stranger to many of the party at the outset, 
 was next introduced, and for nearly an hour kept the 
 company in a tumult of laughter and applause by his 
 side-splitting stories, his racy narrations, his broad come- 
 dy, his glowing eulogies of his adopted country — he is 
 an Irishman — and his brilliant climaxes. He was no 
 longer a stranger to the passengers of the Oceanus. 
 
 Mr. Bradbury's spirited national glee, " Victory at 
 last," which all the musical on board seemed to catch 
 as b}^ intuition, was then sung with a vociferous effect, 
 which might almost have been heard on shore. This 
 song became one of the indispensable spiceries of every 
 
16 TKir OF thp: oceanus. 
 
 occasion, and, by the kind permission of its author, is 
 to be fonnd, with the music, in the appendix. 
 
 A brief address was made by Rev. J. Clement French, 
 followed by Col. Howard, ])reviously mentioned. The 
 Colonel's address was replete with practical common 
 sense, and witli frank and cordial acknowledgment of 
 the services of the privates, such as might have been 
 expected from a true soldier, whose best record is to be 
 found in his deeds. 
 
 After the" grand old Doxology, " Praise God from 
 whom all blessings tiow,'^ the meeting adjourned, subject 
 to the call of the President. 
 
 And it was high time, for, during the speeches of 
 the last two gentlemen, the sounds of hurrying feet 
 upon the decks had been heard ; the welcome news had 
 been whis])ered through the company that we were 
 weighing anchor, and were about to proceed on our 
 way ; the now familiar roll of the ship began again to 
 be experienced ; the speakers were steadying themselves 
 against the table and iron braces of the cabin, and a 
 very few of tlie most sensitive had quietly withdrawn 
 to their state-rooms. Going forth to the bow, we found 
 that the steamer liad already left the lights of Sandy 
 Hook far in the distance, the dull clouds were opening 
 in rifts, through which the friendly moon smiled promi- 
 ses of a fairer sky ; the pilot was gone, and we were 
 fairly at sea. 
 
 Despite the inspiriting etfects of these pleasant omens, 
 the duty of an honest historian compels us to state that 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 17 
 
 certain stalwart gentlemen, with an excess of self-denial, 
 gave whatsoever they had laid bv at the snpper-table to 
 the iishes of the sea. The general impression seemed 
 to prevail that it was liigli time for all honest and pa- 
 triotic individnals to he in their berths. Further than 
 this, concerning Monday night, your deponent saith not. 
 To attempt a description of the scenes on board onr 
 vessel throughont Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 
 morning for yon indeed, might be amusing, bnt for us, 
 "it is not convenient." A strange oblivion concerning 
 those hours settles upon our memory. We remember 
 hearing the strains of Helmsmuller's Band contending 
 with the creaking of the rolling ship, and the dashing 
 of the waves; an occasional tiourish by some fair hand 
 upon the piano, supplemented by a distressed sound in 
 the after cabin ; the voice of Helon Johnson, the colored 
 waiter, singing in the adjoining state-room the tantaliz- 
 ing ditty, 
 
 " Rocked in the cradle of the deep, 
 I lay me down in peace to sleep," 
 
 — the rich sweetness of whose tones only enhanced the 
 impertinent mockery ; the unsteady tread of the ex- 
 empt, as they shambled past our door ; the untouched 
 bowls of soup ; the prescriptions without number of sea- 
 water, brandy, mustard, lemon-juice, ice-cream, salt pork, 
 et id omne genus ; the glimpses we caught through the 
 crack of the door of serried rows of mattresses in the 
 cabins, each bearing a pale-faced, despairing female, 
 whose head was in painful proximity to a little green, 
 
18 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 seini-lniiar hasiii of tin, with (•.]minl)erniai(l^^ liiiri'vinn' to 
 and fro, themselves worn down by constant service ; the 
 l)rave resistance to sea-sickness by onr room-mate, who 
 had weathered the storms of Lake Erie and Michi<;-an, 
 until tlu'^ lieavy sea of Thnrschiy mornino- obliged him 
 to snccumb ; liow he rushed into the state-room wliere 
 we were writhing in superlative wretchedness, divested 
 himself, in a twinkling, of his outer and nether integu- 
 ments, plunged into his l)erth with the expressive de- 
 claration, "Whew! Fm as dizzy as a hat," until we of 
 the lower berth writhed again with irrej)ressible laugh- 
 ter — -these few distinct recollections come floating through 
 the vagueness which gathers over those darksome days, 
 and iiiay serve as hints for those who desire to treasure 
 up the more ludicrous incidents of the voyage. 
 
 But the meetings went on, with diminished numbers, 
 it is true, but with no abatement of interest. On Tues- 
 day evening, Edward A. Lambert, Esq., presided. We 
 were told that the Rev. A. P. Putnam made the open- 
 ing address, fully equaling the occasion in inq)ressiveness 
 and powei" that the Rev. J. L. Corning spoke pointedly 
 and pleasantly ; that Charlton T. Lewis, Esq., of New 
 York, delighted the audience with the clearness and 
 force of his thought, and the graceful finisli of his rheto- 
 ric ; that Ilev. II. M. Gallaher again scintillated with 
 increasing popularity ; and Rev. Dr. Leavitt gave weight 
 and dignity to the occasion by his narrations of personal 
 ex])erience, and forceful utterances of practical truth, while 
 music and applause and laughter tilled up all the inter- 
 stices of the hastily-fleeting hours. 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 19 
 
 We were indebted, on each of these occasions, to Miss 
 Phoebe B. Merritt and Miss Mary Bowen for some ex- 
 cellent piano solos. 
 
 Wednesday passed with little of special interest. The 
 sea was calmer. Cape Ilatteras had been cleared with- 
 out inconvenience additional. We were experiencing a 
 marked modification of temperature. State-rooms became 
 uncomfortably close. It was said that the sea outrivaled 
 the sky in the depth and infinity of blue ; that a school 
 of por]3oises rolled their Ijlack backs above the waves in 
 merry gambols around the steamer, and that those who 
 had " oil on the brain" looked with stoical indifference 
 upon a whale. It was also averred that the culinary 
 and dietetic arrangements Avere becoming more and more 
 satisfactory, and that the number gathered al)out the 
 board was upon the increase. 
 
 A third meeting was held in the evening, presided 
 over by Hon. A. M. Wood, of Brooklyn. 
 
 The first speaker upon tliis occasion was Mr. A. M. 
 Powell, a correspondent of the Tribune. His address 
 was thoughtful, earnest, radical, and convincing. 
 
 Col. Howard, Hon. Edgar Ketclnim, Dr. J. Allen, 
 Revs. T. L. Cuyler and II. M. Gallaher, with others, 
 continued the interest of our former gatherings. At the 
 close, several of the colored waiters, whose choruses 
 upon the lower decks had attracted much attention, 
 wei-e invited to sing for our company. Coming modest- 
 ly into so august a presence, they rendered the "John 
 Brown" song with peculiarly fine effect. 
 
20 TKIP OK 'niK OdKANUS. 
 
 Tln'ouiilmiit the afternoon of Wednesday, and part of 
 the niii'ht, we were enveh)ped in an impenetrable fog. 
 Uut the morning of Thnrs^day was (dear and beautiful, 
 with no other motion foi' our vessel than that imparted 
 by the long roll of the sea. Hut this was now excessive. 
 The steamer, being a pro])ellor, had nothing with which 
 to overcome the trough of the sea, in which we were 
 fearfully rocking. She would make trom four to six 
 heavy lurches, then, for a few seconds, all would be 
 comparatively quiet; then as many more rolls, and all 
 things not lashed down, including men and women, 
 pitch across the cabin. Some of the stoutest and bravest 
 had to show the white feather this morning. The rear 
 (^abin again became a hospital. It was thought that we 
 must 1)0 very near Charleston. We were promised the 
 sight of its spires by eight o'clock A. M., Init we did 
 not see them. All day long, until three o'clock, the 
 steamer's course was laid nearly due west. ITow could 
 it be that we were so far fr(jm land { At last it was 
 ascertained that during the night we had been borne 
 to the eastward by the (-rulf stream, and this distance 
 was now being recovered. 
 
 At length, not far from three o'clock, the joyfid sli()ut, 
 "Land hoi" (piickened the languid judses, dissipated 
 the ermiii^ called out of their seclusion the i)allid and 
 bilious-tinted, and crowded the deck with eager-eyed 
 searchers, through o])era-glasses, for the coveted terra- 
 tirnia. 'J'he light-ship was ])laiidy visible, upon whose 
 side, the most clear-sighted could read the suggestive 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 21 
 
 name, "Rattlesnake Shoals." Beyond conld be descried 
 the low reach of land: a dim pile, which we were as- 
 sured was Fort Snmtei", and still further, tlie spires of 
 the once proud, hut now humbled, Charleston. The 
 arrival ou board of the pilot completed our satisfaction, 
 and the welcome he received was unfeigned. 
 
 He was a short, stout man, dressed in army blue, with 
 which the color of his large, tiat eye precisely corres- 
 ponded. His face was nut-brown, from the tinting- ot 
 Southern breezes. He was born and brought u]) in 
 Charleston. He at once informed the captain that the 
 bar could not be passed until high-tide, at six o'clock. 
 Accordingly, the anchor was dropped, and we gently 
 rocked for two hours "in the cradle of the deep." This 
 pilot is now in Government employ. When asked if 
 all the people of Charleston were loyal, he shrugged his 
 shoulders, and made no reply. 
 
 One said : " We are ooin^ down to itial^e you loval." 
 
 " You won't make me loyal," said the old tar, " for 
 I always have been," 
 
 We afterwards learned that his testimony concerning 
 
 himself was true. 
 
 2 
 
C H A P T E 11 III. 
 
 TnK scenes M-liich greeted tlie passengers of the Oceanns, 
 as we slowly steamed toward and tlirongh the harbor of 
 Charleston, not even tlie most stolid and impassable will 
 ever forget. 
 
 At precisely six o'clock, anchor was weighed. The 
 entire company was upon the decks, with glasses ready 
 for observation. The band took its position njxtn the 
 verv bow. Previons to starting from the anchorage, there 
 had l)een a brief shower, giving a delicious freshness to 
 the air, and leaving the western heavens overspread 
 with heavy, breaking clouds of gray. Suddenly a sign 
 appeared before us, of singular and portentous interest. 
 The rays of the sun smote a circular opening in the 
 murky clouds, hemming their edges with a l)and of light, 
 and, just for a moment, poured down a flood of glory 
 u])on the jagged walls of Fort Sumter, and the waters 
 of the harbor. 
 
 The pilot stood at the window, from which, besides 
 o-ivino' his directions to the helmsman, he announced the 
 various points of interest, as we approached and passed 
 them. 
 
 The first object of note was a line of low earthworks 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 23 
 
 upon the left shore, npoii tlie to]) of wliieh were several 
 soldiers, whose muskets glistened in the light. They 
 M'ere " watching the approach of our vessel, and as we 
 moved along, ran wildly down to the sandy beach, 
 waving their handkerchiefs in joyous welcome. Just 
 beyond, were two buoys, marking the spots where the 
 Keokuk and Weehawkeu were sunk, the staft' upon the 
 bow of the latter being visible, to which the hand 
 of some eager patriot had lashed a small American flag. 
 
 We would not fail to record another disi)lay in the 
 sky, which just at this point arrested every gaze, and 
 called forth from the entranced observers, at length, a 
 burst of the wildest enthusiasm. It was no mere fig- 
 ment of the imagination, Ijut a vision to the reality 
 and beauty of which every passenger on the Oceanus 
 M-as a delighted witness. 
 
 All at once arose a cry of admiration, as a hun- 
 dred hands pointed to the spectacle. " Sea ! the red, 
 white, and blue ! the red, Avhite, and blue !" — for there, 
 right before us in the western heavens, the scarlet streak- 
 ings of the sunlight lay in parallel bars of amazing equi- 
 distance upon the grayish blue background of mist, in- 
 termingled here and there with white bands of the nearer 
 clouds, the whole forming a singularly perfect picture of 
 our beloved flag, hung out, as it seemed, by the hand 
 of God, over the recovered city, and greeting with its 
 celestial benison the sons and daughters of the North 
 who were bringing the tidings of Lee's surrender, and 
 the death of the Rebellion. 
 
24 TRTP OF THE OCKANUS. 
 
 As tlie tlioiio;lit, in .'ill its significance, snffused our 
 sonls, many an eye was moist, and hands were clasped, 
 in the devontness of joy. 
 
 ISTow, we are })assing' a hjng and low tongue of land, 
 beyond which the bay returns backward. Upon this 
 stands Fort Wagner, of the deepest liistoric interest. 
 Here, for the first time, it was demonstrated that negroes 
 could and would fight terribly, desperately, even to de- 
 cimation. Along that narrow causeway, exposed to the 
 murderous direct fire from the Fort, the dauntless 
 regiment charged with the impetuosity of a tempest, to 
 be rolled Ijack by the torrent of shot and shell ; again 
 and again rallied and charged against fearful odds, until 
 their Colonel, the nol)le and lamented Shaw, fell in his 
 blood, the idol of his men, and the admired of all the 
 ])rave. 
 
 It is not certainly known where his body sleeps. 
 There were some of Carolinian blood, whose aj)precia- 
 tion of heroism rose no higher than the plantation edict : 
 "Bury him with his niggers!"" Some say that his re- 
 mains were scattered l)y the Rebels to the four winds 
 of heaven. Others affirm that they were buried obscurely 
 near the sjiot on which he fell. It is reported, also, 
 that when it was proposed to his father to remove the 
 dust of the heroic soldier to some other burial-place, he 
 replied that '* he wanted no better or nobler grave for 
 his son than the very soil nyum which he poured out 
 his blood." 
 
 Next, we. pass Sullivan's Island, upon the angle of 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 25 
 
 which was tlie ftinious Cuinmiiigs' Point Battery, built 
 of raih'oad iron, and which rolled the cannon-shot of 
 Sumter from its sides as thouo-h they had been ])eas. 
 
 Now we are approaching; Foi't Sumter itself, the cen- 
 tre of all present observation and interest. There it lies, 
 like a vast disabled monster, crouching in sullen and con- 
 scious imbecility, in the centre of the harbor. Its para- 
 pets, once so lovely, are battered into jagged shapeless- 
 ness. Its sides are deeply pock-marked and indented. 
 Heaps of rnbljish and dehris around its base disclose the 
 terrilic ordeal through which it has passed since April, 
 1S61. From the new Hag-staff in its centre waves the 
 Banner of the Republic, never again to be displaced by 
 the hand of the traitor. Its port-holes are mostly closed. 
 Rows of wicker baskets can be descried, filling up the 
 ghastly chasms. Here and there upon the walls, a sen- 
 tinel paces to and fro. Involuntarily our heads are all 
 uncovered. A solemn silence pervades the throng, as 
 for a moment the thought of the past four years, with 
 their changes, passions, carnage, suffering, defeats de- 
 pression, and final triumph Hashes through every mind. 
 There is but one language which can express the emo- 
 tions of that moment. It is the language of thankful 
 song. And, as by a conmion inspiration, our voices 
 break forth in one grand, surging, heaven-echoed chorus: 
 
 " Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ! 
 Praise Him, all creatures here below ! 
 Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host ! 
 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!" 
 
 That allelulia is heard by the guardians of the old 
 
26 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 ruin. In (jiiick response, the ling is dipped, tlie walls 
 bristle with armed men waving their salute ; the liand 
 peals forth the " Star Spangled Banner" — iitting har- 
 mony to 1)0 rolled back upon the recreant sons of the 
 South Carolinian who [)eiincd its measures — and we move 
 on to other scenes. Fort Sumter I an t'evoi/'! 
 
 Just beyond the ruin, at the left, lies the wreck ot 
 the famous old Hoating-battery, built by Beauregard, with 
 which to take the fort. A portion of one of its sides, 
 with four port-holes visible, still remains above the wa- 
 ter. Near by, are the wrecks of two Englisli b](K-kade- 
 runners, the smoke-stacks and bowsprit only being in 
 sight. To the right is Fort Moultrie, — abandoned by 
 Major Anderson and his brave followers in 1861, for the 
 stronger defense of Fort Sumter, now in good condition, 
 though never a fortification of superior strength. Bat- 
 tery Bee extends its low earth-mounds, now green with 
 luxuriant grass, for a long distance towards the city. 
 Fort Ripley a})pears in the midst of the water, a snuill 
 and insignificant redoubt, built by the Rebels, with the 
 stones taken from the streets of Charleston. 
 
 Beyond, and of njore importance, rises Castle Pinckney, 
 surrounded by a high light-house. 
 
 On either side of the harbor, the shores are crowned 
 with groves of the j)ines peculiar to this country, their 
 tops branching and interwoven, and presenting to the 
 inexperienced, the appearance of the palmetto. This 
 latter tree shows itself but sparsely here. We saw but 
 one or two specimens, and these were as crooked and 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. )i i 
 
 uiiinterestini»; as the natives whose cross-grained State 
 they symbolize. 
 
 All these places of niai'tial reputation were greeted as 
 we passed, with cheers, the band meanwhile playing 
 patriotic airs, for we saw waving above them all, the 
 Banner of the Free. 
 
 We were now abreast of the United States vessels-of- 
 war at anchor, the blockading vessels released from 
 service, the captured blockade runners, the Government 
 transports, and two monitors scarcely clearing the water's 
 edge. To each of these we shouted the news, which was 
 received with wild hurrahs, and the rapid dipping of tlie 
 colors. A unique and beautiful sight presented itself 
 through the thickly gathering twilight, as we steamed 
 past the men-of-war. At a given signal, the boys in 
 blue sprang to the shrouds, ran up like so many 
 squirrels, walked out upon the yard-arms, tilled all the 
 rigging, and aspired even to the top-masts ; the?! turn- 
 ing about, they waved their hats in exultation, and sent 
 their ringing cheers across the water. 
 
 The monitors lie nearest the city. It is easy to under- 
 stand the contempt which the Rebels felt for the first 
 craft of this description, as commanded by the gallant 
 Worden, it bore down upon their vast lumbering monster, 
 the Merrimac, in the waters of Hampton Roads. Their 
 title, bestowed at tliat time, was certainly graphic, " A 
 Yankee cheese-box atloat." And yet the " cheese-box" 
 has poured contempt upon the '' wooden walls" of En- 
 gland, and revolutionized the naval warfare of the woidd. 
 
28 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 Darkness was now settling heavily npon us. We 
 could dimly discern the Battery, with its row of once 
 magnificent mansions, with the marks of shells upon 
 them. Before ns lay the Cit,y, dead to all appearances. 
 Half a dozen lights gleamed along the wharves, hut 
 these were u]>on our own vessels. Not the flickering of 
 a taper was to be seen in any other part of the City. 
 It was the very darkness of desolation. We could see 
 the crowds gathering upon the wharves and vessels. 
 As we drew nearer, a voice was heard faintly calling 
 through the gloonj. 
 
 "W'hat's the news^' 
 
 One of our company, a man of stentorian lungs, ))Ut- 
 ting his hands to his mouth, roared forth, the thrilling 
 intelligence. 
 
 ''Lee has surrendered, with his whole army!" Again, 
 the voice from the shore, faintly. 
 
 "Have we got Lee!" 
 
 "Yes!" thundered the spokesman, and then from the 
 shore, uprose such a peal of huzzas, such a wild tumult 
 of exultation as made the night vocal. The band on 
 board the Blackstone, which lay at the wharf, struck up 
 the " Star Spangled Banner," to which our band res- 
 ponded "My Country, 'tis of Thee," then again from the 
 shore, the "Red, White and Blue," and from the Oceanus, 
 " Hail Columbia!" and enthusiasm indescribable reigned. 
 As we came up to the anchorage near the wharf, we 
 waited for a permit to enter the dock. Though Gen. Gil- 
 more had not yet arrived from Hilton Head, an ofticer 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 20 
 
 from one of the U. S. steamers from yavaiinah, having 
 a very creditable faith in onr loyalty, boldly cut red 
 tape, and authorized our captain to swing up to the 
 wharf. 
 
 This done, a few eager members of the party were 
 determined to go ashore. Much confusion ensned, bnt 
 at length half a dozen succeeded in their purpose, and 
 made their way to the Charleston ■ Hotel, where they 
 announced the news to Gen. Wilson, and others. The 
 wharf was covered with a motley gang of native negroes, 
 contrabands, poor whites and rough-looking fellows, whose 
 appearance was anything but an invitation to familiari- 
 ty. The remainder of the party retired to the sup})er 
 table to satisty an appetite whetted Ijy long delay. 
 After supper, a meeting was called in the Ladies' (Jabin. 
 Dr. Leavitt was appointed Chairman. Pie said that it 
 would be regarded by all as eminently appropriate, after 
 so many and signal mercies, throngh which we had been 
 safely brought to our destination, to recognize the good- 
 ness of Almighty God. 
 
 Tlev. J. S. Corning was called upon to make a few 
 remarks, befitting the occasion, at the conclusion of 
 Mdiich Rev. J. Clement French was invited to offer a 
 prayer of thanksgiving to God for his " eminent mercy 
 to ourselves since we left New York, and his great 
 loving kindness to our beloved country." 
 
 Pleasant speeches followed. By 10 o'clock the party 
 which had gone ashore, returned, bringing with them 
 flowers which they had gathered from the gardens. 
 
30 TRIP OF TIIK OCEANUS. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Cnyler. lioldiiiu' uj) a Ixxjiiet of roses and 
 mock oranges, made it the text for one of his most eiiec- 
 tive addresses. (Japt. Hunt, of Brig.-Gen. Hatch's stalf. 
 brought us the salutations of the officer commanding, 
 and in liis name tendered us the freedom of the city, 
 witli })i'omise of conveyance, and privilege of gathering 
 all the flowers we might desire. Gen. Ilartwell, and 
 Major Nutt. of the 155th Colored Hegt., who had just 
 returned from a ten days raid into the interior of S. C. 
 entertained us until midnight with accounts of their ad- 
 ventures, and we reluctantly retired, that we might be 
 refreshed for the visit to the city on the following 
 niornino;. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 The morning of the ever niemorahle Friday. April 
 14tli, dawned at length. It is surmised that more of 
 the passengers of the Oeeainis witnessed its rising sun 
 than are wont to heliold that matin spectacle. For, 
 when the writei', in the ])ale grey twilight, lirst stepi)ed 
 forth upon Southern soil, the wharf was alive with the 
 members of our party, and numerous gentlemen were 
 returning from moonlight strolls through the city, their 
 hands and arms laden with Howers and sprays of ex- 
 quisite fragrance and verdure. A slight shower during 
 the night had laid the dust and lent a delicious coolness 
 to the air. 
 
 Breakfast was ordered promptly at six o'clock. This 
 preliminary business being disposed of, we were re- 
 quested by our enterprising fellow-citizen, Mr. W. E. 
 James, to bestow ourselves as eligibly as possible upon 
 the decks of the steamer, to be instantaneously photo- 
 graphed. Some of our tirst reflections in Charleston, 
 were made at this moment. 
 
 It had been announced that we should have until ten 
 o'clock for rambling about the city, at which hour, pre- 
 cisely, the transports would leave for Fort Sumter. The 
 
32 TKIl' OF TIIK OCEANUS. 
 
 majority of the coiiipaiiy were now waitiiia; for the con- 
 veyances so kindl}' promised by Ca])t. Hunt, the evening- 
 previous. He had stated that the authorities had im- 
 pressed all tlie carriag'es in the citv for the convenience 
 of tluMr Xortliern friends. About eight o'clock, an army 
 ambulance, drawn bj a s[)an of sorry animals, by cour- 
 tesy yclept hoi'ses, was discovered approaching upon the 
 wharf. A passenger jocularly remarked, " Here come 
 the carriages !" whereupon a pleasant laugh went round. 
 Soon a line of sinn'lar vehicles was drawn up alongside 
 the Oceanus, flanked' by sundry dilapidated carriages. 
 carts, onmibusses, lish-wagons or whatever goeth upon 
 four wheels or two, and drawn by mules, jacks and 
 donkeys, or whatsoever goeth upon four legs or three. 
 This was the livery of Charleston. And, surely enough, 
 these were our carriages. With no little merriment 
 these equipages were received, but the alacrity \vith 
 w'hich the ladies and gentlemen stowed themselves 
 within them, sho^yed conclusively how little they stood 
 upon the ceremony or "order of their going." 
 
 T^ot from any contempt for these vehicles, but ti'om 
 the conviction that sight-seeing could be better accom- 
 plished in ' the primitive way of traveling, we set out 
 on foot, accompanied by a few friends, and turned oui" 
 footsteps into the avenue known as the Battery, when 
 we first began to realize what war had done for the in- 
 famous city of Charleston. 
 
 The Battery is a line and straight promenade, about 
 a quarter of a mile in length, built directly upon the 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANrS. 33 
 
 wateis of the harbor. A wall of ihasonrv rises^ six or 
 seven feet to the hroad esplanade or pavement of stone, 
 command! iiii; a maij:;niticent prospect of the Bay, and all 
 the foi'titications therein. The street is withont pave- 
 ment, the stones ha\'inu' been used for fortifications. 
 Upon the op[)osite side of the street, stand the once 
 elegant mansions of the "aristocracy." This Battery, 
 and these residences, four years ago were teeming with 
 thousands of surging, frantic Charlestonians, as they wit- 
 nessed the l)oml)ardment of Fort Sumter. Every foot of 
 space in the street and upon the promenade, was oc- 
 cupied; every window, doorway, balcony and housetop 
 was crowded with huzzaing Secessionists, men and 
 women, glorying over the chivalry which pitted 10,000 
 armed men, under cover of strong ramparts, against 
 seventy heroes, true to their country's tlag; shut up in 
 the narrow enclosure of a Fort and cut off by the sea 
 from ;dl possibility of retreat. Every shot from the 
 doomed Sumter and from the surrounding batteries, as 
 it went screaming to its woi'k of demolition, or fell hiss- 
 ing into the sea, could be distinctly seen by the excited 
 spectators on land ; ar.d as the fiery hail was poured 
 without intermission for two days and a night, into that 
 enclosure of about four acres, setting fire to the bar- 
 racks and officer's quarters, and as the black smoke rose 
 gloomily up to the heavens, or at night, was lit up by 
 the flash of guns and the reflection of firelight, it must 
 have seeuied to one. who could road God's providences 
 in the light of a prescient fiith, as the pillar of lire 
 
34 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 and cloud wliieli was destined to o;o before a race des- 
 despised and enslaved, till it slionld lead them out into 
 the promised land of liberty and peace. 
 
 And throng'hout those two terrible days, as long as 
 thej could serve a gun, the faitliful fellows under the 
 command (jf the heroic Anderson, poured forth their 
 detiant volleys, until reason and humanity combined to 
 dictate a sun-ender. 
 
 How changed now the scene I At the entrance of the 
 Battery lies a rusty, dismounted gun upon the drhri-s 
 of an old earthwork. The crowd has tied — God only 
 knows whither. Desolation and ruin sit inonarchs of the 
 place. Here we began to see the effect of Gen. Gil- 
 niore's shells, thrown from a distance of five and a 
 quarter miles from the city. The S])lendid houses were 
 all deserted, the glass in the windows broken, the walls 
 dilapidated, the columns toppled over. Some had escaped 
 with scarcely a scratch, while others were battered into 
 shapeless ruin. Holes have been made entirely through 
 them, from two to six feet in diameter, roofs have been 
 broken in, sleepers uptorn ami scattered, arches demol- 
 ished, mantels shattered, while fragments great and small, 
 of every description strew the floors. These were the man- 
 sions of the ''''ArldocraGyy The style of arcliitecture is 
 somewhat ])eculiar. ( )f many of the ediiices, the main body 
 is from three to four stories in height, with rooms very large 
 and high. Upon one side, immense verandahs or piazzas 
 with heavy columns — a verandah for each story — and all 
 luiviiii;- treselated floors, must have formed the most 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 35 
 
 breezy, sightly and delightful resorts for the enervate 
 occupants. In one of these houses, a tiight of eighty 
 marble steps conducts to the upper stories. All these 
 residences are surrounded l)y broad gardens, abounding 
 yet with the most luxuriant growth of trees and shrubs — 
 the orange, the mock orange, the magnolia, the lilac, 
 the hawthorn, the jasmine, roses and vines of every 
 variety. The gates were flung wide open by order of 
 the military authorities, and we availed ourselves of the 
 permission to pluck and cai-rv away whatever floral 
 trophies we desired. 
 
 Many of these gardens give evidence yet of the great- 
 est horticultural skill and taste, though at present, of 
 course, sadly neglected. In some parts, the growth of 
 vegetation, trees, shrubs, vines and rose bushes was so 
 dense and tangled that we could not force our way 
 through by the former paths. Here and there, romantic 
 bowers of box and hawthorn appear. Some of the rose 
 trees grow to an astonishino; heio;ht, and fairly bend 
 with their wealth of blossoms. One rises from eight to 
 twelve feet from the ground, bearing a rose of delicate 
 golden tint, and of size surpassing our largest cabbage 
 roses. And as the magniflcent flowers, in their rank pro- 
 fusion, touch each other, and seem to melt together all 
 over the top of the tree, they fully justify the name by 
 which they are called "tlie cloth of goldy It was not 
 yet the season for the orange and magnolia, and though 
 we missed their s])icy fi'agrance, we were nearly com- 
 pensated 'oy the lush and glossy greenness of tlicii" 
 
36 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 leaves. Tlie l)lo?sniiis <it' the mock oraiiu'e were abun- 
 dant. 
 
 Here we were, in the full tiusli of Summer, with the 
 afHuence of foliage and Horal heautv all around us. We 
 had come from the North, with only the iirst signs ot 
 returning Spring to be seen, in here and there a crocus 
 and daftbdil, the springing grass and the freshening 
 green of willows in rejected heats, or along the water- 
 courses. It was like magic. We were in another zone. 
 The air was spiced with the aron)a of flowers, and 
 freighted with the melody of birds, all guiltless of seces- 
 sion, and Marbling out their welconie. 
 
 But the owners of these estates — where are they'i! 
 Y]in\ — and all the })roud traits of their aristocracy and 
 superiority hushed in the streets of the silent city. 
 They are fugitives and vagabonds, wandering up and 
 down the, interior mountains and plantations of South 
 Carolina, indulging still the dreamy delusion, that the 
 day is just at hand when Lee will annihilate (irant and 
 Sherman, and then the Confederacf/ shall speak from 
 the throne and pulpit of Charleston, its dictum of sov- 
 ereigntv to the States and to the world. Such was the 
 story we were told by those who remain. But was 
 Charleston a unanimously disloyal city throughout the 
 four years during which the huge Rebellion was ram- 
 j)ant ( We may answer — with few exceptions — but these 
 will be ever honored. Rev. A. P. Putnam, in his letter 
 to the /ndejMndent, says: 
 
 •'There is one name, at least, that will shiue out 
 
TRTP ()K rilE OOEANUS. 87 
 
 with glorious lustre in the history of tliese dark years 
 of Charleston. Tt is thjit of the iuniiurtal ' Petigru.' 
 From the very first, and until he died, he denounced 
 the rehellion and its authors in most unmeasured terms 
 of severity. Pul»licly and in private, he exposed the sin 
 of treason, and ])roclaimed his loyalty to the Union and 
 its flag'. When asked one day hy a stranger where was 
 the Lnnati(' Asylum, he exclaimed, 'Every where in 
 the city; the people are all mad!" It was a marvel 
 tliat he was not assassinated. Ft was doubtless, only his 
 old age, his powerful family influence, and his wide 
 connections, that saved him. Perhaps the people re- 
 garded him as having fallen into his dotage, and were 
 willing to tolerate one who Nvas such an extraordinary 
 exce]>tion to the general rule. There were others, how- 
 ever, in the doomed city, who were as loyal as he, but 
 they were not in a position to utter so freely their sen- 
 timents. And of all tlie affecting incidents or stories 
 connected with the war, I scarcely know of one more 
 touching than that durine; the lono- and frightful reign 
 of the rebellion in that birth-place of our national 
 troubles, a small band of loyal men were wont to meet 
 occasionally in a secret upj)er chamber, where with 
 closed doors they unfurled the flag of the Stars and 
 Stripes, and in tears, drank to its perpetual success." 
 
 The members of our company were everywhere seen 
 emerging from these deserted houses and gardens, cross- 
 ing and recrossing the streets, with boquets of fabulous 
 
 iliniensions in their hands, or chaffering with some little 
 3 
 
3s TRTP OF THK (KUOANFS. 
 
 negro girl for a tlowei- of extraordinnry Ix'antv. V;\^<- 
 ing oil. we coiiip to tlic Soutli Batterv, a iimcli hi'oader 
 and more boaufifid |H'oiiiciiad(\ and re?^eiid)ling our city 
 parks, witli trco of lii>ty growtli. wide walks, and par- 
 terres witli tl<i\v(M's. At tlie angle, liigli nioniids of 
 eai'tli liad been thrown np. serving tlie double ])iirpose 
 of storehouses and magazines, and eai'thworks for the 
 mounting of hea\y guns. Irishmen wiu'e engaged 
 in removing them. The only instaiute of animosity 
 taking j)alpnble form towards any of the jiassengei's of 
 the Oeeanus, occurred at this |)oint. One gentlenuxu. 
 standing a few yards from the s])ot, with his back to 
 the workmen, was struck on the leg by a stone, inten- 
 tionally thrown by oue of these Irishmen. 
 
 jSTear this point still remain a sevendnindi'ed pound 
 Blakely gun, which the liebels had loaded to the muz- 
 zle, and l)urst u])on their evacuation of the city. The 
 finest residences face the South Battery also, retaining 
 still many (nidences of their (triginal wealth and 
 beauty. 
 
 As we pass u]> Meeting and King Streets, which 
 together with East l^>ay and Broad Streets, constitute 
 the main business portion of the city, the traces of 
 demolition become more numerous than u[)on the Bat- 
 tery. Ghastly holes ap])ear in roofs and walls, iron 
 doors and blinds are bent double, cornices are shivered, 
 pavements are torn up and ploughed, making \-ery pre- 
 carious footing after nightfall. Fragments of brick and 
 stone lie scattered on every hand. Occasionally, a face 
 
TRIP OF TFTK OOEANUS. P>9 
 
 could be seen at tlie windows, glowerino^ sullenly at us 
 as we passed, \n\t no indio-nity was offered, nor in any 
 case threatened. Nei>'roes of every shade thronijed the 
 streets; li'ray liairccl •' uncles" and turhaned "aunties,'' 
 grinning and giggling children, and " picaninnies,'' all 
 manifesting joy to see us, in their own pecnliar methods, 
 from the (juich and not disgraceful curtsey, to the 
 frantic tin-owing up of the arms, clapping of hands, and 
 the fervent exclamations of '' De Lord bress ye, we so 
 powerful glad yon've come!" Some of their welcomes 
 were really affecting, and many a visitor that day lis- 
 tened with emotion to their simple stories of suffering, 
 and their rude but cordial exi)ression of o-reetina:. 
 
 Advancing along these streets, we come to the 
 district burned in 1861. That lire consumed nearly a 
 fifth part of the city. These ruins, which no attempt 
 has been made to rebuild, stand in all their deso- 
 lateness, increased by the havoc of the bombardment. 
 The tall chimneys, grim and charred, the (li]a])i dated 
 walls, overgrown with moss, the cellars, rank with 
 grass, weeds and thistles, the streets without pave- 
 ment, and ankle-deep with sand, are a startling 
 commentary upon the accounts with wliich we were fa- 
 vored during the war, by the Charleston ])apers, to 
 the following effect : 
 
 " The Yankees continue to sliell the city, with about 
 the usual consequences, of here and there a cln'mney 
 to])pled ovei', and a negi'o badly frightened, but with 
 no actual daniau'e." Now we saw that the entire lowei' 
 
40 IRII' OF THK (k;kanits. 
 
 and l)iisiiiess part of tlie city innst lia\c Iippii as de- 
 sei'ted as t]\o i-uins <»f' ITprcidaneinii. 
 
 All \hc ;^M'aii(l(H^s. wlio t1niiiite<l in their pride of 
 wealtli and caste, and Hoti'iii^d tluMr nei>'roes irres])onsi- 
 hly, coinini!; CNcry dollar out ol' the "■ iiiire(|uite(r' sweat 
 and hlood of their hondnien, liave fled ])enni]es> and 
 I'uined i)ito the interior, wliile in a strani;'e. yet ever 
 riojliteons i-exolntion of tlie wheels of r(^ti'il)ntive justice, 
 tliese sauK^ lu'i^-roes. now " trtH' as 1 am." nestle in the 
 ancient lioines. ;nid jiold their fantastic juhilees in the 
 self-sani(» halls, which once c^choed to their oppressor's 
 revels. A very few liaxe retui'ued. and ])ossess their old 
 homesteads, ha\in^ taken the oath of ;dlei>;iance. some 
 lieartily and to i-ecei\"e the kindly ))rotection of our 
 forces, hut the majority oidy throu<;-h fear, and to save 
 what little ])ropcrty the Kehel g-ovei'nment had left 
 them. ^Fany a Southern " ircntleman." who foui- years 
 aii'(>. i'eioice(l in his thonsand>. is to d;iy a \aii"al>ond; or, 
 if still I'etnaininii' in the eity, ]»rot*es-edly loyal, is a 
 pan])er and l)eneti('iary, on a le\'el with the most 
 wretched contraband who sue- for alms a> you ])ass. 
 
 CoTicernino; the condition of the inhahitants, Rev. Mr. 
 Cuyler, thus writes 1o the '^ Era/i(/e/if<f." 
 
 "With the exception of a few hlockade-runninu' specu- 
 lators, who sent their profits ahi'oad for investment, the 
 merchants and phniter> of ('harleston are hopelesslv 
 liankrupt. We saw the cashicM' of the hank of ("harles- 
 ton come up to the commissai'v's door, and i-eceive his 
 pittance of hread and rice for his daily food, just as the 
 
TKIP OF THE OCEANUS. 41 
 
 refiii^ee uci^rocsi were ck>iiig a few doors off. We went 
 through Secretai'v Memiuiiig'er's deserted and oiice splen- 
 did mansion; tlie remaining contraband ttdd ns ' Massa 
 Menniienger sent his money over to Euro[)e; he he up 
 in Nort ('aroHna; he i»e rich to-chiy/ A gentk'mau in 
 Charleston, says that lie saw in the books of a bank in 
 Havana, the sum of slOd, ()(»(» in gold, credited to Jeff- 
 ersoi.i Davis, {juv. Aiken, tohl me that if this were so, 
 it must \)v the gitt of frienck, foi' saitl he, "Mr. Davis 
 spent all his sakiry, and is considered ])oor.''"' j\ot oidy 
 is Chark^ston aristocracy l)ankrupt, but most of tliem 
 are deaxL (low Aiken said, sadly enough : 'our 
 most wcfdthy young men eidisted, many of theju 
 as privates, they are nearly all dead or in prison; 
 South Carolina ha^ among her whites, nolxjdy left 
 but old men and little boys." Truly tke iron has 
 entered into CharlestonV proud s(jul, and she is the 
 most blasted, blighted, brokendiearted desolation on this 
 continent. Her cup of misery is tilled to the brim. I 
 could not exult over her woeful wretchedness, although I 
 felt that it was not one whit more than her stujien- 
 dous sin has richly deserved. She has lived on the 
 spoils of the plundered bondmen ; now her turn has 
 f^ome for the bondmen to dwell in the deserted places 
 of the slave-oci'at. liobert Small, tke fann»u> negro 
 captain of the steand)oat '* Planter," (who has now a 
 salary of Si,, sou as ker commander.) is able to mve 
 bread to half the I)ank-])residents and brokers of 
 Broad St.'' 
 
42 TRIP OF THK OCKANUS. 
 
 Upon some of the houses, \vs litmid )»hicar(l> to the 
 folloMang ellbet : 
 
 " Safe-o;uard — Protection is herel»y <i;iv(!n to the pro- 
 perty of lie — or s/hi — generally the latter — haxing 
 
 taken the oath of allegiance." 
 
 ''This house is occupied l)y the permission of the 
 Provost-Marshal." 
 
 '"Taken — by consent of the authorities.'' 
 
 " To he occupied hy the owner, who has taken the 
 oath of allegiance to tlie United States." 
 
 In the windows, or upon the doors oi' the business- 
 houses or shops, licenses were posted, declaring that the 
 occupant, who had taken the oatli, or paid the fee re- 
 quired by act of Congress, might carry on the business. 
 
 Our examination of the city, during the tAvo hours 
 allotted, was necessarily cursory. Tlie time liad elapsed, 
 and now the passengers were to i»e seen returning from 
 every direction, laden with flowers of richest hue and 
 od(»r, and lugging together varioiis mementoes and relics 
 gathered among the gardens and public buildings. As 
 tlie chronological order of arrangement in this \voi-k is 
 the most simple and natural, it will l)e followed, though 
 apparently at the sacritice of unity. We shall therefore 
 return, in a succeeding chapter, to a more minute des- 
 cription of scenes and incidents in the city of (Miar- 
 leston. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Leavini; the Oceauus at the wharf at ten o'clock, we 
 embarked on the transport " Golden Gate," for Fort 
 Sumter. Tlie scene in tlie harbor was gay beyond des- 
 cription. The ''Oanonicus," a Government v^essel, crowded 
 in every part by tlie "• I)oys" in blue pants and jackets. 
 lirst headed up the bay towards the fort. Lines of 
 Hags, and signals of every color and cond)ination of 
 colors, scores and hnndreds in numbei', stretciied frtnn 
 bowsprit to foremast, from foremast to main, from main 
 to niizzen, and from niizzen to stern ; crossed and fes- 
 tooned from yard to yard, and u|)on all the rigging, 
 made the vessel a blaze of prismatic brilliancy. The 
 *' Blackstone," a very large screw-steamer, decked witii 
 equal profusion of bunting and l)eauty, next rounded 
 majestically into broader waters. Then followed the 
 *' Delaware" and "' Robert Coit," Government transports. 
 l)earing their bnrden of rejoicing and eager ])atriots. 
 Almost central in interest, the '' Planter," crowded almost 
 to sutfocation upon her three decks, with Gen. CaxtonV 
 freednien, reveale<l her splashing paddles thrcnigh the 
 broken wheelhouse. Another such a motley crew will 
 seldom if ever be seen. Grev-haired old men. whose 
 
44 TRIP OF THE OOKANUS. 
 
 wrinkles were lighted U]) with (lee]» l)Ut (juiet j<»y; 
 middle-aged men and women, of every grade of color 
 possible to Southern civilization, the latter decorated 
 with bandanas and turbans of flashy colors; comely and 
 buxom girls attired in neat chintz ; ca(hlverou^ and 
 ragged beings holding about tlieni their tattered gar- 
 ments ; boys and girls wJiose jubilation exhibited itself 
 in the most astonishing disjday of ivory; — all huddled 
 together like shee]) in a pen. hanging over the gun- 
 wales, mounted on the posts, doubled up in furtive 
 corners, peei"ing through the gangways, darkening the 
 wheel-house, upon the top of which stood lioljert Small, 
 a prince among them, self-possessed, prompt and proud, 
 giving his orders to the helmsnum in ringing tones of 
 command. 
 
 An unaccountable delay occurred in the starting of 
 the "• Golden Gate." But we allayed (»ur im])atience by 
 studying and enjoying the splendid spectacular drama 
 now being enacted in the harbor. (4uns wei'c booming. 
 bells ringing, bands playing the most eidiveiiing patri- 
 otic airs, men and women were cheering and singing, 
 while we awaited our sailing orders from the captain. 
 A stiff breeze was blowing from the westward, throwing 
 up the white caps, and fluttering into cheerful music 
 the folds of the innumerable flags. The whar\es on 
 every side wei'e crowded with eagei' witnesses. At 
 length the wlieels nu)ved, and we })a>sc(l through the 
 midst of the anchored fleet, upon one of Avhicli we 
 counted over three hundred signals and bamiers, over all 
 
m-'f^^ 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 4^ 
 
 of which, wherever (lirt[)hi_ve(l. waxed tlie unaiiproMchuMy 
 beautiful and ever superior flag of " JStripes and Stars." 
 
 P'or lialf an hour or more, we lay rocking U|)on tlie 
 swell, while one and another transi)t>rt landed its load 
 at the dock of the fort. We passed the time in study- 
 ing- the storied old ruin. A /-i/'hi it is, though not so 
 utter, as tlie imaginations of some artists have depicted 
 it. It is built externally of brick, and tilled in with 
 stone, sand and eai'tli. The walls are ilee})ly indented 
 by the slK)t hurled against it; the top lines are uneven, 
 and in some parts battered half way down tow^ards the 
 fomidatioii. As it was terribly bondjarded, while in 
 Rebel possession, and its walls gave way by day, by 
 night the Rebels piled cylindrical baskets tilled with 
 sand in all the chasms, and now they rise in rows or 
 layers six or seven deej), nearly tt) the original height. 
 Tlie casemates are tilled with the broken stone and 
 brick, and the most of the j)ort-holes closed. Around 
 it, upon the rocks, is a stratum of balls, exploded shells 
 and comminuted brick, to the depth of several inches. 
 
 The signal being given for the *' Golden Gate" to ap- 
 proach, in five minutes we are at the landing; the same 
 at which Wigfall, the self-appointed commissioner to 
 prop(^se terms to Major Anderson, landed in 18H1, from 
 a row-boat. On either side of the platform, upon which 
 we debark, was a com})any of soldiers, with muskets 
 shouldered and bayonets fixed — on the left, white, on 
 the right, black, rivalling each other in soldierly bear- 
 ing. We ascended to the top of the wall, by a fiight of 
 
46 TRIP OK THK OCEANUS. 
 
 tittv stc])s, piissed iiiidor an arbor entrance of ever- 
 greens, walked across about thirty feet of earth and 
 sand, and h)I tlie interior of tlie glorious ohl Ibrt aj*- 
 pears in view — i;'h)rious yet. though in ruins. Im- 
 mediately in the centre was the new liag-statt", sur- 
 mounted by circular terraces of g)■as^, aiul these sur- 
 mounted by iiunuMise conical shot and shell, planted 
 with the points upward. 1 before the Hag-staff, was a 
 large platform carj)eted with myi'tle. mock-orange, and 
 evergreen boughs, the railings festooned and twined 
 with the same. Four pillars, fifteen feet in height, rose 
 from the corners of the platform, wound with the 
 national coh:»rs, and knotted with orange M're;iths. while 
 from their to[)s. graceful arches Avere sprung, ternniuit- 
 ing together in the centre. Ui)on the very apex was 
 a golden eagle, standing upon the flying flag. Jiows of 
 substantial seats surrounded the platform, which we 
 found already nearly fllled. The interior of the fort 
 presented the appearance oi' a huge earthwork, for as 
 the sides were slowly demolished, the shattered stones 
 and sand fell doM'u in slanting grade towarcU the cen- 
 tre, and now^ remain as they Avere found. Surnunuit- 
 ing the parapet towards Charleston were six large guns, 
 ready for the gi'and salute. The crowd now gathered 
 densely, but were admirably disj)ose(l and managed by 
 Col. Stuart L. Woodford, who was in charge of the 
 exercises of the day. 
 
 While waiting for the ;irrival of the orat(»r of the 
 da_y with his party, the flag of the "Planter" was seen 
 
TRIP OF TUB OCEAN US. 47 
 
 al)ov^e the parapet, slowly waviiio- towards tlit' laiidinu-, 
 and was greeted with cheers. 
 
 Mr. Wni. B. Bradlnirv, taking a position at the 
 foot of the tiag-statf, then led the whole multitude in 
 singing his resonnding song, "■'' Victor;/ at JmsI,''^ which 
 was followed by " Rally Round the FlagT 
 
 A few minutes later, the passengers from the '' Arago '* 
 were l)ronght to the landing, hv the "Delaware.''' and 
 were seen crossing the sandy ])ara])et and descending 
 the stairway, into the fort. As one and another fa- 
 nnliar tace was discovered, signs of recognition were 
 given, breaking out, in two or three instances, into 
 ringing cheers. 
 
 Upon the platform, salutations were exchanged for 
 a few moments ; and, all preliminaries having been 
 duly ai'ranged, the exercises of the day were begun 
 and carried forward according to the pre-arranged 
 programme, as will now 1)0 set forth. 
 
 Breathless was the attention with winch the vener- 
 al)le man was received, who was to offer the 
 
 1. Introhuctorn grayer. 
 
 Rev. Matthias Han-is. Chaplain U. S. Aniiy, who made the 
 pr;iyer at the raising of the Flag, when Major Anderson re- 
 moved his command to Fort Sumter, Dec. 27, 1860, now stepped 
 slowly to the front of the platform, uncovered his head, silvered 
 with age, and while his thin locks streamed in the wind, read a 
 brief, but appropriate prayer, with trembling voice, which he 
 closed with much emotion, pronouncing a blessing upon the Hag 
 of his fathers. 
 
4S IKII' <•!-■ IIIK OOKANU.-. 
 
 Rev. 11. S. Sion-s. Jr.. I). 1)., o\' P.rookl vn. N. Y.. then ad- 
 vanced, and with sonurinis and solemn vc'u-c, read the tblJuwing: 
 
 2. .^election from tj)c |!salms. 
 
 ('I'lic Mssciiilil.v iiinkiiii;' the re)^pol)^■e^*.) 
 I'SALM 126. 
 
 1. W'licn the Li)i'd tui'ned aiiain tlie ca]>ti\it_v of Zion. we 
 u ere like tiicni thai dream. 
 
 '2. 'I'lien was our moutli Idled with laughter and our tongue 
 with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath 
 done great things tor tliem. 
 
 8. The Lord hath d(»iie git'at things t<)i- us. whereof we are 
 glad. 
 
 4. Tmn again our eaptivity. <) Lord, a^; the sti'eams in the 
 south. 
 
 5. They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy. 
 
 6. He that goeth tbrth and weepetli. bearing precious seed, 
 shall doubtless eoine again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves 
 w ith him. 
 
 I^SAI.M 47. 
 
 L O elaj> yoin- hands ; all ye people, shout unto God w ith the 
 voice ot" trimn[>h. 
 
 2. For the Lord most high is tei'ribie; he is a great King 
 above all the earth. 
 
 3. He shall subdue the people under us. and the nations under 
 our feet. 
 
 4. He shall choose <jur iidn'i'itanee tor us, the excellency of 
 Jacob whom he loved. 
 
 5. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with tlu' sound of a 
 trumpet. 
 
 6. Sing praises to God. sing praises: sing |)raises unto our 
 King, sing praises. 
 
 7. For (xod is the King ol' all the eaitli : sing ye praises with 
 understanding. 
 
 8. God reigneth over the heathen ; God sitteth u[»on the 
 throne of his holiness. 
 
'rmr of tiik ociKANrs. 49 
 
 9. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the 
 people of the CtocI of Abraham ; for the shields of the earth he- 
 h)ng unto (irod': Tie is greatly exaJted. 
 
 Psalm 9S. 
 
 1. sing unto the l^ord a new song: for he hath done marvel- 
 ous things: his right hand and his holy ann hath gotten him the 
 victory. 
 
 2. The Lord hath made known his salvation : his righteousness 
 hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. 
 
 3. He hath rcmemlicrfd his mercy and truth toward the House 
 of Isi-ael : all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our 
 (Tod. 
 
 4. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the eai'th : make a 
 loud noise and rejoice and sing praises. 
 
 5. Sing unto the f^ord with the harp : with the harp and the 
 voice of a psalm. 
 
 6. With trumpets and soiukI of cornet, make a joyful noise be- 
 fore the Lord, the King. 
 
 7. Let the sea roar and the fulness thei-eof : the world and they 
 that dwell therein. 
 
 8. Let the HchhIs clap their hands: let the hills he joyful to- 
 gether 
 
 9. Before the Lord: for he cometh to judge the eai-th : with 
 righteousness shall he judti'e the woi-ld and the peo|)le with equity. 
 
 Part of Psalm 20. 
 
 (Read by Minister and people togetlier.) 
 
 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, hut we will remem- 
 ber the Name of the Lord our God. 
 
 We will rejoice in Thy salvation, and in the JVamc of our God. 
 
 WE WILL SET UP OUR BANNERS ! 
 
 Minister — Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
 Holy Ghost : 
 
 Answer — As it was in the heolniiing, is now. and ever shall he. 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
50 TKTP OF TITE OCEANUS. 
 
 3. glajor ^nbcrson's ^cspatcb 
 
 to the Government, dated Steamship Baltie, off JSandy Hook, 
 April 18, 1861, aimouneinii the fall of Fort Sumter, was i-ead by 
 Brevet Brigadier-General E. J^. Townsend. Assistniit Adjutant- 
 General, U. S. A. 
 
 4. '■ Raising and plantin(; upon the ruins of Fort Sumter 
 THE SAME United States Flag whieh floated over the battle- 
 ments of the Fort during the rebel assault, April 14, 1861. by 
 Brevet Major-General Robert Anderson, U. S. A. As soon as 
 the flag is raised, a salute of one hundred guns will be lii'ed from 
 Fort Sumter, and a national salute from every fort and rebel 
 i)attery that tired u|M)n J-'oi't Sumter. The band will play national 
 aii's." 
 
 Tims it was nnnouiu-ed n])Oi\ the proo-rainiTie for tlie 
 <la.y. 
 
 But Heaven forbid that we shoukl })ass this wonder- 
 ful, soul-thrilling event, without more extended notice I 
 
 As soon as (len. Townsend had finished reading 
 Major Anderson's Despatch, Sergeant Mart brought 
 forward a new mail-bag, which contained the original 
 Hag. The first glim])se of the |)recious emblem, as it 
 came forth to the light ()nce more from its long and 
 carefully guarded seclusion, was the signal for the 
 most tumultuous cheei's. It was made fast to the 
 halyards bv three of the crew of the " Juniata," with a 
 beautiful wreath of evergreens, thickl^y studded with 
 roses and blossoms of the mock-orange, just above it. 
 
 General Anderson stood by it upon the terrace. 
 Commingled joy and sadness struggled upon liis manly 
 face. ITis hair, thickly sprinkled with grey, was 
 stiri'ed by the winds u]>on his niu-ovei-ed head. Ilis 
 
TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. .")1 
 
 erect, soldierly form was the (-eiitre of every ga/.e. 
 For a moment, he sjtoke nut. He seemed wrestliiio- 
 with intense emotion, as if living over again, in that 
 moment, the terrible scenes of fonr years l)efore, and 
 as if conscions that through the ten thousand eyes of 
 tiiat vast assemblage, the whole nation was looking 
 at him. At lengtli, with subdued voice and scarcely 
 mastered emotion, he s])oke as follows: 
 
 '' I am here my friends, my fellow-citizens, an<l fd. 
 low soldiers, to ])erftrm an act of duty to my conn- 
 try dear to my heart, and which all of you will ap- 
 preciate and feel. Plad T ol)served the wishes of my 
 heart, it should have been done in silence : l)ut in 
 accordance with the request of the IIonoral)le Secre- 
 tary of War, r make a few remarks, as l)y his order, 
 after four long, long years of war, I restoi-e to its 
 proper place this flag which floated here during ])eace, 
 before the first act of this cruel Rebellion. (Here 
 taking the halyards in his hands, he |)roceeded.) T 
 thank God that T have lived to see this day. and 
 to he here to perform this, perhaps the last act of my 
 life, of duty to my country. 
 
 " 1 thank (^od who has so signally blessed us, who 
 has Idessed us beyond measure. May all the nations 
 bless and praise the name of the Lord, and ])ro(tlaim 
 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth ])eace, 
 good will towards men.' '" 
 
 As the voice of the General, the hero of the lioui' 
 was borne awav ujion the air, he gras])ed the hat 
 
:y'2 TKIP OF TITK OCKANITS. 
 
 yards, and with sti-onii' and steady ]n\\\. lifted the 
 nation's svinl)ol tVoni tiie oi'een turf, and as the ohl 
 smoke-stained. sIiot-})ier('ed tiaii', witli not a single star 
 smitten oi- etfaced from its f>hl ot Mne, rose shiwly 
 u])\\'ard to its native air, and its folds were cauuht l)y 
 the ocean breejce as in joyons welcome again, the 
 whole multitude, citizens, soldiers, officers, that tilled 
 the interior, and sat uiioii the sandy slo])es and para- 
 pet of the fort, 1)V a s])ontaneous and irrepressible 
 im])ulse. rose to their feet, waived hats and handker- 
 chiefs with frantic exultation above their heads, and 
 with one long, pealing, deafening, ecxtatic shcjut of 
 triumph hailed the dear Hag until it touched the 
 pe^dv. Senators, (lenerals, ('lergymen. Editors and 
 Civilians upon the plattbrm. to whom the end of the 
 halyards was ])assed, surged away ujxtn it as though 
 their hands alone Mere lifting "Old (xlorv" to it place. 
 The excited multitude wi'ung each other's hands in 
 jov, huzzahed until they were hoarse, wept and laughed 
 by turns, and when the song broke tbrth, 
 
 " The star-spangled l>anner, () long may it wave ! 
 O'ev the land of the free, and the home of the brave !" 
 
 tears of gladness filled every eye, and flowed down 
 cheeks unused to weeping, and in the seething jubi- 
 lant thronii,- and melting weltering chorus of five thous- 
 and \()ices, we seemed to discover no inapt type 
 and f )reshadowing of the vast multitude which shall 
 stand upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God, 
 and sino'iiio- ■' (Ireat and mai'vellous are thy works. 
 
THE RAISING OF THE FLAG. 
 
TKIP OF THE OOEANUS. 53 
 
 Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, 
 thou King- of Saints !" 
 
 And the flag itself, as if true to its instincts and 
 mission, flung its emblematic folds directly over the 
 waters of tlie harbor, and towards the conquered city 
 of Charleston. That cradle of the Rebellion cannot 
 escape the domination of the " flag of the free heart's 
 hope and home !" 
 
 The instant the banner touched the peak, the six 
 guns upon the parapet of Sumter, looking towards 
 Charleston, pealed forth their detonations. 
 
 Then, answering, from all the surrounding fortiflca- 
 tions — Forts Moultrie, Ripley, Pinckney, Putnam, Johnson, 
 Cumining's Point, Battery Bee — from every l)attery 
 that took part in the bombardment of Fort Suuiter 
 in 1861, and from all the vessels of war in the 
 harbor, came the thunder of mighty cannon, in na- 
 tional salute, until the " earth sliook and trembled," 
 and the air grew dark with the gathering clouds of 
 smoke which rolled their dun and murky volume over 
 the harbor, shutting out from sight at length the 
 city, and the lightning flash of the cannonade. 
 
 There was a general stampede from the intei"ior, to 
 
 the walls of the fort, that the sense of sight as well 
 
 as of hearing, might be gratified. Those who were 
 
 flrst upon this outlook describe tlie cordon of Are by 
 
 which they were surrounded as something startlingly 
 
 magniflcent. But those who reached the parapet later 
 
 returned disap]Jointed, for it was only like looking 
 
 4 
 
54 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 into a bank of foi;\ and tlie sand, stirred up b_y the 
 recoil of Fort Sumter's guns, was driven into their 
 eyes in l)linding- ch)uds. They were ghid to resume 
 their seats, and at the expiration of the salute, which 
 lasted ah(,ut half an hour, compose themselves to lis- 
 ten to the next grand exercise n})on the ])rogramme. 
 
 6. C^c ilbbrcss, bg tin geb. icnrn ^larb fmdm. 
 
 As Mr. Beecher came forward upon the plattV)rm, 
 he was greeted with a round of cheers. This Ilev. 
 gentleman, who has contended w^tli foemen of almost 
 every kind, found two antagonists awaiting him, 
 which, with his usual dexterity, he hatHed upon this 
 occasion. Tliese were his niannscript, in detaclied 
 leaves, and a strong northwesterly wind. At lirst 
 onset, he removed his grey felt hat from Ins head, 
 and held his mss. in his left hand. But the indis- 
 crimiiuite wind toyed so familiarly with his iron-grey 
 ear-locks, and played such fantasias n])on the thin 
 leaves of his address, that he placed his errant locks 
 again in confinement, and addressed himself with both 
 hands to his refractory documents. He had conquered. 
 
 Mr. Beecher read his entire oration, pausing once 
 midway, to rest his overtaxed voice, while the band 
 played a patriotic air. 
 
 The address was carefully composed, and thoroughly 
 considered. Clearness and force nuirked all its periods. 
 Tlie principles laid down were emphatic, and almost 
 exhaustive. The policy of the Government was sharply 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEAN US. 55 
 
 defined, and the feeHiig of the peo])le faithfully re- 
 presented. 
 
 In delivery, it lacked tlie peculiar niag'netisui of his 
 less studied eifoi'ts, but his decision to commit all his 
 thoughts to paper, commended itself to every hetter 
 judgment. From l)eginnino- to end, he seemed deeply 
 impressed with the consciousness that he was speaking, 
 at least, semi-ofiicially, and that his utterances would 
 be regarded, not only as the voice of the authorities 
 at the Capital, and of all the nation, ])ut would i)ass 
 from that hour into history. Bnt as a verbatim re- 
 port of the entire address is here introduced, every 
 reader of this volume may become his own connnentator. 
 
 It has already been widely circulated, and universally 
 read, and is included within these pages, not to give 
 to it ]»nblicity, but that they may have, at least, one 
 adornment, and because their humble record would be 
 sadly incomplete without it. 
 
 THE ADDRESS. 
 
 On this solemn and joyful day, we agahi lift to the breeze, 
 our father's flag, now, again, the banner of the United States, 
 with the fervent prayer that God would crown it with honor, 
 protect it from treason, and send it down to our children, with all 
 the blessings of civilization, liberty and i-eligion. Terrible 
 in battle, may it l>e beneficent in peace. Happily, no bird 
 or beast of prey has been inscribed upon it. The stars that 
 redeem the night from darkness, and the beams of I'ed light 
 that beautify the morning, have been united upon its folds. 
 As long as the sun endures, or the stars, may it wave over 
 a nation neither enslaved nor enslaving. (Great applause.) 
 Once, and but once, has treason dishonored it. hi that insane 
 
56 TRir OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 hour, when the guiltiest and bloodiest rehelliou of tinu' liurled 
 their fires upon this fort, you, sir, (tuniing to General Ander- 
 son) and a small heroic band, stood within these now crumb- 
 led walls, and did gallant and just battle for the honor and 
 defence of the nation's banner. (A})}»lause.) 
 
 In that cope of fire this glorious flag still peacefully waved 
 to the bi-eeze abo^'e your head, unconscious of harm as the 
 stars and skies above it. Once it was shot down. A gallant 
 hand, in whose care this day it has been, plucked it frinii 
 the ground, and reared it again, — "cast down but not destroy- 
 ed." After a vain resistance, with trembling hand and sad 
 heart, you withdrew it from its height, closed its «ings, and 
 bore it far away, sternly to sleep amid the tumults of rebel- 
 lion and the thunder of battle. The first act of war had 
 beeun. The Iouq nii^ht of tour years had set in. While the 
 giddy traitors whirled in a maze of exhileration, dim hor- 
 rors were already advancing, that were ere long to till the land 
 with blood. 
 
 To-day you are returned again. We devoutly join with you 
 in thanksgiving to Almighty God, that he has spared your 
 honored life, and vouchsafed you the honors of this day. The 
 heavens over you are the same; the same shores; morning 
 comes, and evening, as they did. All else, how changed ! 
 What grim batteries crowd the burdened shores ! W^hat 
 scenes have filled this air and disturbed these waters ! These 
 shattered heaps of shapeless stone are all that is left of Fort 
 Sumter. Desolation broods in yonder sad city — solemn retri- 
 bution hath avenged our dishonored banner ! You have come 
 back with honor, who departed hence, four years ago, leaving 
 the air sultry with fanaticism. The surging crowds that roll- 
 ed up their frenzied shouts, as the flag came down, are dead, 
 or scattered, or silent ; and their haltitations are desolate. Kuiii 
 sits in the cradle of treason. Rebellion has perished. But, there 
 flies the same flag that was insulted. (Great and prolonged ap- 
 plause.) With starry eyes it looks all over this bay for that ban- 
 ner that supplanted it, and sees it not. (Applause.) You that 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 57 
 
 then, for the day, were humbled, are here agahi, to triumph once 
 and forever. (Applause.) \u the storm of that assault this glori- 
 ous ensign was often struck ; but, memorable fact, not one of its 
 stars was torn out, by shot or shell. (Applause.) It was a pro- 
 phecy. 
 
 It said : " Not one State shall be struck from this nation by 
 treason !" (Applause.) The fulfillment is at hand. Lifted to 
 the air, to-day, it proclaims, after four years of war, "Not a State 
 is blotted out !" (Applause.) 
 
 Hail to the flag of our fethers, and our flag! Glory to the ban- 
 ner that has gone through four years black with tempests of war, 
 to pilot the natfon back to peace without dismembei-ment ! And 
 glory be to God, who, above all hosts and banners, hath ordained 
 victory, and shall ordain peace ! (Applause.) 
 
 Wherefore have we come hither, pilgrims from distant places ? 
 Are we come to exult that Northern hands are stronger than 
 Southern? No, but to rejoice that the hands of those who defend 
 a just and beneficent government are mightier than the hands that 
 assaulted it ! (Applause.) Do we exult over fallen cities? We 
 exult that a Naticni has not fallen. (Applause.) We sorrow with 
 the sorrowful. We sympathize with the desolate. We look upon 
 this shattered fort, and yonder dilapidated city, with sad eyes, 
 grieved that men should have committed such treason, and glad 
 that God hath set such a mark upon treason that all ages shall 
 dread and abhor it. (Applause.) . 
 
 We exult, not for a passion gratified, l)ut for a sentiment victo- 
 rious ; not for temper, but for conscience ; not as we devoutly 
 believe that our will is done, but that God's will hath been done. 
 We should be unworthy of that liberty entrusted to our care, if, 
 on a such a day as this, we sullied oin* hearts by feelings of 
 aimless vengeance ; and equally unworthy, if we did not devout- 
 ly thank Him who hath said, Vengeance is mine, I tvill repay, 
 saith the Lord, that he hath set a mark upon arrogant Rebellion, 
 ineffaceable while time lasts ! 
 
 Since this flag went down on that dai'k day, who shall tell the 
 mighty Wf)es that have made this land a spectacle to angels and 
 
58 
 
 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 men 1 The soil has drunk blood, and is glutted. Millions mourn 
 for millions slain; or, envying the dead, pray for oblivion. Towns 
 and villages have been razed. Fruitfid fields have turned back to 
 wilderness. It came to pass, as the prophet said : The snn ivas 
 turned to darkness, and the moon to blood. The course of law was 
 ended. The sword sat chief magistrate in half the nation ; indus- 
 try w\as paralyzed ; morals corrupted ; the public weal invaded 
 by rapine and anarchy ; whole States ravaged by avenging 
 armies. The world was amazed. The earth reeled. When the 
 flag sank here, it was as if political night had come, and all beasts 
 of prey had come forth to devour. 
 
 That long night is ended ! And for this returning day we have 
 come from afar, to rejoice and give thanks. No more war ! No 
 more accursed secession ! No more slavery, that spawned them 
 both! (Great applause.) 
 
 Let no man misread the meaning of this unfilding flag! It 
 says, " Government hath returned hither." It proclaims in the 
 name of vindicated government, peace and protection to loyalty ; 
 hunnliation and pains to traitors. This is the flag of sovereignty. 
 The nation, not the States, is sovereign. Restored to authority, 
 this flag commands, not supplicates. 
 
 There may be pardon, but no concession. (Great applause.) 
 There may be amnesty and oblivion, but no honied compromises. 
 (Applause.) The nation to-day has peace for the peaceful, and 
 war for the turbulent. (Applause.) The only condition of sub- 
 mission, is, to submit f (Laughter and applause.) There is the 
 Constitution, there are the laws, there is the Government. They 
 rise up like mountains of strength that shall not be moved. Thei/ 
 are the conditions of peace. 
 
 One nation, iinder one r/overnment, taithoiit slavery, has been 
 ordained, and shall stand. Thei-e can be peace on no other basis. 
 On this basis reconstruction is easy, and needs neither archi- 
 tect or engineer. Without this basis no engineer or architect 
 shall ever reconstruct these rebellious States. 
 
 We do not want your cities nor your fields. We do not envy 
 you your prolific soil, nor heavens full of perpetual summer. Let 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 59 
 
 agriculture revel here ; let manufactures make evei-y stream 
 twice musical ; build Heets in every port ; inspire the arts of 
 peace with genius second only to that of Athens ; and we shall 
 be glad in your gladness, and rich in your wealth. 
 
 All that we ask is unswerving loyalty, and universal liberty. 
 (Applause.) And that, in the name of this high sovereignty of 
 the United States of America, we demand ; and that, with the 
 blessing of Almighty God, ive will have ! (Great applause.) 
 
 We raise our Father's banner that it may bring back better 
 blessings than those of old ; that it may cast out the devil of dis- 
 cord ; that it may restore lawful government, and a prosperity 
 purer and more enduring than that which it protected before ; 
 that it may win parted friends from their alienation ; that it may 
 inspire hope, and inaugurate universal liberty ; that it may say to 
 the sword, " Return to thy sheath^'' and to the plow and sickle, 
 " Go forth i'"' that it may heal all jealousies, unite all policies, in- 
 spire a new national life, compact our strength, purify our princi- 
 ples, ennoble our national ambitions, and make this people great 
 and strong, not for aggression and quarrelsomeness, but i^n- the 
 'peace of the loorld, giving to us the glorious prerogative of leading 
 all nations to juster laws, to more humane policies, to sincerer 
 friendship, to rational, instituted civil liberty, and to universal 
 Christian brotherhood. 
 
 Reverently, piously, in hopeful patriotism, we spread this ban- 
 ner on the sky, as of old the bow was planted on the cloud ; and, 
 with solemn fervor, beseech God to look upon it, and make it the 
 memorial of an everlasting covenant and decree, that never again 
 on this fair land shall a deluge of blood prevail. (Applause.) 
 
 Why need any eye turn from this spectacle ? Are there not 
 associations which, overleaping the recent past, carry us back to 
 times when, over North and South, this flag was honored alike by 
 all 1 In all our colonial days, we were one ; in the long Revolu- 
 tionary struggle ; and in the scores of prosperous years succeed- 
 ing. Wlien the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 aroused the 
 colonies, it was Gadsden of South Carolina that cried with presci- 
 ent enthusiasm : " We stand on the broad common ground of 
 
60 TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. 
 
 those natural rights that -we all feel and know as men. There 
 ought to be no New England man, no New Yorker, known on 
 this continent, but all of us," said he, " Americans." That tvas 
 the voice of South Carolina. That shall be the voice of South 
 Carolina. Faint is the ech<j ; but it is coming. We now hear it 
 sighing sadly through the pines ; but it shall yet break upon the 
 shore — no North, no West, no South, but one United States of 
 America. (Applause. j 
 
 There is scarcely a man born in the South who has lifted his 
 hand against this banner, but had a father who would have died 
 for it. Is memory dead 1 Is there no historic pride ? Has a 
 fatal fury struck blindness or hate into eyes that used to look 
 kindly toward each other ; that read the same Bible ; that hung 
 over the same historic pages of our national glory ; that studied 
 the same Constitution 1 
 
 Let this uplifting bring back all of the past that was good, but 
 leave in darkness all that was bad. 
 
 It was never before so wholly unspotted; so clear of all wrong; 
 so purely and simply the sign of Justice and Liberty. Did I say 
 that we brought back the same banner that you bore away, noble 
 and heroic sir"? It is not the same. It is more and better than it 
 was. The land is free from slavery, since that banner fell. 
 
 When God would prepare Moses for Emancipation, he over- 
 threw his first steps, and drove him for forty years to brood in 
 the wilderness. When our Hag came down, four years it lay 
 brooding in darkness. It cried to the Lord, " Wherefore am I 
 deposed ?" Then ai'ose before it a vision of its sin. It had 
 strengthened the strong, and forgotten the weak. It proclaimed 
 liberty, but trod upon slaves. 
 
 In that seclusion it dedicated itself to liberty. Behold, to-day, 
 it fulfills its vows? When it went down four million people had 
 no flag. To-day it rises, and four million people cry out, " Be- 
 hold our flag?" Hark! they mui'mur. It is the Gospel that 
 they recite in sacred words ; " It is a Gospel to the pooi-, it heals 
 our broken hearts, it preaches deliverance to captives, it gives 
 sight to the blind, it sets at liberty them that are bruised." Rise 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 61 
 
 up, then, glorious Gosp.'l Banner, and roll out these messages of 
 God. Tell the air that not a spot now sullies thy whiteness. 
 Thy red is not the blush of shame, but the flush of joy. Tell the 
 dews that wash thee that thou art pure as they. Say to the night, 
 that thy stars lead toward the morning; and to the morning, that 
 a brighter day arises with healing in its wings. And then, oh 
 glorious flag, bid the sun pour light on all thy folds with double 
 brightness, whilst thou art bearing around and round the world 
 the solemn joy — a race set free ! a nation redeemed ! 
 
 The mighty hand of Government, made strong in war, by the 
 favor of the God of Battles, spreads wide to-day the banner of 
 liberty that went down in darkness, that arose in light ; and there 
 it streams, like the sun above it, neither parceled out nor monopo- 
 lized, but flooding the air with light for all mankind. Ye scatter- 
 ed and broken, ye wounded and dying, bitten by the fiery ser- 
 pents of oppression, everywhere, in all the world, look upon this 
 sign, lifted up, and live. And ye homeless and houseless slaves, 
 look, and ye are free. At length yo?/, too, have part and lot in 
 this glorious ensign, that broods with impartial love over small 
 and great, the poor and the strong, the bond and the free. 
 
 In this solemn hour, let us pray for the quick coming of recon- 
 ciliation and happiness, under this common flag! 
 
 But, we must build again, from the foundations, in all these 
 now free Southern States. No cheap exhortation " to forgetful- 
 ness of the past, to restore all things as they were," will do. 
 God does not stretch out his hand, as he has for four dreadful 
 years, that men may easily forget the might of his terrible acts. 
 Restore things as they were? What, the alienations and jeal- 
 ousies? The discords and contentions, and the causes of them? 
 No. In that solemn sacrifice on which a nation has offered up 
 for its sins so many precious victims, loved and lamented, let our 
 sins and mistakes be consumed utterly and forever. 
 
 No, never again shall things be restored as before the war. It 
 is written in God's decree of events fulfilled, " Old things are pass- 
 ed away." That new earth, in which dwi-lieth i-ighteousiiess, 
 draws near. 
 
62 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS, 
 
 Things as they were? Who has an omnipotent hand to restore 
 a million dead, slain in battle, or wasted by sickness, or dying of 
 grief, broken-hearted? VV^ho has omniscience, to search for the 
 scattered ones? AVho shall restore the lost to bi-oken families? 
 Who shall bring back the squandered treasure, the years of in- 
 dustry wasted, and convince you that four years of guilty rebel- 
 lion, and cruel war, are no more than dirt upon the hand, which a 
 moment's washing removes, and leaves the hand clean as before? 
 Such a war reaches down to the very vitals of society. 
 
 Emerging from such a prolonged rebellion, he is blind who 
 tells you that the State, by a mere amnesty and benevolence of 
 Government, can be put again, by a mere decree, in its old place. 
 It would not be honest, it would not be kind or fraternal, for me 
 to pretend that Southern revolution against the Union, has not 
 reacted, and wrought revolution in the Southern States them- 
 selves, and inaugurated a new dispensation. 
 
 Society is like a broken loom, and the piece which rebellion 
 put in, and was weaving, has been cut, and every thread broken. 
 You must put in new warp and new woof — and, weaving anew, 
 as the fabric slowly unwinds, we shall see in it no gorgon figures, 
 no hideous grotesques of the old barbarism, but the figures of 
 liberty, vines and golden grains, framing in the heads of Justice, 
 Love, and Liberty ! 
 
 The august Convention of 1787, framed the Constitution with 
 this memorable preamble: "We, the people of the United States, 
 in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure 
 domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote 
 the general weltare, and secure the blessings of liberty to our- 
 selves and our posterity, do ordain this Constitution for the 
 LTnited States of America." 
 
 Again, in the awful C'onvention of war, the people of the 
 United States, for the very ends just recited, have debated, settled 
 and ordained, certain fundamental truths, which must henceforth be 
 accepted and obeyed. Noi- is any State, or any individual wise, 
 who shall disregard them. They are to civil afiairs, what the natural 
 laws are to health — indispensable conditions of peace and happiness. 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. G3 
 
 What are the ordinances given by the people, speaking out of 
 fire and dai-kness of war, with authority inspired by tliat same God, 
 who gave the hxws from Sinai amid thunders and trumpet voices? 
 
 1. That these United States shall be one and indivisible. 
 
 2. That States are not absolute sovereigns, and have no right 
 to dismember the republic. 
 
 3. That universal liberty is indispensable to Republican Gov- 
 ernment, and that slavei-y shall be utterly and forever abolished? 
 
 Such are the results of war ! These are the best fruits of the 
 war. They are worth all they have cost. They are foundations 
 of peace. They will secure benefits to all nations, as well as to us. 
 
 Our highest wisdom and duty is to accept the facts, as the 
 decrees of God. We are exhorted to forget all that has happened. 
 Yes, the wrath, the conflict, the cruelty, but not those overruling 
 decrees of God, which this war has pronounced. As solemnly as 
 on Mount Sinai, God says, "Remember! remember P'' Hear it, 
 to-day. Under this sun, under that bright child of the sun, our 
 banner, with the eyes of this nation and of the world upon us, we 
 repeat the syllables of God's Providence, and recite the solemn 
 decrees : 
 
 No MORE Disunion ! 
 
 No MORE Secession ! 
 
 No MORE Slavery ! (Applause.) 
 
 Why did this civil war begin ? 
 
 We do not wonder that European statesmen failed to com- 
 prehend this conflict, and foreign philanthropists were shocked at a 
 murderous war, that seemed to have had no moral origin ; but, 
 like the brutal fights of beasts of prey, to have sprung fix)m 
 ferocious animalism. This great nation, filling all profitable lat- 
 itudes, cradled between two oceans, with inexhaustible resources, 
 with riches increasing in an unparalleled ratio, by agriculture, by 
 iTianufactures, by commerce, with schools and churches, with 
 books and newspapers, thick as leaves in our own forests, with 
 institutions sprung from the people, and peculiarly adapted to 
 their genius; a nation not sluggish, but active, used to excite- 
 ment, practiced in political wisdom, and accustomed to self-gov- 
 
64 TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. 
 
 ernment, and all its vast outlying parts held together by a federal 
 government, mild in temper, gentle in administration, and ben- 
 eficent in results, we do not wonder that it is not understood abroad. 
 
 All at once, in this hemisphere of happiness and hope, there 
 came ti-ooping clouds with fieiy bolts, full of death and desolation. 
 At a cannon shot upon this fui't, all the nation, as if they had been 
 a trained army lying on their arms, awaiting a signal, rose up and 
 began a war which foi' awfulness, rises into the first rank of bad 
 eminence. The front of battle, going with the sun, was twelve 
 hundred miles long; and the depth, measured along a meridian, 
 was a thousand miles. In this vast area, more than two milTKMi 
 men, first and last, for four years, have in skirmish, fight and 
 battle, met in more than a thousand conflicts ; while a coast and 
 river line, not less than four thousand miles in length, has 
 swarmed with fleets, freighted with artillery. The very industry 
 of the country seemed to have been touched by some infernal 
 wand, and with one wheel, changed its front from peace to war. 
 The anvils of the land beat like drums. As out of the ooze 
 emerge monsters, so fi-om our mines and founderies uprose new 
 and strange machines of war, iron-clad. 
 
 And so, in a nation of peaceful habits, without external jiro- 
 vocation, there arose such a storm of war, as blackened the whole 
 hoi'izon and hemisphere. What wonder that foreign observers 
 stood amazed at this fanatical fury, that seemed without divine 
 guidance, but inspii-ed wholly with infernal frenzy 1 
 
 The explosion was sudden, but the train had long been laid. 
 We must consider the condition of Southern society, if we would 
 understand the mystery of this ini([uity. Society in the South, 
 resolves itself into three divisions, more sharply distinguished 
 than in any other part (»f the nation. At the base is the laboring 
 class, made up of slaves. Next is the middle class, made up of 
 traders, small farmers, and poor nien. The lower edge of this 
 class touched the slave, and the upper edge reached up to the third 
 and ruling class. This class wei'e a small minority in numbers 
 but in practiced ability, they had centered in their hands the whole 
 government of the South, and had mainly governed the country. 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 65 
 
 Upon this polished, cultured, exceedingly capable and wholly 
 unprincipled class, rests the whole burden of this war. Forced 
 up by the bottom heat of slavery, the ruling class, in all the dis- 
 loyal States, arrogated to themselves a superiority not com- 
 patible with republican equality, nor with just morals. They 
 claimed a right of pi'e-eminence. An evil prophet arose who 
 trained these wild and luxuriant shoots of ambition to the shapely 
 form of a political philosophy. 
 
 By its re-agents they precipitated drudgery to the bottom of 
 society, and left at the top what they thought to be a clarified 
 fluid. In their political economy, labor was to be owned 1)y cap- 
 ital. In their theory of government, a few were to rule the many. 
 They boldly avowed, not the fact alone, that under all forms of 
 government, the few rule the many, but their right and duty to 
 do so. Set free from the necessity of labor, they conceived a con- 
 tempt for those who felt its wholesome regimen. Believing them- 
 selves foreordained to supremacy, they regarded the popular vote, 
 when it failed to register their wishes, as an intrusion and a 
 nuisance. They were born in a garden, and popular liberty, like 
 freshets, overswelling their banks, but covered their dainty walks 
 and flowers with slime and mud — of Democratic votes. (Ap- 
 plause). 
 
 When, with shrewd observation, they saw the growth of the 
 popular element in the Northern States, they instinctively took 
 in the inevitable events. It must be controlled, or cut oft' from a 
 nation governed by gentlemen ! Controlled, less and less, cf)uld it 
 be, in every decade; and they prepared secretly, earnestly, and 
 with wide conference and mutual connivance. 
 
 We are to distinguish between the pretences, and means, and 
 causes of this war. 
 
 To inflame and unite the great middle class of the South, who 
 had n(j interest in separation, and no business with war, they 
 alleged grievances that never existed, and employed arguments 
 which they better than all other men, knew to be specious and 
 false. Slavery itself was cared for only as an instrument of 
 power, or of excitement. They had unalterably fixed their eyes 
 
Q6 TRIP OF TIIK OCKANDS. 
 
 upon empire, and all was g(K)d which would secure that, and bad 
 which hindered it. 
 
 Thus, the ruling class of the South — an aristocracy as intense, 
 proud and inflexible as ever existed — not limited either by 
 customs or institutions, not recognized and adjusted in the regular 
 order of society, playing a reciprocal part in its machinery, but 
 secretly disowning its own existence, baptized with ostentatious 
 names of democracy, obsequious to the people for the sake of gov- 
 erning them ; this nameless, lurking : ristocracy, that ran in the 
 blood of society like a rash, not yet come to the skin ; this 
 political tapeworm, that produced nothing, but lay coiled in the 
 ])ody, feeding on its nntriment, and holding the whole structure 
 but a servant set up to nourish it — this aristocracy of the plan- 
 tation, with firm and deliberate resolve, brought on the war, that 
 they might cut the land in two ; and clearing themselves from in- 
 corrigible free society, set up a sterner, statelier empire, where 
 slaves worked that gentlemen might live at ease. Nor can there 
 be any doubt that though, at first, they meant to erect the form 
 of republican government, this was but a device ; a step necessary 
 tt) the securing of that power liy which they should be able to 
 change the whole economy of society. 
 
 That they never dreanied of such a war, we may well believe. 
 That they would have accepted it, though twice as bloody, if only 
 thus they could rule, none can doubt that knows the temper of 
 these worst men of modern society. (Applause). But, they 
 miscalculated. They understood the people of the South ; Init 
 they were totally incapable of understanding the character of the 
 great working classes of the loyal States. That industry which is 
 the foundation of independence, and so of equity, they stigmatized 
 as stupid drudgery, or as mean avarice. That general intelligence 
 and independence of thought, which schools for the common 
 people and newspapers breed, they reviled as the incitement of 
 unsettled zeal, running easily into fanaticism. 
 
 They more thoroughly misunderstood the profound sentiment 
 of loyalty ; the deep love of country which pervaded the com- 
 mon people. If those who knew them best had never suspected 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 67 
 
 the depth and power of that h)ve of country which threw it into 
 an agony of grief when the flag was here humbled, how should 
 they conceive of it, who were wholly disjoined from them in sym- 
 pathy ? The whole land rose up, you remember, when the flag 
 came down, as if inspired unconsciously by the breath of the Al- 
 mighty, and the power of omnipotence. It was as when one 
 pierces the banks of the Mississippi for a rivulet, and the whole 
 raging stream plunges through with headlong course. There they 
 calculated, and wi/scalculated ! 
 
 And more than all, they miscalculated the bravery of men who 
 have been trained under law, who are civilized, and hate personal 
 brawls, who are so protected by society as to have dismissed all 
 thought of self defence, the whole force of whose life is turned to 
 peaceful pursuits. These arrogant conspirators against govern- 
 ment, with Chinese vanity, Ijelieved that they could blow away 
 these self-respecting citizens, as chaff" from the battle-field. Few 
 of them are left alive to ponder their mistake ! 
 
 Here, then, are the roots of this civil war. It was not a quar- 
 rel of wild beasts, it was an inflection of the strife of ages, be- 
 tween power and right, between ambition and equity. An armed 
 band of pestilent conspirators sought the nation's life. Her child- 
 ren rose up and fought at every door, and room and hall, to 
 thrust out the murderers, and save the house and household. 
 It was not legitimately a war between the common jK'opIe of 
 the North and South. The war was set on by the ruling 
 class, the aristocratic conspirators of the South. They suborn- 
 ed the common people with lies, with sophistries, with cruel 
 deceits and slanders, to fight for secret objects which they 
 abhorred, and against interests as dear to them as their own 
 lives. 
 
 I charge the whole guilt of this war upon the ambitious, educa- 
 ted, plotting, political leaders of the South. (Applause.) They 
 have shed this ocean of blood. They have desolated the South. 
 They have poured poverty through all her towns and cities. 
 They have bewildered the imagination of the people with phan- 
 tasms, and led them to believe that they were fighting for their 
 
68 TKip OF tup: ocp:anus. 
 
 homes and liberty, whose homes were unthreatened, and whose 
 liberty was in no jeopardy. 
 
 These arrogant instigators of civil war have i-enewed the 
 plagues of Egypt, not that the oppressed might go free, but that 
 the free might be oppressed. A day will come when God will 
 reveal judgment, and arraign at his bar these mighty miscreants ; 
 and then every orphan that their bloody game has made, and 
 every widow that sits sorrowing, and every maimed and wound- 
 ed sufferer, and every bereaved heart in all the wide regions of 
 this land, will rise up and come before the Lord to lay upon these 
 chief culprits of modern history their awful witness. And from a 
 thousand battle-fields shall rise up armies of airy witnesses, who, 
 with the memory of their awful sufferings, shall confront these 
 miscreants with shrieks of fierce accusation ; and every pale and 
 starved prisoner shall raise his skinny hand in judgment. Blood 
 shall call out for vengeance, and tears shall plead for justice, and 
 grief shall silently beckon, and love, heart-smitten, shall wail for 
 justice. Good men and angels will cry out, " How long, oh Lord, 
 how long, wilt thou not avenge ?" 
 
 And, then, these guiltiest and most remorseless traitors, these 
 high and cultured men with might and wisdom, used for the des- 
 truction of their country ; these most accursed and detested of all 
 criminals, that have drenched a continent in needless blood, and 
 moved the foundations of their times with hideous crimes and 
 cruelty, caught up in black clouds, full of voices of vengeance and 
 lurid with punishment, shall be whirled aloft and plunged down- 
 ward forever and forever in an endless retribution ; while God 
 shall say, " Thus shall it be to all who betray their country" ; 
 and all in heaven and upon the earth will say "Amen !" (Voices: 
 Amen! Amen !) 
 
 But for the people misled, tor the multitudes drafted and driven 
 into this civil war, let not a trace of animosity remain. (Ap- 
 plause.) The moment the willing hand drops the musket, and 
 they return to their allegiance, then stretch out your own honest 
 right hand to greet them. Recall to them the old days of kind- 
 ness. Our hearts wait for their redemption. All the resources 
 
TRIP OF THE OCKANUS. ()9 
 
 of a renovated nation shall be applied to rebuild theii' prosperity, 
 and smooth down the furrows of war. 
 
 [At this point in his oration, Mr. Beecher paused, and said, " I 
 will thank the band t(j play an air, and you to get up that are 
 sitting down, and you to sit down that have been standing : and 
 I will sit down, too, and rest for a moment." When the baud 
 had ceased playing, he said: "We will now take our places 
 again, and attend to our business," and then proceeded with his 
 speaking.] 
 
 Has this long and weary period of strife been an unmingled 
 evil 1 Has nothing been gained ? Yes, much. This nation has 
 attained to its manhood. 
 
 Among Indian customs is one which admits young men to the 
 rank of warriors only after severe trials of hunger, fatigue, pain, 
 endurance. They reach their station, not through years, but 
 ordeals. Our nation has suffered, and now is strong. 
 
 The sentiment of loyalty and patriotism, next in importance to 
 religifjn, has been rooted and grounded. We have something to 
 be proud of, and pride helps love. Never so much as now did we 
 love our country. (Great applause.) 
 
 But four such years of education in ideas, in the knowledge of 
 political truth, in the lore of history, in the geography of our own 
 country, almost every inch of which we have probed with the 
 bayonet, have never passed before. There is half a hundred 
 years' advance in four. 
 
 We believed in our institutions and principles before ; but now 
 we know their power. It is one thing to look upon artillery, and 
 be sure that it is loaded; it is another thing to receive its dis- 
 charge. (Laughter.) We believed in the hidden power stored 
 in our institutions; we had never before seen this nation thunder- 
 ing like Mount Sinai at all those that worshipped the calf at the 
 base of the mountain. 
 
 A people educated and moral are competent to all the exigen- 
 cies of national life. A vote can govern better than a crown. 
 We have proved it. (Applause.) A people intelligent and reli- 
 gious are strong in all economic elements. They are fitted for 
 5 
 
70 
 
 TRIP OF thp: oCEANUS. 
 
 peace and competent to war. They are not easily intlanicd ; and, 
 when jnstly incensed, not easily extinguished. They are pati- 
 ent in adversity, endnre cheerfully needful burdens, tax themselves 
 for real wants more royally than any prince would dare to tax his 
 people. They ponr forth, without stint, relief for the snfleringsof 
 war, and raise charity ont of the realm of a dole, into a munificent 
 duty of beneficence. 
 
 The habit of industry among free men prepares them to meet 
 the exhaustion of war with increase of productiveness commen- 
 surate with the need that exists. Their habits of skill enable them 
 at once to supply such armies as only freedom can muster, with 
 arms and munitions such as only free industry can create. Free 
 society is terrible in war, and afterwards repairs the mischief of 
 war with a celerity almost as great as that with which the ocean 
 heals the seams gashed in it by the keel of the plowing ship. 
 
 Free society is fruitful of military genius. It comes when call- 
 ed : when no longer needed, it falls back as waves do to the level 
 of the common sea, that no wave may be greater than the undi- 
 vided water. With proof of strengtli so great, yet in its infancy, 
 we stand up among the nations of the world asking no pi-ivileges, 
 asserting no rights, ]>ut quietly assuming our place, and deternu- 
 ned to l)e second to none in the race of civilization and religion. 
 
 Of all nations, we are the most dangerous and the least to be 
 feared. (Laughter and applause.) We need not expound the 
 perils that wait ujion enemies that assault us. They are suflicient- 
 ly understood ! (Laughter.) But we are not a dangerous people 
 because we are warlike. All the arrogant attitudes of this 
 nation, so offensive to foreign governments, were inspired by 
 slavery, and under the administration of its minions. Our tastes, 
 our hal)its, our interests and our principles, incline us to the arts 
 of peace. 
 
 This nation was founded hi/ the common people, for the com- 
 mon people. We are seeking to embody in [uiblic economy 
 more liberty, with higher justice and virtue, than have been 
 organized before. By the necessity of our doctrines, we are put 
 in sympathy with \\\v masses of men in all nations. It is not our 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 71 
 
 business to subdue nations, l)ut to augment the powers of the 
 common people. The vulgar ambition of mere domination, as it 
 belongs to universal human nature may tempt us ; but it is with- 
 stood by the whole force of oiu- |)rinciples, our habits, our prece- 
 dents and our legends. 
 
 We acknowledge the obligation which our better political prin- 
 ciples lay upon us to set an example more temperate, humane 
 and just, than monarchical governments can. We will not suffer 
 wrong, and still less will we inflict it upon other nations. Nor 
 are we concerned that so many ignorant of our conflict, for the 
 present, n^isconceive the reasons of our invincible military zeal. 
 " Why contend," say they, " for a little territory that you do not 
 need?" Because it. is ou,rsf (Laughter and applause.) Because 
 it is the interest of every citizen to save it from becoming a for- 
 tress and refuge of iniquity. This nation is our house, and our 
 fathers' house ; and accursed be the man who will not defend it to 
 the uttermost. (Applause.) More territory than we need ? 
 England, that is not large enough to be our pocket, (laughter,) 
 may think that it is more than we need ; but we are better judges 
 of what we need than they are ! 
 
 Shall a philanthropist say to a banker who defends himself 
 against a robber, ''Why do you need so much money f But 
 we will not reason with such questions. When any foreign nation 
 willingly will divide their territory and give it cheerfully away, 
 we will answer the question why we are fighting for territory ! 
 (Laughter.) 
 
 At present — for I pass to the consideration of benefits that ac- 
 crue to the South in distinction from the rest of the nation — the 
 South reaps only suffering ; but good seed lies buried under the 
 furrows of war, that peace will bring to harvest. 
 
 L Deadly doctrines have been purged away in blood. The sub- 
 tile jioison of secession was a perpetual threat of revolution. 
 The sword has ended that danger. That which reason had affirm- 
 ed as a philosophy, the people have settled as a fact. Theory 
 pronounces, "There can be no permanent government where each 
 integral particle has liberty to fly off." Who would venture upon 
 
72 
 
 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 a voyago, on a ship, each phnik and timber of which might witli- 
 draw at its pleasine? (Laughter and applause.) But the people 
 have reasoned by the logic of the sword and of the ballot, and 
 they have declared that States are inseparable parts of national 
 government. They are not sovereign. State rights remain ; 
 but sovereignty is a right higher than all t)thers ; and that has 
 been made into a common stock for the benefit of all. (Ap- 
 plause.) All further agitation is ended. This element must be 
 east out of political problems. Henceforth that poison will 
 not rankle in the blood, 
 
 2. Another thing has been learned ; the rights and duties of 
 minorities. The people of the whole nation are of more authority 
 than the people of any section. These United States are supreme 
 over Northern, Westei-n and Southern States. It ought not to 
 have required the awful chastisement of this war to teach that a 
 minority must submit the control of the nation's government to a 
 majoi'ity. The army and navy have been good political school- 
 mastei's. (Laughtt-r and applause.) The lesson is learned. Not 
 for many generations will it require further illustration. 
 
 3. No other lesson will be more fruitful of peace than the dis- 
 persion of those conceits of vanity, which, on either side, have 
 clouded the recognition of the manly courage of all Americans. 
 If it be a sign of manhood to be able to fight, then Americans are 
 men. The North, certainly, are in no doubt whatever of the 
 soldierly qualities of Southern men. Southern soldiers have 
 learned that all latitudes breed courage on this continent. Courage 
 is a passport to respect. The people of all the regions of this 
 nation are likely hereafter to cherish a generous admiration of 
 each other's prowess. The war has bred respect, and i-espect 
 will Ijreed aftection, and aftection peace and unity. (Api)lause.) 
 
 4. No other event of the war can fill an intelligent Southern 
 man of candid nature with more surprise, than the revelation of 
 the capacity, moral and military, of the black race. It is a revela- 
 tion indeed. No people were ever less understood by those most 
 familiar with them. They were said to be lazy, lying, impudent 
 and cowardly wretches, driven by the whip alone to the tasks 
 
TEH' OF TIIK OOEANUS. 73 
 
 needful to their own .support, and the functions of civilization. 
 They were said to be dangerous, blood-thirsty, liable to insurn-i- 
 tion ; but four years of tumultuous distress and war have rolled 
 across the area inhabited by them, and I have yet to hear of one 
 authentic instance of the misconduct of a colored man. They 
 have been patient and gentle and docile, and full of faith and hope 
 and piety ; and when summoned to freedom they have emerged 
 with all the signs and tokens that freedom will be to them what 
 it was to be — the swaddling band that shall brins; them to man- 
 hood. And after the Govenmient honoring them as men, sum- 
 moned them to the field, when once they were disciplined, and had 
 learned the art of war, they have proved themselves to be not 
 second to their white brethren in arms. And when the roll of 
 men that have shed their blood is called in the other land, many 
 and many a dusky face will rise, dark no more, when the light of 
 eternal glory shall shine upon it from the throne of God. 
 
 5. The industry of the Southern States is regenerated, and now 
 rests upon a basis that never fails to bring prosperity. Just now 
 industry is collapsed ; but it is not dead. It sleepeth. It is vital 
 yet. It will spring like mown grass from the roots that need but 
 showers and heat, and time to bring them forth. Though in many 
 districts not a generation will see wanton wastes of self-invoked 
 war repaired, and many portions may lapse again to wilderness ; 
 yet, in our life-time we shall see States, as a whole, raised to a 
 prosperity, vital, wholesome and immovable. 
 
 6. The destruction of class interests, working with a religion, 
 which tends towards true democracy in proportion, as it is pure 
 and fi-ee, will create a new era of prosperity for the common 
 laboring people of the South. Upon them has come the labor, 
 the toil, and the loss of this war. They have fought blind-folded. 
 They have fought for a class that sought their degradation, while 
 they were made to believe that it was for their own homes and 
 altars. Their leaders meant a supremacy which would not long 
 have left them political liberty, save in name. But their leaders 
 are swept away. The sword has been hungry for the ruling 
 classes. It has sought them out with remorseless zeal. New 
 
74 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 men are to rise up ; new ideas are to bud and blossom ; and 
 there will be men with ditlerent am])ition and altered policy. 
 
 7. Meanwhile, the South, no longer a land of j)hnitatioiis, but 
 of farms; no longer tilled by slaves, but by freedmen, will find no 
 hindrance to the spread of education. Schools will multiply. 
 Books and pa|K'rs will spread. Churches will l)less evci'y hamlet. 
 There is a good day cominir for the South. Through darkiu'ss. 
 and tears, and blood she has sought it. It has been an unconscious 
 via dolorosa. But. in the end, it will be worth all it has cost. 
 Her institutions before were deadly. She nourished death in her 
 bosom. The greater her secular prosperity, the more sui-e was 
 her mill. Every year of delay but made the change more terri- 
 ble. Now, by an earthquake, the evil is shaken down. And her 
 own liistorians, in a better day, shall write that from the d;iy the 
 sword cut off the cancer she began to find her health. 
 
 What, then, shall hinder the rebuilding of this republic? The 
 evil spirit is cast out : why should not this nation cease to wander 
 among tombs, cutting itself? Why should it not come, clothed, 
 and in its right mind, to "sit at the feet of Jesus?" Is it feared 
 that the Government will oppress the conquered States? What 
 possible motive has the Government to narrow the base of that 
 pyramid on which its own permanence stands? 
 
 Is it feared that the i-ights of the States will be withheld ? The 
 South is not more jealous of their State rights than the North. 
 State r'ghts, from the earliest colonial days, have been the pecu- 
 liar pride and jealousy of New England. In every stage of 
 national formation, it was peculiarly Northern, and not Southern, 
 statesmen that guarded State rights as we were forming the Con- 
 stitution. But, once united, the loyal States give up fort'ver that 
 which had been delegated to the National Governmi'nt. And 
 now, in the hour of victory, the loyal States do not mean to 
 trench upon Southern States rights. They will not do it, or sutler 
 it to be done. There is not to be one rule for high latitudes, and 
 another for low. We take nothing from the Southern States that 
 has not already been taken from Northern. The South shall 
 have just those rights that every Eastern, every Middle, every 
 Western State has — no more, no less. 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 75 
 
 We are not seeking our own aggrandizement by impoverishing 
 the South. Its prosperity is an indispensable element of our own. 
 We have shown, by all that we have suffered in war, how great 
 is our estimate of the importance of the Southern States of this 
 Union; and we will measure that estimate, now, in peace, by still 
 greater exertions for their rebuilding. 
 
 Will reflecting men perceive, then, the wisdom of accepting 
 established facts; and, with alacrity of enterprise, begin to retrieve 
 the past ? 
 
 Slavery cannot come back. It is the interest, therefore, of 
 every man to hasten its end. Do you want more war? Are 
 you not yet weary of contest 1 Will you gather up the unex- 
 ploded fragments of this prodigious magazine of all mischief, and 
 heap them up for continued explosion? Does not the South need 
 peace? And, since free labor is inevitable, will you have it in its 
 worst forms or its best ? Shall it be ignorant, impertinent, indo- 
 lent? or, shall it be educated, self-respecting, moral, and self-sup- 
 porting ? Will you have men as drudges, or will you have them 
 as citizens ? Since they have vindicated the Government, and 
 cemented its foundation stones with their blood, may they not 
 ofler the tribute of their support to maintain its laws and its 
 policy ? It is better for religion ; it is better for political integri- 
 ty ; it is better for industry ; it is better ior money — if you will 
 have that ground motive — that you should educate the black inan; 
 and, by education, make him a citizen. (Applause.) They who 
 refuse education to a black man, would turn the South into a vast 
 poor-house, and labor into a pendulum, necessity vibrating be- 
 tween poverty and indolence. 
 
 From this pulpit of broken stone we speak forth our earnest 
 greeting to all our land. 
 
 We offer to the President of these United States our solemn 
 congratulations that God has sustained his life and health under 
 the unparalleled burdens and sufferings of four bloody years, and 
 permitted him to behold this auspicious consummation of that 
 national unity for which he has waited with so much patience and 
 fortitude, and for which he has labored with such disinterested 
 wisdom. (Applause.) 
 
70 TRIP OK THE OCEANUS. 
 
 To the mem])ors of the Govenuneiit associated with liim in the 
 administration of perilous afl'airs in critical times; to the Senators 
 and Representatives of the United States who have eagerly fash- 
 ioned the instruments by which the popular will might express 
 and enforce itself, we tender our grateful thanks. (Applause.) 
 
 To the officers and inen of the army and navy, who have so 
 faithfully, skillfully, and gloriously upheld their country's author- 
 ity, by suffering, laljor, and sublime courage, we offer here a 
 tribute beyond the compass of words. (Great applause.) 
 
 Upon those true and faithful citizens, men and women, who 
 have borne uj) with unilinching hoj^e in the darkest hour, and 
 covei'ed the land with the labors of love and charity, we invoke 
 the divinest blessing of Ilim whom they have so truly imitated. 
 (Applause.) 
 
 But, chiefly to Thee, God of our fathers, we render thanksgiv- 
 ing and praise for that wondrous providence that has brought 
 forth, from such a harvest of war, the seed of so much lilierty and 
 peace. 
 
 We invoke peace upon the North. Peace be to the West. 
 Peace be upon the South. 
 
 In the name of God, we lift up our l)annei-, and dedicate it to 
 Peace, Union, and Liberty, now and forevermore. Amen. 
 (Great applause.) 
 
 At the conclusion of the Address, the vast audience 
 rose to their feet, and poured out their hearts in thaidc- 
 fulness, by singing : 
 
 7. <iljc ?no*-ologg, to tijt tun£ of "(Dlb liitnbrcb." 
 
 " Praise God from wliom all blessings tiow ! 
 Praise Him all creatures here below ! 
 Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ! 
 Praise Father, Son and holy Ghost !" 
 
 Nev^er did a loftier enthusiasm inspire, and u|dift the 
 hearts of patriotic men, than when the stately, choral 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANDS. 77 
 
 measures of this sublime ascription rose mio-litily, beyoud 
 tlie flag, beyond the stars, to the ear and Jieart of the 
 Lt)rd of Hosts ! 
 
 But the exercise upon so significant and ilhistrious an 
 occasion, woukl liave been incom]ilete, without a devout 
 recognition of that wisdom wliich had guided the na- 
 tional counsels; that goodness which had filled the cycle 
 of four years past with blessing and progress ; and that 
 strong "right hand and holy arm," which had "gotten 
 us the victory." 
 
 All heads were therefore reverently bowed, and all 
 lips responded a fervent "Amen," as we joined in heart, 
 with 
 
 8. CIjc Closnig primer mxH '^ctubiction. 
 
 BY REV. R. S. STORRS, JR., D.D. 
 
 As this prayer was rem/, and withal was a rare pro- 
 duction of appropriateness, comprehensiveness, ea,rnest 
 patriotism, lofty faith and fervid eloquence; it will 
 gratify all our readers, to find it exactly transcribed in 
 this work. 
 
 We append it here. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who wast, and art, and art 
 to come, the Eternal Ruler of worlds and men, having Thy glory 
 above the heavens, Holy and Reverend is Thy Name. Retbre 
 Thy throne we humbly bow, confessing our sins, and seeking the 
 continual aids of Thy grace. Unto Thee we render our joyful 
 thanks, that Thou hast l)een pleased to reveal Thyself to us, 
 through Thy Son and Thy Spirit, as ready to hear and answer 
 prayer. 
 
78 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 Thine, oh Lord ! are power and majesty ; gh)ry and victory are 
 Thine. We worship and adore Thee for Thine infinite holiness, 
 tor Thy wisdom and niight, for Thy clemency and goodness, and 
 for Thine nnsearchable love to mankind. We adore Thee for 
 Thine immutable sovereignty, in Providence and in grace; that 
 Thou doest Thy pleasure in the armies of Heaven, and dost 
 sweetly ordain and irresistibly establish Thy counsel in the earth ; 
 and tliat all Thy works are done in truth. And assembled be- 
 foi-e Thee in these public solemnities, on a day, and in a scene, 
 consecrated by memories of sorrow and fidelity, of sacrifice and of 
 victory, we give Thee especial thanks for all Thy goodness to us 
 as a people; most of all in the bloody and terrible years through 
 which of late Thou hast caused us to pass. We thank Thee for 
 the leaders whom Thou hast raised up for us, in the Cabinet and 
 the Field ; for their wisdom in council, for their religious con- 
 secration and trust; for their valor, and skill, and fortitude in war. 
 We thank Thee for the successes with which thou hast been 
 pleased to crown our arms, on the land and the sea; for the signal 
 victories which of late we have gotten, not by our skill and will 
 alone, but by the might of Him, who hath helped us; and for the 
 discomfiture of the plans of our enemies. 
 
 We mourn before Thee, for the thousands who have fallen, our 
 beauty and strength, upon our high places. But we bless Thee 
 and praise Thee, that their suftering and death have not been in 
 vain, and that from their graves, the Nation which they loved hath 
 drawn, by Thy grace, a nobler life ; that its unity is maintained ; 
 that its revered institutions are preserved ; that the shame and 
 curse of oppression are removed from it ; that its throne hence- 
 forth is established in righteousness ; and that on it there hang 
 their memorable names, as a thousand bucklers, all shields of 
 mighty men. 
 
 And now, we pray Thee, oh ! Lord of Hosts, who was the God 
 of our fathers aforetime, and in whose name we have set up our 
 banners, that the flag now raised anew above these walls, by the 
 hand of Thy servant, may never be lowered before the onset of 
 foreign war ; before the more deadly assault of treason ; that be- 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 79 
 
 in<i; upheld and advanced by Thee, whose counsel is infinite, and 
 whose ri<,dit hand is ii;lorious in power, it may shine forever on the 
 front of our land, the symbol of Christian liberty and law, of peace, 
 and hope, and universal well being. 
 
 With Thy merciful favor behold, we beseech Thee, and plen- 
 teously bless. Thy servant, the President of these United States, 
 and all who are, in any station associated with him, in the conduct 
 of the government, the enactment or the administration <if law. 
 Insti-uct and direct them by Thy Holy Spirit, and endue them 
 with Thy grace; that as mortal, yet immortal, accountable to 
 History and responsible to Thee, they may plan with prudence, 
 may labor with diligence, may wait with constant hope and faith, 
 and may see Thy work always prospering in their hand. 
 
 Bless those who are at the head of our armies and navies, and 
 those in every rank of command. Make them to be strong and of 
 a good courage ; ride upon the heavens in their help, O most 
 High; shelter their heads in the day of battle; make them 
 merciful and humane, as well as valiant and wise, and preserve 
 them hereafter, as Thou hast hitherto, from undue exultation in 
 the hour of victory. 
 
 Bless those who serve, with faithful hearts, in whatever place, in 
 our armies and navies. Teach their hands to war, and their 
 fingei-s to fight, yet let them ever be mindful of Thee, and may 
 they live to receive the reward of all their perils in the gratitude 
 of their country, and in Thy smile. 
 
 Remember those who are sick and wounded, in camp and 
 hospital, and those who are prisoners afar from home. Grant 
 them speedy healing, and quick release ; and may they have 
 succor in their feebleness and pain, and solace and society in their 
 solitude and want, through Thy benediction. 
 
 Remember those who have been our enemies, and turn their 
 hearts from w^rath and war, to love and peace. Let the desola- 
 tions that have come on them suffice, and unite them with us in 
 ties of a better brotherhood than of old; that the cities, and' homes, 
 and happiness they have lost may be more than replaced in the 
 long prosperity they shall hereafter know. 
 
80 TRIP OF TIIK OCEANUS. 
 
 Grant Thy Fatherly blessing unto all this nation, founded in 
 faith, devoted to Thee in its early baptism of fire and blood, and 
 now again signally saved by Thy hand. Thou has given to it the 
 j)reeious fi-uits brought forth by the sun, and the jirecious things 
 put forth by the moon, the chief things of the ancient mountains, 
 and the precious things of the lasting hills. May the good will of 
 Him that dwelt in the Inish, be also its inheritance, and let Thy 
 blessing come upon its head ; that being not only restored but re- 
 newt'd, being purified in its spirit and perfected for Thy service, 
 by the sorrows and the wonders through which it hath been led, it 
 may be a nation forevermore to Thine honor and praise ; the 
 kingdom of Thy favor, the people and the nation of Thy right 
 hand. So hasten through it the coming of the day, when all the 
 kingdoms shall be at last the kingdoms of Thy Son, and when the 
 kindreds and tribes of the earth, knit together in love, shall learn 
 and practice war no more. 
 
 And now, O God, our Heavenly Father, help us who are here 
 assembled before Thee, and who never again shall be here 
 asseml)led before Thee, and who never again shall be so as- 
 sembled, until we stand before Thy bar to consecrate ourselves 
 afresh, on this historic day to the welfare of our land; to the 
 cause, and the ci'oss, and the truth of our Lord; that w'e may live 
 evermore to Thy glory, may walk in Thy light, may die at last in 
 thy perfect peace, and may arise to our rest in the bosom of Thy 
 love. 
 
 We offer all these our praises and thanksgivings, and ask all 
 these inestimable gifts, only in His most worthy name, who loved 
 us, and sought us, and gave Himself for us, even unto the bitter 
 death upon the Cross, and unto whom, with Thee, O Fathei- ! and 
 the Holy Ghost, shall ])e honor and praise, and dominion and 
 power, henceforth and forever, world without end. Amen. 
 
 The prayer being ended with the Benediction, the 
 grand ceremonial, which must ever live upon the annals 
 of our country's history was concluded. But for a while 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 81 
 
 the assemblage seemed riveted to the spot. During 
 certain portions of the eeremon}', a strange al)sence of 
 demonstrative enthusiasm had been observed. Once^ 
 when the Hag went up, it was irrepressible, tumultuous 
 and overmastering. At other times, it was only mode- 
 rate, and seemed inadequate to the suggestions and de- 
 mands of the occasion. No other solution can be given 
 of this, than the natural difficulty in expressing en- 
 thusiasm according to a programme ; or that the feeling 
 of the participants was too deep, and pervasive and 
 solemn, for noisy demonstration. 
 
 But at the close of the services, once more it broke 
 forth, and a vigorous " twice tliree^'' was given for the 
 old Hag, three more for Gen. Anderson, as many for 
 President Lincoln, another round for Gen. Gilmore, Mr. 
 Beecher, and other celebrities; and the historic scene 
 was over ; the power of the United States over the 
 watei's of Charleston Harbor, and the soil of South Car- 
 olina, was vindicated ; and the banner of the Republic, 
 soon to be restored, was left Hoating at the peak, never 
 to be displaced again by rebellious hands, while the 
 names of Washington and Lincoln linger in the memory 
 of mankind. 
 
 The crowd now slowly dispersed about the fort, sur- 
 veying the surrounding scenery from the parapet, ex- 
 ploring the casemates and l)omb-proofs where many of 
 the large guns still remain ; rumaging amidst the debris 
 for relics, unearthing great pieces of shell or canister 
 shot, rusty bits of iron, bt)lts and screws which they 
 
82 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 cari'ied alxtut until weary, and tlieii threw away, tor 
 some less ponderous souvenir; plucking leaves and 
 tl()W(M's t'roni the speakers' stand, indulging in general 
 hand shaking with the military celebrities upon the 
 ])latt()rm, recognizing old ac(piaintances, and Avaiting for 
 the steamboats and trans})orts to come up to the dock, 
 that they might reembark for the city. 
 
 Meanwhile the " Planter,''' whose load of contrabands, 
 for some as yet unexplained reason, had not been per- 
 mitted to land and witness the ceremonies within the 
 fort, had been left aground at the landing, by the fall- 
 ing tide. No effort of her own could set her afloat. 
 ]\Iucli confusion and delay ensued. The passengei's of 
 tlie "Oceanus," were compelled to cross the decks of the 
 " Plantei'," the ''Delaware," and tlie '' Tt(^>bei't ('oit," to 
 reacli the '' (iolden Gate." 
 
 In passing from the " Planter" to the " Delaware," the 
 crowd became very dense and inij)atient. The bow 
 of the former lay hard against the side of tlie latter. 
 It was necessary to step from the upper deck of 
 tlie one, which converged to a point, upon the deck of 
 the other. A part of the railing of the ''Planter," was 
 broken away at the right, and nothing was between 
 the crowding men and women, and the water below, 
 except the high u])per deck upon which we stood. 
 Those behind ])resse(l liard upon those in advance. 
 Warning voices were heard saying that the weak deck 
 would give away. Many were crowded to the very 
 verge. There was real danger of some being puslied 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 83 
 
 into the water. One by one, and very slowly at that, 
 the people were handed over the narrow ])ass. And 
 we record these circumstances thns minutely, because it 
 was regarded as a noteworthy Providence, that not the 
 slightest accident befel any person, who made the 
 transit. Furthermore it may be added, that no casualty 
 whatever occurred throughout the entire day, to mar 
 the enjoyment and harmony of the occasion. 
 
 The living freight, at last being duly shipped, the 
 "Golden Gate" and the "Delaware," now attaciied their 
 cables to the " Planter," and drew her from her moorings 
 of mud. Once detached, she seemed irresistible. Iler 
 strong wheels conducted themselves as though desirous 
 of being avenged for their temporary disgrace. Robert 
 Small again stood on the top of the wheelhouse, and 
 shouted his commands. A little less zeal and more dis- 
 cretion on the part of this colored captain, would have 
 prevented a momentary fright for our ladies. For, fail- 
 ing to give the signal for reversing in time, he allowed 
 his dun-colored craft to come crashing into our port 
 wheel-house, making both the splinters and the color 
 fly. However, no serious damage was done by the col- 
 ision. The " Planter" with its motley crew, and a few of 
 our own party who had failed to reach the " Golden 
 Gate," among whom we noticed our Honorable Mayor 
 of Brooklyn, slowly wheeled, and then gallantly led the 
 van of all the vessels, on the return to the city of 
 Charleston. 
 
 After sundry mysterious backings and circuits of our 
 
84 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 own craft around the fort, at length she turned ]ier bow 
 towards tlie s})ires of the citv, and soon we were once 
 more on bt)ard tlie " Oceanus,"' partaking of an excellent 
 supper, for which long fasting had given the keenest 
 relish. 
 
 As the sun went down over the waters of the western 
 sea, the echoes which had slumbered since the salute 
 to the risen flag, were again awakened bj the thunder 
 of cannon from all the shipping. 
 
 In the evening, at 8 o'clock, we were sunnnoned to 
 the decks, to witness a most unique and beautiful illu- 
 mination, as the closing demonstration of the da;/. At 
 a given signal from the flag-shi]), every num-of-war? 
 transport and monitor in the harbor, l)ecanie a skeleton 
 pyramid of tlame. Lanterns thickly slung to the rig- 
 ging and culminating at the top of the mainmast, 
 flashed out a starry light or line of lights, reduplicated 
 by reflection in the water, while on the decks the most 
 brilliant Gregorian flres of red, white, l)lue, green, pink, 
 puri)le and gold, were lighted, whose columns of smoke, 
 rolling lazily ujnvard and illumimited res])ectively by 
 their own peculiar flame, presented a s|)ectacle of almost 
 dazzling beauty. Rockets of great power and towering 
 flight, screamed skyward from every deck, and bursting 
 with a muffled sound, dissolved into various gorgeous 
 tints, dro})ped gently downward, and queiu-hed their 
 spleiulor in the tide. 
 
 Hark ! the boom of a single gun from the flag-ship. 
 Presto! chauire! In a moment the liiilits are extin- 
 
TRIP OF THE OCBANUS. 85 
 
 guislied, the lanterns run down, the rockets, blue lights, 
 and Gregorian tires have ceased their pyrotechnics, and 
 again silence and darkness lap their wings over the 
 waters of the Bay. 
 
 Thus ended the celebration of April 1-ith, 1865, the 
 day of the tlag's resurrection, the day of swelling pa- 
 triotic joy for all the leal and loyal ; the day for which 
 the North has prayed, fought, bled and suifered ; the 
 day which admonishes all the nations ; the day 
 which posterity will celebrate, and for which they will 
 ever give glory to Ahnighty God. 
 
 We find in the correspondence of the " Tribune," 
 from the pen of Mr. A. M. Powell, the following brief 
 notice of the reception at Gen. Hatch's headquarters in 
 the evening. 
 
 " In the evening, Gen. Hatch gave a ball, which was 
 largely attended, at the former palatial residence of Col. 
 Ash. It was just four years previous that Col. Ash 
 himself gave a grand ball at the same place, in honor 
 of the fall of Sumter. Some of those in attendance as 
 waiters upon the ball given by Gen. Hatch, now free 
 men and women, were at the ball four years previous 
 as the slaves of Col. Ash. Their comments, in contrast- 
 ing the people assembled upon the two occasions, were 
 highly favorable to those at the North, especially the 
 northern ladies." 
 
 Many of the passengers, not in attendance upon the 
 
 ball, were deeply interested in the narrations of Capt. 
 
 Robert Small, who paid a visit to our steamer, during 
 
 6 
 
86 TRIP OF TUK OCEANUS. 
 
 the evening. He is a stoutl,y Ijuilt man, of little more 
 than medium lieight, of intelligent countenance, ready 
 speech, entire self-possession, and considerable humor. 
 He described minutely his ex])erience four years ago; 
 as his plans were delayed and thwarted by the coward- 
 ice of his associates, as at length he resolved to succeed 
 or die in the attempt, as he cut the moorings of his 
 vessel, and lowered them by strings into the water, that 
 no splash might awaken the sentry ; as he moved slowly 
 along the river, and took on board his own wife and chil- 
 dren, with those of his companions; as he guided the 
 steamer through the vessels in the harbor, to the walls of 
 Fort Sumter, at 3 o'clock in the morning, receiving there 
 no notice ; as weary of waiting, at length he steamed, 
 M'ith many a narrow escape from detection, past all the 
 rebel batteries, and at last delivered his vessel, and all 
 on board, to the IT. S. Ijlockading fleet, outside of the 
 bar. 
 
 For more than an hour he submitted to the most 
 rigid catechising, Ijy the curious passengers, answering 
 every question with surprising intelligence, and fre- 
 quently with genuine wit of repartee. 
 
 He has the least possil)le faith in the loyalty of Gov. 
 Aiken, or any of those who are returning to take the 
 oath of allegiance. The Government estimated the value of 
 the "Planter" at $9,000, of which he received one half. 
 He is now in independent circumstances, and is re- 
 garded by all the other negroes as immensely rich, and 
 decidedlv " tlie smartest cullud man in Souf Car'lina," 
 
TRIP OP THE OCEANUS. S7 
 
 At an unexpectedly early hour, some of the guests of 
 General Hatch returned to the boat. Upon being asked 
 the reason, they replied that their hearts were not there, 
 '' that they had been disturbed throughout the evening, 
 by certain strange presentiments and foreshadowings of 
 evil." 
 
 How little i-ecked they of that cloud of ciramerian 
 darkness, in which a more northern sun had but just 
 gone down ; of the scene transpiring in the nation's 
 Capital, at the very hour when the buoyant ones in the 
 saloons of Rebel chiefs, were " chasing the glowing 
 hours with flying feetf 
 
 But we would not lift the curtain a moment too soon. 
 
 The wearied dancers returned to the steamer, at the 
 spectral hours; the lights burned low; the cabins were 
 still; and all, in "sleep's serene oblivion," were waiting 
 for the morrow. 
 
CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 It had l>eeii aiiiiduiieed tliat the "Oceanus" would sail 
 Saturday morning, at 10 o'clock, but a universal desire 
 to see more of the city, and attend the " Freedmen's 
 meeting," at Zion's Church, secured a postponement of 
 the hour to 5 o'clock r. m., precisely. The day was 
 therefore at the disposal of the company. 
 
 Glad of this extension of time, they were scattered, 
 after breakfast, in every direction about the city, to 
 finish their explorations. A few, whose tastes led them 
 in that direction, went up to the mansion of Gov. 
 Aiken, Avhicli :iotorious individual they found quite hos- 
 pitable and communicative. As it would be impossible 
 to describe all that was seen l)y our curious party of 
 two hundred, we shall give the results of our own ex- 
 plorations, and the additional matter which has l)een 
 kindly transmitted for our use in this volume. 
 
 Entering iirst the old " State Bank of South Carolina," 
 we found it utterly ruined by fire, and the efiect of 
 shells. The rooms were wholly denuded; the charred 
 rafters and sleepers everywhere protruding ; the floors 
 strewed with bank pa];)ers of every description, half 
 burned and covered with dust and cinders. A glance 
 
TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. 61 > 
 
 at one room was sufficient, for all were in like con- 
 dition. The Bank of Charleston, which we next visited, 
 is much less injured and ravaged. Originally it was a 
 much finer structure. 
 
 The marble-topped desks and counters remain, and are 
 occupied by our officers, who make the l)aidv a business 
 depot. A gentlemanly official, lighting a candle, con- 
 ducted our party into the vault, a room about 10 by 15 
 feet, lined on three sides, with pigeon holes, and car- 
 peted now with worthless paper rubbish. The '^ Direc- 
 tor's Room," handsomely frescoed and furnished, was 
 in the possession of a U. S. officer. The rooms upon 
 the second floor, were piled knee-deep with old bank 
 accounts, notes, bills of exchange, papers of every des- 
 cription, and of the least possible intrinsic value. Here 
 the mania for " relics" ran high. Dozens of curiosity- 
 hunters were bending over them on hands and knees, 
 untying old yellow and dusty bundles, selecting ancient 
 and curious documents, and duly bestowing them in 
 the voluminous depths of coat pockets, or carrying them 
 off tenderly under the arm. Occasionally could be 
 heard, •' ah ! here's a prize ! only look ! 1730, lT7(i," etc. 
 
 Enough of these valuable acquisitions were brought 
 home to comfortably stock " No. 25 Ann St." 
 
 The old City Hall we found to be the rendezvous 
 of the regiments which are now on guard in tlie city. 
 Muskets were stacked before it and within it ; patrols 
 walked measuredly back and forth, while the " boys" 
 off duty were asleep upon the benches and floors 
 
90 TRIP OF THE OCEANU6. 
 
 within. Tliit^ hiiildino- was in tlie same general con- 
 dition of those before described, everything indicating 
 that the Rebels went out in liaste and by flight. 
 
 Precisely the same may be said of the Court-Honse, 
 on the opposite corner of the street, never an imposing 
 building, and now sacked, gloomy and desolate. 
 
 Upon the corner diagonally from the City Hall, 
 stands the Gnard-Honse, before M'hich negro sentinels 
 were pacing, with bayonets fixed. Entering here we 
 found a number of contrabands in the large lower room, 
 and boys of every size, with a, few middle-aged men, 
 all exceedingly ragged, but apparentl^y very hap[)y. In 
 one corner, two youngsters were shufliing a pa(;k of 
 dirty cards. Mr. AVm. B. Bradbury, asked them, as they 
 gathered curiously around, to sing some of their regular 
 old jilantation songs — or the melodies which they use in 
 their "quarters." Accordingly they went through witli 
 several of their strange, hum-drum, droning airs, ring- 
 ing the changes upon particular words or phrases, vary- 
 ing the melody by only three or four notes, and pro- 
 ducing a very wierd effect. Sometimes they ended 
 these monotonous chantings w^ith a " shout," or accom- 
 panied them with a "break-down" dance. As they 
 sang, Mr. Bradbury took down hurriedly the notes upon 
 a sli]) of paper, and may hereafter give them greater 
 publicity, as a curiosity of plantation melody. 
 
 (Jne of the bystanders said : 
 
 "Boys do you know the John Brown song^' 
 
 " Oh ! yas, Massa, w^e know John Brown !" 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 91 
 
 "Well, give it to us now!" 
 Then tliey broke fortli : 
 
 " John Brown's body lies a mouldering in the grave, etc. 
 But his soul am marching home." 
 
 " Do yon know the second verse, boys V 
 
 "Yas! yas! we know de second verse too" — and thev 
 
 sang, 
 
 "We'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree ! 
 We'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree ! 
 We'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree ! 
 On Canaan's liafpy shore!" 
 
 So simple and ludicrous, is the admixture of ideas in 
 the minds of these untutored Africans ! In their guilt- 
 less ignorance, they see no reason why "Canaan's 
 happy shore," may not be an excellent place for an ex- 
 ecution. And upon the principle of aggravation, why 
 might it not, w^ere it possible ! Why might not the 
 the most conscienceless and deepest dyed crimiiial which 
 the nineteenth century has produced, fitly be hanged, 
 where his last glance be_yond the lightning hempen cord 
 might be, at the " SM^eet fields dressed in living green," 
 the "tree of everlasting life," the "golden streets," and 
 the blissful choirs of the heavenly country, from which 
 his towering and unrepented wickedness have forever 
 debarred him!' Underlying the thoughtless utterance 
 of the manumitted slave, may l)e found some true 
 philosophy. 
 
 Many of these simple-hearted, yet natively religious 
 black men, having never heard the " Yankees" men- 
 tioned by their masters, except coupled with a ])rofane 
 
92 TRIP OF THE OCEAN US. 
 
 prelix, have been praying for years with the most 
 unctuous fervor, " O Lord ! bress, we beseech Thee, and 
 speedily bring along de coniin' of de " darn Yankees." 
 
 And the Lord has heard them. Xow the beings so 
 long oppressed and degraded, seem to be living in the 
 single idea that they are free. That thought has pos- 
 sessed them night and day, year after year, and now 
 that freedom has come, can any wonder that it is dif- 
 ficult for them to realize it, and rise, at once, to the 
 full understanding, not only of the privileges which it i'\)\\- 
 fers, but of the duties which it makes imperative ^ Their 
 faith in tlieir coming deliverance, has never wavered. 
 One old colored exhorter, thus expressed it : '' I kiujw 
 dat we was to be free, dat the day would come, when 
 de Lord willed it, and I pray for it. I wait wid 
 patience, for I know when de Lord's time did come, he 
 would raise up a man, as he raised Moses, to deliber 
 de people." 
 
 It has been asserted that the slaves were treated with 
 so much kindness, that they would be unwilling to leave 
 their masters for freedom. 
 
 A touching incident was related, which bears upon 
 this point and may undoubtedly l)e accepted as re- 
 presentatives of almost the entire class. 
 
 A master was expressing surprise to his slave, a man 
 of middle age, that he should be willing to leave him, 
 " Have I not always treated you w^ell, fed, clothed and 
 cared for you. Do you really want to be free, and 
 your own master I" 
 
TRIP OF thp: oceanus. 93 
 
 " Oh mas'r," replied the slave, " if jou could onl}' 
 hah seen my knees for dese last seben years, how I'se 
 prayed and prayed for freedom, yon neber ax dat 
 question." 
 
 All the streets along which we ])assed were alive with 
 negroes, men, women, boys and girls, from the line 
 looking octoroons and whiter damsels, from fourteen 
 to twenty years of age, dressed in clean, well-starched 
 gowns of calico, and bonnets of modern style, to the 
 elder women with fancy turbans ; from the little ragged, 
 sooty "piccaninnies," rolling in the sand, or playing on 
 the sidewalk, to the decrepit, grey-headed old men, sit- 
 ting doubled up on the curb-stone or steps of the stores, 
 all watching eagerly the new crowd of passers by. The 
 amount of " shinplasters," given to these people, i)y the 
 passengers of the " Oceanus," cannot ever be conjectured, 
 but it was a matter of devout desire, that evening, that 
 the steamer Avould sail at once, lest a day or two 
 longer in the city, would leave our company with fear- 
 fully gaunt portmonaies. Five of the slaves of Gov, 
 Aiken, were huddled in a doorway — a father and moth- 
 er, with three children — and live more ignorant, bedrag- 
 gled and wretched creatures, it would be difficult to find. 
 
 One good-looking, intelligent negress, ran after us as 
 we passed, and touching our companion upon the arm, 
 exclamed : 
 
 "Oh! ain't you Mr. Ames, sir T 
 
 Our good-natured fellow passenger, blandly ignored 
 any title to that brief patronymic. 
 
94 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 '^ I thouglit it must be, you look so iiiucli like dut 
 
 gemman." 
 
 We fell into conversation with her. 
 
 " Aunty," said we, you are free !'^ 
 
 " Oh sar," she cried, striking her hands frequently 
 together, " free as de birds of de air, l)ress de Lord I" 
 
 '' Well," we responded, you won't call any man 
 ' massa,' again, will you?" 
 
 Oh, ]Vo -sa/i, no sah ! It doesn't seem as if I could 
 make up my mouf to say ' niassa,' again to any man." 
 
 " Aunty, how old are you !" 
 
 " Don't know precisely, sali ! 'spect I'm nearly fifty 
 years old." 
 
 ''How many children have you ^" 
 
 '"'• I've had thirteen, sah ! my iirst child was 1)(>rn 
 when I was fourteen years old." 
 
 " Have you a husband !" 
 
 "Yes, sah! dars my ole man," pointing to a hale 
 and hearty negro, sitting upon the door-stone, a few 
 steps off. " Come along here, John, want to 'duce ye 
 to dese yer Northern gemman I" And John came up, 
 with grinning visage, and rolling gait, and submitted 
 to the operation of '•'' ducAiui^^ which being accomplished, 
 he modestly retired, and left the colloriuy to his more 
 communicative, if not better half. 
 
 We passed on towards the citadel and common. On 
 every block were marks of ruin and desertion still. A 
 very few stores were open, with the most meagre stock 
 of the simplest articles, and a lamental)le paucity of 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 95 
 
 purchasers. But the most of tlie stores were abandoned, 
 the shells having made them untenable. Tlie signs re- 
 main, and many a familiar name and iirm were re- 
 cognized. One gentlemen of our party, standing at 
 the crossing of the streets, pointed out to us the 
 signs of el&mn tirms " which " said he " owe us money 
 in sums from one thousand to eleven thousand dol- 
 lars "—Another gentleman looking obliquely down 
 Broad street, exclaimed " Ah, there's a firm that owes 
 me over a thousand dollars !" 
 
 The slave-mart attracted much attention — the veri- 
 table pens in which families were kept, and at the 
 auction block, separated forever. The day of trathc 
 in human flesh is past — the dreadful marts are closed, 
 and the wail of their agonized victims will never 
 more be heard in the streets of Charleston. 
 
 We were shown also the jail, with its dark dun- 
 geons and instruments of torture for refractory slaves ! 
 another obsolete institution in the city, and destined 
 to become so throughout every State of the free 
 Republic. 
 
 Pausing here for a few moments in this narration, 
 we turn to speak of the great meetings held on 
 " Citadel Square " and in " Zion's Church." At an early 
 hour the colored people had began to assemble about 
 the stands erected for the speakers. The colored pub- 
 lic school children met at the school houses and 
 marched in procession, led by Superintendent Redpath, 
 to the square. 
 
96 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 While waiting for the speakers to arrive, Major 
 Dehiney, (colored,) of General Saxton's statf, made an 
 address to the crowd. 
 
 ^rnba;l of Mm. f lonb Harrison. 
 
 Just hefore 1<» o'clock, the surging and cheering of 
 the vast throng announced the arrival of Mr. Garrison. 
 It was impossible to repress the enthusiasm of that 
 crowd of freemen. Not content with deafening shouts, 
 they pressed towards their illustrious friend, and bore 
 him on their shoulders to the speaker's stand. At 
 sight of this demonstration. Major Delaney remarked 
 that '' this day should be the resurrection of John C. 
 Calhoun.''' 
 
 A single incident related by one of our passengers, 
 Mr. J. L. Leonard, of Lowville, N. Y., will illustrate 
 the interest Nvhich absorbed the freedmen, as these 
 scenes were being enacted. He says : 
 
 " You remember that the Citadel Square was tilled 
 with colored people on the 15th of April, and the 
 children, hundreds in numl:)er, from the colored 
 schools, were marching in procession, singing " John 
 Brown *' and other songs. As I passed through the 
 crowd, I saw an old negro, who must have been 
 over seventy years of age, sitting on the low wall, 
 and noticing that he had a wooden leg, I went up 
 and inquired of him huw he lost his leg. He at- 
 tempted to answer, bnt was too much absorbed in 
 the spectacle before him to reply, and as the tears 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 97 
 
 rolled down his face, he exclaimed ' My God ! My 
 God ! what a sight !' ' Peace ! Peace !' and then 
 hearing- the report of a hre-arm, he started np in 
 alarm, asking, ' What's that !' his thonghts evidently 
 going back to former days. He immediately turned 
 his attention again to the children, and was so com- 
 pletely overcome that it was some time before he 
 conld reply to my question. The intense interest 
 manifested by this poor old man made a strong im- 
 pression upon me, and I have often thought of it 
 since as an illustration of the peculiar emotional na- 
 ture of that race, of wdiicli I had often heard, but 
 which I had never before witnessed." 
 
 As it was not possible for Senator AVilson to speak 
 in the open air, an adjournment was immediately 
 made to Zion's Church. It is estimated that 3,000 
 freedmen crowded themselves within its walls. 
 
 Upon the platform were to be seen the Hon. 
 Henry Wilson, William Lloyd Garrison, George 
 Thompson, General Saxton, Theodore Tilton, Judge 
 Kelly, of Penn., Dr. J. Leavitt, and others. In front 
 of the platform was a large number of army and 
 navy officers, and visitors, including several ladies. 
 
 When all were seated, a freedman, named Samuel 
 
 Dickerson, accompanied by his two daughters, bearing 
 
 a beautiful wreath of flowers, advanced to the ]3ulpit, 
 
 and addressing Mr. Garrison, said : 
 
 Sir — It is with pleasure that is inexpressible that I welcome 
 you here among us, the long, the steadfast friend of the poor, down- 
 
98 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 trodden slave. Sir, I have read of you. I have read of the 
 mighty hiLors you have had for the consummation of this ghjri- 
 ous object. Here you see stand before you your handiwork. 
 These children were robbed from me, and 1 stoc^d desolate. 
 Many a night I pressed a sleepless pillow from the time 1 re- 
 turned to my couch until the close of the morning. I lost a dear 
 wife, and after her death that little one, who is the counterpart 
 of her mother's countenance, was taken from me. I appealed 
 for her with all the love and reason of a father. The rejection 
 came forth in these words : " Annoy me not, or I will sell them 
 off to another State." I thank God that through your instrumen- 
 tality, under the folds of that glorious flag which treason ti'ied 
 to triumph, you have restored them to me. And I tell you it is 
 not this heart alone, but there are mothers, there are fathers, 
 there are sisters, and there are brothers, the pulsation of whose 
 hearts are unimasfinable. The greeting that thev would give vou, 
 Sir, it is almost impossible for me to express; but simply. Sir, 
 we welcome and look upon you as our saviour. We thank you 
 for what you have done for us. Take this wreath from these 
 children, and when you go home, never mind how faded they 
 may be, preserve them, encase them, and keep them as a token 
 of artection from one who has loved and lived. (Cheers.) 
 
 Mr. Gakrison, in reply, spoke as follows : 
 My Dear Friend — I have no language to express the feelings 
 of my heart on listening to your kind and strengthening words, 
 on receiving these beautiful tokens of your gratitude, and on look- 
 ing into the feces of this vast multitude, now happily libei'ated 
 from the galling fetters of slavery. Let me say at the outset : 
 " Not unto us, not unto us, but unto God be all the glory" for 
 what has been done in regard to your emancipation. I have been 
 actually engaged in this work for almost forty years — for I began 
 when 1 was quite young to plead the cause of the enslaved in this 
 country. But I never expected to look you in the flice, never sup- 
 posed you would hear of anything I might do in your behalf. I 
 knew only one thing — all that 1 wanted to know — that you were a 
 grievously oppressed people ; and that, on every consideration of 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 99 
 
 justice, humanity, and right, you were entitled to immediate and 
 unconditional freedom. 
 
 I Iiate slavery as I hate nothing else in this world. It is not 
 only a crime, but the sum of all criminality ; not only a sin, but 
 the sin of sins against Almighty God. I cannot be at peace with 
 it at any time, to any extent, under any circumstances. That I 
 have been permitted to witness its overthrow calls for expressions 
 of devout thanksgiving to heaven. It was not on account of your 
 complexion or race, as a people, that I espoused your cause, but 
 because you were the children of a common Father, created in 
 the same divine image, having the same inalienable rights, and as 
 much entitled to liberty as the proudest slaveholder that ever 
 walked the earth. 
 
 For many a year I have been an outlaw at the South for your 
 sakes, and a lai'ge price was set upon my head, simply because I 
 endeavored to remember those in bonds as bound with them. 
 Yes — God is my witness ! — I have faithfully tried, in the face of 
 the fiercest opposition, and under the most depressing circumstan- 
 ces, to make your cause my cause; my wife and children your 
 wives and children, subjected to the same outrage and degrada- 
 tion ; myself on the same auction-block, to be sold to the highest 
 bidder. Thank God, this day you are free! (Great cheering.) 
 And be resolved that, once free, you will be free forever. No — 
 not one of you ever will, ever can consent again to become a 
 bondman. Liberty or death, but never slavery. (Cheers.) 
 
 It gives me joy to assure you, that the American Government 
 will stand by you to establish your freedom against whatever 
 claims your former masters may bring. The time was when it 
 gave no protection, but was on the side of the oppressor, where 
 there was power. Now all is changed ! Once, I could not feel 
 any gladness at the sight of the American flag, because it was 
 stained with your blood, and under it four millions of slaves were 
 daily driven to unrequited labor. Now, it floats, purged of its 
 gory stain ; it symbolizes freedom for all, without distinction of 
 race or color. The Government has its hold upon the throat of 
 the monster Slavery, and is strangling the life out of it. 
 
100 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 In conclusion, I thank you, my friend, for your affecting and 
 grateful address, and for these handsome tokens of our Heavenly 
 Father's wisdom and goodness, and will try to preserve them in 
 accordance with your wishes. O, be assured, I never doubted that 
 I had the gratitude and affection of the entire colored population 
 of the United States, even though personally unknown to so 
 many of them; because I knew that upon me heavily rested the 
 wrath and hatred of your cruel oppressors. [ was sure, therefore, 
 if I had them against me, [ had you with me. (Applause.) But, 
 as it is now time to organize this meeting, it will not be proper 
 for me to go on with these I'emarks any fmlher, except to say 
 tiiat, long as 1 have labdred in your behalf, while God gives me 
 reason and strength I shall demand for you everything I claim for 
 the whitest of the white in this country. (Great cheering.) 
 
 Major General Saxton rose to introduce Senator AVil- 
 soN, and was greeted witli tln-ee cheers. (len. Saxton 
 said : 
 
 My Friends — I did not want you to cheer for me to- 
 day. There are soldiers in your cause here whose hats I 
 am not worthy to hold, for they have been a great while in 
 it. It is my happiness to-day to introduce to you an honored 
 Senator from a noble State ; my own loved native State, Massa- 
 chusetts ; one who through a long, able, consistent and brilliant 
 career in the councils of the nation, has fought and Ix^rne his testi- 
 mony against the living wickedness of human slavery ; and when, 
 in the future of your emancipated, regenerate and regenerating 
 race, you shall read the record of its downfall, on the pages of its 
 history shall shine brightly the name of Henry Wilson, of Massa- 
 chusetts. (Cheers.) 
 
 Mr. Garrison — I wish to add one word more. I am delightt'd 
 to find so strong a representation from ]\Iassachusetts in South 
 Carolina. Of all the States in the Union, it is to her credit that 
 she has always l)een the most hated and feared by the slavehold- 
 ing South, for her anti-slaveiw spirit and tendencies. Senator 
 Wilson has ably and faithfully sustained her ivjuitation, in this 
 particular, in Congress, for several years past ; and for a much 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 101 
 
 longer period has been yonr fearless friend and advocate. In the 
 days of its deepest darkness and greatest perils, he unflinchingly 
 supported your cause, which has been greatly advanced by his 
 example and testimony. His life (as well as Mr, Sumner's) has 
 been continually imperilled in the national capital ; so that, fi'om 
 session to session, it has been uncertain whether he would ever be 
 permitted to see his family and constituents again. He has 
 fought a good fight, and deserves to be crowned with laurels. 
 lie began his career as a humble mechanic — one of the " mud sills," 
 of whom some of you may perha2is have heard. He has, by his 
 own merits, worked his way up to almost the highest station in 
 the land, and is now one of the most esteemed and justly honored 
 of our public men. Join with me in exclaiming, God bless 
 Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts ! (Cheers.) 
 
 Senator Wilson rose amid cheering, and after it had sub- 
 sided said : 
 
 Men, Women and Freedmen of Charleston, and of South 
 Carolina, and of the United States — This is the proudest day 
 of my life. To stand here on the soil of South Carolina, in the 
 home of the rebellion, on the platform with the great anti-slavery 
 hero of our country, William Lloyd Garrison, and before the 
 freedmen of the city of Charleston ! (Great cheering.) For 
 twenty-nine years in private life and in public life, at all times 
 and on all occasions, I have spoken against slaverj^, voted against 
 slavery, and in favor of the freedom of every man that breathes 
 God's air or walks his earth. And to-day, standing here in South 
 Carolina, I feel that the slave power we have fought so long is 
 under my heel ; (cheers) — and that men and women held in 
 bondage for so long are free forevermore. You have no mastex's 
 now. (Cheers.) You know no master but Almighty God. 
 (Cheers.) Slave is no more written on your foreheads. Allow 
 no man hereafter to call you a slave. Spread it abroad all over 
 South Carolina, that the black men of South Carolina know^ no 
 master now, and that they are slaves no more forever. (Great 
 cheering.) Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, 
 7 
 
102 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 (tremendous eheeriiiij and wavinfj of hats, etc.) with twenty-five 
 millions of freemen by his side, and seven hundred thousand 
 bayonets behind him, has decreed it, and it will stand while the 
 world stands, that the men and women of South Carolina can 
 never more be slaves. They have robbed youi* cradles ; they 
 have sold your children ; they have separated husband and wife, 
 father and mother and child. (Cries of yes! yes! yes!) They 
 shall separate you no more. (Hallelujah ! Bless the I.ord !) Let 
 them understand it. Here to-day I proclaim it. I want the 
 proud and haughty chivalry of South Carolina, whom I have met 
 in the Congress of the United States to know it ; I want them one 
 and all to hear me to-day, and understand what I say, th.it thi^ 
 black men and the l)lack women of South Carolina are as free as 
 they are ; and further, that they are loyal to the flag of the coun- 
 try, while they are flilse and traitorous. (Cheers.) Let them 
 understand, too, that we, the people of the United States, and the 
 Government of the United States, have more respect for a loyal 
 black man than for a South Carolina white traitoi'. 
 
 Now I want you to understand these things. I want you to 
 walk the soil of South Carolina with your foreheads to the skies, 
 proud and erect, conscious that you are freemen, and that you owe 
 your obligations, not to the master of the palace, but to the low- 
 est of your nation, and to the God of heaven. (Cheers.) 
 
 And now, understanding that being your position, a position in 
 which you are placed by the Government of the United States, a 
 position in which you will be backed by the bayonets of the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States, if it ever be necessary to maintain 
 your freedom — standing in this position, forever free, you and 
 thousands who come after you, remember, oh, remendier, the 
 sacrifices that have been made for your freedom, and be worthy 
 of the freedom that has come to you ! (Cheers.) I know you 
 will be. 
 
 Through these four years of bloody war, you have been always 
 loyal to the old flag of the country. You have never betrayed 
 your country ; you have never betrayed the Union soldiers fight- 
 ing the battles of the country. You have guided them, you have 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 103 
 
 cheered thein, you have protected them all through the country, 
 and you have proved yourselves worthy the great occasion in 
 which you are placed by the slaveholders' rebellion. You saw, 
 four years ago, the flag of your country struck down from Sum- 
 ter — yesterday you saw the old flag go up again. All its stars 
 gleam now with a brighter lustre. You know now what thv old 
 flag means ; that it means liberty to every man and woman in the 
 country. (Cheers.) 
 
 You have been patient, you have endured, you have trusted in 
 God for your liberties, and in your country; and the God of our 
 fathers has blessed our country, and blessed you ; and now you 
 are here, the country is saved, the great army that carried the 
 arms of this rebellion has surrendered to Gen. Grant. (Great 
 cheers.) The long, dreary and chilly night of slavery has passed 
 away forevermore. (Amen, Amen, Amen.) and the star of 
 liberty casts its broad beams upon you to-day. Now your duties 
 commence with your liberties. Reuiember that you are to be 
 obedient, faithful, true, and loyal to the country forevermore. 
 (Cheers and cries of yes! yes! yes!) Remember, too, that you 
 are to educate your children ; that you are to improve their con- 
 dition ; that you are to make a brighter future to them than the 
 past has been to you. Remember that you are to be industri- 
 ous ; that freed(Mii does not mean that you must not woi'k, but it 
 means that when you do work, you shall have pay for it to carry 
 home to your wives, and the children of your love. Remember 
 that liberty means the liberty to work for youi'selves, to have the 
 fruits of it to better your own condition, and improve the condi- 
 tion of your children. Respect yourselves. Feel and go about 
 on earth conscious that you are freemen. Walk like freemen. 
 Bow and cringe to nobody on earth. Be kind and humane to 
 each other, always serving each other when you can. Be courte- 
 ous and gentlemanly to everybody on earth, black and white. 
 (Cheers.) But let those men who have held the lash over you for 
 so many years ; let the men who plunged the nation into a sea of 
 fire and blood, let them understand that we have buried a quarter 
 of a million of brave men to save our liberty and maintain yours. 
 
104 TRIP OF THE OCEANDS. 
 
 Let it be understood, while the names of those heroes sound in 
 our ears, that we have resolved that it is written on the leaves of 
 our Bibles, and sworn on bended knee, that the United States of 
 Anieriea shall be one nation, and a free nation forever. (Great 
 cheering.) 
 
 You have helped us to fight our battles. You have taken your 
 muskets, you have stood by the old flag, you have given us your 
 prayers, you have had your heart's desire fulfilled. We have 
 triumphed, and in our triumph we want all to stand up and re- 
 joice together. 
 
 I want every man and every woman to understand here that 
 every neglect of duty, every failure to be industrious, to be 
 economical, to take care of your families, to support yourselves, 
 to secure the education of your children ; all these things will be 
 put in our faces as a reproach, and your old masters will point 
 you out and say, " We told you so." We have said for more 
 than thirty years you were fit for liberty. We have maintained 
 it amid obloquy and reproach, and in the halls of Congress were 
 made a by-word. Now your masters have plunged the country 
 into war. We have beaten them ; we have whipped them ; their 
 power is broken, and it is lost forever. (Great cheering.) Now 
 the great lesson is for you in the future to ^irove that we were 
 rifht ; to prove that you were worthy of all liberty and power 
 yourselves. As you have used the bayonet, prepare yourselves 
 for the future so that you can use the ballot in the cause we have 
 maintained. (Great cheering.) 
 
 I see around n"ie true and noble men who have come to see you 
 in South Carolina. I know you will be glad to see and hear 
 them, for they will speak to-day as they have spoken far away 
 when the task-master stood over you. They come to look upon 
 you as freemen ; they have been your champions, and will be 
 your friends in future difiiculties. We simply ask you, in 
 the name of your friends, in the name of the country, 
 by your good conduct, by all that can elevate you and 
 improve your condition, to show to your country, to 
 even your old masters and mistresses, to everybody the 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 105 
 
 world over, that it was a sin against God, a crime against you 
 to hold you in slavery ; to show that you were worthy to have 
 your names enrolled among the tVeemen of the United States of 
 America. (Great cheering.) 
 
 Judge Kelley, member of Congress from Pennsylvania, 
 was next introduced to the audience, and said : 
 
 Mr. Chairman, and my Friends — I am used to talking to pretty 
 large audiences, and talking with a good deal of freedom, and I am 
 not often confused at the beginning ; but upon my word I do not 
 know where to begin to-day, I have so much to say to you. 
 
 I have not come to you from Massachusetts. We had no Wil- 
 liam Lloyd Garrison to keep us up to our duty conscientiously. 
 I come from Pennsylvania, a State — and by the way, I hope all 
 Northern men here will note the fact, for it shows how bad it is 
 to depart, however slightly, from a great principle — from Penn- 
 sylvania, which was the first to abolish slavery by legislative 
 enactment in its own limits ; and yet under the influences of cor- 
 rupt politicians, forgot its first love of freedom, and gave as a 
 great statesman, a President to the United States in James Bu- 
 chanan, who, as Pi-esident, betrayed the country in the name of 
 slavery, and consented to the beginning of this war. (Groans.) 
 A State, the first to abolish slavery, to make every man on its 
 soil a citizen ; which, in 1838, instead of sowing freedom, deprived 
 every colored man within its limits of the right he had before en- 
 joyed to citizenship and the exercise of suffrage. Bear her his- 
 tory in mind, oh ! ye Northern men, and determine that, in begin- 
 ning the work of reconstruction, we will make no departure from 
 the requirements of absolute justice, and that we will decree that 
 every man upon our soil shall enjoy all the rights of men ; that 
 we will measure for others by the standard we set up for our. 
 selves, and not be content M'hile any right we enjoy is withheld 
 from another. 
 
 I will not, my colored friends, talk to you about the past. God 
 knows that you understand it all too well. It is written in the 
 depths of your hearts ; it is with you in the morning and in the 
 
106 TRIP OF THE 0CP:ANUS. 
 
 evening. When the dream disturbs your soul, it is by reason of 
 the wrongs the white man has done you. 
 
 I turn to the hopeful future not to flatter, though I might 
 very well entertain you with a favorable reeital of your deeds 
 during the last four years, but to remind you that, thougli it 
 is true that you henceforth have no earthly master, you still have 
 a master, the (JREAT BEING, that strengthened and guided your 
 eminent friend William Lloyd Garrison ; (great cheering,) the 
 Great Being that trained in humble poverty and simple-minded- 
 ness, Abraham Lincoln, a happy moulder of America's destiny ; 
 the good God whose stars shine together over the slave's hut as 
 well as over your master's palaces. His laws you must obey. 
 You must worship him not alone at the altar, but in every act of 
 your daily life. It is not enough, it will not be enough that you 
 are faithful in observing the Sabbath ; that you go to Him with 
 your sorrow ; that you remember Him in your joys. You must 
 rememl)er that among His divine la^ws is that which i-eaches us 
 all : " In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread." Labor, 
 labor, is the law of all ; and your fi-iends in the North appeal to 
 you to-day to stand by them, and help them in the great work 
 they undertook to do for you: to do for the country as it is doing 
 for you. 
 
 We want you to work with us, and we want you to do it by 
 working here in South C-arolina, and earning wages, taking care of 
 your money, and making profit out of that money. Work on 
 the plantation, if that is all you can do. Work in the workshop, 
 if you can do it, and work well. He who does a day's work, and 
 could have done it better, has cheated himself Strive that your 
 work on Monday shall be l:)etter done than it was on Saturday ; 
 and when Saturday comes round again, you shall be able to do a 
 more skillful day's work. 
 
 We at the North learn three or four trades ; and when one of 
 you finds that you can do better for himself and his family by 
 changing his pursuit, if he be assured of it, let him change it. We 
 white boys at the North do not care much about being l)orn to 
 poverty. We don't care much of being deprived of education, in 
 
TKIP OF THE 00EANU8. 107 
 
 its broader sense, in early life. Why, it is only a stimulus. We 
 run a race against a rich man's son carrying weight, and when we 
 heat him under the weight we feel the prouder for it. Thus the 
 truly great man who has addressed you toiled through the earlier 
 years of his manhood, as well as his bojhood. Yet what South 
 Carolinian of the last generation has had his name written higher 
 in the scroll of fame, or graven more deeply in the hearts of the 
 American people, than that of Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts." 
 (Great cheering.) 
 
 The humble individual who now addresses you, never saw the 
 light of day in a school-house after he was eleven years old ; and 
 yet I know boys who went through college, whose cases I have 
 tried as a judge, and w^hose interests I have represented in the 
 Congress of my country. Now remember that we are all men, 
 and what one man can do in Massachusetts, and another in 
 Pennsylvania, you can do here ; and though the colored man is 
 not allowed to vote in my State, I think I will write to my elo- 
 quent friend here, (Dickerson) to come and stump the district 
 with me at the next election. I think he would show some of my 
 constituents that we have no right to deprive the State of such 
 intellectual power as he disclosed this morning. We have no 
 right, my white brethren, to rob the commonwealth of such 
 talent. (Cheers.) 
 
 I do like to look at these women here. I have a great respect 
 for women; my mother was one, you know. (Laughter.) My 
 wife is a woman. (Continued laughter.) But when 1 was not an 
 abolitionist, while I was under the delusion that the old slave- 
 masters used to teach, that you were little better than brutes, I 
 never read or heard the story of a woman being outraged that my 
 fingers did not tingle, and my blood swell from my heart to the 
 throat. You are to be the mothers or wives of freemen's homes, 
 and you must make those homes happy. You are to be the 
 mothers of American citizens. You must strive to make them 
 intelligent, educated, moral, patriotic and religious men. Many 
 of you cannot read. You are not too old yet, and the mother that 
 can read, can half educate her own child by helping it with its les- 
 
108 TKll' OK THIC OUKANUS. 
 
 sons ; and the mother that has little learning will get a great deal 
 more by striving to hear the child's lessons, and so too, with the 
 father. See to it that you make home happy, and then see to it 
 that the good man makes home comfortable. You are not going 
 to live in a slave hut. Work industriously ; work, be true, and 
 then see that the carpet on your floor is one to your wife's taste. 
 y<)u can get at the conscience and lieart of a great many Northern 
 men who now think of you only — ii:ay I be pardoned for quoting 
 the language in this sacred building — as "damned niggers;" you 
 can get at their heart and conscience right straight through their 
 pockets. And when they fnid tliat the colored tarmer wants to 
 buy goods from them, and that the colored tradesman has a great 
 deal of money to spend, they will begin to think that you are Mr. 
 John Jenkins and Mr. Joseph Brown. (Great laughter.) You 
 are not to be contented with the common schools of Charleston 
 for your children. 
 
 I am sorry that I do not know my colored friend's name, who 
 spoke this morning. (Cries of Dickei-son, Dickerson.) Well, if 
 Dickerson had been Avell trained in his youth, and put in a good 
 preparatory school, passed through that with honor and credit, 
 and then entered the law oflnce of John C. Calhoun, I have no 
 doubt, nor can any one who heard him, d(nibt that he would have 
 been one of the most distinguished lawyers of South Carolina to- 
 day. (Tremendous cheers.) You may as well pay your fees in 
 future to some lawyer Dickerson, as to a lawyer with a tairer 
 face, and I have no doubt in the world, that colored physicians 
 will attend your women with as perfect attention, as the kindest 
 physician in the State. Just now you are to give your children 
 the best education you can. Our Northern colleges are founded 
 to make two things out of, reputation and money for the Pro- 
 fessors ; and when you are ready to send four or five hundi-ed 
 students to a University, you will find the University will Ue 
 there to receive them. I am laying out a pretty big job for you. 
 It is not a bit too big. Don't you know that colored men dis- 
 tintfuished themselves in a harder jol) than that at Battery 
 Wagner, at Olustee, and almost a hundred fields of battle "? You 
 
TKIF OB' THE OCEANUS. 109 
 
 can do in your quiet homes, and in your daily life, what they have 
 done upon the field. Show your manhood and womanhood. I 
 am only asking you to do what millions have done bef )re; what 
 you too might have done, had the opportunity offered. 
 
 J was just going to mention one of your number — one whose 
 name has been sung and honored. One of your number is Cap- 
 tain Small, of the steamer " Planter." He took part in the celel)ra- 
 tion yesterday. I heard that he was here. If he is, I want to see 
 and know him. 
 
 [The speaker then alluded to the invasion of a town 
 in Pennsylvania, by Early's army : the name of the town 
 we failed to catch.] 
 
 He said when Early's army approached the town, the Burgess 
 walked out eight miles to surrender the town, and ask for its jiro- 
 tection. That Burgess was David Small. 
 
 Robert Small, being entrusted with a steamer and steam 
 engine, which it was never supposed he could ever get out, did 
 run it out, and did, therefore, make the circle complete for yes- 
 terday's celebration. The white soldier was there, the white 
 sailor was there, and the black soldier and the black sailor, but 
 they were there under white command. There was nothing at 
 all to show that the negro could do without a leader ; but there 
 came the " Planter," which Robert Small, the black man, had taken 
 by his own command from the armed State of South Carolina, 
 showing that your race have enterprise, energy, capacity, and 
 may be trusted to go alone, at least on steamboats. (Cheers and 
 laughter.) 
 
 But I am detaining you too long. My friends fi'om the North, 
 these are to be our fellow-citizens. (Cheers.) It is for us to say 
 how soon, and to use all our influence at home. I thank the good 
 God that he has so interwoven our welfare with our justice to 
 thein, that if we do not, under the scourgings we have received, 
 do justice to them now and at once, his plans for scourging us 
 further are already disclosed. There is such a thing as the Con- 
 federate debt. How much it amounts to, you don't know, and 1 
 
110 TKIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 can't tell you. We know that it amounts to thousanrl.s of mil- 
 lions of dollars. There is, in my jndgincnt, nnder Providence, 
 but one mode of preventing the early assumption of that debt 
 hy the United States Government, and that is to protect your- 
 selves, and the loyal citizens all over the South. Let me give 
 you an idea. We have not altered the spirit of the rebels ; 
 we have not converted them so that they renounce the right 
 of a State to secede. They still hold the war to be uncon- 
 stitutional. Now, if we confine sufTrage to the white man alone, 
 in the revolted States, every Senator and every Representative 
 returned to Congress, will be believers in the doctrine of seces- 
 sion, and deniers of the constitutional right (^f coercing States to 
 remain in the Union. Vallandigham, Fernando Wood, and the 
 men who controlled the Chicago Convention, have borne con- 
 tem[)t and contiunely for what was as dear to them as the apple 
 of their eye ; aye, have been four years in maintaining these doc- 
 trines; and if you send from the South its old representatives of 
 secessionists, and yet you get the Northern element combined 
 with them, they will refuse to provide payment for the interest of 
 the Federal debt, unless you embrace theirs also. And they will 
 hold by the pocket or its equivalent, the throat of every honor- 
 able man, who refuses his bonds, and some Northern compromi- 
 ser will propose, as it will be made a tax on the industry of their 
 Northern friends, that l)oth debts be assumed by the United 
 States. How can you prevent it? Why, educate the colored 
 man ; and when the new constitution is made, see that the col- 
 ored man's right goes with it. 
 
 Now, my friends, I have shown you what I want you to do. 
 T tell you, in closing, to remember that in earning money and 
 saving it, and gaining education, and disclosing your moral 
 virtues, you are helping us to vindicate your rights, and embody 
 your freedom in the institutions of our common country. (Long 
 continued cheering.) 
 
 Three cheers were also given for Pennsylvania, the Keystone 
 State. The congregation then sung the hymn, " Roll, Jordan, 
 roll," and several others. 
 
TRIP OF THE 0CEANU8. Ill 
 
 At the conclusion, Mr. Garrison said : 
 
 Well, my ft-iends, this is worth coming from Boston to see and 
 hear. I want to say a word or two more, before we separate, but 
 I want to hear some others before I shall speak to you agabi. If 
 they occupy all the time it will be very well. You will simjtiy 
 understand, that my heart is with you, and my benediction. But 
 I want the next speaker to be one not from this side of the 
 Atlantic, not an American l)y birth, but an Englishman ; and 
 better than that still, one who has a heai't as wide as the whole 
 wa^rld, one to whom the colored race is as much indebted, as to 
 any man living. You have heard of the slaves in the West India 
 Islands. There were eight hundred thousand of them. Theii- 
 chains were broken long ago, and for many years they have l)een 
 rejoicing in their freedom. They had many friends in England, 
 powerful advocates and determined supporters, but their libera- 
 tion under God, was owing as much — shall I do injustice to the 
 living or dead — owing more to the noble man who sits on this 
 platform, than to any other person in the world — George 
 Thompson. 
 
 And let me tell you that when I was in England, then the 
 chains were breaking in regard to the slaves of the West India 
 Islands. Did our friend then say, My work is done. I said to 
 him, " But we have yet four millions, to have their chains broken 
 in the United States. If you should come, you will be buffeted, 
 sjnt upon, and scorned." lie thought himself it would reach to 
 that, but he said at once, " I will give myself to their lil)ei"ation, 
 as well as I did to those in the West India Islands, in 1834." He 
 came, came over to be buffeted, scorned and persecuted, and was 
 hunted like a wild beast, because he pleaded your cause. In 
 every town he was mobbed. Assassins' dogged his footsteps on 
 the right and on the left ; and we, his friends, were compelled to 
 force him out of the country, to save his life, though he never 
 thought of leaving on any consideration. He is here to-day. We 
 became acquainted in 1833, in London for the first time, and have 
 been one in spirit and purpose ever since. If there is one on 
 this globe whom I love and revere, it is George Thompson, the 
 
112 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 universal advocate of universal liberty and emancipation. (Great 
 cheering.) 
 
 A message was received at tliis point of the proceed- 
 ings, from tlie Citadel Square, stating that a large 
 crowd had collected there, and were waiting for speak- 
 ers. After a short consultation, Judge Kellogg, member 
 of Congress; Joseph Hoxie, Hev. Dr. Leavitt and Major 
 Delane}', left the Churcli, and proceeded to the Square 
 to addi-ess the crowds there. 
 
 SPEECH OF HON. UEORGE THOMPSON, 
 
 Before the Frcedmen of Charleston^ {8. 6'.,) in Zion 
 Church, Afyril 15, 1865. 
 
 Hon. George Thompson, on being introduced, said: 
 
 This is a great day for me. as it is a great day for you. You are 
 joyful, and I am joyful. Your cup runneth over, so does mine. 
 I rejoice because I have remembered you in bonds. As it hap- 
 pened with you when in bonds, I rejoice with you to-day, being 
 in freedom as I also am free. 
 
 This is a jubilee, a spectacle, on which God and the holy angels, 
 and the spirits of the just made perfect, look with approval. 
 
 This is an assembly, that commands the sympathy of all the 
 wise and good throughout the woi'ld. I can scarcely believe it 
 true, that I stand upon a platf )rm or pulpit in the city of Char- 
 leston, in the State of South Carolina, having before me the in- 
 spiring, magnificent spectacle of l)etween thcee and four thousand 
 persons, who but yesterday were things, to-day are men and 
 women. (Cheers.) It is hard to believe, that I am at once in 
 the cradle and the grave of treason, secession and slavery. 
 (Cheers.) But yet I believe it is true ; for since I came into your 
 city, I have perf )i'med all the functions appertaining to a living, 
 working man. I have walked, talked, ate and drank. 
 
 What shall I say to you now that 1 am here ? To me it has 
 
TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. 113 
 
 been given to see two great, pure, signal, glorious triumphs 
 effected. To me it has been given the unspeakable privilege of 
 being a co-laborer with Wilberforce and Clarkson, who led tiie 
 way in the great struggle for British abolition — the abolition of 
 the infernal slave trade, and its child — slavery. 
 
 To me, also, it has been given to see their triumph ; to see 
 them go up to heaven, presenting at the throne of heavenly grace, 
 a million of broken manacles, and Africa redeemed from her 
 English spoiler. 
 
 Now it is my privilege to be the co-worker and companion in 
 joy of the Wilberforce of America — William Lloyd Garrison, 
 For thirty years and more my heart has been with you ; with you 
 on the plantation, with you on the auction-block, with you in 
 your unrequited toil, with you in your sufferings, separations, and 
 scourgings; and now I am with you in your freedom. (Cheers.) 
 You are no more slaves of these States, for God created all his 
 children free. A little while ago, I could say of my own country, 
 but not of this : 
 
 " Slaves cannot breathe in England. If their lungs 
 Inhale our air, that moment they are free." 
 
 Little did I think that on this 15th of April, 1865, I should be 
 able to stand in the centre of the city of Charleston, South Car- 
 olina, and say slaves cannot breathe in America. They touch 
 this country's soil, their shackles fall, and they stand redeemed, 
 free forever. (Cheers.) The excellent member of Congress from 
 Pennsylvania, has been talking to you of the future, of what its 
 rights and its duties will be. And it is to me a matter of sincere 
 gratification, that you have pleading your cause to-day, and plead- 
 ing it no less earnestly elsewhere, and in the high places of 
 your republic, men of that excellent representative vState, Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 My counsel to you would be, co-operate with those excellent 
 men. They want not only to make you personally free, your 
 bodies as well as the fruit of them, but they wish that you should 
 be clothed with the privileges and rights of citizenship. 
 
 Now, many objections will be urged to the granting of this 
 
114: TRIP OF THE OCKANUS. 
 
 right, though it is your right according to the very principles 
 upon which the nationality of this country rests. And though 
 those scruples may be removed and pi'ejudices conquered, that the 
 hands of your friends may he strengthened, see that by youi' own 
 conduct you justify all that your friends say in reference to 
 your fitness and capacity, not only to exercise those rights, but 
 that power which belongs to citizens of the United States. You 
 are citizens. But yesterday you were not even regarded as men. 
 
 You were human beasts of burden ; you were animated, two- 
 legged hoeing machines; you were bought and sold like beasts of 
 burden. 
 
 But you are transformed into men and women, equal to the 
 President of the United States, for he is a man and no more, 
 and each of you of the male sex is a man, and no less. 
 Every principle upon which your government M'as founded, re- 
 gards you as equally entitled, with Abraham Lincoln himself, to 
 exercise the rights and privileges of citizenship. Now you have 
 to be obedient to the laws. And the leading members of Con- 
 gress are with you. The praying people of the Noi'th 
 are with you. This you know. They sought you with 
 their prayers, while you were yet slaves, while yet secluded. 
 Since Generals Grant and Sherman, and Sheridan and Banks, 
 have given them permission to traverse the coast and soil of this 
 counti-y, they have come down to you in the shape of teachers, 
 who have been appointed to administer to your temporal and 
 physical wants, and prove that the North is awake, and has put 
 on the garments of repentance, trying to make restitution to you, 
 in that they saw the anguish of your souls. God also is with you. 
 He has been raising the storm that has shaken this land ; he has 
 directed the whirlwind. He has decreed that, ere yet these 
 States are one, ere yet the Constitution is established in its 
 former extent, the slave shall be free, and justice satisfied. 
 
 America tried the experiment in 1789, of establishing upon 
 this continent a Government, founded upon a compromise of 
 human rights. It founded a Government, on complexional dif- 
 ferences. It built a temple to liberty, and called upon the world 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 115 
 
 to admire, aye, upon all its tribes but one, to enter into it. It 
 shut out one clas^and that was your class. There was no place 
 for the negro there. The ordinary term of a human life has gone 
 by. Where is the Union now ? Slavery has betrayed and dis- 
 membered it. 
 
 The old edifice will have at least to be raised upon a popular, 
 more solid, and more enduring foundation. Now is the time. 
 Let the fundamental law upon which this republic shall rise, be 
 the immutable law of right. Tf not, as the first temple has fallen, 
 so shall the second. Sound policy, as well as duty, dictates to 
 the people of this country, that they should base their Union 
 upon a righteous principle. 
 
 What is it we Avho come from Europe, ask the people of 
 America to do? What was my cry when I came here more than 
 thirty years ago ? Did I come seeking money of the Govern- 
 ment ? No! My message to the people of this country, was 
 simply to loose the bands of wickedness, and let the oppressed go 
 free. That was my message. Say unto my people, break every 
 yoke. I said it was for the interest of all to do right. 
 
 I have, for the last fourteen months, and more, been traveling 
 over the North. But what a revolution has taken place there ! 
 Thirty years ago, America vomited me out of her mouth. She 
 spewed me forth, and drove me from her shores as a disturber, a 
 fire-brand, an incendiary. 
 
 During the thirty years that have elapsed between my 
 first and last visit, a revolution has taken place at the North. 
 I left the colleges on the side of slavery. I returned and 
 found the coleges on the side of liberty. I left America, 
 when there was but one man in the house of Congress, 
 who dared to present an anti-slavery petition. I returned, and 
 found scarce a man in Congress, who would not deem himself 
 honored by being selected to present such a petition. I left 
 America, with the newspapers of the country, and the literature 
 of the country on the side of slavery. I returned, and found the 
 newspapers and literature, the best and most popular works pub- 
 lished in the country, on the side of freedom. I find the man who 
 
116 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 towers the highest in the estimation of the people of the North, is 
 the man most earnestly, most sincerely, most •.leompromisingly 
 devoted to the eanse of freedom, of universal — impartial free(h)m. 
 I left America with the government itself on the side of slavery, 
 — a slaveholder in the chair, and slaveholdei's ruling by them in 
 the Senate and House of Representatives. Slaveholders had a 
 great representation. Slaveholders governed East and West, 
 North and South. They were not only lords on their own 
 plantations, not only rulers of these sunny estates of the South, 
 but absolute tyrants over the whole country. And I was sensible, 
 ill fine more sensible of slavery at Washington, than T am now 
 sensible of the existence of slavery at the South. 
 
 Instead of Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, a slaveholder, in the 
 chair, I find, when the men appointed had to select a Chief Magis- 
 trate, they passed over the heads of all the slaveholders ot this 
 continent. They did not even select one of the greatest in elo- 
 quence, the best versed in political chicanery, but they selected 
 one of humble origin, born, it is true, in a slave State, but a self- 
 made man in a free State, a rail-splitter, a patriot soldier, honest 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 All the dominant, overruling elements are enlisted on your 
 side. The great majority of the North have declared solemnly, 
 in National Convention assembled, that slavery has been the 
 cause of this late rebellion. They say it is adverse to republican 
 institutions, and therefore must be utterly and forever abolished 
 on this soil. All the elements to-day are in your favor. Spn-ad 
 your sails, and catch the auspicious breeze ! Your President is 
 with you in sympathy, in purpose, in the exercise of those large 
 powers with which he is entrusted. He has spoken the word, 
 and will not be content until that word is incarnated with tlie 
 freedom of every slave in the United States. 
 
 In our notice of this meeting, we cannot do Ijetter 
 than give place to the following paragrapli. from the 
 pen of Rev. A. P. Putnam : 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 117 
 
 '' The enthusiasm of that assembled multitude, at the 
 tirst mention, by one of the speakers, of the name of 
 Abraham Lincoln, was such as to defy description. It 
 was intense, wild and almost fearful. The vast crowd 
 cheered and waved their handkerchiefs, some screaming 
 for joy, and others raising their hands and clasping 
 them ill gratitude t<^ (xod, and hundreds weeping the 
 tears they could not repress, as they thought of their 
 great friend and I)enefactor. How little did any of us 
 dream that on tluit very morning, he la)- silent in 
 death at Washington. Who can tell what anguish of 
 sdul. tlie dread tidings will carry to the millions of 
 (lod's poor at the South who have learned to love him, 
 as tlieir great and good deliverer. Heaven comfort 
 their hearts, and grant that the President's successor 
 may also prove their father and friend. 
 
 "Too much cannot be said in praise of (-ren. Saxton, 
 who is in conuuand of that department. Faithful, vigi- 
 lant, loyal and true to freedom, he commands the con- 
 lidence of the rTOvernment, at Washington, and the ad- 
 miration and synn)athy of every patriot, white or black, 
 within the limits of his jurisdiction." 
 
 As it was not the good fortune of the writer to be 
 present at this inside meeting, he gives the above able 
 reports of the speeches, by the reporter of the " Char- 
 leston Courier," and the account of the subsequent ex- 
 ercises, as written by Mr. A. M. Powell, the correspond- 
 ent of the N. Y. Tribune. 
 
 He says: "Judge Kelly s])oke to them, as he has in 
 
 8 
 
lis TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 Cono-rest^, and elsewhere spoken for tliem ; of the res- 
 ponsibility of citizens, which they are to assume, or 
 should assume in the new government, to be established 
 in the South. This point too, was well made by each of 
 the other s})eakers. He spoke of the need and value of in" 
 dustry, to im])rove their homes, and to secure education 
 and its advantages, for themselves and their children. 
 
 " The addresses of Messrs. Thompson and Tilton were 
 exceedingly well adapted to the occasion, and fully 
 \vorthy of those gentlemen. It was a OT-eat meetino;, 
 and will mark distinctly the beginning of a new era. 
 Mr. Redpath told them of Wendell Phillips, whom they 
 much wanted to see and hear, and they voted to invite 
 Mr. Pliilli])s, to address them in Charleston, on the -itli 
 of July next. They voted with an emphasis so loud 
 and strong, that Mr. Phillips might well nigh have 
 heard it in Boston. Their invitation was extended also 
 to the American Anti-Slavery Society, and to Frederick 
 Douglass, to meet with them on the next national 
 anniversary." 
 
 AN OUTSIDE MEETING. 
 
 " Outside of the Church, while the meeting, of which 
 I have spoken was in progress, the Rev. Theodore L. 
 Cuyler, of Brooklyn, addressed a very interesting gather- 
 ing, of about 2000 children. They commissioned liiui to 
 write to Mr. Lincoln, and invite him to visit them in 
 Charleston. Young and old, seemed everywhere to re- 
 gard Mr. Lincoln as a father and friend ; whom their 
 masters hated so much, they seem to feel that they can 
 
TRIP OF thp: oceanus. 119 
 
 trust. Another meeting, at the same time, immense in 
 numbers, upon Citadel Square, was addressed by Judge 
 Hoxie, of New York, a Senator from Michigan, Major 
 Delane_y, aiul others. At tlie close of tiie meeting, a 
 large procession was formed, witli bands of music, and 
 paraded the streets. It was a great occasion for Char- 
 leston." 
 
 It was with refei'ence to tiiis procession, without 
 doubt, that Mr. Cuyler wrote to the " Evangelist." 
 
 " On Saturday morning last, I was standing in front 
 of St. Michael's Church, with Wm. Lloyd Garrison. 
 Just tlien the band of the 127tli Regiment came down 
 Meeting Street, playing Old John Brown^ most su- 
 perl)ly. 
 
 "' Only listen to that in Charleston streets!' exclaimed 
 Garrison, and we botli broke into tears. I had many 
 such startling and almost incredible surprises, during my 
 visit. For example I stood with Ward Beeclier, Gar- 
 rison, George Thompson, the English Reformer, and 
 Theodore Tilton, beside the grave of John C. Calhoun, 
 in St. Phillip's Churchyard. It is a plain brick oblong 
 tomb, covered with a marble slab, and bearing the 
 single word ' Calhoun.' ' There,' said Gai-rison, lies 
 a man whose name is decayed worse than his moulder- 
 ing form ; the one may have a resurrection, the other 
 never !' Several northern shells, have fallen and burst 
 near that tomb ! Did none of the bones in tliat sepul- 
 chre rattle^ when the voice of William Lloyd Garrison, 
 was lieard at the o-rave's mouth'!'" 
 
120 TRIP OF THE OCEAN US. 
 
 Lea\ing ll<»^v tlie j'ecords of tliese wonderful " Freed- 
 meii's Meetings/' with tlie regret that we liave not all 
 the addresses upon that memorable occasion, reported 
 in full," we return to explorations and incidents in other 
 |)arts of the citv. 
 
 We may first notice however, that the *' Citadel " it- 
 self, together with the famous Orphan Asylum, is now 
 used as a barrack i'ov colored troo[)s, who liock into 
 our army at. the rate of about one hundred per day. 
 
 The splendid marble Custom House, which was in 
 process of erection at the outbreak of the war, 
 though standing on the margin of tlie harbor, es- 
 (•a])ed the iron missiles with but little damage. It is 
 now being stored with the coniiscated cotton which is 
 rapidly arriving. 
 
 The long Market extending from Meeting street to 
 the harlx)]- gives evidence, at the upper end, of the 
 revival of business. The stalls are rented by negroes 
 and (Trerujans for $1 per week, where they cany on 
 the meat business in a small way, and making a l)are 
 livelihood. Very little money is in circulation yet. 
 Confederate notes were bought by the bushel at a 
 nominal price, and carried away as curiosities by (jur 
 steamer's company. 
 
 We found the price-list lower than in New York, 
 though it must be confessed that the quality of the 
 meat was also decidedly lower. 
 
 Sirloin steak sold for 25 cents a pound ; Mutton from 
 
TKIP OF THE OCEANUS. 121 
 
 20 to 25 cents ; Veal, 25 cents ; Bntter, H5 cents ; Lard, 
 30 cents ; (31ieese, 25 cents. 
 
 "In Federal money, we presume," we said. 
 
 " Certainly," replied the ebony salesman. 
 
 " But how much in (Confederate currency V 
 
 " Oh, sar, we better gib it to you. sar !" 
 
 Potatoes and green peas were abun.dant, and we 
 were told that strawberries would l)e in market in a 
 tew days. Behind some of the stalls were well-dressed 
 and handsome mulatto girls, having bouquets of choice 
 flowers for sale. Advancing toward the river, the mar- 
 ket became more and more desei'ted, and the stalls 
 entirely empty. 
 
 St. MichaeFs Church, with its tall tower, which had 
 been a target tor the Federal gunners, was viewed with 
 much interest. A large shell hole adorns the middle of 
 the tower, while another through the rear wall, let 
 daylight into the darkened sanctuary, demolished the 
 altar, and, according to Mr. Cuyler, " broke the com- 
 mandments, graven on tables of stone, the discrimina- 
 ting missile sparing the three commandments. '' Thou 
 slialt not steal — thou shalt not kill — thou shalt not 
 commit adultery — the very precepts that Charleston 
 needed most." We trust that shell will receive full 
 absolution, since that was its first and last offense 
 against the commandments. Seven of the bells belong- 
 ing to the chime of this Church were melted into can- 
 non on account of the scarcity of metal. 
 
 Another Church, whose name we do not recollect, 
 
122 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 had l)een very rudely handled, Ijeing but little better 
 than a crunibling ruin. 
 
 The little " Church of the Huguenots," in semi-Gothic 
 style, attracted the observation of all. It is built of 
 greyish stone, and stands in the midst of a rural kirk- 
 yard, which must once have possessed great beauty. 
 Tliere tlie tall trees still wave over mossy and moulder- 
 ing graves, ploughed by cannon shot, and slabs broken 
 by the exploding shell. In their brandies were singing 
 the mocking birds as in other days, and in their dense 
 shadow still l)loomed the wild-brier rose and trailing 
 jassmine. A cow was l)rowsing from the mounds of 
 the graves, and as we stood musing upon the devasta- 
 tion of war, and the awful retribution which has come 
 upon the devoted city, two carrion crows, with hoarse 
 and dissonant cawing, rose out of the l)oughs al)Ove our 
 heads ; and, flap]nng their great white-tipped wings, flew 
 lazily across the street and perched upon a lofty dwel- 
 ling. Alas ! thought we, the crows and buzzards sitting 
 on mined towers and spires, dressed in deepest black, 
 are almost the only mourners over the scathed and 
 blasted city ! 
 
 The interior of the Church is sadly ruined. Two 
 immense holes upon either side, just beneath the cor- 
 nice, show where the destroyers entered. The chande- 
 liers were struck and shivered, whole tiers of pews 
 were torn up, and the walls friglitfully scarred. Piles 
 of stones and wood and rubbish lie about the floors. 
 Prayer books and hymn books, cushions, dirt and dust 
 
'VRIP OF THE OUEANUS. 123 
 
 colli] )lete the scene of contusion. Happily, the marble 
 tablets, with their inscriptions in French and En£i;lish, 
 have been spared. However just one might feel all this 
 punishment to be, it would be impossible to exult over 
 such a spectacle. 
 
 Nearly opposite the " Church of the Huguenots," is 
 the old "Planter's Hotel," long since rendered unin- 
 habitable. It was tfi.irl}' riddled. Since the occupation 
 of the city by our forces, permission has been given to 
 Mrs. Eliza Havens to live in its rooms, and teach her 
 little school. 
 
 This woman was born at the North, has lived in 
 Charleston twenty years, and throughout the entire war, 
 w^as a declared and unflinching Unionist. She has suf- 
 fered incredible hardships, having been twice shelled 
 from her house by day, and once at night ; threatened 
 M'ith imprisonment and death, robbed of all property — - 
 some $12,000 at the beginning of the war — and re- 
 duced to actual beggary. We found her standing at 
 the door of the Hotel, very meanly dressed, and bear- 
 ing every mark of suffering upon her countenance. 
 She gave us the most cordial w^elcome. She declares 
 that the old flag has always been " her soul's delight," 
 and that she often sang " The Star Spangled Banner " 
 in the streets of Charleston, with her enemies on every 
 side. How trustworthy these statements may be, we 
 leave others to judge. Upon stating the case to the 
 passengers in the evening, a purse of $25 was raised 
 for her ; which, added to contributions by the kindly 
 
124 TKIP OF THE OCEANUy. 
 
 Mr. Edward I>all and others, made tlie sum «»t* .$35 — 
 sufficient for present exigencies. Her case was referred 
 for furtlier investigation to our wortliy Mayor, who 
 was to remain in tlie city a few (hiys h)nger. 
 
 Tlie " Cliarleston Hotel" was the only one open at 
 that time, and was kept hy Mr. J. P. Stetson, brother 
 of the present proprietor of the Astor House, New 
 York. It was ci'owded during our sojourn to over- 
 flowing, and its tahles were said to 1)e inviting. 
 
 The '' Mills House" was utterly tenantless. 
 
 The ''('ircuhir Church," or all that remains of it, 
 was interesting only from tlie fact, that within it, the 
 first secession sermon was pi'eached. Notliing hut por- 
 tions of its walls, and half of the tower renudn. 
 Within, the enclosure is overgrown with grass and weeds, 
 upon which cattle would find good l>rowsing. 
 
 Next to it is the ruin of ''Institute Hall." of wdiich 
 scarcely one stone or brick is left uj)on another. Here 
 the "Ordinance of Secession" was passed by five hun- 
 dred majority. Here also the Convention was held 
 which nominated Stephen A. Douglass for the Presi- 
 dency. Passing down Hayne street, we came to the 
 " Ration House," or, as it is called by the ]n-oprietor, 
 " The Invalid's Cpmmissary." 
 
 Standing, sitting and lying around the entrances, were 
 hundreds of poor freedmen and women, in every stage 
 of raggedness, — waiting their turn to be served. Elbow- 
 ing our way through this heterogeneous crowd, we en- 
 tered the immense stores of Mr. George W. Williams. 
 
TlilP OF TlIK OOEAJNLl'S. 125 
 
 We found this geiitleinaii superintending his work. Pie 
 is of medium size, long, sandy, cui-ling hair, and l)enigii 
 countenance, and received us with great cordiality. Plis 
 stores, divided by a central ])artitioii. with a large space 
 for inter-coinmunication, contain in the right a])artment. 
 hundreds of bags of rice, corn, meal and grits, and in 
 the other, the large l)ins in which these are emptied for 
 distribution. The needy reci])ients enter, one at a time, 
 receive a ticket at the counter, and on ])resenting it, 
 with their little bags, are served with a peck, or half a 
 peck, of rice or grist. We stood and watched these beg- 
 gared people. It was a pitiful sight — children, old men 
 and women, of every shade, came eagerly uj) and held 
 out their bags for the ration. One girl, of excessive 
 blackness, and more completely tatterdemalion, than any 
 we had seen, presented her ticket for one half peck of 
 rice. The negro filled her bag, and she went out. Im- 
 mediately following her, was a wonian of thirty-tive 
 years, perfe(;tly white, of liaggard countenance, and 
 dressed in rusty black. She advanced, held out her 
 ticket for a peck of rice, and received it. As she 
 turned, she said : 
 
 "Can't you give me a little xalt to-day?" 
 " We haven't any salt left," replied the waiter. 
 AYith a sigh, she left the store. Turning towards 
 Mr. Williams, in our surprise, we asked. 
 
 " What is that 'white woman doing here C 
 
 " My dear sir," replied Mr. W., '' that woman, four 
 
126 . TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 years aijo, was worth half a million dollars, and lived 
 in a iiiie mansion on the Battery/" 
 
 He then stated the fa(;t before mentioned, that the 
 casliier of the Bank of Charleston, comes every day to 
 his store, to get his peck of rice or meal. 
 
 At our request, Mr. Williams wrote out a brief state- 
 ment, concerninji; his work, which he bron<i;lit to the 
 '• Oceanus," just before we sailed. It cannot fail U) in- 
 terest all our readers, and we therefore transcribe it in 
 full. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. GEO. S. WILLIAMS. 
 
 '' SiiU'-e the occupation of Charleston, by the U. S. 
 troops, about three million pounds of provisions, con- 
 sistiuii; of rice, grist, meal and salt, have been issued 
 to the [)oor and needy citizens of Charleston, of all 
 classes, colors and conditions. Many who were con- 
 sidered millionaires, a few years since, are reduced by 
 tlie war, to want, penury and beggary, and are to be 
 seen carrying their bags of rations through the streets 
 of Charleston. 
 
 " The Confederate Government, in one way and an- 
 other, absorbed all the cajiital of the banks, and various 
 monied institutions, of the city and state. The failure 
 of Jeft'. Davis & Co., necessarily bi-eaks the monied in- 
 stitutions, on which the people relied for support. The 
 large anioimt of provisions being issued, was accumula- 
 ted by the city and Confederate authorities. 
 
 " Geo. W. Williams, one of the aldermen of the city, 
 and chairman of the Subsistence Committee, has devoted 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 127 
 
 his whole time for the past two years to distrilmting 
 tliis food to the ]:)0or. 
 
 " The Confederate authorities, turned over to liini all 
 the stores owned bv them, to be distributed under direc- 
 tion of the City Council, to the poor of Charleston. 
 
 " A large amount of these supplies, was destroyed in 
 the burning of the cotton, and the explosion at the 
 ]N"orth East Railroad Depot. On the landing of the 
 Union forces, Mr. Williams furnished Col. Bennet, with 
 a list of the stores, and secured a guard to protect tliem. 
 These supplies were taken possession of by the U. S. 
 Government, and turned over to a conmiittee of three, 
 to be distributed to the poor of (Charleston and vicinity. 
 
 " The large storehouses of Geo. W. Williams & Co., on 
 Hayne Street, are used as a depot for distributing 
 rations. Tickets are issued to needy families, two-thirds 
 being colored ; and thousands of the recipients are to 
 be seen daily wending their way to the ' Invalid's Com- 
 missary,' for food. 
 
 " These su])plies will soon be exhausted, and then What 
 will become of this helpless and suffering peopled A 
 number of tickets have been issued to colored people, 
 who have reached their four score and tioenty^ (five 
 score or lOU ?) This class of citizens, are supplied at 
 their own homes." 
 
 The importance of the question asked by Mr. Wil- 
 liams, can hardly be over-estimated. These poor de- 
 pendent people cannot be left to starvation, and at 
 present there is little which can employ their hands in 
 
128 TlilP OK THE OCKANUS. 
 
 the wav of iiidut^tn-. We spent imu-li time in sounding 
 their disposition, noM- tliat tiiev ave free. Not one ex- 
 pressed an expectation, or desire that they should be 
 fed long- at the CTOverinnent expense. All ])romptly 
 said, '•'We want to work and get our own living; we 
 want soiiiethiiig to do, and we will work all tlie harder 
 for l)eing free." 
 
 It would be false to deny that these peo})le are igno- 
 rant. How could they l)e an3'tliing else^ They need 
 instruction in the very rudiments of education, and self- 
 supporting industry, economy and thrift. But never 
 were a people more willing, and eager to be taught. 
 They are natarally intelligent and shrewd. Steady and 
 wholesome instruction, will make them useful and effi- 
 cient, as they always have l)een huv-abiding citizens. 
 He who sliould expect tliem to ste|) at once into the 
 full daylight of freedom, from the long, dark night of 
 bondage, w^ithout l>eing somewhat dazzled, and needing 
 some safe guide to lead them, would justly win a repu- 
 tation for folly, not far removed from insanity. The 
 work of their melioration and elevation, will be slow, 
 but it will be sure, for the material upon which to 
 work is there — willing hearts, strong hands, and grati- 
 tude to their benefactors. 
 
 A[ AGNOLl A GEM KTERY . 
 
 Taking a horse and wagon, both of which had come 
 down from a former generation, and for which the avari- 
 cious proprietor ai^l-ed the modest sum of So, we rode 
 
TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. 129 
 
 through the pleasant fields, two miles out of the city, 
 to Magnolia Cemetery, the principal burying ground of 
 Charleston. The road was flanked by high hedges, 
 overgrown with wild briar roses of unusual size, and 
 trees adorned with long grey beards of moss. The 
 cemetery has once enjoyed high culture, and a reputa- 
 tion for great beanty. Natural water-courses, or tide- 
 ways, wind at will through its whole expanse, and the 
 hand of the horticulturist has done much to increase 
 its charms. IN^ot many splendid monuments are there ; 
 the jH-evailing i-emembrances of the dead being the 
 plain slab, erect, or laid flat above the graves. A 
 garden well kept, and abounding in flowers, adorns the 
 centre. One monument alone gives celebrity to this 
 burial-];)lace. It is a pile of marble, of variegated colors, 
 elaborately carved and wrought into mosaic flgures, of 
 remarkal)le beauty. Ft is the tribute of a husband to 
 his wife, and for four years his own hands have been 
 employed upon the labor of love. 
 
 An old negro, of intense blackness, was our guide 
 through this city of the dead. He ])oirLted out the 
 graves of some distinguished South Carolinians, but the 
 natural beauty of the place eclipses all that art has 
 done to enhance its attractiveness. He told us that 
 four years ago, he stood at the outer limit of the 
 cemetery, and watched the boml)ardment of Sumter ; 
 the whole panorama being distinctly visible. The keeper 
 of the garden permitted us to pick from its exuberance 
 
l.SO TRIP OF THK OCEANUS. 
 
 of flowers, tlie most exquisite boquets of roses. Scores 
 of our I'arty visited tlii*? cemetery. 
 
 THE N. E. RAILROAD DEPOT. 
 
 Tliis tragic spot was viewed with the most painful 
 interest. The accounts of tlie explosion \'ary somewhat, 
 as to the premeditated slaughter which was effected 
 there. By a few, it is claimed that no intention of 
 massacre can be charged upon the })rincipals in the 
 deed. But in the light of all these recent develop- 
 ments, the cold-blooded and atrocious consi)iracies; the 
 deliberate starving of our prisoners ; the fiendish intro- 
 duction of yellow-fever into Newbern, and the attemj)t 
 to do the same in New York; the St. iVlban's raid; 
 and the attempt to burn Xew York, — the most probable 
 account is that which is the most generally believed, 
 to wit : that when the Rebels were forced to evacuate 
 the city, they resolved to blow up this depot, where 
 the Confederate supplies were stored. The poor peo|)le 
 were told to go there and hel]> themselves. Soon a 
 crowd, consisting mostly of slaves, was gathered there. 
 Major Pringle had mined the premises, and was not to 
 be ke])t from, nor delayed in his ])urpose, although so 
 many lives would be destroyed. By some it is averred 
 that two or three warnings of this intention were given. 
 Grant that there M'ere, does this palliate the deed ? 
 W1k> but a fiend incarnate, would have given the order 
 to apply the match, until he kneio that all the innocent 
 and helpless were safe from harm? The train was 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 181 
 
 fired, and in an instant three hundred — according to 
 some authorities four hundred — human beings were 
 blown into eternity. Not long after this occurrence, 
 this Pringle was captured by colored troo})s, belonging 
 to our army, which insufferable indignity to his royal 
 Carolinian blood, so frenzied him, as to betray him into 
 the l)est act of his life, as concerning mankind, the 
 blowing out of his own brains with a pistol. 
 
 THE RACE COURSE. 
 
 Eev. J. L. Corning, the correspondent of the " N. Y. 
 Sim," thus speaks of this locality, which it was not the 
 writer's mournful pleasure to visit : 
 
 " The old race-course, about a mile outside of the 
 city, WHS the great " prison-pen," wliere thousands of 
 Union soldiers suffered horrors which Heaven only can 
 record. On this accursed, yet thrice hallowed spot, 
 during a lung and stormy winter, our brave captured 
 boys lay hungry and shelterless. I do not mean to ex- 
 aggerate — I mean literally shelterless. The ground for 
 the space of five square acres is to-day covered with 
 holes, into which the poor victims crawled like beasts 
 of the forest, to hide themselves trora the driving- 
 storms. Patches of earth, from six to eight feet square, 
 are marked oif, all over the dreary plain, by ditches 
 dug around them, and upon these they lay through 
 rainy days and nights, as the best protection that could 
 be invented against the pouring floods. A plain board 
 fence, on one side of this acaldema, en(;loses the burial- 
 
182 TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. 
 
 ij;i*onji(l ; and here, as they died, tliey were shoveled 
 into the earth like dogs. Over two-hundred head-boards 
 can be counted in the yard ; l)ut these only avail to 
 keep up a semblance of decent respect for the name 
 and memory of the departed. Identitication is impossi- 
 ble, and the weeping kindred will oidy I'ecognize the 
 faces that are gone, when they become radiant in the 
 better land, in the last glorious gathering of tlie good 
 and brave." 
 
 And lest these words of the " Siin correspondent,'' 
 might be thought extravagant, let us see how another 
 observer was im])ressed by the same spectacle of sug- 
 gestive horrors. Rev. A. P. Putnam thus writes to 
 the " lnde])endent."" After noticing the war-scathed and 
 utterly desolate situation of tlie city, he writes: 
 
 ''Whatever feeling of pity one may entertain for 
 those who suffer woes like these, is likely to be dis- 
 sipated, to a great extent, by a visit to the race-course, 
 just outside of the city, whei'e thousands of our prisoners 
 were confined by the rebel authorities. Here is a field 
 of ten acres, without a tree or roof to afford the least 
 shelter from the burning heat of the sun. or the pitiless 
 blasts of the storm. Here, at times, as many as 10,000 
 of our soldiers were ke]>t under guard, night and day, 
 summer and winter, witli no canopy above them, but 
 the arching sky, and no bed for repose, but the cold, 
 damp earth. The whole surface of their [)rison-grounds 
 is intersected with little trenches, which our l)rave boys 
 dug with their han.ds, in order better to keej) dry, in 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 133 
 
 wet weather, the places where they were obliged to 
 lie. Here and there also, they had scooped out large 
 excavations, into which they might crawl and keep 
 warm, when the winds were chill and the storm severe. 
 All over this field, many a, nol)le fellow sutfered in his 
 wounds, and from disease and starvation. Some of 
 them, as they died, were denied sepulture by the rebels, 
 and were buried on the spot, by their comrades, who 
 dug tlieir graves as best tliey could. Others, three 
 hundred in nuniber, were borne a little distance to a 
 rising gi'ound, and were laid side by side in rhe earth, 
 in several parallel rows, with no stone oi* mark to tell 
 their names to the visitor. Hither, to the race-course, 
 the fashionable people of the city, were wont to take 
 their afternoon drives ; and, at a little distance from our 
 men, would sit smoking their cigars and drinking their 
 juleps, while surve3ang through their eye-glasses, with 
 the utmost complacency, if not with the keenest delight, 
 the horrible sufferings of the defenders of the T^nion. 
 It was nightfall when I was there. The proud Caroli- 
 nian, the cruel guard, the multitude of heroes, — all were 
 gone. 
 
 Yet there were the innumerable trenches and excava- 
 tions, which the hands of our braves had made, — there 
 the cokl 1)0(1 of earth, where they had lain, and where 
 so many of them had sickened and died at last — and 
 rhere, at a little distance, were the unknown graves 
 of the martyrs, to the sacred (muse of Union and Lib- 
 
 ertv. The wind sighed mournfully through the pine 
 
 '9 
 
134 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 trees, tlmt surruiuKlod tlie little cemetery, which our 
 own troops had recently enclosed by a neat fence, and 
 I came away, teeling that it was one of the saddest 
 scenes I had ever witnessed ; and feeling too, how just 
 had been the judgments of God, M'hich had rained down 
 destruction upon that i'el)enious and cruel city." 
 
 Upon returning to the "' Oceanus,'*' at 5 o'clock p. m., 
 we learned that the ]>ilot had declared his unwillingness 
 to take the steamer (.i\er the bar by twilight, and the 
 time of our departui'e had been again postponed until 
 the next high tide, at S o'clock Sunday morning. The 
 majority of the party, very Aveary by the day's explora- 
 tions, were glad to spend the evening quietly on board. 
 A few, however, paid a visit to the house of Col. 
 Beecher, to witness a very unique and impressive present- 
 ation to his brother, Henry Ward Beecher. One of 
 the witnesses, the Editor of the ''The Union." gives 
 the subjoined account. 
 
 "It was made by a band of ten coloi'ed women of 
 Charleston, who had, at an early ])eriod. Formed an as- 
 sociation foi" the pur])ose of aiding our sick and woun- 
 ded prisoners, in the hands of the Bebels. 
 
 " The difficulties which they had overcome were very 
 great, and the fidelity and courage they had shown, 
 such as every honest man must pay a tribute of respect 
 to. Tln-ee of them had been publicly whipped M'ith 
 sevejity lashes, for the woi'k tliey were engaged in, 
 and all of them, compelled to work all day for their 
 own support, had courted this outi'age by devoting half 
 
TRTP OF TttK OCEANUS. 135 
 
 of the iiiglit to their holy hibor. T did not arrive in 
 time to hear their remarks; those of Mr. Beeclier in 
 reply, were simple and tonching. He promised them 
 the appreciation of the North, and told them that there 
 was a movement thei'e to place the hlack e(pial before 
 the laws, with the white, so that they might, free trom 
 hindrance, become what they could and would. jSTo 
 scene in Charleston touched me more than this." 
 
 The evening on board was spent in general con- 
 versation, comparison of relics, and musical entertain- 
 ment, and at an earlier hour than usual, the cabins 
 were deserted and silent. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Thk morning of Sabbath, April l<)th, dawned with- 
 out a dond. The air was balni)' and incense-laden. 
 The dews of the night had allayed the feverish sultri- 
 ness of the day before. It was a matter of some regret 
 to many that our departure should liave been delayed 
 until Sunday, but we were in the hands of the pilot, 
 whose decision to that elfect was final. We must go 
 when he was ready to take us safely over the bar. 
 Three or four of our passengers were to remain for a 
 few days in the city, among whom were Mayor Wood, 
 of Brooklyn, and Rev. J. L. Corning, whom we regret- 
 ted to leave behind. The crowd assembled upon the 
 wharves to witness our departure. About 9 o'clock we 
 Ijade adieu to our friends on shore, many of whom 
 were the gentlemanly officers whose attentions had 
 made our stay in the city so delightful ; glaiuted once 
 more at the shot-scarred houses along the Battery, and 
 the curious crowd that lined the docks, and while the 
 band sweetly played the farewell and yet inviting 
 melody, " Home, Sweet Home !" we moved slowly out 
 into the waters of the harbor. Again, we waved saluta- 
 tions to the monitors and vessels of war ; a2;ain were we 
 
TRir OF THE OCEANUP. I?)'! 
 
 abreast of Fort Sumter, which in tliat Sabbath ounlig-ht 
 seemed more tlian ever consecrated to Freedom. We 
 could not pass it by, perhaps, never to look upon its 
 storied walls again, without the voice of sacred song. 
 We uncovered our heads as we stood n})on the hurri- 
 cane and quarter decks. What should meet the demand 
 of our emotion save the Old Doxology again ! With 
 tearful eyes and tremulous voices, we sang once more, 
 " Praise God from whom all blessings flow !'' The 
 sentinels within the fort gave answer to the strain by 
 dipping the colors and waving their bayonets, which 
 flashed in the sun. Then again we sang the appro- 
 priate and touching words — 
 
 " Out on an ocean all boundless we ride. 
 
 We're homeward bound, homeward bound ! 
 
 Toss'd on the waves of the rough, restless tide. 
 
 We're homeward bound, homeward bound !" 
 
 Who shall smile at the mention of tears of joy ? 
 Strong, brave-hearted, noble men shed them then and 
 there ! Keluctantly w^e turned away from the grand 
 old ruin now sinking in the distance. Our eyes had 
 seen the "glory of the nation" ascend to su])remacy 
 above its crumbled walls. Our ears had heard the 
 music of its waving folds ; our hearts had drunk deep- 
 ly of the inspiration of that hour. That was a day 
 to be marked " with a white stone" in the calendar 
 of every son and daughter of Columbia. Other scenes 
 might be eff'aced from memory's tablet, but that, never. 
 And as we " thought thereon, w^e wept," tears of patriotic 
 
138 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 pride and exultation, yet attempered l)y the reniein- 
 brance of the j>f'ice at wliicli the triunipli had been 
 purcliased. 
 
 At length the bar wa;^ eroj^sed ; the pilot dit^niissed, 
 and we were alone again upon the broad-breasted. 
 l)lue and briny oeean. 
 
 Nothing- could exceed the loveliness of those Sabbath 
 -skies, full of light and peace from horizon to horizon' 
 and the bosom of the sea, breathing always with heave 
 and swell, and then unbroken by a single white cap 
 or the lea[> from its surface of a single one of its 
 finny dwellers, 
 
 " Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright. 
 Bridal of earth and sky," 
 
 IJow a}»propriate that we should unite in worship 
 and praise of Him '' whose way is in the sea," and 
 " whose path is upon the great waters."" 
 
 At 11 o'clock, religious services were held in the 
 Ladies Cabin, conducted by Rev. Mr. Cuyler. 
 
 It was Easter Sabbath, and the opening hymn was 
 an appropriate recognition of the great fact of the 
 Saviour's Resurrection. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Putnam read the Scripture, and otfei'ed, 
 the Introductory Prayer. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Cuyler then preached a timely, impressive, 
 and eloquent sermon from Philipians 3, 13 : 
 
 " Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, 
 hut this one thing I do .''"' 
 
 The Closing Prayer was offered by Rev. J. C. French. 
 
TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. 139 
 
 111 the afternoon at 5 o'clock, services were ag-aiu 
 held, conducted by Eev. II. M. Gallaher, who took for 
 his text, Xunibers 32, 23: — '^ And he ><ure your sin null 
 Jind you out /" His sermon was illustrative, pungent, 
 and practical. 
 
 The Closing Prayer was oU'ered by Eev. Mr. Chad- 
 wick. 
 
 In the evening a meeting for general conference and 
 prayer was held, in which a iiuniber of laymen as well 
 as clergymen took part. The entire day was tittingly 
 and profitably occupied. There were none on board 
 wilt) appeared to forget that it was the Sahbath. All 
 merriment was hushed ; becoming seriousness ruled 
 every hour. The inHnence of that "Lord's day" will 
 not be lost. 
 
 Monday passed without any incident worthy of 
 special remark. The sky was cloudless, and -though a 
 smart breeze from the North lashed the sea into white- 
 ca])ped l)iHows ; and, as we rounded Cape Ilatteras, 
 sometimes dashed the spray upon the quarter deck, yet 
 the steamer, cutting the waves at right angles, had far 
 kvss motion than upon the downward trip, and very 
 few on board were sea-sick. 
 
 In the evening, a meeting was called, at which it 
 was resolved to have no speeches ; but, after transacting 
 miscellaneous business, to devote the time to musical 
 exercises. Mr. Wm. B. Bradbury was appointed to 
 conduct them. The Plymouth Collection was used. 
 All joined in singing many of its best and most fa- 
 
140 TRIP OK TIIK OUKANUS. 
 
 miliar tunes, in t^u]ne of wliich, tlie singers were accom- 
 panied l)y the brass hand, producing a grand and 
 solemn ettect. 
 
 xVt the chjse of the meeting, seven of the colored 
 waiters came into the cabin, and for an hour delighted 
 the company with their chorusses, accom])anied by two 
 guitars. The sweetness, compass, and power of some of 
 their voices surprised us. They sang only the choicest 
 of modern ballads and (piartettes. The look of intense 
 disgust which mantled the features of Helon Johnson, 
 their leader, when asked to sing '^ Carry me back to 
 Old Virginny," and his disdainful reply, " We don't 
 sing that negro trasJi^'^ were something to be remem- 
 bered. 
 
 Tuesday morning arose with the beauty of the day 
 ])receding. The passengers were upon the decks, elate 
 with the recollections of the past few days, buoyant 
 with delight as they saw at the left, the distant line of 
 the shore, and at the right, the deep green of the sea 
 dissolving into a dee])er blue, and with the prospect of 
 soon being at anchor in the waters of Hampton Roads. 
 When al)out thirty miles from Fortress Monroe, our at- 
 tention was called to a large steamer far out in the 
 otfing, with her flag at half-mast. It was a matter of 
 temporary wonder for whom this signal of mourning 
 could be displayed. We now saw a pilot-boat bearing, 
 towards us, her colors also at half-mast. When within 
 hailing distance, a passenger shouted : 
 
 "What's the news?" 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 141 
 
 The reply caine back faintly, Ijut with startling- ac- 
 cents, over the water. 
 
 "■ Tlie President is dead !" and the pih)t l)oat ])assed 
 on. 
 
 Every face on board tlie " Oceanus'^ turned pale. 
 For a moment every tongue was mute. At last, we 
 said among ourselves: ''It cannot be!" "It is a cruel 
 hoax which these men liave perpetrated to cloud our 
 joy." "We do not believe it.'' And so half hoping, 
 yet cruelly tantalized, we obeyed the summons to the 
 breakfast taljle. But it was little indeed that we re- 
 freshed ourselves in that gloomy cabin. Coming again, 
 on deck, we discovered another pilot-boat approaching, 
 with the ominous signal of sorrow drooping midway 
 from the yard-arm. 
 
 Again the earnest shout : 
 
 "What's the news?" 
 
 Again the reply — '^President Lincoln is dead .'" 
 
 " Row did he die f 
 
 " He was Assassinated !" 
 
 The blood curdled at every heart. "Assassinated ! 
 When! How! Where! By whom! For what !" Oh, 
 what a torture of suspense ! What a horrible termina- 
 tion to all our exultancy ! Why were the doors of our 
 souls thus rudely torn open, and such a great agony 
 rolled in upon them ! We walked in silence up and 
 down tlie decks. We went to our staterooms, and 
 poured out the irrepressible tears. AVe looked in each 
 others faces for some gleam of hope or comfort. We 
 
142 TRIP OF THE OCKANUS. 
 
 brooked impatiently the slow progress of the steamer. 
 We imagined woes and anarchies throughout the land. 
 We breathed at times the patriot's curse upon the 
 hearts that conceived, and tlie hands that executed, 
 tlie deed of Hell. 
 
 We prayed God to make an utter and awful end of 
 the system, which alone could breed such monster-de- 
 mons upon the earth. Our steamer was a seething 
 cauldron of grief and indignation. 
 
 At last we touched the dock at Fortress Monroe, and 
 received the New York papers, with full particulars of 
 the crime and the martyrdom ; the attempt upon Mr. 
 Seward's life, and the contemplated taking off of Gen, 
 Grant, and the entire Cabinet. 
 
 We were invited to visit the Fortress. At any other 
 time that immense and splendid work, with its grey 
 walls and deep moat, its monster guns, its casemates, 
 its magazines, its green iields and opening foliage, its 
 connnanding ]')rospect of the " Roads,'' and the large 
 tieet of Government vessels, of the " Rip Raps," nnd 
 the historic locality where the "' Monitor" and '' Mer- 
 rimac," decided national and naval problems for all 
 coming time, — at any other time, these would have 
 commanded our absorbed attention, and awakened our 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 But now we walked mechanically towards the en- 
 trance, gazed mournfully upon the drapery of black, 
 with which the Provost-Marshars and Quartermaster's 
 offices were shrouded ; the dear face of the departed 
 
TRIP OF THE OOEANUS. ' 143 
 
 President abuv-e their entrances, and framed in crape; 
 we were "like them that dream,'' as we moved in slow 
 procession along the ])arapets, scarcely noticing the 
 wonderful armament of tlie Fortress, and the panorama 
 on every iiand. and in less tlian ;ji hour, returned t(» 
 the steamer, weary, heart-sick and desolate. 
 
 Not the least touching and impressive spectacle, was 
 tlie grief of the colored men, women and children, who 
 sat by the wayside or nu)ved about as if Ijewildered and 
 deserted. 
 
 One wonum of nnddle age. whom we met as we 
 came out of the Fortress, had not heard of Mr. Iau- 
 coln's death. When informed of it, she thrcnv up her 
 arms with a wild cry of despair, wrung her hands, sank 
 down upon the grass, and bursting into a Hood of tears, 
 exclaimed, "' O Lord! O Lord! what shall we do now? 
 what -s/iall we do now r' There were few dry eyes 
 among tliose who witnessed that sight. 
 
 A number of these black people, were sitting around 
 a table, upon which they had eggs and a few articles 
 of provision for sale. 
 
 U])on being asked what they thought of Mr. Lin- 
 coln's death, one replied : '' We must jes pray all de 
 more!" Another said: ''Our father is gone! But dey 
 can't kill de Lord, I'se sure of dat T' And still another 
 in similar strain : 
 
 "Oh! we liab lost our dear father; but bress the 
 Lord, dere is one friend we hab above dat they can't 
 shoot — de Lord Almighty. He's above us all." 
 
144 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 And so we knew the cry of wailiiiii' and anguish, 
 would <i;o u]) from every rice and cotton Held of all the 
 South, from these trusting creatures, and from every 
 dusky mourner between both oceans, from whose hands 
 the beloved martyr had smitten the accursed chains, 
 and that cry would enter the ear of the Loi'd of Hosts, 
 who has written, " Vengeauce is mine, I will repay." 
 
 The brief visit at Fortress Monroe, made scarcely a 
 definable im|)rossion, save that of universal gloom. It 
 had been ])roposed to make Hying calls at Norfolk, 
 Portsmouth ; and, if a permit could be obtained from the 
 Secretary of AVar, to spend a day at Richmond, but 
 the spirit of sight-seeing was crushed. We felt that res- 
 ponsiI)le duties called us home, and decent respect for 
 the dead at the Capital, recpiired us to ap])ear no longer 
 in the capacity of excursionists. Returning on board 
 the '' Oceanus," a meeting was called to decide upon 
 our course. A vote being taken, it was resolved, by a 
 large majority, to proceed directly, and with all des- 
 patch, to New York. After taking on a supply of 
 water, the steamer was again under way homeward. 
 
 A considerable number of our party left us at Fort- 
 ress Monroe, to go to Washington, and attend the funeral 
 of the President, upon the followiiig day. Among these, 
 we noticed Messrs. Cyrus P. Smith, Bryan IF. Smith, Charl- 
 ton T. Lewis, S. L. Husted and daughter, E. J. Ovington 
 and lady, together witli others, whose absence we regretted. 
 
 Just before leaving the wharf, a fireman, in shoveling 
 coal in one of the bunkers, discovered three blockade- 
 
TRIP OF THE OCKANUS. 145 
 
 runners, avIio liad escaped from confinement in Cliar- 
 leston, and stolen tlieir passage nortliward in onr 
 steamer. .Thej were handed over to the antliorities, 
 and phiced in the lock-np of Fortress Monroe. Two 
 other vagabonds, who had stowed themselves away be- 
 low, after we landed at the Fortress, were also brought 
 to light, and led off from the steamer, with wrath and 
 vengeance upon their ugly faces. It was a relief to be 
 rid of these not doubtful characters. 
 
 Providence smiled upon us out of the heavens, with 
 the most propitious weather on our homeward way. 
 
 The last evening meeting, was called at 8 o'clock 
 p. M. ; which, at the suggestion of Rev. T. L. Cuyler, 
 and with the approval of all on board, resolved itself 
 into a permanent Association, or '' Club," to be known 
 as the " Sumter Cluh.-^ A committee was appointed to 
 draw up a suitable Constitution, and name officers for 
 the ensuing year. 
 
 A committee was also apj^iointed to prepare and ])ub- 
 lisli a memorial volume of the trip and its incidents, 
 and another committee to provide an appropriate badge, 
 to designate membership of the " Club."" Brief ad- 
 dresses were made, and hymns sung, in harmony with 
 the theme which was upon every heart, and the meet- 
 ing adjourned to half-past 10 o'clock Wednesday morn- 
 ing. 
 
 We again allude to the smooth seas and the match- 
 lessly beautiful weather of this fiiud day of the trip. 
 Save the unbreakinii' undulation, from which the sea 
 
146 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 is never free, its surface was as glassy and calm as that 
 of an inland lake. 
 
 At lialf-past 10 o'clock, according to adjourrnneiit. 
 we assembled for the final business meeting. 
 
 The committee ap]»ointed to organize the "Sumter 
 Chib," rep(»rted, through its cliairmaii. E,ev. Mr. Cuvler, 
 as follows : 
 
 '•The passengers of the steamer '• Oeeanus," returniiiij from 
 its pilgrimage of patriotism tn thi' hallowed walls of Fort 
 Sumter, do organize themselves into a jiermaiient Association, 
 to be known as the 
 
 ''Sumter Club." 
 
 Art. 1. The otiieers of the '•Club." shall be the following: 
 
 Premie nt, 
 
 EDWIN R. YALE. 
 
 Vice Presidents. 
 
 Hon. CYRUS P. SMITH, EDGAR KETCHUM. 
 
 Mver iitire ('oruririttee, 
 
 S. M. GRISWOLD, CHARLTON T. LEWIS. 
 
 EDWARD GARY. 
 
 >-<ecretary . 
 
 E. A. STUD WELL. 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 RUFUS R. GRAVES. 
 
 Chnplfiiii, 
 REV. T. L. CUYLER. 
 
 Mxsictd Director. 
 WM. B. BRADBURY'. 
 
 Art. '2. The " Cbdf shall hold its annual meeting, and 
 
 elect its officers on the 14th of April, the anniversary of the 
 
 resurrection of the nation's (lag over the walls of Fort 
 Sumtei-. 
 
TRIP OF THK OCRAMUS. 147 
 
 Art. 3. Every passenger who left the city of New York, 
 on the steamer '• Oceanus," sliall be a member of this Club. 
 
 Art. 4. All special meetings of the Club, shall be called 
 bv the President and Executive Committee. 
 
 The followino; resolutions, reported by Mr. Ciiyler, 
 chairman of the committee appointed, were also nnani- 
 mously adopted': 
 
 Resolved, That the cordial thanks of this company be 
 returned to Brig-Gen. Hatch, and Captain Moore, Cap- 
 tain Hunt, and Lieutenant Hao-ens of his staif, for manifold 
 courtesies extended to us during our visit to Charleston. 
 
 Resolved, That to the Neptune Steamship Company, 
 we hereby extend our acknowledgments for the use of 
 their staunch, powerful, and commodious boat, the 
 "Oceanus." and to Captain Young, and the other offi- 
 cers, for their untiring attention to the comfort and 
 pleasure of tlie party. 
 
 Resolved, That we are especially indebted to the 
 Committee of Arrangements, Messrs. Stephen M. Gris- 
 wold, Edwin A. Studwell, and Edward Cary, for pro- 
 jecting this excursion, and for the entirely satisfactory 
 manner in whicli they have discharged their varied and 
 arduous responsibilities. 
 
 A resolution was also adopted thanking Messrs. Saw- 
 yer and Thompson for the piano furnished by them. 
 
 Mr. Wm. J. Martin presented to the Sumter Club a 
 Rebel battle-tiag, obtained at Charleston, tor which he 
 received a vote of thanks. 
 
148 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 Mr. Henry C. Boweii moved that the Executive 
 Coininittee be empowered to ari-ano-e for invitation to 
 the meetings of the (Uub, of the wives of the members 
 wlio had not been participants in this excursion. This 
 motion was sustained. 
 
 Mr. Henry C. Bo wen also received a vote of thanks 
 for valual)le assistance rendered the Committee of Ar- 
 rangements. 
 
 On motion of Edwin A. Studwell, 
 
 -Resolve//, Tliat a Committee, to be composed of 
 Messrs. James Rice, Geo. E. Brown, and Samuel T. 
 Reese, be appointed to procure a suitable Gold Badge, 
 with the die of Fort Sumter upon it, to designate the 
 members of the Club ; said badge not to exceed S5 
 in cost, and the nund)er not to exceed 150. 
 
 The result of a collection taken u]) for one of the 
 Engineers,* whose foot had l)een crushed in the ma- 
 chinery, was announced to l)e $535, and the sum of ^80 
 was subscribed for the Steward. The waiters also were 
 not forgotten, about $30 being raised for them. 
 
 Mr. Edwin R. Yale, President of the Sumter Club, 
 cordially invited the members to hold the first meeting 
 at the "Mansion House," of which he is the Proprietor, 
 A|)ril 14th, 186G, whicli invitation was accepted with 
 thankfulness. 
 
 Indeed it was remarked that so very thaidcfnl a com- 
 pany as ours is very rarely seen. 
 
 The Committee appointed to secure some trophy from 
 
 *See Appendix. 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 149 
 
 Charleston, for presentation to tlie Long Island Histo- 
 rical Society, and the New York Historical Society, 
 reported that they luid ol)tained for this purpose, two 
 6-10 pound shots, designed for the Blakely gun, which 
 were acting as ballast on the lower deck. A copy of 
 the Presentation Note to these Societies will be found 
 in the Appendix. 
 
 The hour having arrived at which the funeral ser- 
 vices had been appointed, coinciding with the hour of 
 the obsequies at Washington, the Rev. Joshua Leavitt, 
 D. D., who pi-esided, introduced the exercises by read- 
 ing the hymn, 
 
 " Througli all the changing- scenes of life, 
 In trouble and in joy ; 
 The praises of my God shall still 
 My heart and tongue employ !" 
 
 which was sung to the tune, " St. Ann's," and ac- 
 companied by the band. 
 
 The Rev. A. P. Graves offered the Opening Prayer. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Cuyler then read the 91st Psalm, after 
 which lie delivered an address of great pathos, appro- 
 priateness, and power, the only report of which ap- 
 ])eared in "' The Union.'" We regret that every word 
 could not have been secured, but must be content with 
 publishing all that could be reported by the corres 
 pondent of that paper. 
 
 Mr. (Juyler began his address by saying : 
 
 My Friends and Fellow Countrymen : Grief is as simple as 
 u little child. It seeks no elaborate language ; it tolerates 
 no rhetoric ; it speaks the plain vernacular, the mother tongue. 
 
 10 
 
150 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 We meet to-day as a part of one great moiirniiig family. 
 Beyond the placid waters multitudes of households are mourn- 
 ing, with a grief such as America has not known since 
 Wasliington died. To-day, a mystic chord, like the electric 
 cable from continent to continent, binds the land in common 
 <rrief. We cry out " Our father is dead." for in a sense as 
 significant as that of the peculiar people, we may say, " We 
 have Abraham to our Father." We do not mourn him this 
 day as a public magistrate, but as one bound to each of us 
 so subtly, that had we heard this morning that the head of 
 our household had been taken from us, the grief could not 
 have cut more closely ; the iron could not have sunk deeper 
 into the heart. 
 
 The deed we mourn to day, finds its parallel two hundred 
 years ago, in the assassination of William of Orange, the 
 Deliverer of Holland, who was met on his threshold by the 
 murderer hired by Phillip II. and suddenly stabbed to death. 
 To-day, a despotism more hideous than that of Phillip has 
 aimed an assassin's blow at one whose name shall stand 
 before the centuries with that of William the Silent. I re- 
 member standing, a few years since, on the spot where the 
 glorious psalm you have listened to, was read over the re- 
 mains of John Hampden, the British freeman. With these 
 names, and with that of George Washington, just history 
 will inscribe that of Abraham Lincoln. Not among those 
 whose intellect alone was great ; not among the law-givers 
 or the commanders only will we rank our fallen chief, but 
 hio-h above, by the side of that first Father of his Country. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was one of the finest products of Ameri- 
 can republicanism, and, except Benjamin Franklin, was per- 
 haps, the first great one. He graduated from the common 
 school into the grand college of free labor, whose works 
 were the flat-boat, the farm, the backwoods lawyer's ofiiee; 
 and from thence he followed the course of a plain, sim]:>le, 
 honest man, true to his God and his country, to his great 
 destiny. 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 151 
 
 How full of anecdotes and incidents was his precious life. 
 They are as familiar to us as household words. Let me re- 
 call one of them, illustrative of his utter simplicity. In 
 I860, when he visited New York, to make his great speech — 
 intellectually the greatsst he ever made before his inaugnrn 
 ti(H) — he called with a friend to visit an lllinoian who re- 
 sided in New York. Entering, he said, " Well, neighbor, 
 how are you getting on in New York?" ''I have made," 
 was the answei-. "a hundred thousand dollai's, and lost it. 
 How have yon done?" "Well," said this simple man, "I 
 have -worked hard ; I have got a two-story h(Mise in Spring- 
 field, and have laid up some $8,000. They talk some of 
 making me Vice-President with Gov. Seward, and if they 
 do, I can lay up .ii!20,000 out of my salary, and that is as 
 rich as I think any man ought to want to be." And this 
 man was within six months of the highest position on the 
 face of the earth. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was a man of the people throughout. 
 He was open to everybody. I thank God that he was not a 
 man of polished letters, but plain, simple Uncle Abe — 
 Father Abraham. His transparent honesty; how we all know 
 it ! He spread his bed in the sun. He laid his whole life 
 open to the day. And his round-about common sense! — did 
 you ever know him to do a foolish thing, to make a foolish 
 speech ? It is true he had humor. I am thankful that he 
 was saved from the fearful rasp which his duties would have 
 inflicted on a sterner and colder nature by the good old Chris- 
 tian grace of laughter. And his directness ! — rememl)ei- his 
 words to the Kentucky men : " If slavery is not wrong, 
 nothing is wrong " What cunning sophistries of Calhoun 
 could answer that ? Remember, too, these sublime words, 
 freshly uttered: " If God wills that this mighty scourge of 
 war continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's 
 two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, 
 and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be 
 paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three 
 
152 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 thousand years aso, so still it must be said that the judg- 
 ments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'' That 
 passage will live as long as the English language is spoken. 
 From this point Mr. Cuyler proceeded with a ])ci'soi:aI 
 tribute to the loveliness of the President's character, and a 
 description of the nnunier in which his death nnist affect the 
 negr(jes of the South. There was not a. dry eye in the au- 
 dience; every 'frame was shaken Avith sobs; a report became 
 impossible. 
 
 Mr. Cuyler was followed by Rev. A. P. Putnam, of 
 w^liose excellent remarks we have lu:) re])ort. He read 
 some extracts from a paper found in Charleston, in 
 which the death of (reorge Washington was aimounced 
 and commented u])on. 
 
 Mr. Putnam grew warm with liis subject, ami spoke 
 with much propriety and feeling. 
 
 After singing the hymn, 
 
 " How blest the rigliteons when he dies," 
 
 prayer was offered by Rev. J. Clement French, followed 
 bv a brief and feeling address, by Rev. H. M. Gal- 
 laher. 
 
 The bvmn '' For a season called to part," was then 
 sung, the l)and accompanying. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Chadwick repeated the Lord's Prayer. The 
 exercises, which had been most s(demn and affecting 
 throughout, w'ere closed by singing 
 
 America — " My Country 'tis of Thee." 
 
 The Benediction was offered l)y Rev. Mr. Cuyler. 
 
 Our good steamer had already brought us within 
 siglit of the hills of Nevisink, and we began to gather 
 ba2:2;ao;e and reli(;s, to be in readiness to debark. The 
 
TKIP OF THE OCEANUS. 153 
 
 huge sand heap upon the lower deck, which hud been 
 placed there for ballast, and in which had been phinted 
 every imaginable variety of the vegetable products oi' 
 South Carolina, from the timid, blushing rose, and the 
 fragrant mock-orange, to century plants, and spraugly 
 pahnetto In'anches, mitil the place kx^ked like a young 
 nursery, was now robbed of all these adornments, wliich 
 were carefully bestowed with the baggage, and all things 
 were made ready for departure from tlie steamer. 
 
 The waters arouud Sandy Hook ^verc calm as the 
 breast of infancy. The two iirmaments of sky and sea, 
 conspired to surrouud us with the most entrancing 
 beauty. Long Island stretched its low reach of green 
 woodland and Sandy beach, far out of reach to the 
 eastward. The Jersey shore, at the nearer left, retreated 
 in grassy slopes and gently undulating hill-sides. Be- 
 fore us, directly to tlie northward, stood a large fleet of 
 sloops and schooners, with sails all set, to catch what 
 they might of the scarcely whispering breezes. Do you 
 say it was fancy, when we tell you that at first we ex- 
 claimed, " See ! even the vessels of the sea are draped 
 in mourning for the Father of the Nation !" For, from 
 every yard-arm in all that fleet, heavy drapery of crape 
 seemed to be depending. The illusion, for a moment, 
 was perfect, but as we neared them, it became apparent 
 that the supposed badges of mourning, wei'e the deep 
 shadows of the yards, thrown downward upon the snowy 
 sails. We changed our relation to the white-winged fleet, 
 and the shadows fled. Not so the shadows from our hearts. 
 
154 
 
 TRIP o¥ THE OCEANUS. 
 
 A few moments later, we spoke a British steamer, 
 one of tlie Cunard line, just ont for Liverpool. She 
 announced the " capture of Booth.'' which caused an 
 exclamation of rejoicing-, but |)apers, soon after re- 
 ceived on l)oard, gave no confirmation of the news. 
 That sequel was yet to transj)ire. 
 
 At 3 o'clock we were opposite Coney Island, and 
 looking up the Narrows. At Quarantine, a health-of- 
 ficer boarded our steamer, hut detained us only a tew 
 moments. Tlie company were standing upon the for- 
 ward decks, exchanging addresses, extending invitations, 
 calling up reminiscences, protesting enjoyment of the ex- 
 cursion, anticipating re-unions, pointing out objects of 
 interest in either city, and thinking of loving ones, who 
 waited to give them welcome, while the Band, in tones 
 of li(piid richness. ])layed "Home, Sweet Home." 
 
 The " r)ceanns." touched the wharf Then was there 
 " hurrying t<» and fro" — adieus were spoken, and many 
 an eye was moist. We emerged from the steamer, into 
 the streets of New York. What a startling change ! 
 Ten days before, when ^\■e left it, every avenue was a 
 1)0 wer of festive, triumphal beauty, ablaze with the 
 brilliant bands, and sparkling stars of the nation's flag; 
 every housetop and mast-head waved them. e\ery spire 
 flung out its variegated welcome to the Dawn of Peace. 
 
 Now the metropolis was as mournful as Charleston. 
 Emblems of sorrow, nuiltiplied and funereal as the 
 branches of the cypress, were depending fronj door-post 
 and balcony, drooping in every window, festooned from 
 
TKIP OF THE OUEANUS. 155 
 
 cornice and corridor, thickly swathing- the hinips aktng- 
 the highways, as for a light extinguished forever; setting 
 in broad frames of black, that brightest and deai'est pic- 
 ture, upon which a loyal soul can look, the sunrise 
 colors of the banner ; waving solemnly in long black 
 streamers above the starry ensign; spoakiiig elocpiently 
 from monuments of symbolic whiteness, in busts and 
 statues of a grand, familiar face and i'onn ; in the re- 
 presentations of Columbia's guardian genius, and the 
 Spirit of Liberty, weeping by draped and broken shafts 
 of marble; in the profusion of sadly suggestive tokens, 
 which covered the public courts and halls, and the pal- 
 atial mansions of the rich, and not less touching and 
 tender in the simple strip of crape, that hung upon the 
 cottage or hovel of the poor. It was the saddest and 
 the sublimest sight which ever met the gaze of any 
 now living man. Yet marvellous as it was, we felt it 
 was but a feeble expression of the sorrow, the chasten- 
 ing, the anguish which reigned within the hearts of the 
 l)cople. 
 
 " Oh pardon us, thou bleeding piece of earth ! 
 If we are meek and gentle with these butchers !" 
 
 But this thought we may not touch. 
 
 As all that remained of the honored, loved, and now 
 sainted Lincoln, lay in state in the City Hall of New 
 York, ten thousands of tearful eyes did glance at the 
 pallid, blood- discolored face, pouring all the love of 
 their hearts out in that transient glimpse, while tens 
 of thousands more, wept bitterly that they could not 
 
156 TRIP OF THE OCEANUS. 
 
 behold, even in death, the features in whose very re- 
 flection, tliev liad learned tc» delight. 
 
 Then, in the distant cemetery of his Sprini;iield home, 
 with the voice of jiraver. Avhose j^leadin*;' he ever in- 
 voked, was earth committed to eartli. ashes to ashes, 
 and dnst to dust. But l^itriot — Father — President — Mar- 
 tyr — no far-oli' tomb can contine him, no rocky sarco- 
 phagus can monopolize Jiis dust. There is a shrine for 
 him in every househohl of the faithful ; an earthly liome 
 for his omnipresent spii'it in every true |)atriot''s heart. 
 They may pile for liim in every city, the ever-enduring 
 granite, whose shafts of gi'ey shall defy the corrosion 
 of time, and the lashings of the tempest; they may 
 chisel his form and features in the purest Carrara mar- 
 ble; they nuiy inscribe his name and virtues on stony 
 entablatnres, to be set in rotundas of Court and Capital, 
 but his noblest, purest, most indestructible monument 
 is already i-eared in the memory and affections of every 
 friend of humanity and liberty, througliout the world ; 
 in the l)reast of every patriot freeman, who hails the 
 millennial dawn of tlie Nation's Redemption ; in the 
 heart of every tawny son and danghter, wdio has ever 
 worn a shackle — and never% till the stars shall cease to 
 burn, and the heavens forget to weep, shall their love 
 grow pale, or their tears be dried for hhn^ the Deliverer 
 of the Nation, the sent of God. Nor then^ for Ave shall 
 meet and know and love him, in the Kingdom of Glory. 
 
 For Washington and thee twin obelisks sliall rise, 
 Their base the continent — their apex in the skies ! 
 
TRIP OF THE OCEANDS. 157 
 
 Heaven gives to but one in a ceuturv, thine innnortal- 
 ity of glory. Thou dicFst not know it here, but thou 
 art learning its nieasui'e there! 
 
 Rest and rejoice forever I There can be no more lit- 
 ting words, with whicli to close these imperfect records, 
 than the two which need no prelix; which e\'er_v Ameri- 
 (;an will ever be proud to pronounce, and these are, 
 
 'ftBKAMAM Lincoln. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Miscellaneous — documents — iliuitreuts — etc. 
 
 Copy OF Dispatch from Secketary Stanton to Collector 
 
 Draper. 
 
 •' Wasliington, ^Ipril 4, ISC);'). 
 Hon. Simeon Draper : 
 
 Tlie steamer Oceanus, chartered by a portion of Mi-. Beech- 
 ei-'s congregation, lias permission to take to the celebration, at 
 Fort Sumter, her complement of passengers, estimated at two 
 hundred or upwards, with privilege of stopping at Hilton 
 Head, Charleston, Sumter, Fort Fisher, Fortress Monroe, City 
 Point, Norfolk, and Portsmouth, to be subject to the cus- 
 tomary military regulations at Hilton Head, and other points, 
 and sucli regulations as may be established by Gen. Gilmoi'e, 
 to I- the ceremonies at Fort Sumter, 
 
 You will please grant the proper clearance. 
 
 E. M. Stanton, 
 
 Secrekifif of War. 
 
kio appendix. 
 
 Copy op the Pass issued to each passenger ok the 
 
 OCEANUS. 
 
 ■• W(is/ii/i(/fo/i. April l.s7, 18t>r). 
 Hon. Simeon Draper. Collector, Nt'w York: 
 
 Yi)U may permit such vessels as you deem proper, to fjo to 
 llilt<ii! rieud. to witness the ceremonies at Fort Sumter, and 
 cai'i'y as passengers such persons as you think properly may 
 go, on the express condition that they report at Hilton Head 
 to (xrii. Gillmore, to he subject to his regulations while there. 
 
 There should be no privilege of taking passengers indis- 
 criminatel}', but only such passengers as you may give a 
 special permit. The clearance should be for Hilton Head. 
 The license to go to Charleston to be given only by Gen. 
 Gilmore. 
 
 EuwiN M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 
 
 Collectors Office, ] 
 New York, April 18G5. f 
 
 Permit the bearer to em- 
 bark for Hilton Head, on hoard of the steamer Oceanus. 
 Capt. Wm. S. Young, in contt)rmity with the above order 
 of the Hon. Secretary of War. 
 
 S. Draper, Collector. 
 
 To Wm. S. Y^oung. 
 
 This permit to be returned at this office. 
 
 Copy OF the Receipt, duly sic^ned and stamped, given by the 
 President OF the '-Neptune Steamship Company" to the 
 Committee of Arrancjements. 
 
 "Received, New York April 8th, 1865, of S. M. Griswold, 
 E. A. Studwell, and Edward Cary, Committee, Eighteen 
 
APPENDIX. 1P)1 
 
 Thousand dollars, l)eiii<>- tor passage and fare of one hundred 
 and eighty persons, for a round trip from New York to 
 Charleston, and other [)oints, and thence back to New York, 
 to occupy nme days, to wit: from Monday April 10th. to 
 Wednesday, the 19th, not later than ten o'clock a. m. 
 
 For every day thei-eafter terminating at ten o'clock a. m. 
 the Committee agree to pay Twenty-five Hundred dollars. 
 
 $18,000. G. S. HowLAND, President. 
 
 We hereby agree to the above stipulations in behalf of the 
 said 180 persons. 
 
 Stephen M. Griswold. 
 Edwin A. Studwell. 
 
 Copv OF the "Instructions to the Captain of the Ooeanus," 
 ISSUED BY Mr. G. S. Rowland. President of the 
 "Neptune Steamship Company." 
 
 "Neptune Steamship Company," ) 
 
 127 Warren Street, r 
 
 New York, April 10th, 1865. ) 
 
 Captain Win. S. Yov/ru/, of Steamer Oceanus : 
 
 Dear Sir : After receiving y<nn- passengers and outtit at 
 Pier 27, North River, on Monday April 10th inst., you will 
 proceed to the port of Charleston. S. C, and thence to such 
 other points as the committee of gentlemen authorized to act on 
 behalf of your passengers may dii-ect; provided you consider 
 the ports or places designated sate for your ship to enter. 
 
 You will exercise every precaution to avoid peril by sea, or 
 tire, and every endeavor to ])i'OHiote the safety, comfort, and 
 pleasure of your passengers. 
 
 The trip it is contemplated, will occupy nine days, termi- 
 nating on Wednesday the 19th inst., at or before 10 o'clock 
 a. m. and your owners would prefer that the time be not ex- 
 tended. 
 
16'2 APPENDIX. 
 
 You will, however, be subject in this respect to the wishes 
 of your passengers, as expressed throui^di the conimittee before 
 referred to. 
 
 You will request from said Committee timely notice for your 
 departure from place to place, and you will please keep an ac- 
 curate Jouiiial or hog of all incidents which you may deem im- 
 portant or interesting. 
 
 Commending you and your company to Divine ])rotection, 
 I am. very truly, yours, 
 
 G. S. Rowland. President. 
 
APPENDIX. 163 
 
 LIST OF PASSENGERS 
 
 It was proposed on hoard the " Oceaniis;" that an auto- 
 graphic list of the passengers should be incorporated within 
 this volume. Subsequently, it was found that this would in- 
 volve a far greater amount of troulde than was anticipated, 
 and more than would be remunerative to the purchasers of 
 the book. We cannot promise perfect orthographical accuracy. 
 These names are given, mainly as they have been found in 
 the lists already published in Brooklyn and other journals. 
 
 SUMTER CLUB." 
 
 President, 
 EDWIN R. YALE. 
 
 Vice Pj'exidents, 
 CYRUS P. SMITH. EDCiAR KETCHUM 
 
 Exenitire Committee, 
 
 S, M. GRISWOLD. CHARLTON T. LEWIS. 
 
 EDWARD CARY. 
 
104 
 
 Al'I'KNDlX. 
 
 Secretary. 
 E. A. STUD WELL. 
 
 Treasurer, 
 RUrrS R. GRAVES. 
 
 Cliajila'ui, 
 Rev. THEO. L. CUYLER. 
 
 MKsical Dlreclor, 
 WM. B. BRADBURY. 
 
 S, M. GriswoUl, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Stiulwell. 
 
 M. and Mrfi. E J. Ovin<rtoii. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. James Rice, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ed. P. Bray. 
 
 .L S. Shnltz. 
 
 S. L. Husted, 
 
 Miss E. Husted, 
 
 Edward A. Low, 
 
 Rev. A. P. Putnam, 
 
 W. F. Gleason. 
 
 Edward Gary, 
 
 Mrs. D. W. Hinman, 
 
 Miss S. A. Duryea, 
 
 Miss Pliebe B. Merritt, 
 
 Samuel T. Keese, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. D. C. FarwelL M. D. 
 
 Hon. Alfred M. Wood and Wife. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Georce E. Brown. 
 
 Wm. Burdon, 
 
 Miss E. Colgate. 
 
 Norman Hubbard. 
 
 Miss Kate Coolcy, 
 
 •' Mary Mairliee, 
 
 •• S. P. Searle. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wm. E. Caldwell, 
 Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Yale, 
 Mr. and Mrs J. A. Gross. 
 Wm E. Husted. 
 Hon. E. A. Lambert, 
 G. Burchard, 
 Miss lanthe Schnltz. 
 Miss Kate Sclniltz. 
 Thos. L. Thomell, 
 H. A. Gouge, 
 Rev. J. Leavitt, D. D., 
 
 Ed. M. Townsend. 
 
 W. Duval, 
 
 Henry Seymour, 
 
 Stephen S. Hoi'. 
 
 Kichard M. Hoe, Jr.. 
 
 A.C. Kellogg. 
 
 A. W. Kellogg, 
 
 Wm. Arnold, 
 
 Wm. Barton, 
 
 Rev. H. M. Gallaher, 
 
 Curtis Noble, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sbethar, 
 
 James A. Suydam. 
 
 W. P. Vaughn, 
 
 David Maydole, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. R. H. McDonald, 
 
 Mrs. Weeks, 
 
 Geo. C. Robinson. 
 
 Samuel Crovvell, 
 
 Wm. E. Hudson. Jr. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Merriam. 
 
 Rev. J. J. Chadwick. 
 
 E. T. H. Gibson. Jr. 
 
 Mrs. C. C. Dike, 
 
 Rev. Mr. and Mrs. O. B. Frothintrham. 
 
 H C. Reeve, 
 
 R. F, Goldsmith, 
 
 John Lowe, Jr, 
 
 J. F. Hughes, 
 
 John Ward. Jr. 
 
 R. B. Denny, 
 
 Thos, L. Smith, 
 
 Jas, T, Atkinson, 
 
 John D, Cocks, 
 
 Wm, H, Parsons, 
 
 J. E. Parsons, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 165 
 
 Chas. Taylor, 
 
 T. DwightMnrtiti. 
 
 R. S. Guernsey, 
 
 H. A. Dike aud Niece. 
 
 Hon. C. P. Smith. 
 
 Miss Ellen L. Smith. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. L. P. Starr, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Conklini?. 
 
 Master Eddie Conkling, 
 
 J. A. Perry, 
 
 W. A. Perry. 
 
 — Colgate. 
 
 Mrs. Holmes, 
 
 Mrs. Geo. W. Bergen. 
 
 Mrs. Geo. H. Roberts. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. A. Y. Dike, 
 
 Rev. J. C. French, 
 
 D. S. Arnold, 
 
 Master Arnold, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jacob B. Murray, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. A. McCollum. 
 
 Mrs. Thos. W. Coughlan, 
 
 Thos. H. Maghee, 
 
 Mr. aud Mrs. Rufus R. Graves, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Roswell S. Benedict, 
 
 L. B. Squiers, 
 
 Henry C. Bowen, 
 
 Miss Mary L. Bowen, 
 
 Miss Grace A. Bowen, 
 
 Fred. Ives, 
 
 Samuel Stevens. 
 
 .Mr. aud Mrs. B. H. Smiih. 
 
 Mrs. Edward E. Bowen. 
 
 Miss Eliza Cary. 
 
 Mrs. Fames, 
 
 Mrs. Col. Simpkins, 
 
 Rev. Theo. L. Cuyler, 
 
 F. H. Richardson, 
 
 Chas. H. Marshall, Jr. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. C. T. Lewis, 
 
 John W. Minturn, 
 
 Rev. A. P. Graves, 
 
 Miss Harrison, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Dailey. 
 
 L. H. Biglow. 
 
 F. H. Biglow, 
 
 W. M. Aikman, 
 
 L. P. Hawes, 
 
 Edward Ball, 
 
 Charles B. Loomis, 
 
 H. H. Crarv. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Larrabee, 
 Samuel B. Duryea, 
 
 D. R. James, 
 
 Dr. Allen and Daughter, 
 
 Amos Clark, Jr., 
 
 Rev, J. L. Corning, 
 
 Jas. H. Frothingham. 
 
 Fred. K. Whitmore, 
 
 Johu J. Cocks, 
 
 Aaron M. Powell, 
 
 John Stanton, 
 
 Wm. H. Lewis, 
 
 Orington Lunt, 
 
 P. Van Iderstine, Jr., 
 
 W. J. Magie, 
 
 Rich'd Howe, 
 
 Oliver K. Lapham, 
 
 M. F. Lyude, 
 
 A. F. Bigelow, 
 
 H. H. White, 
 
 Wm. Menzles Adams, 
 
 Jas. Flynn, 
 
 W. A. Spicer, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Isaac C. Noe, 
 
 E. Lewis, 
 W. E. James, 
 Oliver Hoyt. 
 J. L. Leonard, 
 D. A. Smith. 
 
 D. C. Morehead, M. D.. 
 Wm. W. Dedrick, 
 
 E. P. Whittemore. 
 Aaron Vail, 
 
 E. E. Hoffman, M. D., 
 
 Hon. George Hall, 
 
 Miss Emma Hall, 
 
 Mrs. Hannah F. Voorhies. 
 
 Geo. McClure, 
 
 Thos. C. Bacon, 
 
 J. Corlies White, 
 
 Wm. B. Bradbury, 
 
 Col. Chas. Howard, 
 
 Elias Longley, 
 
 Hon. Edgar Ketchum, 
 
 Prof. Storrs, 
 
 Prof. Gallaudet. 
 
 R. P. Corey, 
 
 George C. Hall, 
 
 Dixon G. Hughes, 
 
 Geo. W. Sherley, 
 
 Fred'k Wetmore, 
 
 11 
 
166 APPKNDTX. 
 
 IIkport of the Case of Mr. Swtft, tfie WorNDEo Exr.i- 
 NEER. — Operation upon the Foot, py ]). (t. Far- 
 well, M. D., OF Brooklyn. 
 
 " On Wodnosday morning, tno 12th inst., at abont 3.30 a. m., 
 Mr. Swift of Rtaten Island, who was employod as Assistant 
 Eiiiiiiicor on Itoard the " Oceanus," mot witli a sci'ions accident 
 from the machinery of the engine — re(|niring the amputation of 
 his foot. Having provided myself with no instruments for such 
 an emergency, for the excursion, the paticmt was made as com- 
 fortable as possible, until our arrival in Charleston. 
 
 At 8 o'clock Friday morning, I procured the assistance of Dr. 
 H. O. Marcy, Surgeon of the 35th U. S. Colored Regiment, who 
 kindly offered the use of his instruments for the occasion. The 
 operation of removing the metatarsal bones from the tarsal, 
 known as Hey's operation, was deemed the most proper one, 
 having in view the necessity of saving as much of the foot as uas 
 safe. Complete Anaesthesia by chloform was produced, when the 
 extent of the lasceration of the muscles was ascertained to be 
 more than was at fii'st supposed. 
 
 We made a curved incision from the outer portion of the foot, 
 behind the cuboid tarsal towards the phalang< s, — thence to the 
 internal cuneiform tarsal, on the dorsal surface, dissecting up tlie 
 flap so as to admit of the disarticulation of the first metatarsal at 
 its base, from the cuneiform bone, and in turn, the second, third, 
 fourth and fifth metatarsi, from the middle and external cuneiform, 
 and the cuboid bones of the tarsus. The knife was then drawn 
 downward and outward, making a corresponding flap of the 
 plantar portion of the integument. 
 
 The arteries being properly secured, (I may here say thai a re. 
 markably small amount of blood was lost from the time of the 
 accident, and during the whole operation,) and th(> flaps a]>|>ro\i- 
 mated, a removal of the head of the cuneiform l)f;ne was found 
 necessary, to admit of the union of the flaps. 
 
APPENDIX. y>7 
 
 8iiffi('i('iit time having Itcen allowed, before elosino; the wound, 
 to cai'eridly examine the security of the blood-vessels, the sutures 
 ;nid straps were applied, and the stump dressed with cold ap- 
 plications. Twenty minutes was the time occupied in the op(M-a- 
 tion. Anaesthesia soon passing, left the patient in as quiet a con- 
 ilition as could be expected. T ordered a hammock arranged for 
 him, and he returned with the " Oceanus," on the 19th inst. 
 
 Ouring the trip, cold water dressings were frequently ap})lied. 
 and the patient is doing well. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 D. G. Farwell. 
 
 This misfortune of the Engineer, was aggravated by the fact 
 that, just before leaving New York, upon this trip, he had ex- 
 pended nivirly all his earnings, in securing exemption from the 
 draft. 
 
 Th(^ prompt liberality of the passengers, in raising for him a 
 pui'S(> of •1<.')3r), has already been noticed. 
 
 OopY OF Letter, presenting to the Long Island Historioal, 
 Society, and the New York Historical Society each, a 
 
 640 LI!. SHOT, secured IN CHARLESTON. 
 
 Brooklyn, May 22d, 180.5. 
 
 To the Lorifi hland Historical Society : 
 
 Gentlemen : At a meeting of tht> passengers on board the 
 steamer Oceanus, chartered by S. M. Grisvvold, E. A. Studwell 
 and Edward Gary, Esqs., for the purpose of visiting Charleston, 
 and being present at the flag-raising on Fort Sumter, held on the 
 14th (jf April, 1S6.5. the undersigned were appointed a committee 
 to obtain some memorial of the war. to be deposited with the 
 Long Island Historical Society, and th(» New York riistorical 
 Society. 
 
168 APPENDIX. 
 
 Through the courtesy of General Hatch, coiniiianding at 
 Charleston, and the kindly services of Lieut. John P. fj. Weiden- 
 saul and Lieut. Collins, the committee wei"e enabled to obtain two 
 040 pound shots, designed for the Blakely guns (of English manu- 
 facture) and which were captured from the rebels on the evacua- 
 tion of Charleston. 
 
 In l)ehalf of the "Sumter Club," an organization composed of 
 the passengers of the Oceanus on the occasion referred to, one ot 
 these shots is jiresented to your Society as a memento of "Eng- 
 lish neutrality." 
 
 Signed. 
 
 A. M. Wood, 
 Edward A. Lambekt, 
 Cyrus P. Smith, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 Simply to name all the relics which were obtained at Charles- 
 ton by our company, in their antiqnai-ian researches, would requii-e 
 a volume. 
 
 A few only of the most important and interesting can l)e 
 mentioned. 
 
 Mr. Edwin A. Stndwell secured the following : 
 
 A pass written and signed by James Monroe, while Minister 
 Plenipotentiary at the Court of Great Britain, to Thomas Pinck- 
 ney, Jr., of South Carolina. As this is a paper of much interest, 
 we transcribe it. 
 
 "I, James Monroe, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United 
 States of America at the Court of Great Britain — 
 
 "Desire all whom it may concern, to permit Thomas PincUney. 
 a citizen of the United States of America, to pass without gi\ing 
 or suffering any molestation or hindrance to be given to him ; but. 
 on the contrary, affording him all requisite assistance and pi-o- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 IfiO 
 
 lection, as I would do in similar circumstances to all those who 
 might be recommended to me — 
 
 " The said Thomas Pinckney is twenty-two years of age, live 
 feet seven inches in height, has grey eyes, dark hair, fair com- 
 |ile.\ion. 
 
 " In testimony whereof, I have delivered to him this Passport, 
 dated in London, this 5th day of October, 1803 — 
 
 James Monroe." seal 
 
 This document has a seal of red wax, as large as a fifty cent 
 "shinplaster." 
 
 Mr. Studwell also tonnd, 
 
 A Treasury paper signed by Alexander Hamilton, while Secre- 
 tary of the United States Treasury, 1791. 
 
 A letter from Lord Fairfax to John Baylis in 1753. 
 A letter from John Bowden, 1779. 
 Power of Attorney from Thomas Gadsden. 
 L'ower of Attorney from Frederick H. Rutledge. 
 United States Bank Stock, of ancient date. 
 
 Dr. J. Allen brought home as trophies, fragments of the im- 
 mense Blakely gun, upon the Battery, exploded by the rebels. 
 
 Also portions of shell and shot, exhumed from the ruins of 
 Fort Sumter. 
 
 Also, books t)f ancient date from the rubbish of Charleston 
 libraries. The title of one is, "The Philoso'phy of Kidnapping," 
 and contains many passages of curious interest, as a commentary 
 upon the humanity of the "Slave business." 
 
 Mr. Edward Ball has ou exhibition a number of relics which 
 he secured by much indnsti-y — The band from the breech of the 
 Blakely gun — Pair of epaulettes worn by a rebel officer — Frag- 
 ments from St. Michael's Church — Pieces of shell — Solid shot — 
 and papers of interest. 
 
170 Al'l'ENDlX. 
 
 Ml'. Fruthiiighaiii, of tliis city, tbuiid two or tliree remarkable 
 letters, written just before the outbreak oi' the Rebellion, and 
 giving an inside view of the feeling of leading Secessionists. 
 
 One gentleman, secured a [)air of manacles, which had Ijeen in 
 in use in one of the slave-pens. 
 
 Another picked up a paper, whose date was lost, |)urporting to 
 be a copy of enactments passed to regulate the treatment ot 
 slaves — providing a fine of £740, for the wilfid murder of a slave 
 — £850 for the unintentional murder of a slave, in the oi'dinary 
 processes of whipping — £70 iine, for puttinf/ out the ei/e, cnttiiif/ 
 ojt' the ears, puJliur/ out the toiajue, and olli.enois(^m(iimin(j a slave. 
 
 Fragments of the Submarine Telegraphic Cable, laid between 
 Fort Sumter and Charleston, and the surrounding forts, were 
 brought away, as additional indications of" English Neutrality." 
 
 Contederate "Blue-backs," the worthless curi-ency of the South- 
 ern States, were bought by the bushel at a merely nominal price, 
 and are now to be seen in any curiosity -shop window, as speci- 
 mens of very poor engraving, and of an iuHnitely poorer and now 
 defunct institution. 
 
 A MEMENTO OF THE OCEANUS TRIP. 
 
 To the Kditur of The Union: 
 
 Among the many pleasant incidents which occurivd <luring the 
 trip of the passengers of the steamer " Oceanus," to Charleston, 
 at the time of the restoration of the fiag on Fort Sumler, was the 
 following, which, if you deem of sufficient interest to present to 
 your readers, you will please insert in "The Union :" 
 
 Mrs. B., who was making observations in her own peculiar 
 way, having strayed a little from the party accompanying her, 
 was accosted by a black woman, with a hen under one arm and a 
 basket of eggs under the other, saying, " Missus I want to give 
 the Northern ladies something, but I have nothing but this hen 
 and these eggs ; will you please take them ?" The kindness of 
 
APPENDIX. 1 7 1 
 
 lieiiit shown by this poor woman, was too much for tlic syni- 
 patht'tic nature of Mrs. B. ; but what to do with the hen and its 
 [Products, so far fi'om home, was a question not easily settled. A 
 compromise was soon agreed to; the eggs were taken, and the hen 
 left. A " souvenir" was put in the woman's hand, and she de- 
 parted ill much delight. She soon returned, however, with more 
 eggs, which were received by another Mrs. B., and a " deposit" 
 made, as above, in the hands of the woman. 
 
 Ill discussing the question on the homeward passage, what 
 should be done with the eggs, our friend Mr. W. E. C. — who is 
 evi-r DU the alert "to do good as he has opportunity" — proposed 
 to the ladies, to take the eggs up to his country seat, and put 
 them under the care of the most motherly hen in his large flock. 
 This arrangement was carried out, and a letter just received from 
 iriy friend C, gives the result: 
 
 Akmenia, N. Y., June 10, 1865. 
 
 Dear Sir : — 1 am happy to inform you that the Charleston hen 
 has done her duty, as well as could be expected under the 
 circumstances. 
 
 The eggs were evidently the product of secession times, and 
 stoutly resisted all Northern influences. 
 
 But the mother-hen determined, " a la Gen. Grant," to set it 
 out on this nest " if it took all summer." A great destruction of 
 capital has been the result, but "victory at last" has rewarded her 
 efforts, and she is now followed by a train of four bipeds, one 
 black, one white, and two octoroons. 
 
 I have neglected to tell you that the mother-hen is black, and 
 struts with pompous pride above her white and octoroon subjects. 
 
 They will be cherished and nourished with care, and if they 
 escape all the ills incident to chicken childhood, they shall be 
 present at the inauguration of the Sumter Sociable next winter. 
 
 Mrs. C. and myself unite in much regard to Mrs. B. and your- 
 self. 
 
 Respectfully yours. 
 
 W. E. C. 
 
172 APPENDIX. 
 
 '^iidorg at fast!!" 
 
 How iippi'opriatc that this popular, truthful and spirited glee, 
 should conclude these pages! Victory — lionoi- — peace — glory — 
 at last ! 
 
 Mr. Bradbury has very kindly furnished us the stereotyped 
 plate of the song, as it was daily sung by all the passengers 
 during the memorable trip of the "' Oceanus." 
 
VICTORY AT LAST. 
 
 SONG AND CHORUS. 
 
 Words hy Mrs. M. A. Kiddkr 
 
 Music by Wm. B. Bradbitrt. 
 
 
 U Introduction. 
 
 roauction. m^ . f^ a^^ , 
 
 1^ — I l-"i-H--,-^— 1 — I— ^ — I 
 
 J For many years we've waited 
 ' ( Anil now tliut day approaches, 
 
 J. 
 
 To 
 
 The 
 
 
 -A- 
 
 
 hail the day of peace,When onr land should be united, And war and strife should cease ; I 
 drums are beating fast. And all the boys are coming home. There's victory at last. J 
 
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 FULL CHORUS. 
 
 
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 There's vie - to - ry at last, boys, vie - to- ry at last! O'er 
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u 
 
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 )ur flas is fiee; We'll nail it to the ma 
 
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 and and sea Our flag is fiee; W 
 
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 it to the mast; Yes, we'' 
 
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 nail it to the mast, boys, Natl it to the mast; For there's 
 
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 vie - to - TV, 
 
 1 
 
 2. The lieroes who have gained it, 
 
 And lived to see that day. 
 We will meet with fljing banners 
 
 And honors on thi^ way ; 
 And all their sad privations 
 
 Shall to the winds be cast. 
 For all the boys are coming home— 
 
 There's victory at last. — Ghorun. 
 
 3. happy Avives and children, 
 
 Light n]) your hearts and homes. 
 For see, Avith martial music 
 
 " The conquering hero comes," 
 With flags and streamers flying. 
 
 While drums are beating fast ; 
 For all the boys are coming home— 
 
 There's victory at last. — Chorus^. 
 
 From the "Golden Ce.Ti9,v.R" by permiission. 
 
 , in the Distiio.l Court of tk« 
 
 LB D 'G5