Savannah and Boston. .^abaniralj anb §ostoir.cjd^:>v.. ACCOUNT SUPPLIES SENT TO SAVANNAH WITH THE fast Jlpcal 0f (fcMDiirtr dElrcrett in |aucml |h11 ; THE LETTER TO THE MAYOR OF SAVANNAH THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITIZENS, AND LETTER OF THE MAYOR OF SAVANNAH. ^aO ■* ... BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. BOSTON: PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 1865. ACCOUNT SUPPLIES SENT TO SAVANNAH. At the call of the Mayor of Savannah, a public meeting was held in that city December 28th, 1864, which unanimously adopted the following preamble and resolutions : — Whereas, by the fortunes of war, and the surrender of the city by the civil authorities, Savannah passes once more under the authority of the United States ; and whereas we beHeve that the interests of the city will be best subserved and promoted by a full and free expression of our views in relation to our present condition, we therefore, the people of Savannah, in full meeting assembled, do hereby Besolve, — First, That we accept the position, and, in the language of the President of the United States, seek to have '^ peace by laying down our arms, and submitting to the national author- ity under the Constitution;" "leaving all questions which remain, to be adjusted by the peaceful means of legislation, conference, and votes." Second, That, laying aside all differences, and burying by- gones in the grave of the past, we will use our best endeavors once more to bring back the prosperity and commerce Ave once enjoyed. Third, That we do not put ourselves in the position of a conquered city, asking terms of a conqueror ; but we claim 1 the immunities and privileges contained in the Proclamation and Message of the President of the United States, and in all the legislation of Congress in reference to a people situated as we are ; and while we owe, on our part, a strict obedience to the laws of the United States, we ask the protection over our persons, lives, and property recognized by those laws. Fourth, That we respectfully request his Excellency the Governor to call a convention of the people of Georgia, by any constitutional means in his power, to give them an oppor- tunity of voting upon the question, whether they wish the war between the two sections of the country to continue. Fifth, That, Major-General Sherman having placed, as mili- tary commander of this post, Brigadier-General Geary, who has, by his urbanity as a gentleman and his uniform kindness to our citizens, done all in his power to protect them and their property from insult and injury, it is the unanimous desire of all present, that he be allowed to remain in his present posi- tion ; and that, for the reasons above stated, the thanks of the citizens are hereby tendered to him, and the officers under his command. Sixth, That an official copy of these resolutions be sent to the President of the United States, the Governor of Georgia, General Sherman, and to each the Mayors of Augusta, Col- umbus, Macon, and Atlanta, and to Brigadier-General Geary. After the occupation of that city by the United States forces under General Sherman, the Mayor and Aldermen of Savannah appointed Colonel Julian Allen, who had offered his services gratuitously, to proceed to New York for the purpose of negotiating the exchange of rice for other provisions for the use of the suffering and destitute inhabitants of the city. General Sherman is- sued an order to Albert G. Browne, Supervising Special Agent of the Treasury Department, confirming this appointment, directing the Quartermaster to give him transportation, and requesting the Collector of New York to grant clearance for provisions for the use of the people of Savannah, to the amount of fifty thousand dollars in value. Colonel Allen, believing that the people of the North would rather give the required provisions, and not take the rice from the suffering people of Savannah, who needed it all, expressed these views to Mr. Browne, who concurred in the opinion. The people of Savan- nah did not ask aid, and Colonel Allen disclaimed ask- ing it for them. He simply made his statement of matters of which he had been an eye-witness. He arrived in Boston on Saturday, January 7th, 1865. On Monday, January 9th, 1865, the citizens of Bos- ton were invited, through the public papers, to meet in Faneuil Hall on that day at noon, to consider measures for the relief of the suffering people of Savannah. It was announced that His Honor, Mayor Lincoln, would preside ; that Colonel Allen would make some interest- ing statements ; and that the Hon. Edward Everett, and other gentlemen would address the meeting. The leading newspapers called the attention of their readers to the meeting, and expressed the opinion that there should be a full and enthusiastic gathering of the citi- zens in aid of the object. At the appointed hour the body of the hall was filled with gentlemen, and many ladies occupied seats in the galleries. The following officers were appointed : — President. His Honor MAYOR LINCOLN. Vice-Presidents. Joseph Whitney. Edward S. Tobey. John Z. Goodrich. James L. Little. DwiGHT Foster. Henry I. Bowditch. Edward N. Kirk. Edward E. Hale. Lorenzo Sabine. Martin Brimmer. "William B. Rogers. E. R. Mudge. George C. Richardson. Amos A. Lawrence. James Savage, josiah quincy. Francis C. Manning. Samuel H. Walley. James M. Beebe. George W. Messinger. William Gray. Charles G. Greene. Joseph S. Ropes. John P. Putnam. Osborn Howes. William Claflin. William T. Glidden. S. R. Spaulding. Benjamin E. Bates. Alpheus Hardy. William Endicott, Jun. Nathaniel Francis. C. Allen Browne. C. F. Dunbar. Secretaries. M. Denman Ross. Hamilton A. Hill. George W. Searle. In his opening address, the Mayor said, " The doors of Faneuil Hall have not been opened in the last four years on a more auspicious occasion. The city of Bos- ton hails with joy the sentiments of loyalty and fealty to the old flag, which Savannah, freed from her thral- dom, is now permitted to utter ; and as her Mayor presided over the formal announcement of her renewed devotion to the country, so I acknowledge that it is fit that one holding similar official relations to Boston should participate in the proceedings of this meeting." Colonel Allen made a short address, giving full ex- planation and evidence respecting the great suffering of the citizens of Savannah ; and speeches were made by James C. Converse, Joseph S. Fay, George C. Richard- son, William Gray, Edward Everett, and William H. Gardiner. The meeting adopted these resolutions, which the Mayor was requested to communicate to the Mayor of Savannah : — Resolved, That the citizens of Boston have heard with sin- cere satisfaction of the course pursued by the authorities and people of Savannah, since the occupation of their city by the Federal forces under Major-General Sherman ; and especially of their distinct and hearty recognition of the duties resting upon them, and of the immunities resulting to them as citizens of the United States, — their country and ours. Resolved, That we extend to the people of Savannah our congratulations on their deliverance from the irresponsible power of the Rebel Government, and on the re-establishment over them of lawful and constitutional supremacy. Resolved, That we esteem it a privilege to extend assist- ance to the suffering poor of Savannah, of whose destitution we are informed by the Mayor and Council of the city, and by the statements of Colonel Allen, made on this occasion. Resolved, That we invite the people of Boston to furnish such contributions of money and provisions as the necessities of the case require, and that a Committee of thirty, of Mdiich the Mayor shall be chairman, be appointed by the presiding officer, to receive them, and to make distribution as they shall judge proper. The Executive Committee, who were instructed to publish such permanent record of all matters connected with raising the fund as in their judgment might be deemed expedient and proper, cannot omit from this record the last appeal of Edward Everett in Faneuil 8 Hall, — the appeal with which he closed his public labors on earth ; in itself one of the most touching which ever fell from human lips. The Committee appointed under the fourth resolution met on the following day, January 10th, 1865, passed a vote that it was expedient to raise twenty-five thousand dollars for the object contemplated, and made the under- signed an Executive Committee to purchase and forward supplies to Savannah, with full powers. Mr. AVilliam Perkins was chosen Treasurer. It was announced at this meeting, that Messrs. Glid- den and Williams had offered to transport, free of cost, such contributions as should be ready for shipment on the 14th of January, by the steamer " Greyhound ; " and several gentlemen, who were present, offered to advance ten thousand dollars, for an immediate purchase, to be forwarded by that vessel. On January 13th, 1865, the Executive Committee reported in part, that on Wednesday, the 11th instant, subscription papers were opened at the Mayor's Office, at the Merchants' Exchange, at the China Mutual In- surance Office, and at the Boylston Insurance Office, and were sent to the several members of the General Committee ; that the morning papers of Wednesday announced the subscriptions of several members of the Committee, — At their first meeting on Tuesday, amounting to . . . $3,700.00 That the subscriptions on "Wednesday were 17,607.00 „ „ „ Thursday were 8,529.00 ,, ,, ,, Friday were 3,955.50 Making a total of $33,791.50 9 The Committee also reported that several persons had offered to accompany and take charge of the shipments to Savannah, without compensation ; and that they had committed the trust to Messrs. Harrison O. Briggs, Julian Allen, and William H. Baldwin. Although the whole matter of purchasing and for- warding the contributions was intrusted to them, with full powers, the Executive Committee preferred, in a subject so deeply interesting to a large number of con- tributors, to present an early report of the progress then made, and to submit, for the several signatures of the members composing the General Committee, a letter to be sent to the Mayor of Savannah. This letter was signed by every member who acted upon the General Committee, and will be found with the papers accom- panying this statement, in connection with our letter to General Sherman, and instructions to our agents. The report of the Treasurer which, with the names of the contributors, will be found in this account, shows that the total amount subscribed in money was $34,- 495.07. In addition, several subscriptions were made of supplies ; and the very liberal contribution of Messrs. Glidden and Williams, on behalf of themselves and other owners of the " Greyhound," was of the value of fifteen hundred dollars. By the bills of lading, the supplies were to be delivered " to Harrison O. Briggs, Julian Allen, and W. H. Baldwin, the Boston Committee, or to assigns, freight for the said goods free, being contributions from the citizens of Boston to the citizens of Savannah, and shipped per order of the Executive Committee. " As it was not convenient 10 for Colonel Allen to proceed to Savannah by the " Daniel Webster," from New York, Mr. Henry D. Hyde, a member of the General Committee, was appointed an additional agent to act in connection with those already named. As wiU be seen in the Treasurer's report, the shipments were made by three vessels ; the " Greyhound" from Boston, and the " Daniel Webster" and "Harvest- Moon " from New York. The transportation from New York was at the expense of the Government of the United States, and was made necessary by the inability of the " Greyhound" to carry all the supplies. The re- maining funds will be applied in conformity with the views of the contributors. Five hundred copies of the proceedings of the meet- ing in Faneuil Hall, including the report of Mr. Everett's speech, were sent by the " Greyhound" for distribution among the people of Savannah. The undersigned do not deem that the instructions given to them require the publication, in this account, of matters which have already been widely circulated ; but they are unwilling to omit the Report made by the gen- tlemen who took charge of the supplies to Savannah, — who had free intercourse with all the people of the city, and who have taken great pains to acquit themselves, in a manner satisfactory to them and to us, of the im- portant and delicate trust committed to them. Still less are we disposed to omit the proceedings of the public meeting in Savannah, on the 25th January, 1865, or the letter from Mayor Arnold to one of the Committee who had remained in Savannah, dated February 8th, 1865. General Sherman stated in conversation, that he had 11 received frequent applications from the interior of Georgia to furnish miUtary protection for Union meet- ings ; to which he replied that he would gladly do so, were his force large enough for the purpose ; but that it was of more importance for the Union men of the South as well as the North, that his whole army should be employed in breaking up the military strength of the enemy. The Mayor of Savannah proposed to circulate the pro- ceedings of the meeting held in that city, with the letter from Boston, in the State of Georgia, with the aid of the cavalry of our army as opportunity offered ; and we intend to send a large number of copies of this account to Savannah for the purpose. The narrative of these events conveys a faint impres- sion of the interest manifested in the few days occupied in the completion of the active labors of the Executive Committee. The subscription papers, to raise twenty- five thousand dollars, were placed before the community on Wednesday morning ; and, on Friday afternoon of the same week, we reported a subscription of nearly thirty-four thousand dollars. In the Merchants' Ex- change, kindly proffered to us by the proprietors, our table was constantly surrounded by unsolicited subscri- bers ; and the absence of all vindictive feeling towards the South was particularly evinced by contributions from those who have lost some of their most priceless treas- ures in the stern realities of the war. Will the contributors for the relief of Savannah allow us, in closing our official relations to them, to express the deep satisfaction which we have enjoyed, in acting 12 as the instruments to receive and transmit their offering to the people of Savannah '? The cordial and prompt answer given to the appeal made in Faneuil Hall will be remembered after we all shall have passed away ; and in producing that harmony of a re-united people, to which -we confidently look forward, we place great reli- ance upon the victories of a Christian spirit. WILLIAM GRAY. E. R. MUDGE. JOHN A. BLANCHARI). NATHAN CROWELL. W. T. GLIDDEN. Boston, February 20th, 1865. 13 LETTERS. Letter to General Sherman. Boston, January 13th, 1865. Major-Genenil W. T. Sherman, Savannah, Ga. Dear Sir, — As the Executive Committee of citizens of Boston, who have contributed suppHes to be forwarded to Savannah for the relief of the sufferers in that city, we beg to introduce to your acquaintance, as our agents, Messrs. Harrison 0, Briggs, Julian Allen, and William H. Bald- win, who have offered to take charge of their transmission and delivery. We have given them a letter from the General Committee to the Mayor of Savannah, and our written instructions for their guidance. We enclose to you copies of these papers. They will, of course, be in all respects subject to your direction, or, in your absence, to that of the General com- manding in Savannah. Permit us to assure you that we all feel a profound appre- ciation of the great services to our country of yourself and your noble army. We are very respectfully yours, William Gr.^y. E. R. MUDGE. John A. Blanchard. Nathan Crowell. Wm. T. G lid den. u Letter to the Mayor of Savannah. Boston, January 13th, 1865. To Hon. E. D. Arnold, Mayor of the City of Savannah, Ga. Sir, — You will receive from the officers of a meeting of the citizens of Boston, held in Fanenil Hall, on Monday the 9th instant, an attested copy of its proceedings. The undersigned were appointed a Committee under the fourth resolution. It gives us great gratification to be the organ of communication between the people of Savannah and our own citizens. Sister cities on the Atlantic, long con- nected by friendly ofiices and commercial ties, it gives us sincere pleasure to witness the re-opening of an intercourse which has been temporarily suspended, and which we believe will never again be closed. But, far above and beyond the relations to which we have just referred, we should not be true to our own convictions, nor to the feelings which animate our citizens, were Ave to refrain from expressing a deeper cause of satisfaction, — in receiving the resolutions passed at the public meeting held in Savannah, on the twenty-eighth day of December last. We regard them as the true exponent of the heart of the South- ern people, and we cordially welcome their expression. The history of former days is not forgotten. It has rather been deepened by the later trials of our nation. We remem- ber the earlier kindness and liberality of the citizens of Savannah towards the people of Boston in the dark colonial days. We recall the meeting held there on the tenth day of August, 1774, when a committee was appointed " to receive subscriptions for the sufi'ering poor of Boston : " as to which it is recorded, " There are large donations of rice for the suf- ferers in Boston ; and, had we the means of sending it to them, with very little trouble much more would be collected and sent. Few have subscribed less than ten tierces of rice." The rice was sent to New York, sold there, and the proceeds, £216. Os. 5c?., were remitted to the Boston Committee, and by them applied to the relief of the poor here. 15 We remember that Nathanael Greene, the noble son of Rhode Island, sleeps in your beautiful cemetery. We recall the scene on the banks of the Savannah River, when '' the military and municipality met the mournful procession at the landing in your city ; the whole body of citizens joining with one accord in this last demonstration of respect to him, Mdio, of all those who had distinguished themselves during the war of the Revolution, was, next to Washington, the one who held, at this moment, the highest place in public esteem." The memory of past days of common danger and common suffering of an united people struggling to be free stands before us. The annals of the South and the North, engraven together upon the tablets of memory, still live ; and we believe that neither the South nor the North will permit them to die. Our Executive Committee will give written instructions to those in immediate charge of the transmission and delivery to you of our offerings of peace and good-will ; and we hope soon to hail the day when all the people of the United States will, in the language of the President, quoted in your resolu- tions, find " peace by laying down their arms, and submitting to the national authority under the Constitution," — "leaving all questions which remain, to be adjusted by the peaceful means of legislation, conference, and votes." We are very respectfully yours. F. W. Lincoln, Jun., Mayor. William B. Spooner. Wm. Gray. William Perkins. M. D. Ross. John A. Blanchard. Geo. Wm. Bond. Joseph W. Balch. Fredk. Nickerson. Wm. T. Glidden. Francis Bacon. Eben Howes. W. H. Baldwin. James C. Converse. Samuel D. Warren. Joseph H. Curtis. Geo. C. Richardson. Nathan Crowell. Albert Bowker. Henry D. Hyde. Joseph C. Tyler. E. S. TOBEY. David H. Coolidge. E. R. Mudge. Alpheus Hardy. S. R. Spaulding. Joseph Whitney. Jos. S. Fay. Hamilton A. Hill. N. Thayer. 16 Letter of Instructions to 3Iessrs. Briggs, Allen, and Balchvin. Boston, January 13th, 1865. To Messrs. Harrison 0. Briggs, Julian Allen, and Wm. H. Baldwin. Gentlemen, — You are appointed to take charge of the supplies and provisions contributed hy the citizens of Boston for the relief of the people of Savannah. One of you will sail in the steamer " Greyhound " from Boston, and another in the steamer ''Daniel Webster" from New York, on Satur- day next. In each vessel will be portions of the articles to be forwarded. On your arrival at Hilton Head, should these vessels pro- ceed no further, you will tranship the articles by such modes of conveyance as may be within your reach, — preferring Government transportation, if it can be had. When you reach Savannah, you will immediately report to Major-General Sherman, or, in his absence, to the General commanding in Savannah. You will dehver the letter to General Sherman, which covers copies of these instructions, and of the letter of the General Committee to the Mayor of Savannah. With the approval of General Sherman, or, in- his absence, of the General commanding in Savannah, you will deliver the articles shipped, to the Mayor, to be disposed of for the bene- fit of all the people of Savannah who may require aid. You will advise us frequently, by every opportunity, of your proceedings ; giving us full accounts of the execution of your trust, and the distribution made. You have offered your services in this good work without compensation. On behalf of those whom we represent, we tender you their thanks. Whatever expenses are necessarily incurred in the re-shipment, if any, at Hilton Head, and de- livery at Savannah, you may draw for upon us ; notify- ing us by mail of the draft, not exceeding two thousand dollars. 17 You go on a mission of peace and good-will to the snfler- ing : we need not make any suggestions as to the mode in which such a mission should be discharged. With our good wishes for a prosperous passage and a safe return, We are truly your friends, Wm. Gray. E. R. MUDGE. John A. Blanchard. Nathan Crowell. Wm. T. Glidden. 18 REPOUT COMMITTEE SEXT TO SAVANNAH. To Messrs. William Gray, E. R. Mudge, John A. Blanchard, Nathan Crowell, William T. 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