* «> « o ^ ^^ ^> "i;^^- SKETCH or THE LIFE, CHABACTEB, AND PDBLIC SERVICES OF OLIVER P, MORTON. PKEPARED POR THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL BY CHARLES M. WALKER. INDIANAPOLIS: PUBLISHED BY THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL. 1878. UAyA Copyright, 1877, By E. B. MARTINDALE. RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY H 0. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. To THE SURVIVING SOLDIERS OF INDIANA, WHO BY THEIR HEROISM AND SACRIFICES CONTRIBUTED SO LARGELY TO THE FAME OF THE STATE, AS WELL AS TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE UNION, AND WHO HONORED OLIVER P. MORTON, FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES IN THE SAME CAUSE, AND LOVED HIM FOR HIS DEVOTION TO THEIR INTERESTS, CI)is ^ftetdj of ijts ILtfe anli (!i:f}aradcr IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. FAGB Ancestry and Youth . . . . . ... 7 ; CHAPTER II. MoBTON AS A Lawyer . 14 CHAPTER m. ( { Entrance into Politics 22 I CHAPTER IV. I A Memorable Speech 40 I CHAPTER V. I His Noble Response to the President's Call . . 49 CHAPTER VI. His Services to Neighboring States . . . .66 CHAPTER VII. The Soldier's Friend 82 CHAPTER VIII. State Defense and Internal State Troubles . . 92 CHAPTER IX. Other Services to the Nation, the State, and the Soldiers . .110 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. PAGE Reelection as Governor. — Close of the Wak . 120 CHAPTER XI. Election to the United States Senate . . . 128 CHAPTER XII. His Senatorial Career 134 CHAPTER XIII. His Senatorial Career, continued .... 142 CHAPTER XIV. Other Public and Political Services . . . 151 CHAPTER XV. Closing Scenes. — Final Sickness AND Death . . 161 CHAPTER XVI. Summary op his Character 172 LIFE AND SERVICES OLIVER P. MORTON. CHAPTER I. ANCESTRY AND YOUTH. On the 4th of August, 1823, there was born, in the little village of Saulsbury, Wayne County, Indiana, a child who was destined to act a very conspicuous part in the history of his State and country, and whose name is now familiar as household words throughout the land. This was Oliver Perry Morton. At that time Sauls- bury was the county-seat of Wayne County. The village has long since disappeared, and at this time scarcely a trace remains of it, only a slight irregularity in the surface of the earth indicating the former site of the old court-house. Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816, so that the existence of the State an- tedates that of her greatest son only seven years, while a large portion of his life, briefly recorded in these pages, was closely identified with the most eventful passages in her history. No other man has ever been so revered or honored in Indiana, and of all those born 8 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. within her borders none has contributed so largely to the honor and renown of the State as he of whom we write. It is fitting that the record of such a life, so full of inspiration and encouragement for the young, of edification for the old, and of interest for all, should be placed within easy reach of every citizen of the State, so that not only may his memory be sacredly preserved, but others be stirred to emulate his virtues. Oliver Perry Morton was of English descent on his father's side, and from that race he probably drew some of the most marked traits of his character. Steadiness of purpose, strong convictions and devotion to the right, are commonly supposed to be especially characteristic of the English people, and Oliver P. Morton had all these qualities in a marked degree. -His grandfather emigrated from England about the beginning of the llevolutionary War, and settled in New Jersey. The family name was originally Throckmorton, and was so written by the grandfather. It is not known just when this was changed to Morton, nor why, though a suffi- cient reason would be found in the fact of the latter being much more convenient. But the fi'rst syllable of the name has always been preserved in the family as a middle name. Oliver P. Morton's father's middle name was Throck, as is also that of one of his surviv- ing sons. William T. Morton, father of Oliver P., was a native of New Jersey and a man of sterling worth. It is not known that he possessed any brilliant qualities, but he was a man of sound sense, excellent judgment, and strict integrity. While yet a young man ANCESTRY AND YOUTH. - 9 he emigrated to the West, aud after a short sojourn in Ohio, finally located in Wayne County, Indiana. He married his first wife, a Miss Miller, at Spring Dale, Ohio, and by her had three children. His second wife was a sister of the first. Her maiden name was Sarah Miller, and this was the mother of Oliver P. Morton. Her ancestry is not known, but that she must have been a woman of amiable disposition and rare force of char- acter we can readily believe from the remarkable com- bination of gentleness and force, of tenderness and strength found in her son. Observation confirms the law of physiology and nature that weak-minded women are rarely the mothers of great men. The same evi- dence which establishes the theory of hereditary trans- mission of intellect also proves that in a large majority of cases men who achieve greatness inherit their ruling traits from the mother. Under this law the mother of Oliver P. Morton, though perhaps neither educated nor accomplished, according to the common acceptation of these terms, must have been a woman of very high and noble qualities. She died while Oliver was quite young, so that he scarcely ever knew what it was to have a mother's love or care. The family, though not wealthy, were, for that day, in moderate and comfort- able circumstances. The father was at one time en- gaged in the building of the old Hamilton and Cincin- nati Canal, but his contracts proved unsuccessful and he returned to his trade, which was that of a shoemaker. When the county-seat was changed from Saulsbury to Centerville, he removed his shop from the former to the latter place on wheels. 10 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. But while the family were in moderately comfortable circumstances for that day, and able to maintain a respectable position, Oliver had none of the adventi- tious aids of wealth or social position in eai*ly life. Perhaps it happens as often as not that these are a positive detriment, and it may be that his strong and rugged character was better developed for the lack of such enervating aid as wealth might have brought. At all events one of the grandest lessons to be drawn from his career is that humble birth and adverse circum- stances are no bar to the achievement of the highest distinction and greatest honors under our benign form of government. Oliver P. Morton was named after Commodore Oliver H. Perry, the naval hero. The battle of Lake Erie had been fought not many years before, and the fact of his bearing this honored name shows that his father was fully imbued with the patriotic sentiments of that period. Oliver's full name was Oliver Hazard Perry Morton, but the second title was thrown aside just as the first syllable of the family surname had previously been for conveniency, and the name adopted as now well-known to fame. Of young Morton's early life we know but little. After the death of his mother much of his time, perhaps most of his boyhood, was passed with liis grand-parents in Ohio and with two widowed aunts in Centerville. In later life he used to refer with reverence and affection to the pious teachings of his grand-parents. His aunts were Presbyterians of the strictest kind, and the early ANCESTRY AND YOUTH. 11 impressions received from them gave a coloring to the convictions of his whole life. His father's moderate circumstances allowed him little opportunity for early- education, and it is not known that at this period of his life he gave any evidence of future greatness. When about fourteen years old he was placed by his aunts in the Wayne County Seminary. Professor S. K. Hos- hour, who was principal of the school at that time, writes : " He was a timid and rather verdant-looking youth ; " and adds, " His mental manifestations at that time were not equal to those of some of his school- mates, but his steady demeanor and persistent applica- tion to his studies gave him a respectable position in his classes If some knowing genius had then suggested to me that the future governor, par excel- lence^ of Indiana was then in the group around me, I should probably have sought him in a more bustling form, with brighter eyes and a more marked head, than Oliver's." But the race is not always to the swift. If Oliver was not the most showy boy in his class he had qualities beneath the surface, as yet undeveloped, which were destined in future years to place him far above his fellows and cause him to be ranted among the great men of his time. He remained at this school a little more than a year and at the age of fifteen was put to work in Centerville with his elder half-brother, William T. Morton, to learn the hatter's trade. It was probably the expectation of his friends that this would be his life pursuit, but Providence had not so ordained. Even at that early age he felt powers and possibilities 12 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. within him which demanded larger expression and fuller development. During the four years which he devoted to learning the hatter's trade his spare hours were spent in reading, and the information thus acquired begot so great a thirst for knowledge that he finally quit his trade in the beginning of 1843 and entered Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio. He remained at college two years, his vigorous mind eagerly grasping and ap- propriating all the means of knowledge within his reach. One of his teachers at that time says he was " a diligent, earnest student ; modest, but not timid ; plain, but not verdant ; and more anxious to acquire knowledge than to display it." The latter clause of this statement was characteristic of him through life ; he was always more anxious to understand a subject than to advertise his knowledge, prizing the consciousness of power far above mere display. During his stay at the institution above named he achieved the reputation of being the best debater in college, showing that those powers of analysis and argument which were to make him so celebrated in after life were now receiving their first development. He also became a favorite member of the Beta Theta Pi Society, a college organization whose exclusiveness is sufficient guarantee of the social as well as intellectual status of its members. From all this we infer that Morton stood well at college. After two years of study and hard fare (for he was too poor to pay for any board except what he could provide in his own room) he left college and immediately began the study of law in the office of Hon. John S. Newman, ANCESTRY AND YOUTH. 13 at Centerville, Indiana. This was in 1845, Morton being then nearly twenty-two years old. It speaks well for him, and for the record he had made at Cen- terville, that after an absence of some years he should have chosen to return there where he had passed so large a portion of his youth and begin the study of law among the friends and neighbors who had known him while he was learning the hatter's trade. On the 15th of May, 1845, he married Miss Lucinda M. Bur- bank, daughter of Isaac Burbank of that place. The marriage proved a very happy one, and the gentle lady with whom he thus became united exercised a most gracious influence over his subsequent life and fortunes. The period of boyhood and youth being thus passed he stands upon the threshold of active life a married man, his profession chosen but not yet acquired,' with a fair though not thorough education, but with clear head, stout heart, and steady purpose. This was the capital with which Oliver Perry Morton started in life. CHAPTER 11. MORTON AS A LAWYER. At this period of his life it is not probable that Mr. Morton had any political aspirations or indeed any plans beyond acquiring a knowledge of law and taking a proper position at the bar. And in the prosecution of this object he had no time to lose, for having as- sumed the responsibilities of married life it behooved him to qualify himself as soon as possible to earn a livelihood. But he was not a man who ever lost time about anything he undertook. He was always intensely in earnest, never a trifler, never wasting time nor dally- ing with duty. Even in the manner of his marriage we seem to discern an evidence of the decision with which he acted in all matters and which was one of his ruling characteristics. Prudential considerations might have suggested the postponement of this event until he had acquired his profession and been admitted to the bar. He chose to take the important step at once, and rely on his future efforts to meet the responsibilities it mvolved. To the study of law Mr. Morton brought the same energy of purpose and conscientious effort which had now become a recognized trait of his character. His MORTON AS A LAWYER. 15 two years of college experience, while they had not by any means given him a finished education, had taught him how to study, and he grappled with the intricacies of the law like one who both intended to master them and was conscious of his ability to do so. Judge New- man, his preceptor, says he was laborious in his studies, strictly temperate in his habits, and genial in his man- ners. As in college he had developed solid rather than brilliant qualities, so in the study of law he had the rep- utation of being a close and thorough student rather than a showy one. His preceptor is our authority again for the statement that "he was a very thorough reader and possessed in a remarkable degree the power of thinking at all times and in every place." He was admitted to the bar in 1847. At that time the bar of Wayne and adjacent counties embraced a number of the best lawyers in the State, among whom might be mentioned John S. Newman, Caleb B. Smith, Samuel W. Parker, Jehu T. Elliott, James Rariden, Charles H. Test, and others whose names are still well remem- bered throughout eastern Indiana. Thus, at the very outset of his career, Mr. Morton found himself brought into professional contact with some of the ablest and most cultivated men who have ever graced the profes- sion in Indiana. It was a good school for a young lawyer and well calculated to put him to his best efforts and bring out all there was in him. Though he did not leap at once to fame, as indeed few lawyers in this or any other country have ever done, his success was assured from the beginning, and he soon came to be 16 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. recognized as one of the soundest lawyers on that cir- cuit. Surviving members of the bar who met him on the circuit speak in terms of high respect of his ability and attainments as a lawyer. A friend who knew him well at that time says : " At the bar he soon became known all over eastern Indiana, and friends and business mul- tiplied rapidly everywhere." It is the testimony of all who knew him at this period of his life, members of the legal profession and others, that he possessed a remark- able faculty of grasping the salient points of a case and getting at the heart of a legal question. He was never a man of many words, but what he said went to the core of things. His mind was massive and logical. He had, in a remarkable degree, the faculty of applying great legal principles to given cases, of discarding non- essentials and getting at decisive points. He advanced steadily in the practice, and soon came to be regarded as a rising lawyer. So successful was he that in five years after his admission to the bar he was appointed by the Governor circuit judge to fill an existing va- cancy on the bench. Considering the circuit and the character of the lawyers who then practiced there, this was a high distinction, and was justly regarded as a handsome recognition of Mr. Morton's personal and professional merit. At this time he was only twenty- nine years old. He filled this position with credit to himself and with entire satisfaction to the profession and the public. During the summer of 1852 he ex- changed with the judge of the Indianapolis circuit (the MORTON AS A LAWYER. 17 latter having been counsel in some of the cases pend- ing in his court) and held court at the capital of the State for several days, strongly impressing the bar by his mastery of legal principles and by the clearness and force of his decisions. Some of Mr. Morton's unfriendly critics have asserted that he was not a good lawyer. This assumption is founded either in prejudice or in misinformation. The rapidity with which he advanced to a successful prac- tice in a circuit which embraced some of the best law- yers in the State would be a sufficient answer to this untruthful criticism, but we are permitted to add to this the uniform testimony of all those surviving members of the profession who remember him either at the bar or on the bench. If Mr. Morton had not been a great statesman he would have been a great lawyer. The memorial unanimously adopted by the bar of Indian- apolis after his death, drafted by a committee composed of some of its ablest members, said : " Having chosen his profession, Senator Morton's place in it, by natural right, was the front rank, and without a struggle he was conspicuous there by force of character, generous stores of learning, and eminent ability. He was a judge remarkable for the wise, speedy, and impartial adminis- tration of justice, on an important circuit, at an age when most men are making their first steps in profes- sional life." At the meeting at which this memorial was adopted Governor Hendricks said : " I never met Governor Morton in court, and had no knowledge of his habits in the management of causes. I have heard 18 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. from others, however, that which convinced me that he was very able, and I know that he must have been so, because he possessed every qualification for eminence in our profession." One who had met him on the cir- cuit, said : " His great characteristic was that he studied up his cases, and he never came into court without giv- ing evidence of careful preparation. He was an im- pressive talker, as every lawyer will testify I distinctly remember that in the four years before he was called into the service of the State, he literally annihilated everybody connected with the bar of Wayne County, and walked rough-shod over all the other law- yers of the circuit There are probably few men who have at the same age surpassed him in ability and success." Another gentleman, an eminent member of the Indianapolis bar, said : " I have seen Governor Mor- ton at the bar and remember the talent he displayed in the conduct of an important cause He was a great lawyer." Another, prominent at the Indianapolis bar, and known throughout the State, writes : " I saw him (Mr. Morton) but once in the exercise of the func- tions of judge. It was in the summer of 1852, in the Marion Circuit Court His decision was a clear and forcible enunciation of the law, that left no doubt in the minds of those who heard it of its correctness. His manner during the argument and in rendering his judgment was dignified, judicial, and becoming in an eminent degree." The Hon. John Caven, present mayor of Indianapolis, said : " My first address after T commenced the practice of law was made before him as MOETON AS A LAWYER. 19 presiding judge, and I remember to have been greatly impressed at the time with the ability he manifested in summing up the case." Judge Jacob B. Julian, who knew Mr. Morton almost from boyhood, said : " With surprising speed he mastered the elementary principles of the law, and was admitted to the bar. Entering into the practice, his growth as a lawyer was rapid, and his professional success assured. I practiced in the same court with him for fifteen years. He was an able associate, and a formidable competitor. He was polite and gentlemanly in his intercourse with his professional brethren, — in every respect he was a high-toned, honora- ble gentleman. He bid fair to become one of the fore- most lawyers of the United States, and doubtless would have been if he had not been called into political life." Evidence might be multiplied to prove Mr. Morton's ability as a lawyer, but the foregoing must suffice. It is sufficient answer to those who have, either in igno- rance or malice, denied the fact. Mr. Morton served as judge about a year, but the position was not altogether to his taste, and when his term expired by the adoption of the new constitution in 1852, he willingly relinquished the judgeship to re- sume the practice of law. Being naturally of a con- troversial cast of mind, he preferred the bar to the bench and professional combat to judicial service. And here we have to record a somewhat singular cir- cumstance. After leaving the bench, and before resum- ing the active practice of law, Mr. Morton went to Cin- cinnati and took a six months' course in the law school 20 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. of that city. Few lawyers would have done this, and, considering his previous years of study and practice, it may be doubted whether there was much necessity for it in his case. The fact that he did so, however, was altogether creditable to him as evincing a desire to cor- rect whatever deficiencies might exist in his early edu- cation and to perfect himself in the law. A prominent member of the Cincinnati bar, commenting on this fact, says : " I have always regarded it as much to his credit that before returning to legal practice he took this term of six months for systematic study." This was in keep- ing with his whole character. He always mastered whatever he undertook and was not a man to be de- terred by false pride from going back to acquire knowl- edge in which he might have felt or imagined himself to be deficient. This is probably the only case on rec- ord of a man going to law school after five years of practice and a highly creditable service on the bench. During a portion of this time he had for a room-mate Mr. Murat Halstead, then recently from college, and now editor of " The Cincinnati Commercial." This gentleman has kindly furnished some personal recollec- tions of Mr. Morton at this period. He says : " I was much interested in Morton at the time, and have a very clear recollection of his appearance and move- ments. It is possible this is vivified by his subsequent celebrity, but I was not surprised when he became a distinguished man. I remember that some one said Morton wore the largest hat and the largest boots in the house. This was true as to the boots, I know. MORTON AS A LAWYER. 21 He was intently studious, and exerted himself to the utmost to remedy the deficiencies of his early educa- tion. Time was very precious to him, and he gave his strength to the work. He talked and walked a lit- tle in his sleep, the result of the strain on his mind. Physically he was not a giant, but he had remarkable power. He was not, howevet, as tough as he was vig- orous ; his muscles were formidable, and yet he had delicacy of organization. His smile was winning and his ways persuasive. He had the amiabilities that be- came a strong man. After our experience as room- mates we did not meet for several years, and I have no recollection that we exchanged letters, but I heard of him through others." After six months of close study he returned to his profession and devoted him- self to the practice with an assiduity and zeal that won new success and adequate reward. This was the pe- riod in which he was best known as a lawyer. During the next few years he laid the foundation of a modest competence, the bulk of the moderate fortune which he left behind him having been acquired during these years of hard work. Between 1852 and 1860 nearly all of his time and energy were given to the law, with the exception of some digressions into politics to be noted hereafter. Events were now shaping themselves which were destined to change the whole course of his life and in a most remarkable manner develop the la- tent forces of his character ; but before treating of these events in detail it will be proper to speak of Mr. Mor- ton's politics and of the condition of political parties at that time. CHAPTER III. ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. During the first ten years of his adult life Mr. Mor- ton was a Democrat. The early traditions of that party exercised a peculiar power over the minds of ambitious young men, and the public conscience was not yet fully aroused as to its corrupt and dangerous tendencies. Mr. Morton was reared to believe in Democratic doc- trines, and when he became a voter (1844) slavery was still generally regarded as a sacred institution, upon the protection of which depended the perpetuity of the Union. This idea had been so long inculcated by South- ern Democrats, and so submissively accepted by those of the North, that it had become firmly imbedded in the politics of the country, and for any member of the party to question its justice or soundness was to court political excommunication. The dangerous and ag- gressive character of slavery, asserting itself through the Democratic party, was but just beginning to be understood, and though a public sentiment was form- ing which was destined to sweep them both out of ex- istence, it was as yet unorganized and undefined. It was hardly respectable to be an antislavery man, and the term abolitionist was a badge of political disgrace ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 23 The Democratic party had controlled the general gov- ernment with but little interruption since the beginning of the century, and was never more autocratic or ap- parently more powerful than during the administration of James K. Polk from 1844 to 1849. If it contained the seeds of dissolution they had not yet begun to ger- minate. Mr. Morton's first vote was cast for Polk, and for nearly ten years afber that he continued to act with the Democracy, but to his honor be it said he was among the first to discern the dangerous tendencies of his party and to rebel against the haughty dictation of the slave power. Without tracing the course of events during this period, it is enough to say that in 1854 the Democratic party repealed the Missouri Compromise and passed the Kansas-Nebraska bill. This crowning act of infamy at once betrayed the whole purpose of the slave power, and opened the way for those to leave the party who had already become convinced of its faithlessness and treachery. Among this number was Oliver P. Morton. Though he had up to this time been a Democrat in good standing, tolerating slavery as a necessary evil and as belonging to the traditional policy of his party, he had always been opposed to its extension. Therefore when slavery extension was made the touchstone of party fealty he was not slow in decid- ing what course to pursue. He left the Democracy, and from that time forth acted with the friends of liberty and progress, who subsequently came together under the name of the Republican party. Mr. Morton has been charged with being a self-seeking politician. Surely 24 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. there was nothing of this evinced in the time and man- ner of his leaving the Democratic party. It was then in the full flush of its power, and to all appearances might be expected to control the government for many- years to come. Indiana was a strong Democratic State. He was young, able, popular, and regarded on all hands as a rising man. There was hardly any position within the gift of his party in this State that he might not reasonably have hoped to attain in a very short time. Yet he chose to sacrifice these prospects for principle's sake, and to identify himself with a movement and a party which, so far as human foresight could judge at the time, had no earthly hope of success. Thus the first political act of his life of which we have any rec- ord was based upon principle, and actuated by convic- tion. For many years after this his former political associates were accustomed to charge him with incon- sistency and a betrayal of his party because he failed to support its policy on the slavery question. It needs no argument now to refute this charge. The policy of the party in this regard was such that no Northern Democrat of principle or with a proper sense of man- hood could indorse it. Mr. Morton was among the earliest in Indiana to repudiate it. His moral sense revolted against lending his influence or vote to the extension of slavery, while his manhood rebelled against the servile submission to Southern dictation. In this situation he could do nothing but leave the party, and could go nowhere except into the new Republican or- ganization. At this time the central idea of the Repub- ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 25 lican party was opposition to the extension of slavery. It was a party of resistance rather than of aggression. It did not advocate the abolition of slavery, although many individual members of the party were abolition- ists. Several years elajosed before this policy came to be recognized as a political duty and part of the inevi- table. Even as late as March, 1860, in a speech de- livered at Terre Haute, Mr. Morton said : " I see that several of the Democratic newspapers have revived against me the cheap and worn-out allegation that I am an abolitionist If the persons making this charge know me to be an abolitionist they can undoubt- edly state some political act or declaration of opinion on my part in proof. If they were asked what consti- tutes an abolitionist they could answer, if they have any clear ideas on the subject, that he is one who is in favor of abolishing slavery where it now exists, and who claims that it is the right and duty of the State in which he lives, or of the general government, to per- form the act. I am opposed to the diffusion of slavery. I am in favor of preserving the Territories to freedom, of encouraging, elevating, and protecting free labor, at the same time conscientiously believing that with slav- ery in the several States we have nothing to do and no right to interfere. If this makes an abolitionist then I am one, and my political enemies may make the most of it. The vague and senseless epithet has lost its terrors. A long, indiscriminate application of it by Democratic politicians to all who oppose them has stripped it of all title to consideration whatever." Thus, 26 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. even as late as 1860, a leading Republican like Mr. Morton was rather restive under the epithet of aboli- tionist. The fact is that opposition to the extension of slavery, not abolition of it, was the central idea of the Republican party during the early years of its ex- istence. The Democratic party, under Providence, made the abolition of slavery necessary and possible. But we are somewhat anticipating the course of this narrative. Having made public avowal of his withdrawal from the Democracy, Mr. Morton soon became known as one of the most earnest advocates of a new party to embody the growing sentiment against the aggressions of the slave power. From 1854 to 1856 politics were in a curiously confused state. The Democratic party was undergoing a process of disintegration, while the Republican party was not yet formed. Thousands of men who had hitherto acted with the Democracy were unwilling to do so any longer, but were not yet quite ready to enlist under a new name and banner. Cau- tious men hesitated and timid men feared to make a complete transfer of their political allegiance from an old and powerful organization to a new and untried one. Yet great principles and mighty motives were at work which were destined to triumph in the end. During these years of political uncertainty, marking one of the most interesting transitional periods in our history, Oliver P. Morton stood firm and unmoved, a tower of strength to those who rallied around him, and a recog- nized leader of the future. He was a Republican in ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 27 principle before the name was adopted, and was one of the god-fathers at the birth of the party. In 1856 he was one of three delegates sent from Indiana to the Pittsburg convention. From this convention the Re- publican party dates the beginning of its political exist- ence. It was held on the 22d of February, and was attended by leading Republicans from nearly all the Northern States, the object being to take steps towards a party organization. Its deliberations were interesting and important and were actively participated in by Mr. Morton, who was already recognized as one of the rising men of the new party. The convention made no nominations, but it led the way for the one at Phila- delphia, held in June, 1856, which nominated John C. Fremont for president. May 1, 1856, the Republicans of Indiana met in con- vention at Indianapolis to nominate candidates for state ofl&cers. We call it the Republican party now, though that name had not then been adopted. At that time it was called the People's party, and according to the call for the convention it embraced all who were opposed to the extension of slavery and in favor of establishing freedom in the Territories of the United States, without regard to previous party affiliations. The new party drew very largely from the better elements of society, and embraced nearly all of the friends of genuine lib- erty and progress of that day. There was abundant reason for opposing the Democracy aside from the slav- ery question, and all the opponents of that party found a natural abiding place in the new organization which 28 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. entered the field so full of patriotic promise and hope. But opposition to the extension of slavery was the great underlying principle on which the People's party rested, the unifying motive which held it together. The con- vention was large and earnest. The Hon. Henry S. Lane, then as now honored by the Republicans of In- diana, was president, and inspired the body with his lofty enthusiasm. The new party was on trial, and every consideration required that it should nominate a strong ticket. When this stage of the proceedings was reach'^d a delegate moved that Oliver P. Morton be nominated by acclamation for governor. The report in the " Journal " of the next day says : " The motion was received and carried amid deafening and long continued cheers." In a brief address accepting the nomination, Mr. Morton defined his position on the public questions of the day, avowed his unalterable opposition to the ex- tension of slavery, denounced the outrage of attempting to force the institution upon Kansas, and declared his intention of meeting his opponent before the people and upholding these principles in every part of Indiana. The " Journal " of the next day, referring to the party's candidate for governor, said : " In all that goes to make sound reasoner, a well-informed politician, a prudent statesman, an efficient executive, a trustworthy man, he is the full equal of a score of his opponent, and we appraise his opponent above his value in placing him so high." Mr. Morton accepted this nomination with a full consciousness that there was little or no chance of his election, and that he was expected to make a thorough ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 29 canvass of the State. It would involve several months' neglect of professional business, and considerable ex- pense. He could not well afford either, but he had embarked in the new movement and his heart was in the cause. His opponent in the contest was Ashbel P. Willard, a very able man and one of the most brilliant speakers of his day. He represented an old, compact, powerful political organization, strengthened by the prestige of time and past successes, while Mr. Morton appeared as the champion of a new party, compara- tively weak in numbers and organization, but strong in the consciousness of right principles. Willard was a sort of party pet, a fluent speaker, ready in debate, widely known throughout the State, and with an es- tablished reputation as an orator. Morton was at that time comparatively unknown to the people of the State at large, and had his reputation as a political speaker to make. An arrangement for a joint canvass between • the two candidates was gladly entered into by the Democrats, who thought their eloquent champion would easily dispose of his comparatively unknown antagonist. They were soon undeceived and the people of the State enlightened as to the character of the new Republican leader. The canvass had not progressed far before he showed himself to be greatly the superior of Governor Willard in political information, force of argument, and all the essential elements of political oratory. Besides his joint canvass Mr. Morton filled a large number of separate appointments, making a thorough canvass of 30 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. the entire State. Appearing then, for the first time, before the people at large, wherever he went he made a deep and lasting impression. His manner was dig- nified and his style of speaking earnest, forcible, and convincing. He never appealed to men's passions, but always to their intellect and reason, and whether in attack or defense he proved himself a ready and power- ful debater. From this campaign of 1856, unsuccess- ful though it was, dated Mr. Morton's popularity with Republicans. From that time forward he was the rec- ognized leader of the party in Indiana. The campaign ended, as he probably expected it would, in his defeat, but the foundations of the Republican party had been laid broad and deep in the minds of the people, and Mr. Morton himself had established a reputation for ability and courtesy in debate and for statesmanlike grasp of public questions which the whole subsequent course of his life strengthened and confirmed. As he had not sought the nomination for governor, so he ac- cepted defeat gracefully and probably with less regret since he had the consciousness of having done his en- tire duty by the party which had nominated him and by the principles he represented. At that time the Re- publicans of Indiana considered his defeat as a great misfortune, but in the light of subsequent history it cannot be so regarded. " There is a divinity which shapes our ends." If he had been elected governor in 1856 in all human probability he would not have succeeded to the position in 1860, and thus his splendid record as the j^reat " War Governor " would have been ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 31 lost, the whole course of his life changed, and the na- tion as well as the State have been greatly the loser. Viewing the situation from our present stand-point it seems altogether probable that this would have been the case if Mr. Morton had been elected governor of Indiana in 1856. But he was defeated and reserved for another destiny. Thus Providence, which sees the end from the beginning, and which moulds great in- struments for great emergencies, overrules the best laid plans of men and converts apparent defeats of the right into ultimate victories. After the unsuccessful campaign of 1856 Mr. Morton resumed the practice of law with a zeal sharpened by absence from the profession and with powers certainly not weakened by his excursion into politics. For the next four years most of his time was devoted to the law, though his prominent identification with the Republican party did not admit of his wholly ignor- ing politics. During this period he sought no honors from the party, although as opportunity offered he la- bored energetically for its success. His advice was con- stantly sought after in party affairs, and he had already come to be recognized as by far the best political or- ganizer and director in the State. The Republican party grew very rapidly between 1856 and 1860. The insolence and corruption of the Democracy, with their degrading subservience to the slave power, hastened the course of events and contributed immensely to the growth of a sentiment which was destined to sweep them from power and change the course of national 32 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. history. Thus, in 1860, the Republican party stood be- before the country with a complete organization, strong in the consciousness of a just cause, and prepared to dispute the field with the Democracy in every Northern State with fair prospects of success. In this year the Republicans of Indiana again demanded the services of Mr. Morton, nominating him for _ lieutenant-governor with Hon. Henry S. Lane for governor. The age and prestige of the latter were justly thought to entitle him to this honor, while at the same time there was a distinct understanding that if the party was successful Mr. Lane should go to the United States Senate and Mr. Morton become governor. Again, as in 1856, the latter threw aside private and professional business at the call of the party which he honestly believed rep- resented the salvation of the country and prepared for another thorough canvass of the State. His splen- did physical health at that time, his tireless energy and devotion to the cause, pointed to him as the principal worker in the campaign, and it is a matter of record that he did more work than any other person on the ticket. This time he was no stranger to the people. His services to the party had been matter of common remark during the last four years, and wherever he went he was greeted with enthusiasm. The campaign lasted four months, and he spoke in every part of the State, showing the same intuitive insight into politics and the same comprehensive grasp of public questions that had so impressed the people in 1856. At this time he was in the prime of life, thirty-seven years old. ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 33 in perfect health, full of energy and vigor, with a sound mind in a sound body, the very picture of well developed manhood. Commencing at Terre Haute he traversed the entire State, part of the time in company with his Democratic competitor, David Turpie, and part of the time alone. His meetings were very large and his labors were as effective as they were arduous. His first speech in this campaign, delivered at Terre Haute, March 18, 1860, was a masterly presentation of the political issues of the day and a complete sum- ming up of the doctrines of the Republican party at that time. He began by exposing the fallacy of " Pop- ular Sovereignty," a Democratic catchword invented by Stephen A. Douglas to cheat the people with, and he proved most conclusively that Congress and Con- gress alone had constitutional power to make all needful rules and regulations for the Territories. He then took jp the charge that the Republican party was a sectional party and showed that so far from this being the case it was the only truly national party, since it was or- ganized in the interests of freedom and of the welfare of the whole country. He showed that instead of be- ing a radical party it was the real conservative party of the nation. After defining the true standard of con- servatism he said : " Measured by this standard the Democratic party will be found to be * radical, revolu- tionary, and subversive.' Departing from its own creed, revolutionizing a long course of judicial decis- ions, and subverting the practice of the government from the time of its creation, it has erected into an 3 84 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OlIVER P. MORTON. " article of faith the new, dangerous, and portentous dogma that the Constitution by its own inherent power establishes slavery in all the Territories, and that there is no power in Congress nor in the people of the Ter- ritories — or, to use the language of Mr. Buchanan in his late message, that ' there is no human power' — that can exclude it therefrom." He traced the history of the agitation of the slavery question and showed where the responsibility rested for the growing hostility in the North against the institution. The policy of the Democratic party was shown to be tending towards disunion, while that of the Republican was in favor of national integrity and progress. Contrasting the two parties he said : — " The Democratic party found the country at peace, and has left it stained with blood and torn with civil dissensions. It reopened the slavery question in a form most offensive, and under circumstances most aggravating to the anti- slavery sentiment of the North. It was the deliberate breach of a time-honored compromise which had had its origin in the most critical period of our political history, and had given peace to the nation. History will pronounce judgment on this repeal as a wanton and wicked act, with- out a circumstance to palliate or excuse its perpetration, and as having its origin in the political necessities and reckless ambition of partisans. The object to be gained was the united favor of the South, and the means of .obtaining it an extravagant and reckless devotion to her supposed inter- ests." Of the Republican party, then advancing so grandly to victory, he said : — ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 35 " It is a matter of proud congratulation that there is not one disunionist within the pale of the Republican party. There is no part of the Republican platform upon which a disunionist can stand .... We do not say that the Union may be preserved upon certain conditions ; we do not meas- ure our fidelity to it by our success; but we say ' it must and shall be preserved,' whatever party may be in the as- cendant. We do not say the Republican party first and the Union afterwards; but we say the Union first, last, and all the time, and that we will wage uncompromising warfare upon all parties that contemplate its destruction under any circumstances." The speech was logical and argumentative and was at once a powerful arraignment of the Democracy and a triumphant defense of Republican principles. As in 1856 Mr. Morton had shown hims'jlf more than a match in debate for Governor Willard, so in this can- vass he easily handled his Democratic competitor wher- ever they met in joint discussion. In a speech deliv- ered at Fort Wayne before a large audience, he made the following strong argument against the Democratic doctrine of that day that the Constitution carried slavery into the Territories : — " The fundamental principles underlying the Republican doctrine, the faith of the fathers, and the practice of the government for more than half a century, all go to show that slavery is local and municipal; thnt it can only exist by virtue of positive law ; that before it can exist in any State, Territory, or community there must be a law enacted author- izing and creating it. In other words, that there is no gen- eral principle of law enabling one man to hold another as a slave. The law of nations which recognizes the rig-ht of men everywhere to hold property in lands, in horses and in 36 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. cattle, in gold and in silver, and in every species of inani- mate goods, does not recognize the right of man to hold property in his fellow man. The common law which our ancestors brought with them to this country, and which forms the basis of the law of every State in the Union, save one, recognizes the right of men to hold property in all these things, but does not admit the right of man to hold property in man. There being then no general principle of law by which a slave can be held as property, it follows that the Territories are free because of the absence in them of any law authorizing slavery; and hence, before you can hold a slave in a Territory, ther* must be a law made for that purpose. The question then is. What power or tribunal can legislate for the Territories upon the subject of slavery? The Territories are the property of the general government, and the right to acquire them will not be disputed. If the government can acquire, can it not govern that which it acquires? Would the right to acquire, without the power to govern the thing acquired, be of any value? The right to govern is, therefore, an incident of the right to acquire. The Territories belong to all the people of the United States and not to any particular part of them. They belong to them in their corporate, national, and governmental capacity. This being the case, how shall the people, the nation, ex- press themselves or make manifest their wishes respecting their property, these Territories, except through Congress? " This is close argument. With our present light it may sound rather antiquated, but this was seventeen years ago and we have made great progress since then. At that time a great and dominant party was straining every nerve to make slavery national, and among other dogmas which it had invented for this purpose was that the Constitution by its own force carried slavery into EKfRANCE INTO POLITICS. 37 the Territories. This was one of the protean forms of Democratic error which the Republican party of that day had to combat. As a sample of Mr. Morton's di- rect and forcible style of argument we will make one more extract from this Fort Wayne speech : — " We believe that slavery is a moral, social, and political evil; that it is a curse to any people, a foe to progress, the enemy of education and intelligence, and an element of so- cial and political weakness. For these reasons we are op- posed to the further extension of slavery. But there are other considerations of a more personal and selfish charac- ter. If we do not exclude slavery from the Territories, it will exclude us. Free labor will not go to any considerable extent where slave labor exists, because it is degraded and dishonored by the association. Plencc, while there are thousands that come to Indiana, Ohio, and other free States from Kentucky, Virginia, and other slave States, there is hardly one for a thousand who goes hence to the slave States. Sometimes a Yankee tin peddler will marry a rich Southern widow with negroes, or a briefless lawyer from the North a wealthy Southern heiress, and straightway he be- comes the most bitter and malignant of proslavery parti- sans. But the fact is that the great body of emigration is from the slave to the free States. The introduction of slavery into a Territory prevents you and your children from going there as effectually as would a legislative act. It erects a barrier to your emigration which you will never sur- mount. If you would, therefore, preserve these Territories as an inheritance to you and your children, to which you and they may retire when society here becomes too crowded, or the pressure of circumstances make a removal necessary, you must preserve them free. Free labor and slave labor will not flourish in the same bed. You cannot graft the one upon the stalk of the other. Where slave labor strikes its 38 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. roots deep into the soil of a Territory, free labor will not grow but perish at the threshold. But it is said that the slave-holder has just as good a right to take his slaves to the Territory as you have to take your horses there from the State of Indiana, and that if he is prohibited from so doing it creates inequality. Let us consider this proposition a moment. Cannot the slave-holder go from Kentucky to Kansas and take with him every species of property which you can take from Indiana? And may he not pursue when he gets there, every avocation that you could, going from Indiana ? If so then you and he are on a perfect equality. But if he takes slaves he then takes what you cannot, and this creates inequality. Not only so; he takes what partic- ularly excludes you from the Territory, and thus creates^the grossest inequality. The truth is, there is no equality where there is not freedom, and slavery engenders inequal- ity both socially and politically." The speech from which we have quoted was regarded at the time as a very able one. Besides the line of argument indicated above, it treated of the doctrine of non-intervention, of the Dred Scott decision, of Ste- phen A. Douglas's tergiversations, of state issues, and, in short, covered the whole ground of an effective cam- paign speech. It was reported phonographically and published not only by the Republican papers of Indiana but by those of many other States, showing that Mr. Morton was already regarded as a leading expounder of Republican principles. Such speeches as this, de- livered in nearly every county of the State, had their effect. There were other workers in the good cause besides Mr. Morton, but perhaps not another one so earnest or effective. The election resulted in the ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. \S9 success of the whole Republican ticket by about 10,000 majority. A month later occurred the Presidential election, the Republicans carrying every Northern State and electing Abraham Lincoln by a decided majority of the electoral college. Immediately upon the con- vening of the Legislature Governor Henry C. Lane was elected by the Republicans United States Senator, and on the 16th of January, 1861, Oliver P. Morton became Governor of Indiana. This office had in store for him such labors and responsibilities as rarely fall to the lot of any man, and, it may be added, was destined to bring him a corresponding amount of honorable fame. But before noticing in detail his great services to the State and nation in this capacity, it will be neces- sary to recapitulate some of the events which preceded and accompanied his accession to the office, and glance at the political situation of that period. CHAPTER IV. A MEMORABLE SPEECH. Heretofore, as we have seen, Governor Morton's pursuits had been entirely of a peaceful character, mainly professional. He had established the reputation of a rising man at the bar and in politics, but as yet he had not developed any special aptitude for public affairs, or given any indication of the remarkable executive ability which was to stamp him as one of the great men of the age. It has been said that great emergen- cies make great men. This is not strictly true. They may and often do call forth the greatness that is in men, but they cannot make great men out of small ones nor create that which did not exist before. The only sense in which opportunities make men is in furnish- ing an occasion for the development or use of latent powers. It is possible that but for the war Oliver P. Morton's greatness of character might never have been so fully and grandly developed as it was ; but even without that he would have shone as a statesman and left a lasting impress on the history of the country. The election of Abraham Lincoln as president was a turning point in our history as a nation. The steady aggression of the slave power had culminated in the A MEMORABLE SPEECH. 41 open avowal of a purpose to dissolve the Union in case of a Republican success in 1860. While using the cry of " sectionalism " against the Republican party, the Southern Democracy had themselves erected the sec- tional standard by asserting that the government was nothing without slavery, and the Constitution worthless unless that institution was to be both protected and extended. Public sentiment, already debauched by a k)ng and systematic course of Democratic intrigue, was still further demoralized by the weakness and treachery of James Buchanan's administration, the most disastrous and despicable that has ever disgraced our history. Corruption was the rule, and honesty the exception. Patriots blushed with shame, and treason lifted its head without rebuke. The October elections in 1860 showed that the public conscience was at last aroused, and that the men of the North were moving. The election of Lincoln in November threw the Democracy into a frenzy of rage. Four months of Buchanan's adminis- tration still remained in which to work their policy of rule or ruin, and they no longer attempted to conceal their purposes. Dissolution of the Union was the Southern ultimatum — peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must. The doctrine of secession was boldly avowed as a constitutional and Democratic remedy against a Republican triumph, and the idea of prevent- ing or " coercing " a State from going out of the Union was hooted at by every Southern Democrat and a majority of those in the North. Meanwhile, a Demo- cratic secretary of war was scattering the army and 42 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. plundering the government arsenals, and other Demo- cratic traitors were using their utmost efforts to under- mine the government. Disunion meetings were being held in all parts of the South. Resolutions had already passed the South Carolina Legislature (November 12, 1860) calling a convention with the distinct purpose of secession, and both of the United States Senators from that State had resigned their seats. And still, as yet, no one in all the great North had raised an authorita- tive voice against this madness. There was patriotism and loyalty enough, but it was unorganized. The President elect was not yet authorized to speak. The Northern press was wavering and public opinion was at sea. The country was waiting for a leader. There was a mighty underlying sentiment in the North that the government should be preserved, that the Union should not be broken up, but it lacked expression and leadership. Particularly was this the case in the border States of the North, where the poison of De- mocracy had struck deepest and where the public mind was most confused in regard to the duty of the hour. Men were feeling after the right course, but at the same time they wanted some one to point the way. O. P. Morton was the man to do it. On the 22d of November, 1860, a Republican mass meeting was called in Indianapolis to ratify the election of Lincoln and to give expression to their views on the political situation. The meeting was held in the old court house, which, notwithstanding an inclement even- ing, was crowded to its utmost capacity. The Governor A MEMORABLE SPEECH. 43 and Lieutenant-governor elect were to speak. The speech of Governor Lane was rather conciliatory in tone. He alluded to the heroic deeds of the Kentuck- ians who came to Indiana at an early day to defend her pioneers from the tomahawk and scalping-knife of the Indians, and appealed to his hearers to cultivate a spirit of forbearance towards the misguided people of the Southern States, and if possible to avert bloodshed by compromise. At that time this was the sentiment of many wise and conservative men. The thought of civil war was horrible, and they could not yet bring themselves to contemplate it as a means of preserving the Union. Somewhat later Governor Lane was fully up with the spirit of the North, but at this time he was in favor of a conciliatory policy. But his words did not strike the popular chord at this meeting, in which it was evident there was a deep feeling in favor of main- taining the Union at all hazards, even if it involved the dreadful alternative of war. Morton followed, and after a glowing eulogium upon the Union and the ad- vantages and necessity of its preservation he declared that if the issue was disunion or war he, and as he be- lieved the Republican party, was for war. The audi- ence knew he was a strong and bold man and they ex- pected strong and bold words ; but their hearts leaped with joy on hearing these sentiments, as the loyal heart of the country did the next day on reading the report of the speech. Then and there, for the first time by any leading man, was the duty of the government in the pending crisis clearly and boldly asserted. The 44 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. doctriDes of secession and coercion were examined in the light of the Constitution, and the right and duty of self-preservation shown to belong to the government. Stripping the subject of all disguises, the speaker struck straight at the heart of the question, and interpreted at once the popular conviction and the popular wish in that trying hour. The path of honor and of duty was shown to be the only path of safety. The pernicious doctrine of " peaceable secession," advocated by some well-meaning persons in the North, was traced to its ultimate consequences, and shown to be contrary to the Constitution and fatal to every principle of government. The grandeur and glory of the Union were set forth in eloquent words, and the power of the government to " coerce " a seceding State was asserted in the strongest terms. In short, the patriotic sense of the loyal North in favor of preserving the Union was interpreted in a manner which no other public man had yet ventured to adopt. Morton rose to the height of the occasion. The policy of " coercion " had come to be a sort of bugbear to many persons : — " What is coercion," said Mr. Morton, "but the enforce- ment of the law. Is anything else intended or required? Secession or nullification can only be regarded by the gen- eral government as individual action upon individual respon- sibility. Those concerned in it cannot intrench themselves behind the forms of the state government so as to give their conduct the semblance of legality, and thus devolve the re- sponsibility upon the state government, which of itself is irresponsible. The Constitution and laws of the United States operate upon individuals, but not upon States, and A MEMORABLE SPEECH. 45 precisely as if there were no States. In this matter the President has no discretion. He has taken a solemn oath to enforce the laws and preserve order, and to this end he has been made commander-in-chief of the army and navy. How can he be absolved from responsibility thus devolved upon him by the Constitution and his official oath? " He then showed that the Constitution provided no way for a State to get out of the Union, and that the only alternative for the President was to enforce the laws or acknowledge the independence of a seceding State, and he could only do that by authority of Con- gress. The central thought of the speech was that the Union must be preserved, and, if need be, by force. Pursuing this line, Mr. Morton said : — " The right of secession conceded, the nation is dissolved. Instead of having a nation, one mighty people, we have but a collection and combination of thirty-three independent and petty States, held together by a treaty which has hitherto been called a Constitution, of the infraction of which each State is to be the judge, and from which any State may with- draw at pleasure The right of secession conceded and the way to do it having been shown to be safe and easy, the prestige of the republic gone, the national pride extin- guished with the national idea, secession would become the remedy for every state or sectional grievance, real or imagin- ary If South Carolina gets out of the Union, I trust it will be at the point of the bayonet, after our best efforts have failed to compel her to submission to the laws. Better concede her independence to force, to revolution, than to right and principle. Such a concession cannot be drawn into precedent and construed into an admission that we are but a combination of petty States, any one of which has a right to secede and set up for herself whenever it suits her 46 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. temper or views of peculiar interest. Such a contest, let it terminate as it may, would be a declaration to the other States of the only terms upon which they would be permitted to withdraw from the Union Shall we now surrender the nation without a struggle, and let the Union go with merely a few hard words? If it was Avorth a bloody struggle to establish this nation, it is worth one to preserve it, and I trust that we shall not, by surrendering with indecent haste, publish to the world that the inheritance our fathers pur- chased with their blood we have given up to save ours." Then, after pointing out the frightful consequences, the anarchy and ruin sure to follow a dissolution of the Union, he said : — '' We must, then, cling to the idea that we are a nation, one and indivisible, and that, although subdivided by state lines for local and domestic purposes, we are but one people, the citizens of a common country, having like institutions and manners, and possessing a common interest in that in- heritance of glory so richly provided by our fathers. We must, therefore, do no act — we must tolerate no act — we must concede no idea or theory that looks to or involves the dismemberment of the nation Seven years is but a day in the life of a nation, and I would rather come out of a struggle at the end of that time, defeated in arms and con- ceding independence to successful revolution, than to pur- chase present peace by the concession of a principle that must inevitably explode this nation into small and dishon- ored fragments. .... The whole question is summed up in this proposition: 'Are we one nation, one people, or thirty-three nations, or thirty-three independent and petty States?' The statement of the proposition furnishes the answer. If we ai'e one nation then no State has a right to secede. Secession can only be the result of successful rev- olution. I answer the question for you, and I know that A MEMORABLE SPEECH. 47 my answer will find a true response in every true American heart, that we are one people, one nation, undivided and indivisible." These sentiments were rapturously applauded, and when the speaker closed, the whole audience was in a state of patriotic excitement. The speech had a re- markable effect. It was what the country had been waiting for, — the voice of a leader able to comprehend the great issues involved, far-sighted enough to trace them to their legitimate results, and bold enough to assert the right and duty of the government to pro- tect itself against secession and treason. It went to the popular heart like a bullet to its mark. Men read it, and said, " Here is the doctrine and the man." It dissipated the clouds of doubt and error as the sun scatters the morning mists. The public mind wavered no longer. From that day forth the idea of " peaceable secession " was dead and the policy of force was a fixed fact. The speech was published far and wide in the Republican papers, and everywhere admitted to be un- answerable. The Southern leaders read in it an author- itative expression of Northern opinion. A gentleman, who visited the President elect a short time afterwards, at Springfield, found Mr. Lincoln reading the speech, and the latter said : " It covers the whole ground, and declares the whole policy of the government. It is the policy I shall pursue from the first." Its echoes reached across the ocean, and it was regarded as of such political significance that the English authorities applied, through the English consul at Cincinnati, for 48 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. a copy of it. It constituted a rallying point for public opinion throughout the North and gave an immense impulse to the development of loyal sentiment. It lifted Mr. Morton at once into national prominence and secured him universal recognition as one of the fore- most men in the Republican party, a man for the times and a natural leader. This speech was the key-note of his subsequent career. On the 14th of January, 1861, he was duly qualified as lieutenant-governor, and on the same day took his seat as president of the Senate. He occupied this position but two days, for on the 16th Governor Lane was elected United States senator, and Lieutenant-gov- ernor Morton became governor. CHAPTER V. HIS NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. From the day of his inauguration Governor Morton gave evidence of possessing extraordinary executive ability. He was eminently a man of affairs and took hold of the business of the office as one who knew there was work to do. With one exception he was at this time the youngest governor of any Northern State, but of all those who acted in that capacity during the eventful years of the war, none was surrounded with such difficulties as he, and none gave evidence of such immense fertility of resources. His first attention was turned toward reforming the civil administration of the State. In his brief inaugural address before the Gen- eral Assembly he had said, " The financial affairs of our State are in great confusion and embarrassment. It will beramong your first duties carefully to investi- gate their condition, which having done, you will then be able to devise the necessary remedies, and apply them as far as may be in your power. The people of this State have been promised retrenchment and re- form. That promise can and must be redeemed." He never lost sight of this purpose and promise, and in spite of the immense labors devolved upon him by the 60 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. war he was able to accomplish wonders in the way of placing the finances of the State on a solid basis. Un- der a succession of Democratic administrations the credit of the State had been seriously impaired, its public lands stolen and its revenues squandered. Gov- ernor Morton addressed himself to the practical refor- mation of these abuses and with most gratifying results. If his services in this regard had not been so com- pletely overshadowed by those in connection with the war, he would still be entitled to the lasting gratitude of every citizen of Indiana. The inauguration of measures looking to these civil reforms occupied the early months of his administration. Meanwhile the storm-cloud was gathering in the South. Several of the States had passed ordinances of secession. Peaceable expedients had been exhausted, and all attempts at compromise had failed. The South would have nothnig but separation. The rebel sena- tors and representatives had remained in Congress as long as they dared, and then, drawing their pay, had fled South. A congress of Southern States had been held at Montgomery, Alabama, early in February, 1861, at which a constitution for " The Confederate States of America " had been adopted, and a president and vice-president had been elected. In the North the condition of the public mind was marked by trepida- tion, confusion, and uncertainty, but underlying all was a determined pui-pose to preserve the Union. Gov- ernor Morton foresaw the coming storm and was one of the most active in preparing to meet it. In Indiana, NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. 53 especially in the southern portion of the State, there was strong opposition to a coercive policy on the part of the government, and many Democrats openly de- clared that if this policy was adopted they would take up arms for the South. But Grovernor Morton did not waver nor falter. He was no friend of half-way meas- ures. His voice was for the Constitution and the Union, ] and, if need be, for war to preserve tliem. Perceiving the danger of a dilatory policy he visited Washington shortly after the inauguration of President Lincoln, to , advise vigorous action, and to assure the President of I Indiana's support in such a policy. He felt sure of I being able to rally the loyal sentiment of the State. ( At this period events followed each other in rapid suc- cession and culminated in the firing on Fort Sumter, I and the surrender of that post to the rebels. This i occurred on the 12th of April, 1861. On the loth. President Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for \ 75,000 men, and appealing " to all loyal citizens to ! favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the j honor, the integrity and existence of our national I Union, and the perpetuity of popular government, and j to redress wrongs already long enough endured." On j the morning of the very day this proclamation was I issued, and before it was received in Indianapolis, Gov- ernor Morton had telegraphed as follows : — 52 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. " Executive Department of Indiana, " Indianapolis, April 15, 1861. " To Abraham Lincoln, ' ' President of the United States : " On behalf of the State of Indiana, I tender to you, for the defense of the nation and to uphold the authority of the government, ten thousand men. " Oliver P. Morton, " Governor of Indiana." Thus Indiana, through her governor, was the first State to accept the gage of war and to proffer troops, as she was also one of the first to put her troops into the field. The State's quota under the call was six regiments, and on the next day Governor Morton issued a proclamation calling upon " the loyal and patriotic men of this State, to the number of six regiments, to organize themselves into military companies and forth- with report to the Adjutant-general, in order that they may be speedily mustered into the service of the United States." The response to this proclamation was a splendid proof of the patriotism of Indiana's sons. The day after it was issued there were five hundred men iu camp at Indianapolis, and the .-tate house had already begun to assume the appearance of a military head-quarters. In less than seven days more than • twelve thousand men, or nearly three times the quota required, had been tendered. Fearing that an attempt would be made by the rebels to take possession of the national capital, Goveiiior Morton telegraphed to the Secretary of War on the 18th, offering to sent forward * one regiment immediately if needed to protect the NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. 53 capital, but they were not called for. At this time there was less than $15,000 in the state treasury, and no available means of arming, subsisting, and equipping troops. Foreseeing the approach of hostilities. Gov- ernor Morton had visited Washington about the middle of March for the purpose of procuring a supply of arms for state troops from the general government, but obtained little satisfaction. What few arms the State had, therefore, were practically worthless. It had no military law nor any military system. All had to be built from the ground up. No man ever met new and sudden responsibilities more nobly than Governor Mor- ton did in this emergency, or showed greater executive ability and aptitude for affairs. On the 20th of April, four days after his call was issued, the organization of regiments began. Meanwhile the war spirit was rushing through the State like a whirlwind, and vol- unteers continued to pour in. At this juncture. Gov- ernor Morton, foreseeing that the government would need more men, telegraphed to the Secretary of War offering six additional regiments, without regard to length of service, and pledging his word to organize them in six days, if accepted. No response being re- ceived to this proposition, telegraphic communication with Washington being interrupted, the Governor, on the 23d, sent a special messenger to Washington, re- newing the offer, and expressing his determination at all events to put six additional regiments into camp and hold them subject to the demand of the govern- ment. Thus, at the very threshold of the conflict, he 54 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. showed an appi-eciatiou of its probable magnitude and an energy in preparing for it not evinced by the gov- ernor of any other Northern State. Happily, his great popularity throughout the State, and the unbounded confidence which the people had already learned to feel in his judgment and patriotism, enabled him to fulfill to the letter every pledge or promise ever made to the government or to the troops themselves. Not- withstanding the haste with which these troops were mobilized they were better armed and equipped than any other troops from the West, and the completeness of their outfit excited great admiration as they passed through Cincinnati and other cities on their way to West Virginia. The promptness and ability thus dis- played by Governor Morton at the very beginning of the war were generally commented upon and held up as an example for the governors of other States to emulate. The first call, of which Indiana's quota was six: regiments, was for three months. In anticipation of a second call. Governor Morton had organized five addi- tional regiments of twelve months' volunteers, which, by an act of the Legislature, were to remain under his control until needed by the government. The call came May 16, 1861. It was for forty-two thousand three years' men, and Indiana's quota was four regi- ments. Governor Morton was prejoared for this call in advance, the regiments being already organized, equipped, and partially drilled. Thus his foresight in organizing these regiments proved of great value to the NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. 55 country, and enabled him to respond upon the instant to the President's second call without going through the formality and delay of another appeal to the people. And so it was all the time. He either anticipated every < call for troops, or had matters in such a state of prepa- ration that no time was lost in responding. Before the term of the three months' men expired, and while they were still in the field, he sent special messengers to urge them to reenlist for three years or for the war. He represented to them that the war was sure to last during several campaigns, that the government would need more men when the terms of those now in the service should expire, and that Indiana would certainly be called upon for further aid. The result was that these regiments reenlisted almost in a body, and were reorganized in time to respond with others to the third call for troops, which was issued August 4, 1862. This call was for 300,000 men for nine months ; the fourth call, issued June 15, 1863, was for 100,000 men for six months ; the fifth call, October 17, 1863, was for 300,000 men for three years; the sixth call, July 18, 1864, was for 500,000 men for one, two, or three years; the seventh and last call, December 19, 1864, was for 300,000 men for one, two, or three years. Under these various calls Indiana furnished an aggregate of 208,367 men, of whom all but about 17,000 were volunteers. Every call was met promptly and fully, no deficiencies being left to be filled on subsequent calls, and the ex- cess, after the quotas had been filled, varying from two thousand to thirty thousand. This record is a splendid 56 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. and perpetual proof of the patriotism of the people of Indiana, and reflects imperishable honor on the name of Oliver P. Morton, to whose personal ability and ex- ertions these great results were so largely due. There was great uneasiness along the border lest the State should be invaded by rebel bands known to be organizing in Kentucky, and the whole situation was so grave that on the 19th of April Governor Morton is- sued a call for a special session of the Legislature to convene at the capital on the 24th. His message to the General Assembly, delivered on this occasion, is so valu- able, both as a historical outline of the causes of the rebellion and a presentation of his views of the situation, that we give it in full : — ''^Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: You have been summoned together under circumstances of the most grave and important character. Our country is placed in a condition hitherto unknown in her history and one which all patriots and lovers of Hberty throughout the world had fondly hoped would never occur. Civil war, that has ever been the bane of republics, has been inaugurated by certain rebellious States which, unmindful of their con- stitutional obligations, and regarding not our common his- tory, blood, interests, and institutions, are seeking to dis- member the nation and overthrow the federal government, so wisely and, as we had believed, permanently established by our fathers. The origin of this most wicked rebellion dates back more than thirty years. It is well known that distinguished Southern statesmen, as early as 1829, cher- ished the dream of a vast Southern slave-holding confeder- acy, comprehending the conquest of Cuba, Mexico, and Central America. The determination was then formed to NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. 57 break our republic into pieces by any available pretext. The first one seized upon by South Carolina was the tariff question ; and had not the nation had for its executive a man greatly distinguished for patriotism, courage, and decis- ion of character, widespreading and disastrous consequences might have followed. By prompt and energetic action the rebellion was crushed out for the time, to be revived, as subsequent events have shown, on new pretenses and in an- other form. " The election of a president of the United States through the forms of the Constitution, entertaining opinions obnox- ious to certain States of the confederacy, is boldly pub- lished to the world as a just cause for the dissolution of the Union, and bringing on, if necessary for that purpose, all the horrors of a bloody revolution. It would be an insult to your intelligence to argue that the admission of this pretense as a justification would be clearly fatal to all republican govern- ment ; that popular institutions can only be sustained by submission to the will of the people as expressed through the forms of the Constitution, trusting to the peaceful remedy of the ballot-box for the redress of grievances. And the wick- edness of this pretense is greatly aggravated hy the reflec- tion that it is utterly hypocritical, that it was only put forth in furtherance of schemes entertained for years, and sup- ported by notoriously false assumptions of fact and logic. When we read the history of the late Democratic Convention at Charleston by the light of subsequent events, can we fail to see that the scheme of secession and dismemberment of the republic was then completely formed, and that the dis- ruption of that convention was one of the steps towards its consummation ? If confirmation of this opinion were needed, it will be found in the fact that certain traitorous members of Mr. Buchanan's cabinet were systematically engaged, for many months before the late presidential election, in placing the arms and defenses of the nation in a position to be readily seized by the seceding States. 68 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. " Secession was at first argued as a right springing from the Constitution, but as the movement gained strength this flimsy pretext was abandoned, and what in an hour of weakness was claimed by feeble argument, is now boldly asserted by military power. The North, conscious of her strength and the rectitude of her intentions, has hitherto remained quiet, making no preparation whatever for a conflict of arm?. Her forbearance has been construed into cowardice, and her ef- forts to keep the peace have but provoked increased inso- lence and aggression. The secession movement has, fro'm the beginning, been an act of war. Ordinances of secession have been immediately followed, and sometimes preceded, by the violent seizure and plunder of national property, and the forcible expulsion of the agents and ofiicers of the federal government. From the very first, and at every step in its progress, it has been distinguished by acts of hostility and outrage, alike injurious to the nation and insulting to the people of the loyal States. " The secessionists were profoundly convinced that the co- operation of the border slave States could not be procured without a conflict of arms between them and the federal government, and hence have labored assiduously to place the government in a position that a collision could not be avoided, except by the most abject submission and humilia- tion. The intention to force a conflict has been most appar- ent, and delay was suffered only that they might complete their preparations ; and when at last their preparations were complete, and wearied by the long forbearance of the gov- ernment, they inaugurated hostilities by assaulting and reducing Fort Sumter. " The place where Fort Sumter is situated had been regu- larly ceded by the State of South Carolina to the federal government, and, by an express provision of the Constitution, was under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States. It was unfinished and held by a garrison of less than one NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. 59 hundred men, and while in this condition was invested by a large army, cutting off all approach to it by sea or land. The stock of provisions was almost exhausted, and the im- mediate prospect was presented to the feeble garrison of starvation, or yielding up into the hands of an avowed enemy a fortress of the United States. At this juncture, the federal government, which had waited long, perhaps too long, declared its determination to send provisions to the garrison. Before this attempt could be made, and before a single sail of the fleet was seen off the harbor, a powerful cannonade was opened upon Sumter which resulted in its destruction and surrender. " Every day brings us intelligence of new outrage and as- sault. Throughout the rebellious States is heard the note of preparation for an extensive and aggressive campaign. The national capital is menaced, and every avenue of approach for federal troops and provisions is attempted to be cut off. The free navigation of the Mississippi River, the great artery of commerce of the Northwest, is obstructed; and the usurp- ing government of the rebellious States has issued a procla- mation inviting the freebooters of all the world to prey upon our national commerce. " We have passed from the field of argument to the solemn fact of war which exists by the act of the seceding States. The issue is forced upon us, and must be accepted. Every man must take his position upon the one side or upon the other. In time of war there is no ground upon which a third party can stand. It is the imperative duty of all men to rally to the support of the government, and to expend in its behalf, if need be, their fortunes and their blood. Upon the pres- ervation of this government depends our prosperity and greatness as a nation; our liberty and happiness as individ- uals. We should approach the contest, not as politicians, nor as ambitious partisans, but as patriots, who cast aside every selfish consideration when danger threatens their 60 LIFE A^D SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. country. The voice of party should be hushed, and the bitterness that may have sprung out of political contests be at once forg-iven and forgotten. Let us rise above these paltry considerations, and inaugurate the era when there shall be but one party and that for our country. The strug gle is one into which we enter with the deepest reluctance. We are bound to the people of the seceding States by the dearest ties of blood and institutions. They are our brothers and our fellow countrymen. But if they regard not these tender relations, how can we? If they wage war upon us and put themselves in the attitude of public enemies, they must assume all the responsibility incident to that position. But while I deplore deeply the character of the contest in which we are engaged, nevertheless we should meet it as men. " To our sister State of Kentucky we turn with hope and affection. She has grown rich and prosperous in the republic; could she do more if she were out of it? It would be a sad day which should sever the bonds which bind these States together, and place us in separate and hostile nations. I appeal to her by the ties of our common kindred and history, by our community of interest, by the sacred obligations that bind us to maintain the Constitution inviolate, to adhere to the Union and stand fast by that flag in defense of which she has so often shed her best blood. I pray her to examine her past history and perceive how the tide of her prosperity has flowed on unbroken and ever increas- ing, until her limits are filled with material wealth and her people are respected, elevated, and happy ; and then inquire if all this is not the result of that Union she is called upon to break, and of that government she is invited to dishonor and overthrow. To ask Kentucky to secede is to ask her to commit foul dishonor and suicide. I trust that the good sense and patriotism of her people will not suffer her to be dragged by the current of events, which has been cunninglv NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. 61 invented for that purpose, into the vortex of disunion ; nor permit her to be artfully inveigled into an armed neutrality between the rebellious States and the federal government. Such a position would be anomalous and fatal to the peace and perpetuity of the Union. There is no ground in the Constitution midway between a rebellious State and the federal government upon which she can stand, holding both in check and restraining the government from the enforce- ment of the laws and the exercise of its constituted author- ity. Such an attitude is at once unconstitutional and hostile. At a time like this, if she is not for the government, aiding and maintaining it by the observance of all her constitutional * obligations, she is against it. If the voice of her people can be heard, I fear not the result. Secession can only triumph, as it has triumphed in other States, by stifling the voice of the people and by the bold usurpation, by demagogues and traitors, of the powers which rightfully belong to them alone. And I might here remark, it is quite manifest that the schemes of the authors and managers of the rebellion extend far beyond the dissolution of the Union, and embrace the destruction of the democratic principle of government, and the substitution of an aristocracy in its stead. In the se- ceding States the control of public affairs has been with- drawn substantially from the people, and every proposition to submit to their consideration measures of the most vital importance has been contemptuously overruled, and we are in truth called upon to fight, not only for the Union, but for the principle upon which our state and national governments are founded. " If the rebellious States hope to profit by dissensions in the North, they have erred egregiously, and have wholly failed to comprehend our people. Our divisions were merely po- litical and not fundamental, and party lines faded instantly ' from sio;ht when the intellisfence went abroad that war was beinrr wased asfainst the nation. When the sound of the 62 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. first gun reverberated through the land the people of the North arose as one man, and declared that the government must be sustained and the honor of our flag preserved invio- late at whatever cost. The events of the last ten days are pregnant with instruction and moral grandeur. They pre- sent the action of a people who have suffered much and waited long; who were slow to take offense and incredulous of treason and danger; but who, when the dread appeal to arms was made and the issue could no longer be avoided with honor or safety, promptly abandoned the peaceful pur- suits of life and devoted themselves to the service of their country. I trust that the force of this lesson may not be lost upon our erring brethren of the South, and that they will at once perceive they have inaugurated a contest from which they cannot emerge with honor and profit. " On the fifteenth day of the present month the President of the United States issued his proclamation calling upon the loyal States to furnish 75,000 men for the protection of the government, the suppression of rebellion, and the enforce- ment of the laws. Subsequently the quota to be furnished by Indiana was fixed at six regiments, of seven hundred and seventy men each. In obedience to this call I issued my proclamation calling for volunteers, and in less than eight days more than 12,000 men have tendered their services, and the contest among the companies has been earnest and exciting as to which shall secure a place within the quota. This response has been most gratifying and extraordinary, and furnishes indubitable evidence of the patriotism of In- diana, and her entire devotion to the Union. Without dis- tinction of party, condition, or occupation, men have rallied around the national standard, and in every part of the State may be heard the sound of martial music and witnessed the mustering of companies into the field. In view of this re- markable response made to the proclamation, on the 20th instant I tendered to the President, for the service of the NOBLE RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. 63 United States, six additional regiments ; but telegraphic and postal communication having been cut off with Washington, no answer has been received up to this time. A camp was formed in the neighborhood of this city for the reception of the troops, and Major Wood, of the United States army, has been busily engaged for several days in mustering them into the service. There are in camp companies, being an excess of the number called for by the President, and in addition to that, every company largely exceeds, and in some instances more than doubles the number that can be finally received into the company. Some companies came by mistakes unavoidably occurring in the office of the Adju- tant-general, and others without marching orders. They will be retained in camp, and provided with quarters and subsistence, awaiting the action of the Legislature. I can- not refrain from here expressing the opinion that has been uttered by many who have visited the camp, that finer ma- terial for a gallant army was never assembled. " The report of the Adjutant-general, Lewis Wallace, is herewith" transmitted, and I beg leave in this manner to ten- der him my hearty thanks for his able and efficient services in that department. " In view of all the facts, it becomes the imperative duty of Indiana to make suitable preparations for the contest by pro- viding ample supplies of men and money to insure the pro- tection of the state and general government in the prosecu- tion of the war to a speedy and successful termination. I therefore recommend that one million of dollars be appro- priated for the purchase of arms and munitions of war, and for the organization of such portion of the militia as may be deemed necessary for the emergency. That a militia sys- tem be devised and enacted looking chiefly to volunteers, which shall insure the greatest protection to the State, and unity and efficiency of the foi^ce to be employed. That a law be enacted suspending the collection of debts against 64 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. those who may be actually employed in the military service of the State or the United States. That suitable provision be made by the issue of the bonds of the State or otherwise for raising the money herein recommended to be appropri- ated, and that all necessary and proper legislation be had to protect the business, property, and citizens of the State un- der the circumstances in which they are placed. " O. P. Morton, Governor.''* The General Assembly responded with alacrity to these patriotic sentiments, enacting all the legislation recommended by the Governor, and in every way show- ing its perfect confidence in his judgment and patriot- ism. At this time, as indeed during the whole period of the war, the Governor performed an incredible amount of work. It would be impossible, within the limits of a sketch like this, to narrate in detail his vast and multifarious labors. He seemed to be ubiquitous, now in Washington, now at home, counseling with the President, encouraging the people, organizing regi- ments, hurrying troops to the front, looking after those already in the field, negotiating loans, organizing sani- tary commissions, forwarding stores — in short, per- formino; the labor of a dozen men, and infusinor his spirit into all with whom he came in contact. From the beginning he comprehended almost better than any other man the full scope of the rebellion and the mag- nitude of the work of suppressing it. He was for prompt and thorough measures, and was largely suc- cessful in inspiring others with his own earnestness. In one instance, however, he failed. This was in the case NOBLE EESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL. Q5 of General George B. McClellan, the first commander of the Union forces in the West. On tjie 7th of May, 1861, Governor Dennison of Ohio telegraphed to Wash- ington asking that the boundaries of McClellan's de- partment should be extended so as to include Western Virginia. This was done. Then the Governor wrote to McClellan setting forth the necessities of the case and urging the immediate crossing of the Ohio River and occupation of Western Virginia. General Mc- Clellan replied : " I have carefully considered your letter of the 10th. Strange as the advice may seem from a young general, I advise delay for the present. I fear nothing from Western Virginia Don't let these frontier men hurry you on. I am pressed by Yates, Morton, etc. The latter is a terrible alarmist and not at all a cool head." Thus early in the war this celebrated general of inaction commenced advising " delay " and characterizing such men as Oliver P. Morton as alarmists. The difference between them was, that Morton was in favor of putting down the re- bellion and of hurting rebels, while McClellan was not. The troops hurried to the front by Governor Mor- ton in response to the President's first call were or- ganized, fed, clothed, and equipped by him without as- sistance from the national government. They fired the first shots in the war and were mainly instrumental in winning the earliest victories in Western Virginia. Thus, at the very commencement of hostilities, he began to exhibit those preeminent qualities which, intensely exercised during the following years, were to win for i him the proud title of Indiana's great War Governor. CHAPTER VI. HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. At the beginning of the war the attitude of Ken- tucky was a source of alarm along the border, and of apprehension with all. In his message to the special session of the General Assembly, quoted in the preced- ing pages, Governor Morton made an eloquent appeal to the people of Kentucky to remain true to the Union. Whatever approval this may have excited in the hearts of loyal men, it met with no sympathy from those who were bent on taking Kentucky out of the Union. Her governor, Beriah Magoffin, a rebel at heart, had re- fused, with insult, the call of the President for troops. A leading newspaper of the State had declared its " mingled amazement and indignation " at the audacity of such a call, and called on the people to take the President and his administration " into their own hands." Though Governor Magoffin could not carr^ Kentucky out of the Union, he succeeded for a time in preventing her from doing her duty as a part of it and in bringing odium upon her name by his senseless prate about " armed neutrality." One of the transparent tricks by which he attempted to conceal his disloyalty was a pretended scheme to unite the governors of the HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 67 border States, himself iucluded, in a neutral combina- tion " to preserve peace between the border States " and act as " mediators between the contending parties." On the 25th of April, 1861, he sent to Governor Mor- ton this dispatch : " Will you cooperate with me in a proposition to the government at Washington for peace by the border States as mediators between the contend- ing parties ? " Governor Morton replied at once : " I will unite in any effort for the restoration of the Union and peace which shall be constitutional and honorable to Indiana and the federal government." The next day Magoffin sent another dispatch, stating that he had informed Governor Dennison of Ohio that " he would meet that gentleman at Cincinnati the following Tues- day evening," and requesting Governor Morton to meet them there. Governor Morton replied at once that he would, and that he expected Governor Magoffin to be there " in person." He went to Cincinnati at the ap- pointed time, but Magoffin, though expressly notified to be present "in person," did not appear. He prob- ably never intended to. An interview, such as Gov- ernor Morton desired, would have been quite sure to expose his duplicity, and he knew it, consequently he sent Colonel Thomas L. Crittenden in his place, who gave Governor Morton the following letter on the 30th : — " Dear Sir : I have been instructed by the Hon. B. Magoffin, governor of the State of Kentucky, to solicit the cooperation of yourself and the Hon. William Dennison, gov- ernor of the State of Ohio, in an effort to bring about a truce between the general government and the seceded 68 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. States until the meeting of Congress in extraordinary session, in the hope that the action of that body may point out the -way to a peaceful solution of our national troubles." The next day Governor Morton replied as follows : — " State of Indiana, Executive Department, "Indianapolis, May 1, 1861. " Dear Sir, — In reply to the note of Colonel T. L. Crit- tenden, of yesterday's date, informing me that he had been instructed by you to solicit the cooperation of Governor Dennison and myself, ' in an effort to bring about a truce between the general government and the seceded States until the meeting of Congress in extraordinary session,' it becomes my duty to state that I do not recognize the right of any State to act as a mediator between the federal gov- ernment and a rebellious State. I hold that Indiana and Kentucky are but integral parts of the nation, and as such are subject to the government of the United States, and bound to obey the requisitions of the President^ issued in pur- suance of his constitutional authority ; that it is the duty of every state government to prohibit, by all means in its power, the transportation from within its own limits of arms, mili- tary stores, and provisions to any State in open rebellion and hostility to the government of the United States, and to restrain her citizens from all acts giving aid and comfort to the enemy ; that there is no ground in the Con- stitution midway between the government and a rebel- lious State, upon which another State can stand, hold- ing both in check; that a State must take her stand upon the one side or the other ; and I invoke the State of Kentucky by all the sacred ties that bind us together, to take her stand with Indiana promptly and efficiently on the side of the Union, the action of the federal govern- ment in the present contest being strictly in accordance HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 69 with the Constitution and the law of the land ; and en- tertaining the views above indicated, I am compelled to decline the cooperation solicited by you. I take this oc- casion to renew the expression of my earnest desire that Kentucky may remain in the Union, and that the intimate political, social, and commercial relations which exist between her and Indiana may never be disturbed, but be cemented and strengthened through all coming years. " Very respectfully, " O. P. Morton, Governor of Indiana. *' To Hon. B. Magoffin, Governor of Kentucky. ^^ Two days after the appointed time Magoffin went to Cincinnati, but both of the loyal governors had left before he arrived, as he probably intended they should, and the meeting never took place. The whole scheme was doubtless part of Magoffin's plan to cover up his disloyal purposes. Early in May, Governor Morton, in conjunction with the governors of Ohio and Illinois (who were then at Indianapolis), united in a memorial to the President, urging the government " at an early day to take pos- session in force of prominent points in Kentucky, such as Louisville, Covington, Newport, etc., and the rail- roads leading from them to the South." For this work they recommended that loyal Kentuckians should be used if they could be found, and they added : — " If Kentuckians cannot be found. United States regulars would be the next best for the purpose; but in our judgment they should be occupied at an early day, if it has to be done by the volunteer forces from adjoining States. We believe this course will save Kentucky to the Union, otherwise that in the end the secessionists will control her." 70 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. But the government was slow to move, and " Ken- tucky neutrality " was treated very tenderly. In June, 1861, the gallant and loyal Rousseau determined to raise a force of Kentucky Unionists, and received authority from the President to that end. At a public meeting, however, held in Louisville, it was decided that the encampment ought not to be in Kentucky, and Rousseau was accordingly invited to establish his camp and rendezvous at Jeffersonville, Indiana. Thus In- diana furnished the first rally ing-point for the Ken- tucky Unionists. At this time Governor Morton was in constant communication with General Rousseau and other loyal Kentuckians, encouraging and aiding them by every means in his power. He gave permission to citizens of Indiana to enlist in Kentucky regiments, and allowed a company of cavalry in Knox County and one in Dearborn County to be recruited for a Kentucky regiment. He also exerted himself to procure arms for the Kentucky troops who, having no governor to look after their wants, had to rely on Governor Morton for this and numberless other services. Meanwhile, events followed each other rapidly, and " Kentucky neutrality " was swept out of sight. The new Legisla- ture having by a large majority decided to remain in the Union, the rebels determined to invade the State, and in September General Zollicoffer entered it in force. This movement created widespread alarm in Kentucky. On the 2d of October, 1861, Governor Morton issued a proclamation to the people of Indiana, in which, after reciting the invasion of Kentucky, he said : — HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 71 " These rebel troops have entered the State from the southeast through the Cumberland Gap; also, from the southwest, occupying Columbus and other points, but chiefly from the direction of Nashville, toward Louisville, seizing and holding the Nashville and Louisville road, up to within forty miles of Louisville. A glance at the map will show the immense importance of their position, and the advan- tages they have gained. From their camps south of Louis- ville they can communicate, by raih'oad, with every seceding State but two; and can thus transport to their aid, in a few hours, men and munitions of war from every part of the South. It is the determination of the invaders and con- spirators to subjugate the loyal people of Kentucky, and seize for plunder and vengeance the wealthy and populous cities on the border of Ohio and Indiana. " It should require no argument or appeal now to arouse the people of Indiana to put forth all their strength. When our State was in her infancy, the brave men of Kentucky came to the rescue of our people from the scalping-knife of the savage, and their blood is mingled with our soil on many a field. And shall we not stand by Kentucky now, in this, her hour of peril ? Not to do so were base ingratitude and criminal folly. We can best defend Indiana by repelling the invader from Kentucky, and carry the war thence to the hearts of the rebellious States " I, therefore, cslM upon all men capable of bearing arms, and who can leave their homes, to cast aside their ordinary pursuits and enroll themselves in the ranks of the army. Let the farmer leave his plow, the merchant his store, the mechanic his workshop, the banker his exchange, and the professional man his office, and devote themselves to their country, and by enrolling themselves either in the armies of the general government or under the military law of the State, be prepared to defend their country and their homes. Every man in the State capable of bearing arms should be in the service of the general government or the State. 72 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. Let personal ease and private interests submit to the over- ruling necessities of the hour, and let us show the world, by the sacrifices we are willing to make in person and property, that we are worthy of our sires, and deserve to retain the inheritance they have bequeathed to us." At this time Indiana's quota was already more than full, but this appeal gave a new impulse to volunteer- ing and resulted in large accessions to the Union forces. The troops now recruited were speedily organized, equipped, and sent into Kentucky, some of them joining Buell's command south of Louisville, and others going to meet ZoUicoffer in the southeast. Without tracing in detail the movements that followed, it is enough to say that they ended in completely breaking the rebel power in Kentucky, and driving them from the State. Governor Morton's energy in this emergency was uni- versally recognized as of immense value to Kentucky and the Union cause. One of the most remarkable instances of Governor Morton's readiness in every emergency, and of his great service to Kentucky, was on the occasion of General Kirby Smith's raid into that State in August, 1862. In response to the call of the government for troops to defend Washington, Indiana, through Governor Mor- ton, had responded so nobly as to elicit from Secretary Stanton the laconic dispatch to the Governor, " Well done, Indiana." The third call for troops (300,000 more) had just been issued, and Governor Morton had telegraphed to the Secretary of War, August 9th, that " Indiana's quota of 21,200 men would be raised in HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 73 twenty days." On the 8th of August, Major-general Buell telegraphed to Governor Morton from Hunts- ville, Alabama, that " a formidable raid threatened Kentucky," and urged that " troops be at once sent to General Boyle." In this emergency the Unionists of Kentucky and the officers in command there looked to Governor Morton as their main stay. August 10th, General Boyle telegraphed him that the rebels were invading Kentucky, and begged him to send any forces he could possibly spare. On the 11th he sent seven companies, fully armed and equipped, to Frankfort. On the same day, in compliance with General Boyle's requisition, he sent two car-loads of ammunition to Frankfort from the Indiana arsenal. On the 12tli General Buell telegraphed from Hunts- ville that " Morgan had crossed the Cumberland," and urged " that the governors of Indiana and Ohio be called upon for troops at once." Before night the telegraphic communication between Indianapolis and Louisville was broken for forty miles, but the Seven- tieth Indiana had already marched, and was at Bowling Green the evening of the 14th. On the 16th and 17th two regiments were sent ; these, with the troops before dispatched, being the first troops sent to the aid of Kentucky from any quarter. On Sunday, the 17th, late at night. Governor Mor- ton received a telegram that " the rebels had invaded that State at several points, had captured Somerset, and were marching upon Glasgow, Bowling Green, and other points." The same day all communication was 74 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. cut off with General Buell, niid the fact became evident that an invasion of Kentucky was intended. On Mon- day, the 18th, Colonel Carrington, Eighteenth United States Infantry, reported to Governor Morton, as chief mustering officer of the State. Before night the Seventy-first Regiment was mustered into the service, armed. During the night of the 18th, though stormy, the Twelfth, Sixteenth, Sixty-eighth, and Sixty-ninth Regiments were addressed by the Governor, and all responded with enthusiasm and promptness. On the morning of the 19th of August patriotic citizens and bankers advanced funds on account of the United States, in all nearly half a million of dollars, and the Twelfth and Sixteenth were mustered and paid during the day, and the Sixty-eighth and Sixty-ninth by can- dle-light during the night, so that they moved before morning to Kentucky. In like manner other regiments were urged forward. There was no cessation of labor by night or day. The following summary of telegrams from Governor Morton to General Boyle and others will show how the work progressed after the first few regiments left: August 17 — "I send 1,000 men to- night ; 7,000 to-morrow and Tuesday." The Twelfth, Sixteenth, Sixty-fifth, Sixty-sixth, Sixty-seventh, Sixty- eighth, Seventieth, Seventy-first, and Seventy-second Regiments were all thereby placed in the field up to and including this date. August 21 — "I sent another regiment last night; a battery will go to-morrow." •'The Sixty-ninth has started." "The Seventy-fifth leaves at 6 p. m. ; the Seventy-fourth at 9 p. m., to-day, HIS SERYICE8 TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 75 for Louisville." August 23 — " Will have at least seventeen additional regiments ready for arms this time next week." August 26 — "The Seventy-ninth leaves Tuesday ; will hui'ry others." " Indiana has put 14,480 men in Kentucky up to Friday last ; will make it 19,296 by Thursday, this week." This includes two batteries. August 27 — " Another regiment can leave to-morrow. One leaves this evening." August 30 — " The Eighty -ninth leaves this afternoon." " The Eighty-first and Eighty-second will be armed to-day." " Two regiments will start to-morrow, and five more will be ready next week." August 31 — "The Eighty- eighth is at the depot." " The Eighty-seventh will be in Louisville to-morrow morning." " Two regiments leave to-day, and two more to-night." The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth Batteries were organ- ized, and several of them took the field. The remain- ing battalion of the Fourth Cavalry was sent to Ken- tucky, and the Fifth was hastened with all possible dispatch for border defense. The river towns were oc- cupied by the state militia, and at the Indiana arsenal nearly seven hundred employees were engaged day and night in the fabrication of ammunition, averaging 300,000 rounds daily. Such was the month of August, followed up in September with the same spirit and vigor. On the 29th and 30th of August was fought the bat- tle of Richmond, Kentucky, and although it resulted disastrously to the Union troops, it checked Genera] 76 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. Smith's advance, and gave time to put Cincinnati, which was his objective point, in a state of defense. In this battle there were six Indiana, one Kentucky, and one Ohio regiment, besides some Kentucky cavalry. The opposing force was nearly three times as great. The Indiana troops had only been in the service from two to three weeks ; the rebels were veterans. In a dis- patch to President Lincoln, dated September 1, General Boyle said : — " Our troops, especially the Indianians, fought with the courage and gallantry of veterans. If Ohio and Illinois had supported Indiana, and had sent their troops on, the issue of the battle would have been different. Governor Morton has sent to this State since I have been in command here over twenty thousand men. If other States had done so well we could have overwhelmed the enemy. I deplore the loss that noble Indiana has sustained under the circumstances. It was important to meet the enemy before he reached the centre of the State or crossed it, and Indiana, appreciating the importance of it, sent her gallant soldiers to meet the foe, no doubt feeling that they would be supported by Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky." But this formidable raid was not yet ended, and Governor Morton's energies were to be still further tested. On Wednesday, September 3d, dispatches from John Morgan to Kirby Smith were intercepted, disclos- ing his intention to unite with Smith at or near Lex- ington. On the same day Frankfort was evacuated by the Federals. This was followed by the evacuation of Lexington and the advance of Kirby Smith upon Cin- cinnati. On the 5th of September Governor Morton HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 77 declared martial law in the river counties of Indiana and put the citizens on daily drill after 3 o'clock p. M. On the same day he urged the immediate withdrawal of the troops at Bowling Green. This was at once done, and saved them from the disaster that subse- quently befell the garrison at Munfordsville. The same day Louisville became equally with Cincinnati a point of threatened danger. On the 6th the Eighty-fifth and Eighty-sixth Regiments were sent to Cincinnati, and during the evening a requisition was received for a supply of ammunition for the 24- and 32-pound siege guns then in position before Covington, Kentucky. Ar- tillery, small arms, and ammunition were also greatly needed at that point. The State had no heavy ord- nance, and the Pittsburg arsenal was relied upon to furnish supplies for the armament of forts and vessels. But by the efforts of Colonel H. Sturm, state ordnance officer of Indiana, acting under orders from Governor Morton, the following ammunition was made up for shipment: 784 12-pound shot, fixed ; 480 do. case shot, fixed; 560 do. shell, fixed ; 144 rounds canister, fixed ; 1,450 32-pound shell and canister, fixed; and 720,000 rounds small arms ammunition, making a total, with other shipments during eight days, of 33,136 rounds for artillery, and 3,365,000 for small arms, the entire amount having been made at the state arsenal. On the occasion referred to wagons and drays were impressed into the service, a train was soon ready, and in fifteen hours from the receipt of the dispatch the ammunition, 3,000 muskets, and 24 pieces of artillery were delivered 78 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. at Cincinnati and Covington, and were in position for use. Governor Morton, accompanied by a staff of com- petent officers, went to Cincinnati to organize the forces for the defense of that city. Major-general Lewis Wallace of Indiana was placed in command and ac- quitted himself with great credit. It is but just to say that the people of Cincinnati and of other portions of the State of Ohio, and the city and state authorities, did their entire duty in this emergency ; but it is not within the scope of this narrative to enter into further detail than is necessai'y to illustrate the acts and services of Governor Morton. The result of all these efforts was that the enemy was deterred from attacking the city and finally fell back before the advance of Union troops. Governor Morton's services in this perilous crisis were so highly appreciated that the City Council of Cin- cinnati ordered his portrait to be painted by a cele- brated artist, and it now hangs in the council chamber. But the danger to Cincinnati being passed that of Louisville seemed imminent, and this called for further activity on the part of Governor Morton. September 17th he telegraphed to General Boyle, urging that the city be at once fortified, and recommending that business be suspended, and all citizens be put under drill. He also urged immediate action for the relief of the garri- son at Munfordsville, and took steps for securing light draught boats for temporary gunboat service in patrol- ling the river. On the same day, Munfordsville, after a gallant resistance, though assailed by General Bragg's HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 79 entire army, surrendered, including the following garri- son, viz : The Sixtieth, Sixty-seventh, Sixty-eighth, Eighty-ninth, and part of the Seventeenth Indiana In- fantry ; one section of the Fourth Ohio Battery, and Captain Hunt's Kentucky Cavalry. On September 22d, General Bragg demanded the surrender of Louisville. Governor Morton and staff at once proceeded to that city to make ample provisions for full issues to the In- diana troops, many of whom necessarily left without complete equipments, and a competent officer was sent to New Albany and vicinity to plan works to cover the fords and lowlands west of Louisville. Subsequent events resulted in the withdrawal of Bragg, the arrival of General Buell's command, the battle of Perrysville, and the failure of the invasion. * Thus, in a little over one month, Indiana had organ- ized over 30,000 three years' troops, had borne the burden of the battles of Richmond and Munfordsville, had assisted in the trenches at Cincinnati and Louis- ville, and taken part in all the events of this memora- ble campaign. Such, in brief, is an outline of the part borne by Indiana and her War Governor in the « Kirby Smith Campaign " of 1862. Again, in May, 1864, when John Morgan invaded Kentucky, General Burbridge telegraphed to Governor Morton for four regiments. The response was : " One regiment leaves to-night, another to-morrow, and two more next day." A fortnight later word came from Louisville : " The city is in danger. We want four or five thousand men." Troops were sent immediately. 80 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. The same day General Hobson telegraphed from Cov- ington for " any troops you can send me to Louisville or Frankfort." Kentucky had then taken every man of Indiana's troops that the Governor had. He called out the militia of several counties, and placed it in the best position for service either at home or across the Ohio River. A regiment of reenlisted veterans, just arrived at Indianapolis on the short furlough given to reenlisted men, at once volunteered to go to Kentucky, and were promptly sent to the relief of Governor Bram- lette, besieged in Frankfort. A portion of the Indiana Legion was sent to guard the Louisville and Nasfiville Railroad. By every effort, and at every point, Indiana threw herself forward to protect Kentucky. Thus re- peatedly and in every emergency Governor Morton came to the rescue of Kentucky during the war, until he actually became known in familiar parlance as the " Governor of Indiana and Kentucky." His great ser- vices in this regard were fully appreciated at the time, and are still remembered by the Union men of Ken- tucky. In acknowledging them after one of the inva- sions above referred to, the " Louisville Journal " (the lamented George D. Prentice being the writer) said : — " He has been emphatically Kentucky's guardian spirit from the very commencement of the dangers that threatened her existence. Kentucky and the whole country owe him a large debt of gratitude. Oh, that all the public functionaries of the country were as vigilant, as clear-sighted, as energetic, as fearless, as chivalric as he." Shortly after Kentucky was cleared of rebel troops, HIS SERVICES TO NEIGHBORING STATES. 81 a wealthy lady of Covington in that State visited some friends in Indianapolis, and on the second day of her visit inquired for Governor Morton. Upon ascertain- ing that he was absent and would not return for several days, she prolonged her visit somewhat. The day for the Governor's return having arrived, and he not ap- pearing, the lady extended her visit still several days more, saying she would not leave Indiana until she had seen him. A friend inquiring of her the reason why she was so anxious to see the Hoosier governor, she replied : " Because he is our governor as well as yours, and has been ever since the beginning of the rebellion." CHAPTER VII. THE SOLDIER S FRIEND. Governor Morton has been called " The Soldier's Friend," and he fairly earned the title by his indefati- gable efforts in their behalf. These efforts were di- rected not only towards securing for the Indiana sol- diers the best possible equipment in the way of arms, thus adding to their efficiency and safety in the field, but to seeing that they were well clothed and supplied with every comfort that could possibly be supplied in time of war. In August, 1861, being then in Wash- ington, and foreseeing that the Indiana soldiers in the mountains of Western Virginia would soon need over- coats, he telegraphed the state officers to urge the United States Quartermaster at Indianapolis " to get overcoats of any good material and not wait for a pub- lic letting. Do have them made at once. The men are suffering for them and I am distressed for them." The officer above referred to was captious and unac- commodating, and application was made to the United States Quartermaster at Cincinnati for four thousand overcoats. They were forwarded in care of the com- manding officer in West Virginia, but owing to the confusion of the times and somebody's blundering, they THE soldier's FRIEND. 83 miscarried. After much telegraphing and sending one or two special messengers to trace up the lost articles, the Governor finally received a dispatch from General Reynolds, in Western Virginia, saying : " Clothing is coming forward. In a few days we shall have a supply for the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Seven- teenth Regiments, except shoes, socks, and caps ; the last are not so important. Shoes and socks much needed. These regiments have suffered greatly, but not a man among them has any fault to find with the governor of the State. They are all informed of the exertion made in their behalf and appreciate it." Again, in the autumn of 1861, being unable to get a supply of overcoats from the general government in time to protect the men from approaching winter, Governor Morton went to New York and purchased twenty-nine thousand overcoats. For a portion he paid the regular government price of $7.75, and for the re- mainder $9.25 each. They were immediately forwarded, and the men made comfortable. On presentation of the bill, the Quartermaster-general refused to pay more than the regulation price on any of the coats, leaving the difference of $1.50 on a large number of coats to be settled by the State. When informed of this decis- ion. Governor Morton replied : " Indiana will not allow her troops to suffer if it be in her power to prevent it, and if the general government will not purchase sup- plies at current rates, Indiana will.'" And that was his spirit from the beginning. With him the question was not, " Will the government pay ? " but always. 84 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. " What do the men need ? " and this ascertained, their wants were supplied if money and energy could do it. But as winter came on the wants of the men increased faster than they could be met by regular means. Many articles unknown to the regulations were needed for camp and hospital. Some of these the government could not purchase because they were not in the mar- ket, and others it would not furnish. Governor Mor- ton determined to meet this want and, as far as lay in his power, make the Indiana soldiers comfortable in spite of army regulations and red tape inefficiency. He therefore issued the following proclamation : — "To THE Patriotic Women of Indiana : — " When the President issued his first call to the loyal States for help, the government was unprovided with most, if not all, of the articles necessary to the comfort and health of soldiers in the camp and in the field. The women of Indiana were appealed to, and they supplied the defi- ciency in our State with a generous alacrity which entitles them to the gratitude of the nation. The approach of win- ter makes it necessary to appeal to them again. Our volun- teers, already suffering from exposure, against which they are inadequately protected, will soon be compelled to en- dure the utmost severity of winter and multiplied dangers of disease. The government is doing all that can be done for them, but, when all is done, they must still lack many comforts which men in ordinary pursuits enjoy, and which soldiers need above all others. Many articles of clothing which to men with houses over their heads and warm fires always near are hardly more than a luxury, to men with no protection but a tent, no bed but the ground, and whose duty must be performed under the unabated rigors of winter, are absolute necessaries. They may save many lives which THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. 85 will surely be lost without them. These, the patriotic women of Indiana, it is hoped, will supply. An additional blanket to every man in our army will preserve hundreds to their country and to their families. Two or three pairs of good, strong socks will be invaluable to men who must often march all day in the snow, and without them must lie down with cold and benumbed feet on the frozen ground. Good woolen gloves or mittens will preserve their hands in marching and in handling their arms, and while adding greatly to their comfort, will materially increase their effi- ciency. Woolen shirts and drawers, too, are a necessity to men exposed to such vicissitudes of weather as soldiers. All these articles the Indiana volunteers ought to have now, and must before winter sets in, if we would protect them from exposure and disease, that may be averted by this timely preparation. Some of these articles the government does not furnish, and others not in sufficient quantities to supply the waste produced by the exposure of a soldier's life. Blankets cannot be purchased. The stock is com- pletely exhausted, and the government is soliciting contri- butions from the citizens. Will not the women of Indiana do their share in providing for the men of Indiana in the battle-field? " An hour of each day for a week given to the manufact- ure of the articles named will provide an ample store. Are they not ready to give that, and more, if needed? I urge upon them the duty of promptly beginning the work. Let them at once forward, at the State's expense, to the State Quartermaster, such blankets as they can spare. They will be immediately and carefully sent to such regiments as the donors prefer, if they have any preference. Let them singly, or by associations, set about the manufacture of woolen shirts, drawers, socks, and gloves. The sewing so- cieties of our churches have a wide field for exertion, wider and grander than they will ever find again. Will they not give their associations for a time to this beneficent object? 86 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. The numerous female benevolent societies, by giving their energies and organizations to this work, can speedily pro- vide the necessary supply. Let women through the coun- try, who have no opportunity to join such associations, emulate each other in their labors, and see who shall do most for their country and its defenders in this hour of trial. " The articles should be sent to the quartermaster-general of the State, with a card stating the name and residence of the donor, and their destination, if she has any choice. The names will be recorded and preserved, with the number and kind of articles sent. The women of Indiana alone can meet this emergency, and to them our volunteers, as well as the government, look for sympathy and aid. " O. P. Morton, Governor of Indiana. October 10, 1861." In response to this appeal, an immense quantity of the above mentioned articles and other comforts were contributed by the women, and forwarded to the soldiers. This was the first organized effort of any State to make special provision for its soldiers, and was the forerunner of all the sanitary commissions. By degrees it expanded into a system whose beneficent operations were felt in all the armies of the Union. Governor Morton also organized the " General Military Agency of Indiana," for the special benefit of Indiana soldiers, A gentleman of well-known energy and probity of character was appointed general agent, to whom was intrusted the receipt and distribution of all sanitary supplies, the supervision of local agencies, and the direction of all matters relating to the relief of soldiers. A large number of local and field agents THE soldier's FRIEND. 87 were appointed. The former had local offices at vari- ous points near the field of operations. They were required to make their offices the homes of soldiers ; to assist them in getting transportation in returning home, when they had no money or government passes ; to provide them clothing when, as was too often the case, they were ragged and necessitous ; to feed them ; to facilitate every proper purpose; to take charge of returning prisoners, and to provide everything which their shocking destitution demanded ; and, in short, to exercise a careful guardianship over Indiana soldiers in every possible way. Field agents were expected, not only to look after the health and comfort of the men, but to write letters, to take charge of commissions for them to their friends and relatives, to see to the burial of the dead, and the preservation of relics, to keep registers of the names of all men in hospitals, with date of entry, disease or injury, and, in case of death, the date and cause, and other information that might be of interest to the friends. Governor Morton's agents found out Indiana soldiers in every field and in every prison. Wherever a Hoosier boy was heard of in want or suffering, these humane organizations managed to reach him. They were on every battle-field, and the echoes of the cannon had hardly died away before Indiana's agents were there looking for Indiana sol- diers. Through the Sanitary Commission enormous quantities of fruit and vegetables were distributed among Indiana regiments. Amid all his other cares the Governor found time to give considerable personal 88 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. attention and supervision to these noble charities. By tongue and pen he cheered and inspired the people, while the vigor of his adrainistration in this regard, as in others, made itself felt through the whole body politic. Local societies and organizations were formed, and a regular system of competitive patriotism inaug- urated. In one of his proclamations on this subject he said : — * ' An effective -working committee in each ward and town- ship should be at once selected, with such assistants and sub-committees as may be necessary, who can easily ascer- tain the number of families within their limits requiring aid, and estimate the quantity, kind, and cost of all supplies needed during the winter. Contributions can be taken up accordingly. In this work the township trustees, and the officers of the various churches, will doubtless lend a willing hand. Especially do I desire that ministers of the gospel should present this subject to their respective congregations, and cooperate, as far as possible, in carrying out the gen- eral plan of relief." In another proclamation, calling for additional vol- unteers, he said : — "Upon those who remain at home I would urge the solemn duty of making provision for the families of those who have or may hereafter enter the army. The soldier in the field should have the sweet assurance that his wife and children, and all who are dependent upon his labor for a living, will be provided with sufficient food and clothing. Such an assurance would nerve his arm in the hour of battle and enable him to bear with cheerfulness the hardships and privations of a soldier's life. It would be a lasting disgrace to our people if the family of any soldier should want for THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. 89 bread or raiment while our country is full to overflowing with all the necessaries of life." In a proclamation issued in November, 1862, he called on the people to contribute liberally to the sup- port of the families of soldiers in the field. After stat- ing the case, he said : — " The truth of what has been stated must be apparent to every one, and it remains with the patriotic and liberal citi- zens of the State to apply the proper remedy. It is their solemn duty to see that the needy are cared for; that, while the soldier is braving the perils of the battle-field, his wife and children and all who are dependent on him are made comfortable at home; and especially that his children are provided with books and afforded opportunity to attend school. This is not charity — but a sacred obligation, which should be met promptly and willingly, and the recipients should be made to feel that they are not objects of charity, and that what they receive is but the partial discharge of a debt of the most binding character. " It may be urged by many that they have already given largely and sacrificed heavily for these benevolent objects, and hence that they ought to be excused from further drafts. It may be asked, in reply, what are these sacrifices com- pared with the sacrifices of families who have given their natural supporters and protectors to the cause of their coun- try ? What is the sacrifice of the man living comfortably at home, even though he give half his income, to that of the man who has left his family and home and gone to the field? I would therefore respectfully and earnestly request, that in every township, in every town, and in every ward of the several cities in the State, some systematic plan, by means of regularly organized committees or auxiUary aid societies, be at once adopted for relief." 90 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. In another proclamation county and city authorities throughout the State were appealed to " to make ample appropriations for the relief of soldiers' families in their respective jurisdictions," and the clergy of all denomina- tions were urged to address themselves to " this great work of religious and patriotic duty." Such sentiments as these do honor to the heart of him who penned them, and show what a noble zeal and tireless energy he brought to the service of the State. Thousands of the surviving soldiers of Indiana will bear testimony to his fatherly care in their behalf, and many a wife or mother who mourns the loss of her loved one in the war blesses the memory of Governor Morton for comforts carried to the death-bed, or for dying messages brought by his agents away from the field of battle. The history of the Soldiers' Relief System organized and inspired by him, and of the noble efforts of the people of the State in response to his calls, would alone fill a volume much larger than this. Auxiliary societies were formed in all parts of the State, sanitary fairs were held, appeals were made from pulpit and platform. The result of these efforts was the contribution of enormous stores and large sums of money, all of which were gladly intrusted to Governor Morton, and by him and his agents faith- fully distributed to the soldiers. He inspired every im- portant movement, counseled in every great emergency, kept popular interest excited by stirring appeals, and, though charged with other duties as onerous as ever fell upon the executive of any State, and allowing nothing in any of their multifarious details to escape his vigi- THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. 91 lance, he might have been thought, by those uninformed of his many labors, to have had nothing at heart but the success of his plans for the relief of the soldiers of Indiana and their dependent and needy families. His labors in this regard were the subject of universal com- ment and approval, and were held up as a matter for emulation by the governors of other States. The ag- gregate result of these labors, seconded by the people, was that during the war over $600,000 of money and supplies were collected and conveyed to Indiana soldiers in camp, in field, in hospital, or in prison. The limits of this sketch forbid more than a mere reference to Governor Morton's labors in connection with the establishment of the Soldiers' Home at Indian- apolis where, during the war, thousands upon thousands of Indiana soldiers were fed and lodged during their stay at the capital ; of the " Ladies' Home," where the wives and families of soldiers in need of temporary aid were similarly cared for ; and of the " Orphans' Home," at Knightstown, for the maintenance and education of the orphaned children of Indiana soldiers. One might sup- pose that his duties to the general government and his gigantic labors in the raising, arming, and moving of troops would have left him little time to look after the personal wants of soldiers, and still less of their families ; but the record shows that he regarded this as a sacred duty, and gave it all the attention necessary to render the system complete and efficient. His heart was as full of sympathy as his head was of resources, and in every sense of the word he was the Soldier's Friend. CHAPTER VIII. STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL STATE TROUBLES. One of the labors devolved on Governor Morton by the war, and made very important by the exposed con- dition of our border as well as by the condition of affairs within the State, was the organization of the state militia. This work had no immediate connection with his duty to the federal government, but it never- theless performed an important supplementary part and was of great service to the State. The General As- sembly, at its special session in 1861, passed " An act for the Organization and Regulation of the Indiana Militia." The militia had not been organized for thirty years, and whatever acts may have existed relating to the subject were a dead letter. The act of 1861 was not a good one, but it was much better than nothing. It was poorly suited for a state of war, but such as it was Governor Morton made the most of it. Under it was organized the " Indiana Legion." This constituted a very efficient force for the protection of the border, and rendered valuable service at different times in re- pelling invasions of the State, or suppressing internal disorder. It also constituted a sort of nursery for the army, and became an efficient aid in promoting enlist- STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 93 ments. In one of his messages to the Legislature, Gov- ernor Morton said : " To the officers and men of the Indiana Legion the State chiefly owes the immunity she has enjoyed from invasion, plunder, and murder, by the guerillas and marauding bands which have infested many of the adjoining counties of Kentucky. On sev- eral occasions they met the enemy in battle, when they ably maintained the credit of the State, and behaved with that distinguished courage which has characterized the soldiers of Indiana throughout this war." In this as in other respects he showed remarkable foresight in providing for the contingencies of war and protecting the peace and honor of the State. When the rebel General John Morgan made his celebrated raid into Indiana, in July, 1863, at the head of 2,200 cavalry, Governor Morton was able, by means of the Legion and hastily rallied militia, not only to protect the capital and defeat Morgan's designs, but to convert his raid into a desperate retreat and drive him pell-mell out of the State. And when Morgan escaped with his force into Ohio, Governor Morton notified the governor of that State of the fact, and tendered him the services of 5,000 Indiana state troops if needed to assist in cap- turing the rebel raiders. A memorable phase of our state history at this period, and one peculiar to Indiana and to Governor Morton's administration, was the secret disloyal intrigue carried on by certain parties, resulting finally in open demonstrations of treason and a plot to carry the State out of the Union. The war record of Indiana is a 94 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. monument more enduring than brass to the loyalty and patriotism of her people who stood by the government ; but there was another class who did all in their power to embarrass and cripple the efforts of Governor Mor- ton to uphold the authority of the nation. If the noble sacrifices of the former are worthy to be honored as long as the sentiments of loyalty and patriotism survive in the breasts of men, the infamous conduct of the lat- ter deserves to be held up for execration to the last syllable of recorded time. There were disloyal men and Democratic rebel sympathizers in nearly all the Northern States, but nowhere were they so numerous, malignant, active, and well organized as in Indiana. For a little while after the firing on Fort Sumter the voices of these domestic traitors were hushed in the great roar of public patriotism, but they soon recovered confidence, and entered on a course of political intrigue and revolutionary plotting, which was kept up during the whole war. In proportion as Governor Morton showed himself energetic and vigorous in his war pol- icy, these men hated and maligned him, and sought to defeat his plans. They exerted themselves to weaken our armies by encouraging desertion, by discouraging or forcibly resisting recruiting, and by crippling the efforts of the state authorities to send reinforcements into the field. They held meetings and conventions, and passed resolutions denouncing the war. They labored to produce discontent and even disloyalty among the soldiers by sending them papers and letters condemning the war, urging desertion and promising STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 95 protection to deserters. In nearly every county of the State they formed an organization for resisting the draft, protecting deserters, and obstructing enlistments. Finally, they organized a secret treasonable society known as the " Sons of Liberty," for the express pur- pose of aiding the rebellion by resisting the necessary demands of the government, and prepared by the arm- ing and drilling of its members to resort to active hos- tilities in the prosecution of its infamous designs. Dur- ing the winter of 1861-62 and the summer of 1863, the disloyal sentiment was very active, taking fresh heart from the disastrous result of McClellan's Rich- mond campaign and the prevailing depression of the Union cause at that time. County and local meetings were held in many parts of the State, which declared the war for the Union an " abolition crusade," a " cruel, and unnecessary war against the rights of the South ; " denounced President Lincoln as " a tyrant and usurper," Union soldiers as " Lincoln hirelings," " Lincoln dogs," etc. Governor Morton was an object of special hatred to the fomenters of disloyalty, and they would gladly have put him out of the way if they could. In fact, it is a matter of historical record that they did plot his death. While he was fighting the rebellion in the South he had to fight another incipient rebellion at home. In the fall of 1862 the Democrats carried the State, electing a majority of both branches of the Legis- lature. It was a thoroughly disloyal body. The first exhibition of its temper was in connection with the Governor's message, which was as important a docu- 96 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. ment as was ever prepared by any state executive for a legislature. It contained an account of the action of the state authorities, from the commencement of the war, a period of nearly two years ; suggested necessary measures for the better care of our soldiers' families ; recommended important steps, the value of which was fully demonstrated the following summer, for improv- ing the efficiency of the state militia ; and exhibited the civil as well as military condition of the State, as needing prompt and judicious legislation. It was just what the Legislature needed, and should have been anxious to obtain. The message was communicated by Governor Morton to the Legislature in printed form. That body declined to receive it, and subsequently passed a joint resolution thanking Governor Seymour of New York " for the able and patriotic defense of the Constitution, the laws, and liberties of the American citizen contained in his late message." Of course this was intended as a studied insult to Governor Morton, and it well illustrates the sort of recognition which rebel sympathizers in Indiana gave to Governor Morton for his noble efforts in sustaining the government dur- ing the war. This and the subsequent action of this disloyal Legislature did not escape the notice of the Indiana soldiers in the field, who made it the occasion, not only of rebuking the General Assembly, but of declaring their unwavering regard for the Governor. Thus at a meeting of the officers of the Indiana refiji- ments in the Department of the Cumberland, held at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, January 26, 1863, at which STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 97 twenty-two regiments of infantry and four batteries of artillery were represented, a menaorial was unanimously adopted, after having been read by tlie officers to all the regiments, in which they addressed the Legislature as follows : — " The undersigned, officers and soldiers of the Indiana volunteer regiments, submitting with patriotic self-denial to the policy which denied us a voice in the late election, and approving the wisdom of that feature of our government which secures the civil from the influence of the military power, nevertheless desire to participate in the preliminary councils which are to shape the popular ideas of the State, and consequently to control the actions of its Representatives in the General Assembly. We speak as soldiers, because our lives are staked upon the issue of the present struggle ; as citizens, because, at no distant day, those of us who sur- vive are to share with you the responsibilities of citizenship, and to experience, in common with the people at home, the results of your present deliberations " We come boldly asking only what we have a right to expect, either as citizens or soldiers battling for the integ- rity of the Union. We ask simply that you will give this war a cheerful and hearty support ; that you will strengthen and energize every department of government, that this unhappy struggle may be pressed to a successful termination; that you will pour out the treasure of the State as your sol- diers have poured out their blood on the field of battle, to aid in the holy cause of restoring the Union of our fathers; that you will abstain from heated political discussions and violent party wranglings, until the authority of the govern- ment is once more established ; that you will resist the infernal spirit that would waste victory in humiliating com- promise, or render temporary reverses a pretext for the alien- ation of an unoffending community; that you will sacrifice 7 98 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. everything, except liberty and political equality, to national integrity; that you will sustain all the officers of the state and general government in their eJBforts to subdue this un- holy rebellion; and especially that you will sustain our wor- thy Governor, whose every energy, during the past two years, has been so entirely devoted to the cause of the government and its supporters. " We appeal to you, especially, to sustain him, for the rea- son that it is chiefly to his unceasing care and labor, exhibited in arming and supporting the troops of Indiana, that we have to attribute our present proud position among the loyal States of the Union ; and for the further reason, that he has demonstrated by his acts that he is an earnest and zealous patriot, devoting his time with untiring energy to the glo- rious cause for which we are battling. " We appeal to you, as our representatives, to encourage him in the good Avork of ministering to the wants of our un- fortunate comrades who have been stricken down in the strife of the battle-field and by the cruelty of relentless dis- ease ; that you will confer on him all the necessary authority, and place in his hands the requisite means, to carry on the good work which he has begun, remembering that one hu- man life is worth all the treasures of the proudest State." With this memorial was transmitted a series of reso- lutions declaring the unswerving loyalty of the soldiers, their determination to " fight it out on that line ; " and concluding as follows : " Resolved, That we tender to his Excellency, Governor O. P. Morton, the thanks of his grateful friends in the army for his extraordinary efforts in their behalf, and assure him that neither time nor the corrupting influence of party shall ever estrange the soldier from the soldier's friend." The officers and men of two regiments at Corinth, STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 99 Mississippi, held a meeting January 31, 1863, and unan- imously adopted resolutions from which we quote as follows : — " Resolved, That we have watched the traitorous conduct of those members of the Legislature of Indiana who, mis- representing their constituency, have been proposing a sus-» pension of hostilities, ostensibly to arrange terms of peace, but really to give time for the nearly exhausted rebels to re- cover strength, and plotting to divest Governor Morton of the rights vested in him by our state Constitution and laws, and to them we calmly and firmly say, beware of the terrible retribution that is falling upon your coadjutors at the South, and as your crime is tenfold blacker, will swiftly smite you with tenfold more horror should you persist in your damnable deeds of treason. " Resolved, That in tendering our thanks to Governor Mor- ton and assuring him of our cordial support in his efforts to crush this inhuman rebellion, we are deeply and feelingly in earnest. We have left to the protection of the laws he is to enforce all that is dear to man — our wives, our children, and our homes ; and should the loathsome treason of madmen, who are trying to wrest from him a portion of his just au- thority, render it necessaiy, in his opinion, for us to return and crush out treason at home, we will promptly obey a proper order to do so; for we despise a sneaking traitor in the rear more than open rebels in front." Similar resolutions were adopted by nearly every regiment of Indiana volunteers in the field and for- warded to the Legislature, but that body either utterly ignored or openly condemned them. Such was In- diana Democracy during the war. The action of the Legislature in declining to receive the message of Gov- ernor Morton was the key-note to all its subsequent 100 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. acts. It made a most odious and treasonable record, and finally adjourned without passing a single one of the appropriation bilfs necessary to carry on the state gov- ernment, or paying the slightest attention to any of the Governor's recommendations except to spurn or de- nounce them. The failure to pass the appropriation bills presented a new complication of affairs. In this trying emergency Grovernor Morton had three courses open before him : first, to allow the state institutions to be closed, the interest on the State's bonds to go un- paid and its credit to become bankrupt ; second, to call a special session of the same Legislature and endeavor to shame it into a performance of its duty ; third, to devise extraordinary means of raising money to carry along the state government and preserve its credit. He chose the latter course. He organi'zed a Bureau of Finance, appointed W. H. H. Terrell financial secre- tary, and devised a new system of state government. He appealed to the people, to private bankers, and to various counties of the State to furnish funds to carry on the state government, confident that the next Leg- islature would be a loyal one and justify his acts. The response was prompt and liberal. Many counties made appropriations ranging from $2,000 to $20,000 each. Private citizens advanced a considerable sum, and one railroad company patriotically loaned $15,000. Gov- ernor Morton went to Washington, and on his repre- sentation of the case the general government advanced him, as a disbursing officer, $250,000 out of a special appropriation for military expenses. Thus, through STATE DEFENSE AND INTEENAL TROUBLES. 101 his personal energy and efforts, funds were raised to carry on the state governnaent, keep all the state in- stitutions open, and defray civil and military expenses. The state officers were hostile to his administration, and he carried out his plans entirely independent of them. The Bureau of Finance established by him con- tinued from April, I860, to January, 1865. The total amount of cash raised and received by Governor Mor- ton, during this period, was $1,026,321.31. Of this amount, he disbursed, through his financial secretary, for civil purposes $199,644.93, and for military pur- poses $702,420.15, making a total of $902,065.08. Of the balance left in his hands ($124,256.23) $115,487.18, being part of the military fund, was paid back to the general government, and $8,768.95 was paid into the state treasury. Every dollar disbursed during the one year and nine months of his financial administration was paid on his check, proper and sufficient vouchers being taken in all cases. Not a dollar was lost or mis- appropriated. There is no similar case on record of the governor of a State raising funds by his personal efforts to support the state government, and carrying it along for nearly two years without any appropriations by the Legislature and without any assistance from the state officers. Meanwhile the enemies of the government continued their secret plottings and overt demonstrations through- out the State. Ileference has already been made to some of the treasonable practices by which they sought to embarrass the administration of Governor Morton, 102 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. but all of these, wicked as they were, sink into insignifi- cance when compared with the step in which they finally culminated. This was nothing less than the organization of a secret treasonable society, called "Knights of the Golden Circle," the undoubted purpose of which was to plunge the State into revolution and precipitate a civil war in its borders. Space would fail to relate the numerous outrages and open acts of treason perpetrated by this organization before it was discovered. In some counties Union men had been driven from their homes, their houses and barns had been burned, draft officers had been killed, squads of soldiers sent to arrest deserters had been fired upon, and companies of rebel sympathizers drilled in open day, with the avowed purpose of resisting the govern- ment authorities. Governor Morton was the special object of their hatred. His life was repeatedly threat- ened. Once he was fired at as he was leaving the state house at night, the bullet grazing his head.^ 1 On this point we have unquestionable authority. Gen. H. B. Car- rington, at that time United States mustering officer in Indiana, and closely associated with the Governor, both officially and personally, writes : "He went unarmed, was out as duty required, and often unattended at a late hour. On one occasion he awakened me at the Bates House after midnight, in haste, saying, ' As I left the state house for home, I was fired at. The ball whizzed by me. You must see what is up to-night.' I got up, dressed, and went with him. As we approached his house a second pistol shot Avas fired, a few rods beyond and opposite the north entrance of the state house. I left him until after the arrest of the party firing, and returned to his house. He was calm, but earnest, saying, ' They want to kill me because I am governor. They can't do it. Indiana will support me, but you must watch those fellows. There must be no risk just now.'" The evi- STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 103 These outrages became so frequent, and the talk of organized resistance to the draft so alarming, that in June, 1863, the Governor issued a proclamation, recit- ing the act of Congress to define and punish treasona- ble conspiracies, and ordering the agitators to submit to the laws. In this proclamation, after quoting the act of Congress referred to (an act passed July 31, 1861), Governor Morton said : — " These sections are very broad, and cover every form of opposition to the arrest of deserters and the enforcement of the conscription law. By the 25th section it is made a high penal offense to counsel or aid any person to resist the draft ; to counsel any person to assault, obstruct, or hinder any officer engaged in making the draft ; to counsel any drafted man not to appear at the place of rendezvous, or willfully dissuade him from the performance of military duty, as required by law. To bring a case within this section, it is not necessary that there should be a conspiracy or combi- nation. If one man shall give to another the counsel or ad- vice prohibited in the section, he is subject to the punish- ment it prescribes. Nor is it material how he shall give this counsel or advice, whether by public speaking, publishing in pamphlets or newspapers, or by private conversation. Nor is it material that such counsel or advice shall be direct and in terms. The law holds a man responsible for the natural and legitimate consequences of his acts ; so also for the natural and legitimate effects of what he may say. If what he speaks or publishes is naturally and reasonably cal- dence brought out in the treason trial showed conclusively that the "Sons of Liberty " plot contemplated the Governor's assassination. One witness said, " Governor Morton was to be put out of the way ; " anotlier testified that " Governor Morton was to be taken care of," either held as a hostage for those who might be taken prisoners or " made wav with in some wav." 104 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. culated to excite the hatred of men against our government, and resistance to the conscription law, he is within the purview of the section, although in the conclusion he might insert a saving clause, by formally declaring that the laws must be obeyed, and no resistance offered to the govern- ment. In such a case the law will look to the spirit and treasonable effect of what is said, and not to the mere words employed." Then quoting an act passed by the Indiana Legisla- ture at the extra session in 1861, entitled " An act to define certain felonies, and to provide for the punish- ment of persons guilty thereof," he added : — " This act is very broad in its character, and comprehends all organizations having for their purpose resistance to any of the laws of the United States, or which are intended to weaken the power of the government, and disable it from suppressing the rebellion — thus giving aid and comfort to our enemies. It having been enacted by the Legislature of the State, it is especially commended to the consideration of such persons as are tainted with the dangerous heresy that their allegiance is due to the State and not to the United States. The offenses defined and punished in the statutes I have quoted are below the grade of treason, and the guilt of the accused party may be established by one creditable witness, or by circumstantial evidence, as in ordinary crimi- nal prosecutions. It will be my purpose in the future, as in the past, to do my whole duty to the government of the United States and the people of Indiana. In the adminis- tration of the law, and the performance of official duties, I recognize no parties. All who obey the laws, keep the peace, and discharge their duties as citizens, are alike entitled to and will receive protection in person and property. The alarm which some are attempting to create of the improper interference of the military authorities, may be dismissed as STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 105 without foundation. The right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition for a redress of grievances, and speak and publish their opinions touching the policy of the govern- ment, or the conduct of the war, must be respected, and the enjoyment of it protected. But there is a wide difference between the legitimate exercise of this right and that un- bridled license of speech which seeks, by the assertion of the most atrocious falsehoods, to exasperate the people to mad- ness and drive them into a position of neutrality between their government and the rebels, if not into the very arms of the rebellion — combine them in dangerous societies, provoke them to resist the laws, and thus contribute directly to weaken our own government and strengthen the cause of the enemy. The criticism of one who is friendly to the govern- ment, and who is anxious that it shall succeed and be pre- served, and who points out its errors in order that they may be corrected, is wholly different from that denunciation which seeks to bring the government into contempt and ren- der it odious to the people, thereby withdrawing from it that natural support so necessary to its life when struggling in battle with a powerful enemy. The one can never be mis- taken for the other. It must be borne in mind that the ex- ercise of the-plainest rights and privileges may be greatly modified by surrounding circumstances ; that what may be proper or innocent and harmless at one time may be danger- ous and criminal at another. To advocate the right of se- cession and rebellion, or the dissolution of our government, might be harmless enough in time of profound peace, but when the country is engaged in a desperate civil war, which is consuming the best blood and treasure of the nation, and the misfortune of arms might, within a few days, bring the enemy upon the soil of our State, will it be .contended that the privilege of free speech gives the right to advocate the rebellion, resistance to our own government, or the abandon- ment of it to its enemies ? That which is idle talk in time of peace may become ' aid and comfort to the enemy,' and 106 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. punishable by the laws of the land when that enemy is at our doors. Let me exhort the people to moderation and submission to the laws, and laying aside their resentments and prejudices, to take counsel only of their duties and the dangers which threaten the nation ; and while I assure them that protection shall be extended to life, liberty, and prop- erty, and that equal and exact justice shall be administered to all, I would impress them with the fact, that if needs be the whole power of the State and nation will be invoked to execute the laws, preserve the public' peace, and bring offenders to punishment. ' ' This resistance to the draft in Indiana, and the demonstrations of violence by which it was accompanied, were undoubtedly intended to, and did, furnish aid and comfort to the rebels in arms. The evidence on this point was cumulative and overwhelming ; but the scope of this work does not admit of entering into these de- tails. Finally, in 1864, through the efforts of Governor Morton, and an officer whom he had employed to assist him, a full exposure was made of the secret organiza- tion known as the " Knights of the Golden Circle," or " Sons of Liberty." The exposure was complete — embracing the signs, grips, passwords, oaths, ceremonies, principles, and purposes of the order. The membership in the State at that time was about 50,000. Its officers had $200,000 in their hands for the purpose of buying arms. The leaders were in constant communication with the rebels. An outbreak had been planned to take place in August, 1864. The arsenal at Indian- apolis was to be seized, railroad and telegraph lines to STATE DP:FENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 107 be cut, and the rebel prisoners confined here to be lib- erated. Governor Morton was to be captured, and, if necessary, put out of the way. The combined forces of released prisoners and Sons of Liberty were to join the rebel forces, who were to advance to meet them, in Kentucky. With such information in his possession, Governor Morton was prepared to deal this treasonable organization a crushing blow. He caused the arrest of the Grand Commander of the order in this State, the Deputy Grand Commander, and four District Com- manders. These arrests completely overthrew the plans of the order. It was determined to make an ex- ample of the leaders arrested. Accordingly, a military commission was organized, and they were put upon their trial for conspiracy and treason. Pending the trial the Grand Commander made his escape from the United States court building at Indianapolis and fled to Canada. The evidence against the others was over- whelming. One of them turned state's evidence, and disclosed all the secrets of the order. The court finally found all four of them guilty as charged, and sentenced three of them to death and one to imprisonment. The death sentence was approved, the day fixed for its ex- ecution, and preparations for it commenced, when, upon the earnest representations of Governor Morton and other prominent loyal men, the President com- muted their sentence to confinement in the Ohio peni- tentiary.i After the close of the war they were par- 1 As there has been some discussion in regard to Governor Morton's connection with the commutation of the sentence of these men, 108 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. doned. Those were times when men's passions ran high and Governor Morton was severely criticised by Bowles and Milligan, a brief statement of the facts maj' not be amiss, and we will preface it with the remark that our authority for every statement here made is the Hon. John U. Pettit, of Wabash, who went to Washington as the special messenger of Governor Morton, to intercede with President Johnson for the commutation of the sen- tence. The time fixed for the execution of the sentence of death on these men was June 2, 1865, and an order had been received from President Johnson to carr}"^ it into effect " without delay." Just after the receipt of this order, in the latter part of May, Judge Pettit being in Indianapolis, Governor Morton sent for him. He went to the Governor's office. After an earnest interview in which the Governor declared his purpose to prevent the execution of the men if possible, Judge Pettit was requested to go to Washington at once as the agent of Governor Morton and to urge a commutation of the sentence. He consented to go, and Governor Morton immediate!}^ sat down and wrote a very earnest letter to the President stating in effect that the country was now at peace, the necessit}'^ for tlie executions had passed, and closing with the words, strongly underscored, "Mr. President, I protest against these executions." Judge Pettit went to Washing- ton with this letter, and as soon as possible after his arrival there called on the President. When he entered the President's room the latter was engaged in a conference with some other persons. Judge Pettit says: " As the party was bowed out the President turned, and I rose instantly and delivered my letter. He read it, paused, and, as if without motion, except to turn his look at me, then remarked: ' You have a governor in Indiana that uses strong words.' I an- swered: 'Mr. President, when Governor Morton feels warml\' he speaks so.' " Then, speaking for Governor Morton and as his agent, Judge Pettit urged the commutation of the death sentence passed upon the doomed men, and in respectful but earnest terms protested against its execution now that the war had closed and the necessit}'' had passed. At first the President was inexorable and it was only after several interviews and much discussion that he was finally brought to the point of action. On the afternoon when he had prom- ised to give a final answer he had started for Bull Run to review some troops returning from the South, and sent back an orderly sergeanf from Alexandria with an order for the commutation. Judge Pettil immediately telegraphed the result of his mission to Governor Morton, STATE DEFENSE AND INTERNAL TROUBLES. 109 some for thus interposing to save the lives of two men who had plotted treason against both the state and national governments. Bat reviewing the whole case in the added light of experience, all right-minded per- sons must approve his action in this regard, while it is impossible not to admire his magnanimity in interfering to save the lives of those who had been deep in the plot which contemplated his death. The foregoing summary presents but a meagre and imperfect outline of the operations of the enemies of the government in Indiana during the civil war, and of the desperate means by which they endeavored to de- feat the loyal efforts of Governor Morton. But the masses of the people were with him and he knew it. Thrice armed in the justice of his cause and in the knowledge that the loyal people of the State were with him, heart and soul, he still pressed forward with an energy that overcame all obstacles and a zeal that fairly burned its way through difficulties. Thus, in spite of the machinations of his enemies and those of the government, he held the State firmly to its duty, and, aided by the loyal men and women who upheld his hands, made for it a record which shall only grow more lustrous as the generations pass. and "this," he says, "was unmistakably the first public information of the fact." He concludes his statement with the unqualified declara- tion that " by Governor Morton's interest and earnestness the lives of these two men were spared." CHAPTER IX. OTHER SERVICES TO THE NATION, THE STATE, AND THE SOLDIERS. An attempt has been made in the briefest possible manner to indicate the scope and character of Gov- ernor Morton's labors during the war. To recount them in full would require many volumes, but a few additional instances may be cited of his services to the State and nation and his care for the soldiers. Quite early in the war he became convinced that the opening of the Mississippi River was of vital impor- tance in a political as well as military poiut of view. Not only would it sever the Confederacy and cut o£E a large source of supplies, but it would prove to the peo- ple that, come what might, the government intended to hold the great commercial artery of the continent. Throughout the West this was recrarded as a matter of prime importance. In the early part of 1862 there began to be considerable talk among Western Demo- crats of forming a Northwestern Confederacy, to act in concert with the Southern States, and to hold the Mis- sissippi River in common. It was one of the means adopted by them to demoralize the public mind, under- mine the patriotism of the people, and defeat the efforts OTHER SERVICES TO THE NATION, ETC. Ill of the government to preserve the Union. On the 27th of October, 1862, Governor Morton addressed a letter to President Lincoln on this subject, in which, after referring to the Northwestern Confederacy plan, and to the use which Democratic politicians were mak- ing of it, he said : — "Let us take security against it if possible, especially when by so doing we shall be pursuing the surest mode for crushing out the rebellion in every part, and restoring the Union to its former limits. The plan which I have to sug- gest is the complete clearing out of all obstacles to the navi- gation of the Mississippi River and the thorough conquest of the States upon the western bank. Between the State of Missouri and the Gulf of Mexico on the western bank are the States of Arkansas and Louisiana. Arkansas has a population of about 325,000 white citizens and 111,000 slaves, and a very large percentage of her white population are in the rebel army, and serving east of the Mississippi. Of the fighting population of western Louisiana, not less than fifty per cent, are in the rebel army, and in service east of the river. The river once in our possession, and occupied by our gunboats, can never be crossed by a rebel army, and the fighting men now without those States could not get back to their relief. To make the conquest of those States thorough and complete, your proclamation should be ex- ecuted in every county and every township and upon every plantation. All this can be done within ninety days, with an army of less than 100,000 men. Texas would then be entirely isolated from the rebel Confederacy, and would readily fall into our hands. She has, undoubtedly, a large Union element in her population, and with her complete separation from the people of the other rebel States could make but feeble resistance. When this shall have been accomplished, a glance at the map will show what immense 112 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. advantases will have been obtained. The reraainino; rebel States, separated by the river, would be cut off effectually from all the Territories and the States of Mexico. The dangers to be apprehended from the French aggressions in Mexico would be avoided. The entire western part of the continent now belonging to the government would be se- cured to us, and all communication between the rebel States and the States on the Pacific entirely stopped. The woik of conquest in Arkansas and Louisiana would be easy and certain, and the presence of our gunboats in the river would effectually prevent any large force from coming from the East to the relief of these States. The complete emancipa- tion that could and should be made of all the slaves in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas would place the possession of those States on a very different footing from any other rebel territory which we have heretofore overrun. But an- other result to be gained by the accomplishment of this plan will be the creation of a guarantee against the further depreciation of the loyalty of the Northwestern States by giving the assurance that, whatever may be the result of the war, the free navigation and control of the Mississippi River will be secured at all events." These are the views of a statesman. They show that Governor Morton saw not only the necessity of putting an end to the North vv^e stern Confederacy agitation, but the vital importance to the government of splitting the Southern Confederacy by opening the Mississippi River, which Jefferson Davis, at the beginning of the war, had declared " the South would never surrender." There is reason to believe that the views expressed in the fore- going letter had no little influence in shaping the sub- sequent policy of the government. OTHER SERVICES TO THE NATION, ETC. 113 Governor Morton originated and suggested tlie " one hundred days' movement " wliich proved of great serv- ice to the Union cause. The spring of 1864 opened with the prospect of much desperate and bloody work for the Union armies. Campaigns were about to be undertaken which it was hoped would result in the overthrow of the rebellion. Our generals were anx- ious to have all the troops possible for active service, and every enlisted man fit for duty was wanted at the front. On the 6th of April General Sherman telegraphed Governor Morton to push forward all the troops he could, saying, " Three hundred men in time are better than a thousand too late. Now is the time every soldier should be in his proper place — at the front." For some time it had been apparent to Governor Mor- ton that a considerable army of men, many of them veterans, were withdrawn from active service by the necessity of guarding railroads, stores, and fortifications in the rear. The idea occurred to him that if these trained soldiers could be released from this duty by the substitution of new recruits in their places, and thus permitted to take part in the active operations of the campaign, an important advantage would be gained. Revolving this matter he finally devised a plan to meet the desired end. Governor Brough of Ohio happening to be at Indianapolis just at this juncture. Governor Morton laid his plan before him, and the result was the "hundred days' movement." On the 11th of April a telegram was sent to the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan inviting them to meet the 114 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. governors of Ohio and Indiana on important business at Indianapolis on the 22d. The meeting took place, all the governors mentioned being present. The result of the conference was a joint proposition to the Presi- dent to furnish 85,000 infantry troops for the aproach- ing campaign, their term of service to be " one hundred days, reckoned from the date of muster into the service of the United States, unless sooner discharged." The troops were to be apportioned and furnished as follows : Ohio, 30,000 ; Indiana, 20,000 ; Illinois, 20,000 ; Iowa, 10,000 ; Wisconsin, 5,000. The proposition was signed by the five governors named, and on the 24th of April was indorsed by^ President Lincoln. " The foregoing proposition of the governors is accepted, and the Sec- retary of War is directed to carry it into execution." The above quotas were not entirely filled, but the move- ment resulted in the raising of a large force of hundred days' men, who, by relieving older and more experienced troops from guard duty, greatly strengthened the avail- able force of the Union armies and undoubtedly con- tributed to the success of the cause. In 1861, when the first Indiana troops were organ- ized, it was found impossible to procure suitable ammu- nition for them, and in order to meet this want Gov- ernor Morton, acting solely upon his own responsibility and. without authority of law, started a small laboratory for the manufacture of cartridges for the use of Indiana troops. This seemed to be a military necessity at the time, and subsequently proved of great benefit to the OTHER SERVICES TO THE NATION, ETC. 115 general government as well as to the State. What at first was a very small undertaking and intended only as a temporary aid to the government, gradually grew into an extensive establishment, and from supj^lying an existing necessity became a source of profit to the State. Finally, after large quantities of ammunition had been manufactured and sent to the field, an arrangement was made by which the general government agreed to pay for the ammunition already issued, at prices below what the same would have cost if made in the government arsenals, but still remunerative to the State. It was also provided that the arsenal should be continued and that future supplies should be paid for at the same rates. The entire operations of the arsenal thus estab- lished by Governor Morton and carried on under his direction amounted during the war to $791,652, all of which was faithfully accounted for. Upon a final set- tlement with the general government, and after refund- ing to the State treasury every dollar that had been drawn from it, there remained a clear cash balance in favor of the State of $71,380, which Governor Morton turned over to the State. Thus his foresight and man- agement in the arsenal matter inured to the great ben- efit of the troops in the field, to the advantage of the government and the profit of the State. The present beautiful arsenal at Indianapolis is the outgrowth and successor of the undertaking here described. After the fall of Vicksburg great numbers of Indiana troops lay wounded or sick in the regimental and field 116 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. hospitals of the South. The weather was hot, hospital accommodations meagre, and the means of sending the men North very inadequate. The case being thus. Governor Morton determined to do something for the Indiana soldiers. He first sent an officer South to obtain necessary facts, and supplied with these he went to Washington. Calling upon the Secretary of War he laid the facts before him and asked permission to remove the Indiana sick and wounded North. The Secretary of War declined to grant permission on the ground that it would make trouble in the army if Indi- ana were accorded such a privilege. Governor Mor- ton at once told the Secretary that he should go to the President with the matter, and did so. The President heard the case and felt the force of the appeal. The result was the issuing of an order allowing any State to remove its sick and wounded North, thus doing away with the objection raised by the Secretary of War. Armed with this order Governor Morton hastened home and immediately perfected arrangements for ade- quate transportation and the removal of Indiana's sick and wounded soldiers to more comfortable quarters. On the 21st of April, 1862, just before the battle of Corinth, Governor Morton telegraphed the Secretary of War as follows : — " That a great battle is impending at Corinth, is evident. Before additional surgical aid can reach the field from any quarter, five or six days will elapse. Meanwhile the wounded must suffer immensely. So it was at Donelson and Pitts- OTHER SERVICES TO THE NATION, ETC. 117 burg. Indiana has at least twenty-four regiments before the enemy. I propose to send at once to each of them two addi- tional surgeons, and respectfully request authority from you to do so. I regard this as an absolute necessity." Heretofore each regiment had been allowed only one surgeon and one assistant. Experience had shown this medical force to be entirely inadequate, especially dur- ing or immediately after a severe battle. This was especially the case after the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh, and now as another one was impending, Governor Morton j^roposed to make better provision, at least for the Indiana soldiers. The Secretary of War replied on the same day : " You have authority to send to the Indiana regiments in the field in Tennessee two additional assistant surgeons, agreeably to your re- quest." Accordingly the requisite number of surgeons were immediately selected and dispatched to the front, with instructions to remain as long as their services were required. This action of Governor Morton was received with great approbation by the army, and the attention of Congress having been called to it, an act was passed (approved July 2, 1862), which provided : " That instead of ' 07ie assistant surgeon,' as provided by the second section of the Act of July 22, 1861, each regiment of volunteers in the service of the United States shall have two assistant surgeons." This hu- manitarian reform was the direct result of Governor Morton's efforts. But vast as his labors were, growing out of the war, 118 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. he still had time to devote to the administration of the State's civil affairs and the development of her material interests. He had a great deal of state pride, and next to the preservation of the Union the advancement of Indiana lay nearest his heart. A born Indianian, he loved devotedly the State of his birth and sought by every means to elevate her honor, uphold her integrity and credit, and foster her material interests. In his messages and other official papers he frequently dwelt upon the vast agricultural and mineral resources of the State, her extensive system of railways, and the general advantages afforded to those seeking homes in the West. He caused to be prepared an elaborate document setting forth the attractions of the State, entitled " Indiana as a Home for Emigrants," very large editions of which in English and German were circulated in this country and in Europe. The financial discredit sustained by the State in con- sequence of the gigantic and unfortunate internal im- provement schemes of 1836-7 was the cause of deep humiliation to him, the effects being largely felt when he assumed the office of governor. In consequence of former embarrassments, the impression prevailed that the State was hopelessly bankrupt ; her financial char- acter abroad was tarnished, and the current of emigra- tion was turned aside in great part, or swept over to the States and Territories farther West. Governor Morton determined to disabuse the public mind of these impressions and create a healthy public sentiment in favor of the financial integrity, patriotism, and enter- OTHER SERVICES TO THE NATION, ETC. 119 prise of our people. The events of the war and the remarkable executive ability displayed by him attracted the attention of the whole country ; the State's credit at once rose to a high stand-point, and two million dol- lars of war loan bonds were negotiated without trouble and 'on very favorable terms. The successful establishment of a Home for Dis- abled Soldiers, and afterwards a Home for Soldiers' Orphans, upon his recommendation and plans, added in no small degree to the glory of Indiana's war record. In recommending in his last message the erection of a state monument in honor of all her brave soldiers who perished in the war, he was actuated by the same tender appreciation and solicitude for their memories which distinguished his whole gubernatorial service. His careful guardianship of the Common School Fund (the largest of any State in the Union), the es- tablishment of a State Normal School, an Agricultural College, and a Reform School for Juvenile Offenders, as well as the encouragement he gave to the various colleges of the State, attest his deep interest in the cause of popular education. Thus while giving the general government a power- ful support in the work of putting down the rebellion, and while looking vigilantly after the interests of In- diana soldiers in the field, he was still able to admin- ister the domestic affairs of the State with unequaled ability and to give her a much higher rank in the sisterhood of States than she had ever held before. CHAPTER X. REELECTION AS GOVERNOR. CLOSE OF THE WAR. The foregoing pages present but a very imperfect outline of Governor Morton's services to the State and nation during the war. With an energy that never tired and a constitution that had as yet shown no signs of failing, he devoted every power of his head and heart to the great cause of sustaining the government, preserving the honor of the State and looking after the welfare of her soldiers. During all these dark years he was a trusted friend and counselor of President Lin- coln and Secretary Stanton, two men who like himself seemed to have been raised up by Providence to fulfill an especial mission. The loyal masses of Indiana had learned to love and trust him, and at the expiration of his first term as governor no other person was thought of by Republicans for the succession. His vigorous and brilliant administration during his first term had given the State more prominence than it had ever enjoyed before, elevated its credit in financial circles, and con- verted the name of " Hoosier " from a term of ridicule into one of honor. Therefore when the Republican Convention met at Indianapolis, on the 2 2d of Febru- ary, 1864, to nominate a state ticket, he was unani- CLOSE OF THE WAR. 121 mously nominated for reelection. In accepting the nom- ination he made one of the ablest speeches of his life, reviewing his whole administration as governor, set- ting forth the action of the disloyal Legislature of 1863, the embarrassment which it had caused him, and the measures he had taken to uphold the honor and preserve the peace of the State, pointing out the peril of the government, the duty of the times, and, in short, completely covering the situation. Of course the main question in the ensuing election was whether Indiana would remain true to the Republican party and the Union, but scarcely secondary to this was the question whether the Legislature to be chosen would indorse Governor Morton's administration and approve the various measures he had adopted to meet emergencies forced upon him by the disloyal Democracy. All his acts had been done in the belief that a Legislature would be elected in 1864 which would approve them, and now the time had come for an appeal to the peo- ple. His opponent for the governorship was Hon. Joseph E. McDonald. Friends of both parties arranged for a joint canvass of the State, and the opening debate was appointed to take place at Laporte. The char- acter of the occasion and the importance of the issues involved drew an immense concourse of people, the crowd being estimated at not less than twenty thousand. His competitor was ten years his senior, a skillful de- bater and strong man. Though politically opposed they were personal friends, and the contest between them was conducted in a fair and dignified manner. Gov- 122 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. ernor Morton's opening speech at Laporte was pro- nounced by all who heard it a great and convincing one. Fully realizing the importance of the interests at stake, he rose to the height of the occasion and the argument. The result of the opening debate was a de- cided victory for Morton, and from that moment his friends confidently predicted his election. The end showed that their confidence was well founded. After a thorough and exhaustive campaign, he was reelected governor by over 20,000 majority and the Republicans gained a majority in the Legislature. It was the grand- est popular triumph ever achieved in the State. Gov- ernor Morton entered upon his second term with un- abated zeal and ardor. He was now in his forty-second year and in the prime of physical and mental strength. The vast responsibilities and labors of the last five years had developed his character to its fullest propor- tions. Experience had shown him to be equal to every emergency, and success had given him a confidence which was almost irresistible in itself. His energy, patriotism, executive ability, and fertility of resources were a theme of general comment. His services to the State and nation were known and honored everywhere. His message to the new Legislature set forth in detail all his public acts of the last two years and was a com- plete exposition of state affairs. At his request the Legislature appointed a joint committee to examine the vouchers for receipts and payments of money by the Governor during the last two years. Tlieir report was a complete vindication of his financial administration CLOSE OF THE WAR. 123 and is a lasting tribute to his integrity. During a time of civil war and great excitement, he raised by his per- sonal efforts, and disbursed on his personal check, all the money used by the state government during a pe- riod of nearly two years, without the loss or misappro- priation of a dollar. On the morning of the 15th of April, 1865, Presi- dent Lincoln died from a wound inflicted by the hand of an assassin the night before. The blow fell with crushing weight upon the whole country, and amid a nation of mourners no man felt it more keenly than Governor Morton, the trusted friend, counselor, and colaborer of the martyred President. He issued a proclamation -eonvening the citizens of Indianapolis in the State House Square " to give expression to their sentiments over this great national calamity," and then hastened to Washington to join in paying the last sad honors to his murdered friend. He, with others, ac- companied the President's remains to their final rest- ing-place ; and, at his request, it was decided to have them rest for a day at Indianapolis, where thousands upon thousands of citizens and soldiers had the melan- choly pleasure of viewing them. In April, 1865, also came the surrender of Lee and the end of the war. Shortly after this the returning troops of Indiana began to arrive at Indianapolis, and the Governor was kept almost as busy receiving and welcoming as he had been a few years before in arm- ing and equipping them. In each case the labor was to him a sacred duty. Every regiment and battery as 124 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. it arrived from the field of its victories was welcomed with fitting ceremony, treated to a sumptuous dinner, and addressed hy the Governor in person, who thanked them in the name of a rescued government and a grateful people. These duties, though of a very pleas- ing nature, were none the less a severe draft on his mental and physical energies, while the regular duties of his office occupied a large share of his time and at- tention. During the last four years he had performed an in- credible amount of labor. One familiar with the facts writes : " During the winter of 1865 Governor Morton was the most ubiquitous man in the United States. First at Washington, in council with the President ; then at the front, surveying with his own eye the bat- tle-field ; moving in person through the hospitals, as- certaining the wants of the sick and wounded ; super- vising the operations of his numerous agents ; then at home, directing sanitary movements, appointing extra surgeons and sending them to the field, projecting new plans for the relief of dependent women and children, attending personally to all the details of the business of his office." Thus every power of body and mind had been taxed to the utmost. While the strain lasted no injurious effect was visible, but the period was ap- proaching when he was to pay the penalty of this tre- mendous overwork. With the close of the war and the diminished drafts upon his nervous energies there came a season of reaction. During the summer of 1865 he was troubled and somewhat alarmed by a feel- CLOSE OF THE WAR. ' 125 mg of mental and physical sluggishness, a sort of apa- thy which seemed to affect both mind and body. This wsis nature's protest and warning. Perhaps if it had been duly heeded at the time, the impending shock might have been averted, but of this we cannot cer- tainly know. One morning he woke with both his legs paralyzed in the lower extremities. This was nature's penalty, and the sacrifice which Governor Morton made upon the altar of patriotism. His paralysis was as clearly due to his overwork during the war as the death of any soldier in battle was to the bullet that pierced his heart. He was immediately placed under medical treatment, and after a few months, little or no benefit being gained, he was advised to visit Europe and place himself in the hands of the eminent physician at Paris who had treated and cured Charles Sumner. Before acting on this advice, however, it was deemed best to anticipate the regular meeting of the Legislature, and that body was accordingly convened in extra session on the 14th of November. Governor Morton's message on this occasion was able and comprehensive, touching on every current matter of state policy and making im- portant recommendations. After some comments on national affairs he said in conclusion : — " The war has established upon imperishable foundations the great fundamental truth of the unity and indivisibility of the nation. We are many States but one people, having one undivided sovereignty, one flag, and one common destiny. It has also established, to be confessed by all the world, the 126 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. exalted character of the American soldier, his matchless valor, his self-sacrificing patriotism, his capacity to endure fatigues and hardships, and his humanity, which, in the midst of carnage, has wreathed his victorious achievements with a brighter glory. He has taught the world a lesson before which it stands in amazement, how, when the storm of battle had passed, he could lay aside his arms, put off the habili- ments of war, and return with cheerfulness to the gentle pursuits of peace, and show how the bravest of soldiers could become the best of citizens. To the army and navy, under the favor of Providence, we owe the preservation of our country, and the fact that we have to-day a place, and the proudest place, among the nations. Let it not be said of us, as it was said in olden time, that ' Republics are un- grateful.' Let us honor the dead, cherish the living, and preserve in immortal memory the deeds and virtues of all, as an inspiration for countless generations to come." The scene in the hall of the House of Representa- tives on the occasion of his formal leave-taking was impressive and affecting. The man who had guided the ship of state through stormiest seas, battling for the national government with one hand and with the other throttling domestic rebellion, bringing almost superhuman energy to the performance of almost super- human tasks, was about to leave his native land to seek in a foreign one the restoration of a constitution sacri- ficed and shattered in the cause of his country. At this moment party jealousies and party strifes were for- gotten and the better instincts of men were permitted their natural action. Resolutions complimenting the Governor in the highest terms and expressing deep sympathy with him in his affliction,, were drawn up by CLOSE OF THE WAR. 127 Hon. Joseph E. McDonald and Hon. Samuel Buskirk, both political opponents, and were adopted by the General Assembly without a dissenting voice. Of this scene it has been written : " The hatchet of political warfare was buried, and a melancholy regret, a heart- felt sorrow, pervaded the souls of all present. Not until now had many realized the worth of Governor Morton, — the wisdom of his counsel, the importance of his services, the magnitude of his heart. The smoke of the war had obscured the appreciative vision of numbers of his friends, while it completely blinded his enemies to all his efficiency as an executive, all his nobleness as a man. But now that he was about to leave, per- haps forever, the colleagues to whom he had been so faithful, the opponents -he had fought so nobly, the State he had saved from financial thralldom and the meshes of treason — the State whose name he had made the synonym of glory — the people he had so devotedly served, the indifference of friends, the prejudice of ene- mies gave place to a profound realization of his talents, his patriotism, his labor." Shortly after this, early in December, 1865, Governor Morton sailed from New York accompanied by his wife, one son and a friend, and proceeded with as little delay as possible to Paris. He remained in that city under, medical treatment about six weeks; then, hoping to get some benefit by, change of climate, he traveled through portions of Italy and Switzerland. He received, how- ever, little or no benefit either from treatment or travel, and returned home in March, 1866. CHAPTER XI. ELECTION TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. During Governor Morton's absence in Europe the duties of the office had been ably performed by Lieu- tenant-governor Conrad Baker. Upon the return of the former he at once resumed his interest in public affairs. A state election was to take place in the fall of the year (1866), and the controversy then going on between President Johnson and the Republican party made the Democracy very hopeful of success. State of- ficers and a state legislature were to be chosen. Upon the latter would devolve the duty of electing a United States senator, and it was taken by common consent among Republicans that if they carried the State Governor Morton was to be elected to this position. The Republican campaign opened at Indianapolis on the 20th of June, Governor Morton being announced as the speaker. The largest hall in the city was densely crowded with an audience anxious to see and hear him once more. He spoke sitting, the first time he had so addressed an Indiana audience. It was a painful reminder of his physical infirmity, but his mind was never more active and vigorous. His speech on this occasion was powerful and eloquent. The sur- ELECTION TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 129 roundings were suggestive of stirring memories. He had often spoken from the same platform during the war, appealing to the people, calling for volunteers, and exhorting the citizens of the State to stand by and support the government. Now the war was over, and the question was presented, whether the fruits of vic- tory should be preserved or surrendered. His speech consisted of a vindication of the course of the Repub- lican party and an 'arraignment of the Democracy. The latter portion of it was terribly severe, and is still well remembered by those who heard it. He dwelt upon the course of the Democracy during the war, and recalled their countless acts of disloyalty. He hurled facts and history at them with fatal precision and effect. Nearly every sentence was received with cheers by the audience, and the applause seemed to inspire the speaker. During his absence in Europe he had been outrageously abused by a portion of the Democratic press and he embraced this opportunity to square ac- counts with the party to date. Thus, with a fierceness of invective seldom equaled, he said of the leaders of the party in Indiana at that time : — " The leaders who are now managing the Democratic party in this State are the men who, at the regular session of the Legislature in 1861, declared that if an army went from Indiana to assist in putting down the then approaching rebellion it must first pass over their dead bodies. They are the men who, in the Democratic Convention on the 8th of January, 1862, gave aid and comfort to the rebellion, by resolving that the South had been provoked and driven into the contest by the unconstitutional and wicked aggressions 130 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. of the people of the North. They are the men who in speeches and resolutions proclaimed that ' Southern defeats gave them no joy, and Northern disasters no sorrows.' They are the men who exerted their influence to prevent their Democratic friends from going into the army, and who, by their incessant and venomous slanders against the gov- ernment, checked the spirit of volunteering, and made draft- ing a necessity. And when the draft had thus been forced upon the country, their wretched subordinates, inspired by their devilish teachings, endeavored in many places by force of arms and the murder of enrolling officers to prevent its execution. They are the men who corresponded with the rebel leaders in the South, giving them full information of our condition, and assuring them that a revolution in public opinion was at hand, and that they had but to persevere a few months longer and the national government would fall to pieces of its own weight. They are the men who in the Legislature of 1863 attempted to overturn the state govern- ment and establish a legislative revolution by seizing the military power of the State and transferring it into the hands of four state officers, three of whom were members of the treasonable society known as the ' Sons of Liberty.' They are the men who, having failed to overturn the state government by seizing the military power, determined to defeat its operations and bring about anarchy, by locking up the public treasure and thus withholding the money nec- essary to carry on the government. They are the men who introduced and organized in this State that dangerous and widespread conspiracy first known as the ' Knights of the Golden Circle,' and afterwards as the ' Sons of Liberty,' which had for its purpose the overthrow of the state and national governments. Not all of them, it is true, belonged formerly to this infamous order, but such as stood on the outside had knowledge of its existence, purposes, and plans, and carefully concealing their knowledge were ready to ac- ELECTION TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 181 cept its work. To accomplish the hellish work of this con- spiracy military officers were appointed, military organiza- tions created, arms and ammunition purchased in immense quantities and smuggled into the State, correspondence opened with rebel commanders, and military combinations agreed upon, rebel officers and agents introduced into the capital and concealed in hotels and boarding-houses, and it was deliberately planned and agreed that upon a day fixed they would suddenly uprise and murder the executive, seize the arsenal and its arms and ammunition, and releasing 9,000 rebel prisoners in Camp Morton, put arms into their hands, and with their combined forces effect a military and bloody revolution in the State. They are the men who, in the Legislature of Indiana, bitterly opposed and denounced every effort to confer the right of suffrage upon soldiers in the field who could not come home to vote. They are the men who wrote letters to soldiers in the army, urging them to desert, and assuring them of support and protection if they did. They are the men who labored with devilish zeal to destroy the ability of the government to carry on the war by depreciating its financial credit. They assured the people that ' greenbacks ' would die on their hands, and warned them solemnly against government bonds, as a wicked device to rob them of their money. They are the men who refused to contribute to the Sanitary Commission for the relief of sick and wounded soldiers, upon the lying and hypocritical pretense that the contributions were con- sumed by the officers of the army. They are the men who excused themselves from contributing for the relief of sol- diers' families at home by the infamous slander that they were living better than they had ever done, and by foul im- putations on the chastity of soldiers' wires. They are the men who declared in speeches, resolutions, and by their votes in Congress, that not another man nor another dollar should be voted to carry on a cruel war against their South- ern brethren." 132 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. Having thus faithfully photographed the party and its leaders he completed the climax by saying : — " And this party, composed of the men and elements I have described, in defiance of truth and decency, asserts itself as the special champion of the Constitution and the Union, which but a short sixteen months ago it was in arms to de- stroy; and proclaims to an astonished world that the only effect of vanquishing armed rebels in the field is to return them to seats in Congress, and to restore them to political power. Having failed to destroy the Constitution by force, they seek to do it by construction, and assume to have made the remarkable discovery that rebels who fought to destroy the Constitution were its true friends, and that the men who shed their blood and gave their substance to preserve it were its only enemies." He then passed to other topics, contrasting the poli- cies of the Republican and Democratic parties during and since the war and summing up the salient points of the political situation with his usual comprehensiveness and ability. The speech was regarded by the Republic- ans of Indiana and other States as a powerful campaign document, and nearly three million copies of it were circulated in different States of the Union. During the campaign which followed Governor Mor- ton spoke at various points in the State, and never with greater power or effect. The election resulted in a sweeping Republican victory. The Legislature being largely Republican elected him United States senator to succeed Senator Lane without a single dissenting voice in the party. It was universally conceded by Republic- ans that Governor Morton was the man for the position, ELECTION TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 133 and his election was unanimous. His first term was for six years from March 4, 1867. When he took his seat in the Senate that body contained many able and experienced men. He had little or no experience as a legislator, but his large knowledge of public affairs, and his varied experience as governor of Indiana, left noth- ing to be desired in this direction. His political record and services were known in that body as they were throughout the nation, and he was at once welcomed into the fullest political confidence by the older Repub- lican senators. CHAPTER XII. HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. Governor Morton was twice elected to the United States Senate by the Republicans of Indiana, his first term beginning March 4, 1867, and his second March 4, 1873. It would be impossible within the limits of this sketch to present anything like a complete history of his senatorial services, and only brief reference can be made to some of the leading features. Upon his first entrance to the Senate, in making up the standing committees he was accorded three important places, — chairman of the Committee on Manufactures and mem- ber of the Committee on Foreign Relations and that on Military Affairs. During his ten years of service he filled various other important positions and was at all times one of the most active and laborious members of the body. To say that he was one of the most able and influential is equally a matter of current history. It is probably safe to say that during his term of ser- vice he was prominently identified with a greater num- ber of important measures than any other senator of that period, if not of any period in the history of the government. Some of these may be briefly touched upon. HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. 135 The great question before Congress and the coun- try when Senator Morton entered the Senate was that of the reconstruction of the Southern States. The con- test between President Johnson and Congress had at- tracted universal attention to the subject, and its in- trinsic importance made it the theme of general com- ment and discussion. The great question was how far the government could safely go in restoring the late rebels to their political rights, and what measures were necessary to secure republican government to the Southern States, and political equality, together with safety and protection, to all classes of people. On this question, and all those growing out of it. Senator Mor- ton had well settled views. He held that treason was a crime, and that those who had engaged in it should be made to realize the fact. He thought that men who had but just laid down their arms after a four years' struggle to destroy the government ought not to be trusted with the absolute control of the Southern States without the exaction of guarantees in the inter- ests of liberty. He desired to accord them all civil and political rights as soon as it was safe to do so, but he wished also to have the future peace and security of the Union " so imbedded in the imperishable bulwarks of the Constitution that the waves of secession might dash against it in vain." His first speech in the Sen- ate was upon this subject, January 24, 1868. He had not intended to speak at that time and had made no special preparation, but Senator Doolittle of Wisconsin having attacked the congressional policy of reconstruc- 136 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. tion, Senator Morton replied. At the beginning of his speech he thus outlined the issue before the country : — " The issue here to-day is the same which prevails throughout the country, which will be the issue of this can- vass, and perhaps for years to come. It is between two paramount ideas, each struggling for the supremacy. One is, that the war to suppress the rebellion was right and just on our part; that the rebels forfeited their civil and political rights, and can only be restored to them upon such condi- tions as the nation may prescribe for its future safety and prosperity. The other idea is, that the rebellion was not sinful but was right; that those engaged in it forfeited no rights, civil or political, and have a right to take charge of their state governments, and be restored to their represen- tation in Congress, just as if there were no rebellion and nothing had occurred. The immediate issue before the Senate now is between the existing state governments es- tablished under the policy of the President of the United States in the rebel States and the plan of reconstruction presented by Congress." He then proceeded to demonstrate, first, that when the war closed the rebel States were without state gov- ernments of any kind, since the state governments ex- isting at the beginning of the war had been overturned by the rebels, and those erected by the rebels had been overturned by our armies, leaving the Southern States without any government whatever. Second, quoting that clause of the Constitution which provides that " the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government," he proved, conclusively, that Congress alone had the right to exer- cise that power, and that it must be done by a legisla- HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. 137 tive act. He then considered the powers of Congress in the execution of the guarantee, how it should be executed, and what means might be employed for this purpose. This branch of the subject was exhaustively- treated, and the conclusion reached that Congress not only had the power, but was in duty bound, to pre- scribe such a plan of reconstruction as would insure justice, security, and equal rights to all classes in the South. This could only be done by giving the colored race the right of suffrage. After having shown the fallacy of President Johnson's plan of reconstruction and the dangerous results which it involved, he con- tinued: — " Sir, when Congress entered upon this work, it had be- come apparent to all men that loyal republican state govern- ments, such as are required by the Constitution, could not be erected and maintained upon the basis of the white popu- lation. We had tried them. Congress had attempted the work of reconstruction through the fourteenth constitutional amendment, by leaving the suffrage with the white men, and by leaving with the white people of the South the ques- tion as to when the colored people should exercise the right of suffrage, if ever ; but when it was found that those white men were as rebellious as ever ; when it was found that they persecuted the loyal men, both white and black, in their midst; when it was found that Northern men who had gone down there were driven out by social tyranny, by a thou- sand annoyances, by the insecurity of life and property, — then it became apparent to all men of intelligence that re- construction could not take place upon the basis of the white population, and something else must be done. Now, sir, what was there left to do ? Either we must hold these peo- ple continually by military power, or we must use such 138 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. machinery on such a new basis as would enable loyal repub- lican governments to be raised up ; and in the last result I will say Congress waited long, the nation waited long, ex- perience had to come to the rescue of reason before the thing was done — in the last resort, and, as the last thing to be done. Congress determined to dig through all the rubbish — dig through the soil and the shifting sands, and go down to the eternal rock, and there, upon the basis of the everlasting principle of equal and exact justice to all men, we have planted the column of reconstruction ; and, sir, it will arise slowly, but surely, and ' the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' " Senator Doolittle had charged Senator Morton with inconsistency on the question of negro suffrage. On this point the latter said : — "Why, sir, let me frankly say to my friend from Wis- consin, that I approached universal colored suffrage in the South reluctantly. Not because I adhered to the miserable dogma that this was the white man's government, but be- cause I entertained fears about at once intrusting a large body of men just from slavery, to whom education had been denied by law, to whom the marriage relation had been de- nied, who had been made the most abject slaves, with politi- cal power. And as the senator has referred to a speech which I made in Indiana in 1865, allow me to show the principle which then actuated me, for in that speech I said : ' In regard to the question of admitting the freedmen of the Southern States to vote, while I admit the equal rights of all men, and that in time all men will have the right to vote, without distinction of color or race, I yet believe that in the case of four millions of slaves, just freed from bondage, there should be a period of probation and preparation before they are brought to the exercise of political power.' Such was my feeling at that time, for it had not then been deter- HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. 139 mined by the bloody experience of the last two years that we could not reconstruct upon the basis of the white popula- tion, and such was the opinion of a great majority of the people of the North I confess (and I do it without shame) that I have been educated by the great events of the war. The American people have been educated rapidly; and the man who says he has learned nothing, that he stands now where he did six years ago, is like an ancient mile-post by the side of a deserted highway." Having further demonstrated the utter folly of try- ing to establish the Southern state governments on the basis of white suffrage alone, he concluded : — " The column of reconstruction has risen slowly. It has not been hewn from a single stone. It is composed of many blocks, painfully laid up and put together, and cemented by the tears and blood of the nation. Sir, we have done noth- ing arbitrarily. We have done nothing for punishment — aye, too little for punishment. Justice has not had her de- mand. Not a man has yet been executed for this great trea- son. The arch-fiend himself is now at liberty upon bail. No man is to be punished; and now while punishment has •gone by, as we all know, we are insisting only upon security for the future. We are simply asking that the evil spirits who brought this war upon us shall not again come into power during this generation, again to bring upon us rebellion and calamity. We are simply asking for those securities that we deem necessary for our peace and the peace of our posterity. ' ' The meagre outline here presented furnishes but a faint conception of the speech. It vras universally con- ceded to be a masterly presentation of the subject, and it placed Senator Morton at once in the foremost rank of debaters in the Senate. Considering his incomplete preparation and the circumstances of its delivery, he 140 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. himself regarded it as one of the best speeches he ever made. Mr. Barnes, the congressional historian, pro- nounced it " one of the most memorable and effective speeches ever delivered in the United States Senate," and the venerable Thaddeus Stevens declared that it was the first successful attempt to defend the recon- struction policy of Congress. The national executive committee had it published as a campaign document and distributed two million copies of it during the en- suing presidential campaign. It was the key-note of Senator Morton's whole course of action towards the lately rebellious States. He was always ready to wel- come an honest return to allegiance, and accord the Southern States and people an equal place in the Union if they would give evidence of having heartily accepted the results of the war and the principles of liberty, law, and justice. He was willing to forgive the past but he wanted guarantees for the future. In his opening speech of the presidential campaign of 187j5, made at Indianapolis, August 10th of that year, he said : " Let me say to the men of the South, there is but one highway to reconciliation, and that is open, straight, and free ; and over its portal are inscribed these words : ' Equal rights to all ; to all equal protection of the laws.' If the Southern people will walk in that highway they will arrive at the temple of peace and find unbroken rest." In another speech, the opening one of a political cam- paign in Ohio, he said : " While I was willing to go to the limits of constitutional power to establish the au- thority of the government in the South, to give equal HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. 141 civil and political rights to all without regard to race or color, to suppress disorder and to protect life, liberty, and property, and will do so again if necessary, I am from my heart anxious for the complete restoration of the South, the upbuilding of her prosperity, and the re- union of all the States in sentiments of love to each other and devotion to our common country." Like sentiments are found in most of his speeches, and they are those of a statesman and patriot, not of a section- alist. CHAPTER XIII. HIS SENATORIAL CAREER, CONTINUED. To no one person, living or dead, is the credit for the adoption of the fifteenth amendment to the Con- stitution so largely due as to Senator Morton. The thirteenth and fourteenth amendments had both been adopted before he entered the Senate, but he had been actively instrumental in securing their ratification in Indiana. The congressional policy of reconstruction con- templated conferring the voting franchise on the ne- groes of the South as a measure at once of justice to them and protection to the Union. This was the object of the fifteenth amendment, the discussion of which occupied a large share of attention during the third session of the Fortieth Congress, and the final ratifica- tion of which was mainly due to Senator Morton's per- sistence of purpose and boldness of action. After an exhaustive debate upon the subject and an all night session, the report of the Senate committee, recommending the adoption of the amendment, was agreed to early in the morning. Senator Morton had championed the measure from the beginning, and had been ably seconded by other Republican senators. Sen- ator Sumner had opposed it on the double ground, HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. 143 first, that it virtually conceded that Congress had not the power to regulate sujffrage in the States by legisla- tion ; and second, that even if adopted by Congress, the amendment would not be ratified by a sufficient number of States to make it operative. Three fourths of the States (twenty-eight) were required, and to make this number Indiana,' Texas, Virginia, Mississippi, and Geor- gia would be required in addition to those States cer- tain to ratify. Senator Sumner was confident that the ratification of these States could not be secured. Sen- ator Morton, on the other hand, believed it could be. At all events, he maintained that the amendment was right in itself, necessary to the peace and security of the Union, and that it should be adopted by Congress and the question of ratification be left to the future. Enough senators agreed with him to secure the pas- sage of the amendment and it was adopted, the Demo- crats all voting against it, and. Senator Sumner not vot- ing at all. The Indiana Legislature was in session at the time, the Republicans having a majority in each branch, but not a quorum (two thirds) in the 'House. To prevent the ratification of the amendment by the House, therefore, the Democratic members resigned in a body, thus breaking a quorum. This was treated as the breaking up of the Legislature, and the members of both Houses dispersed to their homes. Governor Baker, however, ordered new elections in the counties from which these members had resigned, and in April, 1869, convened the Legislature in extra session. Near the close of the session, the Republicans having an- 144 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. nounced their purpose of ratifying the amendment, the Democrats again resigned to break a quorum. In this, however, they were to be defeated. Senator Morton returned home on the very morning the resignations were handed in, and, learning what had been done, im- mediately sent word to the Republican members not to adjourn, but to meet him that night in consultation at the supreme court room. On assembling, he addressed them at length, taking the ground that a quorum of the House was not broken by a resignation of more than one third of the members ; that the constitutional pro- vision requiring two thirds of the members of each House to constitute a quorum meant two thirds of the actual members, and that when a member resigned, he was no longer a member, and could not be counted as such, and that two thirds of the remaining members constituted a quorum. His argument was conclusive of the question, and the next morning both Houses of the Legislature met and ratified the amendment. Their proceedings were duly certified to the Secretary of State at Washington, and Indiana was counted as hav- ing ratified the amendment. The Democrats who re- signed were equally surprised and disgusted at this turn of affairs. The next Legislature (the Democrats being in a majority) passed a joint resolution declaring the " pretended " ratification " null and void," and " with- drawing and rescinding all action, perfect and imperfect, on the part of this State, purporting to assent to and ratify said proposed fifteenth amendment." Their pro- test, however, amounted to nothing, and the ratification held £food. HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. 145 The means by which he obtained the ratification of three more States illustrates his fertility of resources and his eminent qualities of leadership. Pending the adoption of the amendment a bill was introduced in the House providing for the reconstruction of Virginia, Texas, and Mississippi. Here was another opportunity, and Senator Morton seized it. When the bill reached the Senate, he submitted as an amendment an additional section, providing that before these States should be admitted to representation in Congress they should ratify the proposed fifteenth amendment. The bill and amendment were referred to the Judiciary Com- mittee, which reported adversely to the amendment. A debate ensued lasting three days, in which Senator Trumbull, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, led in support of the committee's report, and Senator Morton in support of his amendment. This debate brought Senator Morton again prominently before the Senate and the country. The importance of the subject, and the ability with which the discussion was conducted, caused it to be regarded with unusual interest. At its conclusion a vote was taken and Senator Morton was sustained. His amendment passed the Senate and sub- sequently the House, and thus the ratification of Vir- ginia, Texas, and Mississippi was secured. There remained but one more obstinate State to secure, and Senator Morton was mainly instrumental in accomplishing that. Georgia had been reconstructed in 1868, but had subsequently violated faith with the government by expelling all the colored members of 10 146 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. the Legislature, on the ground that they were not eligible to hold office. In December, 1869, therefore, Senator Morton introduced a bill instructing the military commandant to reconvene the Georgia Legislature, in- cluding the colored members elect, and authorizing it thus convened to proceed to the work of reconstruction by the election of two United States senators, who should become entitled to their seats as soon as the Legislature should ratify the fifteenth amendment. The Judiciary Committee, as before, took exception to the last provision, and reported against it. Another debate ensued, similar in spirit to the former, and con- ducted with equal ability. As before, however, Sena- tor Morton was successful, his bill passing the Senate in its original shape by seven majority. Thus was secured the ratification of the last of the five States which, a year previously, Senator Sumner had declared could not be secured, and the fifteenth amendment became a part of the Constitution. The ratification of that noble and beneficent measure might, in time, have been secured by other means, but it stands to-day a grand and perpetual monument of Senator Morton's persistency of purpose, fertility of resources, and un- flinching devotion to the cause of justice. His numer- ous speeches in favor of the amendment furnish the strongest arguments to be found on that side, while the facts here adduced show that its final ratification was in great measure due to his bold and adroit leadership. He led in the great debates on the Ku-Klux outrages '^ i HIS SENATORIAL CAKlER. 147 in the South, on the amnesty question, the Louisiana case, the Mississippi election, and others which have passed into political history. Upon these and all kin- dred questions he held firmly to his conviction that treason was a crime, that the supremacy of the Con- stitution must be enforced, the rights of the weak pro- tected, political toleration guaranteed, and the equality of all men before the law made a living fact instead of a barren ideality. He was never for a single mo- ment actuated by hatred of the South, but he was inex- orable in his demand that the laws should be enforced and that the fruits of the war should not be weakly surrendered or criminally thrown away. His political defamers took pleasure in calling him " the apostle of hate," etc., but the impartial historian will write that his whole course towards the States and people of the South was actuated by praiseworthy and patriotic mo- tives. In one of his speeches in the Senate he said : " Sir, I want peace in the South ; I want it as earnestly as any man can ; but I want peace in the South on correct principles. I am not willing to purchase peace by conceding that they were right and that we were wrong." This was the key-note of all his speeches. He wished to base the reconstruction of the South on enduring principles and to rear the temple of peace, not on a foundation of shifting sand, but upon the solid rock. He filled the difficult position of chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections with great abil- 148 LIFE AND SEEVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. ity. Thoroughly versed in the law of elections, watch- ful of the dignity and honor of the Senate, and careful of the rights of individuals, no man ever brought better qualifications to the consideration and settlement of dis- puted elections than did Senator Morton. The record will show that he treated every question brought before him in a spirit of justice and entirely removed from partisan bias. In one instance he was the means of excluding an unworthy Republican claimant from the Senate and bringing him to merited disgrace. This was the case of Senator Caldwell of Kansas, who was charged with having bought his election to the Senate. As chairman of the Committee on Elections it became the duty of Senator Morton to investigate the case, and upon the evidence adduced he reported in favor of Caldwell's expulsion, and took high ground in favor of purifying the Senate. There was no question of Cald- well's guilt, but his friends demanded that the Senate should simply declare his election void, instead of ex- pelling him. Some of the ablest members of the Sen- ate opposed Senator Morton in this matter, but he so pressed the corrupt senator that in order to escape the certainty of impending expulsion he resigned, thereby confessing all that had been charged and proved. He took a leading part in the protracted discussion of the Louisiana question and showed a complete mas- tery of all its phases. Though he did not always carry his party with him in this matter, he always stood on solid ground, and the facts and arguments which he HIS SENATORIAL CAREER. 149 adduced were never answered. It is conclusive proof at once of his political sagacity and his mastery of the subject that even after his death his report on the Lou- isiana senatorial contest was accepted as an authorita- tive exposition of the case, and the question of Senator Kellogg's admission settled in accordance with princi- ples laid down by him while living. As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations he was influential in shaping the action of the government in regard to the Alabama claims and in bringing about the treaty with Great Britain under which they were finally settled. In this connection it may be stated that in October, 1870, President Grant tendered him the English Mission for the express pur- pose, as was then understood, of securing his services in the settlement of this difficult and delicate question. No higher tribute could have been paid to his ability, character, and patriotism. The appointment was warmly approved by the entire Republican press of the country, and Senator Morton's first impulse was to accept it; but upon further consideration, and especially in view of the fact that the Democrats had then the control of the Indiana Legislature and would elect a Democrat to the Senate if he should resign, he declined the prof- fered honor. Upon this the President sent him the fol- lowing : — " Executive Mansion, ■^ Washington, D. C, October 21. " Hon. O. p. Morton, U. S. S. : " Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 19th inst., declining the English Mission, with reasons therefor, is received. I fully 150 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. concur with you in all tlie reasons which you give for the course you find it your duty to pursue in the matter, but re- gret that the country is not to have your valuable services at the English Court at this important juncture. Your course, hoAvever, I deem wise, and it will be highly appre- ciated by your constituents in Indiana and throughout the country. " With assurances of my highest regards, I remain, very truly, your obedient servant, U. S. Grant." This was but one of many marks of confidence which he received from President Grant, who regarded him as preeminently the Republican leader of the Senate and the main pillar of his administration. CHAPTER XIV. OTHER PUBLIC AND POLITICAL SERVICES. In January, 1873, the Committee on Privileges and Elections having been instructed " to examine and re- port upon the best and most practicable mode of elect- ing the President and Vice-president, and providing a tribunal to adjust and decide all contested elections connected therewith," Senator Morton delivered a speech in the Senate in favor of abolishing the Elec- toral College, and electing the President and Vice-presi- dent by direct vote of the people, by districts. In the course of an elaborate argument of the question, he dwelt upon the dangers of the present system, and es- pecially on the fact that, as now organized, there is no tribunal for the settlement of electoral contests. On this point he said : — " There is imminent danger of revolution to the nation whenever the result of a presidential election is to be deter- mined by the vote of a State in which the choice of electors has been irregular, or is alleged to have been carried by fraud or violence, and where there is no method of having these questions examined and settled in advance ; where the choice of president depends upon the election in a State which has been publicly characterized by fraud or violence, and in which one party is alleged to have triumphed and 152 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. secured the certificates of election by chicanery or the fraud- ulent interposition of courts If the system of electo- ral colleges is to be continued, some means should be devised by which the election of these electors in the States may be contested so that if it has been controlled by fraud or vio- lence, or if there be two sets of electors, each claiming the right to cast the vote of a State, there may be some machin- ery or tribunal provided by which fraudulent returns could be set aside or corrected, and the contending claims of differ- ent sets of electors be settled in advance of the time when the vote is to be finally counted, and by which the President of the Senate may no longer be left to exercise the danger- ous powers that seem to be placed in his hands by the Con- stitution, nor the two houses of Congress by the twenty- second joint rule." Considering that these words were spoken in Janu- ary, 1873, they seem almost prophetic of the great presidential controversy and crisis of 1876, which de- veloped itself precisely in the line of Senator Morton's apprehensions. By his later speeches, lectures, and review articles he succeeded in so thoroughly arousing the public mind to the necessity of a change in this behalf that it may now be regarded as only a question of time, and that not distant. In the presidential controversy just referred to, be- lieving that the Republican candidates had been fairly elected, he stood strongly for the constitutional right of the President of the Senate to open and count the votes, and was opposed to the creation of the electoral commission. Congress, however, having passed the bill to create the commission, he was appointed a mem- ber thereof on the part of the Senate. In t|iis capacity OTHER PUBLIC AND POLITICAL SERVICES. 153 he acted and voted in strict accordance with previously- expressed views. In 1873, in the speech above quoted from, he said: "The proposition that Congress has power to sit as a canvassing board upon the electoral votes of the States, admitting or rejecting them for reasons of its own, subverts the whole theory by which their appointment was conferred upon the States There is no such express power given to Congress in the Constitution, nor is it necessary to carry out any express power therein given, and its exercise would be in direct conflict with the known purpose of the framers to make the executive and legislative department as nearly independent of each other as possible." In ac- cordance with these views he voted steadily against the right of the commission, whose powers were derived from Congress, to go behind the regularly certified electoral vote of any State. No American statesman of recent times labored so hard or so effectively as Senator Morton to inculcate the idea that the United States are a nation, and not a mere confederation of States. ' To his mind the former idea embraced the true conception of our governmental system, and the only one on which the Union can be made enduring, while the latter contained the very ele- ments of weakness, disintegration, and ruin. This was a cardinal doctrine of his whole political life. In May, 1860, he wrote : " It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public mind that we are one people, a nation, and not a mere coalition of sovereign and independent 154 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. xMORTON. States." lu a messao^e to the Indiana Legislature in November, 1865, he said : " The war has established upon imperishable foundations the great fundamental truth of the unity and indivisibility of the nation. We are many States, but one people, having one undivided sovereignty, one flag, and one common destiny." In a lecture, delivered at Providence, Rhode Island, Novem- ber 27, 1871, in the Franklin Lyceum course, he took for his theme the " National Idea," and elaborated the subject very thoroughly, tracing the development of the State Sovereignty doctrine from the resolutions of 1798 to the breaking out of the rebellion, and showing how pregnant it had always been with danger to the country. In the course of this address Senator Mor- ton said : " The idea that we are a nation, that we are one people, undivided and indivisible, should be a plank in the platform of every party. It should be presented on the banner of every party. It should be taught in every school, academy, and college. It should be the political north star, by which every political manager should steer his bark. It should be the central idea of American politics, and every child should, so to speak, be vaccinated with the idea, that he may be protected against this political distemper that has brought such calamity upon our country." Again, in a speech deliv- ered in Ohio in August, 1873, he used the following- fine figure : — " What the sun is ia the heavens, diffusing light and life and warmth, and by its subtle influence holding the planets in their orbits, and preserving the harmony of the universe, OTHER PUBLIC AND POLITICAL SERVICES. 155 guch is the sentiment of nationality in a people, diffusing life and protection in every direction, holding the faces of Americans always towards their home, protecting the States in the exercise of their just powers, and preserving the harmony of all. We-must have a nation. It is a necessity of our political existence. We should cherish the idea that while the States have their rights, sacred and inviolable, which we should guard with untiring vigilance, never per- mitting an encroachment upon them, and remembering that such encroachment is as much a violation of the Constitution of the United States as to encroach upon the rights of the general government; still bearing in mind that the States are but subordinate parts of one great nation — that the nation is over all, even as God is over the universe." Similar quotations might be made at length. From nearly all his speeches and addresses delivered in or out of the Senate the idea crops out with ever recur- ring force that the American people are one people, and this government a government of the people and not of States — in short, that we are a nation, and not a confederacy. In the attempted secession of the Southern States and the war which followed he saw the natural fruits of the doctrine that the government is a mere confederation of sovereign States, while in the successful effort of the government to preserve the Union he recognized the grand idea of national soli- darity. Senator Morton's campaign speeches may fairly be ranked among his services to the country, for he al- ways spoke on the side of law and loyalty, justice and equal rights. Notwithstanding his physical infirmity 156 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. during the last ten years of his life, he never failed to take part in a political campaign in Indiana, and often visited other States in response to the urgent appeals of Republicans who knew so well the power of his earnest eloquence. Believing the Republican party to represent the principles of liberty and progress, and regarding it as the political embodiment of those ideas upon which alone the government could be maintained, his whole soul was bound up in its success, and nothing short of absolute prostration could prevent him from participating in any campaign where his services were desired. In Indiana he was regarded as the head and front of the party, — its organizer, counselor, captain, and chief. His influence largely shaped every political campaign in the State from 1860 to 1876 ; he generally made the " key-note speech " and took an active part in the canvass that followed. His printed speeches con- stitute a rich mine of current political thought from which, for a long time to come. Republican speakers may draw their most effective arguments. But, as be- fore stated, his services in this regard were not confined to Indiana. Wherever there was a hard or doubtful contest he was sent for, and never failed to respond. Thus, in Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in Maine, and other States, his very name came to be a tower of Repub- lican strength, and vast crowds assembled to hear the great leader, partially disabled and sitting, launch his thunderbolts of argument and invective against the Democratic party. In spite of his physical infirmity, few men would travel farther or by rougher convey- OTHER PUBLIC AND POLITICAL SERVICES. 157 ances to keep a political appointment, and probably not another in any State would so sacrifice his private business and personal convenience to the service of his party, as Senator Morton. And yet, we repeat, he worked for the Republican party not more for its own sake than because he believed that through it was the only practicable way of serving and saving the country. Sefiator Morton's political speeches abound with pas- sages remarkable for condensed logic, terseness of ex- pression, aptness of illustration, purity of English, and elegance of diction. He did not aim to be ornamental in his speeches, but he was often very happy in his ex- pressions and illustrations. Nor was he wanting in the highest powers of eloquence if by that term we under- stand the power of moving and convincing. He could hold and move and sway great assemblages of men. The Hon. John U. Pettit writes : " I think that Gov- ernor Morton's character as a speaker, especially in his early years, has not been well described, especially in so much of it as denied him emotion and enthusiasm. I have in my mind one instance, a memorable one, in which he wrought an immense audience to tears." He could do and sometimes did this, not by any trick of language or art of acting, but by the beauty of his thoughts and the aptness of his language. He had a heart full of tenderness himself, and when he chose to draw from it could move the hearts of others. In a eulogy upon his life and character, President Tuttle of Wabash College said : " I do not say that Morton was always eloquent. To do that would be to forget that 158 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. sometimes even the wings of the loftiest eloquence skim the earth so closely as to bedraggle thera. No man ever lived who was always eloquent. .' . . . Morton was not always eloquent, but there were times when he was as truly eloquent as Chatham, or Henry, or Webster. To be eloquent is not merely a thing of the man, it is also a thing of the occasion which calls out the man, and a thing of the presence in which he thunders. There were occasions in Morton's career in which the man, the theme, and the audience produced eloquence as genuine as that of Demosthenes." The same com- petent judge recalls an incident of the joint canvass for governor between Morton and McDonald in 1864, when they spoke together at Crawfordsville. Dr. Tuttle says : " The occasion was memorable for the ability of both the speakers, but especially for Morton's rejoinder to his opponent's attack on his ' financial policy,' to which reference has already been made. It was worthy to be ranked with the rejoinders of Pitt in the Parlia- ment or Webster in the American Senate. It will be remembered by those who heard it as a very noble and eloquent speech in defense of one of the boldest acts in his official career." There could be no better testimony than this as to Senator Morton's power as a speaker, and it might be supplemented by that of thousands who have felt the force of his eloquence in the Senate chamber, from the platform, or on "the stump." There have been many prettier speakers than he, many who understood better how to round a period or polish a phrase ; but if eloquence is the power of moving and t OTHER PUBLIC AND POLITICAL SERVICES. 159 convincing men then certainly Senator Morton was truly eloquent. His great services to the State and nation met with various marks of recognition from high sources. It was not alone the people of Indiana who honored him but loyal men throughout the country and great men recog- nized him as one of the greatest. Just before he sailed for Europe in 1865 the Hon. S. P. Chase, then Secre- tary of the Treasury, wrote him a letter stating that in a conversation with Secretary Stanton the night before " we, naturally turning our minds to the past, fell to talking of you. We agreed that no governor rendered such services, or disjDlayed such courage or more ability in administration ; and we agreed that your recent ser- vices, were most meritorious of all, because rendered under circumstances of greater personal risk of health and life, and which would have been by almost any man regarded, and by all accepted, as good reason for total inaction. I have seldom heard Stanton express himself so earnestly." In a speech delivered at a sol- diers' reunion at Rockville, Indiana, September 6, 1875, General Tecumseh Sherman said : " Governor Morton was one of the few civilians who seemed to be unable to do enough for his soldiers, never hesitating to count the cost or the sacrifice, but acting speedily and in season. General Grant and all of us thought him one of the noblest men at home. I wish to repeat what I have heretofore said so often, that to Governor Morton the army owed much in many ways. He never failed 160 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. US. He never said our State has stood the draft, or we have furnished our quota, but answered every call, and when the State was well-nigh impoverished he used his own credit. To-day the record of his fame as the soldier's friend is bright and untarnished as glitter- ing gold." During the whole of General Grant's two adminis- trations Senator Morton was his trusted friend and counselor. Since the Senator's death General Grant has said that but for his ill health he should have ap- pointed him Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and in a letter of condolence, written to the widow from Paris, he says : " His services as governor of Indiana in the most trying times the nation has ever passed through, and his services in the Senate since, and during such an eventful period, will rank him with America's greatest patriots and statesmen." Thus one man whom the nation has delighted to honor bears willing testimony to the greatness and worth of another who himself deserved the highest honors the nation could bestow. CHAPTER XV. CLOSING SCENES. FINAL ILLNESS AND DEATH. That Senator Morton should have been able in his condition of health, partially paralyzed and seriously enfeebled, to hold during nearly ten years the position of acknowledged leader of the Senate and the greatest political organizer of his time, is a striking proof of his wonderful energy and will power. Indeed, these quali- ties in him were so remarkable that the moral part of him seemed entirely superior to physical pain and natural disease. During the whole period of his sena- torial service he was one of the most laborious men in that body, never shirking nor slighting any olRcial duty, however onerous. ^ Owing partly to his physical dis- ability, and partly to natural taste, he participated very little in social life at the capital, the time thus saved being devoted to investigating public questions, answer- ing letters, receiving callers on business, or to other matters pertaining to his office. His first attack of paralysis in 1865 was the beginning of the disease which was eventually to cause his death, and the twelve years that followed were a constant struggle between that malady and his mighty will. His father and a brother had died of the same disease, one sister had 11 162 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. been stricken with it, and after his first attack there could be little doubt that it would ultimately prove fatal with him. That he was able to fight it off as long as he did and meanwhile with shattered health to accomplish so much in the way of public service is not the least among the proofs of the greatness of his nature. In the spring of 1877 the Senate ordered an inves- tigation into the case of Senator Grover of Oregon, who was charged with having procured his election corruptly. This duty devolved upon the Committee on Privileges and Elections and was referred to a sub- committee, consisting of Senators Morton, Saulsbury, of Delaware, and McMillan of Minnesota. The last public appearance of Senator Morton in Indiana was on Decoration Day, the 30th of May, 1876, when he delivered an address at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indian- apolis, in honor of the memory of the soldiers buried there. Thus his last public utterance in the State was in connection with the brave patriots for whom he had cared so tenderly in life. In that address, after briefly tracing the origin of the war and eulogizing the volun- teer soldiers who had fought and died for their country, he said : " And to these men we never can be suffi- ciently grateful ; we never can repay them ; money can- not do it ; the only thing that can approach to it is the love and gratitude of a free and an intelligent people. We owe to them a debt that is registered in heaven, and that can never be repudiated." Referring to the demand of some that the custom of decorating the CLOSING SCENES. 163 soldiers' graves should be done away with as a hurtful reminder of the war, he characterized it as "a false philosophy," and declared that the nation's life consisted in its adherence to true principles. Pursuing this idea, he said : — "We will let by-gones be by-gones. We cannot forget the past ; we ought not to forget it. God has planted mem- ory in our minds and we cannot blot it out. But while we cannot forget yet we can forgive, and we will forgive all who accept the great doctrines of equal liberty and of equal rights to all and equal protection to all, and will be recon- ciled to them. And while we cannot forget the past we will treat them as if the past had never occurred, and that is all that can be asked; and that is true and perfect reconcilia- tion. True reconciliation does not require us to forget these dead ; does not require us to forget the living soldier and to cease to do him justice. We must remember that there is an eternal difference between right and wrong, and that we were on the right side and that they were on the wrong side; and all that we ask of them is that hereafter they shall be on the right side. We should forever remember that we were in the right. We want to transmit that as a sacred inheritance to our remotest posterity. We know that in that great struggle we were in the right. We were grandly in the right, and they were terribly in the wrong. The whole civilized world has now said that we were in the right, and we know that if there is such a thing as right and wrong, we were in the right and they were in the wrong. We want that grand distinction to pass down through all time; but that is entirely consistent with true reconciliation. We say to those who were on the other side of that great contest that cost us so dearly in blood and treasure — that cost us so much suffering and sacrifice — that while we shall forever cherish the lessons that were taught us by that struggle, 164 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. and while we shall forever stand by the principles that we maintained in that contest, all we ask of them is that they shall hereafter stand upon those principles, and let us go forward hand in hand and as Americans and as brethren through all the future pages of our country's history." Whatever others might do under the impulse of a sickly sentimentalism, he would never dishonor the mem- ory of the dead soldiers by confounding the cause for which they fought and died with that for which the rebels fought. But all that he asked of the latter was that " hereafter they should be on the right side." Time alone can show to what extent they are enlight- ened or reformed. He was in poor health when he started for Oregon, but he thought the journey would do him good ; at all events official duty required that he should go. During the entire trip to San Francisco he was much prostrated, but the sea voyage thence to Portland, Oregon, greatly invigorated him and by the time he reached the latter city he was apparently in fine health and ready for any amount of hard work. The investigation lasted eighteen days during which he worked incessantly. One hun- dred and fifty witnesses were examined and the sessions of the committee were sometimes prolonged late into the night. But, in addition to this labor, under which the other members of the committee nearly broke down, Senator Morton prepared an elaborate political speech, for use in the ensuing Ohio campaign. At the con- clusion of the investigation he addressed a public meet- ing at Salem in a speech of considerable length, which CLOSING SCENES. 165 the Oregon papers pronounced the best ever heard in the State. Leaving Oregon, accompanied by his wife and youngest son, he reached San Francisco early in August. The evening of the 6th was passed at the house of a prominent citizen, and after spending a few hours in social intercourse he returned to his hotel be- tween nine and ten o'clock. He partook of a hearty lunch and then retired. Towards midnight he awoke and said to his wife that he felt weak, and feared he would not be able to walk across the room, a thing he had her,etofore been able to do without assistance. Mrs. Morton arose, awoke his son sleeping in the adjoining room, and they supported the Senator across the floor. In an hour or two more he complained that he was losing the use of his left arm, and by morning the entire left side had passed under the influence of the paral- ysis. Previous to this attack he had been feeling re- markably well, and it was not preceded by any warning symptoms. Notwithstanding his alarming condition he insisted on starting home the next day, and accordingly a special car was furnished in which a cot was provided and the best arrangements possible made for his com- fort. Then, on the 7th of August, accompanied as usual by his wife and son, he started from San Francisco for his Indiana home. During this long journey, though he was very much depressed and even feared he would not reach home to die, he uttered not a word of com- plaint but bore his affliction in heroic silence. At Chey- enne, Wyoming Territory, he "was met by his brother-in- law. Colonel W. H. Hollo way, who thenceforward was a 166 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. constant attendant at his bedside, and at Peoria, Illinois, Dr. W. C. Thompson, the Senator's long time physician, joined the sad party. His house in Indianapolis not being prepared for his reception he was taken to Rich- mond, AVayne County, and to the residence of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Burbank, in that city. Here he was at once made as comfortable as his condition would permit and had every attention that medical skill or loving affection could devise. The news of his attack had already spread abroad, and although as yet his friends did not think it would prove fatal, the greatest concern was manifested throughout the country. Let- ters and telegrams of inquiry poured in from all parts, and this continued during his entire illness. Many dis- tinguished men visited him and a still larger number sent messages of love and sympathy. On the 13th of September the President of the United States visited Richmond for the express purpose of calling upon the sick Senator. The meeting between them was simple but affecting. The great War Governor and distinguished Senator lay stretched upon his bed, broken, emaciated, and almost helpless. His once massive features were pinched with pain, and the eyes that had flashed fire in so many contests were dimmed by sickness and by the medicines taken to alleviate his sufferings. Approach- ing the bed the President pressed the Senator's ex- tended hand warmly, and then, bending over, kissed him on the forehead. The interview was necessarily brief, and after a few words of earnest sympathy from the President, in which he said he spoke for the country CLOSING SCENES. 167 as well as for himself, he retired from the room evi- dently very much affected. In this interview Senator Morton assured the President that he would be in his seat in the Senate at the opening of the regular session of Congress in December. Such was doubtless his ex- pectation at the time, but it was not to be realized. On the evening of the 15th of October he was placed in a special car and removed to his home in Indianapo- lis. This short trip seemed to do him some good, and the hope of his recovery, at least sufficiently to take his seat in the Senate, was strengthened. During the following weeks Colonel Holloway and other friends were unremitting in their attentions and nothing was left undone either to prolong his life or mitigate his sufferings. All this time he took a lively interest in current affairs and especially in what was passing in the political world. He wanted the papers read to him during nearly every waking moment, and even at night, waking from a short sleep, his first exclamation was " Read." If the reader stopped a moment to rest or for any other purpose he would say, " Read on ! Don't stop till I tell you." So absorbing was his interest in public affairs and his desire to keep up with current events. Meanwhile it had become apparent that his vital forces were giving way and that he could not last much longer. For many days, even weeks, he took no nourishment except milk or occasionally a little beef tea, and even these were not digested. The paralysis seemed to have reached Jiis stomach, and all natural ac- tion was destroyed. Still his mind continued active 168 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. and clear and when friends visited his bedside he would welcome them with a pleasant %smile and grasp of the hand. As long as there was the slightest ground for hope those nearest him clung to the belief that he would recover, but from Tuesday, October 30th, it be- came evident to all that his case was hopeless. His symptoms on that day were such as to make it plain that his end was drawing near. During the 31st his death was hourly expected and several times the ru- mor went abroad that he was dead. A great number of telegrams were received from all parts of the coun- try inquiring if these rumors were true and asking for information as to his condition. Thursday, November 1st, dawned gloomily. The dull, gray light that first found admittance to the sick-room fell upon a dying man, though the end was yet some hours distant. During the day he lay very quietly, only making known his wants in broken accents. A number of friends were in and out of the room during the day, and his wife and family remained near the bedside. In the afternoon he sank rapidly. At 4.45 o'clock he had a paroxysm of pain, and passing his hand over his stomach, said feebly, " I am dying." A little later his youngest son, taking his hand, said, " Father, do you know me ? " He nodded an assent and gave signs of satisfaction when his son and other members of the family kissed him. A few minutes after five o'clock, while Dr. Thompson was holding his hand, he said, " I am dying ; I am worn out." These were the last audi- ble words he uttered. Then he ceased to move, and at CLOSING SCENES. 169 twenty-eight minutes past five o'clock the vital spark went out and his great life was at an end. The news of Senator Morton's death caused a pro- found sensation throughout the country. Although the event had been anticipated for several days, it came as a shock at last, and created a sorrow so deep and wide- spread that it could only be compared to that caused by the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln. Flags were displayed at half-mast, and bells were tolled through- out the land. Men gathered on the street corners and discussed the event as a national calamity. The Presi- dent of the United States issued a special order direct- ing the flags on all the public buildings to be placed at half-mast, and the government departments to be closed on the day of the funeral. He also sent a telegram to Colonel Holloway, expressive of his personal bereave- ment, and his sympathy for the surviving family of the departed statesman. The Vice-president of the United States sent a similar dispatch. The Cabinet met, and gave expression to their deep sense of the nation's loss. The Senate and the House of Representatives each ap- pointed committees to attend the funeral, and both ad- journed as a further mark of respect to his memory. The governor of Indiana and the mayor of Indian- apolis issued proclamations closing public offices, and calling upon citizens to suspend business during the funeral services. The bells of Indianapolis were tolled, and the city council met, and after passing memorial resolutions, resolved to attend the funeral in a body. The city council of Cincinnati met and appointed a 170 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. committee to attend the funeral. Citizens' meetings were held in all the large towns of the State, and ap- propriate action taken relative to the sad event. The State University and the public schools of Indianapolis were ordered to be closed on the day of the funeral. The Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, of which Senator Morton was chairman, met, and having passed a resolution of sympathy and condolence, ad- journed in honor of his memory. The members of the bar of Indianapolis and other cities met and took ap- propriate action. In many of the county towns through- out the State the court-houses were draped in mourning and business was suspended. The press teemed with elaborate articles upon his character and public ser- vices, and agreed with remarkable unanimity that the country had lost one of its greatest men. Military companies and social organizations of various kinds met and determined to attend the funeral. Thus in all directions, and by every means known to modern society, men gave expression to their profound sorrow, and to the respect and affection which they bore for the de- ceased. There being a general desire on the part of the pub- lic to view the remains of the departed statesman, they were placed in the main hall of the court-house at In- dianapolis, where they lay in state during Sunday and part of Monday. During this time they were viewed by many thousands of persons who came from far and near to take a last look at one who had filled so large a place in the history of the country. Special trains were run on several of the railroads bringing a great CLOSING SCENES. 171 number of persons to the city, and the solemn proces- sion which passed through the court-house during these days had seemingly no end. The funeral, which took place Monday, November 5th, was a grand and imposing pageant, solemn, impress- ive, and memorable. A vast concourse of people was assembled from all parts of the country. Every branch of the federal government was represented. The Pres- ident, being unable to attend, sent his son to represent him. Of the cabinet officers, Secretary Thompson of the Navy, and Attorney-general Devens were present. On the part of the Senate of the United States there were Senators McDonald of Indiana, Davis of Illinois, Bayard of Delaware, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Burn- side of Rhode Island, and Booth of California. On the part of the House of Representatives, there were Representatives Hanna and Cobb of Indiana, Banks of Massachusetts, Townsend of New York, Wilson of West Virginia, Burchard of Illinois, and Davidson of Florida. The judiciary department was represented by federal judges from several neighboring States, and the army by a number of officers. Besides these, there were a great number of distinguished citizens from all parts of Indiana, governors, ex-governors, and repre- sentative men from other States, numerous military companies and delegations from civil societies, and thousands of his neighbors who knew and loved him. After solemn ceremonies at the church the procession formed, by far the largest ever seen in Indiana, and the remains of her dead Governor and Senator were borne to Crown Hill Cemetery, and there laid to rest. CHAPTER XVI. SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. The foregoing sketch of his life and public services will have given the reader some idea of the person- ality of Oliver P. Morton, but before dismissing the subject the picture may be appropriately filled in with a reference to his personal character, and with some extracts from eulogies passed upon him by those who knew him. But even here we are forced to dwell on many traits that were developed by his public life, for during many years he lived so much for the country that it is practically impossible to separate his private from his public character. From his first entrance into politics he became wholly absorbed in that pursuit. Naturally earnest and intense, he made thorough business of what- ever he undertook. To him politics was the science of public affairs, the art of governing through party organization, and he devoted himself to the work of mastering the subject just as he did in early life to the law. And he did master it. That he was the ablest political leader, and the best party organizer of recent times, if not the greatest America has produced, is now generally conceded. In this line he not only had no equal but scarcely a rival. But he was not a mere SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 173 politician, he was a statesman and patriot. He was in- deed a Republican under all circumstances, and, it may be confessed without detracting from his fame, a par- tisan ; but his ends were always those of his country, and his grandest party services were in cases where party success was identical with the national welfare. In politics as in everything he was a practical man, dealing with practical measures and aiming at practical results. He took men as he found them and endeav- ored to do the best possible under any given circum- stances. There was nothing of the dreamer or the doctrinaire about him. He did not evolve fine-spun theories of government from his inner consciousness and endeavor to make men and things conform to an impossible ideal, but he framed his measures to meet actual cases and dealt with men and things as he found them. In a speech delivered during the presidential campaign of 1872, he said of General Grant: " I have said he was a man of superior ability. I think a man's ability, whether he is a lawyer, a military man, or a statesman, is best determined by what he accomplishes. I want a man who can do a thing ; I want a general who can win battles, and not one who always procures defeats." This is a fair epitome of Morton's character. He liked a man who could " do a thing," and he was himself that sort of man. His public record furnishes abundant evidence of this. He did things. He was a natural leader. He possessed a sort of imperiousness of temper which made this a necessity mid men recoirnized it as one of the essential elements 174 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. of his greatness. He could follow when circumstances, as the good of the country or the welfare of the Re- publican party, required it, but leading was most to his taste. And he had all the necessary qualities of a leader. He was bold, alert, full of resources, of almost unerring judgment in j^olitics, with a cool and imper- turbable temper, inflexible purpose, aggressive without being violent, never rash and never slow — in short, the most consummate political leader of his time. This was not only felt by the people, but by fellow senators and others in public life. In an address delivered at a citizens' meeting held in Indianapolis after his death, Hon. W. P. Fishback said that during a visit to "Wash- ington while Morton was in the Senate a Republican senator said : " Your senator is the leader of us all." And Judge (now Senator) Davis said to the same gentle- man during a later visit to the capital, and while sitting in the senate chamber, " Your Indiana senator is the bull-dog of them all. He is the big man of the whole party." That he felt his capacity for leadership is undeniable. Probably no man ever possessed the capac- ity who did not feel it. Yet he never asserted it offensively in the Senate or elsewhere. On the contrary he was always courteous, considerate, and studiously careful of senatorial proprieties both towards his polit- ical friends and opponents. But he never truckled. His method of political warfare was bold and open. Judge Hoadly of Cincinnati said of him : " He seemed to me utterly incapable of deceit or disguise, but con- ducted his political warfare in the most bold, direct, and SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 175 manly style. I came from Washington last winter with vastly more respect for him than for men like and , whose pretenses of political morality were very much higher than Jiis." The same gentle- man, referring to Senator Morton's habitual urbanity of manner, said : " In his personal relations he was both amiable and kind, genial and sweet tempered. It was only where he entered the political arena that he lost restraint and trampled down his antagonists like a charge of cavalry." This needs modification. He did trample down political antagonists if they stood in his way, but this was done in the discharge of what he conceived to be political duty and not in a manner to give personal offense. In his political speeches he never indulged in personal abuse. He often denounced the Democratic party, its spirit, its policy, etc., and would freely criticise the public acts and records of its leaders ; but as in the Senate he was never unparlia- mentary, so on the hustings he was never abusive. One who knew him long and well says : " You may search through his public addresses and compare them with those of the other great leaders of the country ; you will find them freer from personal abuse than any speeches made for the last twenty years. He was bitter in hostility against the policy of a party, and there were, doubtless, in his speeches expressions of bitterness towards all measures which he believed to be opposed to the best interests of the country, but there was never any personal resentment." Those who did not know him personally, or who judged him by his 176 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. campaign speeches, or by the terrible earnestness with which he denounced the atrocities practiced in the South, may possibly have thought him as cruel and vindictive as they were fond of representing him. Nothing could be farther from the truth ; he was a man of tender heart and very gentle nature. There is not much room for the exercise of these qualities in politics, and he was anything but a sentimentalist in public affairs, but they appeared conspicuously in his domestic relations. His family life was beautiful. His devotion to his wife was most tender, and her influence over him was un- bounded. His attachment to his children was remark- ably strong, and that which existed between him and his youngest son was quite extraordinary. This youth scarcely ever came near his father without kissing him, and no matter how important the latter's occupation at the time, he never checked the lad or failed to ac- knowledge his caress. In a eulogy pronounced at his funeral the Rev. Dr. Bayliss of Indianapolis said : " This man had something else in him besides ambition and schemes and cold power. While he could hate wrong with intensity, and could denounce it with the vehemence of lightning ; could carry the affairs of a great State in his iron hand, and do it easily, and could leap almost in a day to the leadership of a Senate ; he could also love like a woman, and, as a matter of fact, displayed in his constant family intercourse an affec- tion that was as exquisite as it was exceptional." General H. B. Carrington, who was intimately asso- ciated with him during the war, says : " The one quali- SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 177 fying element which intermingled with all his opera- tions was the home element. This was a necessity, a passion. It took the place of all other luxuries and overflowed into public activities. The sympathy for the sick soldier which the world respected was a mat- ter which did not come out of speculative ideas of what would bring popularity with the army. At any hour, under any circumstances, no matter how stern the pass- ing issue, he relaxed before the appeal of suffering, and became tender as a woman in his sympathy. There was no false sentiment about this, and only a moment of yielding. There was the instant impulse to re- lieve, and when this was attended to, he resumed his work. The demands of that work, however, never impaired the home charm, or interrupted its display of power. Only those who have seen him at all hours, under every strain of mental and physical activity, with a constant outflow of affection for wife and chil- dren, can understand how the relations of husband and father emotionized and governed his entire inner life. Whoever assailed him in that citadel shot headless shafts." Senator Morton had great simplicity of character. He was above all affectation, and never did anything for show or effect. There was nothing pompous about him, no assumption of greatness. As Governor or as Senator, he was accessible during all business hours to all classes, and treated the poorest man as consider- ately as the most distinguished. He cared nothing for dress, so little in fact that he required to be constantly 12 178 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. looked after in this regard. His wife always bought his shoes, and he would wear a pair till his feet were almost on the ground if her timely attention did not supply the need. Vanity may exist along with great- ness. Some great men have been vain of their per- sonal appearance, fastidious about the tie of a cravat, or careful as to the cast of a curl. Senator Morton had no vanity. He was so inattentive to his personal appearance as to retpire the close supervision of his wife in this behalf. He was thoroughly republican and simple in his tastes. "While in Paris in 1865 he was invited to a state ball at the Tuileries, but finding that if he went he would have to wear a court suit, em- bracing knee-breeches, a dress sword, and cocked hat, he declined the invitation. He could not consent to exhibit himself in such a garb as that. It has been said that " no man is a hero to his valet," but Senator Morton impressed even his most intimate friends, and those nearest him, by the severe simplicity and dignity of his character. Senator Morton was an honest man. Whatever ambition he may have had, it did not lie in the direc- tion of accumulating wealth. He made no money in politics beyond the legitimate savings of his official salary. Living in an era of general extravagance, his family expenses were still hSld to rigid limits, and though he had abundant opportunities to enrich himself at public expense, he kept his hands and conscience clean. As governor of Indiana, he had unlimited oppor- tunities for stealing, and for making money by '• out- SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 179 side operations," yet after having carried on the whole state government for two years with funds raised by his own efforts, every dollar of which passed through his hands, a rigid investigation of the accounts, con- ducted in part by his political opponents, failed to dis- cover the misappropriation or misuse of a penny. In the Senate he was never accused or suspected of con- nection with any jobbery, and the malice of his worst enemies never ventured to cast an imputation on his honesty. Judge Hoadly of Cincinnati, not a political friend of Senator Morton's, said after his death : " In these days it is not to be forgotten that he died a poor man. His opportunities for the acquisition of wealth were unlimited, except by the scruples of his own con- science. To his honor be it ever remembered that, whatever want of scruple he may have had in the use of illegal or extra constitutional meaus to achieve what he considered a necessary end, no ill-gained dollar ever reached his pocket, but from the beginning to the end he lived a life free from the taint of greed." And a paper which had reeked with vilest abuse of him while living, said of him dead : " Living in an age of venality, of depravity and bribery, he kept his hands clean. With opportunities to enrich himself possessed by few, he contented himself with a moderate competency ; " and this, it should be added, was mainly gathered dur- ing the period of his law practice, and before he en- tered politics. The following incident never before made public, illustrates at once his simple tastes, and his scrupulous care to keep his reputation free from all 180 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. suspicion in this regard. Shortly after his second election to the Senate, Judge M. L. Bundy of New- Castle, Indiana, a life-long friend, conceived the project of raising a sum of money among the Indiana friends of Senator Morton, and building him a fine house in Washington. The amount which it was proposed to raise was $30,000, and this was to be raised from men who were neither office-holders nor expectants. Sev- eral persons had been spoken to, all of whom had sig- nified their willingness to contribute liberally, and there was no doubt that the sum could be collected with very little effort. At this juncture, in order to avoid any complication, Judge Bundy wrote to Senator Morton, stating briefly his purpose, and asking if it would be agreeable to him that his friends should proceed any further. Following is Senator Morton's reply : — " United States Senate Chamber, Washington, July 12, 1873. "Hon. M. L. Buxdy, New Castle, Indiana : — ' ' My Dear Judge : — Thanking you sincerely for your friendly sentiments and your desire to aid me to a house in in this city, in the manner you suggest, I am, however, con- strained to decline. The people of Indiana have stood by me beyond my deserts, and my political friends have been faithful and earnest, for which I am deeply grateful. Such a contribution as you suggest might perhaps be obtained, but I would have no way of rewarding my friends for it and should feel myself under a weight of obligation which would be oppressive. I apprehend also that the fact of such a do- nation, and the acceptance of it on my part, might impair my political influence and ability to serve the people of Indiana. SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 181 While therefore fully appreciating the friendship which prompted your suggestion, I am forced to decline. " I am, very sincerely yours, "O. P. Morton." Considering the circumstances and the manner of the proposed gift, the intention being that none should contribute but personal friends, and those who were not office-holders nor office-seekers, the most rigid political purist could hardly have found fault with so graceful and substantial a testimonial to a faithful public servant. Nevertheless we cannot but respect the feeling of Sen- ator Morton in regard to the matter, and the honorable motives which prompted him to decline the proffered gift. He had had experience enough of the untiring energy of political malice, and doubtless deemed it best to avoid even the appearance of evil. Being honest himself he believed, as a general rule, in the honesty of others. He did not subscribe to the doctrine promulgated by some in recent years that pol- itics is a school of corruption, and that every man in public life is prima facie a rascal. He had no pa- tience with the unreasoning brawlers who shower indis- criminate abuse on all in office, and who defame their country by denouncing its politics and civil service as hopelessly corrupt. " Those who charge and believe in universal corruption," he said in one of his campaign speeches, " are themselves most likely to be corrupt, and when we hear a brawling demagogue on the stump denouncing Republican officials as generally corrupt, the chances are that man will be a thief at the first • 182 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. opportunity." He held that the world was growing better instead of worse, and preferred to believe in general honesty rather than universal depravity. To quote again from one of his campaign speeches, deliv- ered in Ohio in 1873 : " The standard of public morals is to-day higher in this country than it has ever been before. Of this I am satisfied from a somewhat care- ful reading of the history of our country for the last one hundred years. So far from the public morals having been debauched and deteriorated during the last twelve years of Republican rule, notwithstanding the war with all its consequences and demoralizations, they have been greatly elevated and improved." It will thus be seen that Senator Morton was no believer in the general political corruption of his countrymen, or in the growing depravity of the times. He was faithful in his attachments and devoted to his friends. This was partly due to his nature, for a truer-hearted man never lived, and partly to the school of politics which he practiced. He loved his friends for their own sake, and was true to them -because they were true to him. He never troubled himself to con- ciliate his enemies ; but, to use a colloquialism, he " stuck to his friends through thick and thin." He may even sometimes have committed the error of being too de- voted to them, but he certainly never fell into the egregious blunder of neglecting them in order to con- ciliate his enemies. In one of his campaign speeches, referring to this same quality in General Grant, he said : " There is no man who is truer to his friends than SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 183 General Grant. No matter what the clamor against a friend of his may be, unless he believes that that man has done something wrong or is not a good man, he will not desert him. He stands by him, let the country howl if it will." Whatever mistakes this qual- ity'' may sometimes lead its possessor into, men respect it far more than they do the cowardly one which leads some men to sacrifice a score of friends in order to placate one enemy. Oliver P. Morton was a patriot in the truest sense of the word. He earnestly desired and labored for the integrity, prosperity, greatness, and glory of the whole country. His speeches abound with utterances which prove the truth of this. He was as little sec- tional as any statesman the country has produced. He was for the Union unbroken, the government intact, and a national sovereignty that should command re- spect by deserving it. In all his measures and policies he had regard not merely to present results but to the future welfare and prosperity of the country, through the establishment of right principles and the develop- ment of a strong national sentiment. No man studied the constitution more closely or was more thoroughly imbued with its spirit. He loved liberty, revered law, and hated injustice. He regarded the Union of the States as a sacred legacy bequeathed to posterity by tiie fathers of the Constitution, and its preservation when threatened became with him a mighty absorbing passion. The mayor of Indianapolis, who was closely associated with him dui-ing the war, says : " If ever 184 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. there was a great thought animating a human being, it was in the case of Governor Morton the determination that the Union should be preserved." After the war, and during the remainder of his life, this sentiment took the form that the government must and should be established on the eternal principles of justice and right. Many persons have inquired and all will be inter- ested to know what Mr. Morton's views were on the subject of religion. While he was not what is called a professing Christian, he was a firm believer in the truths of Christianity, 'and, prior to his physical dis- ability, was a frequent attendant at church services. Though he talked little on the subject he never hesi- tated when proper occasion offered to express his be- lief in revelation. Writing to a friend from New York on the night before he sailed for Europe, in 1865, he said : " For the sympathy expressed for me by the people at home I am most grateful, and you are right when you say you believe that I deeply appreciate the prayers which have been offered up by the praying friends whom I have left behind. I am no infidel. I was educated by pious grandparents to a professed be- lief in Christianity, and taught to reverence holy things ; and though I may not in many things have led a Christian life, yet I have never fallen into disbe- lief, nor have I been the immoral man some would have the world to believe. The Christian gentleman is the noblest and loveliest character on earth, for which I entertain the highest respect and love. I recognize SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 185 the hand of Providence in all the affairs of men, and believe there is a Divine economy which regulates the lives and conduct of nations." Similar expressions in other letters leave no doubt that he maintained through life a firm belief in the truths of Christianity. The following personal recollections are furnished by Mr. Murat Halstead, editor of " The Cincinnati Com- mercial." " The night after the day when he was beaten by Willard for governor of Indiana (1856), Morton called at my office and was weary and de- pressed. His first state campaign had ended in dis- aster, and he seemed to have no political future. He was himself of the opinion at the time that that was the end of his career as a politician. He was indomitable, though, took the second place on the ticket with Henry S. Lane for leader (1860), and so became the War Governor. I rarely missed seeing him when he came to Cincinnati, and knew more than was on the surface of his excessive labors and anxieties during the war. The first symptom of illness that I ever saw in him was once when he suddenly threw away a cigar, saying it made him nervous and he must stop smoking ; then he said that he was not well and little things were wor- rying him. In some degree this broke the shock of the news that he had a paralytic difficulty. But I never saw him a cripple, toiling painfully on his canes, with- out thinking of his alert and robust young manhood, his rapid walk and ringing step, before the trouble came in a form so hard to bear. Many times I talked with him about his health and ouce urged him to take the time 186 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. and give himself a chance to recover through a long period of rest. He silenced me by saying with deep pathos that his course of ceaseless activity was not in- considerate, adding, ' I am keeping myself alive.' / " One of the strongest impressions that I have re- ceived of Governor Morton is that he grew intellect- ually through the later years of his life more rapidly than at any other time. The paralysis of his limbs seemed to stimulate his brain. He was conscious of this, spoke of it, and it was the one gleam of consolation that came to him in the darkness of his great calam- ity. His stature in the Senate grew with each year's service, so that when he was taken there was none taller than he. 1 differed with him about public affairs and duties, but his greeting was always pleasant, and there was the life of old times in his face." General H. B. Carrington says : " Aside from the controlling political idea of his administration as gov- ernor^ which was the suppression of the rebellion and preservation of the Union, he did not claim precise consistency, but after saying ' I 've changed my mind/ he lead off in the new course with as much vigor as he had shown before. His belief in any issue, or in any policy, became his master, and forced every faculty into service to execute its behests. He wasted no time upon immaterial issues and by rejecting such was often found to be in the forefront of his political associates, leading not led. His personal habits were shaped and mastered by the exigencies of his work. Sleep, rest, and all behests of nature were forced to wait upon his SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. ' 187 convenience. No physical fatigue or prostration could so restrain his will that a pressing demand for thought or action was not respected. He was strictly temperate, had no desire for liquor of any kind and no epicurean tastes in the way of duty." At a citizens' meeting held in Indianapolis after Sen- ator Morton's death to voice the general grief caused by that event, after remarks by many prominent men, all of whom bore testimony to the great ability, many virtues, and unspotted patriotism of the deceased, a memorial was adopted as expressive of the sense of the meeting, from which we quote as follows : " His sense of greatness was such that he saw no duty too difficult for his faculties, and his high and heroic will smiled at dangers which most men would have regarded insur- mountable. His vigilance when danger threatened and plots thickened made his eye seem to be ubiquitous. His mind grasped details, yet he made them the instru- ments of great generalizations. He was rounded and complete, and filled the measure of greatness in always being equal to the exigency in which he was placed. In the supreme crisis of his country, when her institu- tions were menaced with overthrow, his was the step that was in the forefront of the patriotic cause ; his was the trumpet voice that roused men to action. When the crisis was greatest, and the battles grew hottest, his wise provision for the soldiers' wants and his fiery sym- pathy for the soldiers' cause made every soldier of the State, on whatever field, in whatever hospital, feel that Morton was ever present with him. The people loved 188 LIFE AND SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. him. His name among them is a household word. At how many unpretending homes, at how many humble hearthstones, are hearts now bowed with grief as they have never been bowed before. Men may dispute about this or that minor act, but the firmest opponent, bending over the form of the great Senator, will admit the general grandeur of his public service." Of the vast number of press notices we may select a few. The " New York Tribune " said : " He was no doubter ; he believed in his beliefs and in himself, and this, with his indomitable and compelling will, was the secret of his strength. Although burdened for years with a physical disability that would have conquered one less resolute, he was nevertheless the strongest indivi- dual force in the Senate. Carlyle says that the word king (Konig) comes from the German konnen, to can, to be able to do ; and in this case Oliver P. Morton was a king among men." The " New York Times " said : " A skillful organizer, a good debater, an eloquent and popular speaker, and a practical legislator, he did much, in the Senate and out of it, to strengthen his party and to organize victory when defeat seemed possible. Cour- ageous and outspoken, he was never a man of half-way measures and compromises. He was not one of those meek souls who are ready to apologize for the faith which they lightly hold. The " Albany Evening Jour- nal " said : " History will enroll him high among Amer- ican leaders, and will pronounce the judgment : The true patriot ; the faithful champion of liberty ; the devoted friend of the freedmen, and the uncompromising sup- SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 189 porter of the Union." The " St. Louis Republican " said : " The Republican party has never had a greater leader than him who will lead no more. He had all the qualities of leadership ; a clear head, an indomitable will, a wonderful fertility of resource, a courage that never faltered, and a personal magnetism which drew from his followers an obedience as cheerful as it was prompt." The " Chicago Tribune " said : " Mr. Morton has left no equal in the Senate Able, powerful in debate, aggressive and intolerant, honest and patriotic, sincere and unwearying, the name of Senator Morton is deeply impressed on the pages of his country's history, and in future times he will be ranked among the great states- men of the Republic." The Chicago " Inter-Ocean " said : " He was one of the few men whom the world with universal voice calls great Over such a life we love to ponder ; the pen lingers to do honor to the brave, true-hearted, patriotic statesman and friend . of humanity, who, living, occupied a large place in the hearts of the nation, and though now to be consigned to earth, yet speaks in the nobility of a grand and useful life." The " Cincinnati Commercial " said : " Fie had something of the massiveness of Webster, the intellect- ual keenness of Calhoun, the persuasiveness of Clay. In all that he said and did the commanding will, the high resolve, the determination to achieve, to win, was con- spicuous." The " Cincinnati Gazette " said : " In the State of Indiana, in the councils of the nation, and in the party of which he was the most trusted and influential leader, the death of Morton has caused a vacancy which 190 LIFE AKD SERVICES OF OLIVER P. MORTON. cannot be filled. Massachusetts did not furnish a second "Webster, nor Kentucky a second Clay, nor will Indiana produce a second Morton, at least, in this generation." The " Cleveland Leader " said: " He was not only a man to be admired afar off. Every one who came into his presence felt the genial warmth of his great, kind heart. Probably no man in public life save Lincoln has ever been so beloved by those who knew him intimately as the great War Governor. The soldiers whose wants he ministered unto with such untiring zeal, and their families whom he never tired in succoring, idolized him." The " Dayton Journal " said : " The memory of Lincoln has long been enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen ; the fame of the great services of Oliver P. Morton in times that tried men's souls will grow with the years as they pass." The ''Illinois State Jour- nal " said : " In the whole circle of American statesmen it would be impossible to name another who has tri- umphed over such obstacles and left his name so in- delibly written on the pages of his country's history." These quotations might be indefinitely multiplied, but the foregoing will suffice to show the general estimate of Senator Morton's charactQi* and the extent of the national loss in his death. Of the state press the eulo- gies pronounced upon his character and services by the Republican papers were very eloquent, while even Democratic papers admitted that he was a great and honest man, and, to quote the language of a leading one, that " he raised Indiana to a place among the States that she never occupied before his coming." SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER. 191 Thus from various sources and diiferent stand-points vn effort has been made to present a truthful sketch of the life and character of Oliver P. Morton. Necessa- rily incomplete in some important respects, it will still serve to convey at least an approximate idea of one of the great men of the age. The future historian will accord him his proper place, and if the present esti- mate is in any respect erroneous something must be al- lowed to the influence of his mighty presence which still seems to linger among those who knew him. As the true outlines of a mountain or a pyramid are best seen from a distance, so the fairest estimate of a great character like Morton's is made after time has par- tially divested it of those personal qualities which sometimes confuse the judgment by capturing the heart. " Worn out " in the service of his country, our honored Senator has so recently passed away that his personality still seems to pervade the State, and his familiar presence is still fresh in the memories of those who loved him. It is too soon, therefore, for any one who knew him to delineate his character without some- times seeming to verge on eulogy ; but his fellow cit- izens in Indiana will share this feeling, while those of other States can at least pardon and respect it. With confidence, therefore, we commit his fame to the future, not doubting that the name of Oliver P. Morton will be inscribed high in the list of American patriots and statesmen. THE END. o 1-9. 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