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THE
REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES;
OR,
THE WAR OF 1861;
BEING A
ompthe  X       0IotrQ  of itrs Eist anm      ro gros,
COMMENCING WITH
THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE
MOVEMENT OF TROOPS; DESCRIPTION OF BATTLES; LIST OF KILLED AND
WOUNDED; BURNING OF BRIDGES; BURIAL OF SOLDIERS; PATRIOTIC
SPEECHES; AND OTHER INCIDENTS OF INTEREST CONNECTED WITH THE REBELLION.
TAKEN FROM
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS AND OTHER RELIABLE SOURCES.
SECOND  EDITION.
CAREFULLY COMPILED BY
MRS. J. BLAKESLEE FROST.
HARTFORD, 1862.
__ _-~~~~~~~~~~~~




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by
J. BLAKESLEE FROST,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
University Press, Cambridge:
Printed by Welch, Bigelow, and Company.




INTRODUCTION.
IN offering to the public this work on the " Rebellion in
the United States, "it is done with not a little embarrass- 
ment, and many fears and anxieties, known only to those
who, for the first time in their life, under their own real
signature, have brought before the public, to any considerable extent, the effusions of their pen.
In bringing this little volume before the people, the
authoress lays no claim to rare talents, or great abilities
as a " historian," nor expects to win unheard-of. laurels;
but to give to the world a plain, simple, unvarnished
account of passing events as they actually occur; and
she has endeavored in this work to " separate the wheat
from  the chaff," or, in other words, to give the truth
in its purity, and cast aside the fiction.
In submitting this work to the criticism  of the press
and the people, it is done with a thorough knowledge
of her own incompetency, and she is fully aware that
abler pens than hers are being wielded in the work
of narrating this stupendous rebellion.
In preparing this " History," the authoress has endeavored, for the time being, as far as possible, to divest




IV                INTRODUCTION.
herself of prejudice, or at least to disguise her own
real sentiments, and stand upon " neutral ground," which
is the only true position of the "historian," and to give
only facts, without regard to party or political bearing,writing not to win the friendship of any, but hoping for
the favor of all. To record the circumstances, and give
an account of the revolution as it is, the vastness of its
field of operations renders it a work of great labor to
produce a history which shall be at once clear and
minute, and  such a one as shall be worthy to be
preserved for generations yet to come, as well as a repository of the events of the time.
Professing to stand in the shade of obscurity, and
sending forth this volume to tell its own story of the
"Rebellion," the writer leaves it to the sound judgment
of an enlightened public to approve or condemn.
In conclusion, the authoress submits this her first
edition on the " Rebellion " to that " august tribunal,"
the reading public of the nineteenth century, and can
but express the hope that the eye of the critic will glance
lightly over it, and the learned and able of the press
will touch it with a gentle hand, for on them, in a
great measure, depends the success of this work; therefore hoping they will give it a careful perusal, and speak
of it according to its just merits.
J. B. F.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Presidential election, and its effects on the people,....................12
Bank suspension, and meeting of Congress,..........................14
Opening prayer in the House,......................................15
President Buchanan's Message read to both Houses, and transmitted
South..................................................... 17
The Union-saving committee of thirty-three organized,................19
Resignation of Howell Cobb, and his letter to the people of Georgia,....20
Exciting cabinet meeting at Washington in regard to Fort Moultrie.
The President's opposition, and resignation of Secretary Cass,.. 22, 23
Exciting letter from the wife of an officer at Moultrie,.................24
CHAPTER II.
The United States forces in the Southern States, and resignation of Secretary Cass,..................................................25
Proclamation for a national fast,..................................26
The Crittenden compromise,..........................     27
Robbery of the Indian Trust Fund bonds, in the Department of the Interior,........................................................23
Caleb Cushing returns from South Carolina,...................... 30
ix




VI                               CONTENTS.
Evacuation of Fort Moultrie,......................................32
Description of Fort Sumter, and officers of the garrison,...............34
Exciting session of the cabinet, and demands of the South Carolina commissioners,..................................................35
Seizure of the slaver Bonita,......................................37
Senator Benjamin's great secession speech in the United States Senate,..38
Senator Baker, of Oregon, replies to Senator Benjamin,...............40
Secretary of the Interior resigned,..................................41
CHAPTER III.
An imaginary battle at Harper's Ferry,............................42
The Star of the West fired into in Charleston harbor,................43
Resignation of Secretary Thomas, and withdrawal of Southern senators,. 44
Abraham Lincoln, President elect, left Harrisburg, secretly, for Washington,...................................................                    45
Great Union celebration in San Francisco,..........................45
Mr. Lincoln's official welcome to the Capitol.........................46
Peace  convention  adjourned,.................................... 47
Closing of the Thirty-sixth Congress,..............................48
Ceremonies and incidents of the Inauguration,.....................   48
Inaugural address of President Lincoln,.............................54
CHAPTER IV.
Southern side of the question reviewed, with comments,...............65
Great mass-meeting of the citizens at Savannah,......................74
Resignation of Senator Chesnut, of South Carolina, and exciting streetmeeting in Columbia,.........................................                 75
Resignation of Senator Hammond, and enthusiastic meeting in Charleston,...................................................... 76
I. ----------------- -___' 




CONTENTS.                                          VII
Grand gathering of citizens of Charleston to inaugurate the revolution,........................................................77
Arms and equipments of Virginia,................................. 78
Suspension of Southern banks,....................................79
CHAPTER V.
Response of the Governor of Texas to the people's call for an extra session of the legislature,........................................82
Letter written by Brigadier-General Semmes to the people of Georgia,.. 83
Fiery declaration of Governor Wise,................................84
The position of the people of Texas,................................86
Ministers engaged in the cause of treason,...........................87
Meeting of the South Carolina convention,..........................88
Passage of the secession ordinance.................................90
The " Minute-men " of Norfolk to South Carolina, greeting,.......... 91
Grand  demonstration  in  honor of  the  secession  of South  Carolina
throughout the Southern States,.................................92
Meeting of the South Carolina convention at Charleston,..............93
Major Anderson's removal from  Fort Moultrie to Sumter,............. 94
Governor Hicks refuses to convene the legislature of Maryland,........95
CHAPTER VI.
Resignation of Floyd, seizure of government property, shipments of
arms to the South, etc.,........................................98
South Carolina convention passed an ordinance to define and punish
treason,....................................................101
Treasonable conduct of Secretaries Thompson and Toucey,..........103




VIII                           CONTENTS.
Major Anderson's action in reference to the firing into the " Star of the
West,"....................................................105
Secession ordinance passed by Mississippi,........................ 105
Secession ordinance passed by Florida and Alabama,...............106
Lieutenant Slemmer's letter to the Florida commissioners,............107
The people of South Carolina demand the surrender of Fort Sumter,... 107
An attempt to assassinate the President elect in Baltimore,..........109
CHAPTER VII.
The treason of General Twiggs,.................................115
Concentrating troops at Charleston, and preparing for the conflict,....120
Military called out in Washington, to protect the Capitol; -oath of
allegiance administered,.....................................121
Commencement of hostilities -  bombardment of Fort Sumter,.......123
The fort surrendered,.....................................         126
Incidents of the fight,............................................128
CHAPTER VIII.
Great excitement in the North in consequence of the news from Charleston,.................................................... 131
The President's proclamation calling for troops,....................134
The Governor of Massachusetts calls out the Third, Fourth, Sixth and
Eighth Regiments, -  also the Boston Light Artillery,............136
The four regiments arrive in Boston,..............................138
Great excitement at Clapp's Wharf,................................139
Enthusiastic meeting of the Irish residents,..........................141
The adoption of a "daughter" by the Sixth Regiment,..............146




CONTENTS.                                        IX
Arrival of different companies, presentation of the color, and departure
of the Sixth,............................................... 147
Departure of the Third and Fourth Regiments,.................... 149
CHAPTER IX.
The Eighth Regiment leave Boston for Washington,................. 51
Presentation of the flag and patriotic speech by Governor Andrew,.....152
Arrival of the Sixth and Fourth Regiments in New York,...........155
Harper's Ferry arsenal destroyed by Lieut. Jones,....................156
The Massachusetts Sixth Regiment assailed by a mob in its passage
through Baltimore,.........................................157
Correspondence between Governor Andrew and Mayor Brown, of Baltimore, in reference to the Massachusetts dead at Baltimore,.......162
List of the wounded,...........................................164
The President issued a proclamation declaring a blockade of secession
ports......................................................166
Correspondence between Governor Hicks and Governor Sprague,......167
Departure of the celebrated Seventh Regiment, of New York, for Washington,.....................................................169
Great rejoicing at the South over the secession of Virginia,...........172
Railroad bridges burned.........................................173
Gosport navy yard destroyed, to prevent its falling into the hands
of the secessionists.......................................... 173
A letter giving a description of the destruction of the navy yard, by a
soldier at Fortress Monroe,................................ 175
The Fifth Regiment called out -  their departure for the seat of war,....177
Departure of the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Sixth New York Regiments,
-  also the Rhode Island First,.......................... 180




X                                CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
The bodies of the Massachusetts dead, killed at Baltimore, returned
to  Boston,................................................. 188
Their reception by the State Authorities,...........................189
Governor Andrew's Letter to the Mayor of Lowell,.................190
Departure of the steamer Cambridge, with troops and supplies, for Fort
Monroe,....................................................191
Message of Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut,..................191




THE
REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
CHAPTER I.
Has our love all died out; have its altars grown cold;
Has the curse come at last which our fathers foretold?
BROTHER JONATHAN'S LAMENT.
THE smouldering fires which for the last thirty years
have been secretly burning in the hearts of Southern
politicians have, at last, found vent, and, notwithstanding all the peace policies and measures of "conciliation" extended to them by the North, they have chosen
to " rebel" against the government of the United States,
and to trample upon that noblest charter of liberty
which the world has ever seen, framed by our forefathers,
and sealed with their blood,- the Constitution of the
United States; and the last presidential campaign served
to give them a single thread on which to suspend their
disunion sentiments, and afford them a plea, though a
miserable one, for declaring themselves no longer subject
to the federal government, but free to found for themselves a " confederacy " where their own ambitious sons
could obtain high official positions, for which they eagerly
and impatiently thirsted, and which, under the federal
government, for the next four years at least, was denied
them. After the reins of government had been, with one
or two exceptions, in the hands of the South for many
succeeding years, it was deemed by the North that a
change would be productive of much good, and result in
11




12       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
untold benefits to the whole nation; consequently, into
the masses of the North was instilled the "Republican
sentiment;" and the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for
President of the United States was received with general
dissatisfaction throughout the entire South, claiming that
his "principles" were adverse to their interests.  The
"rabid" politicians of the North were touching every
chord that would vibrate through the hearts of the people and secure a Republican administration; while the
hot-blooded demagogues of the South were stirring up
the people and inciting them to " rebellion" and treachery against the general government in the event of the
defeat of their candidate for the presidency.
November 6th, being the presidential election day, the
following candidates were before the people, viz.: Abraham Lincoln, Republican, of Illinois, for President; Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, for Vice-President; Stephen A.
Douglas, Democrat, of Illinois, for President, and Herschel V. Johnson, of Georgia, Vice-President; John J.
Breckenridge, Democrat, of Kentucky, for President, and
Joseph Lane, of Oregon, Vice-President; John Bell,
unionist, of Tennessee, for President, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, Vice-President. The election resulted in Mr. Lincoln's triumph. Seventeen States out
of thirty-three cast their majority vote for Lincoln electors, eleven were for Breckenridge, three for Bell, while
Douglas received the vote of Missouri and three-sevenths
of the vote of New Jersey.
When the news was made known of the election of
Mr. Lincoln to the presidential chair, that the Republican
star was in the ascendant, it was received at the South
with loud demonstrations, and threats of disunion, civil
war, and bloodshed, which savored more of "conspiracies" than of statemanship or honest aims, and which
was secretly responded to by many traitorous spirits at
the North.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       13
First and foremost in the rebellion, South Carolina
took the lead, and, on the 20th of December, 1860, declared
herself out of the Union, and a free and independent
State, and was immediately followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and
Texas, forming themselves into a confederacy with their
capital at Montgomery, Alabama, and Jefferson Davis as
their president, who, with Governor Pickens and some
other turbulent spirits among the revolutionists, seemed
almost entirely lost to considerations of prudence and
discretion, and to act upon the supposition that the
loyal States could be bullied into a conflict or frightened
into "submission" with their threatened thunder and
smoke of war.
But the North remained cool and firm, thinking that
when error and passion had ceased to declaim, perhaps
truth might be heard, and an amicable adjustment of
difficulties might be arrived at; compromise after compromise was drawn up, and Congress was active in its
efforts to repair the breach between the States, and
restore peace and union where now was alienation and
discord; but all to no purpose; in that hotbed of secession
and treachery the voice of conciliation, in any form whatever, could not even gain a hearing, and the new confederacy, so belligerent in spirit, and apparently eager for the
fight, would accept of no compromise, while the free States,
conscious of their strength and resources, were peaceful
in their inclinations, and reluctant to resort to coercion.
The news of the election of Lincoln was received at the
North by many with demonstrations of rejoicing, but their
joy was soon turned to sadness, for it was immediately
followed by a general suspension of business; no trade;
credit almost destroyed; awful panic in the money market,
that commodity bringing exorbitant rates of interest, and
could only be procured by such as could give about three
times its value in collaterals; great declension in the
2




14       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
manufacturing districts; nearly all mills and manufactories were either entirely closed or were working on
short time, and thousands were thus deprived of work or
any means of subsistence for themselves and families,
with the wants and necessities of a " Northern winter"
staring them full in the face, and but little hopes of a
speedy termination of difficulties.
November 22d all the banks in the District of Columbia,
and also those in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wheeling, and
Norfolk, Va., together with the Farmers' and Exchange
Bank in Charleston, S. C., suspended specie payments.
23d, the banks of Augusta, Qa., Trenton, N. J., and
Pittsburg, Penn., suspended specie payments.
26th, all the principal banks of Tennessee, including
the State Bank, suspended specie payments.
The twenty-ninth of November was observed, in most
of the Northern States, as a day of thanksgiving and
prayer; sermons were preached by many eminent divines,
generally urging a policy of peace, concession, and fraternization in the great questions of the day.
The eyes of the masses of the North were now turned;
with an imploring look, towards Congress, with the hope
that that body, when convened, would take some measures to avert the impending blow which seemed ready to
fall upon us, and calm the troubled waters of political
discord, and restore peace and unity.
On the twenty-seventh of November a special session of
the Legislature of Maryland was called for, which Governor Hicks refused to convene, and wrote a letter in reply,
taking strong grounds against secession, and declared his
purpose was to avoid any precipitation of his State in
action on the part of secessionists.
December 3d, Congress met at Washington; the House
opened at twelve o'clock, with the following impressive
and eloquent prayer for the Union, by the Chaplain of
the House, the Rev. Mr. Stockton:



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      15
" 0 God! we remember the past, and we are grateful
for the past. We thank thee for the discovery of this New
World; we thank thee for the colonization of our part of
it; we thank theQ for the establishment of our National
Independence; we thank thee for the organization of our
National Union; we thank thee for all the blessings we
have enjoyed within this Union, - national blessings, civil
blessings, social blessings, spiritual blessings, all kinds of
blessings, unspeakably great and precious blessings, such
blessings as were never enjoyed by any other people since
the world began. And now, 0 Lord, our God, we offer
to thee our humble praise for the past, the present; and
for all the future will it please thee, for Christ's sake, to
grant us thy special aid. Thou art very high and lifted
up; thou lookest down over the whole land, from lake to
gulf, from sea to sea, from the rising of the sun to the
going down thereof; and thou knowest all our doings,
and thou knowest all our failings; thou knowest that
our good men are at fault, and that our wise men are at
fault, in the North and in the South, in the East and in
the West,- they are all at fault; we know not what is best
for us to do, and with common consent we come to thee,
0 Lord, our God; and we pray thee to overrule all unreasonable and wicked men, in all parts of our confederacy.  We pray thee to inspire, and to strengthen, and
to assist all true patriots in every part of the Union; may
thy blessing rest upon all departments of our government. We remember, with especial solicitude, the President of these United States, and his immediate advisers.
They lack wisdom, but if they call upon thee thou
wilt give them wisdom, for thou givest it to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not. Whilst we trust that they
pray for themselves, we here, also, pray for them; let thy
Holy Spirit be granted unto them, and grant that they
may speedily see what is exactly right for them to do,
and grant them grace to do it, and to fully understand the




16       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
position in which they are placed. We thank thee for
this bright and beautiful morning; for the assembling of
the two Houses of Congress; we pray that thy blessing
may rest on the Vice-President, and upon every senator
in his place; upon the Speaker of the House, and upon
every member in his place.  We rejoice to learn that
they see their responsibilities, and that they feel their
responsibilities, and that many of them are looking towards thee for counsel and direction.  0 Lord, our God,
let thy own presence subdue every heart, every mind;
and sanctify all actions to thy own glory and the greatness of our whole people; and 0 grant that we may still
live in peace and harmony in this blessed Union. Amen."
The roll of members was then called.  Most of the
States were fully represented; to the surprise of some,
every member from  South Carolina, except one (Mr.
Bonham), answered to his name on roll-call in the House.
But no senators were present from South Carolina, Georgia, or Louisiana, -the South Carolina senators, Chesnut
and Hammond, having resigned their seats in the Senate,
the former on the tenth, and the latter on the eleventh,
of the previous month (November).
We are compelled, though painfully and reluctantly,
to yield to the force of concurring evidence, establishing
the fact that treachery and treason has struck at the very
root of the Federal Government.
The solicitude and impatience of the people, generally,
to see or hear the presidential message, was intense;
hoping, and clinging to that hope with the tenacity of
life, that it might contain measures of compromise which
would forever settle the question of disunion, and leave
the country unscathed by the terrible ravages of civil war.
The message could not be transmitted to Congress at
the opening of the session, simply because fair manuscript
copies for each House could not be made out in time,
without employing the clerks on Sunday.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      17
Early on the morning of the third the President dispatched Mr. Trescott, Assistant Secretary of State, to
Charleston, with the message, and to urge a postponement of action, in regard to secession, until Congress
could act on compromises and remedies; who, after an
absence of seven days, returns and immediately resigns
his office. At twelve o'clock, on the 4th, the President's
message was delivered to both Houses of Congress, and
the department reports sent in.  The message takes
strong grounds for conciliation; blames the North for its
aggressions on slavery; proposes plans of compromise;
recommends amendments to the Constitution; denies the
right of secession, yet disparages coercion. Its reading
was listened to with the most profound attention, yet it
did not satisfy the South, nor please the North; it was
attacked fiercely in the Senate by Clingman, of North
Carolina, and defended by Crittenden, of Kentucky.
Southern senators declare the message to be weak, vacillating, inconsistent and untrue; while the leading Republican senators were united and unhesitating in pronouncing it a weak, silly paper, unworthy such a man at such
a time. Evidently it was not what was expected; at the
time of our country's greatest peril something more decisive was hoped for.
It was charged by some that the President secretly
favored secession, and quietly responded to the calls of
the South, made upon the government, and if not actually
assisting in the movement, at least doing nothing to
hinder it. "He that is not for me is against me."
Then it was urged by the friends of Mr. Buchanan that,
as his term of office had nearly expired, he declined to
act, choosing rather to leave the settlement of all national
difficulties to the incoming administration - peaceful imbecility!  How long, think you, my readers, would the
"hero of New Orleans," the immortal Jackson, have sat
with his arms folded and his eyes closed, patiently waiting
2*




18       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
for the time to arrive when he should retire, and leave
his successor to settle difficulties as best he could?  "In
the field of argument, or on the field of battle," would he
not spring to his feet (as on a former occasion), and with
the words -" By the Eternal, I take the responsibility! "
- employ all his powers to suppress the rebellion, though
the people of his own native State were the prime movers
in it?
In the House, Mr. Boteler, of Virginia, offered a resolution to appoint a special committee, of one from each
State, to whom should be referred so much of the President's message as " relates to the present perilous condition of the country."  The United States Senate, December 4th, was characterized by the most exciting speeches
of Southern senators, looking to secession as their only
relief from Northern domination. In the House, on the
question of referring the secession matter in the message
to a special committee, the declaration of Mr. Miles, of
South Carolina, that his State was already out of the
confederacy, in everything but form; of Mr. Hawkins, of
Florida, that the day of compromises was passed forever;
of Mr. Singleton, of Mississippi, that his State could take
care of herself; of Mr. Pugh, of Alabama, that the Union
was virtually dissolved; of Mr. Jones, of Georgia, that his
State was prepared to go out of the confederacy; and of
other southerners to a similar effect, produced but little
sensation. There was a slight startle upon the announcement of Mr. Miles, " that his State was out of the Union,"
and the inquiry was made, in the gallery, why he and his
colleagues were occupying seats in the national capitol.
The answer to this question was — To get their money
and stationery.
December 5th, at the meeting of the State Electoral
Colleges, Abraham Lincoln, for President, and Hannibal
Hamlin, for Vice-President, received the votes of seventeen States, or one hundred and eighty electoral votes.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      19
On the sixth, the Speaker of the United States House
of Representatives announced the committee of thirtythree, called for under Mr. Boteler's resolution, to consider "so much of the President's message as relates to
the present perilous condition of the country."  The
names are as follows:- Ohio, Mr. Corwin, chairman;
Virginia, Mr. Millson; Massachusetts, Mr. Adams; North
Carolina, Mr. Winslow; New York, Mr. Humphreys;
South Carolina, Mr. Boyce; Pennsylvania, Mr. Campbell;
Georgia, Mr. Love; Connecticut, Mr. Ferry; Maryland,
Mr. Davis; Rhode Island, Mr. Robinson; Delaware, Mr.
Whiteley; New Hampshire, Mr. Tappan; New Jersey, Mr.
Stratton; Kentucky, Mr. Bristow; Vermont, Mr. Morrill;
Tennessee, Mr. Nelson; Indiana, Mr. Dunn; Louisiana,
Mr. Taylor; Mississippi, Mr. Davis; Illinois, Mr. Kellogg;
Alabama, Mr. Houston; Maine, Mr. Morse; Missouri,
Mr. Phelps; Arkansas, Mr. Rust; Michigan, Mr. Howard; Florida, Mr. Hawkins; Texas, Mr. Hamilton; Wisconsin, Mr. Washburne; Iowa, Mr. Curtis; California,
Mr. Burch; Minnesota, Mr. Windom; Oregon, Mr. Stout.
When the reading of the names was concluded, Mr.
Hawkins, the only representative from Florida, asked to
be excused from serving on the committee, and, declining
to act, was approached in a solemn and patriotic speech,
by John Cochrane, of New York; who, figuratively, with
the American flag in one hand and a splendid spread
eagle in the other, appealed to the Florida member to act
upon the committee.  It was a burst of thrilling eloquence, and the applause in the galleries attested the
sincerity with which the popular heart cherishes the love
of the Union; but Hawkins heeded not the appeal, and
before the House had an opportunity to act upon the
subject, on motion of Mr. Millson, of Virginia, that body
adjourned, leaving Mr. Hawkins in suspense, and securing
to Mr. Millson a volley of curses for his interference.
Subsequently Mr. Hawkins excused himself for not serv



20       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
ing on the committee of thirty-three, in an elaborate
speech, defending the South and the right of secession,
and declaring the appointment of the committee to be a
constructive fraud, as some persons believed it to be a
great pacificator, to heal our wounds and produce a political millennium. The effect, if carried out, would be to
demoralize and degrade the South.  He was sorry the
proposition came from one of the noble sons of the South;
denouncing the Union and Union-saving committee in no
measured terms; rejecting the very idea of compromise,
and added that he was not acting under impulse, but
from convictions of twenty years.
In addition to Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Boyce, of South Carolina, and Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, asked to be excused,
but were promptly refused by the House. Mr. Hawkins
rose and signified that he wished to say, with all deference, " that he would not serve;" accordingly the "sons
of the South " withdrew.
Very little importance was attached to the committee
of thirty-three, appointed to save the Union, as the very
basis upon which it was constructed would defeat the object in view; it being composed of discordant elements,
there could be no concerted action.
On the tenth of December a special cabinet meeting
was called by the President, at which Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, resigned; after several ineffectual
attempts to extricate the treasury from its tangled condition, and failing to account for the disbursement of
large sums of government money, he proposed to resign
at once; and his resignation was accepted.
We find, bearing the same date, a long and hot-headed
letter, written by Secretary Cobb to the people of Georgia,
in which, after referring to the origin and purposes of the
Republican party, he says:-"It is not simply that a
comparatively obscure abolitionist, who hates the institution of the South, has been elected President, and that




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      21
we are asked to live under the administration of a man
who commands neither our respect nor confidence, that
the South contemplates resistance, even to disunion;
wounded honor might tolerate the outrage, until, by another vote of the people, the nuisance could be abated;
but the election of Mr. Lincoln involves far higher considerations. It brings to the South the solemn judgment
of a majority of the people ot every Northern state, with a
solitary exception, in favor of doctrines and principles violative of her constitutional rights, humiliating to her pride,
destructive of her equality in the Union, and fraught with
the greatest danger to the peace and safety of her people.
The question is now presented, whether a longer submission to an increasing spirit and power of aggression is
compatible either with her honor or her safety. In my
mind there is no room for doubt. The issue must nwov
be met, or forever abandoned; equality and safety in the
Union are at an end, and it only remains to be seen
whether our manhood is equal to the task of asserting
and maintaining independence out of it. The Union
formed by our fathers was one of equality, justice and
fraternity; on the fourth of March it will be supplanted
by a Union of sectionalism and hatred. Black Republicanism is the ruling sentiment at the North. They have
trampled upon the Constitution of Washington and Madison, and will prove equally faithless to their pledges; you
ought not, cannot trust them. We are no longer brethren,
dwelling together in unity; they have buried brotherhood
in the same grave with the Constitution;" - and concludes by saying,"Fellow-citizens of Georgia: I have endeavored to
place before you the facts of the case in plain and unimpassioned language; and I should feel that I had done
injustice to my own convictions, and been unfaithful to
you, if I did not, in conclusion, warn you against the danger of delay, and impress upon you the hopelessness of




22       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
any remedy for these evils, short of secession. You have
to deal with a shrewd, heartless and unscrupulous enemy,
who, in their extremity, may promise anything, but in the
end will do nothing. On the 4th day of March, 1861, the
federal government will pass into the hands of the abolitionists; it will then cease to have the claim either upon
your confidence or your loyalty; and in my honest judgment, eaclh hour that Georgia remains, thereafter, a member of the Union, will be an hour of degradation, to be
followed by certain, speedy ruin. I entertain no doubt
either of your right or duty to secede from the Union.
Arouse, then, all your manhood for the great work before
you, and be prepared, on that day, to announce and maintain your independence out of the Union; for you will
never again have equality and justice in it.  Identified
vith you in heart, feeling and interest, I return to share
in whatever destiny the future has in store for our State
and ourselves."
Self-sacrificing man! his " interest," possibly, may be in
Georgia; an empty treasury offers him no inducements to
remain at the national capital, and feeling so keenly the
"danger'of delay," and the " degradation" of remaining
in the Union, he should have tendered his resignation at
an earlier day.
Mr. Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, was called upon to
act in his stead, ad interim, and three days after, Mr.
Phillip F. Thomas, ex-Governor of Maryland, was nominated and confirmed Secretary of the Treasury, vice
Cobb, resigned.
On the 13th, the sentiments of the people of Philadelphia were expressed by an immense Union demonstration,
by proclamation of the mayor.
On the same day the cabinet, at Washington, was the
scene of contention and strife; exciting speeches were
made in regard to the re-enforcement of Fort Moultrie, in
Charleston harbor, in command of Major Robert Anderson,




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       23
(whither he had been sent, on the 18th of November, to
relieve Col. Gardiner, who was ordered to Texas). The
President opposed its re-enforcement, expressing his " determination " to send no more troops to the forts near
Charleston, saying he had " assurances" that the fort
would not be attacked, if no re-enforcements were attempted, and that everything should be done, on his part, to
avoid a collision. Mr. Cass, Secretary of State, and Mr.
Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, both strenuously urged
the policy of strengthening Major Anderson fully. Gen.
Cass said,-" These forts must be strengthened; I demand
it."  The President replied, -" I am sorry to differ from
the Secretary of the State, but the interests of the country
do not demand a re-enforcement of the forts at Charleston;
I cannot do it; I take the responsibility." The next day
Secretary Cass resigned.
The commander who deliberately leaves an insufficient
garrison in a fort, without re-enforcing, or attempting to
re-enforce, that garrison, by such acts of omission and
commission palpably "challenges" the enemy; and yet
our trembling President, afraid of his own shadow, where
the vaporing South is concerned, but reckless of decency
where the North is interested, is afraid to strengthen his
own forts forfear the South should take offence! What
a military commander Mr. Buchanan would make. How
must the bones of George Washington, Andrew Jackson,
and Zachary Taylor writhe in their graves! not dare to
strengthen our own forts, for fear the enemy should be
offended! How shall we be regarded, or respected, by
the military nations of Europe hereafter? Such cowardice
is a blot upon every American citizen.  A clergyman,
visiting a school connected with the alms-house, in a
small village in Massachusetts, made some remarks to
the children, in which he endeavored to illustrate the
sinful condition of men, in a familiar way. "You know,"
said the clergyman, " that the negroes at the South are




24       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
serving their masters.  Now, we, sinful creatures, are
serving a master who is worse than a slave-driver; and
can any boy tell me who this master is? " " Yes, sir,"
said one of the lads, with a great deal of emphasis, " it is
James Buchanan."
The following letter, from the wife of an officer at Fort
Moultrie, tells its own story: —
"FORT MOULTRIE, December 11, 1860.
"DEAR: I feel too indignant; I can hardly stand
the way in which this little garrison is treated by the
heads of government.  Troops and proper accommodation are positively refused; and yet, the commander has
orders to hold and defend the fort. Was ever such sacrifice (an intentional one) known?  The Secretary has
sent several officers, at different times, to inspect here, as
if that helped; it is a mere sham, to make believe he will
do something. In the mean time a crisis is very near;
I am to go to Charleston the first of the week. Within a
few days, we hear- and from so many sources that we
cannot doubt it —that the Charlestonians are erecting
two batteries, one just opposite us, at a little village,
Mount Pleasant, and another on the end of this island;
and they dare the commander to interfere, while they are
getting ready to fight sixty men! In this weak little fort,
I suppose, President Buchanan and Secretary Floyd intend
the Southern Confederacy to be cemented with the blood
of this brave little garrison.  These names should be
handed down to the end of time.
" When the last man is shot down, I presume they will
think of sending troops. The soldiers here deserve great
credit; though they know what an unequal number is
coming to massacre them, yet they are in good spirits, and
will fight desperately.  Our commander says he never
saw such a brave little band. I feel desperate myself.
Our only hope is in God. My love to all.
"Your affectionate sister."




CHAPTER  II.
Inaction now is crime. The old earth reels,
Inebriate with guilt; and Vice, grown bold,
Laughs Innocence to scorn. The thirst for gold
Hath made men demons.          BURLEIGH.
THE entire force of the United States troops, stationed
in the Southern States, at this time, was as follows: -
At Fort Monroe, Virginia, eight companies of artillery;
at Fayetteville Arsenal, North Carolina, one company of
artillery; Key West, Florida, one company of artillery;
at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, two companies of artillery; at Augusta, Georgia, one company of artillery;
Barrancas Barracks, near Pensacola, Florida, one company of artillery; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, one company
of artillery; total, about eight hundred men; and about
one hundred and twenty United States marines at Norfolk and Pensacola.
December 14th, Lewis Cass, Secretary of State, resigned
his seat in the cabinet. The reasons and motives which
prompted his resignation  are probably  not perfectly
understood; though it is supposed it was owing to his
disapproval of the President's inaction in regard to reenforcing Southern forts, arsenals, navy yards, etc. His
resignation caused much feeling and comment.  Especially was the President grave, almost to sadness. The
withdrawal of his long-tried and cherished friend from
his bosom councils added poignancy to his sorrow, which
was difficult to overcome. President Buchanan issued a
proclamation, calling upon the people of the Union, in
view of the distracted and dangerous condition of the
3                        25




26         THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
country, to observe the 4th of January, 1861, as a day of
fasting, humiliation and prayer.
A gale came up from the sou'-sou'-west,'Twas fierce November weather;
But the ship had felt such a storm before,
And her planks still held together.
And thus, though the howling tempest showed
No signs of diminution,
The passengers said, " We'll trust our ship,
The staunch old Constitution!"
The captain stood on the quarter-deck"The seas," he said, "they batter us;'Twas my watch below in the former gale —
I doubt if we'll weather Hatteras.
The wind on the one side blows me off,
The current sets me shoreward;
I'll just lay-to between them both
And seem to be going forward."
"Breakers ahead! " cried the watch on the bow;
"Hard up!" was the first mate's order;
"She feels the ground-swell," the passengers cried,
"And the seas already board her!"
The foresail split in the angry gust;
In the hold the ballast shifted;
And an old tar said, "If Jackson steered
We shouldn't thus have drifted!"
But the captain cried, "Let go your helm I"
And then he called to the bo'swain,
"Pipe all hands to the quarter-deck,
And we'll save her by devotion!"
The first mate hurled his trumpet down;
The old tars cursed together,
To see the good ship helpless roll
At the sport of wave and weather.
The tattered sails are all aback,
Yards crack, and masts are started;
And the captain weeps and says his prayers,
Till the hull be mid-ships parted;
But God is on the steersman's sideThe crew are in revolution;
The wave that washes the captain off
Will save the Constitution!
BAYARD TAYLOR.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.         27
On the 15th, Attorney-General Black was appointed
Secretary of State, in place of Lewis Cass, resigned.
On the 18th of December, Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, introduced into the United States Senate resolutions of compromise, as a settlement of differences between the Slave and Free States. The bill, as introduced,
proposed to renew  the Missouri compromise line, prohibiting slavery in the territory north of 36 degrees 30
minutes, and protecting it south of that latitude; and
for the admission of new States, with or without slavery,
as their constitutions should provide; to prohibit the abolition of slavery, by Congress, in the States; to prohibit its
abolition in the District of Columbia, so long as it exists
either in Virginia or Maryland; to permit tle transportation of slaves, in any of the States, by land or water; to
provide for the payment of fugitive slaves, when rescued;
to repeal one obnoxious feature of the fugitive slave law
— the inequality of the fee to the commissioner; and,
also, to ask the repeal of all the personal liberty bills in
the Northern States.
These concessions were submitted, in the form of amendments to the Constitution, to a select Senate committee
of thirteen.  Much time was consumed in considering
various propositions to arrest the progress of dissolution,
and give peace to the country.  Messrs. Crittenden,
Douglas and Bigler maintained it with great zeal and
ability. Mr. Douglas declared, if that mode of compromise would not answer he was willing to go for any
other, consistent with honor or justice; that he was ready
to consider any question for the preservation of the
country.
The appeals of Mr. Crittenden, in behalf of the Union,
are said to have been eloquent and sublime.  He, too,
was willing to embrace any other effective mode of adjustment. Mr. Bigler, of Pennsylvania, advocated a final
settlement of difficulties, by a division line across the




28       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
country, so that the question of slavery could be taken
out of Congress, and entirely separated from the popular
elections at the North, without which we could never have
permanent peace. Messrs. Davis, Toombs and Hunter discussed the present unhappy condition of the country, and
manifested a willingness to accept any measure of final
settlement which would secure their just rights in the
Union. Though, at the same time, an under-current of
secession feeling was sweeping them steadily on, and blinding them to every concession, or plan of compromise,
which could be made by the North, as they had previously said that the South would have   no compromise,
that the Union was " virtually dissolved," that the day
for the adjustment of difficulties was "passed forever;"
so, therefore, their action on the committee of thirteen
was mere form, without expecting any beneficial results.
So, accordingly, when the final vote was taken on the
Crittenden proposition, it was defeated.
On the 18th and 19th, Andrew Johnson, United States
Senator from Tennessee, spoke on the resolutions, proposing amendments to the Constitution.  He denied the
right of secession, and called upon the President to enforce the laws, regardless of consequences.  Taking up
arms to resist the federal laws, he pronounced treason.
December 19th, Governor Hicks, of Maryland, declined
to receive the commissioner from Mississippi. He vindicated the course by expressing strong Union sentiments;
notwithstanding which the commissioner of Mississippi to
Maryland addressed a large meeting in Baltimore, advising cooperation, on the part of the people of Maryland, in
the secession movement.
December 23d, the excitement, consequent upon the
state of affairs in the nation, was entirely absorbed by an
astounding report of a robbery of Indian Trust Fund
bonds, in the Department of the Interior, committed during Secretary Thompson's visit to North Carolina, as




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       29
commissioner on the part of his own State, Mississippi.
The amount abstracted is confessed, by Godard Bailey,
the guilty disbursing clerk, to have been eight hundred
and thirty thousand dollars; but, on investigation, it is
believed, ".the half has not been told."
Bailey, to whom the bonds were specially intrusted, is
a native of South Carolina, but at the time of his appointment, as disbursing clerk, was a citizen of Alabama.
The funds stolen are known as the Indian Trust Fund,
which has accumulated, for the benefit of various Indian
tribes, under our treaties with them. According to the
provision of many of these treaties, a certain sum is stipulated to be paid to the Indians for their land, the sum
to be paid in annual payments, equalling, in amount, the
interest that would be due upon the principal. In order
to avoid the necessity of being compelled to pay these
annual sums out of the current receipts of the revenue,
the government has been in the habit of investing the
principal in State stocks, and making the interest on
these stocks meet the annual payment due the Indians.
It was these bonds or stocks, thus acquired, that have
been so unlawfully abstracted from the Interior department. The most intense excitement prevailed concerning
the robbery.  Mr. Floyd, Secretary of War, and several
other high officials under government, were charged with
" complicity " in the affair, and said to be " deeply implicated" in the revelations made.  Secretary Thompson
appealed to the House for the appointment of a committee, with full power to send for persons and papers, and
asked for investigation, by Congress, in order to vindicate his own honor and expose the guilty, that full justice
might be done in the premises.
Whether guilty or not guilty of the " robbery," is he
not equally guilty with Floyd, of maladministration in
office? Was he not a conspirator against the government
when he accepted the appointment of commissioner, from
3*




F                     -
30       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
one " rebellious " State to another?  Was he attending to
the duties of the office which he still held under government, and by whom he was paid for his services, when
he left Washington, as the bearer of treasonable documents from Mississippi to North Carolina, urging the
cooperation of that State in the matter of secession,
and declared that it afforded him "great pleasure" to
accept this appointment and obey these instructions?
How came the fraud (which had been going on for many
months) to. be discovered just at the time of his absence?
And, yet, this is the man who calls upon Congress to
" vindicate his honor! "
Caleb Cushing, special messenger of the President to
South Carolina, to induce the postponement of the adoption of the ordinance of secession, returns and reports the
passage of the ordinance, and reports no hopes of any
arrangement of the pending differences. He represented
the condition of affairs, there, to be fearful and alarming.. cabinet meeting was then called. A deepening gloom,
darker than the pall of night, and as solemn as the sarcophagus of Washington, appears to have settled over the
national capital.  The most hopeful were desponding,
seeing no prospect of a settlement of difficulties. There
seemed to be no man, or set of men, equal to the occasion,
though there were some who had the ability, the sagacity,
the statesmanship, to grapple with questions at issue, yet
were powerless to arrest the fearful ruin that impended.
Mr. Crittenden, in conversation with a friend, said that it
was the darkest day of his life; that he was overwhelmed
with solicitude for his country, and that nothing but the
affection of the people for the Union could restore peace.
Terror and gloom was on every countenance. The Crittenden compromise was defeated by the Senate committee
of thirteen, and the House committee of thirty-three could
accomplish nothing. All confidence in the administration
was lost. A President who was secretly aiding the South,




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       31
who violated the Constitution, and refused to administer
the laws; who was false to the obligations upon him to
preserve our nationality; — a cabinet composed almost
entirely of Southern men, with secession principles,nothing could be hoped for from that quarter.
The Union, "the old ship of state," which had been
steered safely through fogs and darkness, and various
dangers, for upwards of three-score years and ten,which had hitherto weathered every storm,-was now
being driven swiftly before wind and tide to the rocks
and shoals of civil war; and it was of no avail that the
foaming breakers ahead were pointed out to the officers
and crew, to whom  had been entrusted the management of the noble vessel, with her precious freight of historic glory, present prosperity and power, and all the
glowing hopes of future years. Every man seemed drunk
or mad, and shipwreck appeared inevitable. Reason and
moderation were banished from both sections. The extremists, both North and South, were equally violent;
and the United States was precipitated, by reckless politicians, into the most revolutionary condition ever witnessed
in any country in the world.
December 24. Intense excitement in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in consequence of orders being given to ship,
from the Alleghany arsenal, seventy-eight ten and eightinch columbiads to Fort Newport, near Galveston, and
forty-eight to Ship Island, near Balize, at the mouth of
-the Mississippi,-both unfinished  forts.  The people
regarded the order as designed to strip the arsenal, in
order to place the heavy guns in the hands of the enemies
of the government. An immense meeting was held in
the street, relative to the removal of ordnance South.
Several resolutions were adopted, almost unanimously,
declaring loyalty to the Union, deploring the existing
state of things, and that it is the special duty of Pennsylvania to look to the fidelity of her sons; and in thatview,




32       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
call on the President, as a citizen of that commonwealth,
to see that the public receive no detriment at his hands.
Yet, notwithstanding the indignation of the people, and
their avowed determination to oppose, by force, their
removal, on the twenty-eighth the order was carried out.
The work of removal commenced; the heavy guns of the
arsenal were placed on board of boats, procured for that
purpose, and forwarded to their destination, at the South.
On the 24th, the members of Congress from South Carolina notified the Speaker of the House of Representatives, that the secession of their State dissolved their
connection with that body.  The Speaker directed the
names of the South Carolina members to be retained on
the roll, and to be regularly called; thus not recognizing
the conduct of their State, as severing their connection'
with the House, or government.
December 26. Ex-Speaker, James L. Orr, R. W. Barnwell, and ex-Governor J. H. Adams, commissioners from
South Carolina, appointed to negotiate with the federal
government, in relation to matters pertaining to the ordinance of secession adopted by a convention of that State,
arrived in Washington, and were received by Mr. Trescott, Assistant Secretary of State (resigned), and who
subsequently acts as their secretary.
Col. Myers and Captain Donovan, of South Carolina,
and Major Wayne, of Georgia, resigned their offices in
the army. On lthe evening of the same day, December
26, Major Anderson commenced the evacuation of Fort
Moultrie, transferring his entire force (about eighty men),
with  stores, munitions, movable  arms, etc., to Fort
Sumter, after having spiked the guns and set fire to the
gun-carriages. The facts show that Major Robert Anderson, who commanded Fort Moultrie, knowing the position
to be untenable, evacuated it and took possession of Fort
Sumter, an almost impregnable fort, where, in the event
of an. attack upon United States property, he would be




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.                   33
enabled to defend it against great odds. Anderson withdrew for strategic purposes; for it was generally known,
and  the expressed opinion  of military  men, that Fort
Moultrie could not be held, against a resolute attack, for
twenty-four hours; but that Sumter was the  strongest
fort, of its size, in the world. Thus it will be seen that
the evacuation  of a weak  and  comparatively  worthless
position, for a stronger one, was a wise military movement.
They stood within those fortress walls,
A small but gallant band;
O'er them still waved the stars and stripes,
Bright emblem of their land.
Scarce there one man to every star
This hero band could boast,
Yet they must guard the banner there
Against a countless host.
The chieftain called his men around,
And pointing to those stars,
" Dare you defend them with your lives  "
They answered with huzzas.
His pitying eye o'erlooked his men,
Then at the flag on high;
A tear stole down his cheek for those
That were too brave to die.
"Haul down your colors from the staff,
You shall not perish here;
It were in vain to ask of you
A sacrifice so dear.
On yonder fortress it shall wave,
And all the world defy;
Then, if your country dares demand,
There we can nobly die."
The morning sun salutes that-flag,
Defended by that band;
Humanity's great heart sends forth
Its plaudits o'er the land.
Our Union banner still shall wave,
Each star in bold relief,
If we but dare defend our flag
Like Sumter's gallant chief.
LL...




34       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
The artificial island on which Fort Sumter is built is
constructed of the refuse from the granite quarries of
New England. Ten years was consumed in its completion, at a cost of half a million of dollars. The fortification is of a pentagonal form, built of solid brick masonry.
The walls are fifty feet in height, and from eight to ten
feet in thickness, and are pierced for three tiers of guns,
besides having necessary loop-holes for musketry, and
designed for an armament of one hundred and forty
pieces of ordnance, of all calibres. The full armament of
the fort, however, had not arrived there when Major
Anderson took possession, but it was thought that, with
the armament then in the fort, the guns would be capable
of throwing six thousand pounds of shot at each discharge.
The other officers of the garrison, under Major Anderson, were Captain Abner Doubleday, Captain Seymour,
Lieutenant T. Talbot, Lieutenant J. C. Davis, Lieutenant
N. J. Hall, all of the first regiment, artillery; Captain J.
G. Foster, and Lieutenant G. W. Snyder, of the engineer
corps; Assistant Surgeon S. W. Crawford, of the medical
staff. The force under these gentlemen consisted of two
companies of artillery; the companies, however, were not
full, the two comprising only about seventy men, including the band.
On the morning of the 27th it was ascertained at
Charleston that Fort Moultrie was evacuated.  This
news was displayed on the bulletins, and intense excitement spread throughout the city; the indignation of the
people knew no bounds. Several of the military companies were ordered out, and the convention went into
secret session.
The intelligence that Major Anderson had abandoned
and destroyed the chief material works of Fort Moultrie
was received at Washington before noon on the 27th;
but up to ten o'clock, p. M., no official information had
been received from Charleston, either by the President or




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      35
Secretary of War. At first, the report was discredited,
and public opinion was not at all settled upon the point,
until, late in the afternoon, the following dispatch was
sent to the President, by the South Carolina commissioners, they having just received it:
" Great excitement, on account of removal of garrison
from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter. Removed on Wednesday evening, and at night. Captain Foster, with small
guard, left in Fort Moultrie to complete dismantling.
They are now burning gun-carriages; guns spiked, and
report of intention to blow up Fort Moultrie."
The President immediately convened his cabinet, in
extraordinary session. The confirmation of the important intelligence spread with great rapidity, and created
most intense excitement throughout the entire country.
It was the topic everywhere, and various were the conjectures as to the cause which led to the event. Many
approved, and but few condemned.  The conduct of
Major Anderson was universally commended by Northern
men of all parties, and by Union men everywhere.
December 28.  The cabinet adjourned, after a protracted and exciting session of six hours.  The affair at
Charleston was the subject under consideration. Secretary Floyd stated to the President, in writing, that unless
Major Anderson was withdrawn from Fort Sumter, he
could not remain in the cabinet.
The South Carolina commissioners " demanded," as an
ultimatum, that the federal troops be withdrawn immediately from all the Charleston forts, —as their presence,
pending negotiations, was a menace, -or this would be
their last interview, and they would return to South Carolina, and prepare for the worst.
How far they might have succeeded in bullying the
President into compliance with their wishes, it is not
possible now to say, but for the interference of such men
as Holt and Stanton.




36       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Thompson, Floyd and Thomas contended that a quasitreaty had been made, by the officers of the government,
with the leaders of the rebellion, to offer no resistance to
their violations of law and seizures of government property. Floyd, especially, blazed with indignation at what
he termed the " violation of honor."  At last, Mr. Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, formally moved that an
imperative order be issued to Major Anderson, to retire
from  Sumter to Fort Moultrie; abondoning Sumter to
the enemy, and proceeding to a post, where, from the
weakness of the position, he must at once surrender. Mr.
Stanton, the then  newly-appointed Attorney General
(now Secretary of War), could sit still no longer; and
rising, he said, with all the earnestness that could be expressed in his bold and resolute features,-" Mr. President, it is my duty, as your legal adviser, to say that you
have no right to give up. the property of the government,
or abandon the soldiers of the United States to its enemies; and the course proposed by the Secretary of the
Interior, if followed, is treason, and will involve you, and
all concerned, in treason."
Such language had never before been heard in Buchanan's cabinet, and the men who had so long ruled and
bullied the President were surprised and enraged to be
thus rebuked. Floyd and Thompson sprang to their feet
with fierce, menacing gestures, seeming about to. assault
Stanton. Mr. Holt took a step forward to the side of the
Attorney General.  The imbecile President implored
them, piteously, to take their seats.
The President determined, after a full deliberation, not
to withdraw Major Anderson, and Mr. Floyd's resignation
was, therefore, accepted. While the cabinet was still in
session, news came that Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney had been taken possession of by South Carolina
militia; also, Secretary Thomas received a dispatch from
Charleston stating that the revenue-cutter Aiken, in the




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      37
port of Charleston, had been seized by the authorities, and
that the captain, AM. L. Coste, who is a native of Charleston, had resigned.  This intelligence was immediately
communicated to the cabinet.
Though the President would not accede to the demands
of the commissioners, he signified that Major Anderson,
in his movement, acted upon his own responsibility, and
without any instructions to that effect; and were he so
disposed, subsequent events precluded the possibility of
restoring the troops to the status quo, Fort Moultrie
being occupied by the Carolinians.
After a few more bitter words the cabinet adjourned.
The commissioners called upon the President and presented, in writing, their credentials from the State of
South Carolina, empowering them to treat with the general government in regard to the forts, arsenals and other
property; but the President would give no recognition to
their authority to address him, except as citizens of the
United States, and not as commissioners from a foreign
power.
At two o'clock, on the afternoon of the 28th, the navy
department received a dispatch from Lieutenant James
P. Foster, commanding the slaver Bonita, which was carried into Charleston as a prize, that his prisoner, the
captain of the Bonita, was taken on a writ of habeas corpus before a State judge, who remanded him  on the
ground of want of jurisdiction; and that while conveying
his prisoner from the court to the ship, he was forcibly
taken from his custody by a mob.
Mr. Holt, Postmaster General, sent orders to the subtreasurer, at Charleston, to remit all the balance - thirtyfive thousand dollars, on the post-office account —in his
possession, immediately, to the credit of that department.
An immense Union meeting was held at Memphis,
Tennessee.
On the 31st, Senator Benjamin, of Louisiana, made a
4




38       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
secession speech in the United States Senate. He argued
at great length, and with eloquence, to prove that a State
has an inherent right to secede, and cannot be coerced.
He quoted Webster and Madison, to sustain his position;
said all pretexts about collecting the revenue, or enforcing
the laws in the seceding States, were but another name
for overcoming their objections by war.
He argued that they could not collect the revenue by
force; that such threats were only a pretext to cover up
the real question, which was this:- Shall we acknowledge the independence of a seceding State, or reduce her
to subjection by war?- said he had repeatedly warned
the North that they were driving them  to a point that
would result in a separation, and referred to a speech he
made, in 1856, predicting this result, and in which he
said the time would come when the South would throw
the sword into the scale with all the rights of the South,
because he did not believe there could be peaceable secession; that his words then uttered had proved true. He
would to God that the fears of civil war, then expressed,
would prove only fears; but it seemed almost as if the
other side of the chamber desired to bring about a civil
war; that South Carolina had declared herself separated
from the Union, and that she was not alone, for Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and other Southern
States, would soon follow; that the North had caused all
this ruin; a sectional President had been elected, who
could, with the aid of a sectional Senate, grant all the
benefits to and appoint from one section all the officers
in the gift of the government, and thus ruin the South;
and after enumerating the various indignities heaped
upon them by the North, and commenting upon the evils
and disadvantages of a connection with the free States,
he concluded by saying -
" Our committee has reported, this morning, that no
possible scheme of adjustment can be devised. The day




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      39
of adjustment is passed; if you propose to make one now,
you are too late. And now, senators, within a very few
weeks we part, to meet again in one common councilchamber of the nation no more, forever. We desire, we
beseech you, to let this parting be in peace. I conjure
you to indulge in no vain delusions that duty, or conscience, or interest, or honor, impose on you the necessity
of invading our States, and shedding the blood of our
people. You have no possible justification for it. I trust
it is from no craven spirit, or any sacrifice of the dignity
or honor of my own State, that I make this last appeal,
but from far higher and holier motives. If, however, it
shall prove vain, if you are resolute to pervert the government, framed by the fathers for the protection of our
rights, into an instrument for subjugating and enslaving
us, then, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the universe
for the rectitude of our intentions, we must meet the
issue as best becomes freemen defending all that is dear
to man. What may be the fate of this horrible contest,
none can foretell. The fortunes of war may be adverse
to our arms; you may carry desolation into our peaceful
land, and with torch and firebrand may set our cities in
flames; you may even emulate the atrocities of those who,
in the days of the Revolution, hounded on the blood-thirsty
savage; you may give the protection of your advancing
armies to the furious fanatics who desire nothing more
than to add the horrors of servile insurrection to civil
war; you may do all this, and more, but you never can
subjugate the free sons of the soil into vassals, paying
tribute to your power; you can never degrade them to a
servile and inferior race,-never, never."
In the House, Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, offered a
resolution calling on the President to state to Congress
the exact condition of the public forts and arsenals in
South Carolina, and an account of all the arms distributed during the year, etc. etc. This was rejected, and a




40       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
substitute by Mr. Stanton, of Ohio, adopted, directing the
military committee to inquire and report how, to whom,
and for what price, arms had been distributed and sold
during the year; also the condition of the forts and
arsenals.
January 2d. Senator Baker, of Oregon, proceeded to
address the Senate, on the crisis, referring first to Mr.
Benjamin's speech as the best he had heard; but it reminded him of what had been said of a certain book that
had been written, that it would have been best if it had
never been written at all.
He said the government was a substantial power; its
Constitution a perpetuity, and its power capable of exercise against domestic treason or foreign foes; and referred
to some authorities quoted by Mr. Benjamin, disproving
the latter's arguments.  He acknowledged that "personal liberty bills," if they hindered the operation of the
fugitive slave law, ought to be repealed.
January 2d. Governor Morgan, of New York, in his
message, delivered at the convening of the legislature of
his State, recommended the repeal of the personal liberty
bill, and, also, recommended other States to do the same.
Captain Charles Stone was appointed Inspector General
of Militia in the district of Columbia, at the recommendation of General Scott.
A hundred guns were fired in the Park, at New York,
in honor of the action of Major Anderson.  Salutes of
thirty-three guns were fired, in honor of the gallant conduct of Major Anderson, in Boston, Burlington, Vt.,
Philadelphia, Trenton, N. J., Auburn, Schenectady, and
Utica, N. Y.
3d. The demands of the South Carolina commissioners were refused by the President.
4th. The national fast day was generally observed
throughout the States.
Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, in his proclama



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       41
tion, seconds Mr. Buchanan's idea that we ought to fast
and pray, and proposes to " supplicate Almighty God for
deliverance from corrupt rulers;" imploring that " our
laws may be faithfully and fearlessly executed; our Constitution and Union may be preserved, in their original
strength and purity; and those who have charge of our
national affairs be imbued with sufficient patriotism and
courage to maintain the government inviolate, and to
uphold the constitutional rights of the people in every
section of the country.
January 5th.  Steamship Star of the West left New
York, with two hundred and fifty artillerists and marines.
8th. Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, resigned.  Thus we receive, in the short space of one
month, the resignation of four of the highest officials of
the government, and those to whom our country should
look in her hours of darkness and peril. General Cass
retired disgusted and aggrieved at the inactivity of the
President.
Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, maintained
his position until the treasury became bankrupt; then,
feeling that the North "violated all her pledges," and
that every hour he remained only served to "degrade
him" he "conscientiously" resigned and left for the
South.
John B. Floyd was content with his position, as Secretary of War, until the principal guns and munitions of
war had been transferred South, from Northern arsenals,
navy yards, etc., a large amount of government property
seized, and the South armed and prepared for war; then
he " very conscientiously " resigned.
Jacob Thompson remained Secretary of the Interior
until the poor "Indian" had been robbed of all his
funds, then his "sense of honor" compelled him to resign.
4*




CHAPTER III.
Such shapes of earth and time have I not watched
In other years; but calamity methinks
Is creeping nigh, her cruel plot being hatched.
WE give here a little circumstance which goes to show
the excitable state of the public mind at that time, and,
particularly, in the border States. At Harper's Ferry,
Jefferson County, Va., the spot made ever memorable by
the bloody John Brown raid, the 7th of January was
characterized by the greatest excitement, and warlike
preparations were made on a large scale to meet what
proved to be only an imaginary foe.
It seems that, from some quarter or other, news had
come to the Ferry that the government had dispatched a
force of United States troops to take possession of the
arsenal at the Ferry, and hold it, —its arms, stores, and
munitions of war, -in view of the reported march that
was to be made by insurgents in the border States on the
capitol at Washington.  This report threw the Harper's
Ferry people, especially the employees at the arsenal,
of whom there were between three and four hundred,
into a state of the wildest excitement; and straightway
the cry arose, "To arms! To arms!"  Accordingly,
when the express train, which left Baltimore at four in
the evening, and arrived at the Ferry about eight, had
crossed the Long Bridge and reached the latter place, the
passengers were astonished to find some three or four hundred armed men drawn up in battle array, ready to welcome
the United States soldiers " with bloody hands to hospitable graves;" or, in other words, waiting to enact a scene
42




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      43
before which all the high extravaganzas thus far played
off by South Carolina should pale into utter insignificance. Fortunately for the peace and the ever after reputation of that part of the country, — and fortunately,
perhaps, for the three hundred men in arms, —there
were no United States troops aboard. None had been
sent, -none, that any one on the train knew of, were expected to be sent. Some were pleased, and others were
petulant and irritable that they had no chance to show
their valor and courage in opposition to the government,
and their devotion to secessiondom; and, after discussing
their deeds of "chivalry" which might have been enacted had the troops arrived, they began to dwindle away,
one by one, till finally all were gone, and peace and order
reigned.
January 9. The "Star of the West," an unarmed
steamer bearing re-enforcements to Major Anderson, in
endeavoring to enter the harbor of Charleston, about
daylight in the morning, was fired into by the garrison on
Morris Island, and also by Fort Moultrie, then in command of Major Ripley.  The steamer put about and
went to sea, Morris Island battery still firing upon them
until they were out of reach of their guns. Fort Sumter did not respond.
As this intelligence spread on the wings of the telegraph throughout the country, the effect produced upon
the public mind in all quarters was that we were on the
eve of war. The first gun had been fired, and the end
of the struggle no man could foresee. During the forenoon of the same day, Major Anderson dispatched Lieutenant Hall with a flag of truce to Charleston, where he
delivered a communication from the Major to Governor
Pickens, wherein he recapitulates the facts concerning
the Star of the West, and requests to know if the action
of the State troops is authorized; and says that if such
action is not disclaimed by the South Carolina authori



44       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
ties, he will prevent the passage of all vessels to the city
of Charleston.
Governor Pickens replied that the re-enforcement of
the fort was regarded as an act of hostility to South Carolina, and that he approved of the attack upon the Star
of the West.
After some deliberation, Major Anderson concluded to
refer the subject to the federal authorities at Washington,
and Lieutenant Talbot was sent to the capitol with dispatches.
January 11. Phillip F. Thomas, of Maryland, Secretary of Treasury, resigned, and Hon. John A. Dix, of
New York, appointed in his place.
An abolition meeting at Rochester, N. Y., was broken
up Jan. 12. The Star of the West arrived at New York,
from Charleston, and, on the thirteenth, landed her troops
at Governor's Island.
Senator Seward, of N. Y., made a great Union speech
in the United States Senate.
15th. Major-General Sanford tendered the first division N. Y. State Militia, 7000 men, to the Commanderin-Chief, for any service which might be required.
18th. The Massachusetts State Legislature tendered to
the President of the United States aid in men and money.
20th. Wendell Phillips, in a speech at Music Hall, Boston, declared himself to be a disunionist, and said he was
glad to see the movement of South Carolina.
21st.  United States Senators, Jefferson Davis, of
Mississippi; Fitzpatrick and Clay, of Alabama; Yulee and
Mallory, of Florida; and the whole Alabama and Georgia delegation, formally withdrew from Congress. Postal service in Florida was discontinued.
22d. Sherrard Clemens, of Virginia, made a Union
speech in the U. S. House of Representatives.
24th. The annual meeting of the Mass. Anti-Slavery
Society, in Boston, was broken up.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      45
25th.  The Rhode Island personal liberty bill was
repealed by the legislature.
27th. The grand jury for the District of Columbia
made presentments of Ex-Secretary Floyd for maladministration in office, complicity in the abstraction of Indian
bonds, and conspiring against the government.
31st. The attorney general of South Carolina made
proposals to government, in behalf of the State, to buy
Fort Sumter.
February 4th. The commissioners to the peace conference, proposed by Virginia, met at Washington. Delegates were present from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky,
Tennessee, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Missouri,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Connecticut,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island, and
Massachusetts, - Ex-President Tyler chosen president.
5th.  Senators Slidell and Benjamin and the Louisiana delegation withdrew from Congress.
9th. Tennessee voted by a large majority to remain in
the Union.
13th. Virginia State convention met at Richmond.
22d. Abraham Lincoln, the President elect, broke up
the programme of his route to Washington, and left Harrisburg, Pa., secretly, in a special night train, for Washington, owing to fears of assassination in Baltimore.
The Union celebration in San Francisco on the 22d
was universally observed in a style similar to that of the
Fourth of July.  Business was generally suspended.
The Union meeting on that day was attended by 20,000
people.  Union speeches were made, and resolutions
adopted declaring the unalterable attachment of California to the Union; that there exists no power under the
Constitution for a State to secede; that California will
cheerfully acquiesce in any honorable plan for the adjustment of the difficulties so as to secure the rights of all
the States; that if one or more States should finally sep



46        THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
arate from the confederacy, California would still cling to
the Union; that California repudiates the Pacific republic
project; that the true attitude of the people of California is that of fraternal kindness toward all the States,
and her honor and interests demand that she should do
all in her power to bring about harmony and reunion.
The meeting was enthusiastic.
1 On Wednesday, February 27, Mr. Lincoln was officially
welcomed to the capitol by Mayor Berritt and the members of the city council. Mr. Berritt, in addressing the
President elect, spoke as follows:" Mr. Lincoln:  As the President elect under the Constitution of the United States, you are soon to stand in
the august presence of a great nation of freemen, and to
enter upon the discharge of the duties of the highest public
trust known to our form of government, and under circumstances menacing the peace and permanency of the
republic, which have no parallel in the history of our
country. It is our earnest wish that you may be able, as
we have no doubt you will, to perform  these duties in
such a manner as shall reflect honor to yourself; restore
peace and harmony to our now distracted country; and,
at last, bring the old ship of state into the harbor of
safety and prosperity, thereby deservedly securing the
plaudits of a whole world. I avail myself of this occasion
to say that the citizens of Washington, true to the instincts of constitutional liberty, will ever be found faithful to all the obligations of patriotism; and as their chief
1 Some have charged Mr. Lincoln with cowardice in avoiding Baltimore,
but it appears to be the fault of Baltimore, not of Mr. Lincoln, for " Mr.
Buchanan met with the same difficulty when he left Lancaster, four years
before, on his way to Washington, as President elect; he was threatened by
the rowdies of Baltimore with personal violence, in any number of anonymous letters, and it made such an impression on him that, in company with
a few friends, he took a private carriage, leaving his escort and a dinner
that had been prepared for him behind.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      47
magistrate, and in accordance with the honored usage,
I bid you welcome to the seat of government."
Mr. Lincoln, in reply, thanked the mayor, and, through
him, the municipal authorities of the city, for their kind
welcome; and declared it to be the first time in his life,
since the present phase of politics had presented itself in
this country, that he had spoken publicly within a region
of country where the institution of slavery existed; and
- expressed it as his opinion that very much of the ill-feeling which has existed, and still exists, between the people of the section from whence he came and the people
of the slave States was owing to a misunderstanding
between each other which unhappily prevails. At the
same time assuring the mayor, and all the people present,
that he had not at that time, nor ever had, any other than
as kindly feelings towards them as to the people of his
own section, and that it was not his purpose to withhold
from them any of the benefits of the Constitution,under any
circumstances, that he would not feel himself constrained
to withhold from his own neighbors; and expressed the
hope that when they should become better acquainted
they would like each other the more; and again thanking them for their kind reception, soon afterwards withdrew.
February 27th. The peace convention adjourned without day, after adopting a plan of adjustment embracing
the restoration of the Missouri compromise, a condition respecting the acquisition of new territory which
made necessary the concurrence of a majority of Northern
and Southern senators, agreeing that there should be no
future amendments of the Constitution to allow Congress
to interfere with slavery in any State or territory, etc., etc.
February 28th. Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, presented the recommendations of the peace convention, in
the Senate, and favored their adoption.
Mr. Corwin's proposed amendment to the Cofistitution,




48       THE REBELLION'IN THE UNITED STATES.
as adopted by the committee of thirty-three, passed the
House of Representatives.
March 2d. The new tariff bill signed by President Buchanan.
March 4th. Mr. Corwin's proposed amendment passed
the Senate.
The thirty-sixth Congress adjourned, sine die.
President Lincoln was inaugurated.
Aside from telegraphic dispatches, received by General
Scott and others, cautioning them to be on the lookout
for gunpowder plots at the capitol, and anonymous letters
with threats of personal violence to the President on the
day of his inauguration, with rumors of riotous preparations being made on a large scale, nothing occurred to
disturb the tranquillity of the President elect or his friends.
These reports, being widely circulated through the public
press, brought together at Washington large crowds of
people, both political and civil, who were determined that
the inauguration should take place, and that the President should be protected at all hazards; that the people's
choice must take his seat at the head of the government of
this great nation, let the consequences be what they would.
Five hundred special police were detailed for duty on the
fourth of March, and soldiers were stationed in the housetops along the line of procession, to act as sharp-shooters in
case of riotous proceedings. The amplest civil and military preparations were made, by the municipal authorities
and General Scott, to provide for any emergency which
might arise. The day of inauguration, that ever-memorable fourth of March, was ushered in by a most exciting
session of the Senate, that body sitting for twelve hours,
from seven o'clock the previous evening to seven in the
morning; and as the dial of the clock, that old admonisher of time and things passing away, now told the hour
of midnight, and Sunday gave way to Monday, the fourth
of March, the Senate chamber presented a curious and




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      49
animated appearance.  The galleries were crowded to
repletion; the ladies' gallery resembling, from the gay
dresses of the fair ones there congregated, some gorgeous
parterre of flowers; and the gentlemen's gallery seemed
one dense black mass of surging, hearing masculines,
pushing, struggling and almost clambering over each
others' backs in order to get a good look at the proceedings.
The morning broke clear and beautiful, and the hearts
of thousands upon thousands of freemen, far and near,
beat in rapid succession, and throbbed wildly at the
thought of what that day might bring forth, and many,
many, with the gray dawn of the morning, wished that
day well and peacefully over. On the floor of the Senate
Messrs. Crittenden, Trumbull, Wigfall, Wade, Douglas,
and others, kept up a rolling fire of debate, while those
not engaged in the discussion betook themselves to the
sofas for a comfortable nap during the session, which, it
was known, would last all night.  As the morning advanced, the galleries and floor became gradually cleared
out, and at eight o'clock only a few remained. The public buildings, schools, and most places of business, were
closed throughout the day; the stars and stripes floated
from the City Hall, Capitol, War Department and other
public buildings, while not a few of the citizens flung out
flags from their houses or across the principal avenues.
From early dawn the drum and fife could be heard in
every quarter of the city, and the streets were thronged
with the volunteer soldiery, hastening to their respective
rendezvous. Three or four hours elapsed before there
was the least chance of entering the Capitol. Pennsylvania Avenue was thronged with people wending their way
to the famous east front.  For four hours the crowd
poured on, in one continuous stream of old and young,
male and female; staid old Quakers, from Pennsylvania,
going to see Friend Abraham; and lengthy Suckers,
5




50       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Hoosiers and Wolverines, desirous of a peep at Mr. Lincoln; Buckeyes and Yankees, men from California and
Oregon, from the north-east and the north-west, and a few
from the border States; the large majority, however, were
Northern men, there being, apparently, but few Southerners. Previous to the arrival of the procession, the Senate
chamber did not present a very animated appearance.
The many ladies waiting to see the display did not arrive
until late; and the officers, whose gay uniforms and flashing epaulettes relieved so well the sombreness of the national black, were with the Presidential cortege, during
the passing of the procession to Willard's Hotel and the
march thence to the Capitol.
At five minutes to twelve o'clock, Vice-President
Breckenridge and Senator Foote, of the committee of
arrangements, entered the Senate chamber escorting the
Vice-President elect, Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, whom they
conducted to a seat immediately to the left of the chair of
the President of the Senate. As the hands of the clock
pointed to the hour of twelve the hammer fell, and the
second session of the thirty-sixth Congress came to an
end. Mr. Breckenridge announced the Senate adjourned
without day, and left the chair, to which he immediately
conducted Vice-President Hamlin.  The foreign diplomatic corps also entered the chamber at the same moment, occupying seats to the right of the chair. It was
a subject of general remark that the foreign corps never
were so fully represented as on this occasion. The ministers, attaches and others, numbered, in all, above fifty;
and their brilliancy of dress, the number of their decorations, crapes, &c., added much to the imposing nature of
the scene. Some of the court uniforms were particularly
gorgeous, and attracted much attention. The attendance
of senators was unusually full, the only absences noticed
being those of Messrs. Mason and Hunter of Virginia. At
fifteen minutes to one o'clock the judges of the Supreme
1




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       51
Court of the United States were announced by the doorkeeper of the Senate. On their entrance all on the floor
arose, and the venerable judges, headed by Chief Justice
Taney, moved slowly across to the seats assigned them,
immediately to the right of the Vice-President, each exchanging salutes with that officer in passing the chair.
At ten minutes after one o'clock an unusual stir occurred in the chamber, and the rumor spread like wildfire that the President elect was in the building. At
fifteen minutes past one o'clock the marshal and chief,
Major B. B. French, entered the chamber, ushering in
the President and President elect.  They had entered
together from the street through a private covered passage-way, on the north side of the Capitol, police officers
being in attendance to prevent outsiders from crowding
after them. The line of procession was then formed, as
follows:- Marshal of the District of Columbia, judges
of the Supreme Court and sergeant-at-arms, Senate commitee of arrangements, President of the United States
and President elect, Vice-President, Secretary of the Senate, senators, diplomatic corps, heads of the departments,
governors and others in the chambers. When the word
was given for members of the House to fall into the line
of procession a violent rush was made for the door, accompanied by loud outcries, violent pushing and great
disturbance. After the procession had reached the platform, Senator Baker, of Oregon, introduced Mr. Lincoln
to the assembly.  On Mr. Lincoln's advancing to the
stand he was cheered, but not very loudly. Unfolding
his manuscript, in a loud, clear voice he read his message.
During the delivery of the inaugural, which began at
half-past one o'clock, Mr. Lincoln was much cheered,
especially at any allusion to the Union.
President Buchanan and Chief Justice Taney listened
with the utmost attention to every word of the address,
and, at its conclusion, the latter administered the usual




52      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
oath, in answering to which Mr. Lincoln was vociferously
cheered. The present inauguration is the eighth ceremony of the kind at which Chief Justice Taney has officiated,
having administered the oath of office, successively, to
Presidents Van Buren, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore,
Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln.  The ceremony was exceedingly impressive. The Chief Justice seemed to be
very much agitated, and his hands shook very perceptibly
with emotion. At the conclusion of the ceremonies the
President was escorted to the Senate chamber, thence to
his carriage, and the military, forming as in the procession of the morning, accompanied him, with the committee of arrangements, to the White House. On reaching
the executive mansion the troops formed in double line,
on Maine Avenue, and the barouche containing the Presidential party passed through to the White House. Mr.
Buchanan accompanied Mr. Lincoln to the main hall,
and there took a farewell leave of him, expressing a hope,
in cordial terms, that his administration might prove a
happy and a prosperous one. The ex-President then retired.  On the arrival of the procession at the White
House the marshals were successively introduced to Mr.
Lincoln, and then, the line being formed, the rush of
people to congratulate the new President was exceedingly
great. Thus ended, for the day-time, the inaugural ceremonies.
Though the enthusiasm did not equal that manifested
on former occasions, everything passed off quietly. The
most ample civil and military preparations were made, by
the municipal authorities and General Scott, to provide
for any emergency that might arise. The various bodies
of United States troops at Washington were stationed in
different parts of the city, the sappers and miners alone
being in the procession.  General Scott, it is said, was
near the Capitol, with Capt. Barry's company of artillery
and Major Harkin's command, acting as infantry. Offi



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      53
cers reported continually, passing to and fro, and it is
said the General was heard to exclaim,-" Everything is
going on peaceably; thank God Almighty for it! "  During the day military patrols were on duty all over the
city, and the greatest vigilance was enjoined upon and
observed by the regulars.
The display of soldiery in the procession was very
fine, but not equal to the 22d of February. The companies were quite numerous, but of small size. As a rule
the Republican associations were placed in the order of
march immediately after the ex-President.  These organizations had with them a kind of triumphal car, drawn
by four white horses, each of which was covered with
white cloth on which was the word "Union" in large
letters on one side, and the word " Constitution" on the
other. The car was decorated with miniature flags, and
white, red and blue drapery, and contained thirty-four
little girls, representing the States, and two young ladies,
respectively representing the North and the South. The
whole affair was under the charge of ten Wide-Awakes, in
full uniform.  Five hundred delegates from New York
marched in the procession, four abreast.' Several other
large delegations also joined the line.
The scene from the east front was very fine. The avenue in front of the portico was thronged with people, the
crowd extending a great distance on either side, and
reaching far into the Capitol grounds. Every available
spot was black with human beings; boys and men clinging to rails, and mounting on fences, and climbing trees,
until they bent beneath their weight. On the outer edge
of the concourse, the volunteer soldiery stood at rest during the delivery of the inaugural. A great number of
flags were flying, and as the sun shone brightly on the
gay dresses of the ladies, and the uniforms and glittering
weapons of the soldiery, the scene was exceedingly animated.
5*




54      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
It is not my purpose, at this time, to give in detail the
inaugural address of President Lincoln, or enter into the
minutiae of that official document' as a whole, but only
that part of it which pertains to our affairs with the
South and treats on the alleged causes of secession,
which I copy verbatim.
Extracts from the inaugural address of President Lincoln, delivered March 4th, 1861:"Fellow-Citizens of the United States:- In compliance
with a custom as old as the government itself I appear
before you to address you briefly, and to take, in your
presence, the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the
United States, to be taken by the President before he
enters on the execution of the duties of his office. I do
not consider it necessary, at present, for me to discuss
those matters of administration about which there is no
special anxiety or excitement.  Apprehension seems to
exist among the people of the Southern States that, by
the accession of a Republican administration, their property and their permanent peace and security are to be
endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause
for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence
to the contrary has all the while existed, and been open
to their inspection.  It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but
quote from one of those speeches when I declare that I
have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with
the institution of slavery in the States where it now exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I
have no inclination to do so. Those who nominated and
elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made
this and many similar declarations, and had never recanted them; and, more than this, they placed in the platform
for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves and to me,
the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read:"'Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       55
of the States, and especially the right of each State to
order and control its own domestic institutions according
to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of
our political fabric depend; and we denounce the lawless
invasion, by an armed force, of any State or territory, no
matter under what pretext, as the greatest of crimes.'
" I now reiterate these sentiments, and in doing so I
only press upon the public attention the most conclusive
evidence of which the case is susceptible, that the property, peace and security of no section are to be in any
wise endangered by the now incoming administration. I
add, too, that all the protection which, consistently with
the Constitution and laws, can be given, will be cheerfully
given to all the States, when lawfully demanded, for
whatever cause, as cheerfully to one section as to another.
There is much controversy about the delivering up of
fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read
is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its
provisions: -
"' No person held to service or labor in one State, under
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged
from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on
claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be
due.'
"It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it for the reclaiming of what we
call fugitive slaves; and the intention of the law-givers is
the law. All members of Congress swear their support
to the whole Constitution, — to this provision as much
as any other.  To the proposition, then, that slaves
whose cases come within the terms of this clause shall be
delivered up, their oaths are unanimous. Now if they
would-make the effort, in good temper, would they not, with
equal unanimity, frame and pass a law by means of which




56       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
to keep good that unanimous oath? There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by
national or State authority; but, surely, that difference is
not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered,
it can be of but little consequence, to him or to others,
by what authority it is done; and should any one, in any
case, be content that his oaths should go'unkept, on a
merely unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be
kept?
"Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not all the
safeguards of liberty, known in civilized and humane jurisprudence, to be introduced, so that a free man be not in
any case surrendered as a slave; and might it not be well,
at the same time, to provide by law for the enforcement
of that clausein the Constitution which guarantees that
the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States?
I take the official oath, to-day, with no mental reservations, and with no purpose to control the Constitution or
laws by any hypercritical rules; and, while I do not
choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as
proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much
safer for all, both in official and private stations, to conform to and abide by all those acts that stand unrepealed,
than to violate any of them trusting to find impunity in
having them held to be unconstitutional.
" It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a
President under our national Constitution. During that
period fifteen different and greatly distinguished citizens
have, in succession, administered the executive branch
of government.  They have conducted it through many
perils, and generally with great success; yet with all this
scope for precedent, I now enter upon the same task, for
the brief constitutional term of four years, under grave
and peculiar difficulties.
"A disruption of the federal Union, heretofore only




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       57
menaced, is now formidably attempted. I hold that, in
contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution,
the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is
implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all
national governments; it is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for
its own termination. Continue to execute all the express
provisions of our national Constitution, and the Union
will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument
itself.
"Again, if the United States be not a government proper,
but an association of States, in the nature of a compact
merely, can it as a compact be peaceably unmade, by less
than all the parties who made it? One party to a compact
may violate it, break it, so to speak, but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it? Descending from these
general principles, we find the proposition, that in legal
contemplation the Union is perpetual, confirmed by the
history of the Union itself. The Union is much older
than the Constitution; it was formed, in fact, by the
articles of association, in 1774; it was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776; it
was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should
be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778,
and, finally, in 1789.
" One of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was to form a more perfect Union;
but if destruction by one, or by a part only, of the States
be lawfully possible, the Union is less than before the
Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity.
It follows from these views that no State, upon its own
mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union; that
resolves or ordinances to that effect are legally void, and
that acts of violence, within any State or States, against




58       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
the authority of the United States, are insurrectionary or
revolutionary, according to circumstances.  I therefore
consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws,
the Union is unbroken; and to the extent of my ability
I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins
upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a
simple duty on my part, and shall perform it so far as
practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American
people, shall withdraw the requisition, or in some authoritative manner direct the contrary. I trust this will not
be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared purpose of the Union, that it will constitutionally defend
and maintain itself. In doing this there needs to be no
bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none, unless it
be forced upon the national authority.
" The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy
and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and collect the duties and imposts; but, beyond
what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no
invasion, no urging of force against or among the people,
anywhere. Where hostility to the United States, in any
interior territory, shall be so great and so universal as to
prevent the competent resident citizens from holding the
federal offices, there will be no attempt to force obnoxious
strangers among people that object.  While the strict
legal right may exist for the government to enforce the
exercise of those offices, the attempt to do so would be so
irritating, and so nearly impracticable withal, that I deem
it better to forego, for the time, the uses of such offices.
" The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished
in all parts of the Union, so far as possible. The people,
everywhere, shall have that sense of perfect security which
is most favorable to calm thought and reflection. The
course here indicated will be followed, unless current
events and experience shall show a modification or change




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       59
to be proper, and in every case and exigency my best
discretion will be exercised, according to circumstances
actually existing, and with a view and a hope to a peaceful solution of the national trouble and the restoration of
fraternal sympathies and affections.
" That there are persons, in one section or another, who
seek to destroy the Union at all events, and are glad of
any pretext to do it, I will neither affirm nor deny; but
if there should be such I need address no word to them.
To those, however, who really love the Union, may I not
speak?  Before entering upon so grave a matter as the
destruction of our national fabric, with all its benefits,
its memories and its hopes, would it not be well to ascertain precisely why we, do it? Will you hazard so desperate a step, while there is any possibility that any portion
of the ills that you fly from  have no real existence?
Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater than
all the real ills you fly from, will you risk the commission
of so fearful a mistake?
"All profess to be content in the Union if all constitutional rights can be maintained. Is it true, then, that
any right plainly written in the Constitution has been
denied? I think not.  Happily the human mind is so
constituted that no party can reach the audacity of doing
this. Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a
plainly-written provision of the Constitution has ever
been denied.
" One section of our country believes slavery is right, and
ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong
and ought not to be extended; this is the only substantial dispute.  The fugitive slave clause of the Constitution, and the law for the suppression of the foreign slavetrade, are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can
ever be in a community where the moral sense of the
people imperfectly supports the law itself.  The great
body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation in




60       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I think,
cannot be perfectly cured, and it would be worse, in both
cases, after the separation of the sections, than before.
The foreign slave-trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would
be ultimately revived without restriction in one section,.
while fugitive slaves, now only partially surrendered,
would not be surrendered at all by the other. Physically
speaking, we cannot separate; we cannot remove our
respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be
divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach
of each other; but the different parties of our country
cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face,
and intercourse —either amiable qr hostile relations —
must continue between them.  Is it possible, then, to
make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make
treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties
be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws
among friends?  Suppose you go to war, you cannot
fight always; and when, after much loss on both sides
and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical
questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you.
" This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of
the existing government they can exercise their constitutional right of amending, or their revolutionary right to
dismember or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of the
fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are desirous
of having the national Constitution amended. While I
make no recommendation of amendment, I fully recognize the authority of the people over the whole subject, to
be exercised in either of the modes prescribed in the instrument itself; and I should, under existing circumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair opportunity being
offered the people to act upon it.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      61
"I will venture to add that, to me, the convention mode
seems preferable, in that it allows amendments to originate with the people themselves, instead of only permitting
them  to take a proposition originated by others, not
especially chosen for the purpose, and which might not be
precisely such as they would wish to either accept or refuse.
"I understand a proposed amendment to the Constitution, which amendment I have not seen, has passed Congress, to the effect that the federal government shall never
interfere with the domestic institutions of the States, including that of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I depart from my purpose not to speak of particular amendments so far as to
say, that, holding such a provision to be now implied constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable.
" The chief magistrate derives all his authority- from
the people, and they have conferred none upon him
to fix terms for the separation of the States; the people
themselves can do this alone, if they choose, but the
Executive, as such, has nothing to do with it.  His
duty is to administer the present government, as it came
to his hands, and to transmit it unimpaired by him to his
successor.
"Why should there not be a patient confidence in the
ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or
equal hope in the world?  In our present differences
is either party without faith of being right? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with his eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the
South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail, by
the judgment of this great tribunal- the American
people.
" By the frame of government under which we live, the
same people have wisely given their public servants but
little power for mischief, and have, with equal wisdom,
6




62       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
provided for the return of that little to their own hands,
at very short intervals. While the people retain virtue
and vigilance, no administration of any extreme of wickedness or folly can very seriously injure the government
in the short space of four years.
" My countrymen, one and all; think calmly and well
upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost
by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of
you, in hot haste, to a step which you would never take
deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time;
but no good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you
as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution
unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws of your
own framing under it; while the new administration have
no immediate power, if it would, to change either. If it
were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right
side in the dispute, there is still no single good cause for
precipitate action.
" Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity and a firm reliance
on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are
still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present
difficulties. In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil
war.  The government will not assail you.  You can
have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.
You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the
government, while I shall have the most solemn one to
preserve, protect and defend it.
" I am loth to close; we are not enemies, but friends; we
must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained,
it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic
chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and
patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-stone, all
over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the
Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the
better angels of our nature."




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       63
Mr. Lincoln's delivery was good, with but little gesture
and small pretence of oratory, yet it fell upon the ear like
right words, well spoken; and as he uttered the closing
sentence of the address, a loud and still louder and more
prolonged cheer announced that the inaugural was delivered, and the long, fearful struggle was over, and a republican President safely inaugurated; and not even with
the close of the ceremony did the curious cease to speculate as to the probabilities and chances of his assassination, which was confidently expected, though of course
greatly to be dreaded, followed as it would be by riot,
panic, and an immediate necessity for a display of force.
But that brave old veteran, General Scott, was prepared
for any emergency, and three minutes would have found
artillery, cavalry and infantry ready at their posts to put
down insurrection and protect the national capital, at all
hazards. But the day passed off peaceably, and no foul
deed was done to stain our country's honor.
Mr. Lincoln, on being asked whether he felt at all
frightened while delivering his inaugural address, the
threats of assassination having been so numerous, replied
that he had no such sensation, and that he had often experienced much greater fear in addressing a dozen rWestern men on the subject of temperance.
The delivery of the message commenced at 1.30 P. M.,
and at four o'clock it had been telegraphed to all the
principal cities, and was in the hands of all the agents of
the associated press.
The inaugural of President Lincoln met with very general
commendation throughout the free States. The journals
that give voice to the popular feeling praise the candor,
ability, and firm yet conciliatory spirit, of the address,
while a few papers, politically opposed to the President,
condemn, though faintly, its leading features. But he
will be sustained by the great mass of the people, whose
sentiments he has so truly reflected.  In speaking of the




64      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
address, a Providence paper contains the following brief
paragraph: —
" His honest, simple, straight-forward declarations of
fidelity to the spirit of our government and Constitution
must commend themselves to all, and awaken a response
in every patriotic heart. No language could be chosen
which would more strongly and unequivocally express the
resolve to respect the rights of the South, to let slavery in
the States utterly alone, to fulfil the constitutional obligation respecting fugitive slaves, and to treat with the
utmost kindness the citizens of the Southern States, than
that which the President employs."
And, again, a Newburyport paper says:-" President
Lincoln's inaugural will be read by all. It will be admired by every patriot in the land. It is a glorious message-words of wisdom, of conciliation, of peace; yes,
and as brave and firm as pacific. It has about it nothing
noisy, declamatory and boisterous; it bears upon its every
line the calmness of self-reliant truth, and it carries with
it a consciousness of strength that can afford to bear and
forbear, and yet possess the power, when necessary, to
assert and maintain the right."
March 22d. Dr. Fox, of the navy, visited Major Anderson, as a special messenger of government.
March 25th. Col. Lamon, government messenger, had
an interview with Governor Pickens and General Beauregard.
April 3d. Long cabinet meeting on Fort Sumter business. Great activity in the navy department.
We have thus far, the reader will see, given only the
Northern side of the question; we now propose to retrace
our steps and give an account of the movements in the
Southern States during the same period, —thinking this
mode preferable, as the commingling of events would distract our readers, and cause them to partially lose sight
of the chain of proceedings on either side.
I..............




CHAPTER IV.
In vain is the strife: when its fury is past,
Their fortunes must flow in one channel at last,
As the torrents that rush from the mountains of snow
Roll, mingled in peace, through the valleys below.
ATLANTIC MONTHLY.
NOTHING can be more absurd than the claim that the
success of the Republican party has brought about the
present condition of affairs at the South. That the wickedness, incompetency and inability of the last administration constitute one of the principal causes of the existing
national troubles and peril, is evident enough to all honest-minded and intelligent citizens; and that the President of the United States, especially, has been weighed in
the balance and found wanting, is a truth mournfully obvious to the whole people of the land.
The fire-eaters at the South have contributed their full
share towards the mischief.  The Rhetts of South Carolina, and the Wendell Phillipses of Boston, who regard the
Union as " a league with hell and a covenant with death,"
can boast that they have " labored faithfully for twenty
years" to'dissever the bonds which fasten together our
glorious Union. The Greeleys, John Browns, and others
of the Beecher school have contributed their mite towards
discord and disunion, while the reverend Beechey and
other electioneering parsons, who prostitute the pulpit to
partisan politics, and use the influence which belongs to
ministers of the gospel for political purposes, have constantly fanned the flame, and kept it alive, which might
ere this, if left to itself, have become extinct.
6*                         65




66       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
When, in these Northern States, we enter the church dedicated to Almighty God, where we expect to hear preached
Christ and him crucified, " peace on earth and good-will
to men," we find the pulpit has been prostituted for the
purpose of enlisting its adherents and hearers in this antislavery crusade against the South, as a part and parcel of
its religious teachings, berating and condemning our Southern brethren because they happen to be born in a land
where there exists an institution which they themselves
had no hand in establishing.
The prevailing idea entertained by most of the leading
statesmen, at the time of the formation of the Constitution, was that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature. It was an evil they knew
not well how to deal with; but the general opinion of the
men of that day was, that somehow or other, in the order
of Providence, the institution would be evanescent, and
pass away.
Much has been said and written, by the extremists of
the abolition party, which has served to inflame the hot
blood of the South, who receive it, and without investigation charge it upon the North, as the ruling sentiment of
the people; yet, notwithstanding, the oft-repeated assertion of the South, of injuries received and wrongs perpetrated, is a mere fallacy to assist in the work of disunion.
The real work has been accomplished by temporizing
politicians, who have sought for momentary local success
in catering to a deluded populace, but have falsely calculated upon being able to control the storm ere it should
prove destructive. While we would condemn the course
pursued by Northern politicians and ultra abolitionists,
for their aggressions on slavery, we see no just or reasonable cause for the action of the South, or why fears need
be entertained for their constitutional rights.
The Vice-President of the Confederate States, Mr. A.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       67
H. Stevens, in a speech made at Savannah, March 21st,
1861, says: -
"The Constitution, it is true, secures every essential
guarantee to the institution (slavery) while it should last,
and hence no argument can be justly used against the
constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the
common sentiment of the day."
The secession movement, which took form and consistency by the action of South Carolina immediately after
the election of Lincoln, was not the conception of an hour;
it was not the result of the election of a Republican President; it was not that the Constitution gave them no rights,
or equality in the Union; it was not the result of wrongs
inflicted upon the South by the free States; nor was it the
agitation of the slavery question, which have brought upon
us the horrors of fratricidal war. The prime moving
cause is ambition, - the hungering and thirsting after
the balance of power;- that sordid ambition which
would prompt them to force their way into the highest
positions of power, even though it lay over heaps of the
slain and through seas of blood, and then weep, like Alexander, because they had not another world to conquer.
This is the pervading spirit of Southern partisan leaders,
who would, Judas-like, sell their country for filthy lucre;
yet their keen perceptive faculties told them they must
have an excuse, and in order to give the rebellion a semblance of justice they made the slavery question their
pretence; and the election of Lincoln, with his Republican
principles, afforded them a single thread on which to suspend their operations.
In 1850, when the slavery question was agitated, and
trouble was anticipated therefrom, a gentleman from
Boston asked General Houston how it could be settled.
The General replied,-" You go North and shoot six
men, and I will go South and shoot half-a-dozen, then,
I think, things will go on quietly."




68       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
The love of the Union was so strong in the majority of
Southern hearts, the disinclination to encounter the hazards of a revolution so apparent, it became necessary for
the leaders to act with great caution in setting on foot
their movement for disunion. If the people demurred,
they were told by the immediate secessionists that the
North had pursued, from the inception of the government
up to the present time, one continual course of aggression,
-that they had no equality in the Union, in fact that
they were but the slaves of the North; until, in listening
to the inflammatory appeals of their speakers, they could,
in imagination, almost hear the clanking of Northern
chains around them.  The old story was told, of wrongs
endured, of slaves stolen, of unjust imposition of taxes
by way of tariff levies, of unconstitutional personal liberty bills; then the evident fact that the institution of
slavery was to be excluded from  the territories in the
West, thus seemingly denying the South of what they
called their rights in that unsettled domain; then, as the
topmost "crowning stone " of all the indignities heaped
upon them, the North had become so heartless and so
estranged as to elect a " sectional President," which they
considered a sufficient reason to justify them, in'the eyes
of the civilized world, for secession; — though a mere
pretence, as will be seen by the declaration of the leading
spirits of the South Carolina convention (as quoted by
Governor Hicks in his address to the people of Maryland),
that neither the election of Lincoln, nor the non-execution
of the fugitive slave law, nor both combined, constitute
their grievances; that the real cause of their discontent
dates as far back as 1833.
In 1858 the leaders of the rebellion began to prepare
the minds of the people for immediate secession.  In the
fall of that year, Jefferson Davis, in a speech at Jackson,
Mississippi, took the position of a direct secession advocate. He says,  " If an abolitionist be chosen President




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       69
of the United States, you will have presented to you the
question of whether you will permit the government to
pass into the hands of your avowed and implacable enemies; that such a result would be a species of revolution,
by which the purposes of the government would be destroyed, and the observance of its forms entitled to no
respect;" and intimated that, in that event, it was their
duty to provide for their safety outside of the Union, declaring that, otherwise, they would be deprived of their
birthright, and reduced to a state worse than the colonial
dependence of their fathers.
This catalogue of indignities and fallacies, when properly presented to the excitable and sensitive people of the
South, met with a hearty response. It was too much for
them to bear. They agreed upon the matter of grievance,
and resolved to maintain their right to a separate confederacy at the point of the sword; and the election of an
" abolitionist," that is, any man with Northern or free-soil
principles, was to be the signal for an effort to cast off
allegiance to the Constitution.
The South felt that more territory must be had at any
sacrifice. Kansas and Nebraska lost, all was lost, - Henry
Clay's " Compromise Act" of 1821 guaranteeing to all
that region freedom forever, and Texas could not for
years gain population sufficient to allow of her subdivision into States.
The compromise consisted of admitting Missouri as a
slave State, but conceding, as an equivalent for Northern
concession in the premises, the prohibition of any further
slave territory north of the parallel 36 degrees 30 minutes.  The compromise, though unpalatable to the opponents of the right of slave extension, was accepted as a
solemn guarantee against all further extension. Had it
not been proposed and pledged as such a guarantee, the
bill of Mr. Clay never could have passed the House of
Representatives.




70       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED-STATES.
It was not until August, 1821, that the State was admitted, which, together with the later admission of Arkansas and Florida, confirmed the supremacy of the South
in the national councils; a supremacy which was not disturbed until the 4th of January, 1854, when Mr. Douglas,
chairman of the committee on territories, in the United
States Senate, introduced a bill for the organization of
the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, which provided
that the said territory, or any portion of the same, when
admitted as a State, shall be received into the Union with
or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at
the time of their admission; - thus abrogating the venerable and respected Missouri Compromise Act of 1821,
and giving to the people of a territory the right to make
their own laws,- denying to Congress the power to legislate laws for its territories.
That act became a law, after one of the most exciting
sessions of Congress known for many years; and it
proved to be one of the most fatal acts for the peace of
the country which could have been conceived. It alarmed
the North; from the South came armed bands who pursued the anti-slavery settlers in the territories with a vengeance, making the record of 1855 and'56 one of outrage and bloodshed.
The North, aggravated by this armed attempt to make
a slave State out of soil unfitted for slave labor, poured
in its settlers, armed them for defence, gave them supplies
to sustain them through the day of trial, and, eventually,
obtained the victory through the action of the principle
of " Squatter Sovereignty," and obtained control of affairs
by mere force of numbers.
The struggle to make Kansas a free State called into
existence the Republican party, which, in a brief period,
elected its candidate to the chief magistracy.
Mortified at their defeat, cut off from any further extension of slave representation, the Southern States saw




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       71
before them their long-apprehended disaster of a minority
in the government. If they remained in the Union, it
must be as the weaker half. At this their pride revolted.
The "balance of power" ranks were weakened by the
election of a Republican President, as it closed up the
avenues to the accession of more slave territory. In this
way, and in no other, can it be said that the election of
Lincoln precipitated this rebellion.
Had the South succeeded in electing their candidate
to the Presidency, who would administer the government
after the pattern of the last administration, grant all their
requests in the way of rebuilding their forts, strengthening their fortifications, providing them with military stores,
arms and munitions of war, then, undoubtedly, rebellion
and all its train of blood would have been averted until
the next Presidential election, as it would give them an
additional four years to prepare for the conflict which
must eventually come.  It is urged by the immediate
leaders of the secession movement that the North had
perverted the Constitution from its original intent and
purposes, that they had no equality in the Union, and no
hopes of redress for grievances, only in secession.
We would say, for the benefit of those who make the
plea that the South has been denied her rights and just
share in the government, that for sixty-four years out of
seventy-two the executive chair has been filled nearly all
the time by Southern Presidents, or, when not by Southern men, by those possessing the confidence of the South;
and of all the offices in the gift of the government, in
every department, far more than her proportionate share
has always been enjoyed by the South; that our army
and navy have for years been controlled by Southern
men; that our ships of war, and the fortifications along
our coast, have nearly all been officered and commanded
by men of Southern principles, to the exclusion of the
sons of the North.




72       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Then, again, the right of free speech has been asserted
by Southern senators, in the halls of Congress, who claim
the privilege of expressing their opinions freely on all
subjects, even to vilifying opposite parties in unmeasured
terms; but when a Northern senator acts upon the same
principle, and speaks according to the dictates of his own
conscience, he must apologize, or is visited summarily
with the cane or the challenge.
New York alone has nearly double the free population
of the six original "seceded States," yet she had only
thirty-three representatives to their twenty-six; which
proves how largely slaves are represented in Congress,the negroes entering into " population " in the proportion
of five negroes for three in count, thus bearing to Congress the preponderating weight of their votes without
any of the rights of citizenship appertaining to them.
And, again, Ohio has more free white population than
the whole six States originally seceded, yet she had only
twenty-one representatives in Congress, while they had
twenty-six.
Whether these facts prove that the South has been denied her rights, we leave our readers to judge; and how
far the South stands acquitted before the tribunal of nations and the bar of justice, time, and the succeeding pages
of this work, will show.
It is not necessary to the accomplishment of our purpose (giving a history of the rebellion) to go farther back
than the Presidential election, as we have touched, though
lightly, on former feuds; and the feeling of prejudice which
has existed between the two sections, for many years, is
well known to our readers, and requires no comment.
We find, under date Richmond, Va., October 31, 1860,
that war preparations were commenced, that arms and
ammunitions were being rapidly distributed, and a determination to resist the general government was developing
more and more each day. They regarded the Union as




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.        73
founded upon a very uncertain basis, and that, in case of
Lincoln's election, the long-threatened crash must soon
come, and all were busy preparing for it.
Senator Wigfall, of Texas notoriety, in a speech at
Huntsville, Alabama, took occasion to say, —"I would
see the Union rent in a thousand fragments before I
would vote for John Bell."
November 5th. The legislature of South Carolina met
at Columbia, and received the Governor's (Gist's) message. Therein he suggested immediate secession, in case
Lincoln was elected, and earnestly recommended military
re-organization, and that every man in the State, between
the ages of eighteen and forty-five, should be armed by
the State with the most efficient weapons of modern warfare, and also recommended raising, without delay, ten
thousand volunteers, to be in readiness at the shortest
notice, and adds, "that they may trust their cause to
the Supreme Disposer of events."  An immense crowd
assembled in the evening, at the Congaree House, and
serenaded Senator Chesnut, who made a long and eloquent speech, declaring the last hope of the Union gone,
and resistance unavoidable.
At the celebration in Savannah, of the completion of
the Charleston and Savannah railroad, the mayor pledged
fifty thousand Georgians to rush to the assistance of
South Carolina, if coerced; Collector Colcock, of Charleston, made an eloquent disunion speech; Mr. Buchanan
was toasted as "the last of an illustrious line;" the
greatest -enthusiasm for a Southern Confederacy prevailed, and all were resolved to fight.
Same day, at Portsmouth, Va., Governor Wise made a
disunion speech of over four hours in length. He protested that he would never submit to Lincoln's election.
He closed amid the wildest enthusiasm. For several
minutes the house shook with the shouts of the excited
multitude.
7




74       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
November 6. Presidential election day. The news of
the Republican triumph was received throughout the
Southern States with loud demonstrations of civil war
and disunion.
On the 8th a mass meeting of the citizens was held at
Savannah to consider the result of the election, at which
it was unanimously resolved, that the election of Lincoln
and Hamlin ought not, and would not be submitted to,
and suggested to the legislature to take steps to organize
and arm the military forces of the State. A Southern
Rights club hoisted a banner in one of the public squares,
with this inscription,EQUALITY OF THE STATES,
the painting of a rattlesnake, with the motto, -
DON'T TREAD ON ME;
and though but forty-eight hours since the reception of
the news of Lincoln's election, the feeling of the people
was clearly manifested by the cheers that greeted the
appearance of the banner; minute-men were organizing,
and old men and young were mounting the secession
badge,- a blue cockade.
In Macon, Ga., and Mobile, Ala., the excitement was
intense, and corps of minute-men were organizing.
A correspondent writing from Columbia, S. C., and
Charleston, under date Nov. 9, says, "There is no need
of speeches to inflame the people; they are, to a man,
for secession;" and gives an account of the furore of
excitement created by the resignation of the officers of
the United States Court in that city. It was estimated
that at least five thousand people called to pay their
respects to ex-Judge Magrath. He addressed them  in
glowing words as to the great responsibilities and demands of the crisis, and they manifested the most profound emotions by continually-recurring applause. Till
nearly midnight the streets presented the most animated




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       75
appearance. The crowd illuminated their passage by
rockets and other fireworks, and the air resounded with
their deafening cries.
November 10. Senator Chesnut, of South Carolina,
resigned his seat in the United States Senate. A bill was
introduced in the South Carolina legislature to call out
and equip ten thousand volunteers, and ordered an
election of delegates to a convention to take action on
the question of secession, the election to be held Dec. 6,
the convention to assemble Dec. 17. The legislature
appointed the 21st instant as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer.
In the evening a great crowd, numbering about two
thousand persons, assembled in front of the Congaree
House, Columbia, S. C., and were addressed by Judge
Magrath, Messrs. Connor, Colcock, and Cunningham.
Mr. Magrath said South Carolina had a right to secede.
The people, the legislature and Heaven will say she has
the right; and if the government at Washington should
say she has not the right, then let the government prove
it by taking the right away.
Mr. Colcock said that, although this was a large meeting, he wished to see one more in it, and that was Abrahanm Lincoln. He would take him  by the hand and
bring him to the platform, and tell him to look upon that
great crowd, and then ask him if he ever expected to
wave his presidential sceptre over the heads of that
people. "Honest Abe," he knew, with downcast eyes,
would answer, " Never."
Immense excitement throughout the South. Large
meetings held in New  Orleans, Augusta, Montgomery
and Vicksburg, to favor disunion.  Great numbers of
resignations of postmasters, custom-house officers, etc.,
received at the departments at Washington. "Minutemen"  organizations making  throughout the  cotton
States.




76       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
November 11.  Senator Hammond, of South Carolina,
resigned his seat in the United States Senate.
In Charleston, on the 12th, at night, a large and
enthusiastic meeting was held at Institute HIall. The
galleries were filled with ladies, and every part of the
building was crowded to suffocation. Judge Magrath
presided.  When the speaker declared, "This Union is'
dissolved," the enthusiasm  of the people was beyond
bounds; they rose to their feet, threw up their hats, and
cheered till hoarse; outside, "Minute-men " from Columbia were parading, houses were illuminated, fireworks
set off; the people joining in every imaginable demonstration of joy on this occasion, and cheer after cheer
rent the air.
Governor Brown, of Georgia, made a strong resistance
speech at Milledgeville, declaring the right of secession,
and said if the federal troops attempted coercion, for
every Georgian who fell in the conflict the heads of two
federal soldiers should atone for the outrage on State
sovereignty.
A correspondent, writing from Richmond, Va., says,
" The secession movement is going forward with a rush.
All the conciliatory letters that'Old Abe' could write
for a month would be of no avail in staying the progress
of this movement. The South would not regard as sincere one word he might say in conflict with his matured
and long-standing convictions. The crisis is come, and
secession is inevitable."
November 13. South Carolina legislature adjourned,
sine die.
November 14. Immense torch-light procession in Columbia, in honor of the action of the South Carolina
legislature.
Florida, by her Governor, telegraphed to the Governor
of South Carolina that she would stand by the gallant
Palmetto flag.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       77
November 15. Senator Toombs made a powerful secession speech at Milledgeville, Georgia.
Governor Letcher, of Virginia, called an extra session
of the legislature, to assemble Jan. 7, to take into consideration the condition of public affairs.
November 17. Grand gathering of citizens of Charleston, S. C., to inaugurate the revolution. A mammoth
pole was erected near the Charleston Hotel, and the
hoisting of the State flag on it was duly celebrated. The
pole was made of Carolina pine, one hundred feet high,
and surmounted by the cap of liberty.  Cables were
stretched across the streets to prevent the passage of
vehicles. A dense crowd was collected on Meeting Street,
extending over two squares. The neighboring housetops, windows and balconies were thronged with ladies
waving their handkerchiefs. The flag was hoisted amid
tremendous cheering and the wildest excitement; the
Washington Artillery paraded, and fired one hundred
guns as the flag went up; bells were rung, and the band
played the Marsellaise Hymn. After the Marsellaise the
band played the " Miserere," from " I1 Trovatore," as a
funeral dirge for the Union. At the same time the
Charleston Hotel, the Mills House, and other large hotels,
flung out the Palmetto flag, and the people vowed that the
stars and stripes should never again wave in Charleston.
When the cheering, attendant upon hoisting the flag,
subsided, prayer was offered by the Rev. C. P. Gadsden,
invoking God as their refuge and strength, asking protection for the liberties with which their fathers were blessed,
their commerce and their firesides, and praying to be
inspired with courage, with a spirit of self-sacrifice, and a
love of law and order. That God would consecrate with
especial favor the banner of liberty which that day had
been hung in the heavens, and graciously keep the city
over which it floated, and finally make them that happy
people whose God is the Lord.
7*




78       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
After the prayer, speeches were made, the speakers
all addressing the crowd as citizens of the "Southern
Republic." During the speaking, processions poured in
from different sections of the city, with music and cannon, each saluting the Palmetto flag.
From  the windows of dwellings were suspended banners with such mottoes as " Now or never;' "No step
backward;" "The argument is ended; " "Stand to
your arms;"  "South Carolina goes it alone, —her
trumps, Magrath, Colcock, and Conner,- with these she
claims a march."
Secession badges worn by men, women, and children.
M. L. Bonham, member of Congress from South Carolina, resigned his seat in that body. The prayer for the
President of the United States was omitted in the Episcopal churches in Charleston.
Nov. 18. Georgia legislature appropriated one million
dollars to arm and equip the State. Ordered an election
of delegates to a State convention, to be held January 2,
the convention to assemble January 9.
Nov. 19. Governor Moore, of Louisiana, ordered the
legislature of that State to convene Dec. 10.
We learn  from  Richmond, Va., through  reliable
sources, that there was at this time (Nov. 19), fully
armed and equipped, in Virginia, a force of one hundred
thousand of the elite of the young men of the State, with
a reserve force of one hundred thousand more; that they
had purchased from the United States government, since
October 1st, five thousand smooth-bore percussion muskets, which had arrived there, and that eight thousand
stand of arms of different classes, purchased at the
North, had been forwarded within the previous week.
Virginia entered into a contract for three thousand
shells, to suit heavy artillery, besides five hundred barrels of Dupont powder, which had been purchased and
stored at Lexington and Richmond. Two thousand new




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      79
sabres had been provided for cavalry, besides one thousand old ones, which had been improved in a manner to
suit any emergency; also one thousand revolving pistols
of the Dean and Adams model, which were soon to be
distributed. These were exclusive of the regular arms
in the depot of the State.
November 20. Large arrivals in New York of arms
for the South. Heavy orders received and filled in New
York for rifles, ammunitions, pistols, etc., for the South.
Both branches of the North Carolina legislature convened. The Governor, in his message, recommended the
enrolment of all men between eighteen and forty-five
years, and also the raising of a corps of ten thousand
volunteers, with arms and equipments. A correspondent
writes: " Non-intercourse with the free States is decidedly the sentiment of the people, and domestic uniforms
are becoming all the rage for the military companies.
A  party of young gentlemen, of New Orleans, in
whose chivalric hearts the secession fever raged intensely,
resolved to wear no cloth but what was made south of
Mason and Dixon's line, consequently ordered entire suits
to be made for each one, of Kentucky jeans, and only
discovered when too late that the goods were manufactured in Massachusetts.
November 22. The Washington and Philadelphia
banks suspended specie payment. The banks of Baltimore and Richmond suspended two days previously.
Notes of all Southern banks at a heavy discount in New
York.  The New York banks resolved to consolidate
funds, and afford relief by a liberal line of discount.
Nov. 23. Suspension of North Carolina banks legalized by the legislature of that State. Numerous bank
suspensions announced in Pittsburg, Pa., Trenton, N. J.,
and Charleston, S. C.
Great public meeting in New Orleans to organize a
" Southern Rights Association;" whose purpose is to aid




80       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
in carrying the State out of the Union. A correspondent
writing from New Orleans, says: —
" The Southern heart is fired at last to its fullest extent,
and whether it has the'constitutional' right to secede
or not, it is now too late to argue, and no one will pretend to doubt its'revolutionary' right to secede; that a
vast majority of the people of New Orleans are consolidated as'minute-men' of the blue-cockade stamp; that'minute-men' are forming throughout the cotton States
in legions, and that the tide of the' impending crisis' has
turned against the North, and you may soon look for such
an' irrepressible conflict' in the Northern States, when
the hundreds and thousands of mechanics and laborers
shall be turned out of employ, as the North has never
dreamed of."
November 29. The Vermont legislature votes against
a repeal of its personal liberty bill,- 125 to 58.
The Mississippi legislature authorized the Governor to
appoint as many commissioners as he might deem necessary, to visit each of the slave-holding States, to inform
them that the Mississippi legislature had authorized a
convention to consider the necessary steps for meeting the
crisis. The commissioners were to solicit the co-operation of legislatures to devise means "for their common
defence and safety."
By dispatches from  New Orleans we learn that the
excitement in that city was immense, and the secession
feeling momentarily increasing. Disunion was regarded
as inevitable.
The bank bill to suspend specie payment of banks in
Georgia re-passed over the Governor's veto.
A bill was introduced into the house of the Georgia
legislature prohibiting the levying of any execution from
the courts of the United States on the property of citizens of Georgia, prior to December, 1861,- all sales
under such process to be void.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       81
We copy the following from a " Connecticut paper."
We do not vouch for the truth of the statement, but
it is rather spicy, and we give it to our readers as we
receive it.
"A young lady from Vermont, teaching in a town in
Georgia, writes to her parents thus: —
"' The people here are very much excited over the election of Mr. Lincoln. Yesterday they'formed a military
company among the young men, with a view to the exigencies of the hour, and to-day they came out to drill.
The most remarkable part of that performance, to a
Yankee girl, was to see each soldier have a negro along
to carry his gun.' 
By advices from Florida, we learn that secession flags
were flying in many portions of the State, and that the
secession feeling largely predominated.
The following is an extract from the message of Governor Perry to the legislature of Florida: —
" I most decidedly declare that, in my opinion, the only
hope the Southern States have for their domestic peace
and safety, or for future respectability and prosperity, is
dependent on their action now, and that the proper action
is secession from our faithless, perjured confederates."
__________________________




CHAPTER V.
Our Union is river, lake, ocean, and sky;
Man breaks not the medal when God cuts the die;
Though darkened by sulphur, though cloven with steel,
The blue arch will brighten, the waters will heal.
ATLANTIC MONTHLY.
DECEMBER 1. A committee of citizens of Texas, composed of leading men, petitioned Governor Houston to
convene the legislature. The Governor responded that
the present agitation throughout the country, and particularly in the South, arising from the election of a
President and Vice-President upon a sectional issue,
called for the calm deliberation of statesmen. That the
assembling of delegates from sovereign States, in a consultative character and within the scope of their constitutional powers, "to preserve the equal rights of such
States in the Union," might result in the adoption of
such measures as would restore harmony between the
two sections of the Union; and should such a convention be called, he would, upon receipt of information as
to the time and place of its assembling, immediately
order an election of seven delegates to represent Texas
in the same.  That he could see no reason for involving
the State in the expenses incident to a session of the
legislature, and altogether viewing the measure unwise,
he could not convene it; but, if a majority of the citizens of the State petitioned for it, he would not stand in
the way, adding, " We have the Constitution to maintain,
and in maintaining the Constitution we must maintain
our rights; when the Constitution fails to give them to
us, I am for revolution.  My action has been prompt,
82




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      83
decided and legal. Finding a course marked out for me
by law, I have followed it, and am  now awaiting a
response."
The secession feeling largely predominated in the
southern and eastern portion of the State.
Florida legislature passed the convention bill unanimously. The convention to meet January 3d.
Banks in Georgia generally suspended specie payment.
Immense secession meeting at Memphis, Tennessee.
Resolutions were passed, calling upon the Governor to
convene the legislature, directing that a State convention
be called, and telling the Southern States that Tennessee
would stand by the action of the Southern convention for
weal or woe. To show the state of feeling at the South,
we copy portions of an extract from a letter written by
Brigadier General Semmes, a graduate of West Point, in
acknowledgment of the high honor conferred upon him;
having been appointed to the command of the military
department of Columbus, Ga. He says: —
" Southerners have a high and sacred duty to perform,
and know well how to perform that duty.' He who dallies is a dastard; he who doubts is damned;' and he who
cries peace, union, when there is no peace, no union, and
never can be, with a fanatic and infidel people who repudiate God and the Bible, deserves everlasting execration.
I rejoice at the dawning of the day which is to separate
us, I trust forever, from such a people, —a people who,
folding the arms of the federal government around the
South, stand behind filching from their pockets, -a people who, through the operations of federal law, rob the
South annually of one hundred and five millions of dollars. No wonder they love' the Union,'- the'glorious
Union.' It enriches them, by robbing us. Eternal hostility, say I, to such people, and rebellion to their accursed
federal misrule. Separated from them they are impotent
to harm us. Their voices, their hands (in our pockets)




84       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
we dread; their bayonets, themselves, we despise. Let a
united South rally and strike down this God-forsaken
Union with robbers, fanatics, incendiaries, assassins, infidels.  Southrons, arise! Buckle on your armor; trust
in God and strike for independence. His right arm will
support yoa.       (Signed.)      PAUL J. SEMMES.
Rev. P. N. Lynch, Catholic Bishop of Charleston,
declined to go to the South Carolina convention, and
withdrew his name from the list of candidates. He said,
" There is another sphere in which I can more appropriately, and perhaps with equal efficiency, serve our State.
In that sphere I trust I shall not be found wanting in my
devotion to lIer interests, in weal or woe."
December 3. Preamble and resolutions adopted in
the. Georgia legislature, proposing a conference of the
Southern States at Atlanta, on the 20th of February, to
counsel and advise as to the mode and manner of resistance to the North in the existing exigency. The preamble and resolutions took strong grounds in favor of
having all sectional questions finally settled, and objected
to separate action.
Congress met at Washington,- President Buchanan's
message read to both Houses, and transmitted to the
South. It was conservative in its general character, and
created but little remark, except with some few leading
politicians. It did not please the, extremists on either
side. The following fiery declaration of Governor Wise,
of Virginia, will define his position, and show in what
light he regarded the President's message.
A gentleman writing from Williamsburg, Va., Dec. 4,
1860, says: " Meeting Governor Wise to-day, I took
occasion to ascertain his opinion upon the latest phase
of the sectional difficulties.  The Governor says he
regards the President's message as the most damning
production that ever came from the pen of any Presi



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       85
dent; that he (Wise) is prepared to maintain, to the last
extremity, the right of any State to secede; but, while
maintaining the right, he disagrees with South Carolina
as to the policy. He is in favor of revolution, - of fighting in the Union, and of maintaining the rights of the
South iii the Union. He can'wake up' twenty thousand
men who will fight to the death for their rights under the
Constitution in the Union, easier than he can one thousand to fight the Union outside. He would seize upon
the forts and arsenals within the State, and never give
them up until guarantees from the North are obtained
that shall be satisfactory to the Southern States; but he
declared that if Virginia shall not now insist upon her
rights, either in the Union or out of it, so help him God,
from that day he will be an emancipationist. He will not
consent longer to be the owner of slaves, and allow his
rights, as such, under the Constitution, to be set at defiance. Whenever a convention shall be called he will
again take the field to secure the election of delegates
who will carry out his mode of action. He wants no
national convention and no compromises. War to the
knife is his policy, until justice shall be accorded."
The same correspondent gives as his opinion, from all
he had been able to learn, though a singular fact, and
illustrative of how much the politicians have had to do
in getting up the disunion feeling which prevails in Virginia, that, as a general rule, the largest owners of slaves
are the most conservative and strongest Union men. It
is the men who have the least material interest in the
security of slave property who are the disunionists of
Virginia, —who are in favor of disrupting all the ties
which bind us to the Union, without waiting for an overt
act on the part of the President elect.
December 6. The legislature of South Carolina passed
a bill to place the State upon a war footing. It authorized the government to call into service ten thousand
8




86       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
volunteers. During the discussion in the legislature,
Mr. Rhett said there had been for several years in
Charleston eight of the largest size Paixhan guns, which
might, perhaps, be used in taking the forts.
Mr. Marshall said the State had 382 infantry companies, 50 cavalry, 18 artillery and 62 rifle companies, —
making 121 battalions, 56 regiments, 14 brigades, and 5
divisions. Mr. McGowan said the total military force
was 65,000.
December 7. A circular was issued inviting the members of the Texas legislature to assemble in Austin, on
the third Monday in December, for the purpose of holding an extra session, and to take the necessary steps for
calling a State convention. Governor Houston declared
his intention to resign, if the people of the State demanded the convoking of the legislature.  This step,
together with the unremitting exertions of the Governor
to smother the flame of disunion, which had sprung up
in the breasts of the people of Texas, rendered him very
unpopular. Lone star flags were hoisted in many of the
towns in Texas; and the people throughout the State
appeared to be united in their feeling of resistance to the
administration of Mr. Lincoln. We are permitted to
make an extract from a letter received by a gentleman in
New York, from a friend in Texas, a planter. He says,
"Upon this subject our minds are deliberately, fully and
unalterably made up. We are for secession, disunion,
civil war, pestilence, loss of property, of life, or anything
you can imagine, rather than submit to the rule of Lincoln, elected as he was by a purely sectional vote, and
pledged as he is to a course of policy so ruinous to the
South. The' Lone Star' is flying in every direction, and
there seems to be a settled determination not to submit."
December 8. The Kentucky banks resolved to continue specie payment, as a suspension could afford no
commercial relief._                                                         9




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       87
December 9. Governor Brown, of Georgia, published
a long letter, favoring immediate secession.
December 10. An extra session of the Louisiana legislature convened at Baton Rouge. The message of Governor Moore was read. It recommended the immediate
action of Louisiana, before the inauguration of Lincoln;
that a conference of slave States be held; it asserts the
right of secession, and asks half a million of dollars
to establish a military board, to buy and distribute
arms.
December 11. The military bill passed both houses,
appropriating half a million to arm the State for defence,
and for establishing military depots. Also a bill providing for the election of delegates to the State convention,
to be held at Baton Rouge, on the twenty-third of January, passed both houses.
Legislature adjourned on the 12th sine die.
December 12. The Sixteenth Regiment of South Carolina Militia mustered at Charleston, six hundred strong.
Their strange appearance at that time provoked a good
deal of comment.
A paragraph in the Charleston Mercury says " that the
repeal of the Northern personal liberty bills will have no
effect on South Carolina to keep her in the Union; that,
so far as the cotton States are concerned, these laws,
excepting the insult they convey to the South and the
faithlessness they indicate in the North, are not of the
slightest consequence.
December 15. From the Galveston (Texas) News, we
learn that military preparations were going on rapidly in
all parts of the State, companies of " minute-men" were
forming in all the southern and eastern counties, organizing, arming, and drilling were progressing, and the
wildest enthusiasm prevailed, so much so, that ministers
of the gospel forgot their high calling, or their " occupation was gone," as we find on the list of recruiting officers




88      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
the name of Rev. R. W. Peirce, and that a company of
sixty-five minute-men was enrolled in the cause of
" treason " in consequence of an enthusiastic address by
the Rev. Mr. Wilson; also, on the 30th of November,
says the " News," a regiment of mounted riflemen, two
hundred strong, paraded under the command of the Rev.
James C. Wilson. The parade was witnessed by a large
assemblage, including a host of ladies. At eleven A. M.,
the "minute-men"' formed on the Plaza, around the liberty-pole, from which the Lone Star flag floated. The
regiment was organized by the election of field and staff
officers; the Rev. James C. Wilson chosen Colonel. The
warmest military feeling was manifested. While Henry
Ward Beecher and others, under the garb of Christianity,
advocate disunion, and excite men to discord and strife
on the " field of argument," these Rev. gentlemen band
together to carry out treason's plot on the "field of
battle."
December 17. The South Carolina convention met at
Columbia, in the new and commodious church of the
Baptist congregation.  The galleries and seats on the
floor reserved for spectators were densely crowded. The
church was fitted up with every convenience for dispatching the business of the convention.
A banner was suspended over the pulpit, presenting to
the audience the inscription, " South Carolina Convention of 1860; " on its reverse were inscribed the following
passages from the sacred Scriptures: "God is our refuge
and strength - a very present help in trouble; therefore
will we not fear, though the earth be removed, though
the mountains be carried into the sea.  The Lord of
Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." Francis W. Pickens was inaugurated Governor of South Carolina, before the legislature, the convention, and an immense concourse of citizens. The convention was organized and General Jamison elected President, when a




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.           89
motion was made to adjourn to Charleston, owing to the
prevalence of small-pox at Columbia.
Mr. Miles spoke earnestly, and at some length, against
removal to any other point, until the ordinance of secession was passed; he says, " I think every question is subsidiary to this great and important matter of withdrawing
the State of South Carolina from the Union; such a step,
should we previously  adjourn, would  disconcert our
friends and gladden our enemies. We would be sneered
at. It would be asked on all sides, Is this the chivalry of
South Carolina?  They are prepared to face the world,
but they run away from the small-pox. I am just from
Washington, where I have been in continual conference
with our friends. The last thing urged on me by our friends
from the slave States was, take South Carolina out of the
Union the instant you can.  Now, Sir, when the news
reaches Washington that we met here, that a panic arose
about a few cases of small-pox in the city, and that we
forthwith scampered off to Charleston, the effect would
be ludicrous."
Mr. Carroll recommended that the delegates be vaccinated. If every member of the convention would resort
to vaccination, there would be no danger, and in ten days
time nothing would be heard of the small-pox.  Yet, notwithstanding these arguments, the motion was carried,
and they adjourned to Charleston.*
The members of the convention and of the legislature
on their arrival in Charleston were received with great
rejoicing.   A  salute of fifteen guns was fired, for the
fifteen slave States, by the Marion Artillery.'A battalion
of the State Cadets were also present. Major Stevens, commanding the Cadets, addressed President Jamison of the
We perfectly agree with Mr. Miles in thinking the "effect would be
ludicrous," and especially with Mr. Carroll. The idea of a "gallant band"
of one hundred and sixty-nine men, going to be vaccinated, headed by the
aforesaid gentleman, it would be ludicrous indeed.
L   ________ ~  8*




90      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
convention, saying that he had brought the young Carolinians, as represented by the Cadets, to do honor to the
sovereignty of the State. General Jamison returned his
acknowledgments, and said " the convention comes prepared to sign the ordinance which shall make the State
free and independent."
The convention assembled at Institute Hall.  There
were about one hundred and fifty delegates and about
seven hundred spectators.
The bill for arming the State of North Carolina passed
the Senate at Raleigh, by a vote of 41 to 3.
December 19. Committee appointed to draft a secession ordinance: Messrs. John A. Ingliss, R. Barnwell
Rhett, James Chesnut, Jr., James L. Orr, William Gregg,
Mr. Duncan, and William M. Hutson.
December 20. Mr. Ingliss reported the following ordinance: 
" We, the people of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain  that the ordinance
adopted by us in convention on the 23d of May, 1788,
whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified,
and all acts and parts of acts passed by the general assembly of this State, ratifying amendments to said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and the union now existing
between South Carolina and other States, under the name
of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved."
The secession ordinance passed unanimously, one hundred and sixty-nine members being present, at 1  P. M.
The ordinance was ordered to be engrossed on parchment, signed by the members, and placed in the archives
of the State at Institute Hall.
The news spread rapidly on the street, and a crowd
collected, and there was immense cheering.
The news of the secession of South Carolina created
intense excitement and rejoicing in Georgia and Alabama.
At a meeting of the city council of Augusta, Ga., in




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       91
"anticipation" of the passage of the secession ordinance
by South Carolina, it was resolved by the city council of
Augusta, that the person having in charge the bell commonly known as "Big Steve," be instructed to have said
bell struck or rung one hundred times, as soon as the
news is received that the State of South Carolina has
resumed her sovereignty.
December 21.  In Wilmington, N. C., one hundred
guns were fired in honor of the secession of South Carolina.
At Portsmouth, Va., fifteen guns were fired for the
fifteen slave States.
The " minute-men" of Norfolk, Va., met on the Stone
Bridge, at one o'clock on the 21st, and fired a salute of
fifteen guns in honor of South Carolina, and hoisted the
" Palmetto flag." John Tyler, son of Ex-President Tyler,
after the firing had ceased, mounted the gun and delivered a strong secession speech. Many ladies of the city
congregated to witness the salute, and joined in by waving handkerchiefs.  The following telegram  was sent
over the wires to the president of the Charleston convention: -
" The' minute-men' of Norfolk send greeting to
South Carolina. With the glorious Palmetto flag thrown
to the breeze, and floating over our heads, we have just
fired fifteen guns in honor of the first step taken by that
gallant State, and emblematic, we hope, of coming events.
All honor and glory to the game-cock of the South.
"CHARLES HARRIS, Chief of Minute-Men of Norfolk."
At Macon, Ga., the people were jubilant over the secession of South Carolina. There was a grand procession of
" minute-men," parading, and bonfires, bells ringing,
cannon firing, and streets illuminated; all served to
heighten the excitement and manifest the joy of the
people.




92       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
At Montgomery one hundred guns were fired by order,
of Governor Moore, in honor of the secession of South
Carolina.
At Pensacola the news was greeted with immense
enthusiasm.  One hundred guns were fired in honor of
the event.
A dispatch from Mobile, Dec. 21, says:"The secession of South Carolina was celebrated here,
by the firing, this afternoon, of a hundred guns, the
cheers of the people, and a military parade. There is
great rejoicing. The bells are ringing merrily, and the
people are out in the streets by hundreds, testifying their
joy at the triumph of secession.  Many impromptu
speeches are being made, and the greatest excitement
everywhere exists."
There was an immense secession meeting at night, and
"illuminations" in honor of South Carolina.
In New Orleans there was a general demonstration of
joy consequent upon the secession of South Carolina.
One hundred guns were fired, and the "Pelican flag"
unfurled. Impromptu speeches were made by many of
the leading citizens.
On the 21st, in Charleston, there was a grand procession of " minute-men," to celebrate the passage of the
secession ordinance. Several thousand citizens, strangers,
firemen, and military were in line, with music, banners,
transparencies, and reflectors. The procession formed in
front of Secession Hall, and proceeded to the Mills
House, to serenade Governor Pickens, and subsequently
to Wm. D. Porcher, President of the Senate, General
Simmons, Speaker of the House, General Jamison, President of the  Convention, and Mayor Macbeth, who
acknowledged their thanks and compliments.  The flag
borne in front of the procession was that which Captain
Berry, of the steamship Columbia, hoisted off Governor's
Island. The city was alive with pleasurable excitement,




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      93
- and a number of residences, newspaper establishments,
and other public buildings were illuminated.
The convention met at noon. Prayer was offered, in
the course of which God was invoked to unite the people
of the South in the formation of a " Southern Confederacy," and to bless the new-born State.
Lieutenants Dazier and Hamilton, also several midshipmen, Carolinians, resigned their commissions in the navy.
December 22. At Petersburg, Va., a secession pole,
one hundred feet high, with the "Palmetto flag," was
hoisted on the most prominent street, amid the cheers of
a large crowd. The pole was sawed down the next morning before the dawn of day, by an unknown party, and
the flag carried off. Great excitement prevailed in consequence.
December 24. Agreeably to the ordinance of secession, Governor Pickens issued an address, proclaiming to
the world that South Carolina is and has a right to be a
separate, sovereign, free, and independent State, and as
such has a right to levy war, conclude peace, negotiate
treaties, leagues, or covenants, and do all acts whatever
that rightly appertain to a free and independent State.
An immense secession meeting was held at Ashland
Hall, Norfolk, Va. Disunion speeches were delivered by
Col. V. D. Grover and General John Tyler.  The
speakers were enthusiastically applauded. General Tyler concluded with the expression, "Let the Union go to
hell," which was received with loud and repeated cheers.
The Methodist Conference of South Carolina passed
resolutions favoring secession.
The special commissioners appointed by the South Carolina convention to negotiate for government property,
and form  a treaty of amity and commerce with the
United States, leave Charleston for Washington.
An immense mass meeting was held in New Orleans,
to ratify the nomination of the " Southern Rights " can



94       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
didates for the convention. The Southern Marsellaise
was sung, as the banner of the Southern Confederacy was
raised, amid reiterated and prolonged cheers for South
Carolina and Louisiana.
December 26. A resolution offered in the South Carolina convention, that the Governor be requested to communicate to the convention in "secret session,"  any
information he possesses in reference to the condition of
Forts Moultrie and Sumter, and Castle Pinckney, -the
number of guns in each, the number of workmen and
kind of labor employed, the number of soldiers in each,
and what additions, if any, have been made since the
20th inst.; also, if any assurance has been given that the
forts will not be reinforced, and if so, to what extent;
also, what police or other regulations have been made, if
any, in reference to the defences of the harbor of Charleston, the coast and State.
Major Anderson transferred the United States garrison
at Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, leaving only a small
guard in Fort Moultrie.
Only one short week had passed since the signing of
the "secession ordinance," and the joyous excitement
conseqent thereupon had scarcely begun to subside, when
the city was startled with the intelligence of the evacuation of Fort Moultrie.
The wildest excitement seized the people, and in the
fire of their indignation they denounced Major Anderson
in the most bitter terms, and their rage knew no bounds
at this, what they deemed, overt act on the part of the
gallant commander. The military were ordered out, and
the convention went into " secret session." Troops were
tendered to the Governor from different portions of Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
December 28. The "Palmetto flag" was raised over
the Custom House and Post-office at Charleston, S. C.
At five o'clock in the evening the "Palmetto flag"




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.        95
was raised at Castle Pinckney, and a military force went
over and took possession of Fort Moultrie.
Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie were held by about
twelve men, who peaceably surrendered to the State
troops.
The " Federal flag " was saluted with thirty-two guns
as it descended, and the " Palmetto flag " with one gun
as it was run up.
A large and enthusiastic secession meeting was held at
Richmond, Va.
One hundred guns were fired in Wilmington, N. C., on
the twenty-eighth, over the secession of South Carolina,
and we are informed that, in less than twenty minutes
after the firing commenced, every vessel in port, with the
exception of one, run up the " stars and stripes."
In a Troy, N. Y., paper we find a letter, dated December 28, from General Wool, stating that the " Waterveliet
Arsenal" was exclusively under the jurisdiction of the
Secretary of War, and that on the ninth of that month
(December) ten thousand muskets were sold, by order
of Secretary Floyd, to S. B. Lamar, of Savannah, Georgia, and were shipped from the arsenal on the fourteenth
inst. The price was two dollars and a half for each
musket.
An immense Union meeting was held at Memphis,
Tenn. It was addressed by Hon. Neil S. Brown, and
others.
Governor Hicks again refused to convene the legislature of Maryland.
In reply to a friendly letter from Capt. John Contee, of
Prince George's County, urging him to call an extra session of the legislature, he says:-' I have no party attachments or prejudices that conflict with my love for the Union, or that can influence me
in the endeavor to discharge my duty faithfully to my native
State. I have long since decided to put aside party feel



96       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
ings and prejudices, and do everything in my power to
preserve and perpetuate the Union of the States and the
happiness of millions depending upon it.
" We cannot shut our eyes to the fearful peril of the
hour. We know that a dark cloud overshadows the land,
threatening the destruction of the institutions we have
been taught to revere, and under which we have grown
to be a great nation. We know that reckless and designing men are endeavoring to precipitate a dissolution of the
Union before the people shall have time for the reflection
so imperatively demanded by the vast interests involved
in the threatened separation, whether that separation shall
be peaceful or bloody. There must be time to weigh well
all the consequences before we proceed to destroy the government bequeathed to us by our fathers; and we should
wait to see if there is not still enough wisdom, virtue,
and patriotism in Congress and the country, to give the
people time for the' sober second thought.'
" It seems to me, from the hot haste with which some
of the Southern States are pressing a dissolution, that
their leading men appear to act deliberately, believing
that the people would not sustain them in their reckless
course if they had time to weigh the consequences, nor
act without one more appeal to the people of the North.
Does it not seem strange that we have only now realized
the great wrong done the Southern States by the personal
liberty bills enacted by the North? We know that these
laws have been upon the statute-books of many of these
States for years, and that until now they have never been
considered a sufficient cause to justify the South in dissolving the Union."
After expressing the wish that these personal liberty
laws might be repealed at once, and the rights of the
South, guaranteed by the Constitution, respected and
enforced, he closes by saying: —
" The time has indeed come when we must all look the




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.        97
danger full in the face; when patriotism, the memories of
the past, and the hopes of the future, imperatively demand
that we should use every exertion compatible with honor
to prevent the United States of America from disappearing from among the nations of the world.
"I shall be the last one to object to a withdrawal of
our State from a confederacy that denies to us the enjoyment of our undoubted rights; but believing that neither
her honor or her interests will suffer by a proper and just
delay, I cannot assist in placing her in a position from
which we may hereafter wish to recede. But I assure
you that whenever, in my judgment, the necessity for
assembling that body in'extra session' shall arise, I
shall not shrink from the responsibility.
"I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
"THOMAS W. IICKS."
9




CHAPTER VI.
Not a protest I heeded, nor Cass's note,
As my country to ruin I hurried;
Whilst Floyd discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where the Union I buried.
BUCHANAN.
DECEMBER 29.  Secretary Floyd resigned.
December 30.  Sunday.  South Carolina troops took
possession of the arsenal at Charleston; military preparations were actively progressing; volunteers were offering their services from other States, among whom were
many army and navy officers.  Colonel Walter Gwynn,
a graduate of West Point, and an old United States army
officer, accepted the command of a military company in
Columbia, S. C.
Shipment of arms to the South.
The steamship Montgomery, which arrived at Savannah
on the 26th of November, had on board 180 boxes of
Sharp's patent carbines, 1,800 in all, and 40,000 conical
ball cartridges, for the State of Georgia.
The Baton Rouge (La.) Gazette states that a telegram
was received at the arsenal there, from tile war department at Washington, on the 22d of December, ordering
the sale of two thousand five hundred guns, for $2.50
each, to Governor Pettus, of Mississippi.
On the twenty-eighth of December we find there were
sent, by order of Secretary Floyd, from the Alleghany Arsenal to Ship Island, near the Balize, mouth of Mississippi,21 ten-inch columbiads, 128 pounders.
21 eight-inch    "      64    "
4 iron guns,           32    "
98




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       99
To Newport, near Galveston Island, Texas,23 ten-inch columbiads, 128 pounders.
48 eight-inch    "      64 
7 iron guns,           32    "
In all, one hundred and twenty-four guns, one broadside
of which would throw five tons of balls.
Floyd did a lively business in treason all around.
The superintendent of the Springfield, Mass., armory,
received an order from  Secretary Floyd to deliver to
Major Thornton, of the army, having charge of the military stores in New York, twenty thousand muskets, as
condemned ordnance stores, and to be sold. They were
sold to the State of Virginia for two and a half dollars
each; which cost.the government twelve dollars each.
Twenty-six mounted field-pieces from the " Watervliet
Arsenal" were forwarded to South Carolina, January 3d.
During the year 1860, there was removed from the
Springfield (Mass.) armory, and deposited in other arsenals of the United States, 135,430 government arms, as
follows:
Texas Arsenal.....    500
Charleston, S. C....15,000
Mount Vernon, Ala.... 15,000
Augusta, Ga....... 20,000
Fayetteville, N. C..... 25,000
Baton Rouge, La.....        30,000
Benicia, Cal......  7,000
St. Louis, Mo......  2,530
New York, (sold South).... 20,400
135,430
Thus it will be seen that from the Springfield armory
alone there had been sent to the points where treason
had made its appointments, 128,000 muskets, and not a
single musket to any United States arsenal in a Northern
State, except 20,000 to New York. These, like those from




100      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Troy, were not to remain in New York, but were sold to
the traitors for the paltry sum of two dollars and a half
each.
This removal of arms was entirely " independent" of
the supply which the government sends, as the regular
quota, to the different States, aside from this, that was
going on as usual. Here we see the treason of Floyd
developing itself. It was impossible for him longer to
conceal his villany, and when the people demurred, he resorted to stratagem to quiet their fears, until he could accomplish his purpose.  If anything was needed to rouse
our people to the frightful treachery over which they had
been sleeping, this should have been sufficient. When,
if they started in their slumbers or began to rouse from
their lethargy, and asked why was this vast movement of
arms, almost simultaneously, from  so many different
points, and at a time too when the cry of secession, civil
war and bloodshed was wafted to us from the South on
every returning breeze, they were answered, "It is only
the' regular quota' which the general government appropriates yearly to the several States. The Southern
States, not having as many volunteer companies and militia as Northern States, have not called for their share
until now, and it has been credited to them year after
year, which accounts for the large number which they
receive at this time."
Some little excitement was caused in New York by
the heavy shipment of arms South from the arsenal at
Troyi and it was intimated that the arms were to be used
for hostile purposes by the secessionists. They, the people, were told that the rumor in the latter respect was
entirely without any truth; that no fears need be entertained of hostility; that the arms alluded to were manufactured at the United States arsenal at Troy, for the
State militia of Georgia, in accordance with an order issued in May previous; that a similar order for the State




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      101
of South Carolina was fulfilled about the same time;
that these "shipment"  were not at all unusual, as
during the past summer months one hundred and twentyfive thousand stands of arms were sent to the five cotton
States, in accordance with the requisition of the Secretary of War.
When the people of Pittsburg, Pa., arose in their indignation and resolved to oppose by force the removal
of the heavy guns from the " Alleghany Arsenal," they
were quietly informed  that "the manufacturer contracted to deliver them at certain points where requisition
was made, and any opposition or restraint in their delivery
by citizens would inure to the injury of the contractor
only, should the service suffer by delay; that the appropriation for the purchase of the cannon was long since
made for the defensive works at those points, and the
order for their removal thither was in accordance with
law and regulation, without any reference whatever to
political occurrences."
Thus, with these and all sorts of excuses, the people
were lulled to rest, until the " war-note" sounded from
the walls of " Sumter " which awoke them to the fearful
reality. And if ever man is punished for the robbery of
a nation's treasury, it should be that same John B. Floyd
of Virginia, who leaves the earmarks of fraud throughout his whole administrative career.
January 1st.  South Carolina convention passed an
ordinance to define and punish treason; that levying war
against the State, aiding her enemies, etc., be punished
by death. Oh, consistency, thou art a jewel! The convention was opened with prayer, by the Rev. Mr. Dupree.
The following is a quotation from the appeal: —
"0 God, wilt thou bring confusion and discomfiture
upon our enemies, and wilt thou strengthen the hearts
and nerves and arms of our sons to meet this great fire
in the name of the God of Israel."
9*




102      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Immediately fronting the president was a bust of John C.
Calhoun in white marble, with this inscription on paper:
" Truth, Justice and Fraternity, you have written your
name in the book of life; fill up the page with deliberation; that written, execute quickly. The storm is from
the North. The day is far spent and the night is at hand.
Our homes and honor summon the citizens to appear on
the parade-ground for inspection."
A correspondent writes:
"The'Palmetto Guards,' one hundred strong, are
guarding the arsenal, under the' Palmetto Flag,' instead
of the stars and stripes.' 
The flag adopted by South Carolina is a red ground,
with a marine blue cross, on which are fifteen white stars,
a large one in the centre, a white palmetto tree and crescent on the upper right-hand corner, next to the staff, the
corner spaces all of red.
The chair, the table, the pens, and the inkstand used
on the memorable night of signing the ordinance of
secession, were ordered to be reverentially placed in the
State at Columbia, and sacredly preserved for posterity
to see.
January 2. Forts Pulaski and Jackson, and the United States arsenal at Savannah, were seized by Georgia
State troops.
Fort Macon and the United States arsenal at Fayetteville were seized by North Carolina State troops, by order
of Governor Ellis.
Military operations in Charleston were very active, and
every point of importance was fully manned.
A censorship was exercised over the telegraph, and the
city was nightly patrolled by the military.
It was proposed to starve out Major Anderson and his
brave little band, and then attack them on rafts, with the
aid of the batteries already erected.
The South Carolina commissioners, at Washington,




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     103
received a telegram  from  Governor Pickens, saying,
"that he was notified of the departure of the revenue
cutter Harriet Lane for Fort Sumter, with sealed dispatches from Washington, but that she could not come
over the bar except under the white flag; otherwise, she
would be fired into by the South Carolina troops."
January 3. Florida State convention assembled at
Tallahassee.
January 4. Fort Morgan and the United States arsenal at Mobile were seized by Alabama State troops.
The arsenal contained six stand of arms, 1,500 barrels
of powder, 300,000 rounds of musket cartridges, and
other munitions of war. There was no defence.
January 5.  South Carolina convention adjourned,
subject to the call of the Governor.
Governor Pickens received a telegram from the mayor
of New Orleans, pledging that city to support Charleston
when the time for action arrived.
January 7. Alabama convention met at Montgomery.
The Governor of Virginia, in a message to the State
legislature, condemned the hasty course of South Carolina, but opposed federal coercion.
The Mississippi convention met at Jackson.
Major Anderson's removal to Fort Sumter sustained
by the United States House of Representatives.
January 8. Forts Johnson and Caswell, at Smithville,
were seized by North Carolina.
At Washington, Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the
Interior, called upon the President to know whether reinforcements had been sent to Major Anderson. The President at once informed him that the steamer " Star of the
West" had been chartered, and was on her way to
Charleston, with two hundred and fifty United States
troops.
Later in the day, at a meeting of the cabinet, Secretary Thompson demanded of Secretary Holt to know if




104     THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
it was true that two hundred and fifty regulars had been
dispatched from New York to reinforce Major Anderson.
Mr. Holt refused to answer the question, on the ground
that Mr. Thompson had announced that he should resign
when Mississippi decided to go out of the Union, and as
she had, according to the latest reports, so decided, he
was of the opinion that Mr. Thompson was the last man
in the world to be informed of the detail of operations
of the War Department.
Secretary Thompson then telegraphed Judge Longstreet, at Charleston, that troops had been ordered to
reinforce Major Anderson, and immediately resigned his
seat in the cabinet.
Three days previous, Mr. Toucey, Secretary of the
Navy (although previously urging the reinforcement of
Major Anderson), now, in company with Secretary
Thompson, called upon the President, and informed him
that he had heard of the movement of troops in New
York, and that he wished to know the facts. The imbecile President stated that if any such orders had been
given, he would have them revoked. He accordingly
authorized the Secretary of War to telegraph the commander of the " Star of the West " to land the troops at
Norfolk, or Fort Monroe, and not to go to Charleston;
but the vessel had departed before the dispatch reached
there.
The most intense excitement prevailed among the
senators and representatives from the gulf and cotton
States. They regarded the reinforcement of Major Anderson as a declaration of war, and telegraphed the
Charlestonians to sink the vessel, if possible, before she
landed her cargo.
Lieut. Chapman and Master Mills, of the ship Brooklyn, resigned.
National salutes were fired in honor of the battle of




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       105
New Orleans and the bravery of Major Anderson, in
nearly all the principal towns and cities of the Northern
States.
January 9. The " Star of the West," bearing reinforcements for Major Anderson, was fired into in Charleston harbor. The ship immediately displayed the "stars
and stripes." As soon as the flag was unfurled the fortifications fired a succession of heavy shots. The vessel
continued on her course with increased speed, but finding
it impossible to reach the fort without heavy loss, concluded to retire, and put about and went to sea, the batteries still firing upon her until their shot fell short.
Only two out of seventeen shots took effect upon her.
Lieut. Hall was then dispatched by Major Anderson to
Governor Pickens, to know whether the authorities of
Charleston authorized the firing. Upon learning from
Governor Pickens that the act was justified by him, and
also that his (Anderson's) position in the harbor had
only been " tolerated," -that it was only by forbearance
that the State had so long permitted him  to remain
there, -Major Anderson deemed it proper to refer the
matter to his government; therefore signified to Governor Pickens his intention of deferring all further action
in the case until he should receive instructions from
Washington, and expressed the hope that no obstructions
would be placed in the way, and that he, the Governor,
would give every facility for the safe departure aiid
return of Lieut. T. Talbot, as " bearer of dispatches" to
the President of the United States; which was granted,
and Lieut. Talbot left Charleston late the same evening
for Washington.
The Mississippi State convention passed an ordinance
of secession.  Great illumination at night; guns were
fired and fireworks let off in honor of the event.
January 10.  South Carolina took possession of the
steamship Marion, to be used in the service of the State,




106      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
by the Governor's orders, but afterwards returned her to
the owners, Carolina paying damages.
The Florida convention passed an ordinance of secession.
Fort McRae, at Pensacola, was seized by Florida.
January 11. Alabama State convention adopted an
ordinance of secession, 61 to 39. After the adoption of
the ordinance of secession by Alabama, the doors of the
hall were opened to visitors, and a splendid flag, presented by the ladies of Alabama, was conveyed to the
president's stand, and formally presented to the convention. It was immediately raised over the Capitol, amidst
the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and the cheering of the people. The most intense enthusiasm  prevailed.
Judge Jones, of the United States District Court, for
the Southern District of Alabama, declared the court
"adjourned forever."
The United States arsenal at Baton Rouge, and Forts
Pike, St. Phillip and Jackson, were seized by Louisiana
State troops, without resistance.
Major Haskins, with two companies, refused to surrender the Baton Rouge arsenal; but, being surrounded by
six hundred men, he surrendered, as the "better part of
valor." The excitement at New Orleans was very great.
Grand banquet given to John B. Floyd, at Richmond,
Va., at which the following sentiment was given:-" The
Hon. John B. Floyd, the worthy son of a'noble sire.'
All honor to the Virginian who spurns the trappings of a
federal place, respects a mother's righits, and resents a
mother's wrongs."  (Music, and three cheers for Floyd.)
January 12th.  Fort San Carlos de Barrancas and the'
navy yard at Pensacola were seized by Florida troops.
Lieut. Slemmer, in command of Fort Pickens, refused
to surrender that fort. The following letter to the Florida commissioner is brief and to the point:



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      107
"FORT PICKENS, PENSACOLA HARBOR, January 16, 1861.
" Col. William H. Chase, Commissioner for the State of
Florida:
" SIR, — Under the orders we now have from the War
Department, we have decided, after consultation with the
government officers in the harbor, that it is our duty to
hold our position until such force is brought against us
as to render it impossible to defend it; or until the political condition of the country is such as to induce us to
surrender the public property in our keeping to such
authorities as may be delegated legally to receive it.
We deprecate, as much as you or any individual can, the
present condition of affairs, or the shedding of the blood
of our brethren. In regard to this matter, however, we
must consider you the aggressors, and, if blood should
be shed, that you are responsible therefor.
"Signed, by order of A. J. SLEMMER, First Lieut. First
Artillery, commanding,
"J. H. GILMAN, Second Lieut. Artillery,
Acting Post Adjutant of Post."
January 16th. Colonel Hayne, in the name of Governor Pickens, demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter.
The people of South Carolina demanded of Major Anderson the immediate surrender of Fort Sumter, and
notified him that they intended to take it, " cost what it
would." Major Anderson informed them that he had no
authority to act otherwise than to defend himself. He
was willing, however, to refer the subject to the government, and that the President could take such action as he
deemed proper.
Accordingly, Colonel Hayne was dispatched to Washing>ton, and demanded of the President the immediate removal
of Major Anderson and his forces from Fort Sumter, as
the only means of preventing war and its long train of
calamities. He informed the President that South Caro



108      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
lina " was determined to take it at all hazards," and that,
to avoid bloodshed, he had been authorized to negotiate
for its purchase, and also of other public property in
South Carolina; but if the President refused to enter into
negotiation, and declined to give it up to the State, then
they are "determined to take it," let what will come;
that the " stars and stripes" that wave over Sumter must
come down,- if not peaceably, then forcibly.
The President refused to receive him in any official
capacity.
January 17th. South Carolina voted to organize the
nucleus of a standing army.
January 18th.  Virginia legislature appropriated one
million dollars for the defence of the State.
January 19th.  State convention of Georgia adopted
an ordinance of secession, 208 to 89. Alexander H.
Stephens and Herschel V. Johnson voted in the negative.
Tennessee legislature called a State convedtion.
January 23d. Mr. Etheridge, of Tennessee, in a speech
in Congress, declared secession to be "rebellion," and
should be put down at any cost.
January 24th. The United States arsenal at Augusta,
Georgia, was surrendered to Governor Brown.
January 26th. The Louisiana State convention adopted an ordinance of secession, 113 to 17.
January 28th. Texas State convention met at Austin.
January 30th.  Revenue cutters Cass, Captain J. J.
Morrison, and McClelland, Captain Breshwood, surrendered to the Louisiana authorities by their commanders.
The United States Branch Mint and Custom House at
New Orleans were seized by the State authorities.
February 1st. The Texas convention passed a secession ordinance, subject to ratification by the people.
February 4th. The rebel delegates met at Montgomery, Alabama, to organize a confederate government.
Howell Cobb was chosen chairman.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     109
February 8th. Col. Hayne, commissioner from South
Carolina, unable to get recognition, finally left Washington.
Governor Brown, of Georgia, seized New York ships
in the harbor of Savannah, in retaliation for the seizure
of arms in New York. The ships were released on the
tenth.
The Montgomery convention agreed to a constitution and
provisional government, and on the 9th elected Jefferson
Davis President, and Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President, of the " Southern Confederacy." Little Rock arsenal surrendered to Arkansas.
February 18th. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated President of the Confederate States of America.
February 19th. Fort Kearney, Kansas, taken by secessionists, but was soon after retaken by Unionists.
February 21st. Jefferson Davis appointed his cabinet:
- Robert Toombs, of Georgia, Secretary of State; Charles
G. Memminger, of South Carolina, Secretary of the
Treasury, and L. P. Walker, Secretary of War.
Governor Brown, of Georgia, made another seizure of
vessels belonging to New York.
February 22d.  President Lincoln made the journey
from Harrisburg to Washington in the night, in order to
prevent an anticipated outrage in Baltimore.
The ungovernable rashness of the rebels was, at this
time, particularly manifested in an attempt to assassinate
the President on his way to Washington. The friends of
Mr. Lincoln, having heard that a conspiracy existed to
assassinate him, set on foot an investigation of the matter,
and for this purpose employed a detective of great experience, who was engaged at Baltimore in the business
some three weeks prior to Mr. Lincoln's expected arrival
there, employing both men and women to assist him.
Soon after coming to Baltimore the detective discovered
a combination of men, banded together under a solemn
10




110      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
oath to assassinate the President elect. The leader of
the conspirators was an Italian refugee, a barber, well
known in Baltimore, who assumed the name of Orsini, as
indicative of the part he was to perform. The assistants
employed by the detective, who, like himself, were strangers in Baltimore city, by assuming to be secessionists
from Louisiana and other seceding States, gained the confidence of some of the conspirators, and were entrusted
with their plans. It was arranged, in case Mr. Lincoln
should pass safely over the railroad to Baltimore, that the
conspirators should mingle with the crowd which might
surround his carriage, and by pretending to be his friends
be enabled to approach his person, when, upon a signal
from their leader, some of them would shoot at Mr. Lincoln with their pistols, and others would throw into his
carriage hand-grenades filled with detonating powder,
similar to those used in the attempted assassination of the
Emperor Louis Napoleon.  It was intended that, in the
confusion which should result fronm this attack, the assailants should escape to a vessel which was waiting in the
harbor to receive them, and be carried to Mobile, in the
seceding State of Alabama.
Upon Mr. Lincoln's arrival in Philadelphia, on Thursday, the 21st day of February, the detective visited Philadelphia, and submitted to certain friends of the President
elect the information he had collected relative to the conspiracy. An interview was immediately arranged between
Mr. Lincoln and the detective. The interview took place
in Mr. Lincoln's room in the Continental Hotel, where he
was staying during his visit in Philadelphia. Mr. Lincoln, having heard the officer's statement, informed him
that he had promised to raise the " American flag " on
Independence Hall the next morning, the morning of the
anniversary of Washington's birthday, and that he had
accepted the invitation of the Pennsylvania legislature to
be publicly received by that body in the afternoon of the




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      111
same day. "Both of these engagements," said he, with
emphasis, " I will keep, if it costs me my life. If, however,
after I have concluded these engagements, you can take me
in safety to Washington, I will place myself at your disposal, and authorize you to make such arrangements as you
may deem proper for that purpose." On the next day, in
the morning, Mr. Lincoln performed the ceremony of raising the flag on Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, according to his promise, and arrived at Harrisburg on the afternoon of the same day, where he was formally welcomed
by the Pennsylvania legislature. After the reception he
retired to his hotel, the Jones House, and withdrew with
a few confidential friends to a private apartment. Here
he remained until nearly six o'clock in the evening, when,
in company with Colonel Lamon, he quietly entered a
carriage, without observation, and was driven to the
Pennsylvania Railroad, where a special train for Philadelphia was waiting for him. Simultaneously with his departure from Harrisburg, the telegraph wires were cut,
so that his departure, should it become known, could not
be communicated to any place on the route. The special
train arrived in Philadelphia at a quarter before eleven
o'clock at night. Here he was met by the " detective," who
had a carriage in readiness, into which the party entered
and were driven to the depot of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. They did not reach the
depot until a quarter past eleven; but, fortunately for
them, the regular train, the hour of which for starting
was eleven, had been delayed. The party then took
berths in the sleeping-car, and, without change of cars,
passed directly through to Washington, where they arrived at the usual hour, half-past six, on the morning of
Saturday, the 23d. Mr. Lincoln wore no disguise whatever, but journeyed in an ordinary travelling suit. It is
proper to state here, that, prior to Mr. Lincoln's arrival
in Philadelphia, General Scott and Mr. Seward, in Wash



112      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
ington, had been apprised from independent sources that
imminent danger threatened Mr. Lincoln in case he
should publicly pass through Baltimore, and accordingly
a special messenger, Mr. Frederick W. Seward, a son of
Senator Seward, was dispatched to Philadelphia to urge
Mr. Lincoln to come direct to Washington in a quiet manner.  The messenger arrived in Philadelphia late on
Thursday night, and had an interview with the President
elect immediately after his interview with the " detective."
He was informed that Mr. Lincoln would arrive by the
early train on Saturday morning; and, in accordance
with this information, Mr. Washburne, member of Congress from Illinois, awaited the President elect, at the
depot in Washington, whence he was taken in a carriage
to his quarters at Willard's Hotel, where Senator Seward
stood ready to receive him. The detective travelled with
Mr. Lincoln under the name of E. J. Allen, which was
registered with the name of the President elect on the
book at Willard's Hotel. Being a well-known individual,
he was speedily recognized, and suspicion naturally arose
that he had been "instrumental" in exposing the plot
which caused Mr. Lincoln's hurried journey, and thereby
defeating the traitors in their murderous designs. It was
deemed prudent that he should leave Washington, two
days after his arrival, though he had intended to remain
and witness the ceremonies of the inauguration. The
friends of Mr. Lincoln did not question the loyalty and
hospitality of the people of Maryland, but they were
aware that a few disaffected citizens, who sympathized
warmly with the secessionists, were determined to frustrate, at all hazards, the inauguration of the President
elect, even at the cost of his life.  The characters and
pursuits of the conspirators were various; some of them
were impelled by fanatical zeal which they termed " patriotism," and they justified their acts by the example of
Brutus in ridding his country of a tyrant. One of them




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      113
was accustomed to recite passages put into the mouth of
the character of Brutus, in Shakspeare's play of Julius
Caesar. Others were stimulated by the offer of pecuniary
reward. These, it was observed, staid away from their
usual places of work for several weeks prior to the intended assault, although their circumstances had previously rendered them dependent on their daily labor for
support; they were, during this time, abundantly supplied
with money, which they squandered in bar-rooms and
disreputable places. After the discovery of the plot, a
strong watch was kept, by the agents of detection, over
the movements of the conspirators, and efficient measures
were adopted to guard against any attack which they
might meditate upon the President elect, until after he
was installed in office.
Mr. Lincoln's family left Harrisburg for Washington,
by way of Baltimore, in the special train intended for him,
and as, before starting, a message announcing Mr. Lincoln's arrival at Washington had been telegraphed to
Baltimore, over the lines that had been repaired that
morning, the passage of Mrs. Lincoln and friends through
Baltimore was safely effected. During the ceremony of
"raising the flag on Independence Hall," on Friday
morning, Mr. Lincoln remarked that he would assert his
principles on his inauguration, though he were to be assassinated on the spot; — evidently referring to the communication made to him  on the night previous. The
number originally banded together for the assassination of
Mr. Lincoln, as far as could be ascertained, was twenty;
but the number of those who were fully acquainted with
the details of the plot became daily smaller as the time
for executing it drew near.  Some of the women employed by the detective went to serve as waiters, seamstresses, &c., in the families of the conspirators, and a
record was regularly kept of what was said and done to
further their enterprise. A record was also kept, by the
10*




114      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
detective, of their deliberations in secret conclave.. Thus
our country was saved from a great crime, and Maryland
from a foul blot that would have stained her fair name,
by precautions which anticipated and thwarted the designs
of the conspirators.




CHAPTER VII.
Many and long were the prayers that were made,
And millions were bowed with sorrow,
Whilst they wept for the glorious land thus betrayed,
And bitterly thought of the morrow.
FEBRUARY 23.  The United States property and army
posts in Texas, with the exception of Fort Brown, which
Capt. Hill refused to surrender under Twiggs' order, were
delivered to the State by General Twiggs.
A private letter from a gentleman in Texas gives a
brief account of the treason of General Twiggs. The
following is an extract:-' Before I was out of bed, with a great shout, heard
half a mile, the arsenal property was invested, and every
house was filled with men, next to the commissary and
pay department. This was protected by two companies of
regulars. All day the most intense excitement prevailed,
the commissioners on behalf of Texas and Gen. Twiggs
negotiating. Over one thousand men were under arms,
all our bridges guarded, and every moment a conflict was
expected.  Finally, Twiggs ended in ignominy an infamous career, by giving up all; and by four o'clock the
poor soldiers left their quarters and took to camp a mile
out of town, and their places were filled by the "Knightts
of the Golden Circle.  Only two weeks previous, Gen.
Twiggs furnished these very K. G. C.'s with arms, who
now drive him from his position."
Evidence sufficient has been received to show that Gen.
Twiggs, in addition to being a traitor, most basely deceived all the officers under him.  Had he resisted the
115




116      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
demands of Texas, his whole force there would have
stood by him to the last.
The demoralizing effect of secession has had no illustration more ignominious and more shameless than has
been afforded by the conduct of General Twiggs.  He
has not merely violated his oaths and gone over to the
insurgents, but has disbanded his army, and delivered up
to the State of Texas the posts and property of the
United States,-a scandalous betrayal of trust. On the
lowest view which can be taken of military honor, his
conduct was infamous.
Treason, such as characterized the career of Cobb,
Thompson, Floyd, and Twiggs, would put to blush the
traitor "Arnold," while such names as Lieut. Hamilton,
Commodore Armstrong, Capt. Breshwood, and other
traitor officers of the revenue service, should have been
stricken in disgrace from the national muster-rolls, instead
of receiving from  Secretary Toucey the " Well done,
good and faithful servants," and their names still kept on
the rolls of the American navy, side by side with those
who have either died in defence of their flag, or resigned
from honorable motives.
March 1.  General Twiggs was expelled from  the
United States army.
March 2. Revenue Cutter Dodge surrendered to the
rebels at Galveston.
March 4. Texas State convention declared that State
out of the Union.
Inauguration of President Lincoln. Troops in Washington were under arms to prevent an apprehended attack
from the secessionists.
The President's inaugural address appealed alike to the
judgment and sympathies of the people. It enforced on
the attention of all the value of the Union to the individual as well as the country, to the humble citizen as
emphatically as to the President of the United States; yet




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     117
it did not seem to meet the approbation of the extremists
of either party. The rabid abolitionists of the North
thought it too conciliating, while the fire-eating politicians
of the South denounced it as being a declaration of war,
and became exasperated that President Lincoln should
express his determination to hold the government property and collect the revenues, though at the same time the
city of Charleston, S. C., was in a state of rebellion, and
ten thousand men under arms in the city and vicinity; and
the tone of public feeling is well illustrated by the comments of the Charleston Mercury and Courier upon the
inaugural address. The Mercury says:" If ignorance could add anything to folly, or insolence
to brutality, the President of the Northern States of America has, in this address, achieved it. A more lamentable
display of feeble inability to grasp the circumstances of
this momentous emergency could scarcely have been conceived. That President Lincoln will attempt to collect
revenue off the bar is now beyond a question. What
then?  Here lies the question in which alone this State
is directly concerned. What course is then to be pursued by the Southern government? There are but two
open. The one, immediate attack upon Fort Sumter;
the other, to besiege and starve out the fortress. To
attack the fort will not remove the men-of-war from off
our bar. What, then, will be gained? It is a question.
To reinforce Fort Sumter is now only to hasten the
period of starvation, for no ship-of-war can enter our harbor and land supplies.  Should she succeed in running
to the fo't, she will be under the constant fire of three or
four batteries, within telling and destructive distance.
She must be quickly destroyed. In the mean time, our
ships, or ships laden with our goods for foreign ports,
may continue their course as usual. Even should a
blockade be declared, it can in no way interfere with the
egress and ingress of neutral bottoms in their ordinary




118      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
avocations of trade. A duty may, doubtless, for the present, be collected on such imports as arrive here directly
from  abroad. Of this, reckoning must be made in the
calculation of costs, pro and con. A few months must
settle the whole question.  And the taking of Fort
Sumter immediately cannot, as far as we can perceive,
hasten that period. We will be little further when we
have finished than when we begun, —minus some valuable lives."
The Charleston Courier breaks forth in the following
impetuous strain:- 
" Let the argument proceed to the next logical and
necessary step, — an appeal to arms.  We are as well
ready as any free people can ever be expected to be found
in advance of the actual onset; and that argument once
applied, will bring us new forces and resources. We are
ready."
March 5. Jefferson Davis appointed General P. G. T.
Beauregard to  command  the  Confederate troops at
Charleston, S. C.
March 6. Fort Brown, Texas, surrendered by special
agreement.
March 9. The congress of the Southern Confederacy
passed an act for the establishment and organization of
an army.
March 12.  The  Confederate commissioners, Forsyth and Crawford, sent a communication to the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward.
March 15. Secretary Seward replied to the communication, declining official intercourse.
March 16. The Montgomery convention adjourned to
May 13.
March 18. Supplies sent to Fort Pickens were intercepted by the rebels.
March 22. A meeting was held at Frankfort, Alabama, opposed to secession.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      119
March 28. The vote of Louisiana on secession was
published in the New Orleans papers, as follows: for
secession, 20,448; against secession, 17,296.
March 30. Mississippi convention ratified the Confederate Constitution, 78 to 7.
April 3. A long and exciting cabinet meeting was
held in Washington, to take into consideration the most
judicious means of relieving Fort Sumter, enforcing the
observance of the laws, and preparing for emergencies
which might arise.
Great.activity was manifested in the Navy Department.
South Carolina convention ratified the Confederate
Constitution, 114 to 16.
Rebel battery on Morris Island fired into a schooner.
No one hurt.
April 4. Virginia convention refused to submit a secession ordinance to the people, 89 to 45.
April 7. General Beauregard notified Major Anderson that intercourse between the city of Charleston and
Fort Sumter would no longer be permitted, and that he
could receive no more supplies from the town. Steam
transport Atlantic sailed from New York with troops and
supplies.
April 8. Lieutenant Talbot arrived in Charleston, as
messenger from the Federal Government, and left again
for Washington on the tenth. He held a conference with
Governor Pickens and Gen. Beauregard, the nature of
which was to obtain permission for an unarmed store-ship
to take provisions to the starving garrison at Fort Sumter. Permission was refused. Whereupon Lieut. Talbot
notified the Governor of South Carolina, in the name of
the Federal Government, that supplies would be sent to
Major Anderson, "peaceably if possible, otherwise by
force."  Lieut. Talbot was not allowed to communicate
with Major Anderson at Fort Sumter.




120      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
April 9. Steamers Illinois and Baltic sailed from New
York with sealed orders.
April 10.   The floating  battery of the rebels at
Charleston having been finished, was mounted with four
thirty-two pounders, two forty-two's, and manned by sixtyfour men, and anchored in a cove near Sullivan's Island,
in a position commanding the barbette guns of Fort Sumter.
South Carolina convention adjourned, subject to the
call of the president.  Before adjourning, it passed a
resolution approving of the conduct of Gen. T wiggs in
resigning his commission and turning over the public
property in Texas to the State authorities.
A special dispatch from Charleston, under date April
10, says:" About seven thousand troops are now at the fortifications. Troops are pouring in from the interior in great
numbers. One thousand men were sent to the fortifications to-day, and eighteen hundred more will go down tomorrow. Everything is ready for a collision. A battle
is hourly expected, for Fort Sumter will be attacked without waiting for the' abolition fleet.' The beginning of
the end is approaching."
April 11. The Confederate commissioners left Washington for Montgomery, satisfied that no recognition of
their government would take place under President Lincoln. The commissioners alleged that the " Montgomery
government was earnestly desirous for peace, and that in
accordance with their instructions, as well as their own
feelings, they left no means unexhausted to attain that
much-desired end."   They charged the administration
with gross perfidy, and expressed their firm conviction
that war was inevitable, and that the responsibility would
rest on the head of the Federal Government.
Intense commotion was produced in Washington by
the promulgation of an order calling out the entire mili



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     121
tia of the District.  It was soon ascertained, however,
that the movement arose from  precaution, and from the
immediate necessity of means of defence, in consequence
of information being received of a contemplated movement for the seizure of the city by the secessionists.
Near midnight, orders were issued for the assembling of
the militia at their armories in the morning, and officers
were engaged during the forenoon summoning the men.
Some twenty companies were inspected at noon. Washington bore a decidedly warlike appearance.  Troops
were marching and countermarching through the streets,
and drums and fifes were heard in every direction. Several hundred men were mustered into service in the course
of the afternoon. Four or five companies marched to
the War Department and took the army oath to serve the
United States faithfully against all enemies or opposers.
The obligation was for three months unless sooner discharged.  Thirty-two members of Schaffer's National
Rifles resigned, rather than remain in the ranks under
the " flag of the Union" in the present emergency. They
were mostly, if not all, Southern men. Nearly a thousand
men were enrolled in the regular service from the District
militia. Those who refused to take the oath of allegiance
were marched back to the armories, disarmed, and their
names stricken from the roll.
While these preparations were being made in Washington for the defence of the national Capitol, and the calls
of the War Department were responded to by many " stout
hearts and strong arms," Major Anderson and his little
band of half-famished soldiers, in Fort Sumter, were
visited by Senator Chesnut, who was deputized, with Chisholm and Lee, to carry a message from General Beauregard, demanding the immediate and unconditional surrender of the fort.  Major Anderson replied that his
" sense of honor and his obligations to his government
would prevent his compliance " with the demand.
11




122      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Perhaps it would be proper here to state, that one of the
delusions which has served probably more than any other
to encourage the secessionists, is the idea that the laborers
and workmen of the North were all ready for insurrection
from want of employment. They fancied the laboring
classes of the North were on the point of starvation; that
all the Southern States had to do was to commence the
war and then stand still, and the Northern laborers would
fight their battles for them. Alas, for their credulity,
they will learn soon enough that Northern workmen are
the truest friends and supporters of the Union, and that
the laboring classes are the most loyal citizens, who would
not allow this government to be trampled in the dust, in
the day when the Constitution and the laws are to be enforced.
Gen. B. F. Butler, of Massachusetts, talking with a
South Carolina commissioner, the latter is reported to
have told him, that if Massachusetts should send ten
thousand men to " preserve the Union " against Southern
secession, she would have to fight twice that number of
her own citizens at home who would oppose the policy.
" By no means," Mr. Butler replied. "When we come
from Massachusetts we will not leave a single traitor
behind, unless he is hanging on a tree."
The following dispatch was received from Charleston,
under date of April 11:  "A formal demand for the
evacuation of Fort Sumter was made at two o'clock today. Major Anderson refused to surrender. His reply
is to the effect that to do so would be inconsistent with the
duty he owes to his government. Hundreds of persons
have been waiting for hours on the wharves, and other
points of observation, to see the beginning of the conflict,
among them a great number of ladies. The house-tops
are covered with people, watching with feverish interest
for the first signal of attack. The excitement in the city
is intense; every train brings throngs of citizens and




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      123
soldiers to town; twenty-two car loads came from Columbia to-night, and advices have just been received that
Georgia has ready fifty thousand men armed and equipped
for service.
"A  call has been made for three hundred mounted
volunteers as an extra patrol in the city to-night. Over
one thousand have responded. The Sixteenth Regiment
has also been ordered on duty; the Citadel Cadets are
guarding the battery with heavy cannon. The movements
at Fort Sumter are plainly visible with a glass. Major
Anderson has been busy all day strengthening his position.
"Senators Wigfall, Chesnut, Ex-Governor Manning of
South Carolina, Hon. Wim. Porcher Miles, ex-member
of Congress, and Pryor of Virginia, are on the staff of
Gen. Beauregard, doing duty to-night; stirring times are
at hand; the ball may open at any moment with great
slaughter; thousands are waiting to see the attack commenced."
It is estimated that between six and seven thousand
men were stationed on Morris' and Sullivan's Islands and
points along the coast. Every man capable of bearing
arms was called out; and all to fight sixty men.
Major Anderson fired a signal gun at ten o'clock in the
morning, probably hoping to get a response from the
"fleet" coming to his assistance.
April 12. Hostilities commenced.  At half-past four
o'clock in the morning, Fort Moultrie began the bombardment of Fort Sumter, after which the batteries at
Mount Pleasant, Cumming's Point, and the floating battery, opened a brisk fire with shot and shell.  Everybody
was in a ferment; some of those fighting were stripped
to the waist.
Fort Sumter remained silent, no signs of life or animation for two hours and a half, while the shot and shell
flew thick and fast from seventeen mortars and thirty
large guns, mostly columbiads, until seven o'clock, the




124      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
bombardment still going on, Major Anderson opened from
the two tiers of guns looking towards Fort Moultrie and
Stevens' Battery, and the first gun that was fired by the
"Federal troops" in the war of 1861 boomed forth
towards Moultrie.
The war cry was sounded —hostilities commenced, ran
along the wires of the telegraph, reverberated among the
hills of New England, and aroused the sturdy sons of
Maine. The great heart of the North " stood still," as
if in its suspended vibrations it might hear, coming from
the far distant parapets of Sumter, the notes of victory.
The firing continued uninterruptedly during the day,
Major Anderson dividing his shots between Fort Moultrie, the Stevens and floating batteries, and Fort Johnson,
with all the skill and determination of a great military
chieftain, worthy of his position, until six o'clock in the
evening, when he ceased firing, and was engaged during
the night repairing damages, and preparing for an early
attack upon the enemy. The firing, however, was kept
up all night on Fort Sumter. A bomb was thrown into
the fort every twenty minutes during the night, but
Sumter's guns remained silent until the morning broke,
when Major Anderson commenced to return the fire of
the " Confederates," which was kept up with unintermitting vigor.
At nine o'clock in the morning a dense smoke poured
out from Fort Sumter, and it was soon ascertained that
the officers' quarters, sheds, and wood-work of the fort
had taken fire from one of the enemy's shells. They
have now to contend with an internal enemy.  Fort
Sumter is on.fire. The Federal flag is placed at halfmast, signalizing distress, while the shells from Fort
Moultrie and the batteries on Morris Island fall thick
and fast into Major Anderson's stronghold. The little
garrison of Sumter are only occupied trying to put out
the fire, -no time to return the shot of the enemy. The




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.        125
flames had forced the destruction of nearly all the powder, - ninety barrels had been rolled out to prevent
explosion; the cartridges were gone, and none could be
made; the entire wood-works of the fort are one vast
sheet of flames; a raft is thrown out, loaded with men,
who are passing up buckets of water to extinguish the
fire,- they now  become objects of fire  from  Morris
Island, and the balls are seen skipping over the water
and striking the unprotected raft. Meantime Major Anderson's guns were silent. He allowed his men to be
exposed to the galling fire upon them but for a few moments, then ordered them in and shut the batteries, as
the smoke was too thick to work them. Fort Sumter is
greatly disabled; several of her large guns are dismounted, two of its portholes are knocked into one, and
the wall from  the top is crumbling, and yet the " stars
and stripes " still wave.
Shells from  Cumming's Point and Fort Moultrie are
bursting in and over Fort Sumter in quick succession.
Every shot now seems to tell heavily. About one o'clock,
P. n., the flag-staff was shot away, and the flag nailed to
the piece and displayed from the ramparts. Three times
Major Anderson's barracks were on fire, and twice he
succeeded in putting out the flames, but the third time it
was beyond control, and everything "burnable" about
the fort was destroyed; the flames burst through the
roofs of the houses within its walls, and dense clouds of
smoke shot quickly upward. Major Anderson fired only
occasionally; the guns on the ramparts of Sumter had
no utterance in them; bursted shells and grape scattered
like hail over tYe doomed fort, and drove the soldiers
under cover; from the iron battery at Cumming's Point a
continuous fire was kept up from three ten-inch columbiads, three sixty-four pounders, three mortars and one
rifled cannon, while the floating battery and Fort Moultrie continued very regular and accurate, until half-past
11*




126      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
one, P. M., when Major Anderson, finding it impossible to
hold out longer, or, at least, that resistance was vain, and
despairing of any hope of help from the " fleet," run up
the white flag, and an unconditional surrender was made.
After Major Anderson's flag-staff was shot away, Col.
Wigfall, one of Gen. Beauregard's aids, went to Fort
Sumter with a white flag, to offer assistance in extinguishing the flames. He approached the burning fortress
from Morris Island, while the fire was raging on all sides,
and effected a landing at Fort Sumter. He approached
a porthole, and was met by Major Anderson. The latter
said he had displayed a white flag, but the firing from the
South Carolina batteries was kept up, nevertheless. The
double-tongued traitor from the " cotton-fields of Texas "
replied that Major Anderson must haul down the American flag; that no parley would be granted, and that
"surrender or fight" was the word. Major Anderson
then took down the stars and stripes, and displayed only
a flag of truce. All firing instantly ceased, with the
exception of one gun fired by Senator Chesnut, and
another member of the staff of Gen. Beauregard, which
was fired by way of " amusement " from Mount Pleasant,
which made a large hole in the parapet. Afterwards,
two officers of Gen. Beauregard's staff, with ex-Senator
Chesnut and ex-Governor Manning, came over in a boat
and stipulated with Major Anderson that his surrender
should be unconditional for the present, subject to the
terms of General Beauregard, after which he and his
men were allowed to remain in possession of the fort,
while Messrs. Chesnut and Manning came over to the
city, accompanied by a member of the palmetto Guards,
bearing the colors of his company. These were met by
hundreds of citizens, and as they marched up the streets
to the general's quarters, the crowd was swelled to thousands, shouts rent the air, and the wildest joy was manifested. Three fire-engines were sent down to the fort,




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     127
for the purpose of extinguishing the flames; but the fire
had, however, been previously extinguished by Anderson
and his men.
The "fleet" laid idly by during thirty hours, silent
witnesses of the contest, and either could not or would
not come to his assistance; probably, however, not being
ships of war, they were incapable of rendering any material aid against such a powerful enemy. During the
engagement, it is said, the soldiers in Fort Sumter were
perfectly reckless of their lives, and at every shot would
jump upon the ramparts, observe the effect, and then
jump down, cheering, and yet no one was killed in Sumter during the action, and but four or five wounded, and
the rebels say none was killed on their side, though quite
a number were struck by spent pieces of shell and
knocked down, but none hurt seriously.
After the surrender of the fort, a boat, with an officer
and ten men, was sent from one of the United States
ships composing the fleet in the offing, to Gen. Simons,
commander of the forces on Morris Island, with a request
that a merchant ship, or one of the government vessels,
be allowed to enter and take off the commander and garrison of Fort Sumter.  Gen. Simons replied that if no
hostilities were attempted during the night, and no effort
being made to reinforce or retake Fort Sumter, he would
give them an answer at nine o'clock on Sunday morning.
The officer signified that this was satisfactory, and returned. On Sunday, the fourteenth, the last act in the
" drama" of Fort Sumter was concluded Major Anderson and his command, taking with them their wounded,
left the fort and sailed for New York. He saluted his
flag, and the company then forming on the paradeground, marched out on the wharf, with drum  and fife
playing " Yankee Doodle."
The Confederate flag was raised over Fort Sumter late
in the afternoon on Sunday, and the fort was garrisoned: —             




128      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
by the "Palmetto Guards," under command of Lieut.
Col. Ripley, who took command of Fort Moultrie after
the departure of Major Anderson. A correspondent of
one of the New York papers, writing from  Charleston,
says: " One of the aids carried brandy to Major Anderson in a boat after the fire, and the latter said it was very
acceptable, as the men were completely exhausted by
their labors;" the correspondent adds, " I mention'this to
show the kind and chivalrous relations existing between
the officers."
Perhaps their ideas are sufficiently extensive to induce
them to believe it was a manifestation of " chivalry " in
ex-Senator Chesnut and his colleague to fire a sixty-four
pounder into a fort with a white flag flying from its ramparts, just for " amusement," or in firing upon an unprotected raft, covered with defenceless men, who, thoughtless of their own safety, are laboring assiduously to subdue the raging flames.
The excitement in Charleston, during the contest, is
said to be immense.  The housetops, the battery, the
wharves, the shipping, and in fact every available place,
was taken possession of by the multitude. The streets
were filled with men, women, and children, old and
young, black and white. Some went to the battery, some
to the wharves, and some to the steeples of the churches,
to view the solemn spectacle, and many a tearful eye
attested the anxious affection of the mother, wife, and
sister, for those engaged in the contest. But with the
display of a flag of truce, and the announcement that
Fort Sumter had unconditionally surrendered, the bells
rang out a. merry peal, cannon were fired, and the people
engaged in every demonstration of joy.
Troops poured into the city by hundreds, and people
were constantly arriving on horseback, and by every
other conveyance. Within an area of fifty miles, where
the thunder of the artillery could be heard, the effect
- - - ~1.i




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      129
was magnificently terrible.  It was estimated that two
thousand shots were fired, and that ten thousand men
were under arms jn the harbor and on the coast. Fort
Moultrie was badly damaged. The officers' quarters and
barracks were torn to pieces. The frame-houses on the
island were riddled with shot in many instances, and
whole sides of houses were torn out. The other fortifications sustained but little injury.
THE REBEL FORTIFICATIONS.
The nearest point of land to Fort Sumter is Cumming's Point —distance one thousand one hundred and
fifty yards. On this point is a railroad iron battery. It
consists of a heavy frame-work of yellow pine logs. The
roof is of the same material, over which dovetailed bars
of railroad iron of the T pattern are laid from top to
bottom    all of which is riveted down in the most secure
manner.  On the front it presents an angle of about
thirty degrees. There are three port-holes, which open
and close with iron shutters of the heaviest description.
When open, the muzzles of the columbiads fill up the
space completely.  The recoil of the gun enables the
shutters to be closed instantly.  The guns of the work
bear on the south wall of Sumter, the line of fire being
at an angle of about thirty-five degrees.
The Fort Johnson batteries consist of two huge sand
works, containing mortar and siege-gun batteries.
These works are one and one-fourth of a mile from
Fort Sumter, and at present manned by two companies
of regular artillery.
The Fort Morris buttery, on Morris Island, has three
columbiads and four mortars, which can be used either
for Fort Sumter or for the channel, being en barbette.
Green's battery has four columbiads and two forty-two
pounders en barbette, which will sweep the whole island.




130      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
There are on this island twelve batteries in all. Besides these are Castle Pinckney, on the lower end of Shute's
Folly Island, Fort Moultrie, on a peninsula opposite Fort
Sumter, and several works lower down to guard the entrance of the port.
A rather amusing anecdote is told of an old slave, who
passed through the hottest fire, with a sloop-load of wool,
on Friday evening, and came safely to the city. Somebody
told him he would be killed in the attempt. " Can't help
dat," said he, " must go to de town to-night. If anybody
hurt dis chile or dis boat, massa see him about it shuah."
His sloop received four shots.




CHAPTER VIII.
Still, as in battle's fiery front,
I saw my country's flag unrolled,
Meet the dread storm's impetuous brunt,
And fling the tempest from its fold.
LUNT.
THE news of the attack on Fort Sumter created a profound sensation throughout the entire North. It would
be impossible to give even a faint idea of the excited state
of the public mind, -words are inadequate to express
anything like the reality.
We pause to contemplate the terrible event, the commencement of actual warfare between two portions of the
United States,- brother against brother. But the great
fact is upon us.  Civil war has been commenced, and
there are few among us who are ready to see this glorious
government prostrate in the dust at the feet of traitors.
Fraternal blood must be shed, the government must be
sustained.
Coincident with the surrender of Fort Sumter, the
slumbering patriots of the free States awoke to the fearful
reality that war was inaugurated.  Party divisions and
political factions were immediately sunk in one common
grave; love for their country and loyalty to the government was the all-pervading spirit, -every countenance
was wild with enthusiasm.
The " smell of battle" seemed to put new nerve into
the sons of New England, and they arose in their might,
and, with one heart, rallied around the standard for the
defence of the " Constitution," irrespective of "party."
131




132      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
They came, as one man, ready to lay their lives on the
"altar " of their country.
Telegraph and newspaper offices were crowded to repletion, eager for the least item of intelligence from the seat
of war.  The streets were literally black with human
beings wandering up and down discussing the probable
" attack upon the national capital," and the final result;
while here and there an excited crowd, with tearful eyes,
dwelt with generous ardor upon the picture of the long
vigil in Sumter; the midnight transfer from Fort Moultrie; and recounted the weary watch of the little garrison
for reinforcements, which an imbecile and vacillating
President ordered to-day and recalled to-morrow. They
pictured the eighty men looking out daily upon the vast
preparations made for their destruction; obedient to their
orders to act only on the defensive; daily giving of their
failing strength to add what little they might to the defences of their post; watching with anxious eyes their
decreasing store of provisions, their brave hearts never
faltering from duty.  They spoke of the calm  Sabbath
morning (February 3) on which the women and children
belonging to the garrison took their sad farewell of husbands and fathers, and sailed for New York, to find shelter from  the coming storm.  Over and over again did
they describe the attack, made hastily, in fear of the arrival of reinforcements; the first guns, at early day, from
Fort Moultrie; the reply from Sumter; the growing circle of fire around the devoted garrison; the crowds gathered in the city's front to witness the unequal strife, and
rejoice in the attempt of six thousand men to slay eighty
of their countrymen, - that in that solemn moment a late
United States senator "fired a gun by way of amusement;" and that five thousand South Carolinian women,
denying the gentle instincts of womanhood, gathered to
view the bloody spectacle, ready to respond to any sacrifice that might be required of them; not forgetting to




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.           133
relate, with wondering scorn, that even in this great crisis
of the nation's history there was here and there to be
found at the " North" a handful of pitiful traitors to glory
in the progress of treason.
The 12th of April, 1861, is a day ever memorable in
our annals, —treason has risen from blustering words to
cowardly deeds. They have deliberately chosen the issue
of battle; he who hesitates in his allegiance is a traitor
with them.  But there was no hesitation.  The country
responded as one man to the call upon its resources, and
thousands on thousands of freemen only waited for the
" war note " to be sounded from the national capital, to
take up arms and march to the battle-field. The glorious
old " stars and stripes " were simultaneously thrown to the
breeze from millions of dwellings, stores, and public
buildings, and suspended across the principal streets and
avenues in the greatest profusion; some large buildings
displayed miniature " flags " from each and every window;
many public buildings, stores, etc., were decorated with
festoons of red, white, and blue, bearing appropriate mottoes, surmounted by an eagle, shield, or some other emblem  of liberty.  Union rosettes and badges were universally adopted by men, women, and children.  The
greatest enthusiasm was manifested throughout the entire
free States.
When slumbering Treason woke at last
On South Carolina's soil,
And all the patriots' hopes were past
To avert the fatal broil; -
When the first white smoke that curled above
The cannon on the beach,
And the ball was sped at " Sumter's walls,"
To make the deadly breach; -
Then Northern heroes went to arms,
Looking to God above
To care for wives and children left,
And shield them with his love.
12




134       THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
"Give us," they cried, "from heaven above,
The stars and azure blue,
And we will make the stripes ourselves  "They've kept their promise true.
Our gallant sailors on the deep
Have twice flung to the breeze
Our good old flag on hostile forts,
Among palmetto trees.
And though we mourn for those who fell
For the land they died to save,
Still we feel a glow of honest pride
That they fill a " patriot's grave."
April 15th. President's proclamation. issued, calling
for seventy-five thousand volunteers, and commanding
the rebels to return to peace within twenty days; also
calling for an extra session of Congress, to convene
July 4th.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES -A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas, the laws of the United States have been for
some time past and now are opposed, and the execution
thereof obstructed, in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas,
by a combination too powerful to be suppressed by the
ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers
vested in marshals by the law; now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, in virtue of
the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws,
have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the
militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate
number of seventy-five thousand, in order to suppress
said combinations and to cause the laws to be duly executed. The details of this object will be immediately
communicated to the State authorities through the War
Department.
I appeal to all loyal citizens to facilitate and aid this




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     135
effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our national Union, and the perpetuity of popular government, and to redress the wrongs already long
enough endured. I deem it proper to say that the first
service assigned to the forces hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places and property which
have been seized from the Union, and in every event the
utmost care will be observed, consistently with the objects
aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of or
interference with property, or any disturbance of peaceful
citizens in any part of the country. I hereby command
the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty days from this date.
Deeming that the present condition of public affairs
presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue
of the power in me vested by the Constitution, convene
both Houses of Congress. Senators and representatives
are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective
chambers at twelve o'clock, noon, on Thursday, the fourth
day of July next, and there to consider and determine
such measures as in their wisdom the public safety and
interest may seem to demand.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this fifteenth day of
April, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and
sixty-one, and of the independence of the United
States the eighty-fifth.
(Signed)      ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
The requisition from Washington for troops came to
the Governor of Massachusetts by telegraph, at about two
o'clock, on the fifteenth, calling for two regiments of ten




136     THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
companies of sixty-four men each. It was requested that
the companies be got ready as soon as possible, and forwarded, by companies, immediately to Washington.
The Governor had a consultation with his staff, and
finally decided upon ordering out the Third, Fourth, Sixth
and Eighth Regiments of infantry. The following order
was accordingly issued:COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
HEAD QUARTERS, BOSTON, April 15, 1861.
Special Order No. 14.
You are hereby ordered to muster the regiment under
your command, in uniform, on Boston Common forthwith,
in compliance with a requisition made by the President
of the United States. The troops are to go to Washington. The regimental band will be dispensed with.
By order of his Excellency JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor
and Commander-in-Chief.
WILLIAM SCHOULER, Adj. General.
To Cols. Edward F. Jones, 6th Regiment; Abner B.
Packard, 4th Regiment; David W. Wardrop, 3d Regiment; Lt. Col. Timothy Munroe, 8th Regiment.
Major Cook, of the Boston Light Artillery, had tendered
the services of his company, but the Governor did not
feel at liberty to accept the offer, as the call of the President was for infantry only.
The Third Regiment was commanded by Col. David W.
Wardrop, of New Bedford, and consisted of six companies,
one from each of the towns of Halifax, Plymouth, Freetown, Plympton and Carver, and the city of New Bedford.
The Fourth Regiment was commanded by Col. Abner
B. Packard, of Quincy, and consisted of companies from
Canton, Easton, Braintree, Randolph, Abington, Foxboro',
Taunton, Quincy and Hingham.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      137
The Sixth Regiment was commanded by Col. Edward
F. Jones, of Lowell. It consisted of four companies from
Lowell, two from  Lawrence, and one from  Groton and
Acton *- making eight.
The Eighth Regiment was commanded by Lieut. Col.
Timothy Munroe, of Lynn, Col. Coffin having recently
resigned. It consisted of three companies from  Marblehead, two from Lynn, and one each from Newburyport,
Beverly and Gloucester.
Lieut. Col. Munroe raised five hundred volunteers in
Lynn, on Monday evening, the 15th, in addition to the
two companies belonging to his regiment.  A purse of
five hundred dollars was raised immediately to start with.
During the forenoon Gen. B. F. Butler tendered his
brigade to the Governor, and several other officers of the
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia made application to have
their services accepted.
New York legislature voted thirty thousand men and
three million dollars for putting down the rebellion.
Several Southern vessels, at New York, were seized
and fined for irregular clearances.
Governor Magoffin, of Kentucky, in reply to Secretary
Cameron's dispatch calling for troops, says,- " Kentucky
will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing
her sister Southern States."
Governor Letcher, of Virginia, in reply to the call for
troops from that State, says,  " The militia of Virginia
will not be furnished to the powers at Washington for
any such use or purpose as they have in view."
Governor Ellis, of North Carolina, telegraphed to the
President that he could not respond to the call for troops,
as he had doubts of his authority and right to do so.
Governor Harris, of Tennessee, and Governor Jackson,
of Missouri, also refused to furnish troops for the government at Washington.
Governor Harris says, -" Tennessee will not furnish a
12*




138      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
single man for coercion, but fifty thousand, if necessary,
for the defence of our rights or those of our Southern
brothers."
Governor Jackson says,-" The requisition is illegal,
unconstitutional, revolutionary, inhuman and diabolical,
and cannot be complied with."
The government of the Southern Confederacy called
for thirty-two thousand men; - two thousand from Florida, and five thousand from  each of the other seceded
States.
April 16th, 17th, etc. General uprising in the North;
-proclamations, military orders, voting men and money,
the order of the day. In the principal cities mobs visited
newspaper offices and firms suspected of disloyalty, and
compelled them to raise the stars and stripes. Legislatures
not in session were called together; banks offered loans
to the government; great public meetings were held; and
Union badges worn by everybody.
April 16th. The four regiments of Massachusetts volunteers, ordered to report for service in Boston, began to
arrive there at nine o'clock in the morning; many of the
men having left their homes with not more than two
hours' notice,- dropped their tools, left their work-shops,
their work half finished, bid a hasty farewell to wives and
mothers, brushed away the falling tear,- and hurried off
to respond to their country's call.  That last hearty
"God bless you! " which lingered upon the lips of loved
ones, with many will remain the parting words until the
morning of the resurrection.
Merchants, and business men generally, not only responded liberally to the demands upon them for money,
but nobly and generously offered those in their employ, if
any wished to go to fight for their country, that their salaries should be continued on, or duly paid over to friends
as they should dictate, and the places kept for them until
their return. Many patriotic hearts availed themselves




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     139
of this opportunity, and left the counting-rooms and mercantile houses, and rushed on with the crowd to enrol
their names among that mighty host to fight for the Constitution and the Union. The question soon arose, " What
would become of the families of volunteers left without
means to provide for themselves?" This question was
no sooner asked than it was answered by generous donations from moneyed men and patriotic women, some contributing as high as two thousand dollars to the " volunteer fund," for the benefit of " soldiers' families."
On the morning of the 16th, the bark Manhattan, Capt.
Davis, of and from Savannah, arrived at the port of Boston, and hauled in at Clapp's Wharf, No. 573 Commercial
Street.  As soon as Capt. Davis heard of the condition
of affairs at the South he hoisted a secession flag, bearing
upon it fifteen stars and a rattlesnake, at his main-mast
head.  It soon attracted attention from  a number of
people in the vicinity, and presently there was quite a
gathering on the wharf.  The crowd and the excitement continued to increase, and several men on the wharf
demanded who hoisted the flag. The captain, who was
walking up and down the deck, replied, —"I did, and
mean it shall stay there." The cries and movements of
the crowd became every moment more menacing, and the
captain, fearing violence, retreated to the lower deck.
Finally, the crew hauled the flag down, to save the ship
from being damaged, and passed it to the crowd on the
wharf. It was immediately seized, and torn into a hundred pieces.
The morning of the sixteenth of April was cold, dark
and rainy, one of those gloomy mornings not much calculated to create enthusiasm among the volunteers. The
order to assemble on the'Common was countermanded,
and the companies which first arrived proceeded directly
to Faneuil Hall. Quite a crowd assembled on the Common at an early hour in the morning, and withstood the




140      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
storm bravely for several hours, expecting every moment
the troops would arrive, but to them no troops came.
The depots were thronged, and when the trains arrived
with the different companies and regiments, the greatest
enthusiasm was manifested, and cheer on cheer rent the
air.
The Marblehead companies, three in number, were the
first to arrive at Faneuil Hall. They were received with
hearty cheers by an immense crowd assembled in the
street. When the order for troops was promulgated in
Marblehead on the evening of the fifteenth, a subscription
was at once started by the moneyed men of the place to
provide for the families of the volunteers, who were mostly
mechanics.  In less than half an hour, one thousand
dollars had been subscribed in sums of one hundred each,
and next morning the amount was swelled to one thousand nine hundred.
The Marblehead companies were soon followed by the
companies belonging to the Fourth Regiment.  Faneuil
Hall was filled by one o'clock, and the companies which
arrived after that time were quartered in other places.
The Third Regiment, Col. Wardrop, which came in on the
Old Colony Railroad, occupied the hall over the depot,
which was tendered to them by Mr. Holmes, the president
of the road. The New Bedford City Guards, Capt. Ingralham, of this regiment, took dinner at the United States
Hotel, and afterwards proceeded to the armory of the
Second Battalion, which was tendered for their use. The
Sixth Regiment, Col. Jones, came in on the Lowell Railroad, and first proceeded to Faneuil Hall, where they got
dinner, and afterwards to the armory of the Second Battalion. The Eighth Regiment, Lieut. Col. Munroe, was
divided, part being quartered at Fitchburg Hall and part
at Faneuil Hall.
In narrating the praiseworthy promptness to respond
to the calls of the country of our own American people,




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     141
we must not forget our Irish citizens, for they were
neither " last nor least " in this movement.
On the evening of the sixteenth, the Irish residents of
Boston assembled in great numbers at the Jackson Club
Room, Hanover Street, to express their affection for their
adopted country, their firm determination'to support the
President of the United States in his trying position, and
their abhorrence of the rebellious subjects who were engaged at the South in fomenting civil war.
B. S. Treanor, Esq., called the meeting to order. On
motion of Mr. James Sullivan, Captain Thomas Cass was
appointed chairman for the evening. The organization
was further perfected by the choice of the following gentlemen for vice-presidents:Vice-Presidents -Dr. W. M. Walsh, T. H. Smith, B.
S. Treanor, Owen Lappen, James Healy, Michael Gormley, John Maloney, J. H. Fallon, James Sullivan, Martin
Lennon, John McGlinn, Wm. B. Maloney, Dr. John
Walsh, Cornelius Murphy, W. W. Doherty, Michael Cummiskey, Jeremiah Lyons, John Kenney, PatricklMcInerny,
Dennis Hogan, Andrew D. Mahoney, James Dowling.
Secretaries —James Donnelly, Thomas A. Matthews,
John Glancy.
The chairman then proceeded with his opening remarks.
He thought the condition of the country was one fraught
with momentous consequences to its adopted citizens.
Our republic stands the last of all the great republics,
and if this proves a failure, the experiment may never
be tried again. We have the blessings of home, liberty
and equality, a free press, and religious tolerance to all.
Nothing seems to be wanting to the happiness of the people, and their chief aim should be to preserve the government which ensures these blessings. The success of the
country has been an inspiration to the poor and downtrodden of all nations, not excepting unfortunate Ireland.
We should resist every project and idea of disunion; we




142      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
should resist all attempts to withdraw us from the love
of country, from whatever source they come. The young
men are now called upon to remember whose sons they
are, and from what blood they are descended. They
should bear in mind that death never comes too soon, if
necessary in the defence of one's country:" Whether on the scaffold high,
Or in the battle's van,
The noblest place for man to die
Is where he dies for man."
B. S. Treanor, Esq., from the committee on resolutions,
next addressed the meeting in a speech which was received with great enthusiasm. He expressed the hope
that the adopted citizens might have an opportunity to
stand up with those who were native and to the manor
borne, upon the banks of the Potomac, in the defence of
the Federal capital at Washington. His allusions to the
Irish patriot Montgomery, and the soldier of foreign
parentage who led the American forces at New Orleans,
were received with general applause.  Mr. Treanor at
this point-read the following resolutions:
"Whereas, for a long time previously, and ever since the
election of Abraham Lincoln to the office of the United
States, by a constitutional majority of the people, a dangerous and treasonable conspiracy has existed in several
of the Southern States, the open and avowed object of
which is the overthrow of the government and the destruction of the Constitution and the Union; and,
" Whereas, this conspiracy was well known to members
of the late cabinet of James Buchanan, who had sworn
to maintain the Constitution of the United States; yet,
regardless alike of their duty as citizens and officers of
the government, and in violation of their most solemn
oaths, they not only neglected to suppress this treasonable
conspiracy, but co-operated with the Southern traitors in




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      143
furtherance of their diabolical purposes, by plundering for
their use the national treasury, and sending them government arms, intended originally for the defence of the
country, to be used for its overthrow and destruction; and,
" Whereas, in pursuance of this design, the traitors of
the South have seized upon and usurped the dock-yards,
arsenals, magazines, forts, custom-houses, public funds,
and other national property in the rebellious States, and
are now using them against the lives and liberties of the
people to whom they belong; and,
"Whereas, every peaceful effort made by President Lincoln to induce the rebels to return to their duty and their
allegiance has met only contumely and insult from these
misguided men, until the forbearance of the government
was interpreted as evidence of its imbecility; and at length
ten thousand armed men have attacked Fort Sumter in
the harbor of Charleston, and compelled the seventy brave
defenders to surrender to their immense and superior
numbers; and that in pursuance of their treasonable designs the rebels now threaten to attack the seat of government and plant their despotic flag upon its Capitol, -
" Be it therefore resolved by us, the adopted citizens of
Boston, of Irish birth and parentage, in this the most
dangerous and threatening crisis through which our beloved adopted country has yet passed, that it is the solemn
and sacred duty of every citizen and of every man who
participates in and enjoys the inestimable blessings and
privileges of our free government, to cast aside all party
distinctions and unite as one man in support of the
national administration, and in defence of our common
country, its flag and its freedom.
" Resolved, That we will support the government, by
every means in our power, in its efforts to enforce the
laws, collect the revenue, repossess the national property,
maintain the Constitution, and suppress treason and
rebellion wherever it appears.




144      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
" Resolved, that we call upon every adopted citizen of
Irish birth to stand true to the country which has become
the home of so many millions of our race and of the oppressed of the Old World, and not permit the liberties for
which Washington fought and Montgomery died to be
trampled under foot by the slave oligarchy of the South."
"What constitutional rights," continued Mr. Treanor,
"of the Southern States have been in the slightest degree
infringed upon? Have we come to that state that the
ballot-box shall be no longer the exponent of the people's
will, or are we in that condition that the election of a new
President must inevitably inaugurate a bloody civil war?
Secession interests have been cherished and nurtured at
the South ever since Andrew Jackson squelched it in'33.
The very rifled cannon that helped to batter down the
walls of Sumter were sent to South Carolina by the
traitors in the public service. Whatever soreness may
have been felt by the adopted citizens at some of the past
legislation of this State, they will be found ready, in the
time of trial, to sacrifice every interest upon the altar of
the country's cause, and as true to the national flag as
those who rallied round it in the Revolution and the war
of 1812.
" No supporters of a slave oligarchy would be encountered among the Irish race, who had experienced too
keenly the discomforts of an arrogant government at home
to desire a continuance of the same in the New World.
The flag of the Confederate States shall never wave over
Faneuil Hall, till every adopted citizen of Massachusetts
bites the dust." (Great applause.)
Dr. Walsh made a speech to the same effect, and was
followed by Dennis W. O'Brien, who apologized for a
short speech on the score of indisposition, the subject
being one in which he was deeply interested, and advised
every man to do his best to support the Union, the Constitution and the laws.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     145
Mr. T. M. Brown said the words they had heard should
make music in the heart of every man born in the Emerald Isle. The place of every Irishman to-day is in the
front. (A voice'" An' they niver was found in the
rear!"  Three rousing cheers were given for the author
of this impromptu.)
The countrymen of Daniel O'Connell, of Davis, and
others of the innumerable patriots of the land, are bound,
by all that is holy, to stand by the glorious flag that has
ever been true to them. The spirit which fought and
won, and compelled a treaty on the old stone of Limerick,
which nerved and fired the blood of O'Connell,- ay,
the spirit of liberty is alive to-day, and the American flag
shall never trail in the dust while Irishmen live to defend it.
Remarks were also made by James Sullivan, Edward
Ray and others, and the resolutions were unanimously
adopted. The meeting adjourned with cheers for the
Union and the stars and stripes.
The banks of Boston offered to the State government
a loan of ten per cent. upon their capital, which would
give the State treasury the sum of nearly four millions of
dollars. The banks of Worcester also offered the State a
loan of three hundred thousand; the Randolph Bank,
twenty-five thousand; Columbian Bank, fifty thousand;
Revere Bank, fifty thousand; Mount Wollaston Bank,
twenty-five thousand; and many other banks throughout
the State of proportionate sums. The banks in all the
free States tendered heavy loans to the State governments,
for the purpose of arming and equipping the troops.
Early on the morning of the seventeenth, the streets of
Boston were filled with excited crowds discussing the war
news, and awaiting the appearance of the military companies. The most intense enthusiasm was manifested when
the Sixth Regiment marched out of the armory of the
Second Battalion, at Boylston Hall, and their route to the
13




146      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
State House was lined with people. The ladies were out
in great numbers, and white handkerchiefs fluttered in
the breeze from every point. The State House was the
centre of attraction, and a large police force was necessary to keep back the crowd in front and rear.  The
Sixth Regiment arrived about half past ten o'clock at the
State House, and reported for duty.  The Washington
Guards, Capt. Sampson, also arrived at eleven o'clock,
with sixty-eight men, and were attached to the Sixth Regiment.
Previous to the departure of the Sixth Regiment from
Boylston Hall, Major B. F. Watson, of Lawrence, addressed the soldiers as follows:
"Fellow-Soldiers: I have been selected, at a meeting
of the commissioned officers of this regiment, to bring to
your notice a matter which I am sure will be gratifying to
you all. You know of a custom adopted by a New York
regiment, and which has prevailed elsewhere, and I know
you will be pleased to adopt it. At a meeting of the
commissioned officers the subject was mooted, and it was
generally agreed that this regimental organization would
not be full unless we had a daughter, at this time, when
we all have such tender feelings. It was then unanimously agreed, that out of respect and regard for that
colonel whom we all esteem so highly, his own daughter,
and his only daughter, should be selected-. (Loud cheers.)
I ask you, fellow-soldiers, to give three cheers for your
daughter, Lizzie Clauson Jones."
The men gave three cheers, and the major led the
"daughter of the regiment" up and down the line to
introduce her, - a pretty little miss, about ten years of
age.
Orders were issued on the night of the 16th to the
Stoneham Light Infantry to march at once to this city,
and report for duty to Col. Jones, of the Sixth Regiment.
They arrived about twelve o'clock, under command of




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     147
Capt. J. H. Dyke, with seventy-five men, a portion of
whom were without guns. The Worcester Light Infantry,
Capt. Pratt, which had also been ordered to report to
Col. Jones, arrived at one o'clock, with seventy-nine men,
a portion of them being without uniforms. All of the
companies under Col. Jones changed their old guns for
the new rifle muskets, which were sent from the Cambridge Arsenal.  They were also furnished with overcoats, knapsacks, blankets, blue woollen drawers, and
undershirts and woollen socks. This occupied considerable time, a large number having no military equipments
at all.
A new company, raised by Mr. J. P. Richardson, of
Cambridge, which was to have joined the Fifth Regiment
as Company C, was ordered out, and attached to Colonel
Jones' (6th) regiment.  They had not been organized,
but they promptly answered the call, and a little past
ten o'clock sixty of them marched to the State House
(Boston) in citizens' dress, without arms, and bearing the
American flag. An election of officers was held forthwith.
rJi]i^P. Richardson was chosen captain.  They were
furnished with equipments, and soon ready for duty.
At three and a half o'clock the regiment, which had
been enlarged by the addition of the Washington Guards
of Boston, the Worcester Light Infantry, and the Stoneham Light Infantry, making over six hundred men in all,
was drawn up in line in Beacon Street, fronting the State
House.  Col. Jones, with a color-guard, was ordered
upon the steps, when Governor Andrew, accompanied by
Brigadier-General Butler, Adjutant-General Schouler, the
aids of the Governor, and other military men, marched
out to meet him. Col. Sargent, senior aid to the Governor, bore the regimental flag.
The Governor said that, as the official representative
of the old Commonwealth, he came to bid farewell to this
glorious command, previous to their departure on their




148      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
patriotic mission.  They had been summoned, at their
country's call, from the quiet associations of business
and home, to a solemn and ultimately victorious war.
They were called to fight in behalf of the country, its
dignity and purity; in behalf of the flag which had swept
the seas in triumph, conveying right and honor all over
the world. They were to repair to Washington, which
had been built under the direction of " the Father of his
country."  They had been summoned suddenly; the
State government had done all in its power to provide for
the necessities of the occasion, and they would bear with
them its benefactions and prayers. Those behind cherished them in their heart of hearts, following them with
their best wishes, and feeling confident that they would
not return until they had done the utmost that patriotic
men could do. Here he took the flag, and, after waving
it to and fro, amid the applause of the assembled multitude, handed it to Col. Jones.
Col. Jones took the flag, and, saying that he considered
it the emblem of everything valuable upon earth, and that
it would be so prized by his command, declared that, so
help him God, he would never disgrace it.
The regiment then marched to the armory of the Second
Battalion, and the men were allowed an hour and a half
for rest and supper. At half-past six o'clock they proceeded
to the Worcester depot, and took the cars for New York
about eight o'clock. An immense crowd surrounded the
depot, and cheered the soldiers with great enthusiasm.
The following is a list of the officers of this regiment: -
Colonel, Edward F. Jones, of Lowell; Lieutenant-Colonel,
Walter Shattuck, of Groton; Major, Benjamin F. Watson,
of Lawrence; Adjutant, Alpha B. Farr, of Lowell; Quartermaster, James Monroe, of Cambridge; Paymaster, Rufus L. Plaisted, of Lowell; Surgeon, Norman Smith, of
Groton; Chaplain, Charles Babbidge, of Pepperell.
The Davis Guards, of Acton, attached to the Sixth




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     149
Regiment, was made up of descendants of the minutemen who, on the morning of the nineteenth of April,
1775, were the first to march to Concord Bridge to oppose
the British troops.
A rather amusing anecdote is told of the "pop-corn
man." When the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment was drawn
up in line in front of the State House (Boston), he came
round to minister to the wants of the regiment by selling
them his pop-corn. He had not proceeded far, when he
was suddenly overcome by an irresistible feeling of patriotism, threw away his basket, went and enlisted, donned
the uniform, bid his mother a hasty adieu, and left that
night with the Sixth Regiment for the national capital.
The Third Regiment, Colonel D. W. Wardrop, which
was quartered over the Old Colony depot, was ordered to
hold itself in readiness to go by water to Fort Monroe,
Va.  A detachment of twenty men, from Plymouth,
arrived, in addition to those which came on the 16th.
The other companies in the regiment were enlarged by
new arrivals and recruits, and the total number was
raised to about two hundred men. They received their
supplies at the State House, in the afternoon, and then
proceeded to Faneuil Hall, where supper was prepared.
At seven o'clock they proceeded to Central Wharf, and
went on board the steamer S. R. Spaulding, Captain Solomon Howes, of the Baltimore line, which had been
chartered to convey the regiment to Fort Monroe. A
crowd was gathered in the vicinity, and received the different companies with loud cheers.  The steamer left
shortly after eight o'clock. The following is a list of the
officers of the regiment:- Colonel, David W. Wardrop,
of New Bedford; Lieutenant-Colonel, Charles Raymond,
of Plymouth; Major, John H. Jennings, of New Bedford;
Adjutant, Richard A. Pierce, of New Bedford; Paymaster,
Sandford Almy, of New Bedford; Surgeon, Alexander S.
Holmes, of New Bedford; Surgeon's Mate, Johnson Clark,
13*




150      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
of New Bedford; Chaplain, Thomas E. St. John, of New
Bedford.
The Fourth Regiment, Colonel Packard, received an
order to proceed to Washington via Fall River route, at
half-past six o'clock. It was quartered at Faneuil Hall,
where it remained until afternoon.
An order was issued for the discharge of Capt. Sprague,
of the Hingham company, in consequence of his failure
to respond to the requisition of the Governor, and Luther
Stevenson was elected captain. The company was then
ordered out, and in the afternoon Capt. Stevenson reported to Col. Packard with forty men. The captain of Company H, Quincy, refused to order out his men, and they
chose Thaddeus Newcomb captain. The company reported with twenty men.
The regiment proceeded to the State House in the afternoon, and, after receiving supplies, they marched to the
Old Colony depot at seven o'clock, and took the cars for
Fall River at eight o'clock. The following is a list of the
officers of the regiment: - Colonel, Abner B. Packard, of
Quincy; Lieutenant-Colonel, Hawkes Fearing, Jr., of
Ilingham; Major, Hiram C. Alden, of Randolph; Adjutant, Horace 0. Whittemore, of Braintree; Quartermaster,
Othniel Gilmore, of Raynham; Paymaster, William S.
Glover, of Quincy; Surgeon, Henry M. Saville, of Quincy;
Surgeon's Mate, William D. Atkinson, Jr., of Boston.
Detachments from the New England Guards and the
Second Battalion performed escort duty for the regiments
which left on the 17th.The Boston and Maine Railroad Corporation notified
Governor Andrew, Governor Washburn, of Maine, and
Governor Goodwin, of New Hampshire, that the railroad
was open for the transportation of troops of war free of
expense.
The citizens of Concord, Mass., subscribed fifteen hundred and seventy-five dollars, on the evening of the seven



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      151
teenth, to take care of the families of those who had been
called into the service of their country.
Only two days had elapsed since the President's proclamation calling for volunteers was issued, and we find
three regiments from the " Old Bay State," raised, armed
and equipped, and flying over the road, and being borne
swiftly on " wind and wave," to the defence of the national capital, and another soon to follow.
Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation inviting applications for letters of marque and reprisal.
Virginia secession ordinance passed in secret session,
60 to 53. Governor Letcher issued a proclamation in
which he recognized the independence of the Confederate
States.
A large and excited secession meeting was held in
Baltimore, Md.
Great Union speech by Gen. Cass, at Detroit, Michigan.




CHAPTER IX.
Though factions rage,
That glorious standard still shall wave,
Hope of the world, through age on age,
And only sink in Freedom's grave.
LUNT.
APRIL 18th. The Eighth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, Colonel Munroe, left Boston for Washilgton,
this being the last of the four regiments ordered. Having
seen the three depart, great anxiety was manifested by
these patriotic men, who were impatiently waiting for the
order to start, which was finally given just after dinner.
The line was formed in Merchants' Row shortly before
two o'clock, in the presence of an immense crowd. The
regiment, as it marched up State Street, was greeted with
the greatest enthusiasm by the thousands who were gathered there. It proceeded immediately to the State House,
where the ceremony of presenting the flag took place.
The steps, streets, neighboring houses, and in fact every
spot where a view of the scene could be had, was crowded.
At about half-past three o'clock, the regiment being drawn
up in line in Beacon Street, the Governor and aids, accompanied by Gen. Butler, Gen. Schouler and others, went
down the steps amid great cheering and waving of handkerchiefs.
The flag was then presented to Colonel Munroe by the
Governor, and he spoke as follows:" Mr. Commander and Soldiers: - Yesterday you were
citizens; to-day you are soldiers. True to the fortunes
of your flag, true to the inspirations of your own hearts,
true to the undying examples of our fathers, you have
152




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       153
hurried up from the towns of Essex, all along from Boston through Marblehead to Cape Ann. Fame to all the
men of Massachusetts, to the brave soldiers of a heroic
army!. You have come to be cradled anew one night in
Faneuil Hall, and from breathing once more the inspirations of American liberty, you have hurried forth this
afternoon to follow wherever glory leads under the folds
of the American banner! (Great applause.)  From the
bottom of my heart of hearts, standing here as the official
representative of Massachusetts, I pay to you, soldiers,
citizens, heroes, the homage of my most profound gratitude.  And the heart of all Massachusetts beats to-day in
sympathy with every word I utter.  There is but one
sentiment throughout this beautiful domain of liberty.
From  the shores up to the tall hills of Berkshire, from
the beating waves to the granite peaks, it speaks in unison
with 6ur common land and our common liberty in deathless echoes. (Applause.)
Soldiers, go forth bearing that flag; —
"Forever float that standard sheet, -
Where breathes the foe but falls before us?
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us."
(Great applause.)
We stay to defend the hearth-stones of Massachusetts.
We remain to guard the homes of the wives and the
children of your love;' and we swear, whatever fortune
may befall you on the field, we will be true to them.
(Applause.)  I need not say to you, Mr. Commander,
that we place entire confidence in your fidelity, courage
and ability, in this noble band of men mustered under
your command; I need not say that in the gallant son of
Massachusetts who stands by my side (Gen. Butler) we
have all the confidence which Massachusetts men place in
each other. I speak to you not as citizens and soldiers
of Massachusetts, but as citizens and soldiers of the Amer



154      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
ican Confederate Union.  While we live that Union
shall last!  (Tumultuous applause.)  And until all of
us and our posterity have tasted death, the government,
the Union of the American people, the heritage of Washington, shall be immortal! (Applause.)  Mr. Commander, go forth with the blessing of your country and the
confidence of your fellow-citizens. Under the blessing of
God, in a good and holy cause, with stout hearts and
stalwart arms, go forth to victory!  On your shields be
returned, or bring them with you. You are the advance
guard of Massachusetts soldiers. As such I bid you God
speed, and fare you well."
Great applause and cheering followed the Governor's
speech, and three cheers were given for General Butler.
General Butler, standing by the side of the Governor,
replied: -
" Mr. Commander and Fellow-soldiers:  I desire to say
one word to you. We are going to-night upon that duty
which the people of this Commonwealth hold as sacred as
their dearest wishes. We go to protect the constitutional
liberty of the government, the strength of the Union,
which under God we will maintain. (Applause.) I have
the great -pleasure of marching with you, and with you
we will give a return to our friends,- to his Excellency
who has given us cheering words of encouragement, to
the good people of the Commonwealth who are looking
for our deeds; — and indeed, sir, we will make it true, we
will either bring back our shields or be brought back
upon them. (Applause.)  Sons of a Puritan ancestry,
believing in the providence of Almighty God, as he was
with our fathers, so may he be with us in this strife for
the right, for the good of all, for that great country of
human freedom, which if it sinks in blood the liberty of
the human race goes out forever. We go to maintain
that liberty, and when we prove recreant to that trust,
may the God of battles prove our enemy in the hour of




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.    155
our utmost need! Soldiers, we march to-night; and I
say for you all, to the good people of Massachusetts, fare
you well. We only ask their prayers, we have everything
else; and we go forth to say to those who would break
down this confederacy, that in this State there is but one
sentiment, -" The Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!"  (Applause.)
The enthusiasm and excitement were uncontrolled, and
cheers without number were given for the regiment, for
Gen. Butler, and for the Governor. The line of march
was then taken up for Faneuil Hall, and along the whole
route the enthusiasm was continuous.
The regiment took final leave of Faneuil Hall shortly
before half-past five o'clock, and, preceded by the Brigade
Band, proceeded through Merchants' Row, State, Washington and Oak Streets, to the freight depot, No. 2, of the
Worcester Railroad, on Albany Street.
On arriving at the depot a detachment of policemen
and Lancers kept the crowd out, and the regiment promptly entered the depot and went on board the train. The
crowd was immense, and exceeded in numbers that of
the day before which gathered to bid farewell to Colonel
Jones' regiment, extending for some distance along on
each side of the track.  As the long train started, at six
o'clock, the Brigade Band struck up "Hail Columbia,"
and the cheering was renewed. The troops thrust their
arms out the windows, and many in the crowd shook
hands with all whom they could reach.
The scene was more inspiring and exciting than any
other we had witnessed in connection with the departure
of troops. It was also the largest of the regiments that
had left, numbering full eight hundred men.
Brigadier General Butler and staff accompanied the
regiment. The following are the regimental officers:Lieutenant-Colonel, Timothy Munroe, Lynn; Major, Israel
W. Wallis, Beverly; Adjutant, Edward W. Hinks, Lynn;




156      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Quartermaster, Samuel T. Payson, Newburyport; Surgeon,
David F. Drew, Lynn; Surgeon's Mate, Warren Tapley,
Lynn.
The Sixth and Fourth Massachusetts Regiments arrived
in New York about sunrise on the morning of the 18th.
One regiment breakfasted at the Astor House and at the
St. Nicholas Hotel, and the other at the Metropolitan.
At eleven o'clock, after refreshments, they marched down
Broadway.  They were greeted by cheers and other
demonstrations of applause by thousands. Flags floated
from every house and store. All the teams, horses and
posts had the American flag attached, and nearly every
person carried one in his hand. The flag presented by
Governor Andrew was cheered the whole length of the
route, and "God bless you!" was frequently uttered.
Gen. James Appleton, of Ipswich, seventy-six years old,
remarked with great emotion, " Those boys won't run. I
commanded a regiment of them in the last war." Cheers
for the Old Bay State were demanded and enthusiastically
given at every step. They'marched to the Jersey ferry,
where there was a perfect ovation. The Sixth embarked at
twelve o'clock, and took the train direct for Washington.
They arrived at Jersey City at twenty minutes past
twelve o'clock, and were received with the wildest demonstrations of enthusiasm. As the train left the depot,
cheer on cheer rent the air, and many were the promises
made to them that "Three thousand Jersey Blues would
be with the sons of the Old Bay State in one week's
time, to show their loyalty to the Constitution and the
Union."
From the public buildings and private dwellings floated
the stars and stripes. Three times three cheers were
given in honor of the Old Bay State, that she was the
first in the field.
They arrived at Philadelphia in the early part of the
evening, took supper at the Continental Hotel; and were




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     157
quartered for the night mainly at the Girard House. The
cheering was incessant along the route.
Harper's Ferry arsenal was destroyed by Lieut. Jones,
to prevent its falling into the hands of the secessionists.
Lieut. Jones and his command of forty-three men made
their escape. He says, as thrfar1ial troops at Harper's
Ferry rushed across the Potomac bridge, the people
rushed into the arsenal, and he believes a large number
perished, as repeated explosions occurred. He saw the
light of the burning buildings many miles in his retreat.
The lieutenant, having been advised that a force of
twenty-five hundred troops were ordered by the Governor
to take possession of Harper's Ferry, and finding his
position untenable, under the direction of the War Department he destroyed all the munitions of war, the
armory, arsenal and buildings. He withdrew his command under the cover of night, and almost in the presence of twenty-five hundred troops. He lost three men,
taken by the rebels. Fifteen thousand stand of arms were
destroyed. His command made a forced march of thirty
miles, from Harper's Ferry to Hagerstown, Md. They
were enthusiastically received.
Governor Hicks, of Maryland, issued a proclamation, assuring the people that no troops would be sent from that
State, unless it was for the defence of the national capital.
April 19th. The Massachusetts Sixth Regiment was
assailed by a mob in its passage through Baltimore en
route for Washington. Two Massachusetts soldiers killed,
and several wounded, - the first blood shed in the " Rebellion of 1861." The nineteenth of April, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington and Concord, - that evermemorable day in our nation's history. The first American Revolution was inaugurated by Massachusetts blood
on the nineteenth of April, 1775, and the second American revolution was inaugurated by Massachusetts blood
on the nineteenth of April, 1861.
14




158      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Eighty-six years ago couriers were sent through the
towns and villages of Middlesex County to rouse the people in resistance to British tyranny. On this nineteenth
of April, 1861, also, couriers were sent through the same
district to call out the Fifth and Seventh Regiments, and
were received with the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and the assembling of soldiers as brave, true and
prompt, as those of the olden time.
On the morning of the nineteenth, at the President
Street depot of the Philadelphia Railroad, in Baltimore,
an immense crowd assembled, in anticipation of the arrival of a large number of troops from New York and
Massachusetts.  Shortly after eleven o'clock the train
from Philadelphia, comprising twenty-nine cars, arrived
at the depot. Without disembarking the soldiers from
the train, the several cars had horses attached, and about
nine were drawn along Pratt Street to the Camden station, the first six without any marked objection.  For
some reason the horses attached to the seventh car became restive, and were taken from the car at the Pratt
Street bridge, and the car moved without their aid to
within a short distance of Gay Street, between Gay and
Frederick Street. A number of laborers were engaged
in repairing the bed of the street, and just at the moment the car reached Gay Street they were engaged in
removing the cobble stones from the principal portion
of the street. Some thirty or forty men assembled at
this point, having followed the car from the depot, and,
with cheers for Davis and the confederacy, hurled bitter
taunts at the Northern Black Republicans, as they termed
them.
This continue i for several minutes. When the horses
were again attached and the car moved off, it was proposed to stone it. Before the car had gone twenty yards
almost every window was broken, and a portion of the
crowd followed, hurling paving-stones.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     159
The eighth car was treated in the same manner, but
the niAth car, apparently being empty, or at least no
person being visible, escaped only with one stone. The
crowd exulted in their work, exclaiming that Black
Republicans should not pass through Maryland.  A
lapse of five minutes succeeded, a number of respectable
persons meanwhile urging the crowd to tear up the track.
After the first train passed, one was observed on the Pratt
Street bridge, when the anchors were dragged on the
track at the corner of Gay Street, and part of the track
taken up. Observing this, the cars were turned back to
President Street depot, and the troops disembarked and
prepared to march through the streets. Mayor Brown
with a number of police appeared at their head and led
the way. They came away at a brisk pace, and when
they reached Centre Market Square, an immense concourse of people closed in behind them, and commenced
stoning them. When they reached Gay Street, where the
track had been taken up, a large crowd of men, armed
with paving-stones, showered them on their heads with
such force that several of them were knocked down in
the ranks.  After lying a few minutes they crowded
into the stores on Pratt Street. At the corner of South
and Pratt Streets, a man fired a pistol into the ranks of
the militia, when those in the rear ranks immediately
wheeled and fired upon their assailants, and several were
wounded.  The guns of the soldiers that had fallen
wounded were seized and fired upon the ranks with fatal
effect. In two or three instances, after reaching Culvert
Street, the troops succeeded in checking their pursuers
by rapid fire, which brought down two or three, and
were not much molested until they reached Howard
Street, where another large crowd was assembled. Some
stones were thrown at them, but their guns were not
loaded, and they passed on, through a dense crowd, down
Howard Street towards the depot.




160      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
The scene on Pratt Street was of a most startling
character; the wounded soldiers, three in number, were
taken up carefully, and carried to places of safety by
citizens. Along the street at the Camden station, where
trains leave for Washington, there was assembled a large
detachment of police under direction of Marshal Kane.
It soon appeared that orders were given to clear the
tracks near the main depot building. This was done, and
soon after a large passenger car of the Philadelphia Railroad came up at a rapid rate, filled with soldiers. This
car was soon followed by about sixteen more, all occupied by troops. Upon inquiry it was ascertained they
consisted of the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry, in all eleven companies, with an aggregate of
eight hundred and sixty men.
As soon as the train arrived, some of the troops were
compelled to change cars, when they were hooted at by
the crowd, which made no overt act. Several young men
appeared at one of the cars and displayed revolvers,
whereupon the captain of one of the companies drew his
sword and declared he would protect his men. Many expected the train would start immediately, but it did not
move until half-past twelve, a delay being occasioned by
the fact that President Garrett had received information
that a large crowd of excited men had determined to tear
up the track and blow up the bridges, and thereby prevent the passage of the trains.
In a few minutes after the train left, a discharge of
firearms attracted the attention of the crowd to the
corner of Pratt and Howard Streets, where a body of
infantry from  one of the Northern States,.about one
hundred and fifty strong, was seen rapidly approaching
the depot, and no doubt anxious to reach the cars. The
excitement was beyond description, and a man displaying
a flag of the Confederate States seemed to be the rallying
point for the people. Some assaulted the infantry with
i                     ~           -




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     161
stones, when a number of the latter discharged their
muskets. At least twenty shots were fired, but as far
as learned no person was injured. Whilst they were
entering the cars, a crowd of young men gave them
several volleys of bricks and stones, some of which demolished a car window, whereupon three or four muskets
were pointed through the car windows and fired, but no
one was injured. The train with the second detachment
left at a quarter past one, being stoned as they left.
The city was in tremendous excitement. Martial law
was proclaimed, and the military rushed to their armories.
Parties were roaming the streets armed with guns and
pistols. Stores closed and business suspended. Everybody in a state of dread. A party of the mob rushed
into the telegraph office and cut the wires, but they were
soon repaired. Squads paraded the streets, fully armed,
on the lookout for military from the North. A town
meeting was called in Monument Square, at four o'clock
in the afternoon, which was attended by an immense
crowd. The State flag was hoisted. Mayor Brown said
he was opposed to the call of the President, in spirit and
object, but as Maryland was still in the Union, he had
exerted himself to his utmost ability to protect the passage of troops through the city. He, however, felt that
this should not be, and had telegraphed to the President
urging that no more troops be sent through.
Gov. Hicks was sent for, and said he was opposed to
secession, but the right of revolution could not be disputed.
Speeches were made by Messrs. Teakle, Wallis, W. P.
Preston and others, justifying the people of Baltimore,
and declaring that no Northern troops should invade
their soil to subjugate and make war on their brethren
of the South.
Late in the evening, General Butler telegraphed Governor Andrew the intelligence of his own arrival, with
14*




162      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
the command of Col. Munroe, at Philadelphia; confirming
the rumor that Col. Jones had been attacked in the streets
of Baltimore, that two Massachusetts men were killed,
and several wounded, and adds, —" Troops fought manfully. No man offered to run. They bore the attack
with the utmost patience, until prominent citizens of
Baltimore told them to fire. They did so. Part of the
mob responded with fire, the rest scattered. All have
arrived at Washington except six injured, who are well
cared for at Baltimore."
A dispatch from Washington, April 19, says:"The Massachusetts troops arrived this evening, and
are quartered in the Capitol.  Several of them  were
wounded in Baltimore and sent to the infirmary, while
others who were less injured in that city are on duty with
their comrades."
At half-past two o'clock, A. M., the following dispatch
was sent by His Excellency the Governor to the Mayor
of Baltimore: 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, COUNCIL CHAMBER, 
BOSTON, April 20, 1861.
" To His Honor the Mayor: —I pray you to cause
the bodies of our Massachusetts soldiers dead in Baltimore
to be immediately laid out, preserved with ice, and tenderly sent forward by express to me. All expenses will
be paid by this Commonwealth.
"JOHN A. ANDREW,
" Governor of Massachusetts."
At hall past nine o'clock, A. M., after a correspondence
between the Governor and Messrs. Gardner Brewer &
Co. of this city, which reflects honor on the intelligent
benevolence of that firm, they sent the following dispatch
to their correspondents in Baltimore: -
"Messrs. Mills, Mayhew 4J Co., Baltimore:
" We telegraph to you at the request and in behalf of




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     163
Governor Andrew of this State.  Will you co-operate
with the Mayor of Baltimore in securing respectful treatment to the corpses of our dead soldiers, and their being
carefully forwarded packed in ice, and particularly we
wish you to secure the very best medical attendance and
careful nursing to our wounded. We will be responsible
to you for all expenses. Nurses can be sent from here if
desired.                   GARDNER BREWER & Co."
At noon the following answer was received from Messrs.
Mills, Mayhew & Co: -' We have your telegram, and will attend carefully to
your instructions. Nothing is wanted which we cannot
furnish."
At two o'clock, P. M., this answer was received by the
Governor from the Mayor:"Hon. John A. Andrew, Governor of Massachusetts:
"SIR:-No one deplores the sad events of yesterday in
this city more deeply than myself, but they were inevitable. Our people viewed the passage of armed troops to
another State through the streets as an invasion of our
soil, and could not be restrained. The authorities exerted
themselves to the best of their ability, but with only partial success. Governor Hicks was present, and concurs
in all my views as to the proceedings now necessary for
our protection.
"When are these scenes to be ceased? Are we to have
a war of sections! God forbid!
" The bodies of the Massachusetts soldiers could not be
sent on to Boston as you requested, all communication
between this city and Philadelphia by railroad and with
Boston steamers having ceased; but they have been
placed in cemented coffins, and will be placed with proper
funeral ceremonies in the mausoleum of Green Mount
Cemetery, where they shall be retained until further di



164     THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
rections are received from you. The wounded are tenderly
cared for. I appreciate your offer, but Baltimore will
claim it as her right to pay all expenses incurred.
"Very respectfully,
"Your obedient servant,
"GEO. WM. BROWN,
"Mayor of Baltimore."
To this the following reply was returned by the
Governor: -
"To His Honor George Win. Brown, Mayor of Baltimore:
" DEAR SIR: —I appreciate your kind attention to our
wounded and our dead, and trust that at the earliest
moment the remains of our fallen will return to us.
" I am overwhelmed with surprise that a peaceful march
of American citizens over the highway to the defence of
our common Capitol should be deemed aggressive by
Baltimoreans. Through New York the march was triumphal.
"JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor of Massachusetts."
Of the citizens of Baltimore, there were seven killed
and many wounded.  Mr. R. W. Davis was shot dead
near the Camden station; the others killed were John McGhan, Sebastian Gies, Patrick Clark, B. Thomas Miles,
Wmn. C. Maloney, W. Reed. Wounded, Patrick Griffin,
fatally, others unknown.
The Massachusetts soldiers killed in Baltimore were
A. O. Whitney and Luther C. Ladd, of Lowell.
Wounded and left in Baltimore - Sergeant Ames of the
Lowell City Guards, slightly; private E. Coburn, of the
same place, shot in the head, not fatal; private Michael
Green of Lawrence, slightly; S. H. Needham, skull fractured (since died); another, name unknown, at the
infirmary, badly wounded; H. W. Danforth and Edward
Cooper were shot in the thigh; also Capt. J. H. Dike, of




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.    165
Company C., Stoneham Light Infantry, received a ball
wound in the head, and was left at Baltimore.
The following are the names of the wounded who proceeded on to Washington:Company C, Stoneham Light Infantry. Henry Dyke,
ball wound in the leg.
W. H. Young, hit by a brickbat on the head.
Stephen Flanders, bad wound on the head by a brickbat.
H. Perry, wounded on the knee by brickbat.
John Fostier, wounded on the head with a stone.
C. G. Gill, bad wound on the knee from the breech of
a gun.
Joshua W. Pennall, knocked in the head by a brickbat.
John Kempton, several bad bruises on the legs and
arms from paving stones.
Morris Meade, wounded in the leg by a brickbat.
Lieut. James Rowe, two side cuts in the head from
brickbats.
Daniel Brown, third finger of the left hand shot off.
Company D, Lowell. C. H. Chandler, wounded in
the head by a brick. (Pop-corn man.)
Company I, Lawrence. V. G. Gingrass, shot through
the arm.
Alonzo Joy, two fingers shot off.
Sergeant G. J. Dorall, cut on the head with a brickbat.
Company D. W. H. Samson, struck in the eye and
on the back of the head with paving stones, with other
severe bruises on the body.
Charles Stinson of Company C, of Lowell, had nose
broken with a brick.
Company D. Ira W. Moore, badly wounded on left
arm with brickbat.
Geo. Alexander, back of the head and neck badly cut
with a brick.
The names of the brave soldiers who fell in this heroic




166      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
expedition will stand on our nation's history parallel
with those of the Revolution, and be immortalized with
the sacred memories which cluster around the men of
Concord and Lexington.
It is stated that one of the Massachusetts soldiers who
was mortally wounded and bled to death, while in the
last struggles stood erect, raised his right hand toward
heaven, and exclaimed, —  All hail to the stars and
stripes!" and instantly expired.
April 21. Thus far it appears that the Sixth Regiment,
under Col. Jones, has arrived in Washington, forcing its
way through Baltimore. The Fourth Regiment under
Col. Packard, and the Third under Col. Wardrop, were
safely landed at Fortress Monroe. The Eighth Regiment
under Col. Munroe of Lynn, accompanied by Brig. General Butler, has reached Annapolis, by steamers from
Philadelphia, en route for Washington, the railway communication having been temporarily interrupted.
Having followed them to their destination, we leave
them here, and take a general survey of the whole country.
A diabolical attempt was made to poison the Fourth
Regiment while on board the " State of Maine " at New
York, previous to leaving for Fortress Monroe, on the
eighteenth, by sending poisoned brandy on board. One
died, and four or five others suffered very much from its
influence, but recovered. The perpetrator of the outrage
is unknown.
April 19th.  The President issued a proclamation ordering the blockade of the ports of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas,
and declaring that if any person, acting under the pretended authority of said States, shall molest a vessel of
the United States, or the persons or cargo on board, such
person shall be deemed guilty of piracy.
General Scott issued an order extending the military




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     167
department of Washington so as to include the District
of Columbia and the States of Maryland, Delaware and
Pennsylvania, and appointing Major-General Patterson to
the command.
Governor Hicks, of Maryland, and Mayor Brown, of
Baltimore, informed the President that it was not possible for soldiers to pass through-Baltimore unless they
fought their way.  President Lincoln replied that no
more troops would pass through the city for the present,
provided they were allowed to pass armed around the city
unmolested.
The city council of Philadelphia appropriated one million
dollars to equip volunteers and support their families.
Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut, issued a proclamation calling for the Second Regiment of volunteers.
Fourteen thousand dollars were subscribed at Norwich,
for the families of volunteers.
Rhode Island Marine Artillery arrived in New York
with six pieces of artillery, and left same day for Washington. Governor Hicks, of Maryland, telegraphed Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, as follows: —
Governor Hicks to Governor Sprague: —" I understand
you are about to proceed to Washington with the Rhode
Island regiment. I advise you not to take them through
Baltimore, and thus save trouble."
Governor Sprague to Governor Hicks: -" The Rhode
Island Regiment are going to fight, and it matters not
whether they fight in Baltimore or Washington."
The war feeling was increasing. New companies were
concentrating. Seventeen hundred volunteers, from Ohio,
arrived in Pittsburg, Pa., en route for Washington. From
Springfield, Ill., we learn that forty-nine companies had
been accepted, and tenders of as many more had been
made. All the railroad companies of the State had volunteered to carry accepted companies to the place of rendezvous free of charge.




168      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
In Chicago, two thousand men had signed the musterroll. The Zouave regiment was fast filling up, and the
enthusiasm was intense.
A dispatch from Harrisburg, Pa., April 18th, says:"A  large number of companies have arrived, and the
camp, forming a mile above the city, is alive with excitement to-night. The whole population are in the streets.
Two companies are quartered in the legislative halls.
There will be eight thousand troops here by Saturday.
Every train brings hundreds. A special messenger has
been sent to Washington for arms."
It will be remembered that only three days have
elapsed since the President issued his proclamation calling for troops. A correspondent writes from Washington,
under date April 19th: —" Twenty-four companies, averaging one hundred men, have already been mustered into
the service of the government. Five hundred Pennsylvania troops arrived this afternoon.  Several were hurt
with stones while passing through Baltimore. They are
quartered in the Capitol.
" The old hall of the House of Representatives, where
Clay, Adams, Webster, Calhoun, McDuffie and hundreds
of others, eminent in public life, deliberated, is now turned
into barracks.  Company E  (Washington) are quartered in the handsome room on Revolutionary Claims.
Two of the Pennsylvania companies are quartered in the
luxurious committee-rooms of the north wing. The soldiers had Brussels carpets, marble wash-stands, and all
that sort of thing, but seemed to think they should prefer
to all this to have a bite of something to eat, as they had
tasted nothing since a hasty early breakfast at Harrisburg.
They had suffered, too, miserably from thirst on the way,
and, at one station where they stopped, were glad to
quench their thirst in a pool of muddy water standing in
a field. This, with the hostile reception received at Baltimore, gave them  a pretty rude taste of soldiers' life.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      169
They took all in good spirits, except the failure in the
commissariat department at their quarters. Some bacon
sides had been served out in the basement (Senate kitchen refectory), where a fire had been started, and some of
the soldiers were struggling, with a dull knife, to chip off
a rasher, but nothing seemed to be in readiness for the
hungry men."
In New York city all classes were aroused. The First
Regiment of Zouaves bound themselves by a solemn oath
to march through Baltimore.
On the 19th the Trinity Church steeple was graced
with a starry flag, amidst the uproarious cheers of thousands in Broadway and Wall Streets. The chimes pealed
out the " Star-Spangled Banner" and "Hail Columbia."
The celebrated Seventh Regiment, of New York, Col.
Lefferts, numbering nine hundred and ninety-one men,
left New York for Washington.  They received a continuous ovation all through New Jersey. Cannon were fired
and houses illuminated. They reached Philadelphia late
at night. The streets were alive with people to witness
their arrival.  They proceeded on their way, and arrived
at Annapolis on the 21st, where they were joined by the
Massachusetts Eighth, with Gen. Butler.
Early on the morning of the 24th, the New York Seventh and Massachusetts Eighth Regiments marched from
Annapolis, and arrived at the Junction, a distance of
nineteen miles, at ten o'clock on the morning of the 25th,
and, at four o'clock in the afternoon, left in the train for
Washington.
To give those of our readers who have never witnessed
such a scene some faint idea of the hasty greetings and
hurried farewells immediately preceding the departure
of a regiment, we subjoin the following from a New York
paper. It may provoke a smile, and serve to lighten a
dark picture.
"At about a quarter to three o'clock a general hurry
15




170      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
and movement throughout the rooms indicated that the
time for muster was near at hand. The officers moved
faster and seemed more preoccupied. Col. Lefferts bluntly declined the offer of an escort from the Zouave corps,
on the ground that it should have been made before, and
that he had now no time to arrange for it. Recruits
were told that it was too late to consider their cases now,
and that they must report at some volunteer station.
The members began to file off into their company rooms,
from which outsiders were now excluded. Tardy arrivals
were greeted enthusiastically, in the same spirit that the
Biblical shepherd rejoiced more over the one sheep he
imagined lost than over the flocks he had safely penned.'Why, here's Pete!''I thought you wasn't coming;''Bully for you, old buffer!' were the rough welcomes
shouted to new-comers. Yonder are a party of friends,
some of whom are to go with the regiment, while the
others stay at home, and you may hear the request,-' Kill one of the scoundrels for me, Billy;' the advice,'Take care of yourself, old fellow, and I'll see to things
at home;' the  promise,' I'll come back  promoted,
father, or I won't come back at all;' and then, in a
woman's voice,'God bless you! I shall think of you and
pray for you all the time. It's very hard to, but'- and
then a few tears, low whisperings and a kiss. The most
thoughtless began to grow serious now, and the most
frivolous became earnest and anxious.
" Then, as the soldiers began to engage more in conversation with each other, various interesting circumstances
in connection with their departure began to be mentioned.
Here were several post-office clerks, who had been granted
leave of absence, with full pay, for the war; clerks in various mercantile houses had the same leave, with the
same conditions. A Mr. Murphy had sent two sons and
two employees with the Seventh, and armed them with fine
revolvers. Other soldiers had been presented with revol



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.      171
vers, also, and a general display of five and six-shooters
ensued. This man had been married only two days before, but his wife said'Go,' and he came. Another was
engaged to be married on Sunday, but the wedding was
postponed three months, that he might serve his country.'I may die a bachelor yet, you  know,' he lightly
remarked, as he told of the circumstances.'I haven't
had time to arrange my business, for I only received
notice that we should move at ten o'clock, to-day,' remarked another,'but I'm  here, my hearties.''I wonder will all the boys turn out?' said a sergeant;'a day
and a half is short work, eh?'   By George,' laughed
another, adjusting his sword-belt,'I came up here to bid
you good-by, but I couldn't stand it, so I jumped into
these things, and will go along. Didn't have much time
to bid the folks farewell you bet.''What do you think
the Governor said to me?' asked a young recruit;'why,
he said " Remember Sumter! " and said he'd like to go
too.''That's like Fan,' shouted another;' she said
she'd go if she were a man. Do you think I'd back out
after that?''How are you, my boy? You didn't back
out, did you?' Then a long shake-hands, and the response,'Nor I didn't want to.''Here's a bouquet
Mollie sent. Look at that,-." May peace soon bring you
back to me."'   Mother gave me this little flag.  God
bless her! I'll never disgrace it.''What do you think
of that for a badge? (displaying a beautifully-worked
rosette); that goes over my heart.' Breaking up these
conversations there came, every once in a while, cheers
upon cheers for the Seventh and for the Union, and
snatches of national songs, shouted with hearty, untremulous voices."
On the 20th the Virginia secessionists, in Richmond,
had a great rejoicing over the fall of Fort Sumter. They
claim to have had three thousand in procession, hoisted
the Southern Confederacy flag, fired a hundred guns,




172      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
and had exulting speeches from Governor Letcher, Attorney-General Tucker, and other magnates. On motion of
John M. Patton, they enthusiastically
" Resolved, That we rejoice with high, exultant, heartfelt joy at the triumph of the Southern Confederacy over
tle accursed government at Washington in the capture of
Fort Sumter."
Many of the houses were brilliantly illuminated from
attic to cellar; flags of the Southern Confederacy were
abundantly displayed from roofs and windows; the streets
blazed with bonfires; the sky lighted with showers of pyrotechnics; and, until midnight, crowd after crowd found
speakers to address them from balconies and street-corners.
An immense meeting, called by Virginia citizens at Mobile, took place on the 18th, with great enthusiasm and
rejoicing over the secession of Virginia. At Montgomery,
same day, a meeting of the Virginians, Louisianians,
Tennesseeans and Kentuckians was held, to rejoice over
the glorious news from Virginia.  One hundred guns
were fired, the city illuminated, and general joy expressed
that the revolution was complete. Nearly all the naval
officers of Virginia had sent in their resignations to
Washington. The confederate flag was raised at Point
of Rocks, in Maryland, on the 19th. The rebellion in
Virginia was formidable. Northern men, with their families, were expelled, leaving everything, narrqwly escaping
with their lives. So bitter was the feeling against them
that many were compelled to leave for expressing Union
sentiments.
Governor Dennison, of Ohio, appointed Capt. George
B. McClellan, formerly of the army, major-gqeneral and
commander-in-chief of the Ohio State troops. This gentleman is a graduate of West Point, served with marked
distinction during the Mexican war, and was one of
three officers sent by our government to watch the campaign at the Crimea.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.       173
Steamship Star of the West captured by rebels, under
Col. Van Dorn, off Indianola, and taken to New Orleans
as a prize to the Confederate States.
April 20th.  A mob from  Baltimore destroyed the
railroad bridges on the line to Philadelphia. All the
bridges between Baltimore and Havre de Grace were
destroyed or rendered useless. The trains on the night
of the 20th went through safely to the bridge at Canton
(three miles from  Baltimore), where a crowd lying in
wait fired pistols at the engineer, who stopped the train.
The crowd compelled the passengers to leave the cars,
and, taking possession of them, forced the engineer to
take them back to the Gunpowder River bridge. Here
the train stopped. The crowd set fire to the draw of the
bridge, and remained until that portion was burnt.  They
then returned to the Bush River bridge, and set the
draw on fire. Next they went to the Canton bridge and
burned that. The train then conveyed its passengers to
Baltimore.
A body of carpenters and workmen, armed, were sent
from Harrisburg to repair the bridges on the Northern
and Central Road, which, conjointly with men sent from
Philadelphia, and some Massachusetts soldiers, soon put
the road in good order.
Gosport Navy Yard, opposite Norfolk, Va., was burned
by United States officers, to prevent its falling into the
hands of the secessionists. United States ships Pennsylvania, seventy-four guns; Delaware, seventy-four; Columbus, seventy-four; steam-frigate Merrimac, forty-four;
frigate Raritan, forty-four; frigate Columbia, forty-four;
sloop Germantown, twenty-two; sloop Plymouth, twentytwo; brig Dolphin, eight; and the frigate United States
(in ordinary), in the harbor, were scuttled and set on
fire. The value of property destroyed is estimated at
fifty million dollars.
The steamer Yankee reports arrived at Norfolk, on the
15*




174     THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
afternoon of the 17th, and, finding a movement afloat to
seize her, proceeded to the navy yard and placed herself
under the guns of the yard.
On the 18th the custom-house officers came to seize her,
but the commander of the yard refused to yield her.
On the 20th the Pawnee, under Commodore Paulding,
arrived at Fort Monroe, took aboard the Third Massachusetts Regiment, and proceeded to the navy yard, where
the officers had commenced destroying the public property
to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy.
They had scuttled all the ships, the Cumberland being
the only one in commission; they cut down the shears, &c.
Preparations were made to make demolition complete.
The Pawnee, with the Cumberland in tow, assisted by
the Yankee, started, and, after passing the navy yard, sent
up a signal rocket, when a match was applied, and in
an instant ships, ship-houses and store-houses were in
flames.
So rapid were the flames that Commander Rogers, of
the navy, and Captain Wright, of the engineers, were
unable to reach the point of rendezvous, where a boat was
waiting for them, and were left behind. Large quantities of provisions, cordage, machinery, and buildings of
great value, were destroyed. The burning of the navy
yard was done by Union men, who were in the majority,
but comparatively unarmed.
When the Pawnee came up, the Cumberland and Merrimac lay broadside to, their guns loaded, thinking she
was in the hands of the rebels. Similar opinion prevailed
on board the Pawnee, and she was ready for action. The
cheering aboard the vessels and on shore showed how
satisfactory was the answer to our hail from the Cumberland, that she was the United States steamer Pawnee.
The Union men employed in the navy yard cut down
the flag-staff so that it could not be used by the rebels.
The guns in the navy yard were spiked.




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     175
The following letter from a private in the New Bedford 
company at Fort Monroe, describing the part he took in
the destruction of the Norfolk navy-yard property, will be
read with interest. The writer is well known, a rising
lawyer of ability, and distinguished for his many virtues
of character and patriotism:" And so, brother -, I am a soldier, and have already
encountered a soldier's dangers. Let my enlistment and
the journey here pass. Suffice it to say that I arrived
here on Saturday, about eleven, A. M.... We were
exhausted with poor fare, sea-sickness, want of sleep, and
bad air. We expected to remain here and defend this
fort. At about five in the afternoon, as we were expecting quarters and a good night's sleep, we were summoned
into line, and ordered to the Norfolk navy yard, which
was in immediate danger; and we were to defend it
against the Virginians, or retake it if it had been captured
by the Southern troops collected there. We had about a
hundred regulars, the marines of the Pawnee. We, undisciplined and ill-conditioned as we were, went on board
the Pawnee, just from Charleston. We trod for the first
time a man-of-war - and her guns looked deathly. Our
friends of the Fourth Regiment felt that they should see
few of us again. We received our twenty-five cartridges
and percussion caps apiece, and loaded our guns without
putting the caps on. At or near Norfolk, we passed the
frowning batteries of the secessionists. The marines had
the cannon pushed forward, all ready to return a fire at
any moment. Hot shot from the batteries could have
sunk us; but they did not open, and we went safely on.
" We approached the navy yard about half-past eight in
the evening.  We were serious, but calm, and were
ready for a fight. I held my percussion cap in my hand.
We knew not whether the navy yard was in possession of
our friends or enemies. But we found that it was still
ours. As we came within almost pistol-shot of the Cum



176      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
berland there, our boatswain saw that her men were just
applying the matches to guns which would rake our bow,
where our company was. If they had fired, our company
would have been destroyed.  She had mistaken our
signal, and thought we were secessionists.  Our boatswain cried out, again,'Pawnee! United States ship!'
and the mistake was discovered in time, and the men of
the Cumberland, and also of the Pennsylvania, gave us a
round of cheers, and their bands played' Hail Columbia.'
We disembarked, and at once were set to rolling several
thousand shells and balls into the sea and laying powder
trains; while the marines spiked or otherwise disabled the
cannon in the yard. We went on board about half-past
twelve o'clock at night, but the Pawnee did not leave till
four o'clock in the morning.
" Soon after we left, the powder trains exploded; the
vessels, three or four of which we left behind, and the
buildings, were all in a blaze, lighting the sea for a long
distance. This loss of the munitions of war to Virginia is
immense. On our return we passed the batteries, which
we expected the exasperated Virginians would fire upon
us, and the marines stood at their guns. The commander said we should have a warm time. Still, we were so
exhausted, that we even lay down to sleep. The marines
told us they did not see how we could sleep when we
were likely to be sunk at any moment. For some reasons
which we do not know, the batteries did not open on us,
and we were happily preserved. Our men were calm,
and for my own part, I felt only a little different from
what I should in doing a responsible piece of law business.
" It is singular to witness the elasticity of human nature,
which adapts itself to almost anything. There was something almost sublime in the stoicism of the regulars.
While we were at Norfolk the secessionists sunk vessels
in the channel to prevent our return. They were under
the direction of a Virginian, late a lieutenant in the ser



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     177
vice of the United States. We, however, passed through.
We got back to the fort at about six o'clock, on Sunday
forenoon. We were gladly welcomed by our friends of
the Third Regiment, who expected to find our ranks
thinned. Some of them hardly dared to meet us, expecting to find that many had fallen."
John C. Breckenridge made a great speech at Louisville,
Ky., denouncing the government.  A great mass-meeting was held in New York. All parties for the Union.
The United States arsenal at Liberty, Mo., was seized by
rebels.
On the 20th, Governor Andrew received a dispatch
from Brigadier-General Butler, requesting him to forward
more troops, arms, and ammunition, as speedily as possible, in order that they could force a passage through to
Washington. Active measures were immediately taken to
comply with the request, and a special order was issued
calling out the Light Artillery, in addition to the companies composing the Fifth Regiment.
The Somerville Light Infantry (Co. B, Fifth Regiment),
Capt. Brastow, arrived, and proceeded to Faneuil Hall,
where the Fifth Regiment was quartered. The company
was composed of fine-looking men, and when they passed
down State Street the crowd of spectators applauded
heartily.
The Mechanic Light Infantry, of Salem (Co. B, Seventh
Regiment), Capt. George H. Pierson, and the Salem City
Guard (Co. H, Seventh Regiment), Capt. Henry F. Danforth, having been detailed to join the Fifth Regiment, left
Salem in an extra train at nine o'clock on Saturday morning. Previous to their departure a beautiful silk flag was
presented to the Mechanic Light Infantry by Perley Putnam, a veteran eighty-four years of age, and a former
commander of the corps. The city government of Salem
voted $15,000 for the benefit of the families of the volunteers.




178      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
The companies arrived at the Eastern Railroad depot,
Boston, about ten o'clock, and marched to Faneuil Hall,
where the commanders reported for duty to Col. Lawrence.
Every endeavor was made to have the regiment properly equipped and on the road by six o'clock in the afternoon; but it was found impossible to have the overcoats
and under-garments in readiness before midnight. The
Light Artillery, Major Cook, were ready to start very soon
after receiving the order, with about one hundred and
twenty men.  The horses necessary for the company,
seventy in number, were purchased of the Metropolitan
Railroad Corporation. The full battery, six brass sixpounders, together with the horses, ten tons of powder,
and a large quantity of shot, were sent on a train, at ten
o'clock in the evening, to New York. At about half-past
one o'clock the artillery company marched to the Worcester Railroad depot, and took their places in the train,
where they waited until the Fifth Regiment arrived.
About five o'clock, refreshments, in the shape of baked
beans, were served to each man; and after they got
through they amused themselves by throwing the plates
out of the windows of the cars and smashing them.
The Fifth Regiment were not able to get all of their
equipments until a very late hour. At four o'clock the
different companies were ordered up, and, after receiving
their rations, the regimental line was formed, and they
marched to the Worcester depot. A large crowd was
assembled to see them off, notwithstanding the unseasonable hour. The artillery company started in a train by
themselves at about six o'clock, and the Fifth Regiment
started about half an hour later. They were joined at
Worcester by the Third Battalion of Rifles, Major T. E.
Devens.
On the night of the 20th, at the solemn hour of midnight, the writer of this work, in company with a gentle



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     179
man friend, accompanied an anxious mother to take
another look of her darling son, who was. one of Major'Cook's artillerists, and who was to leave that night. All
was still and quiet save here and there the rapid footfall
of a soldier or perhaps two, hurrying to their place of
rendezvous, their bright arms glittering in the moonlight,
or now and then the clattering of hoofs with a solitary
carriage conveying some friends of soldiers to " see them
once more," before they departed. No noise or confusion
indicated to us the place of their meeting. We wended
our way to the State House. All was silent,- no signs
of life. We passed around to the back entrance, where
stood a solitary carriage waiting for some officers who
were in council with the governor in the executive chamber. A sentinel, pacing to and fro, demanded to know
our business. On being informed, he gave us all necessary information as to where the troops could be found.
We proceeded hastily to the " armory," in the lower part
of the city. On arriving there, we found congregated an
immense mass of human beings anxiously waiting for the
soldiers to come out, as there was " no admittance " inside.
As soon as it was known that ladies were in waiting, an
officer came out, and our gentleman attendant told him
our business, and asked him if we could go in. He replied, " Oh, yes; I'll take the ladies in, but I can't take
you in."  A signal rap, and the door was opened just
sufficient to crowd through, and immediately closed after
us. And such a scene!  The soldiers were amusing
themselves in every imaginable " innocent " way.' Some
were stretched on benches to get a few moments' rest;
some were talking and laughing; others seemed sober
and thoughtful; while in one corner of the room a company of a dozen or more were singing." Dixie" at the
top of their voices, which had scarcely ended when a
crowd in another part of the room struck up
"I am going home to die no more."




180      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
We found the object of our search, and after a few
moments' conversation we took an affectionate farewell of
him and hurried to our homes.
Early on the morning of the 21st they left Boston for
the seat of war.
April 21. Steamers Baltic, with the New York Twelfth
Regiment, the R. R. Cuyler, with the Eleventh, the Columbia, with the Sixth Regiment on board, accompanied by
the Harriet Lane, with sealed orders, left New York at six
o'clock in the evening.
The regiments marched down Broadway about one
o'clock, embarking at two o'clock. The scene on Broadway and at the piers defies description. Probably from
four to five hundred thousand people witnessed their
departure, perfectly wild with joyful and patriotic enthusiasm, though tinctured with sorrow by relatives.
The Rhode Island regiment, under command of Governor Sprague, one thousand strong, arrived in the morning, and left in the Coalzacoalcos at sundown.
The harbor was the scene of great excitement as the
fleet left. All the piers, landings, and house-tops in New
York, Jersey City, Hoboken, and Brooklyn, and the Battery, were crowded with people, and thousands of boats
filled with people saluted them as they steamed down
the bay. Flags were dipped, cannons roared, bells rang,
and steam-whistles shrilly saluted, and thousands'sent up
cheers of parting.
Over four thousand men left New York on that day for
the seat of war. From this date, for many days, troops
were rapidly pouring in for Washington, Annapolis, and
Fortress Monroe.
The United States Branch Mint at Charlotte, N. C.,
was seized by the rebels.
April 22. Governor Hicks sent a communication to
the President, urging the withdrawal of troops from Maryland, a cessation of hostilities, and a reference of the




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     181
national dispute to the arbitrament of Lord Lyons. Secretary (of State) Seward replied, that the troops must
pass through Maryland, and that our troubles could not
be " referred to any foreign arbitrament."
General Robert G. Lee was appointed by the Virginia
convention " commander of the military and naval forces
of Virginia."
The rebel general, Gideon J. Pillow, sent a message
to Parson Brownlow, inviting him to act as chaplain to
his brigade, to which he received the following "spicy"
reply: -
"KNOXVILLE, April 22, 1861.
"GEN. GIDEON J. PILLOW: — I have just received your
message, through Mr. Sale, requesting me to serve as
chaplain to your brigade in the Southern army; and in
the spirit of kindness in which this request is made, but
in all candor, I return for an answer, that when I shall
have made up my mind to go to hell, I will cut my throat
and go direct, and not travel round by the way of the
Southern Confederacy.
"I am very respectfully, &c.,
" W. G. BROWNLOW."
A correspondent writing from Knoxville, under date of
April 24, says: -
"The house of the celebrated, bold-hearted, and outspoken Parson Brownlow is the only one in Knoxville over
which the stars and stripes are floating. A few days ago
two armed secessionists went at six o'clock in the morning to haul down the stars and stripes. Miss Brownlow,
a brilliant young lady of twenty-three, saw them on the
piazza, and stepped out and demanded their business.
They replied they had come to'take down them stars
and stripes.' She instantly drew a revolver from her
side, and presenting it, said,'Go on! I'm good for one
of you, and I think for both!'
"'By the look of that girl's eye she'll shoot,' one re16




182      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
marked.'I think we'd better not try it; we'll go back
and get more men,' said the other.
"' Go and get more men,' said the noble lady;' get
more men and come and take it down, if you dare!'
" They returned with a company of ninety armed men,
and demanded that the flag should be hauled down. But
on discovering that the house was filled with gallant men,
armed to the teeth, who would rather die as dearly as possible than see their country's flag dishonored, the secessionists retired."
The common council of New York passed an order
appropriating $1,000,000 to equip volunteers and provide for their families.
April 23. General Butler took military possession of
the Annapolis and Elk River Railroad.
At a flag-raising at Newburyport, a large American
eagle was seen hovering over the assemblage. The omen
was hailed with cheers. After which the large concourse
assembled joined in singing " America."
The first regiment of South Carolina volunteers left
Charleston for the seat of war on the Potomac.
April 24. Governor Magoffin, of Kentucky, issued a
proclamation calling on the State to place herself in a
condition of defence.
April 25. Fort Smith, in Arkansas, seized by rebels,
under Solon Borland.
Major Sibley surrendered four hundred and fifty United States troops to the rebel Col. Van Dorn, at Saluria,
Texas.
The Maryland legislature met at Frederick. General
Butler stated that if they passed an ordinance of secession he would arrest the entire body. Governor Letcher,
of Virginia, issued a proclamation announcing the transfer of the State to the government of the Southern Confederacy.
Senator Douglas made a speech before the Illinois
*              11~~~~~~I




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     183
legislature, urging immediate action in support of the
government.
April 26. Governor Brown, of Georgia, issued a proclamation prohibiting the payment of Northern debts till
the end of hostilities, and directing the payment of the
money into the State treasury, to help defray the expenses of the war.
More bridges were burned near Baltimore, on the Philadelphia road.
April 27. General Scott was authorized by the President to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in the military
district between Washington and Philadelphia, if found
necessary to the public safety. Many Southerners employed in the departments at Washington resigned and
left for the South, refusing to take the oath of allegiance.
A steamer loaded with powder for the rebels was seized
at Cairo.
The President issued a proclamation extending the
blockade to the ports of Virginia and North Carolina.
While too much cannot be said in praise of the volunteers, from all parts of the country, their patriotic spirit
and energy, yet Massachusetts troops seem  to have a
decided advantage in  some respects over all others.
They have so many apt and experienced mechanics among
them, that they find no difficulty in laying down rails,
building bridges, or running trains.
It was a fortunate dispensation that took Gen. Butler
to Annapolis. His shrewd mind at once comprehended
the importance of the position, and he set to work to
make it secure. Not until that work was accomplished,
did he allow troops to go forward. The malice of the
secessionists was in one instance successfully baffled.
The railroad men, besides taking up the rails, had done
considerable damage to the rolling stock. Gen. Butler
sent a party, apparently unarmed, to the car-shop, who
were met by the workmen, who refused them admittance.




184      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Each Massachusetts man drew a " persuasive argument"
from his breast, which operated like magic, and no further resistance was offered.
But another obstacle presented itself. The only engine
in the building had been taken to pieces so thoroughly,
that the author of the mischief asserted that no man
north of the Potomac could put it together in two
months. Our boys looked at the scene before them  a
minute; then one  exclaimed, "I helped build that
machine."  Another said, "I'll bear a hand to put it
together;" and a dozen others, who felt perfectly at home
on the occasion, sprang forward, so that in a few hours
the engine was under steam.
April 29. Maryland House of Delegates voted against
secession, 53 to 13.  The State senate published an
address, signed by all the members, denying the intention
of passing an ordinance of secession.  Steamships Tennessee, Texas, and Hermes seized at New Orleans.
April 30. A  soldier who escaped from  Charleston,
states that the Southern stories of a bloodless fight in
Charleston harbor are not true,-that he served at the
guns during the fight at Fort Moultrie, and that nearly
every shot from Fort Sumter killed somebody. Between
three and four hundred were killed, and a large number
wounded, at Fort Moultrie, during the siege.
The killed were collected in a mass and interred at
night in Potter's field. Many were also killed in dwellings outside the fort. The soldiers were threatened with
death if they disclosed the facts about the killed. People were constantly inquiring for their friends, and were
assured they were at Sullivan's Island.
Another soldier who was at Morris Island says that
one hundred and fifty were killed there, and forty at
Sullivan's Island. He makes the same statement relative to the dead being buried at night in Potter's field.
We cannot of course vouch for the truth of this state



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     185
ment, though it would seem a "decided" miracle, if a
bombardment of forty-eight hours could go on without
killing somebody; especially, in a crowded fort, it would
hardly be possible to throw shot or shell without hitting
some one; whereas in Fort Sumter the garrison were so
"few and far between," that, with precaution, they might
escape.
All masters of vessels received notice on the twentyfourth to leave Charleston in forty-eight hours, or they
would be held by the Southern government. Some were
detained for lack of men to work their ships, and the
rest fled.
April 30. Jefferson Davis sent a message to Congress
at Montgomery, in which he stated that there were in the
field, at Charleston and the forts in the South, 19,000
men, and 16,000 en route for Virginia.
Troops were constantly passing through Wilmington,
from South Carolina and Georgia for Richmond.
Governor Ellis, of North Carolina, called for thirty
thousand volunteers additional to the regular militia, and
all organized corps were commanded to be in readiness at
an hour's notice.
A Savannah paper of the 23d says: "There are three
vessels here, ready fitted, waiting for privateer commissions, which will be received in a few days. They will
be commanded by skilful seamen, and many others will
sail under the charge of rebel Yankees.
"Recruits are fast pouring into Savannah, and great
preparations are making to join the rebel army in the
border States for an attack upon Washington. There is
great excitement in Savannah, and all Unionism is effectually overawed."
The proclamation of President Davis to legalize piracy,
the taunt and defiance bandied between sections, seemed
as though madness ruled the hour, and that nothing but
a conflict of arms  dreadful as the remedy is  could
16*




186      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
restore reason to its throne. In the noon of the nineteenth century, in this trial hour of our country's dire
calamity, we distrust our power to write aright, but as
the cloud thickens and lowers around us, we stand in the
faith that the God who smiled on the " heritage of the
fathers" will be with the sons, and direct them in their
efforts to save the country now. This is the " Light behind the cloud; " in this faith let the union of the loyal
men be perfect.
Europe has told us we were not a military people;
that partisan policy would triumph over government; but
the test has come, and party is forgotten. Political enemies in peace have become firm friends in war.
It is true, that, when the sixth decade of the nineteenth century came to an end, and the year 1861 was
ushered in, it found the North pursuing their usual quiet
avocations in peace and harmony; the entire free States,
from East to West, wholly unprepared for war, and no
extraordinary anxiety manifested in regard to an invasion
or a dissolution of the Union, and, notwithstanding the
foreshadowing of the coming storm, the North slumbered
on, until the lightnings from Sumter awoke them to the
stern reality that war had overtaken them and found
them sleeping;- no army; the military condition of the
country at the lowest ebb; no navy; no equipments;
no soldiers, with the exception of here and there an independent company, or an isolated regiment which had
become inactive from want of use. These were only a
" drop in the bucket;" but, simultaneously with the fall
of Sumter, an immense army sprang into existence, as
the growth of a single night. New England "blazed"
with musketry; New York arose in her might; Pennsylvania was awake, and the great North-west poured in her
sons to defend the country, and in the brief period of
a few weeks we have an army of two hundred thousand
men, preparing for the conflict to, put down rebellion,.~J




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     187
and subdue the enemies of the government. The pleadings are made up. The trial has commenced. Armed
hundreds of thousands are the jury; and the world is
the court.
We might describe at great length the noble conduct
of many; the services rendered; the generous donations
of moneyed men; the liberal and praiseworthy assistance
of the ladies in making garments for the soldiers and
providing them with little necessaries and comforts; the
tender of benefits, at places of amusement, for soldiers
and their families; the offers of express companies, railroad corporations and shipping merchants, to carry packages, letters and troops free of expense; of physicians,
to give medicine and attendance, free of charge, to the
families of those who had been called away; of heavy
loans to the government, from private citizens as well as
banking houses; of reduction of rents; of generous donations of ready-made clothing for soldiers; of handsome
contributions in churches; of the magnificent display of
flags and decorations by public and private individuals;
but we are inadequate to the task - we cannot do justice
to the subject. It would be impossible to particularize
without omitting the mention of many worthy individuals
whose patriotism was unsurpassed; suffice it to say, that
but one heart, one voice, one feeling predominated.
What was not done by government, was made up by
private individuals; the rich, as with one consent, lifted
upon their shoulders the burden of many families of
those who were gone or going, - assumed responsibilities, and poured out their money for the general good;
and to speak of decorations in national colors, we cannot
better express it than to say, men, women and children,
towns, cities and villages throughout the free States, literally "blazed " with red, white and blue.




CHAPTER X.
The cause is sacred in which they fell,
And holy the tears which flow...
MAY 1. Wednesday.-The bodies of the Massachusetts men, A. O. Whitney and Luther C. Ladd, who died
at Baltimore, were returned to the State from which they
had so recently departed.  also, Sumner H. Needham, of
Company I, Lawrence, who died from a wound (fracture
of the skull) received in the attack on the troops at Baltimore.
Information was received at noon that the bodies were
on their way to Boston, and instant preparations were
made for their proper reception. The Independent Cadets were ordered out to do escort duty, and the call
was promptly answered. At four o'clock they left their
armory, under command of Major Baldwin, and marched
to the depot of the Western Railroad.
The news of the expected arrival was announced in
the Journal and other papers, and spread quickly; and a
large concourse of citizens collected around the depot,
anxiously awaiting the arrival of the train. Governor
Andrew, accompanied by two of his aids, and AdjutantGeneral Schouler, with other gentlemen belonging to
different departments of the State government, came in
hacks to take the bodies into the charge of the State.
The train entered the depot at seven minutes of five,
and the bodies, three in number, laid in metallic coffins,
and then enclosed in pine boxes, were taken from the
cars. They came in the care of Merrill S. Wright, a private of the Richardson Light Infantry, of Lowell, who
188




THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.    189
was detailed by Col. Jones, of the Sixth Regiment, for
that purpose. He left Washington on Monday, arriving
at Baltimore the same evening, and received the bodies
from City Marshal Kane, in whose charge they were. No
objection was made by any of the authorities of the city,
and he left there Tuesday morning and came directly to
Boston. Mr. Wright did not see the bodies, as the coffins
had not been opened since they were put in, and could
say nothing concerning the truth of the statement that
they had been mutilated.
The bodies were placed upon biers which had been prepared, and each being covered by an American flag, they
were borne into the street, where the Cadets had formed
in line, and presented arms, while the band played " Pleyel's Hymn," and all the spectators stood reverentially
with uncovered heads.  The clouds, which had before
darkened the heavens, broke suddenly away, and the sun
looked down brightly upon the scene where thousands of
citizens had gathered with sorrowful hearts to receive the
bodies of the martyrs from Massachusetts who fell in the
cause of government and law. Hearses were in attendance, in which the coffins were placed, and, surrounded by
the Cadets, they moved slowly from the depot. The Governor and the gentlemen who accompanied him, with Mr.
Wright, who had the bodies in charge, followed in carriages. The military marched with arms reversed, and
the band played solemn dirges as the funeral cortege
passed along the streets, which were crowded with people,
all preserving a religious silence. The procession passed
through Washington Street to West, and thence up Tremont to the State House, over the same spot as that on
which they stood but two weeks before and received the
banner in defence of which they had fought so bravely.
No halt was made until, marching down Beacon Street,
they reached King's Chapel, at the corner of School and
Tremont Streets, in the vault of which the remains were
16*




190      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
deposited, with the same ceremonies which had characterized their reception at the depot.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, COUNCIL CHAMBER, t
BOSTON, May 1, 1861.
Hon. B. C. Serg-eant, Mayor of Lowell:SIR: Mr. Merrill S. Wright, of Lowell, arrived at Boston this afternoon at five o'clock, in charge of the remains
of those Massachusetts men who fell at Baltimore on the
19th of April. I met these relics of our brave and patriotic soldiers at the Worcester Railroad depot, accompanied by my military staff and the Executive Council,
where we took them in charge, and, under the escort of
the corps of Independent Cadets, bore them through our
streets, thronged by sympathizing citizens, and placed
them in the " Vassall" tomb beneath the ancient King's
Chapel, at the corner of Tremont and School Streets.
There they remain, subject to the orders of those friends
who have the right to decide their final disposition. But
it would be most grateful to the Executive Department, in
cooperation with those nearest to the lamented dead, to
assist in the last funeral honors to their memory; and I
should be pleased to meet you and the Mayor of Lawrence and the Selectmen of Stoneham, as soon as you
may convene them, at the State House, to consider the
arrangements suitable to the occasion.
I am, yours respectfully,
JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor.
During the passage of the procession through the
streets the flags on the City Hall and at other points
were displayed at half-mast; and several stores on Washington Street -Macullar, Williams & Parker, Kinmonth &
Co., George Turnbull & Co., H. M. Smith, Raymond
& Cary, G. W. Warren & Co., Washington Building,
Shreve, Brown & Co., Williams & Everett, and others



THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.     191
were draped in black, and showed other emblems of
mourning.
The American flag was raised on the steeple of the Old
South Church, Boston, with appropriate ceremonies.
The steam transport Cambridge sailed with supplies
for the Massachusetts troops at Fort Monroe, Annapolis
and Washington, and about one hundred and fifty troops
for the seat of war, including Captain Dodd's company of
Rifles, nineteen recruits for the New Bedford City Guards
at Fort Monroe, ten men for the Taunton Light Guard,
and forty-two recruits for Company K, Third Regiment,
stationed at Fort Monroe.  She carried, in addition to
the volunteer troops, a squad of twelve picked men, from
the United States Marine corps, to act as a permanent
guard to the steamer.  The troops were supplied with
forty thousand rounds of musket and rifle cartridges, and
ammunition for the rifled cannon and broadside guns.
The troops, glowing with health and youthful enthusiasm,
were in the best possible spirits, and, as the steamer
glided into the stream, returned with hearty cheers the
parting salutations of their friends. When fairly clear of
the wharf, a salute was fired from a heavy broadside gun.
Governor Buckinghanm, of Connecticut, in his message,
recommends an efficient State militia; says that forty-one
volunteer companies have already been accepted, and
the Fifth Regiment will soon be full; that all parties are
acting in harmony on the question; and, referring to the
attitude of the South, he remarks:"The alternative of submitting to their claims, or to
the overthrow  of the government, is now presented.
The issue is forced upon us, and must be met; not by
cowardice and humble subserviency to usurped authority,
but by firmness corresponding with the magnitude of the
interests at hazard, and in a spirit that shall vindicate the
insulted majesty of a nation. The sceptre of authority
must be upheld, and allegiance secured. It is no time to




192      THE REBELLION IN THE UNITED STATES.
make concession to rebels, or parley with men in arms.
We must make no sacrifices of principles vital to freedom,
and no indecent haste for conciliation and peace.' God
makes haste slowly.'
" This is the day of our trial. Freedom and despotism,
republicanism and absolutism, civilization and religion,
from every corner of this earth, are watching with intense
interest, as we vibrate between law and anarchy...
"But indifferent or disloyal we cannot be. Fail or falter we shall not.  Through and beyond the clouds and
darkness of the present I think I see a bright and glorious future. I hear, too, above the roar and shock of
battle, prophetic voices -voices of the patriot dead, who
fell at Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, and on
every bloody field of the Revolution. They bid us look
over this broad land, with its teeming millions, and all its
wealth of prosperity, and to remember that it is the purchase of their blood.  What they did for themselves,
their children, and us, their children's children, they call
on us to do for ourselves and ours. The liberties they
conquered have been to us a proud heritage of freedom
and national renown for more than three-quarters of a
century. Be it ours to reconquer those liberties, and, by
the blessing of God, transmit them, unimpaired, as a
priceless legacy to those who come after us."
END OF VOL. I.