; .■<-'-\> '^ CHILDRENSI Life. OF "s Lincoln M.UOUfSt PUTNAM ^. * * * :^ • * ,^ LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER LINCOLN AT HIS MOTHER'S KNEE. {See page 19.) THE CHILDREN'S LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN BY M. LOUISE PUTNAM CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 1892 Copyright By a. C. McClurg and Co. A.D. 1892 '"''> S?1 TO THE CHILDREN ALL OVER THE WORLD, EW 5Littlc Book • IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED By THE Author. PREFACE. HIS book does not claim to be written for the amusement of chil- dren. The market is already flooded with most desirable works of that description ; and it is be- lieved that parents will welcome an occasional book of pure instruction for young minds. The author's experience with children has led to the conviction that the late War of Secession has created a desire in their minds to know more of the machinery of government than is usually found in works written for them. This impression, together with the absorbing inter- est which pertains to all that concerns our late dear chief, has led to the preparation of this work. His state-papers are so clear and logical, and at the same iv Preface. time so attractive, even when treating of abstruse subjects, that a child of twelve years can gain some understanding of them. And surely no richer legacy can be bestowed upon our youth than the recorded wisdom of our Martyred President. M. L. p. Boston, September, 1892. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAOE Birth of Abraham Lincoln. — Angel Visitors. — He begins his Education. — Incidents of his Childhood. — He re- moves to Indiana 13 CHAPTER II. The Journey. — Arrival. — He helps to build a Log-cabin. — Continues his Education. — Learns to Shoot. — -His Mother's Illness and Death. — His Grief. — He obtains New Books. — Learns to Write. — His First Letter. — His Mother's Funeral Sermon 29 CHAPTER III. His New Mother. — Her Kindness. — Abe goes to School. —The Buck's Horn. — The Ruined Book. — School In- cidents. — Abe leaves School. — Goes to New Orleans in a Flat-boat. — Dangers of the Trip. — Safe Return. — Death of his Sister 36 CHAPTER IV. Removal to Illinois. — Incidents of the Journey. — Arrival. — He builds a Log-cabin. — Splits Rails. — Goes to seek his Fortune. — The Armstrongs. — Goes to New Orleans. — Life in New Salem. — Pursues his Education by Himself 47 VI Contents. CHAPTER V. Black Hawk War. — Mr. Lincoln is nominated for the Lecris- lature, but is defeated. — He buys a Store. — Become"^ a Surveyor. — He is chosen to the Legislature. — Decides to become a Lawyer. — A Long Walk. — He is admitted to the Bar. — Trial of Young Armstrong. — Mr. Lin- coln's Marriage CHAPTER VI. Explanation of the United States Government. — Presi- dential Campaign of i S44. — Lincoln is chosen Repre- sentative to Congress. — Annexation of Texas. — The Mexican War. —The Wilmot Proviso. — The Tariff . CHAPTER VIL General Taylor elected President. - Lincoln practises his Profession. —Takes the Political Field in 1854. — Repeal of the Missouri Compromise. — Judge Trumbull elected Senator . . . CHAPTER VIIL The Republican Party. - The Presidential Campaign of 1856. — Buchanan's Election. — Kansas. — The bred Scott Decision CHAPTER IX. Speeches of Lincoln and Douglas. — Lincoln visits Kan- sas, Ohio, and New York. — Speech at Cooper Institute. — At Five Points CHAPTER X. The Presidential Campaign of i860. — The Republican Convention at Chicago. — Lincoln elected President 51 58 71 n 86 97 Contents. vii CHAPTER XI. PACE Commencement of Secession Movement. — General Scott's Anxiety. — Defection of Buchanan and his Cabinet. — Anderson's Removal to Fort Sumter. — South Carolina secedes. — Secret Meeting of Jefferson Davis and other Traitors. — Other States secede. — Their Congressmen resign their Seats at Washington. — Convention of Se- ceded States at Montgomery. — Jefferson Davis is cho- sen President, Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President. — The Confederacy prepares for War. — Congress tries to conciliate loi CHAPTER XII. Lincoln leaves Springfield. — Farewell. — His Arrival at Tolono, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Steubenville, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Troy, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Peekskill, New York, Trenton, Philadelphia, Harrisburg. — Plot to take his Life. — His Safe Arrival at Washington — Lin- coln's Address no CHAPTER XIII. Lincoln's Inauguration. — Personal Appearance. — Habits 127 CHAPTER XIV. Pre.sident Lincoln chooses his Cabinet. — The " Star of the West."— Anderson's Letter. — The President's Dilemma. — Surrender of Fort Sumter demanded and refused.— Bombardment of Fort Sumter. — Anderson Surrenders. — Exultation of the South. — Indignation of the North . 133 CHAPTER XV. President Lincoln calls for Troops. — Enthusiasm at the North. — Virginia secedes. — Letters of Marque. — Blockade. — President Lincoln improvises a Navy. — Calls for more Troops 15° viii Contents. CHAPTER XVI. PAGE Secession Sympathizers. — Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. — Recognition of the Rebels as Bel- ligerents by Foreign Powers 159 CHAPTER XVII. Special Session of Congress. — The President's Message. — Defeat of our Troops at Bull Run. — McClellan succeeds McDowell. — Union Successes on the Coast. — Disaster at Ball's Bluff. — Scott's Resignation. — McClellan suc- ceeds Scott. — Dranesville. — The Trent Affair ... 168 CHAPTER XVIII. The President's Order. — Yorktown. — Williamsburg. — Advance of the Army. — McClellan's Retreat to James River. — Pope succeeds McClellan. — McClellan suc- ceeds Pope. — South Mountain. — Antietam. — Burn- side succeeds McClellan. — Union Successes in the West. — Capture of New Orleans. — Report by Congress on the Conduct of the War 184 CHAPTER XIX. The President's Position in regard to Slavery. — Meeting of Congress. — Confiscation Bill. — The Border States. — — Slavery in the Territories and District of Columbia abolished. — Emancipation Proclamation. — Confederate Cruisers. — Action of Mr. Adams 198 CHAPTER XX. Hooker succeeds Burnside. — Fredericksburg. — Meade succeeds Hooker. — Gettysburg. — Vicksburg. — Port Hudson. — Dedication of the Battlefield of Gettysburg. — The President's Thanksgiving Proclamation . . . 212 Contents. ix CHAPTER XXI. PAGE The French Emperor. — Congress. — The President's Mes- sage . — Arming of the Blacks. — Conscription Bill. — The Draft. — Riot in New York. — Vallandigham. — Rebel Rams 223 CHAPTER XXII. Congress. — Amnesty Proclamation. — General Grant. — Presidential Campaign. — Lincoln re-elected. — His Re- ception of the News 242 CHAPTER XXIII. Congress. — The President's Message. — A Constitutional Amendment. — The Peace Conference. — The Second Inauguration of Lincoln 251 CHAPTER XXIV. General Grant. — General Sherman. — Grant's Campaign against Richmond. — General Sheridan. — Sherman's Grand March. — Savannah. — Fort Fisher. — Peters- burg and Richmond Evacuated. — President Lincoln enters Richmond. — Surrender of Lee. — Celebrations. — The President's Last Speech 259 CHAPTER XXV. The President at Breakfast. — Cabinet Meeting at the Theatre. — Assassination of the President by Booth. — The President's Death. — Public Grief and Indignation. — His Funeral. — Triumphal March. — Burial. — Re- flections 274 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Lincoln at his Mother's Knee .... Frontispiece Abe learning to Talk 17 "An Indian darted out" 21 Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln 27 Lincoln starts for School in a new Coon-Skin Cap 37 Abe on the Stump 43 Lincoln's First Lesson in Law 73 Lincoln addressing the Five-Points Mission . . 93 Off to the War 153 A Volunteer 188 "He died for us" 197 President Lincoln signing the Emancipation Pro- clamation 207 Thanksgiving Day — Home again! 221 Draft Riots, July 14, 1863 235 "Bress de Lawd!" 271 The Drummer-Boy and the President .... 2S7 Pax 291 THE CHILDREN'S LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN CHAPTER I. Birth of Abraham Lincoln. — Ano^el Visitors. Education. Indiana. He begins his Incidents of his Childhood. — He removes to N an old log-hut with- out a floor, and with scarcely anything in it that could be called fur- niture, in a more miser- able and forlorn-looking cabin than you, my dear children, probably ever saw in all your lives, on a cold winter's day more thau seventy-six years ago, a little baby was born. The precise day on which this event occurred was the 12th of February, in the year of our Lord 14 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincohi. 1809. The spot on which this hovel stood was near the banks of a river in the State of Kentucky, in what was then called Hardin County, but now bears the name of La Rue. You would hardly believe that a little, tender, new- born baby could live, much less grow and thrive, in such an uncomfortable place as this poor hut. There were great cracks between the logs, where the snow and rain and sleet came driving in at pleasure, and at night the stars were plainly to be seen shining through chinks in the roof; so that with all the fire that could possibly be kept roaring up the wide chimney, I doubt not we should have found ourselves in a fear- fully cold place, if we had made a visit to this same log-hut on the 12th of February, in the year 1809. But notwithstanding the poor old cabin was so cold and so bare, I think it next to certain that it had visitors on that day. I am sure that a band of holy angels must have descended from their heavenly abode and filled this lowly dwelling with their sacred presence, commissioned by the dear Lord himself to watch over and protect this infant, whose career was to be so wonderful. For when our Saviour was upon earth he said some very remarkable words about children. He said to his disciples one day, " Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones ; for Birth of Abraham Lincoln. 15 I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." These words show that the guardian angels of chil- dren dwell in the immediate presence of God, and indicate how precious the little ones are in his sight. This new-born infant was a boy, although I believe I omitted to tell you that. He was a fine, healthy child, and was called Abraham. His father was Thomas Lincoln, and his mother, Nancy Hanks Lin- coln. Abraham had one brother, who died in child- hood ; he also had a sister, a few years older than himself, who lived to womanhood. His sister, I doubt not, was very much delighted with her little brother Abraham, and very proud when her mother allowed her to sing him to sleep, or per- haps rock him in the rude cradle which his father managed to construct from the scanty materials within his reach. As the baby grew older, doubtless his sister patiently taught him to use his feet until he could walk, and hour by hour said over to him, as they lay on the beautiful green grass in front of their homely cabin, the words " father," " mother," " sister," until Abraham could say them himself. She little knew, this kind, good girl, that in helping to rear her dear baby brother she was doing something for every- body in these whole United States. And this should teach you, my children, to be patient and kind and 1 6 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. gentle to that little baby brother or sister of yours ; for you do not know how good or great the little one may become. It did not seem probable that this little Abraham, whose parents were so very poor, would ever be known much beyond a few neighbors as poor and obscure as themselves. But I hope to be able to show you in these pages that he finally became one of the greatest men that ever lived. We do not know much with certainty concerning his childhood before he was about seven years old. It was at this period that Abraham, or " Abe," as all the family called him, began to go to school, — not to such an one as you are blessed with, with your pleas- ant, comfortable school-houses, and nice, new books, and above all your refined and able teachers, but to a miserable cabin, not unlike the one he lived in. He carried an old, tattered spelling-book under his arm, and had a teacher who barely knew how to read and write. But Abe, as we must now call him, since everybody else did, thought it a glorious affair to go to school at all. as indeed it was. Very few children in that region ever saw a school, or knew what it meant. Their parents were for the most part very ignorant people, and not knowing how to read or write them- selves did not consider it necessary that their chil- > w r > 5 o H O r TJic Family Bible. 19 dren should be any wiser than they, Mr. and Mrs. Lincohi, however, were superior both in talents and acquirements to most of their neighbors, yet we should consider their education very limited. Mrs. Lincoln could read quite well, but, according to some authorities, could not write, though the latest claim that she could ; but all agree, I believe, that her husband could do neither, except that he was able to scrawl his name in a rude manner, which he and his friends managed to decipher. Even this acquire- ment was due to the instruction of his wife. But they both knew the value of learning, and de- termined to give their son all the advantages they could, which at that time did not promise to be many. Abe himself was very eager to be taught to read. There was no church for many miles around, and on Sundavs his mother, who was a most excellent Chris- tian woman, was accustomed to spend a great portion of the day in reading to her family from the Bible. Little Abe would listen with the greatest attention and delight to those wonderful Bible stories of Joseph and Moses and Samuel and Daniel, and a host of others ; but more than all, how the Lord Jesus Christ was born in a manger. Abe said to himself, — " It would be very nice to read all those stories out of a book, as- mother does; and I will try as hard as ever I can to learn." 20 The CJiildreti's Life of Abraham Lincohi. In consequence of his good resolution he was quickly able to spell out easy words, and often car- ried home his old spelling-book and studied all the evening. Abe, as we have said, was very fond of stories ; and it was one of his greatest pleasures to hear all about the exploits of his grandfather, for whom he was named. I can imagine that upon some cold, stormy night, when the wind was howling and moaning through all the cracks and crevices of the miserable dwelling, and shaking and rocking it so hard that it seemed every instant as if it would tumble down about their ears, Mr. Lincoln, who w^as a kind-hearted man and loved to make all his family happy, would pile the old chimney high with logs, until there was a glorious, blaz- ing fire that made the little cabin as light as day; then, sitting down in the corner and taking his little son upon his knee, he would say: "Now, my boy, I 'm going to tell you about your grandfather; this is a good night for stories." Then Abe would sit and listen till his hair stood on end and his blood chilled, as his father told him all about those perilous times. "I was only six years old," he said, "when my father was killed. One morning, when he was going out to work, he took my two older brothers and me Indian Stories. 21 with him. We had gone but a {q\n rods from our home, when an Indian darted out from behind a tree and killed our father before our eyes. My younger "an INDIAN DARTED OUT." brother started for the fort, which was a good way off, for help; but Mordecai, my eldest brother, ran to our cabin for his musket, for he meant to kill the Indian. He climbed up into the loft, where he could see the savage plainly, and take good aim. There was some- 22 TJie Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. thing on the red man's breast that served Mordecai for a target. He aimed at that; and the Indian was dead in a minute, for Mordecai was a famous shot. " All this time I was alone with my dead father. I was too frightened to run or do anything but cry. The Indian, just before Mordecai shot him, seeing that both of my brothers had gone and left me alone, was coming up to grab me and carry me off, when he fell dead at my feet. Then I screamed louder than ever, and should have gone crazy if Mordecai had not rushed out of our cabin and come to me. He took me in his arms and tried to soothe me. I can see it all as plainly as if it happened yesterday. I did not get over the fright for a long time." It appears that Abe's grandfather and father, too, were born in old Virginia, in Rockingham County. But the grandfather decided when his son Thomas, Abe's father, was a little bo}', to mo\'e with all his family to the State of Kentucky. This event occurred about the year 1780. At that time Kentucky was not a State, it was only a Territory ; and the country where Mr. Lincoln settled was all a wilderness. There were no roads, no paths, even, only as the settlers made them by cutting down the trees and thick underbrush which grew in their way. There were no houses of any description, ex- cept a few rude huts, scattered here and there in the Perils of the Pioneers. 23 dense forests. Abe's grandfather selected a spot for his dwelhng a mile or two away from anybody else. The woods were full of Indians running about in every direction. They were very cruel to white people, often murdering whole families. The first thing to be done in a new country like this is to " clear the land." All the trees within a certain space must be cut down, and all the under- brush cleared away. Sometimes the ground is burned over, and various other things are done to get the land into a proper condition to be cultivated. Whenever these new settlers went out to clear their land they were obliged, on account of the barbarity of the Indians, to take their guns as well as their axes. The guns were kept constantly loaded, that they might be discharged at a moment's warning. But notwith- standing these precautions, settlers were often killed. Abe's grandfather was more fortunate than many of his neighbors. He got on very pleasantly v/ith the Indians for three or four years, and doubtless he and his family began to feel quite secure, and thought the Indians would never molest them. But, alas ! one day, when Mr. Lincoln went out to clear a piece of land, the terrible tragedy occurred which wc have related. Abe's grandmother was now a widow and very poor, with three boys and two girls to take care of, 24 The Children's Life of AbraJiam Lincoln. which was more than she could do without assistance. So all the children were obliged to go away from home, except Thomas, Abe's father, who lived with his mother until he was twelve years old, when he, too, left her. Little Abe was never tired of hearing about these strange, perilous times, and asked his father more questions about them than he was able to answer ; for even at that early age Abe showed a very dis- criminating mind, and wanted a reason for every- thing. When he had been a short time at the school of Mr. Hazel, — for that was his master's name, — and was just beginning to read short and easy words, his education was interrupted. Mr. Thomas Lincoln, who had for a long time been discontented in Kentucky on account of its being a slave State, where it was considered a disgrace to work for one's own living, and where poor white peo- ple often did not fare as well as the slaves themselves, now decided that he could not live there any longer, and that he must sell his little farm and move away. It was not very easy finding a purchaser for so small and poor an estate as his ; but at length a man made his appearance who said he would buy it if he and Mr. Lincoln could agree upon the terms. Mr. Lincoln's price was three hundred dollars. This man said he had but little nioney, but had some The Price of the Farm. 25 whiskey, and would give ten barrels of whiskey worth twenty-eight dollars a barrel, and twenty dol- las in money, for the farm. You will see, children, if you reckon it up, that this amounted to Mr. Lincoln's price. He did not altogether like the proposition, however, because he wished to move away quite a long distance into another State, and if he could sell his farm for money, he could put that in his pocket, where it would give him no trouble. But ten barrels of whiskey would n't go into any- body's pocket, and it was very hard telling what to do with it. He did not want to drink it because he was a temperate man, and he could not sell it there ; so if he took it, it was plain that he must carry it with him. It was a difficult question to decide how to move such cumbersome property through a coun- try where for much of the distance there was no road at all. After some reflection, however, and talking the matter over with his wife, who was a woman of excellent judgment, he decided to accept the man's offer and take the whiskey and the twenty dollars. As I have already told you, Mr. Lincoln's cabin stood near the banks of a river. It is called the Rolling Fork River, and emptie^ into the Ohio. You know that the Ohio is a large river, separating the State of Kentucky from the State of Indiana. Mr. Lincoln decid'ed to seek his future home in 26 TJic CJiildrais Life of Abraham Lincoln. Indiana. So he concluded to build a flat-boat, — a rude sort of an affair not unlike a raft, which was often used at that time for transporting produce from one place to another. Mr. Lincoln accordingly began his boat ; and al- though little Abe was not yet eight years old, he was of great assistance to his father. When the boat was finished and launched, Mr. Lincoln loaded it with the ten barrels of whiskey, a few household goods, and some carpenter's tools, and pushed off for Indiana. He intended to float down the Rolling Fork into the Ohio, and then at a proper place cross the Ohio River. He succeeded in getting boat and cargo safely to the Ohio ; but pretty soon after this was accomplished his boat upset, and down went whiskey and everything else, as well as himself, into the water. Fortunately there was no other person on the boat at the time. He had thought best to leave his family behind until he had first selected a suitable place for a home, when he was to return for them. Thus he was all alone. But some men on the op- posite bank witnessed the accident, and called out to Mr. Lincoln to hold on to his boat till they could get to him. Another boat was at hand, into which they quickly jumped and were soon at his side. They succeeded in righting Mr. Lincoln's craft and Seekins^ a New Home. 27 saving several barrels of the whiskey and a few other things, but all the rest was swept away. Mr. Lincoln, however, was n't a bit discouraged ; he started ofif again quite cheerfully with the remains of the wreck, and proceeding down the river to Thompson's Ferry, landed safely in Indiana. There ^■^^rui^ BIRTHPLACE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. he found a man who agreed to guide him into the in- terior of the country and take the boat in payment for his services. To this Mr. Lincoln was glad to con- sent, as he had no further use for the boat. Mr. Lin- coln's place of destination was Spencer County, and to reach it was a formidable undertaking. It was necessary to cut a road the entire distance through a dense and almost impenetrable forest. 28 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. By dint of great perseverance and much hard labor eighteen miles of this difficult work were accomplished. But Mr. Lincoln often said, in speaking of it after- ward, that one of the hardest things he ever did was to get from Thompson's Ferry to Spencer County. He looked about this new country which it had cost him so much toil to reach, and at length selected a spot for his new home. Having done this, he con- signed his small property to one of the neighbors, and set out on foot for Kentucky. His family were waiting for him ; and in a few days their prepara- tions had been completed, and they were all ready to bid good-by to the old homestead and proceed to Indiana. CHAPTER II. The Journey. — Arrival. — He helps to build a Log-cabin. — Continues his Education. — Learns to Shoot. — His Mothers Illness and Death. — His Grief. — He obtains New Books. — Learns to Write. — His First Letter. — His Mothers Funeral Sermon. F you could have seen Mr. Lincoln and his family equipped for this journey, children, I think you would have laughed. They had no wagon, and were to go on horse- back. Abe's mother and sister were both mounted upon one horse. Abe had an animal all to himself, as had also his father ; but their horses were loaded down with bimdles and packages strapped on in every direction, and presented a very grotesque ap- pearance. Little space was left for the riders; in- deed, Mr. Lincoln walked most of the way, leading his horse. In this manner they proceeded seven whole days over a wild and uninhabited region, tying their horses to trees when they were too tired or too hungry to go on any farther, and for their own refresh- ment eating a bit of dry bread or cold meat which they had brought with them. 30 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. And when night came, what do you suppose they did for a bedroom? Why, they spread a blanket on the ground, and all lay down together under a tree, with another blanket over them, the green boughs arching high overhead. There they all slept as soundly as you do, tucked into your nice, warm beds. At the end of seven days Mr. Lincoln told his family they had reached their new home; but they had only come to a great clump of green trees, without any house at all. They were obliged to sleep on the ground as usual that night; but in the morning they awoke quite re- freshed, and Mr. Lincoln told Abe that he must help him clear some land on which to build a cabin. So Abe took his hatchet and went to work, chopping away right merrily. By and by a neighbor who lived two or three miles away came to help them, and brought them something good for dinner, which you may be sure was very acceptable. They all worked, Mrs. Lincoln lending her aid, and in a short time had constructed a temporary shelter, in the form of a shed enclosed on three sides, the fourth being open to the weather. This was better than nothing, and served them for a year, by which time they had erected a log-cabin, about eighteen feet square. This rude structure con- sisted of but one room, and had no floor but the The Young Hmiter. 31 beaten ground. A chamber, however, was contrived for Abe, by placing some slabs across the logs over- head, and a rude ladder served for a staircase. A bedstead, a table, and four stools were hewn out of the rough logs, and then the house was pronounced finished and furnished. The shed was built in the autumn. As soon as the winter set in, Abe began to study- again, with his mother for a teacher. She took great pains with him, and he amply repaid her by improv- ing rapidly in his reading and spelling, and before the winter was over had mastered their whole library, which consisted of three books, — the Bible, the Cate- chism, and the old spelling-book from which Abe had learned to read. But he did not spend all his time in study ; no child could do that. Sometimes with his father he chopped down trees, and sometimes he practised rifle-shooting. It was of great importance in those new countries to be a good shot, because there were no butcher's carts or meat-shops or markets of any kind. When a piece of meat was wanted for dinner, somebody must go out and shoot some game. Abe practised until he became an excellent shot, and one day killed a wild turkey, which made them a good dinner. They lived in this manner very happily for about two years, when one day Abe's mother was taken 32 TJie Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln . very ill. The family were much alarmed, and tried to do something for her relief. The neighbors came and were very kind, but nobody could think of any- thing which made the poor woman any better. The doctor could not be sent for, because he lived forty miles away ; so the poor, sick woman was obliged to lie and suffer upon her hard bed, with nothing to ease the dreadful pain. One day she called little Abe to her side, and told him she thought she was going to die. Poor, poor child ! what terrible words were these ! He loved his mother with all the strength of his loving heart, and he did not see how he could live without her. His mother tried to calm him, and told him he must lis- ten to her dying words and always remember and obey them, and then some day God would let him come and live with her in a beautiful world where nobody would ever be sick or die, or have to say good-by any more. She told him he must always remember to keep God's day holy, as she had taught him ; that he must never tell lies, or say wicked words ; and above all, that every day he must read a chapter in the Bible, and say his prayers every night and morning. Little Abe promised to mind his mother faithfully, and we have reason to think he did so as long as he lived. Mrs. Lincoln was in every respect a remarkable Deatli of Airs. Lincoln. 33 woman. She was truly Christian in all her deeds, and little Abe knew that his mother always practised the very things she required of him. It was, doubtless, owing in a great degree to his mother's influence that he was so honest, truthful, and upright all his life. Abe's mother grew worse and worse, and after a few weeks of severe suffering died and left her stricken family. Poor little Abe sobbed out to one of the neighbors who came in : "I have n't any mother now." Amid many tears, prayers were said over the dear body, and then they carried it out and buried it under a beautiful tree. This was all the funeral they could have at that time, because there was no clergyman for many miles around. Abe grieved sorely for his dear mother, and was so lonely without her that he did not know what to do with himself. His father felt very sorry for him, and sought to comfort him by saying that he would try to get a new book for him to read. But a book was a very difficult thing to obtain in that region. No family could boast of more than a very few, and many and many a house had not one. But soon afterward Mr. Lincoln visited a friend who lived about twenty miles distant, and there, to his great delight, he found an old, soiled copy of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. He instantly borrowed it for Abe. When he got home and showed this treasure 3 34 T]ie Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. to his son, the boy's eyes sparkled, and he was so de- Hghted that he could neither eat nor sleep. He fairly devoured the book, and was by no means content with one reading. When he was about half-way through it the second time, a lady came to see him and brought another book, ^sop's Fables, which she gave to Abe for a present. This was a prize, indeed, and Abe felt as happy and rich as a king. He read these fables until he could repeat them ; and some persons have thought this book developed in him that remarkable love for stories for which he was so famous all his life. Not long after this another blessing fell to Abe. A young man moved into the neighborhood who knew how to write, and he offered to teach Abe if he desired it. This was a splendid offer, and Abe accepted it with all his heart. He wanted to begin that very day. His teacher could not attend to it then, but promised to do so very soon. Abe's writing-book was the top of the table, and his pen a piece of chalk. He wrote all over the cabin stools, and sometimes on the trunks of trees, with a stick burned at one end, for his father was too poor to give him pen or paper. Notwithstanding all these disadvantages he made rapid improvement in this, as in everything else he undertook, and soon was able to write his name. Once with a stick he Mrs. Lincoln s Funeral Sermon. 35 wrote " Abraham Lincoln " on the ground in his father's corn-field. Little did he dream that the name which he thus wrote on the soil of Indiana would one day be inscribed by his public acts upon every one of these United States in letters of gold, that shall shine beyond the brightness of the sun so long as the world shall stand. In less than a year from the time when he be- gan this branch of his education Abe was able to write a letter for his father. This letter was an invi- tation to the clergyman who used sometimes to preach for them in Kentucky, to come and deliver a funeral sermon at the grave of Mrs. Lincoln. The letter was about three months on its way. The minister accepted the invitation, and upon his arrival word was sent around to all the neighbors. People came from far and near to hear the sermon, some from a distance of fifteen miles. Some trav- elled on horseback, some in ox-carts, while many came on foot. It was a great event, as they seldom heard a sermon of any kind ; but they were particu- larly desirous to hear this, for Mrs. Lincoln was much loved and respected. It was soon noised /abroad that Abe wrote the letter inviting the min- ister to come, for Mr. Lincoln was so proud of it that he told of it. After this Abe had plenty of let- ters to write. All the neighbors employed him to write theirs. CHAPTER III. His New Mother. — Her Kindness. — Abe goes to School. — The Buck's Horn. — The Ruined Book. — School Inci- dents. — Abe leaves School. — Goes to New Orleans in a Flat-boat. — Dangers of the Trip. — Safe Return. — Death of his Sister. BOUT one year after the death of his wife Mr. Lin- cohi married Mrs. Sally Johnston, a widow, with three children of her own. She was a superior woman and an excellent m o t h e r. Abe loved her dearly, and almost felt as if his own dear mother had come back. Mrs. Lincoln was also very fond of Abe, SCHOOL- IN^A Holiest Abe. 39 and treated him with the greatest kindness, doing all she could to promote his education. About this time a certain Mr. Crawford moved into the neighborhood and opened a school. He could read and write, and also knew something about arithmetic. Abe's mother, as we shall henceforth call her, wanted very much to have Abe attend Mr. Crawford's school. So she dressed him up as nicely as she could. She made him a cap out of a raccoon skin, and a jacket and trousers of dressed buckskin. His father hunted up an old arithmetic for him ; and thus equipped, Abe started off for school, very proud and happy. He was persev^ering, industrious, and obedient; and Mr. Crawford became very much at- tached to him. But Abe's greatest charm in his teacher's eyes was his perfect truthfulness. Mr. Crawford said he did not think anything could induce the boy to tell a lie. It is related that a buck's horns were nailed to the back of Mr. Crawford's house, and one day they were found broken. Mr. Crawford went into the school- room and said, " Boys, somebody has broken my buck's horns. Do any of you know who did it?" "Yes, sir," said Abe, "I did it. I was hanging on them with my whole weight, and they broke right off. I did not think they would break or I should not have done it, and I am very sorry." This frank 40 TJic CJdldreiis Life of AbraJiani Lincoln. avowal of the whole truth pleased Mr. Crawford so much that he forgot all about the buck's horns and forgave Abe immediately. But Abe soon had a still stronger test of his truth- fulness and honesty. Some months after this occur- rence, and after Abe had finished his term of school, he found that Mr. Crawford owned Ramsay's " Life of Washington." He had read Weems's " Life of Wash- ington," but he wanted very much to read this one too ; so with his father's permission he borrowed the book. Mr. Crawford was very happy to lend it, and told Abe to keep it as long as he chose. Abe was delighted, and promised to be very careful. He meant to keep his word ; but alas ! one fatal night, when he had nearly completed it, a violent storm arose, and the wind blew the rain through a crack in the side of the house all over the borrowed book. When he came down in the morning, it was drenched through and almost ruined. Poor fellow ! he did n't know what to do, but he went and told his mother. She kindly sympathized with him, and carefully dried the book before the fire ; but the covers were warped, and its appearance was spoiled. Abe soon decided what to do. He took the book under his arm and walked over to Mr. Crawford's, and showing it to him told him how it happened. " Now, sir," said Abe, when he had finished the story, The Peacemaker. 41 " I must pay you for this book, but I have n't a cent of money in the world ; but I will do any kind of work for you that you ask, until you think I have paid for it." So Abe promised to cut a whole field of corn-fodder, and it took him three days to do it. As he was about to leave the house, Mr. Crawford said, " Since you are to work to pay for the book, it is yours, and you can take it home." " No, sir," re- plied Abe; "the book is mine when I have paid for it. I have not yet done the work." And he would not take it until the task was accomplished. Abe thus endeared himself very much to Mr. Crawford, who felt sure that here was a boy who could be trusted anywhere. Abe's schoolmates did not love him less than did his teacher. They used to call him their peacemaker; for if any dispute arose among them, Abe could always settle it. If any accident occurred, Abe was always willing to take more than his share of the blame. He was very tender-hearted, too, and could not endure to see pain inflicted upon animals. If he saw his playmates torturing a frog or a fly for sport, as boys sometimes will do, Abe always persuaded them out of it. He often amused his companions by mount- ing a stump and making speeches to them. As I have already told you, there were no churches in that region, but occasionally a travelling minister 42 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. came among them, and then a meeting was called, and Sunday was observed in the usual manner. Abe had such an excellent memory that when he had once heard a thing he remembered it so correctly as to be able to repeat a great portion of it. Accord- ingly, the next day after a visit from one of these travelling ministers, Abe would mount a stump, and preach the sermon over again to his playmates almost exactly as it was delivered the day before. He was a most generous boy, too, and was always willing to deny himself a pleasure for the sake of obliging others. And another thing: he was never late at school; the boys often said that he was the first one on the ground. Abe's term of school with Mr. Crawford amounted to only a few months, so that all the school education he ever had in his life amounted to less than one year. His parents regretted exceedingly that they could not do more for him, but they were very poor and needed his help. But they made great efforts to obtain new books for him. His mother bought the "Life of Henry Clay" for him, which greatly interested him. He admired the character of Henry Clay, and ever after called himself a " Clay Whig." Abe also possessed the " Life of Benjamin Franklin " and " Plutarch's Lives." While under Mr. Crawford's tuition he advanced in The Wood-Chopper. 43 ABE ON THE STUMP. arithmetic as far as the rule of three, or simple pro- portion. After he left school his days were spent in chopping down trees, for he was very skilful with his 44 ^/^^' Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. axe, and being strong and healthy and large for his age, was able to accomplish almost as much as a man. But his evenings were spent in hard study; he did not mean that what little knowledge he had ob- tained should rust. When he could no longer hav^e a teacher, it is wonderful how much he was able to accomplish. The neighbors looked upon him as a prodigy, and his parents were very proud of him, as well they might be of a son who was so honest, ener- getic, persevering, and industrious. Abe passed his youth in this manner, assisting his father in various kinds of outdoor labor until he was nineteen years of age. One day about this time a man came to see Mr. Lincoln, and said he should like to hire Abe to go to New Orleans for him on a flat-boat, and that he would give him ten dollars a month. Abe's eyes sparkled when he heard of this propo- sition. Ten dollars a month was a great deal of money for him to earn. It looked like a small fortune to him. Besides, he wanted to see some- thing of the world, for he had never been more than a few miles beyond his father's cabin. This man who wished to employ him had a son about Abe's age, and the plan was to have these two boys take a flat-boat loaded with various stores to New Orleans. Mr. Lincoln told Abe he could go if he chose, Down the Mississippi. 45 although he would find it very hard work. But as Abe cared no more for hard work than you care for play, he said that was nothing, and he should like to go. So the expedition was decided upon, and Abe seems to have been the captain. The flat-boat was loaded up, and when all was ready the two boys set off in great glee; but they found that the trip not only caused them some hard work, but was attended with considerable danger, as you shall hear. Their course was to float down the Ohio River into the Mississippi, and then down the Missis- sippi to New Orleans. When the weather was pleasant, they had a fine time. They floated as far as they could during the day, and at night pulled the boat up alongside the river's bank and tied it fast; then spreading a blanket upon the deck, they lay down and slept soundly until morning. When they awoke they washed themselves in the river, cooked their breakfast, and pushed off again. But sometimes violent storms would come on, which drenched them to the skin, for they had no cabin, and no roof but the sky. However, they did not mind such trifles, but floated along as gay as birds until they arrived at New Orleans. And here began the danger to which I alluded. One night they had tied the boat as usual along- side the bank, and were just ready to go to sleep 46 The CJiildreiis Life of AbraJiani Lincoln. when Abe heard a sHght noise. Arousing his com- panion, he told him to hsten. Presently they de- scried approaching through the darkness a figure black as night, and directly a stout negro jumped upon the boat. Abe seized a club and beat the fellow off; then another stalwart form and yet an- other came in sight, until it appeared that a party of seven had come to rcb them. Abe made good use of his club, — his only weapon, — and with the help of his companion the robbers were soon put to flight. For greater safety the boat was now untied and pushed out into the middle of the river. Soon after this event the two lads set out for home with a pocketful of money, — the proceeds of their cargo. In due time they arrived safe among their friends, and were not a little proud of their voyage of eighteen hundred miles in a flat-boat. Abe's em- ployer was highly gratified with the results of the expedition, and told him that he had made excellent bargains and was a capital merchant. Thus Abe's first experience in business was, on the whole, very pleasant. His heart was soon made sad, however, by the death of his sister, which happened one year after her marriage. CHAPTER IV. Removal to Illinois. — Incidents of the Journey. — Arrival. — He builds a Log-cabin. — Splits Rails. — Goes to seek his Fortune. — The Armstrongs. — Goes to New Orleans. — Life in New Salem. — Pursues his Education by Himself. THOMAS LINCOLN now began to contemplate another move. Almost fabulous accounts had reached him of the rich- ness of the prairie lands in Illinois, and he thought he should like to go thith- er and try his fortune. There were two other families in the neighborhood who had the same desire, but nothing was fully de- cided upon until the month of March, in the year 1830; then preparations were made for removal. Abe was now twenty-one years old, and was a most important aid to all concerned. The journey this time was to be performed in an ox-cart. The women, children, and furniture were to be packed into this 48 The Children s Life of Abraham Lincoln. clumsy vehicle, drawn by two yoke of oxen, while the men were to walk and drive the team. In this manner they started for Illinois, Abe taking charge of one yoke of oxen. The journey, which was a very tedious one and sometimes dangerous, occupied two weeks and a day. They came at length to the Kaskaskia River, which had overflowed its banks till the adjoining meadows were several feet under water. The way now looked too dangerous to proceed any farther, and most of the party advised that some other road should be sought. But Abe said it would never do to give it up so ; that he was not afraid to be pilot and go ahead, and that if he went under water the rest could turn back. But Abe was not destined to go under water. He pushed boldly on, and was followed by the others. All finally reached dry ground in safety, although for three miles the water came up to the men's waists. Their destination, which was nearly in the centre of the State, was on the north side of Sangamon River, ten miles west of Decatur, in the County of Macon. Here the party at length arrived. Mr. Lin-, coin selected ten acres of land for his farm, and with Abe's assistance immediately erected a log-cabin for the family to live in. Then Abe, who was very skil- ful in the business, split rails enough, with the assist- Abe Leaves Home. ^g ance of John Hanks, to fence in the whole ten acres. These are the celebrated rails that have made such a noise in the world. Little did Abe imagine, when splitting them, of the use to which some of them would be put. We shall hear more about them by and by. Abe remained with his father about a year longer, until he saw him comfortably settled in his new home, and then announced his intention of going away to seek his fortune. Mr. Lincoln could offer no objec- tion to this, for Abe had been a faithful son ; yet both he and his wife were very sorry to part with him. Abe went away to Menard County, near Petersburg, and worked all summer on a farm for a man by the name of Armstrong. This man had a son not far from Abe's age, though he was very far from being as good a young man. In truth, he was a very wild young man. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong quickly saw what a good youth Abe was, and urged him to remain with them, hoping his good influence might be of benefit to their graceless son. Abe accepted their kind invitation, and continued with them during the winter, pursuing his studies by himself. There was no work to be done on the farm during the winter, and Abe could not afford to pay his board in money; but the Armstrongs did not care for that, for they wanted him for his company. And so he had a fine 4 50 TJic Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. opportunity for study, and never forgot their kind- ness. You shall hear by and by how he afterward repaid it. When spring came, Abe made another expedition to New Orleans on a flat-boat ; but this time- he built the boat which he used. He was as successful in this trip as he had been in the former one, and upon his return his employer placed him in charge of his mill and store, in a town called New Salem. Abe became very popular at this place, and the store was a favorite resort; for he was so prompt and exact in all his business dealings that he won the con- fidence of all. It was at this period that he received the name of " Honest Abe," a title by which he was known through life. Being very agreeable in his man- ners, and always having some pleasant story to tell, beside being always ready to lend a helping hand to those in trouble, he soon became a universal favorite. But with all his business cares, Abe never for a moment lost sight of his studies. He procured a grammar, and with the occasional help of a clerk in the store mastered its contents. He found it a pretty difficult study, but that did not discourage him. Every leisure moment during the day found him with his book, and he often studied half the night. This is the way, my children, that Abraham Lincoln got his education. ^oC<=C^|| m i'Cl 1 ^\ m 1, !^55S=^^l| CHAPTER V. Black Hawk War. — Mr. Lincoln is nominated for the Le people in Kansas who were in favor of slavery be- haved worse than ever. They took their seats in the Legislature, and passed laws to imprison everybody who should help a slave to escape, or should say that it was wrong to hold slaves. Worse laws even than these were passed. Mr. Shannon of Ohio was the next Governor. Soon after his appointment the free-State men made another effort to secure their rights. They held a convention and said they would not obey such laws as the slavery Legislature had made, and they chose ex-Governor Reeder as their Delegate to Congress. They also decided to form a State Constitution and prohibit slavery. A convention met for this purpose at a town called Topeka. By this time the slavery party was very much enraged, and the people began to fight. Sev- eral persons were killed on both sides. The inhab- itants of Lawrence began to arm themselves in self-defence, and the Governor called out the militia. Upon this the Missourian ruffians said they were the Kansas militia, and for several days Lawrence was besieged ; but finally matters were quieted for a little while, and the Missourians went home. Soon, however, Lawrence was again threatened, and made resistance, but as the sheriff promised safety and protection to the citizens, they delivered up their arms. They had no sooner done this, however, than 6 82 The Childreji's Life of Abraham Lincoln. the besiegers entered the town, burned the house of Mr. Robinson, — one of the founders of Lawrence, — blew up the hotel, destroyed the printing-presses, and went about making general havoc. The free- State party now declared war against the slavery faction. There were several fights, and many per- sons were killed. Matters continued pretty much in this condition until Jan. 6, 1857; but Governor Shannon had been removed for favoring the free-State men, and Mr. Geary of Pennsylvania now held the office. At this time the free-State Legislature, elected under the Topeka Constitution, met at that place ; but the lead- ing members were immediately arrested by the United States marshals. Directly after this the slavery party- met at Lecompton, and passed an act to have a con- vention called which should form a constitution for the State of Kansas. This slavery party styled itself the Territorial Legislature. In this act the members were encouraged by President Pierce, who said that the formation of the free- State Government was an act of rebellion. Governor Geary now became so disgusted with the situation that he resigned ; and Mr. Walker of Mississippi succeeded him. It was about this time that Mr, Buchanan was inaugurated President. When Governor Walker had been in office some The Supreme Court and Slavery. 83 months, the convention met at Lecompton and formed their famous Constitution, four sections of which re- lated to slavery. The people were informed that they could vote for the Constitution with slavery, or for the Constitution without slavery, but in any case they must vote for the Constitution. These proceedings created a tremendous excite- ment in Kansas, and the free-State party declared they would have nothing to do with the Constitution. Governor Walker was as much displeased with it as the people were, and went to Washington to beg Con- gress not to adopt it ; but before he arrived President Buchanan had sanctioned it, and so Governor Walker resigned. The struggle between the free-State men and the slavery party was now at its height in Kansas. We must now turn aside a little from our present subject, in order that you may understand something which I am about to relate. You will remember that I told you the government consists of three branches. You already understand about two of them, the legis- lative and the executive ; and now the time has come when we must speak of the third branch, — the judicial department of government. This branch comprises, besides inferior courts, a Supreme Court with one chief-justice and eight asso- ciate justices, who are appointed by the President 84 TJie Children's Life of AbraJiam Lincoln. for life. Roger Btooke Taney was Chief-Justice at this time; and a decision of his in the Supreme Court shook the country to its very centre. It was called the Dred Scott Decision. This Dred Scott was a negro slave owned by a man in Missouri. The master removed him to Illinois, a free State; and therefore the slave thought that this made him. free. But the Chief-Justice decided that he had lost whatever claim to freedom he had gained by living in Illinois, because after having removed to Wisconsin, he finally returned to Missouri. One of the reasons he gave for this decision was that the negro had no rights which the white man was bound to respect, and another was that the Missouri Com- promise, which prohibited slavery in the Territories north of 36° 30', was unconstitutional. When this decision was announced, the slavery party in Kansas thought their victory was certain; but the free-State men, in spite of the decision, determined not to yield. Mr. Lincoln's soul was on fire for freedom ; he was shocked at the Dred Scott Decision,, and the oppres- sion of the people in Kansas. He expected the next decision of the Supreme Court would be that the Constitution permitted slavery in all the States, as well as in the Territories ; then there would be no freedom anywhere for the slave. Therefore he thought all A SJiort- Sighted President. 85 lovers of freedom ought to express the most intense disapprobation of the Dred Scott Decision. It was in the November following this decision that the sla- very party in Kansas had adopted the infamous Le- compton Constitution. Congress assembled soon after, when President Buchanan stated his opinion on the subject. He said everybody must see that in the end Kansas would be free, and he thought the best way to settle the dispute would be to admit her with the Lecompton Constitu- tion ; then the South would have no reason to com- plain, and if the State were free, the North ought not to grumble about the Constitution. But the free-State people in Kansas thought that this was only an ingenious dodge to fasten slavery upon them, and that if they adopted the Lecompton Constitution the game would be up, and there would be no more freedom for them. The worst part of the matter was that the people were not allowed to read the Constitution, and so did not know what they were required to vote for. CHAPTER IX. Speeches of Lincoln and Douglas. — Lincoln visits Kansas, Ohio, and New York. — Speech at Cooper Institute. — At Five Points. HE time had now ar- rived for the Legis- lature of Illinois to choose a new Senator. Mr. Douglas's term had nearly expired. Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Dousr- las were the leading- men of their respective parties in Illinois, and it was probable that one of them would be chosen. Their views were as opposite as light and darkness. Mr. Lincoln opposed the extension of slavery. He was shocked at the repeal of the Missouri Compro- mise and the consequent oppression of the people in Kansas, and was indignant at the Dred Scott De- cision. Mr. Douglas, on the other hand, was the The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. 87 author of the bill repealing the Missouri Compro- mise, and approved of the Dred Scott Decision ; but he did not think it was right that the Lecompton Constitution should be forced upon the citizens of Kansas. He said he did not care whether slavery was voted down or up, but he thought the people had a right to vote against the Constitution if they chose. In this expression of his opinion he offended President Buchanan and others favoring slavery. Mr. Douglas went home to Illinois before the time came to elect the new Senator; and he and Mr. Lin- coln went all over the State, making speeches in sup- port of their favorite views. Mr. Douglas would make a speech, and then Mr. Lincoln would answer him. They each made a great many speeches, but there were seven that were called joint debates. These were held at seven different towns in seven different parts of the State, from the extreme north to the extreme south. These debates created the great- est enthusiasm. Each party turned out to do honor to its own man. There were gay cavalcades, ringing of bells, firing of guns, bands of music, big proces- sions, and a great time generally. In so small a book as this it is impossible to say much about the speeches; but we will quote a few short extracts from some of Mr. Lincoln's, because they let us into his principles and character, and 88 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. show us that his convictions were substantially the same throughout his pubhc hfe. Some persons have accused him of being vacillating and weak, but we think it would be difficult to find an historical per- sonage less changeable than he. In the beginning of one of his speeches are these remarkable words : — " ' A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government cannot enciure permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved, I do not expect the house to fall ; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other." You will observe, children, how far-seeing and sagacious he was. These words sound like those of a prophet, for in less than seven years from the time they were uttered, this country had become all one thing, — all free, — and owing in a very great degree, too, to the skilful administration of this very man. Mr. Lincoln thought the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which admitted slavery into all the Ter- ritories, and the Dred Scott Decision, and the forc- ing of the Lecompton Constitution upon the people of Kansas, were all parts of one great political ma- chine, or mill, as he calls it, and that all the different framers of these measures understood one another very well, and had one common end in view. So in the Mr. Lincohis Wise Words. 89 speech from which we have just quoted, he goes on to say : — " We cannot absolutely know that all these exact adapta- tions are the result of preconcert. But when we see a lot of framed timbers, different portions of which we know have been gotten out at different times and places and by different workmen (Stephen, FrankUn, Roger, and James, for in- stance), and when we see these timbers joined together, and see they exacdy make the frame of a house or a mill, — all the tenons and mortises exactly fitting, and all the lengths and proportions of the different pieces exacdy adapted to their respective places, and not a piece too many or too few (not omitting even scaffolding), or if a single piece be lacking, we see the place in the frame exactly fitted and prepared yet to bring such piece in, — in such a case we find it impossi- ble not to believe that Stephen and Franklin and Roger and James, all understood one another from the beginning, and all worked upon a common plan, or draft, drawn up before the first blow was struck." Mr. Lincoln thought that this political mill had been most skilfully built, and that if it were not torn down, it would grind not only the negro, but the whole nation, to powder. In another speech, referring to the thirteen original colonies, he said : — "These communities, by their representatives in old Inde- pendence Hall, said to the world of men : ' We hold these go The Childrcjis Life of Abraham Lincoln. truths to be self-evident : that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' This was their lofty and wise and noble under- standing of the justice of the Creator to his creatures : yes, gentlemen, to all his creatures, — to the whole great family of man. In their enlightened belief, nothing stamped with the Divme miage and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on and degraded and imbruted by its fellows. They grasped not only the race of men then living, but they reached forward and seized upon the farthest posterity. They created a beacon to guide their children and their children's children, and the countless myriads who should inhabit the earth in other ages. " Wise statesmen as they were, they knew the tendency of prosperity to breed tyrants; and so they established these great self-evident truths, that when, in the distant future, some man, some faction, some interest should set up the doctrine that none but rich men, or none but white men, or none but Anglo-Saxon white men, were entitled to life, Hberty, and the pursuit of happiness, their posterity might look up again to the Declaration of Independence, and take courage to renew the battle which their fathers began, so that truth and justice and mercy, and all the humane and Christian vir- tues, might not be extinguished from the land ; so that no man would hereafter dare to limit and circumscribe the great principles on which the temple of Liberty was being built. " Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines conflicting with the great landmarks of the Declaration of The Martyr Spirit. 91 Independence ; if you have listened to suggestions which would take away from its grandeur, and mutilate the fair symmetry of its proportions ; if you have been inclined to beheve that all men are not created equal, in those inalien- able rights enumerated by our chart of liberty, — let me en- treat you to come back. Return to the fountain whose waters spring close by the blood of the Revolution. " Think nothing of me ; take no thought for the political fate of any man whomsoever ; but come back to the truths that are in the Declaration of Independence. You may do anything with me you choose, if you will but heed these sacred principles. You may not only defeat me for the Senate, but you may take me and put me death. While pretending no indifference to earthly honors, I do clahn to be actuated in this contest by something higher than an anxiety for office. I charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought for any man's success. It is nothing ; I am nothing ; Judge Douglas is nothing. But do not destroy that im- mortal emblem of humanity, the Declaration of American Independence." These are Mr. Lincoln's own words. How nobly he speaks ! Even then he had the spirit of a martyr. He was willing to be put to death, if only the cause of liberty might prevail. And you know that at last he did suffer death for maintaining at every cost these very principles which he here so nobly advocates. Glorious martyr ! Let us try to imitate his noble and unselfish spirit. 92 The Childrrn's Life of AbraJiaju Lincoln. The excitement during all this political contest was tremendous, not only in Illinois, but all over the country. All lovers of freedom ardently wished that Mr. Lincoln might be chosen Senator, for they thought the nation was in great peril and needed such men in Congress. The opposite party proved the stronger, however, and Mr. Douglas was once more elected to the Senate. Between the close of this senatorial contest and the Presidential campaign of i860, Mr. Lincoln made several visits to other States. He went to Kansas, whose people received him with the greatest enthu- siasm. They hardly knew how to express their joy at seeing the man who had labored so hard to defend their rights. Mr. Lincoln also addressed the people of Ohio, and in the month of February he visited New York, and made a speech to the young men at Cooper Institute. As this speech is one of the most celebrated pro- ductions of the great man, you shall have a few of its sentences : • — " Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet afford to let it alone where it is, because that much is due to the necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation ; but can we, while our votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into the national Territories, and to overrun us here in these free States ? If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand Mr. Lincohi at Five Points Mission. 95 by our duty fearlessly and effectively. Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the govern- ment nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might ; and in that faith let us, to tlie end, dare to do our duty as we U7iderstand it." Yes, he did dare to do his duty faithfully and fearlessly to the end. He was never frightened by threats ; neither was he dismayed nor disheartened, even when he was most thickly beset with dangers. He calmly waited, and trusted in the darkest hours, with that sublime faith which he here proclaims, tJiat right makes might ; and when the nation's future was almost hopeless, he said, — " I still hope that in some way, which man cannot see, all will be well in the end, because our cause is just, and God is on our side." In this beautiful and simple trust he clung to God and to his promises, in the same way that you, chil- dren, confide in your parents ; and God did not dis- appoint him, any more than your parents disappoint you when they have made you a promise. Mr. Lincoln loved children, and when he was in New York he did not forget them. One Sunday he visited the school at the Five Points. This school is composed of the most miserable and wretched chil- dren of New York City, who are here taught how to 96 The Children s Life of Abraham Liticoln. become good and respectable. Mr. Lincoln said kind words to them ; and the children were so much interested that whenever he attempted to stop they would all shout out, " Oh, go on ! do go on ! " No- body in the school knew who he was; but just as he was leaving, one of the teachers stepped up to him and begged to know his name. He simply said : " It is Abraham Lincoln, from Illinois." How every one of those children will treasure up what he said to them on that day, and when they grow up will tell their children that on a certain day the great Abraham Lincoln spoke to them ! Nobody knew then how great he was to become. CHAPTER X. The Presidential Campaign of i860. — The Repubhcan Con- vention at Chicago. — Lincohi elected President. NEW presidential campaign was approach- ing, and people began to talk of choosing Mr. Lincoln for President. The Repub- Hcans of Illinois held a convention at Decatur; and all at once, right in the midst of the meeting, a gentleman, who had been a Democrat a great many years, came marching in with two old weather-stained fence-rails, all trimmed up with rib- bons and flags, and with a banner bearing this inscription : — "ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Rail Candidate for President in i860. Two rails, from a lot of 3000, made in 1830, by- John Hanks and Abe Lincoln, whose father was the first pioneer of Macon County." Upon this the meeting raised a tremendous shout, and began cheering for " Lincoln," " Abe Lincoln, 7 98 TJie CJiildrcns Life of Abraham Lincoln. the rail-splitter," " Honest Old Abe," and called upon him to make his appearance. Mr. Lincoln arose, and with great modesty stated that he had helped to split some rails about thirty years before, when some- body shouted out, " These are some of the rails." After this the rails were in such demand that one would suppose the poor old fence must have been all carried away, for they were borne in processions all over the Union. This meeting was only a State convention ; but the Republicans held their national convention, to nom- inate their candidate for the next Presidency, at Chicago, on the i6th of May, i860. The people of that city had erected an immense structure for the occasion, called " The Wigwam." Delegates from all the States assembled here, to the number of four hundred and sixty-five. Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward were the two prominent candidates. On the first ballot — that is, the first time the con- vention voted — Mr. Seward had one hundred and seventy-three and a half votes, Mr. Lincoln one hun- dred and two, and the rest were scattering, — that is, divided among difTerent persons. Nobody was nomi- nated on this vote, because nobody had a majority of all the votes ; so they voted again. On the second ballot, when Vermont's name was called, one of her delegates replied : " Vermont casts Mr. Lincoln is Nominated for President. 99 her ten votes for the young giant of the West, Abra- ham Lincoln." Mr. Seward had on this ballot one hundred and eighty-four and a half, and Mr. Lincoln one hundred and eighty-one votes. But still no one had enough votes to be nominated ; so they voted again. On the third ballot Mr. Lincoln had two hundred and thirty-one and a half votes, — almost enough to nominate him. As soon as this was known, a delegate from Ohio said his State would make a change, and give four votes to Mr. Lincoln. This decided the contest, and Mr. Lincoln was chosen. The whole convention now fairly boiled over with the wildest excitement. Cheer after cheer was eiven. and returned by the crowd outside, until everybody was too hoarse to cheer any more. As soon as the meeting became calm enough for a speaker's voice to be heard, other States announced their wish to change their votes for Lincoln, until at length the whole convention voted for him. This all happened in the morning. In the after- noon the convention met again, and chose Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice-President. Thus the Re- publican ticket was Lincoln and Hamlin. Mr. Lincoln was not present at this convention, he was at his home in Springfield ; but the news went flashing over the wires. He was in a newspaper 100 The Children s Life of Ahi'aJiavi Lincoln. office, conversing with some friends, when a boy came running in with a note for ]\Ir. Lincoln, which informed him that he was nominated on the third ballot. Mr. Lincoln took the news very quietly, and put the note in his pocket ; but his friends were all shouting in the most excited manner. Pretty soon Mr. Lincoln left them, saying, " There 's a little woman down at our house would like to know this, and I '11 go down and tell her." This was his wife. When men are very glad or very sorry, they always want to go home and tell their families all about it. The Republicans all over the Union w^ere very thankful that the convention had nominated Mr. Lin- coln ; for they knew he was a man of firm principles, with a most intense love for freedom. They knew, too, that he was entirely truthful and honest, and they were not afraid to trust the destiny of the na- tion in his hands. It was time that an honest cap- tain took command of the ship of State ; for Mr. Buchanan had proved untrue to the high trusts reposed in him, and the poor old ship was toiling among breakers, and it looked very much as if she would be dashed against the rocks. Although Mr. Lincoln was elected on the 6th of November, you know that he would not become President until the following 4th of March. CHAPTER XI. Commencement of Secession Movement. — General Scott's Anxiety. — Defection of Buchanan and his Cabinet. — Anderson's Removal to Fort Sumter. — South Carolina secedes. — Secret Meeting of Jefferson Davis and other Traitors. — Other States secede. — Their Congressmen resign their Seats at Washington. — Convention of Seceded States at Montgomery. — Jefferson Davis is chosen Presi- dent, Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President. — The Con- federacy prepares for War. — Congress tries to conciliate. E must now learn when and how this dan- ger came, which threatened to engulf the ship of State, and also what Mr. Buchanan did during the remaining months of his term of office. The Southern people had for a long time been making all sorts of attempts to strengthen and extend slavery, and when they found that Mr. Lincoln had been elected President according to the laws of the land, they were very much provoked, and declared he should never be their President. All the Southern people did not feel in this way; but those who did resolved to make the rest think as they thought, or, at any rate, act with them. I02 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. For this purpose a few wicked men tried to excite the Southern people, by telling them that Mr. Lin- coln was a very bad man and a great tyrant, who would rob them of their slaves and all their lawful rights under the Constitution ; and urged them not to submit to his rule, but to come out and have a sepa- rate government of their own. Just before the election of Mr. Lincoln, in Novem- ber, General Scott, who had been watching public matters very carefully, wrote a letter to President Buchanan, and his Secretary of War, Mr. Floyd, say- ing he was fearful that preparations were going on at the South to seize the United States forts in the Southern harbors ; he therefore suggested that garri- sons of soldiers be placed in the forts to protect them. Mr. Buchanan did not pay any attention to the letter, and Mr. Floyd declared that, for his part, he should not permit anything of the kind to be done. This Mr. Floyd had a great deal of power in his hands, because he was one of the President's Cabinet. This Cabinet is composed of several gentlemen whom the President chooses for his particular ad- visers; and they are called the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of the Interior, of the Navy, of War, of Agriculture, the Attorney-General, and the Post- master-General. The President and his Cabinet are called the administration, because they administer or Treason ! lo- execute the laws. Congress makes the laws, and these gentlemen execute them. The President can choose those whom he wishes to form his Cabinet; but the Senate are at liberty to reject any one who has been chosen, and no one can become a member of the Cabinet until his appointment has been con- firmed by the Senate. Well, as we were saying, this Mr. Floyd, being Sec- retary of War in Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet, had a great deal of power in his hands, and used it all to favor the South. He foresaw that trouble was at hand, and meant to do his utmost to cripple the North and help the South. So he absolutely refused to allow any garrisons to be placed in the Southern forts. The national army was very small at this time, consisting of only about sixteen thousand men, and Mr. Floyd had scattered them to the most remote corners of the Union; he had also shipped large quantities of arms and ammunition to the South. When our Congress met at Washington, on the 3d of December, the country was in a terrible condition. South Carolina was behaving very badly, and it was the prevailing opinion that she would soon attempt to secede from the Union. President Buchanan seems to have been entirely at a loss what to do. At all events, he did next to nothing. In his message to Congress he said he did I04 TJie Children's Life of AbraJiam Lincoln. not think any State had any right to secede from the Union ; but if she chose to secede, he did not think Congress had any right to make war upon her to pre- vent her from seceding. He said the North had made such a noise about slavery that many of the slaves had become very discontented, and the South were afraid of insurrection among them, and that was why they were making preparations for war; and he thought it proper that these preparations should be made. He wanted all the States to behave well, but said he had no right to coerce a State ; and he advised that the Constitution should be amended so as to say that the slaves were property, and that this property must be protected in all the Territories of the United States. He thought some such measures would restore peace and harmony. At this time Major Anderson, with a handful of men, commanded Fort Moultrie, in Charleston Har- bor. The loyal persons at Washington felt very uneasy about this fort, and thought it ought to be reinforced. Mr. Cass, Mr. Buchanan's Secretary of State, said the forts of Charleston Harbor must be reinforced, and Mr. Floyd said they must not. The President listened to his Secretary of War, instead of to his Secretary of State ; and so Mr. Cass would not stay in his Cabinet, but resigned on the 14th of December. Secession of SoutJi Carolina. 105 On the 20th of December the State of South Caro- lina passed an ordinance of secession, and declared that the union which had subsisted between herself and the other States, under the name of the United States of America, was dissolved ; four days later the Governor issued a proclamation declaring the State of South Carolina to be "a separate, sovereign, free, and independent State," — which meant that forever after she intended to do just as she pleased. Now, when children, or grown-up people, or even States, won't obey those who have the right to command, they never come out very well in the end. By and by we shall see how South Carolina came out. Major Anderson now began to think that his situa- tion at Fort Moultrie was very unsafe ; and as he did not see any prospect of being aided by the Govern- ment, he decided, on his own responsibility, to re- move with his little garrison of about seventy soldiers and forty workmen to the stronger position of Fort Sumter, about two miles distant. His movement was planned with the greatest secrecy, and safely accomplished in the dead of the night on the 26th of December. The South Carolinians were greatly enraged, and accused President Buchanan of breaking his pledge to them. But the President assured them they were mistaken ; that Major Anderson went entirely of his io6 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. own accord ; and that when he had first heard of it, he had thought of ordering the Major back to Fort Moultrie; but as the South CaroHnians had already taken possession of that fort, it was impossible for him to send the Major there. But Mr. Floyd insisted that the President had broken his pledge that no change should be made in any of the forts ; and so Mr. Floyd said he should not stay in the Cabinet any longer, and three days after Anderson's removal to Fort Sumter he resigned. Directly after Mr. Floyd resigned, it was found that he was a great thief, and had helped himself to eight hundred and sevent}' thousand dollars of the public funds. About this time South Carolina sent three commissioners to President Buchanan, asking him to deliver up the forts and all other government property in Charleston to them. The President did not tell them that they might have the forts ; but he did noth- ing to prevent their helping themselves to whatever they wanted. On the evening of the 5th of January, a secret meeting was held at Washington, composed of Sen- ators from Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida. They said that all the Southern States must follow the example of South Carolina and secede as soon as possible, and decided that a convention of all these States should meet. TJie Plot Thickcjis. 107 sometime in February, at Montgomery, Alabama. But they advised that all the members of Congress from the Southern States should keep their seats at Washington as long as they could, to see how matters went on there, and to upset any measures which might be proposed to their disadvantage. Jefferson Davis, Mr. Slidell, and Mr. Mallory were appointed a committee to see that these things were done. Four days after this meeting Mississippi seceded. Two days later Alabama followed her example. Florida took the same step on the loth, Georgia passed an ordinance of secession on the 19th, Lou- isiana took her departure on the 25th of the same month, and Texas on the ist of February. Three days after the secret meeting at Washington, Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, resigned ; and in two days more P. F. Thomas of Maryland, who was Secretary of the Treasury in place of Howell Cobb, took the same step. Cobb himself had resigned a month before. On the 21st of Janu- ary Messrs. Yulee and Mallory of Florida resigned their seats in the Senate, and just a week later Mr. Iverson of Georgia followed their example. Then Messrs. Clay and Fitzpatrick of Alabama said they would not stay any longer, and Jefferson Davis left at the same time. Messrs. Slidell and Benjamin of Louisiana took their leave on the 4th of February. io8 TJie Children s Life of Abraham Lincoln. • The convention of the seceded States met on this day at Montgomery, Alabama, and adopted a pro- visional constitution, to remain in force for one year. Jefferson Davis was chosen President, and Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President, of this so-called confed- eracy. Jefferson Davis declared that the South was determined to maintain her position, and all who opposed her should be made to smell Southern pow- der and feel Southern steel. He said he supposed the South would experience some inconveniences in the beginning, but he had no doubt of final success. These infamous proceedings were not by any means the acts of the whole Southern people, but only of « few base conspirators against the best government any nation ever lived under. Ln no instance did the people have an opportunity to vote for or against the act of secession. The new confederacy now began to make all sorts of preparations for war, although they did not intend to do any fighting as long as Mr. Buchanan remained in the chair; for, as he had said that he did not think he had any right to coerce a State, they con- cluded that, no matter what they did, the President would not meddle with them. So they made con- tracts all over the South for the manufacture of pow- der, shot, shells, and cannon-balls. They also began to organize an army, and on the 6th of March their Attempts at Conciliation. 109 so-called Congress passed an act to raise a force of a hundred thousand men. While these things were going on, our own Con gressmen were trying in every way to devise some measures to conciliate the Southern people. They spent the whole winter in offering various resolutions, which conceded all that the South could in justice demand. But the South had no idea of coming back, or, rather, the men at the head of the secession movement had no idea of allowing her to come back. CHAPTER XII. Lincoln leaves Springfield. — Farewell. — His Arrival at Tolono, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Steubenville, Pitts- burg, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Troy, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Peekskill, New York, Trenton, Philadelphia, Harrisburg. — Plot to take his Life. — His Safe Arrival at Washington. — Lincoln's Address. HE inauguration of Mr, Lincoln was at hand. You have now seen what a terri- ble condition the country was in, and what an appalling task he had before him. Mr. Lincoln left his home in Springfield on the !ith of February. A large company of his friends and neighbors attended him to the station, and he bade them good-by in these words : — " My friends, no one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century ; here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He would never have succeeded except for the Lincoln's Farewell to his Neighbors. 1 1 1 aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained him, and on the same x\lmighty Being I place my reliance for support ; and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine assistance without which I cannot succeed, but with v/hich success is certain. Again I bid you all an affectionate farewell." Now, my children, I want you to read carefully this farewell of Mr. Lincoln's, for it is a perfect gem. It is very simple, as is everything else the great man ever said. What a beautiful, tender, modest soul was his ! With what childlike faith in God he embarked on his tempestuous voyage ! Some men would have been lifted up with pride at being called to fill the highest position in the United States. Others would have trembled and shrunk from assuming that posi- tion amid so great perils. For, besides the terribly disturbed state of the country, about which I have already told you, a company of bad men had openly made their boast that they would never allow Mr. Lincoln to reach Washington alive. They meant to kill him somewhere on the route. Now, although Mr. Lincoln was fully alive to every particular connected with his position, he was neither puffed up with pride nor depressed with fear, but was calm and quiet; perhaps he was the calmest man in 112 TJie Children'' s Life of Abraham Lineoln. the whole country. And the reason was this : he trusted in God and the people. Probably there never was a public man who had such confidence in the people as he had. He did not believe the people would ever allow this great and mighty nation to go to ruin, and he kept telling them so. But, more than all, he believed in God. He tells his friends, as he bids them good-by, that with God's assistance success is certain. He asked God to assist him, and he be- lieved God would do it; so he went forth on his mighty voyage as firm as a rock and as modest as a child. Abraham Lincoln never placed his head upon his pillow at night without saying his prayers ; and if you do as he did, you may expect God's blessing as much as he expected it. As the train which bore Mr. Lincoln went whirling and shrieking through the country, people every- where assembled at the railroad stations. The ladies and girls waved their handkerchiefs and threw bou- quets into the cars, and the men and boys shouted for " Lincoln and the Constitution " at the top of their voices. Wherever the cars stopped long enough, Mr. Lincoln would make his appearance and say a few kind and pleasant words ; and at places where he remained for several hours he sometimes made speeches of considerable length. At little villages, where the train only paused for a moment, he replied Mr. Lincoln starts for Washington. 113 with bows and pleasant smiles to the greetings which everywhere met him. You shall hear a few of the things he said along the route. At Tolono, amid deafening applause, he said : — " I am leaving you on an errand of national importance, attended, as you are aware, with considerable difficulties. Let us believe, as some poet has expressed it, ' Behind the cloud, the sun is still shining.' I bid you an afiectionate farewell." At Indianapolis Mr. Lincoln found the Governor of the State waiting for him in his carriage. The whole city had turned out to do Mr. Lincoln honor, and he was escorted to the Bates House in splendid style. In his address to the people from the balcony of the hotel, he said : — •' To the salvation of the Union there needs but one single thing, — the hearts of a people hke yours. The people, when they rise in mass in behalf of the Union and the liber- ties of their country, — truly may it be said, ' The gates of hell cannot prevail against them.' " In the evening Mr. Lincoln spoke again to the members of the Legislature, and the next morning set off for Cincinnati, where he arrived about noon. All along the route, at every railroad-station, thou- sands of people had assembled to catch a glimpse of the coming President and shout their welcome. At Cincinnati Mr. Lincoln's reception was almost 8 114 TJie Children's Life of Abrahain Lincoln. overwhelming. The streets were jammed with peo- ple, and it was with great difficulty that his escort forced a passage through the crowd to the Burnett House, which had been decorated and fitted up in the most beautiful manner in honor of his arrival. Mr. Lincoln remained at Cincinnati until the next morning, when he set off for Columbus, the capital of the State, attended by a portion of the Ohio Leg- islature, who had come on to escort him thither. Upon their arrival at Columbus, the party proceeded to the State House, where Mr. Lincoln was greeted by the Lieutenant-Governor. To the Legislature Mr. Lincoln said : — " It is true, as has been said by the President of the Senate, that very great responsibility rests upon me in the position to which the votes of the American people have called me. I am deeply sensible of that weighty responsibility. I cannot but know — what you all know — that without a name, per- haps without a reason why I should have a name, there has fallen upon me a task such as did not rest even upon the Father of his Country ; and so feeling, I cannot but turn and look for the support without which it will be impossible for me to perform that great task. I turn, then, and look to the great American people, and to that God who has never forsaken them." Observe how Mr. Lincoln constantly refers to his low origin. Some men would have been ashamed of ATr. Lincoln at Pittsburg. 115 it ; he never was. He never forgot that he was born in a log-cabin ; he did not think that made him any better or any worse ; he was truly independent, and believed in the independence of all men. He feared no man, but he feared God ; that is, he feared to displease him, and loved to obey him. The following morning Mr. Lincoln left Columbus. The train paused at Steubenville, where he said to the people : " I fear that the great confidence placed in my ability is unfounded ; indeed, I am sure it is. Encompassed by vast difficulties, as I am, nothing shall be wanting on my part, if sustained by the American people and God." This was his trust from first to last, — God and the people. The train rushed on, and in the evening reached Pittsburg, where Mr, Lincoln was met, as usual, by a crowd of enthusiastic admirers, and escorted to the Monongahela House. Here he said that if all the whole-souled people whom he saw this evening before him were for the preservation of the Union, he did not see how it could be in much danc^er. In the morning he was waited upon by the Mayor and Com- mon Council of the city, to whom, after an address of welcome on their part, he said : — "The condition of the country is an extraordinary one, and fills the mind of every patriot with anxiety. My advice is, to keep cool. If the great American people only keep ii6 TJie Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. their temper on both sides of the line, the trouble will come to an end, and the question which now distracts the country will be settled ; and just as other clouds have cleared away in due time, so will this great nation continue to prosper, as heretofore." Then he spoke of the tariff. " The tariff," said he, " is a question of national housekeeping. It is to the Government what replenishing the meal-tub is to the family." Then, quoting from the Chicago platform, he said : — " While providing revenue for the support of the general Government, by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imports as will encourage the development of the industrial interest of the whole country : and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secures to working-men liberal wages, to agriculture remuner- ative prices, to mechanics and manufacturers adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence." Mr. Lincoln wanted to have everj'body treated fairly ; he did not wish one part of the nation to grow rich at the expense of another part, but he wanted all sections to enjoy equal advantages. From Pittsburg he went to Cleveland. Here the shouts and cheers of the people blended with the thunders of cannon, as a long procession escorted him to the Weddell House, where he was greeted b}* the Mayor of the city. Here Mr. Lincoln said : — Greeted by Men of all Parties. 1 1 7 " We have been marching about two miles, through snow, rain, and deep mud. The large numbers that have turned out under these circumstances testify that you are in earnest about something or other. I am given to understand that this reception is tendered, not only by my own party support- ers, but by men of all parties. This is as it should be. If Judge Douglas had been elected and had been here, on his way to Washington, as I am to-night, the Republicans should have joined his supporters in welcoming him, just as his friends have joined with mine to-night. If all do not join now to save the good old ship of the Union on this voyage, nobody will have a chance to pilot her on another voyage.'' The next morning Mr. Lincoln took his departure for Buffalo. An immense throng awaited his arrival, and escorted him to the American House, where he was, as usual, greeted by the Mayor, in reply to whose address he said : — " Your worthy Mayor has thought fit to express the hope that I may be able to relieve the country from the present, or, I should say, the threatened difficulties. I am sure I bring a heart true to the work. For the ability to perform it I must trust in that Supreme Being who has never forsaken this favored land, through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people. Without that assistance I shall surely fail ; with it I cannot fail. Allow me to say that you, as a portion of the great American people, need only to maintain your composure, stand up to your sober convictions of right, to your obligations to the Constitution, and act in accordance ii8 The Childrc7is Life of AbraJiajn Lincoln. with those sober convictions ; and the clouds which now arise in the horizon will be dispelled, and. we shall have a bright and glorious future. And when this generation has passed away, tens of thousands will inhabit this country, where only thousands inhabit it now," Mr. Lincoln's words were those of a prophet. A bright and glorious future is indeed dawning upon the nation, unstained by the foul blot of slavery; and this has been accomplished, as Mr. Lincoln said it would be, by the people, because they acted up to their earnest convictions of right. But little did he or they imagine then in how terrible a manner this was to be wrought out. God has his own ways to bring about all his purposes, and his ways are not always our ways. Mr. Lincoln remained at Buffalo over Sunday, and on Monday morning left for Rochester, at which place he spoke a few words to the assembled crowd. Then the train pushed on for Syracuse. Here the people had erected a very handsome platform for Mr. Lincoln to stand upon while he addressed them ; but there was not time for him to ascend it. He said a few kind words to them, however, and then proceeded to Utica. The train paused only a few moments, and then sped on to Albany, where a great procession es- corted Mr. Lincoln to the State House. Here, in an address to the Legislature, he said : — Mr. Lincoln s Trnst in the People. 1 19 " It is true that while I hold myself, without mock modesty, the humblest of all individuals that have ever been elevated to the Presidency, I have a more difficult task to perform than any one of them. I don't propose to speak at this time of the policy of the Government. But when the time comes I shall speak, as well as I am able, for the good of the present and future of this country, — for the good both of the North and the South of this country, for the good of the one and the other, and of all sections of the country.'' Mr. Lincoln next passed on to Troy, where he thanked the people very kindly for their great recep- tion. At Hudson he spoke a few pleasant words, but had not time to ascend the beautiful platform which had been erected for him. At Poughkeepsie, where great honors were showered upon him, Mr. Lincoln said: — " In accepting the great trust committed to me, which I do with a determination to endeavor to prove worthy of it, I must rely upon you, upon the people of the whole country, for support ; and with their sustaining aid, even I, humble as I am, cannot fail to carry the ship of State safely through the storm." At Peekskill he said : — " If I can only be as generously and unanimously sustained as the demonstrations I have witnessed indicate I shall be, I shall not fail ; but without your sustaining hands I am sure that neither I nor any other man can hope to surmount these difficulties." I20 Tlie Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln now proceeded to New York, where he arrived at three o'clock in the afternoon. Business was suspended, and all Broadway was crammed with the immense throng which tried to catch a glimpse of the future President, as he was being escorted to the Astor House. Mr. Lincoln stepped upon the balcony of the hotel, and showed himself to the excited multi- tude, who kept calling for him ; but he was too tired to make a speech. The next morning he was escorted with great honor to the City Hall, and welcomed by the Mayor. Mr. Lincoln said here: — '■ I understand that the ship is made for the carrying and preservation of the cargo ; and so long as the ship is safe with the cargo, it shall not be abandoned. This Union shall never be abandoned, unless the possibility of its existence shall cease to exist, without the necessity of throwing passengers and cargo overboard." Mr. Lincoln now proceeded to Trenton, pausing for a little at Jersey City and Newark. At Trenton he was received by a portion of the Legislature, and escorted to the State House. Here he said : — ■ " May I be pardoned if upon this occasion I mention that away back in my childhood, the earliest days of my being able to read, I got hold of a small book, — such a one as few of the younger members have ever seen, — Weems's ' Life of Washington.' I remember all the accounts there given of the battlefields and struggles for the liberties of the country ; Tlie Union must be Preserved. 121 and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. The crossing of the river, the contest with the Hessians, the great hard- ships endured at that time, — all fixed themselves upon my memory more than any single Revolutionary event ; and you all know, for you have all been boys, how these early impres- sions last longer than any others. I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that these men struggled for. " I am exceedingly anxious that that thing which they struggled for, that something, even more than national inde- pendence, that something that held out a great promise to all the people of the world to all time to come, — I am ex- ceedingly anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people shall be perpetuated in accordance with the original idea for which that struggle was made ; and I shall be most happy, indeed, if I shall be an humble instru- ment in the hands of the Almighty, and of this his most chosen people, for perpetuating the object of that great struggle." Addressing the other branch of the Legislature, he said : " The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am, none who would do more to pre- serve it ; but it may be necessary to put the foot down firmly. And if I do my duty and do right, you will sustain me, will you not?" He was answered with hearty cheers and cries of " Yes, yes, we will." From Trenton Mr. Lincoln proceeded to Philadel- 122 The Children s Life of Abraham Lincoln. phia, and was escorted to the Continental House. While in this city he was invited to raise the national flag over old Independence Hall, where the Declara- tion of Independence was first published to the world. Before raising the flag he said : — " I have often pondered over the dangers which were in- cuiTed by the men who assembled here, and framed and adopted that Declaration of Independence. I have pon- dered over tlie toils that were endured by the officers and soldiers of the army who achieved that independence. I have often inquired of myself, what great principle or idea it was that kept this confederacy so long together. It was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the mother-land, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Inde- pendence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to all the worid for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be hfted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment em- bodied in the Declaration of Independence. Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis .^ If ir can, I shall consider myself one of the happiest men \\\ the world if I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful. But if this country can- not be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surren- der it. I have said nothing but what I am willing to live by, and, if it be the pleasure of Almighty God, to die by."-' Mr. Lincoln reaches Washington. He was now escorted to a platform in front of the building, and the cord was placed in his hands. The beautiful flag arose to the top of the staff, and he says himself that " it floated gloriously to the wind, with- out an accident, in the bright, glowing sunshine of the morning." While the flag was being raised, the artillery roared out its loudest thunders, for an accompaniment. In the afternoon Mr. Lincoln took his departure for Harrisburg, stopping for a moment at Lancaster. He addressed the Legislature at the State Capitol, then devoted several hours to the reception of vis- itors, and at six o'clock in the evening retired to his room. Nobody saw him after that until he ar- rived safe in Washington the next morning. There was a good reason for this disappearance. You will recollect that a band of bad men had sworn that Mr. Lincoln should never reach Washington alive. Some of Mr. Lincoln's friends, hearing a ru- mor of the plot, determined to find out if there were any foundation for it. For this purpose they em- ployed a skilful and experienced detective to sift the matter to the very bottom. This police-officer went to Baltimore some time before the expected arrival of Mr. Lincoln, and in a very ingenious manner suc- ceeded in unravelling the plot. He found that a large band of assassins, commanded bv an Italian 124 TJie CJiildrc7is Life of Abraham Lincoln. barber who called himself Orsini, had taken a solemn oath that Mr. Lincoln should never leave Baltimore alive, if, indeed, he should ever enter it; at all events, he should never be inaugurated. These fellows intended to throw the train oft' the track before it reached Baltimore ; but if they should fail to do this, the assassins were to mix with the crowd which should surround Mr. Lincoln's carriage as he passed through the city. They were to pretend to be his warmest friends and admirers, that they might get very close to the carriage ; and when near enough, their barber captain was to give a signal, at which some of these conspirators were to discharge pistols at Mr. Lincoln, and others were to throw hand grenades (small iron shells filled with detonating pow- der) into his carriage. This gang thought that by these combined measures Mr. Lincoln must surely be killed. They intended to save themselves by min- gling with the crowd, in the midst of the excitement which would naturally follow, and make good their escape to a vessel which was to be in waiting for them in the harbor. By the time that Mr. Lincoln had arrived at Phila- delphia, this skilful detective had discovered the en- tire plot; and he hurried on to that city to disclose it to our future President, and to warn him that he must not pass through Baltimore. How Mr. Lincoln Escaped. 125 At first Mr. Lincoln could not credit the detective's story: he was so good himself that he could not be- lieve such evil of others ; moreover, he disliked to change his plans, and so disappoint the people who were expecting to see him. But at length, when his friends had convinced him that there could be no mistake about this horrible plot, he yielded to their solicitations and altered his arrangements. After retiring to his room at Harrisburg, as every- body thought to rest, he put on a Scotch, plaid cap and a long military cloak, — according to some authorities, though others say that he was not disguised at all, — and stepping into a carriage which had been provided for him, was driven rapidly to the railroad-station, and returned in a special train to Philadelphia. As soon as he left the hotel at Harrisburg all the telegraph wires were cut, so that if his departure were discov- ered, it could not be made known to other cities. As soon as Mr. Lincoln arrived at Philadelphia, he boarded the night train for Washington, where he arrived safe the next morning at six o'clock. Mr. Washburn, member of Congress from Illinois, met him at the station, and escorted him to Willard's Hotel. It was immediately telegraphed all over the country that Mr. Lincoln was in Washington. When those wicked conspirators heard that he had escaped them, and that their plans had been found out and 126 TJic CJiiidrai s Life of Abraham Lincoln. baffled, they were very much enraged, and still swore that he should never be hiaugurated. Mrs. Lincoln, who, with her children, had remained behind in company with friends, soon followed her husband to Washington. Mr. Lincoln was waited on by the Mayor and Com- mon Council of the city, and was also serenaded. To the large crowd assembled on this occasion he said : — " We are in no wise disposed, if it were in our power, to oppress you, to deprive you of any of your rights under the Constitution of the United States, or even narrowly to split hairs with you in regard to these rights ; but are determined to give you, as far as lies in our hands, all your rights under the Constitution, — not grudgingly, but fully and fairly." This was the last time Mr. Lincoln appeared in public, until the day of his inauguration. CHAPTER XIII. Lincoln's Inauguration. — Personal Appearance.— Habits. HE 4th of March, 1861, had now arrived. Great anxiety was felt, not only at Washington, but all over the Union, lest the inauguration should prove a scene of bloodshed. But the venerable General Scott, the good, brave, and loyal defender of his country, had made skilful provision against an outbreak. He had called out a large military force, and if assassins were present, they did not attempt to disturb the ceremony. An immense procession escorted Mr. Lincoln to the Capitol, where, standing on a magnificent plat- form erected for him on the east front of the edifice, he took the oath of office and delivered his inaugural address, — in the presence, it is said, of at least ten 128 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. thousand persons. You shall have a few extracts from the Inaugural. Mr. Lincoln, after solemnly assuring the Southern people that he had no intention of meddling with slavery wherever it already existed, and after pledging them that all their rights under the Constitution would be respected, said : — " It is sevent3'-t\vo 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 the Gov- ernment. 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 con- stitutional term of four years, under great and peculiar diffi- culty. A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably attempted. I hold that in con- templation of universal law and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. Continue to execute all the ex- press provisions of our National Government, and the Union will endure forever, — it being impossible to destroy it, ex- cept by some action not provided for in the instrument itself '•' 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 jsxpressly 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 I shall perform it so far as practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American people. The Inaugural Address. 129 shall withhold the requisite means, or in some authoritative manner direct the contrary. In doing this, there need 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 to collect the duties and imposts ; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere. That there are per- sons 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 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 wise 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 you fly from have no real existence ? Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater than all the real ones 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 to 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. 9 I30 The Children s Life of Abraham Lincoln. "■ Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot re- move our respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. Intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. 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 old questions as to terms of intercourse are again upon you. " Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate jusrice of the people ? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our present differences, is either party without faith of being in the 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 of the American people. 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 one of you in hot haste to a step which you would never take deliberately, that object will be frus- trated by taking time ; but no good object can be frustrated by it. " In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Gov- ernment will not assail you ; you can have no conflict with- out being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath reg- istered in heaven to destroy the Government ; while I have the most solemn one to ' preserve, protect, and defend ' it. I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We Mr. Lincoln's Personal Appearance. 131 must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break, our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and every patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone 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." Perhaps you would like to know, children, how this man looked, who talked so earnestly, so calmly, and so afifectionately to all the people in the United States, but in particular, to those who wanted to get out of the United States. You must imagine to yourselves a tall man, very tall, indeed, with a mas- sive frame and very long limbs. He was also thin in flesh, and some persons have called him awkward in his movements. His head was large and finely de- veloped. He had a good forehead, fine, dark gray eyes, a slightly Roman nose, a large mouth, and a very dark complexion. His hair was black, but tinged with gray, and his voice was rich and silvery. His expression was kind and winning, though habitu- ally sad. It has been said that his face, when in repose, would not be likely to attract notice; but in addressing an audience he possessed a very remark- able power of commanding their attention. Every eye was fastened upon him, and all were silent as death. His countenance became glowing, his eye lustrous, 132 The CJiildrens Life of Abraha^n Lincoln. and his whole appearance, instead of being awkward or ungainly, was now graceful and eloquent. He was habitually neat in his dress, but not fashionable. His habits were as pure and simple as a child's. He never drank anything intoxicating, not even wine, nor used tobacco in any way. This was the kind, noble, pure-hearted man that stood in presence of this vast multitude, and begged every person who thought of trying to get out of these United States to stop a moment and ask himself what he wanted to get away from. He earnestly advised all such per- sons to count the cost, and see if they could gain anything by it. He did not tell them that he did not think he had any right to coerce them or meddle with them, whatever they did ; on the other hand, he told them expressly that he should use the power confided to him to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government, and that he should collect the duties and imposts. But he also told them that in doing this there need be no violence or bloodshed, and that there would be none, unless they themselves began the strife. They did begin it, as you shall presently hear. South Carolina was the first State to make war upon the Union, as she had been the first to secede from it. To her belong the fame and the shame of begin- ning the unholy contest. CHAPTER XIV. President Lincoln chooses his Cabinet. — The " Star of the West." — Anderson's Letter. — The President's Dilemma. — Surrender of Fort Sumter demanded and refused. — Bombardment of Fort Sumter. — Anderson Surrenders. — Exultation of the South. — Indignation of the North. ^ RESIDENT LINCOLN was in- augurated and sworn into office, ^ LJ^^=^^^ and then made public the names of his Cabinet, — his official fam- ily, with whom ho might sit down and consult concerning the mo- mentous affairs of the nation. He appointed William H. Seward of New York Secretary of State, Salmon P. Chase of Ohio Secre- tary of the Treasury, Simon Cam- eron of Pennsylvania Secretary of War, Gideon Welles of Connecticut Secretary of the Navy, Caleb B. Smith of Indiana Secretary of the Interior, Montgomery Blair of Maryland Post- 134 TJie Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. master-General, and Edward Bates of Missouri At- torney - General. The Senate confirmed all these appointments, and thus these gentlemen became Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet. You will recollect how angry the South Carolinians were because Major Anderson removed from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, and also that Mr. Floyd, Mr. Buchanan's Secretary of War, resigned on ac- count of that removal, because he said President Buchanan in allowing it had broken his promise. Floyd and several other members of this Cabinet said that Mr. Buchanan had pledged himself that no change should be made in the forts in Charleston Harbor, and that no reinforcements should be sent to any of these forts. The Northern people had begun to feel very anxious for the fate of these forts, and of Fort Sumter in particular; for it was well known that Major Anderson had but a handful of men, and was nearly out of provisions. Some generous merchants in New York, fearing that the Government did not intend to do anything for the brave Major, resolved to take the matter into their own hands. They contributed a large amount of money, and selected a steamer for the expedition. But before their preparations were completed, they found that the Government had decided to send sup- plies to the fort; so they gave up their plan. The The ''Star of the West." 135 Government made all its arrangements for reinforcing the Major with the greatest secrecy. The steamer " Star of the West " was selected for the purpose, and sailed from New York, pretending that she was bound for Havana and New Orleans. She left the wharf on the 5th of January, at five o'clock in the afternoon, and being midwinter, it was of course so dark at that hour that nobody could see what she did. She steamed down the bay just as if she had started on her course, but presently hove to and took on board soldiers, arms, ammuni- tion, and supplies, and then put out to sea, bound for Charleston Harbor. She arrived off the bar a little past one o'clock, on the morning of the 9th instant. The lighthouses were as dark as pitch, for the Rebels had put out all the lights. The steamer groped along as well as she could, taking soundings constantly with her lead. By and by the day dawned, and it was discovered that another steamer was close by. Immediately all the troops on board the "Star of the West "were sent below, and no one but the crew was allowed on deck, in order that no one might suspect what she came for. But probably everybody who saw her knew what she was and what she came for ; for even then the Rebels had their spies in all the Northern cities, who kept them constantly informed by tele- I s^ The CJdldren's Life of AbraJiam Lincoln. graph of all that was going on. At all events, when she arrived within two miles of Fort Sumter, a masked battery on Morris Island opened fire upon her, although she was flying the American flag at the time. The steamer continued on her way for about ten minutes, under fire from this battery, when another steamer, with an armed schooner in tow, was seen approaching. The captain of the " Star of the West " now concluded that, as he had no cannon to defend himself with, it would be madness for him to attempt to proceed ; so he turned about and put to sea, and thus no supplies reached Major Anderson. But although the " Star of the West " did not accomplish anything, the Rebel members of Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet were very angry that she was even allowed to sail, and Jacob Thompson resigned on that account. President Buchanan did not take the least notice of this insult to our flag, nor did he make any further attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter. On the 28th of February Major Anderson's case had become so desperate that he wrote a letter to the War Department at Washington, describing the perils of his situation, and saying that, in his opinion, it would require a force of twenty thousand men to throw reinforcements into his garrison in season to save him from starvation. This letter was not re- Fort Sumter in Danger. 137 ceived by the Department until the 4th day of March. The next day it was presented to President Lincoln, who immediately laid the case before General Scott. After thinking this subject over carefully for four whole days, and consulting officers both of the army and navy. General Scott was obliged to conclude that the Major was right. But he told the President he did not know what could be done about the matter, for the Government had not such a body of men at its disposal ; neither could it raise them, before the garrison would be out of provisions. Now, these were rather startling facts to stare the President in the face at the very beginning of his administration. What should he do? If he should abandon Fort Sumter, he would be ruined; for the Rebels would then conclude that they could do any- thing they pleased, and the North would think that the President did not intend to hinder them. But Major Anderson could not remain in the fort and starve ! Fort Pickens was also in great peril. The President was in a sad dilemma. He did not want to use force against the Rebels if he could help it. He had told them, in his inaugural address, that there would be no war unless they began it; but he had also told them that they could not be allowed to steal the property of the United States. After a 138 The Childrms Life of AbraJiam Lincoln. great deal of reflection and a conference with Gen- eral Scott, the President finally concluded that he would reinforce Fort Pickens to begin with, because he thought he had men enough at his command to do this; and perhaps by the time this was accom- plished, a way qiight be devised for reinforcing Fort Sumter. Accordingly the President despatched an order to the commander of the steamship " Brooklyn " to carry the troops in his vessel to Fort Pickens ; but, from some cause or other, these troops had been transferred to the frigate " Sabine," and the com- mander of the " Sabine " said he should not land his troops in Fort Pickens, because it was contrary to the armistice of ex-President Buchanan. A good deal of time had been consumed in sending this order, and it took as much more for the President's messenger to return to him and tell him that the commander of the " Sabine" refused to obey orders. Here was a dilemma for the President worse than the first; however, he was equal to it. He had not been idle while his messenger was gone to Fort Pickens, but had been preparing an expedition con- sisting of several vessels, with men, arms, ammuni- tion, and provisions, to be sent to Fort Pickens if necessary, and also to stop by the way and throw supplies into Fort Sumter. The President ordered Major' Anderson refuses to Surrender. 139 this expedition to sail at once, and also despatched another order to the commander of the " Sabine," and Fort Pickens was at length amply reinforced. Governor Pickens of South Carolina was now in- formed that provisions would be sent to Fort Sum- ter, — peaceably if possible, but otherwise by force. At all events, the garrison was to be provisioned. Upon this, General Beauregard, who commanded the Rebel forces at Charleston, was ordered to de- mand the instant surrender of Fort Sumter. Major Anderson refused to comply with this insolent demand. Beauregard, who knew that the garrison was nearly starved out, now asked the Major when he would evac- uate the fort, at the same time telling him that if he would promise not to use his guns against the Rebels unless they first opened fire upon him, they would not fire upon Fort Sumter. Major Anderson replied to this that he would evacuate the fort by noon of the 15th, unless before that time he should receive supplies or instructions from his Government. But it did not suit the Rebels to wait so long as this ; because they knew that supplies were on the way to the Major, although the Major himself did not know anything about it. So the Rebels sent an instant reply that they should open their batteries upon the fort within one hour, unless the Major surrendered. The South Carolinians had been engaged for about 140 TJie CJiildren's Life of Abraham Lincoln. three months in erecting batteries around this fort, and strengthening those already there, until it was threatened by a line of fortifications extending around three quarters of a circle. All this had been going on under the Major's eyes; but he was powerless to stop it; he had done the best he could, however, to strengthen himself within his own fort, for he expected an attack sooner or later from the Rebels. The fort was in an unfinished condition, and but very few of the guns were in position when he took possession of it. He had been able to mount only fifty-two in all, and but few of these were his heaviest pieces ; while those of the enemy were, many of them, of very heavy calibre. Thus the brave Major was in a poor condition to sustain a siege. The Rebel batteries began the bombardment on Friday, the 12th of April, at half-past four o 'clock in the morning. The Major took it with the utmost coolness, and made every preparation for the safety of his men, before he allowed any return fire to be made. He ordered all the sentinels to leave their posts on the parapets, closed the posterns, sent word to the men on no account to leave the bomb-proofs until the drum should summon them, then defiantly ran up the glorious old stars and stripes, and left the enemy to bang away, while he made preparations for breakfast. At half-past six the garrison all partook Fort Sumter Fired upon. 141 of this meal as leisurely as though nothing unusual was the matter. After breakfast Major Anderson divided his men into three reliefs ; each relief was to work four hours at a time at the different batteries. All this time the Rebels had been pouring shot and shells into the fort. At seven o'clock the garrison was ready to reply. The first relief took its station at the guns, and opened upon Cummings' Point battery, Fort Moultrie, and Sullivan's Island. Captain Doubleday, who was one of the commanders of this relief, had the honor of firing the first gun. During the first four hours the firing was kept up with such rapidity that the Rebels thought the fort must have been secretly reinforced. The enthusiasm of the men was so great that Major Anderson could not restrain them. The second and third reliefs could not be kept from the guns, and even the common laborers, who were not soldiers at all, would come and help ; so that, in fact, everybody in the fort was at work. By and by one of the guns was thought to be in so dangerous a position that Major Anderson ordered everybody away from it, and said it must not be fired any more. Pretty soon one of the ofificers heard this very gun go bang ! He went to it, and what do you think he saw? — a party of the common laborers serv- ing it, with not a single soldier to help them. " What 142 TJie CJiildrois Life of Abraham Lincoln. are you doing with that gun? " said the officer. " Oh, sir," repHed one of them, who could hardly speak for the tears of joy whicli choked him, " we hit the battery right in the centred Thus these brave fellows worked. Meanwhile the scene within the fort became terrific. Heavy splinters of wood and iron were flying in every direction ; red- hot shot came pouring in, setting the wood-work on fire and blinding and suffocating the men with the smoke; thirty-two pounders tore up the ground at their feet, covering them with mud and earth; and by and by an immense ninety-six pounder came bursting in just above the magazine. On Friday, while the fire was at its hottest, some- body looking through the port-holes descried the vessels in our fleet, which the President had sent. Our ships were off the bar and dipped their flag. Major Anderson immediately ordered Fort Sumter's flag to be dipped in return ; his order was obeyed by some of our brave fellows, amid the bursting of shells in every direction. About noon, on Friday, it was discovered that all the cartridges were used up ! Thereupon the men stripped off their shirt-sleeves, tore up their sheets and blankets, and a party of five shut themselves up in the magazine and began to sew for dear life, mak- ing cartridges ; and at it they kept until every avail- Fort Sumter Stirrenders. 143 able piece of cloth in the fort had been used. At last Major Anderson, fearing that the magazine would be entirely surrounded with flames, set the men to work taking out the powder. They rolled out ninety- six barrels throngJi the ragijig fire, at the peril of their lives. When it became so hot that they could not get any more, they locked the doors of the magazine. All the wood-work within the fort now burned so rapidly that it was useless to attempt to put it out, and the danger became so great that all this powder had to be thrown into the sea, except three barrels, which the men managed to protect with wet mattresses. The smoke was now so thick that the men could not see one another, and they were obliged to cover their mouths with wet cloths and throw themselves on the ground, face downward, in order to breathe. They had nothing to eat but salt pork, which was served to them at the guns. Thus these brave men fought on for thirty-four Jionrs. At length the flag- staff was shot away. One of the officers rushed boldly out and brought away the flag ; but the halliards were so tangled that it was impossible to right it; so they nailed the flag to the staff, and planted it on the ram- parts. About this time General Wigfall came up to one of the embrasures, with his handkerchief tied to his sword for a flag of truce, and in the name of Gen- eral Beauregard demanded the surrender of the fort. 144 1^1^^ CJiildrciis Life of Abraham Lincoln. Major Anderson, thinking it would be madness to remain any longer, acceded to Beauregard's demands, and marched out of the fort on Sunday afternoon, with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away all company and private property, a9id saluting the dea)' old flag iv it J i fifty guns. The men spent Sunday morning in making cartridges with which to fire the salute. When the last gun was fired the flag was lowered ; but some of its brave defenders lived to see it raised again. At the firing of the last gun an accident happened, by which one man was killed and several were wounded. This was the only death that occurred, on our side, during the whole bom- bardment, although several were wounded at difl'er- ent times within the fort. The Rebels also have al\va}'s positively declared that no death occurred on their side during this engagement ; but this statement has been doubted. The South Carolinians and the South generally felt very proud that they had been able to compel the surrender of so strong a fortress as Fort Sumter. They thought they were now in a fine condition to carry on war, if necessary, against the North ; but they did not believe the North would ever fight. The Northern people had borne so much from them al- ready, and allowed Mr. Buchanan to help them so much, without even remonstrating against it, that the Wojcld the North Fight? 145 Rebels concluded the North were such lovers of peace that they would permit them to steal all the forts and everything else they wanted, and go out of the Union unmolested, rather than have any bloodshed. They did not quite understand President Lincoln: they thought it was barely possible, if they were too saucy, that he might declare war; but they called him a coward, and looked upon him as a nobody, who was no match for their consummate skill and talent. They thought, moreover, that if President Lincoln should have the audacity to advise war, it would split the North in two, and about half would go over to their side, and thus they would become invincible. So, after the capture of Fort Sumter, and after the stars and stripes had been pulled down from that fortress, and the Confederate and Palmetto flags had been hoisted in their stead. Governor Pickens shame- lessly boasted to the people of the South that these flags should never be lowered from Fort Sumter, unless they were lowered and trailed in a sea of blood. He said: — " It is the first time that the stars and stripes have been humbled. They have triumphed for seventy years, but to- day they have been humbled, and humbled before the glori- ous little State of South Carolina ; and I pronounce here, before the civilized world, your independence is baptized in blood, your independence is won upon a glorious battlefield, 10 146 The CJiildren's Life of Abraham Lincoln. and you are free now and forever, in defiance of a world in arms." This is the way that Governor Pickens tried to render himself and his State immortal, — a kind of im- mortality one would think that he would now be very glad to part with. The Rebel Secretary of War, Mr. Walker, said at Montgomery, that while no one could tell where the war would end, he would prophesy that the Confederate flag would float over the dome of the old Capitol at Washington before the ist of May, and that it might eventually float over Faneuil Hall itself. The Rebels had certainly made the boldest and most extraordinary preparations for executing their threats. Previous to the capture of Fort Sumter, they had stolen all the arsenals, dockyards, custom-houses, and forts, and all the property in and about them, — both that which they could carry off, and that which was stationary in all the seceded States, except Fort Pick- ens, opposite Pensacola, on Santa Rosa Island, Fort Taylor, at Key West, and Fort Jefiferson, at the Dry Tortugas. They had garrisoned and strengthened all these forts, and had built some new ones besides, and were also preparing to besiege those which they had not yet taken possession of. You already know that Mr. Floyd had stripped the North of its firearms. Other members of Mr. Bu- chanan's Cabinet had also done their part in aiding Traitors. 147 the Rebels. Mr. Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, had despatched all.the war vessels to foreign countries and distant seas, so that in case of rebellion our Govern- ment would have no ships at hand for service. Mr. Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, had aided the treason with money from the public funds. Since the Rebel Government had organized, it had borrowed eight millions of dollars, had called into the field at the South, a force of nineteen thousand men, and as soon as Virginia should give notice that she intended to join the Confederacy, sixteen thousand more were ready to march to her borders. Efforts were also in progress to create a navy. Now, it would be well for you to know just how wicked these Rebels were. There were thousands of honest men in the South, but these men were trai- tors. They were planning to destroy the Government of the United States, and they openly boasted that they had been making preparations to do this for many years. They intended to put everybody out of power whom the people had chosen, and place themselves in authority, and make such laws as suited them, instead of those that pleased the people. For thirty years they had been drilling their young men for soldiers, and making all sorts of arrangements to effect these things ; but they had never been very bold about their plans until Mr. Buchanan was President, for there 148 TJic Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. had never before been a President that would have allowed them to carry out their designs. But as he and two thirds of his Cabinet had helped them all they could, the Rebels, by the time Mr. Lincoln took his seat were in a condition to assume a warlike attitude toward the United States. These forts and other property at the South, which the Rebels had taken possession of, did not belong to the several States in which they were situated, but were the propert}' of the whole United States, and were built at the expense of all the people in the United States. Fort Sumter alone cost a million of dollars. So you see, with all their other sins, what horrible thieves they were. But President Lincoln and a great portion of the Northern people thought these forts could be quietly retaken after a while. Thev did not dream that the South would do such an unheard-of and barbarous thing as to shed the blood of Union soldiers with- out any provocation whatever. When the telegraph with its thousand tongues proclaimed the shocking, shameful story that a little band of brave, half-starved Union soldiers had been fired upon for refusing to deliver up their fort to these robbers, because the President was going to send them something to eat, no pen can describe what a feeling of horror and of holy indignation was aroused in every Union breast. "War, War/" 149 All of you children who are old enough to read this book have doubtless heard your fathers and mothers describe those times. " War, war ! '" was the cr) which rose to every loyal lip, from women as well as men. The South meant to divide the North; they could not have done anything to bind it more firmly together. That Union blood shed at Fort Sumter, which Governor Pickens so shamelessly boasted had baptized the independence of South Carolina, had instead cemented all the Union-loving hearts in these United States into one heart and o;ie soul, and roused in them one glorious, mighty determination to put down, at whatever cost, such an unholv rebellion. CHAPTER XV. President Lincoln calls for Troops. — Enthusiasm at the North. — Virginia secedes. — Letters of Marque. — Blockade. — President Lincoln improvises a Navy. — Calls for more Troops. N Monday, the next day after the evacu- ation of Fort Sumter, President Lincohi issued a proclamation, part of which is given below: PROCLAMATION By the President of the United States. 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, Ala- bama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combi- nations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the mar- shal by 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, TJic First Call for Troops. 1 5 1 in order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed. The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the State authorities, through the War Department. I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and existence of the National Union and the perpetuity of popular govern- ment, and to redress 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 ob- served, consistently with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or any interference with, prop- erty, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens of any part of the country ; and I hereby command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peace- ably to their respective abodes, within twenty days from this date. You will notice how mildly yet firmly Mr. Lincoln talk.s. If the President had been obeyed and allowed quietly to retake the Government property, even the unprovoked assault upon Fort Sumter would have been forgiven, and there would have been no war. But the Rebels laughed this proclamation to scorn. Instead of going to their homes, they began to make every preparation to seize upon Washington. At the North, however, the President's proclama- 152 TJie Cldldren's Life of Abraham Lincoln. tion created the greatest enthusiasm. Almost every- body was ready to respond to his call for troops. Ministers left their pulpits, doctors their patients, lawyers their clients, merchants their counters, me- chanics their workshops, and farmers their fields. Students who were mere boys left their schools and colleges, and even some girls disguised themselves as boys and enlisted. Noble women went into hospitals as nurses. Massachusetts — to her everlasting honor be it spoken — was the first in the field. The glo- rious Massachusetts Sixth left Boston, completely equipped, for the national capital, on the next day after the proclamation was issued. In less than two days, two more regiments were on the way, and regi- ment after regiment, from all the Northern States, made all possible haste to answer the President's call. War-meetings were held in every village, and men and money without stint were offered to the Government. The Massachusetts Sixth passed through Baltimore, Maryland, on the 19th of April, where they were at- tacked by an armed secession mob ; several of the soldiers were killed, and others severely wounded. It raised the indignation and excitement of the North to the highest pitch to learn that soldiers, on their way to protect the national capital, had been assailed and murdered in a State that professed to be loyal. On the other hand, the South were in an equal Virginia Secedes. 153 state of excitement. The seceded States were very- anxious that Virginia should join them. The State convention was in session at this time, but she had not decided whether she should remain in the Union or not, until the President issued his procla- mation calling for troops ; then she immediately passed an ordi- nance of secession. A portion of the Virginians, how- ever, who were loyal, would not agree to this, and formed a separate government, which President Lin- coln recognized ; for he thought the loyal people in Virginia ought to constitute the State of Vir- ginia. But Jefferson Davis claimed the State as his, and removed the seat of govern- ment from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia. He wanted to be nearer the North ; for he declared his intention to push the war into the North, and said that whenever the war should open, the North, and not the South, should be the field of battle. OFF TO THE WAR. 154 ^^'■^ Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. But his first object was to take Washington. For this purpose, very soon after the fall of Fort Sumter, all roads and avenues leading to the city of Washing- ton were obstructed. The mails in every direction were stopped, and all the telegraph wires leading into the city were cut. The Potomac River was block- aded, and for several days the forces which the Presi- dent had called out for the protection of the city of Washington were unable to pass through Maryland. Railroads were torn up, bridges burned, and Union soldiers killed. Jefferson Davis now rapidly pushed an army into Virginia, and very soon twenty thousand men were on her soil. He also issued a proclamation offering letters of marque to all persons who wished to help the Rebels and enrich themselves by plundering and destroying the ships of the United States. A letter of marque is a commission, or license, which a sover- eign or the ruler of a nation grants to a subject to prey upon the ships of another nation with whom he is at war. But Jefferson Davis was not a sovereign, nor the ruler of a nation ; he was only a rebel in arms against his own nation, and had no more right to grant letters of marque than either you or I have, and all who accepted them made themselves pirates. In order to prevent such proceedings. President Lincoln, on the 19th of April, issued a proclamation Southern Ports Blockaded. 155 saying that a competent force would be posted to pre- vent any vessel from entering or leaving any of the Rebel ports. This was called the blockade; and the President declared that anybody who should, under the authority of these pretended letters of marque, molest a vessel of the United States, or the persons and cargo on board of her, should be treated as a pirate. The next day after issuing this proclamation the President called all his Cabinet together at the office of the Navy Department, and held a grand council with them to see what was best to be done in such an extraordinary state of affairs. Congress had ad- journed, and there was not time to call an extra session. Something must be done at once. The President therefore told these gentlemen, who consti- tuted his official family, that it was for him to choose whether, in the absence of Congress to devise meas- ures for the public safety, he should sit still and let the Government go to ruin, or avail himself of the broader powers which the Constitution confers upon the President in time of an insurrection, and try to save it. They all concluded that, come what would, the country must be saved. At the time a great many persons — and some of them were very good Union men, too — thought the President exceeded his power, and did things which 156 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. he had no right to do. But whoever calmly and can- didly reviews his whole course, from first to last, will probably say that in reality he was the wisest man in the whole country; and that if he had not taken just the very course he did take in the month of April, 1861, our nation would have been spht into a thou- sand fragments, and to-day we should be without a name or a country. Some Cahfornia treasure-ships were daily expected, and it was feared that the Rebels intended to rob them of their gold ; so the President immediately despatched an armed revenue cutter to sea for their protection. He had no ships of war at hand, as you already know ; Mr, Toucey had scattered them in every direction. The President therefore ordered the commandants of the navy-yards at Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, each to purchase or charter and arm five steam- ships as quickly as possible for the public defence. This would give him fifteen vessels to begin with. He also directed other parties to purchase and arm four more vessels, for the purpose of opening the passages by water to and from the capital. At that time there were a great many traitors in all the departments of the Government, and it was im- possible for the President to tell who could be trusted. But that he might not be foiled in his plans, he di- rected that certain private gentlemen, of whose loyalty The Second Call for Troops. 157 there could be no doubt, should assist in carrying them into effect; and in order that his directions might reach these persons in safety, the President sent trusty messengers, who took a very roundabout way to reach their destinations, going from Washing- ton across the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio to the Northern lakes, and thence to the sea-coast. On the day of this famous Cabinet meeting that we have spoken of, the President directed that all the telegraph despatches which had accumulated in all the various offices during the preceding year should be seized, to see if they would throw any light upon the plans of the Rebels. About this time the Rebels stole the arsenal at Harper's Ferry and the navy-yard at Gosport. Washington was now a camp. It was filled with soldiers, and every preparation was being made to defend it from attack. But the President soon found that there was a great deal else to be done besides protecting Washington, and that the number of troops he had called out was by no means large enough to suppress the Rebellion. Most of the men who so nobly and promptly had answered the President's call expected to serve only three months, and had hastily left their business, intending to return to it at the ex- piration of that time ; for at first the President and most of the loyal people had thought the Rebellion 158 The Children's Life of AbraJiam Lincoln. would be crushed in less than that time. But they soon perceived their mistake. The President, beginning at length to see how des- perate the Rebels were, resolved to call out a large body of troops to serve for three years, if the war should last so long, that he might not be crippled and destitute of help when the time came for the " ninety- days " men to go home. So on the 3d of May he issued another proclamation, calling for 42,034 volun- teers for three years, and ordering an addition of 22,114 ofificers and men to the regular army, and 18,000 seamen to the navy. CHAPTER XVI. Secession Sympathizers. — Suspension of tlie Writ of Habeas Corpus. — Recognition of the Rebels as Belligerents by Foreign Powers. OW, my children, I must tell you of another trouble the President had to contend with. Although the ma- jority of the peo- ple of all parties in all the non-slave- holding States, as well as a good many in the slave- holding States themselves, were loyal and responded most bravely and generously to the calls of the Presi- dent, and resolved to send the last man and spend the last dollar, if need be, in aiding him to crush the Rebellion, — still there were also many persons i6o The Children s Life of Abraham Lincoln. scattered over the country, in the very heart of the North even, who were traitors in their hearts, and, without exactly joining the Rebels, aided them se- cretly in various ways, and sometimes quite openly. The Rebels knew all about this ; and that was one of the things that made them so bold. They thought that even if no portion of the North actually went over to their side, they should nevertheless get a great deal of help from the North by means of these Rebel sympathizers. These persons were a great deal more dangerous and harder to contend with than the Rebels themselves. They were snakes in the grass ; you could not see them, but could feel their bite. Presi- dent Lincoln soon found out that these persons were likely to cause him a great deal of trouble. There were a great many traitors among the officers of the army and navy, although the President said, in his first message to Congress, that not one of the common soldiers or sailors had been known to desert their country when the Rebellion broke out. It was very hard for the President that traitors still held im- portant offices under the government. Some persons who held high civil offices were just as bad as the army and navy officers. You already know what dif- ficulties the President encountered in passing troops through Maryland. The Government of the State and a majority of the people professed to be loyal ; Rebel Syjnpathiaers. i6i but there was a big nest of secession in Baltimore, and these Rebels determined that no troops should pass through that city or any part of the State, if they could prevent it. The President told the Mayor of the city that he would not march any more troops through Baltimore, if he could avoid it, but that they must pass through some portion of the State, or the capital must be abandoned ; for he could not send troops safely by water. Soon after this some secession sympathizers went to see the President, and told him they thought there ought to be a cessation of hostilities until Congress should assemble ; they also told him that if any more troops should be marched through Maryland, seventy- five thousand persons would contest their passage. President Lincoln very quietly replied to these fellows that there would be no cessation of hostilities until the Rebellion was crushed, and he presumed there was room enough on the soil of Maryland to bury seventy-five thousand men. In order to prevent in some degree the mischief which Rebel sympathizers were doing by giving the enemy aid and comfort, the President was obliged to resort to a measure which created a great excitement among his enemies, as well as among some of his friends. This measure was called " the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus." II 1 62 The Childrejis Life of Abraham Lincoln. Habeas corpus are two Latin words meaning " You may have the body; " and the intention of the writ is to deliver a person who has been falsely imprisoned. Thus, when any one thinks he has been imprisoned from some unjust cause or upon false accusation, he appeals to the writ of habeas corpus. This writ com- mands the sheriff, or any one else to whom it may be directed, to have the body of the person who has been deprived of his liberty immediately before some competent tribunal. The person who restrained the said prisoner must also be present, and he must bring with him the cause of the restraint, that all parties may be then and there lawfully judged. This Act was originally passed in England to pre- vent the king from becoming a despot, and unlawfully imprisoning his subjects ; and it was regarded so val- uable by those persons who made the Constitution of the United States that they said it should never be suspended, " unless when, in case of rebellion or inva- sion, the public safety may require it." Mr. Lincoln thought the time had come when the public safety did require it, and he thought the Constitution gave him a right to suspend it ; accordingly he suspended it when- ever he thought proper. Many persons called him a despot, and said we should yet lose all our freedom, and the days of terror would come here, as they came in France in the time of the French Revolution. Writ of Habeas Corpus. 163 Let us see now who the persons were that Mr. Lin- cohi deprived of the writ of habeas corpus. In the early part of May, the President, who knew that the small portion of Florida which we still held in our possession was infested with traitors, directed the commander of our forces in that region to remove everybody from the United States forts that he sus- pected or considered dangerous, and to allow nobody to exercise any authority which was inconsistent with the authority of the United States ; he also authorized him to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, if he should find it necessary. That is, if the commander thought the public safety required that a man should be im- prisoned, he could not be released until President Lincoln himself thought proper to give him up. Mr. Lincoln said: "You may 7iot have the body until I think proper to deliver up the man." A few days after this, a man by the name of Merry- man, who lived in Maryland and was known to be a Rebel sympathizer, was arrested and imprisoned in Fort McHenry. The commander of this fort was Gen- eral Cadwallader. On the day of his arrest Mr. Merry- man sent a petition to Chief-Justice Taney, begging him to issue the writ of habeas corpus. The Chief- Justice immediately complied with this request, and commanded General Cadwallader to bring the body of Merryman before him on the 27th of that month. 164 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincobi. General Cadvvallader sent word to the Chief-Justice that Mr. Merry man had been placed in his keeping by officers acting under the authority of the United States, and that said Merryman had been charged with various acts of treason. He was lieutenant of a band of armed Rebels, and had been heard frequently to say that he was willing to help anybody who was engaged in rebellion against the United States. Gen- eral Cadwallader went on to say that he had been duly authorized by the President to suspend the writ of habeas corpus whenever the public safety required it. He said he knew it was a very delicate trust; but the President had also instructed him that if mistakes were made in time of civil war, they should be made on the side of safety to the country ; and consequently he should decline to obey the writ. Upon that the Chief-Justice issued an attachment against General Cadwallader for contempt of court. The marshal who was appointed to serve this attach- ment reported to the Chief-Justice that the General would not admit him within the walls of his fort, and consequently he could not serve the writ against him. The Chief-Justice now admitted that he could not help himself; but he openly declared it as his opinion that the President had no power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, nor to allow anybody else to sus- pend it. Thus it would seem as if the Chief-Justice, " Rebels " or " Belligerents " ? 165 instead of trying to help the President in his emer- gency, tried to hinder him all he could. Another writ also was issued by Judge Giles of Baltimore to Major Morris of the Artillery at Fort McHenry. But the Major wrote to the Judge that he must refuse to obey the writ, because at the time it was issued, and for some time before, the city of Bal- timore had been completely under the control of the Rebels. United States soldiers had been murdered in her streets, and rebellious persons in the city had boldly said that they would capture Fort McHenry, if they could. The Legislature of the State was even then considering whether or not she should secede from the Union. The Major thought that all these things constituted rebellion, and that it was proper to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Other rebellious persons were from time to time arrested in the same way in various parts of the coun- try ; but the President was very careful that the power should never be abused. Mr. Lincoln had another very difficult duty to per- form ; namely, to give foreign nations to understand that the United States would expect all other nations to regard the Rebels as rebels, and not as in any way, name, shape, or manner constituting an independent nation, with the right to carry on war. England, in the very beginning of the Rebellion, had called the 1 66 TJie Children's Life of AbraJiam Lineoln. Rebels " belligerents," and had declared her intention of remaining neutral; that is, she would neither help us nor the Rebels. Now, a belligerent is a nation or a State that has the right to carry on war. So Presi- dent Lincoln said the Rebels were not belligerents, but insurgents, or rebels in arms against their own Government, and must be so regarded by all other nations. I will give you a little extract from a letter which Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, sent to Mr. Adams, our Minister to England, which will ex- plain better than I can tell you what the Government said to England. Says Mr. Seward : — " What is now seen in this country is the occurrence, by no means peculiar, but frequent in all countries, — more fre- quent, even, in Great Britain than here, — of an armed insur- rection engaged in attempting to overthrow the regularly constituted and established Government. There is, of course, the employment of force by the Government to suppress the insurrection, as every other Government necessarily employs force in such cases. But these incidents by no means con- stitute a state of war, impairing the sovereignty of the Govern- ment, creating belligerent sections, and entitling foreign States to intervene, or act as neutrals, between them." , Communications expressing the same sentiments were sent to all foreign nations with whom we hold intercourse. Thus you see, children, the President's hands were The Pre side Jifs Great Difficulties. 167 pretty full. He not only had to watch the Rebels at home and use all sorts of unheard-of means to sup- press them, — such as creating an army, improvising a navy, and setting aside the authority of the Chief- Justice himself; but he had to see that foreign nations did not encourage the Rebels to hold out in their strife, by admitting in any way that they had a right to take up arms against the United States. CHAPTER XVII. Special Session of Congress. — The President's Message. — De- feat of our Troops at Bull Run, — McClellan succeeds McDowell. — Union Successes on the Coast. — Disaster at Ball's Bluff. — Scott's Resignation. — McClellan succeeds Scott. — Dranesville. — The Trent Affair. HEN the President issued his first proclama- tion calHng for troops, he summoned Congress to assemble at the na- tional capital at noon on the fourth day of July. Doubtless the Rebels waited on purpose until Congress had adjourned, before they began hostil- ities. \V h e n they at- tacked Fort Sumter, the Senators and Representatives were scattered all over the Union. Probably the Rebels thought they should have time to get their special Session of Congress. 169 mischief so far under way before Congress could be called together, that it would be impossible to stop it. The President feared this, too ; for while he immedi- ately summoned an extra session of Congress, he did not wait two or three months till the Congressmen could meet at Washington, and so let the country go to ruin, for fear that in trying to save it he might do something which some persons would find fault with as being unconstitutional ; but he took the liberty of doing everything which his excellent judgment and cool, clear common-sense told him must be done at home and abroad to save the nation. After a time the Rebels found that they had neither a coward nor a nobody to deal with. Congress met on the 4th of July, in response to the President's summons; and he immediately sent in his Message, in which he described the state of the coun- try and his own proceedings in regard to it, and also advised Congress to place such means at the disposal of the Government as would quickly end the contest and wind up the plots of the Rebels. For this purpose the President thought it would require four hundred thousand men and four hundred millions of dollars. The Rebels had become so deter- mined in their resistance that some persons began to think it would be better to have no more fighting, but let them go in peace, if they wanted to. But Presi- I70 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. dent Lincoln did not think it was possible to let them go ; and on this point he said in his Message : — " The nation purchased with money the countries out of which several of these States were formed ; is it just that they shall go off without leave and without refunding? The nation paid very large sums (in the aggregate, I believe, nearly a hundred millions) to relieve Florida of the aboriginal tribes ; is it just that she shall now be off without consent or without making any return ? The nation is now in debt for money applied to the benefit of these so-called seceding States, in common with the rest ; is it just that either creditors shall go unpaid, or the remaining States pay the whole? A part of the present national debt was contracted to pay the old debts of Texas ; is it just that she shall leave and pay no part of this herself? " Again, if one State may secede, so may another ; and when all shall have seceded, none is left to pay the debts. Is this quite just to creditors ? Did we notify them of this sage view of ours when we borrowed their money? If we now recognize this doctrine by allowing the seceders to go in peace, it is difficult to see what we can do if others choose to go or to extort terms upon which they will promise to remain." Remarking on another point of controversy, the President said : — '•' Our popular Government has often been called an experi- ment. Two points in it our people have already settled, — the successful estabUshing and the successful administering President Lincobi s Message. 171 of it. One still remains, — its successful maintenance against a formidable internal attempt to overthrow it. It is now for them to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly carry an election can also suppress a rebellion ; that ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors of bullets ; and that when ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided, there can be no successful appeal back to bullets ; that there can be no successful appeal, except to ballots themselves, at suc- ceeding elections. Such will be a great lesson of peace ; teaching men that what they cannot take by an election, neither can they take by a war ; teaching all the folly of being the beginners of a war." Now, you know, children, that the Rebels bitterly learned the very lesson that Mr. Lincoln here teaches. They learned that what they could not obtain by their votes, they could not get by their bullets ; and they learned their folly in beginning the war. Mr. Lincoln closes his Message, by saying : — " It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the duty of employing the war power in defence of the Gov- ernment forced upon him. He could but perform this duty or surrender the existence of the Government. As a private citizen, the Executive could not have consented that these institutions shall perish ; much less could he, in betrayal of so vast and so sacred a trust as these free people have con- fided to him. He felt that he had no moral right to shrink, or even to count the chances of his own life, in what might follow. In full view of his great responsibility, he has so far 172 The Children s Life of Abraham Lincoln. done what he has deemed his duty. You will now, according to your own judgment, perform yours. " And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly hearts." Congress remained in session a month and two days. It adopted the strongest and most earnest measures for the suppression of the Rebellion, ap- proved of everything the President had done, and gave him even more power than he had asked for to carry on the war. The people were delighted at these proceedings, and felt sure that if such harmony con- tinued to exist between the President and Congress, the Rebellion would soon be crushed. But, alas ! it was a greater work than they had anticipated. All this time, since the fight at Sumter, the military on either side had not been idle. The Rebels were very enthusiastic for carrying on the war, and thousands of their young men had volunteered. The greater portion of their army was pushed up toward the Northern border, and the Rebels made the greatest exertions to induce Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee to join them. But the President was so judicious in his movements that all but the last- named State refrained from actually joining them. All through the latter part of spring and early part of the summer the Rebels had been constantly march- The Battle of Bull Run. 173 ing troops into Virginia, extending their lines from Harper's Ferry to Norfolk. They had also planted batteries all along the right bank of the Potomac, below Washington, and thus that city was in great danger. By the last of June they had taken up a very strong position along a small stream called Bull Run, their army numbering some thirty-five thousand men. The Rebels, who knew every inch of Virginia, had well chosen their ground. The situation was one of great natural strength, and it was very difficult to ap- proach it with an army, on account of woods and the uneven surface of the country. They had also pro- tected it with heavy earthworks. Our people had observed the movements of the enemy with great concern, and at length it was determined to attack this force and drive it away from the vicinity of Washington. Everybody believed this could be done, and that it would put an end to the war. About the middle of July the Union forces, which were stationed in front of Washington under the com- mand of General McDowell, took up the line of march for Manassas Junction. On the 21st a terrific battle was fought. Until late in the afternoon it was thought the victory would be ours, when suddenly the tide turned in favor of the Rebels, and our army, seized with a terrible panic, was not only defeated, but utterly routed. 1/4 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. Many of the soldiers turned and ran for Washing- ton, in spite of all the efforts of their officers to restrain them. But it must be remembered that most of these men came from peaceful pursuits, and had never been in a battle before. It is a very different thing to be in a battle from what it is to stay at home and talk and read about one. At the time both General Mc- Dowell and the soldiers were severely blamed ; but good judges have since thought that nobody was to blame, — that all did as well as they could under the circumstances. There had been considerable skir- mishing and some small engagements before in vari- ous places ; but this was the first great battle of the w'ar, and our failure took everybody by surprise. All had counted on victory as sure, and we could hardly believe the terrible despatches which told us of our great disappointment. But nobody was dis- couraged, or thought of such a thing as giving up, although people began to see that it would take more than one battle to end the war, and that the only way was to try again, and keep on trying until God should see fit to bless us with success. The Rebels pursued our forces and established their pickets within a few miles of Washington, and before the end of the summer had a large army in front of the city. General McDowell had been so unfortunate at Bull Run that it was thought best to General McClcllan in Command. 175 place another commander over the Union troops. General McClellan was considered the most suitable man, and the day after the battle of Bull Run he was recalled from Western Virginia, where he had been successfully skirmishing with the enemy, and was placed in command of the army of the Potomac. Every effort was now made to reorganize and strengthen this army, and put it in a condition to push back the enemy. On the i6th of August the President issued a pro- clamation forbidding all intercourse with the seceded States, and on the same day General Wool took com- mand at Fortress Monroe, where a considerable body of our troops had been for some time under General Butler. The Government now determined to retake some of the places along the Atlantic coast which the Rebels had seized and fortified. For this purpose, in the latter part of August, a fleet of war vessels and transports left Fortress Mon- roe to make a combined military and naval attack upon Forts Hatteras and Clark, which the Rebels had erected on the north side of Hatteras Inlet. The ex- pedition, under the command of General Butler and Flag-Officer Stringham, was entirely successful ; and after a bombardment of a day and a half, both forts were captured, together with several hundred prison- ers, a large number of arms, and other valuable prop- 1/6 TJie Children's Life of AbraJiani Lincoln. erty. In October a similar expedition was planned for the capture of Port Royal, an island on the coast of South Carolina, which the Government wanted for a naval rendezvous. Port Royal has a very fine harbor, where vessels drawing twenty-three feet of water can ride at anchor. But the approach to this harbor from the sea is across a dangerous bar or shoal. Before the war the channel across this bar was marked by buoys, which made the passage over it perfectly easy; but the Rebels, knowing that this would be a very fine position for the Government to occupy, had torn up all the old way-marks, in the hope that if any of our vessels attempted to sail in, they would be wrecked on the bar. The Yankees, however, were a match for them. This expedition, commanded by Flag-Officer Du Pont and General Sherman, sailed from Fortress Monroe on the 29th instant. On the third day after sailing, a heavy gale set in, which scattered the fleet in every direction. The wind blew like a hurricane for thirty hours ; but after it subsided, the ships found one another again, and in due time arrived off Port Royal bar. The first thing Du Pont did was to find the old channel and replace the buoj^s ; he had no idea of being wrecked on the bar, to begin with. The small vessels that could sail Capture of Port Royal. 177 in shallow water were first sent over, and were met by a fleet of small Rebel steamers, which had come out to dispute their passage ; but the Yankees soon put them to flight. The next day all the big frigates crossed the bar and got ready for a fight, which it was expected would come off the next morning ; but as it stormed very hard, Du Pont concluded to wait another day. At half-past nine o'clock on the morning of the 7th of November, Du Pont, at the head of his fleet, steamed up close to Bay Point, and poured a broadside into Fort Beauregard, which commanded one side of the harbor; then steaming around to the other side, he paid the same compliment to Fort Walker. In this manner all the fleet sailed around in a circle, firing first at one fort and then at the other, till two o'clock; by that time the Rebels were glad to give in. They did not stop to be taken prisoners, but ran off, leaving everything but their muskets. The forts were thus captured, with a large quantity of war materiel. While these successes were being gained, another disaster befell the army of the Potomac. When Gen- eral McClellan took command of this army, it num- bered about fifty thousand men ; but fresh troops poured in faster than the Government could arm them, notwithstanding every armory in the country was filled with men working at the top of their speed 1/8 TJic Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. day and night and Sundays too, and the Government had sent agents to foreign countries to purchase arms. By the middle of October such had been the activity and patriotism of the people that the Army of the Potomac numbered more than a hundred and fifty thousand men, with a large artillery force. The troops were in splendid condition, in excellent disci- pline, and under the command of very skilful officers. All, officers and men, were alike impatient to move. In October General McClellan ordered a portion of our forces to cross the Potomac in the direction of a town called Leesburg. There was a brigade of Rebels in this place, and the General wished to make a movement which would compel them to leave it. On the Virginia side the bank of the river opposite Harrison's Island is very steep and about eighty feet high, and is called Ball's Bluff". Our troops were met at this place by the enemy in great force, and repulsed with heavy loss. The men fought bravely; but the enemy outnumbered them, and they were not rein- forced as they should have been. The people were very much provoked at this disaster, because they thought the aff*air was badly managed, and the lives of our brave soldiers needlessly sacrificed. Soon after this General McClellan was called upon to assume still higher duties. On the last day of October General Scott, who was McClcllan appointed General-in-Chief. lyg very infirm and too old to take the field in person, resigned his position. The Government were very- sorry to part with the services of so valuable and dis- tinguished a man ; but they knew he was too feeble to bear such an amount of care as must rest upon the General-in-Chief in such disastrous times: they were obliged, therefore, to accept his resignation. The President, however, thought the brave old General, who had rendered such important aid to his country, ought to retire with the highest honors that could be shown him. So he and his Cabinet waited upon General Scott in person, and expressed the deepest regret that the country must part with him. The President also issued an order that the General's pay, subsistence, and allowances should continue without reduction. General McClellan was now appointed General-in- Chief of the armies of the United States, but he also retained personal command of the Army of the Poto- mac. The weather was fine during all this autumn, and the President and the people and the soldiers were alike impatient for a movement of this army ; but for some reason or other, McClellan thought it was not best to move. Toward the latter part of December, however, a sharp action occurred at a little village called Dranesville. There was a quan- tity of forage at this place, which McClellan wished to secure. i8o The Childrciis Life of Abraham Lincoln, Accordingly General Ord was despatched with a brigade and a large number of wagons to gather it. The Rebel General Stuart was bound for the same place on the same errand. A short but very spirited contest took place between the two armies, in which General Ord was successful; he returned at night to his camp, with forty loads of forage. After this the Army of the Potomac went into winter quarters. The people were very much dissatisfied that no advance had been made upon the enemy all that glorious autumn. Our army was known to be far superior in number to the Rebel army, and yet the enemy was allowed to come nearer and nearer to Washington. Man}- persons blamed the President and his Cabinet, and thought they purposely hindered McClellan. But this was a great mistake. The Pres- ident was more anxious for a movement than any one else, and did all he could to assist McClellan. In the mean time our forces in other parts of the country had not been idle ; and at length, after a series of combined movements, the Rebels were driven out of Western Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri. On the 3d of December our forces took possession of Ship Island. The Rebels all this time had been as busy as bees, strengthening themselves in every way they could think of. Their pirates had infested our seas, and Captain Wilkes and the ''Trenty i8i destroyed a large number of our merchant-vessels. Their so-called Congress had met at Richmond, and passed acts to raise a large amount of money, and to empower Jefferson Davis to accept a great number of volunteers. It was impossible to find out much about the Rebels, but enough was known to render it certain that they intended to make a very deter- mined resistance. They appointed commissioners to several European nations, asking those powers to recognize them as belonging to the family of nations, and to make treaties of amity and commerce with them. Messrs. J. M. Mason and John Slidell were sent as commissioners to France and England. These gentlemen had succeeded in getting to Ha- vana in a steamer which had run the blockade at Charleston. Upon their arriving at Havana, the British mail-steamer "Trent," bound for St. Thomas, took them on board; from thence they were to proceed to Europe. Captain Wilkes of the United States frigate " San Jacinto," who was sailing about in these waters in search of Confederate cruisers, came up with the "Trent" the next day, and firing a shot across her bows, hailed her, and told her he wished to send a boat on board. So Captain Wilkes sent his lieutenant on board the " Trent," who, by the Captain's order, demanded to see the passenger-list. This request the captain of the "Trent" refused to 1 82 The Children'' s Life of Abraham Lincoln. grant. The lieutenant, however, soon found out to a certainty that Messrs. J. M. Mason and John Slidell, with their secretaries, were on board the "Trent," and he told these gentlemen they must leave their present quarters, and go with him on board the " San Jacinto." This they all stoutly refused to do, but were at length compelled to obey the order of Captain Wilkes. After the removal of the commissioners, the " Trent " was allowed to proceed on her voyage ; but these gentlemen, with their secretaries, were brought to the United States, and placed for safe- keeping in Fort Warren. Everybody in the United States admired the boldness and courage of Captain Wilkes in capturing these Rebel emissaries, and the Secretary of the Navy sent Mm a complimentary letter. But it was thought that in some respects the affair was not quite legal, and England was so v^ery angry that many persons feared it would be the cause of a war. England sent us word that the only redress which would satisfy her w^ould be that the United States should make her a suitable apology, and im- mediately liberate these four gentlemen and place them under British protection. The people thought our Government would not do this; but Mr. Lincoln said one war at a time was plenty. So he directed War with England Avoided. 183 Mr. Seward to say to England that the Government of the United States would cheerfully liberate these four persons, because Captain Wilkes had acted upon his own responsibility in capturing them, instead of sending them before a legal tribunal, where they could have a trial. Thus, by the wise forbearance of the President, we were saved from war with England ; and England herself was so pleased at this action of our Govern- ment that she did not recognize the Southern Confederacy. CHAPTER XVIII. The President's Order. — Yorktown. — Williamsburg. — Advance of the Army. — McClellan's Retreat to James River. — Pope succeeds McClellan. — McClellan succeeds Pope. — South Mountain. — A..ntietam. — Burnside succeeds McClellan. — Union Successes in the West. — Capture of New Orleans. — Report by Congress on the Conduct of the War. HAVE thus endeavored, children., to relate to you the principal events of the }'ear i86i. Now we will glance briefly at the most important military events of 1862. You have seen that the greater part of 1861 was spent by both sides in getting ready to carry on a tremendous war. The Rebels were determined to beat. They meant to have their own way. We, on the other hand, were as much determined that they should not beat, — that this glorious country should never go to ruin. Therefore, when the Northern people had been so generous and offered the Gov- ernment everything it wanted to prosecute the war, men and money without stint, they expected our soldiers would begin immediately to fight the Rebels in good earnest, and end the war as soon as possible. The Army of the Potomac. 185 Perhaps the people were too impatient, and did not understand so well as the General-in-Chief what was proper to be done. You will recollect how disap- pointed they were that there was no movement of the Army of the Potomac during the autumn of 1 86 1. There was a great deal else to be done in various other parts of the country; but everybody thought the main contest must be between our Army of the Potomac and the Rebel army in Virginia. We wanted to take their capital, Richmond, and they wanted to take our capital, Washington. We had fortified Washington, and the Rebels had fortified Richmond ; but our army was larger, better equipped, and better fed, and we wanted it to push forward and make a grand descent upon Richmond. It seemed to those who stayed at home that this might be done, or, at all events, that an attempt to do it should be made. The President was very impatient, indeed, that the contest should begin; so he selected the 22d of February, Washington's Birth- day, as the time for a general movement of all the Union armies against the enemy. The President, by virtue of his position, was commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and he had a right to give any order he chose. But besides issuing this general order to all the land and naval forces, he sent a special order to General McClellan, telling him that after providing 1 86 TJie Children s Life of Abi'aJiam Lincoln. for the safety of Washington he should form the re- mainder of the Army of the Potomac into an expedi- tion to seize and occupy a place on the railroad southwest of Manassas Junction. The Rebels had a large army in front of Washington, and the Presi- dent thought that by thus making a flank attack our army could defeat it, and rush upon Richmond, and so break the main strength of the Rebellion. General McClellan did not approve of the President's plan at all, and proposed an entirely difterent one, to which Mr. Lincoln at length consented. But before anything could be done about carrying it into opera- tion, the enemy marched away from Manassas of their own accord. McClellan now proposed a new plan of operations, to which the President gave his consent, with the provision that Washington must be left secure, and a sufficient force left at Manassas to prevent the enemy from retaking it. He then begged McClellan to move the remainder of his army imme- diately in pursuit of the enemy by some route. The President was much pained that our army had waited so long with the enemy right in front ot it at Manassas, and also much m.ortified that the Rebels had got safely off, not only without being attacked, but without their plans being even suspected. He thought, therefore, that it was high time to do some- thing, and begged General McClellan not to delay. Siege of Yorktown. 187 The General now proceeded to Fortress Monroe with the main body of his army, and advanced upon Yorktown, This place had been strongly fortified, and was held by the Rebel General Magruder, with a force of about eleven thousand men. McClellan, however, supposed there was a much larger Rebel force, and so, instead of making a direct attack, com- menced preparations for a siege ; in the mean time the Rebels were gradually concentrating at Rich- mond. After the siege of Yorktown had continued a month, it was discovered one morning that the enemy were missing. McClellan immediately pur- sued them, and came up with them the next day at Williamsburg, where a sharp action occurred, in which our army was victorious ; and the Rebels fled for Richmond. On the 9th of May the enemy evacuated Norfolk, and the next day General Wool took possession of the city. The Rebels now blew up their famous iron- clad " Merrimac," which had done a great deal of mischief, and had held all our naval force at Fortress Monroe in check. Our gunboats now tried to open the navigation of the James River; but when they had arrived within eight miles of Richmond, a battery opened fire upon them at Drury's Bluff, and they could go no farther. McClellan gradually pushed his army up the penin- 1 88 The Children s Life of Abraham Lincoln. sula, and by the 20th of May the main body had reached the Chickahominy, which is a small muddy river from six to sixteen miles distant from Rich- mond. On either side of the stream are forests and marshy lands, which, when the river overflows its banks, become impassable swamps. The Rebels had entrenched them- selves, for the defence of Richmond, behind this swampy stream. It was ne- cessary to build bridges and roads, to enable our army to cross the river and swamps. The ground was so marshy that the men were obliged to work up to their waists in water; and many became ill and died from the exposure. But the brave fellows never shrunk from any duty; and six bridges and many miles of road were built. In the mean time battles were fought at Hanover Court House and Fair Oaks, both of which proved Union victories. McClellan at length became convinced that he A VOLUNTEER. Battle of Antictam. 189 could not hold his position, and resolved to retreat to James River. On the afternoon of the 26th of June the enemy attacked our forces at Mechanics- ville, which was the beginning of a most terrific contest of seven days. All this time our forces were retreating; they arrived finally at James River, and fell back to Harrison's Landing. On the 8th of July President Lincoln reviewed the troops at this place, and held a long consultation with General McClellan in regard to what should be done next. General McClellan was at length placed in command of the troops for the defence of Wash- ington, and General Pope assumed command of the Army of the Potomac. After a severe campaign Pope was relieved, at his own request, and McClellan was reappointed to the command of the Army of the Potomac. In the month of September it was found that Lee was invading Maryland. McClellan marched imme- diately to attack him, and on the 14th of that month the battle of South Mountain was fought, which proved a Union victory. Three days after occurred the battle of Antietam, in which the Rebels were en- tirely defeated ; but no pursuit was made, and they were allowed quietly to recross the Potomac. On the 1st of October the President again visited the army, to learn for himself its strength and posi- IQO The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. tion. On the 6th instant he sent a peremptory order to McClellan to cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy or drive him south. The President said to him: "You must move noiv, while the roads are good." This order was not obeyed for nearly a month, McClellan alleging various reasons for the delay. During this time many communications passed between the President and the General, and the Pres- ident tried with all his might to remove all the diffi- culties which McClellan said prevented him from moving. In the mean time the Rebel General Stuart made a raid into Pennsylvania with a force of about twenty-five hundred cavalry, and after helping him- self to clothing, horses, and other supplies, and burn- ing up the railroad-station, returned, having ridden completely around our army without being molested. Finally, on the 5th of November, McClellan sent word to the President that he had crossed his army into Virginia. But before this the people had be- come so impatient that something should be done, and the President himself was so perplexed at Mc- Clellan's delays, that he had determined to remove him, and place somebody else in command of the Army of the Potomac. So it happened that on the same day on which McClellan sent his despatch to the President an order was issued, relieving the Gen- Bicrnside succeeds McClcllaii. 191 era] from command, and appointing General Burnside as his successor. This closed McClellan's connection with the war. I have here noticed very briefly, children, some of the principal events of his campaign. You will read in other books full and interesting accounts of his entire career; but in so small a work as this only a small space can be given to any general. McClellan was very unfortunate, and some persons have said that his failures were owing to President Lincoln's failure to sustain him. But whoever will take the trouble to read the official papers on both sides will see that this is an unjust accusation. The Presi- dent not only sustained him to the utmost of his ability, but kept him in command a long time after he was urged in the strongest manner to remove him. He also tried, in the fulness of his generous heart, to shield McClellan from blame, when the public voice was loud against him after his retreat to James River. At a war-meeting in Washington the President said : " I know General McClellan wishes to be successful, and I know he does not wish it any more than the Secretary of War for him ; and both of them together no more than I wish it. General McClellan has sometimes asked for things that the Secretary of War did not give him. General McClellan is not to blame for asking what he wanted and needed, and the Secretary of War is not to blame for not giving when he 192 The Childrcji's Life of AbraJiaui Lincoln. had none to give. And I say here, as far as I know, the Secretary of War has withheld no one thing at any time in my power to give him. I have no accusation against him. I beheve he is a brave and able man, and I stand here, as justice requires me to do, to take upon myself what has been charged on the Secretary of War as withholding from him." This was the President's noble disposition. He was always more ready to take all blame upon him- self than to allow it to rest upon others. On the 13th of December an unsuccessful battle was fought by the Army of the Potomac, under General Burnside. We will now return to the beginning of the year 1862, and see what was accomplished by the Union army in other portions of the country. To enable you to understand what I am about to relate, we must go back a little into the year 1861. If you will take some good map and look out all the places that are mentioned, you will have a much better idea of what was done. The Rebels held control of a great portion of the Mississippi River, and the President thought one of the most important things to be done was to take it from them. A base of operations was established at Cairo, Illinois, at which place the Ohio River unites with the Mississippi. General Grant was in com- mand here, and a big fleet of gun and mortar boats General Grant in the West. 193 was in preparation. For several months after the war began, Kentucky called herself neutral, and said she would have nothing to do with the contest in any- way; but in the early part of September, 1861, Bishop Polk, who was then a Rebel general, marched into Kentucky, and took possession of Columbus and Hickman, on the Mississippi. The Rebels now held all the Mississippi below these places to its very mouth, Polk began to fortify these points, when Grant immediately marched into Kentucky and took possession of Paducah. Soon after, the Rebel General Zollicoffer marched into the southeastern part of the State, and the Rebel General Buckner took possession of Bowling Green. This was a very' important strategic point, as it was a place of great natural strength, and also at the junction of the railroads from Memphis and Nashville to Louisville. These positions which the Rebels had taken formed a part of a line of posts reaching from the Mississippi River to Cumberland Gap. The most important military positions on this line were Colum- bus on the Mississippi, Fort Henry on the Tennessee, Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, Bowling Green, and Mill Spring. We are now prepared to under- stand what took place in this part of the country in the year 1862. On the 19th of January General Thomas gained a 13 194 ^Jic Children's Life of AbraJiarn Lincoln. decided victory at Mill Spring; the Rebels were put to flight, and Zollicoffer was killed. On the 6th of February Captain Foote, with a fleet of gunboats, captured Fort Henry. Buckner now thought it would not be safe for him to remain at Bowling Green ; so he proceeded with all his troops to Fort Donelson. But Grant was after him, and the fort was captured, together with Buckner himself and sixteen thousand men. Columbus was soon after evacuated, and also Nashville, the capital of Tennessee. The Legislature fled from Nashville to Memphis ; and Andrew Johnson, who was then a Senator, was appointed by President Lincoln Military Governor of the State. After Columbus and Nashville had been abandoned, the Rebels took up some very strong positions on the Mississippi, at New Madrid and Island Number Ten ; they also fortified themselves at Corinth. General Pope took New Madrid from them on the 14th of March, and immediately after Flag-Officer Foote, with a fleet of gunboats, attacked Island Number Ten. This position was very strong, however, and held out for more than three weeks ; but at length it surrendered. In the mean time Grant was pushing for Corinth. On the 6th of April his advance-guard was attacked at Shiloh, near Pittsburg Landing, and a most terrific fight occurred, which lasted for two days. The Admiral Farragiit takes New Orleajis. 195 Rebels were badly whipped, and fled for Corinth. This was a very strong position, and they remained there until the 30th of May; then they retreated, and General Pope went in pursuit. After Island Number Ten was captured, the Rebels made a stand at Fort Wright, which is about fifty miles above Memphis. Our gunboats soon attacked this place, and the fort was abandoned on the 4th of June. Two days later Memphis surrendered. Thus, you see, we had taken quite a large portion of the upper part of the Mississippi. But this was not all of the Mississippi that had been gained. Still more important victories had been won down at its very mouth. The river was commanded, below the city of New Orleans, by two very strong forts, one on each side, called Fort Jack- son and Fort St. Philip. Between these two forts a chaia had been thrown across the river. On the i6th of April Commodore Farragut, with an immense fleet of gunships and mortar-boats, moved up the river for the capture of New Orleans. It was a most difficult and perilous undertaking, but the Commodore did not shrink. He bombarded the forts, broke the heavy iron chain, ran past the Rebel batteries, destroyed the enemy's rams and gunboats, and in seven days had captured the city, which he occupied on the 25th instant. 196 The Childrciis Life of Abraham Lincoln. While all these things were going on, General Burnside had been doing great things in still anotlier part of the country. A combined military and naval expedition, commonly called the " Burnside Expedi- tion," sailed from Hampton Roads on the 12th of January, under the command of General Burnside and Flag-Officer Goldsborough, for the capture of Roanoke Island. A terrible tempest delayed the fleet, but at length, on the 7th of February, the strong intrenchments of Roanoke Island were stormed and the forts captured. Many Rebels were taken prisoners. On the next day our vessels sailed up the sound to Elizabeth City, destroyed the enemy's gunboats, and took possession of several towns. On the 14th of March General Burnside followed up his successes by fighting the battle of Newbern, captur- ing the city, and gaining a very important victory. Du Pont was also doing his part by capturing the principal seaports of Florida ; he also took Fort Pulaski, on the river Savannah. In March General Curtis gained a splendid victory at Pea Ridge, Ar- kansas. In the first part of October a very severe battle was fought near Corinth, which the Rebels attempted to retake ; but they were driven back with great loss by our forces, under General Rosecrans. At the close of the year a committee of Congress- men, appointed to report concerning the conduct of Close of the Year 1862. 197 the war, said that during the autumn of 1861 and the winter and spring of 1862 the Union troops had been for the most part successful, except the Army of the Potomac ; and that if the success of that army had been as great as other branches of our forces, the RebeUion would have been well-nigh if not entirely overthrown by the end of the year 1862. -^^^M:.r^^^^f: &^1# "he died for us." CHAPTER XIX. The President's Position in regard to Slavery. — Meeting of Con- gress. — Confiscation Bill. — The Border States. — Slavery in the Territories and District of Columbia abolished. — Emancipation Proclamation. — Confederate Cruisers. — Action of Mr. Adams. HIS is all the space that we can devote to the military events of 1 862. Now we shall see what else the President did to bring back peace and harmony to the country. You will remember that before the war act- ually broke out the leaders of the Rebellion had done their utmost to inflame the minds of the Southern people against President Lincoln, telling them that he intended to rob them of their slaves and deprive them of all their lawful rights under the Constitution. The President and Slavery. 199 After the war commenced, these reports were circu- lated more vigorously than ever. The South was told that the whole object of the war, on the part of the President and the North, was not, as was pre- tended, for the preservation of the Union and the Constitution, but for the emancipation of the slaves. Jefferson Davis and other leaders of the Rebellion had told this story over and over again, coloring it with the greatest ingenuity, in order to madden the Southern people, and to induce the slave-holding States which had not yet seceded to go over to their side. On the other hand, President Lincoln assured the South, as soon as he assumed the government, that he had no intention of interfering with slavery where it already existed, and that he believed he had no lawful right to do such a thing. In the early part of the war he still adhered to this position. He in- tended that the whole nation. South as well as North, should see that he meant what he said ; that the whole object of the war was to put down an armed rebellion ; and that as soon as the Rebels were will- ing to lay down their arms and obey the laws of the land, the war would no longer exist. The slave States which had not yet joined the rebellion, and which were called the border States, could not help seeing that the President was sincere ; so instead of seced- 200 TJie Children's Life of Abraham Li)icoln. ing, they waited to see what he would do, and finally sent a great many Union soldiers into the field. At first fugitive slaves were not allowed to come within the lines of our armies ; but when this could no longer be prevented, the Government proclaimed that whenever it employed the slaves, all loyal mas- ters should be paid for their services. Distinguished generals also proclaimed, in various parts of the coun- try, that not only would they refrain from interfering with slaves, but if any insurrection should arise among them, the Union army would, with an iron hand, assist to crush it. President Lincoln thought that by being thus forbearing and patient with the South, reason would after a time get the better of her passions, and she would see her mad folly in its true light, and come back into the Union. But all this kindness of the President did not appear to have any good eft"ect upon the Rebels. They not only fought harder than ever against their country, but tried to make England and France be- lieve that the President was in favor of slavery. The President's course, however, no doubt prevented the border States from joining the Rebellion, and thus it was a very wise course ; for if all the slave States had seceded, probably the country must have been ruined. The President pursued this mild plan toward the TJie " Confiscation Bill." 201 Rebels all through the first year of the war and part of the second ; but by and by, when he saw how more and more determined the Rebels were, he be- gan to think the good of the whole country demanded that more vigorous measures should be undertaken. It was well known everywhere that the slaves were of great assistance to the Rebels. They cultivated the plantations while their masters were gone to the war. Many of them were also at work digging trenches and building fortifications, thus giving the South many more soldiers than she would have had if white men had been obliged to do all this work. Congress met as usual in December, the last month of the year 1861, and all through the winter of 1861 and 1862 held a great many discussions upon the growing resistance of the Rebels. Various measures were proposed to weaken their power. At length a very important bill was passed called the " Confisca- tion Bill." This bill gave the Rebels to understand that if they persisted in rebellion, their property would be seized for the benefit of the United States, and their slaves would be freed. It also gave the President power to employ as many persons of Afri- can descent as he might think proper, to aid in suppressing the Rebellion. There had been an active and influential party at the North which, ever since the contest began, had 202 TJie CJiildrejis Life of Abraham Lincoln. loudly asserted that slavery was the whole cause of the Rebellion, and that the only way to end the war was to crush slavery. As soon as this bill was passed, the President was beset by delegation after delegation, begging him immediately to emancipate every slave in the land, to arm these slaves and place them in the Union ranks, and so end the war at once. Many persons called him slow, and accused him of being very remiss in his duty because he did not pursue this course. But the President never did anything rashly. No- body could coax or threaten him into doing anything, until he saw it clearly to be his duty. He felt that he was President of the whole United States, of the South as well as the North, and like a wise father of a family determined that every member of it should be treated fairly and justly, however bad and rebellious he might be. And so, instead of being vio- lent and harsh, and declaring right off, without a mo- ment's warning, that all the slaves should be free, he first reasoned in the kindest and calmest manner with the slave-holders. He told them their own good sense should teach them that if the war continued, their slaves must become free ; and rather than have the war continue, he was willing to buy their slaves, paying a fair price for them. He sent a resolution to Congress to the same effect. Proposition to buy the Slaves. 203 The President thought that if Congress would make such an offer, perhaps the border States, which had not yet joined the RebelHon, might accept it. He thought it was a fair offer for both sides ; for if the war continued, all the slaves must after a time become free, and those slave-holders who had not joined in the Rebellion ought to be paid for their slaves. On the other hand, he told Congress it would not cost so much to buy the slaves as it would to con- tinue the war ; so the proposition would be as much for the advantage of one part of the country as of the other. The President's idea was that if all the border States should free their slaves, then the Rebel States would see that it was perfectly certain that they would never join them, and so the Rebels would be- come discouraged and give over the contest. Con- gress was pleased with the President's resolution, and adopted it; and almost all the loyal people approved of it too. The President was determined that the slave- holders should have a fair opportunity to accept this offer before anything more decided should be done. He felt very anxious indeed that they should accept it, so much so that just before Congress ad- journed he invited all the Senators and Representa- tives who were present from the slave-holding States 204 ^■^^^ Childrciis Life of Abraham Lincoln. to come and see him at the White House, where he could talk to them by themselves. He urged these Congressmen, in the kindest and most earnest man- ner, upon their return home, to try to persuade the people of their respective States to accept this offer. His whole address to them was very fine. The fol- lowing is one sentence of it: — " How much better for you as seller and the nation as buyer, to sell out and buy out that without which the war could never have been, than to sink both the thing to be sold and the price of it in cutting one another's throats ! " The Congressmen Hstened to all the President said, and some of them agreed with him; but the greater part of them did not. They thought no excuse could be strong enough to warrant meddling with slavery. So the time came for Congress to adjourn, and all the Congressmen went home. But while it remained in session, two very important things were done about slaver}^ of which I have not yet told you. A bill was passed declaring that slavery should never exist in any of the Territories of the United States, and slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia. You will remember, children, that this was one of the things Mr. Lincoln voted for the first time he took his seat in Congress; and now, when he was President, he had the satisfaction of seeing it accom- plished. Emancipation decided upon. 205 Congress had no sooner adjourned than the Presi- dent was assailed harder than ever on all sides, by- private letters, by the public press, and by delega- tions, begging him to emancipate the slaves. In reply to all this, the President said his para- mount object was to save the Union, and not either to save or to destroy slavery. He said: " If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it ; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leav- ing others alone, I would also do that." This was the President's first, great, and only object in all that he did and in all that he left undone throughout the war, — to '^ save the Union." If the Union were de- stroyed, all was lost; if that could be saved, every- thing else was of small consequence compared with it. At last, after the most earnest prayers to God for direction, and the most calm and careful deliberation of the whole subject, the President made up his mind that in order to save the Union he must do that which the world now recognizes was the crowning glory of his life. On the 22d of September he issued his proclamation, to take effect on the ist of January, 1863, freeing the slaves of all persons in Rebellion against the United States. By this act he placed his name at the head of all great names, down to the end of time. He had been battling all his life for the 2o6 The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. freedom of all men, and as a reward for his simple- hearted fidelity God placed him in that grand, sublime position where by a stroke of his pen he freed a whole race for all time to come. The greatest despot never wielded such power as God gave to our Republican President. The following is the most important part of the Proclamation of Emancipation : — " I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America and Commander-in-chief of the army and navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of prac- tically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and each of the States and the people thereof, in which States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed. "That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Con- gress, to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all slave States so-called, the people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States, and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or there- after may voluntarily adopt, immediate or gradual abolish- ment of slavery within their respective limits ; and that the effort to colonize persons of African descent, with their con- sent, upon this continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the governments existing there, will be continued. " That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held PRESIDENT LINCOLN SIGNING THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. TJic Emancipation Proclamatio?t. 209 as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free ; and the Executive Government of the United States, includ- ing the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom." This proclamation created a great excitement, not only all over this country but, we may say, all over the world. All the President's enemies and all friends of the Rebels said it was now plainly to be seen that what they had always declared was true, — that the whole object of the war was to oppress the Southern people and emancipate the slaves. But nearly all the loyal people regarded it as a necessary war measure, and the very best one the President could have taken to weaken the Rebellion. The first day of January following, the President issued another proclamation confirming this, and designating what portions of the country were then in rebellion. Some other important items were added, and the proclamation closed with these solemn words: — " And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military neces- sity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.*' 14 210 The CJiildrcns Life of Abraham Lincoln. The President had another trouble in the year 1862. You will remember that he had told foreign nations, from the beginning of the war, that they must not encourage the Rebels to persist in rebel- lion. England and France pretended to be neutral, and to respect what the President said ; but for all that, the Rebels received a great deal of help from them. One of the most annoying things these na- tions did was to allow vessels to be built, manned, and equipped in their ports for the service of the Rebels. These ships were built by private individ- uals, and matters were so arranged that the Govern- ments managed to shirk all blame. At last things came to such a pass, and our com- merce was destroyed to such an extent, that our min- ister to England, Mr. Adams, spoke to the British authorities about it. He told Lord Russell that a vessel was at that very moment on the stocks in a Liverpool ship-yard, which was certainly intended for the Rebels. The English lord told Mr. Adams that he was never more mistaken in his life ; that the ship he spoke of was to be sent to Sicily. Mr. Adams knew better, but he could not convince the earl that there was anything wrong about the ship ; so she sailed. But the next time she was heard from she had arrived at Nassau, and a noted pirate had taken command of her. The '^Alabama." 211 Probably all of you have heard of the famous Con- federate cruiser, the " Alabama." Well, she was built in the ship-yard of a member of the English House of Commons, and allowed to sail, although our minister protested against it. She was called the "290" at first. She stole quietly out of port, went to the Azores, took on board her armament, and began her career as a Confederate cruiser, com- manded by the notorious Captain Semmes. This was more than the President could stand ; he sent word to England that she would be expected to pay for all the damage which the "Alabama" inflicted on our commerce. CHAPTER XX. Hooker succeeds Burnside. — Fredericksburg. — Meade suc- ceeds Hooker. — Gettysburg. — Vicksburg. — Port Hud- son. — Dedication of tlie Battlefield of Gettysburg. — The President's Thanksgiving Proclamation. E have now come to the beginning of the year 1863. Let us return to the war for a Httle time, and see how it progressed during that period. General Burnside now commanded the Army of the Potomac ; but he was reheved on the 24th of Jan- uary, and General Hooker was his successor. The season was too far advanced for active operations ; so the army went into winter quarters and was inactive until the following April. On the twenty-seventh day of that month General Hooker began to make prepa- rations to fight. Our army was north of the Rappa- hannock, the Rebels south of it and in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. Hooker wished to take Fredericksburg. He in- tended to attack the enemy in flank and rear. For Battle of Fredericksburg. 21 J this purpose he sent out a strong cavalry force under General Stoneman, to cut the railroads in the rear of the Rebels, to prevent their being reinforced from Richmond. He also sent three divisions of his army to Kelley's Ford, which is about twenty-five miles above Fredericksburg. The army crossed the river, and marched south as far as Chancellorsville. One division was left opposite Fredericksburg, under the command of General Sedgwick. The others crossed the river, and joined the main body at Chancellors- ville. On the second day of May General Jackson, who commanded the left wing of the Rebel army, at- tacked our forces on the right, and for a while gained a decided advantage. Before the day was out, how- ever, our men had regained their position. The next day the battle was continued, and the enemy got the best of it. In the mean time Sedgwick had crossed the river and gained the heights of Fredericksburg, but could not hold them, and was compelled to retreat. During the night of May 5th Hooker recrossed the river, to his old position, having lost about eighteen thousand men. Both armies now remained quiet until the 9th of June, when it was discovered that Lee was leaving Fredericksburg for the Shenandoah valley. 214 ^^^^' Children's Life of Abraha?n Line obi. On the 13th the Rebel General Ewell completely- routed our advance post under General Milroy, and on the next day the Rebels were crossing the Poto- mac into Maryland. It was feared that they intended to invade Pennsylvania. They had always declared they would yet push the war into the North, and it looked now as if they were intending to make good their threat. The whole North was very much ex- cited. The President immediately called upon the States which were in most danger to send a hundred thousand men to serve for six months, and he asked New York for twenty thousand. By the 27th the whole Rebel army had crossed the Potomac, and Lee had taken up his headquarters at Hagerstown. As soon as Hooker had discovered that the Rebels were leaving Fredericksburg, he had broken camp and pursued them ; so that on the day the Rebels reached Hagerstown, our army was at Frederick City. Our forces were thus between the Rebels and Baltimore and Washington, shielding those cities from attack, while they were also pre- pared to pursue the enemy into Pennsylvania. Gen- eral Hooker was now relieved from his command, and General Meade was his successor. The enemy was pushing for Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania; and Meade immediately started in pursuit. Generals Reynolds and Howard, commanding our Battle of Gettysburg. 215 advance corps, came up with the Rebels on the first day of July, near the town of Gettysburg. An attack was made; but the Rebels so far outnumbered us that General Howard was obliged to fall back to Ceme- tery Hill and wait for reinforcements. During the night and the following day our forces concentrated around this point. About three o'clock in the afternoon the Rebels commenced a most terrific attack upon us, which lasted until sunset, when they were forced to retire in confusion. In the evening they made a fresh attack, but were again driven back. The next morning they began it again, with no better success. The fight continued nearly all day, and resulted in the defeat of the enemy. The next morning it was thought the Rebels were about to attack again, but the morning after it was discovered that they were in full retreat. The Sixth Corps and a body of cavalry were sent in pursuit. After burying the dead and taking care of the wounded. General Meade, having learned the position of the Rebels, decided to pursue them by a flank movement; and very soon his whole army were en route for the Potomac. On the 12th of July they came up with the Rebels, who had gained the high lands in front of Williamsport. Preparations were made to attack them ; but the Rebels succeeded in 2i6 TJic CJiildrcji s Life of AbraJiaui Lincoln. escaping to the Rapidan, and our arni}^ took up its old position on the Rappahannock. This victory at Gettysburg was regarded as one of the most important of the war ; but it was a very bloody one. At a fearful cost of life the Rebels had been driven out of Pennsylvapia, Maryland, and the upper part of the Shenandoah valley. They did not find it so easy a matter to push the war into the North as they had anticipated. President Lincoln was so gratified at our success that on the morning of the 4th of July he sent the following despatch to us all from the White House : — " The President announces to the country that news from the Army of the Potomac up to ten p. m. of the 3d is such as to cover that army with the highest honor, to promise a great success to the cause of the Union, and to claim the condolence of all for the many gallant fallen ; and that for this he especially desires on this day. He, whose will, not ours, should ever be done, be everywhere remembered and reverenced with profoundest gratitude. " A. Lincoln." We also had another glorious victory on this day, that the President did not yet know of. General Grant, who had been fighting on stubbornly ever since the war began, and who had for a long time been besieg- ing A^icksburg, the only remaining stronghold of the Rebels on the Mississippi, had the good fortune to Capture of Vicksburg. 217 capture it, with all its garrison and war material, on that day. Fort Hudson was surrendered to General Banks four days later, and thus the ivJiole Mississippi River was ours. This was a terrible blow to the Rebels ; for we had now cut their territory into two parts, and neither part was able to assist the other. These were the greatest military exploits of the year. Some time during the autumn, after the battle of Gettysburg, the State of Pennsylvania purchased a part of the battlefield adjoining the cemetery for a burying-place for the fallen soldiers. It was dedi- cated on the 19th of November. The President and his Cabinet were present, and the Hon. Edward Everett m.ade an eloquent and touching address. The President also spoke the following beautiful words : — " Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great l)attlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedi- cate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. 2iS The Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ; that the nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom ; and that gov- ernment of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." The success at Gettysburg and the surrender of Vicksburg caused the most enthusiastic rejoicing. Public meetings were held all over the land, at which cheers were given and speeches made, and all loyal persons declared that the war must be vigorously prosecuted until the Rebellion should no more exist. The President was serenaded, and in reply he made a graceful speech. These victories, with others which were gained in various parts of the country, encour- aged the President so much that he appointed the 6th of August as a day of national thanksgiving. Our armies continuing to be successful during the autumn, the President appointed another thanksgiv- National Thanksgiving. 219 ing for the last day of November. The following is the PROCLAMATION By the President of the United States. The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite and provoke the aggressions of foreign States, peace has been preserved with all nations ; order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict ; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. The needful diversion of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence has not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship. Tlie axe has enlarged the borders of our setde- ments ; and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the pre- cious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than here- tofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield ; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness 220 The Cliildrciis Life of AbvaJiam Lincoln. of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect a continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and prayer to our beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliver- ances and blessings, they do also with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged ; and fervently implore the in- terposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, har- mony, tranquillity, and union. THANKSGIVING DAY — HOME AGAIN ! CHAPTER XXL The French Emperor. — Congress. — The President's Message. — Arming of the Blacks. — Conscription Bill. — The Draft. — Riot in New York. — Vallandigham. — Rebel Rams. E will now return to the commencement of the year 1863, and see what else the Pres- ident had to occupy his attention. You already know that besides military affairs, foreign nations caused him a great deal of anxiety. Among other things he was very much afraid some of them would recognize the Southern Confederacy, as a nation. The Army of the Potomac met with so many reverses in the year 1862, that there was a great deal of talk on the other side of the water about the necessity for somebody to interfere, and put a stop to so much bloodshed. Finally, toward the latter part of the year, the French Emperor invited England and Russia to unite with him in an attempt to mediate between the United States and the Rebels. But England and Russia had the good sense to decline having any- 224 TJlc CJiildrcii s Life of Abraham Lincoln. thing to do in the matter, and so the benevolent Emperor thought he would see what he could accom- plish by himself. Accordingly, on the 9th of January, 1863, he di- rected his secretary to send a despatch to Washing- ton, in which the Emperor declared he was willing to do anything in his power which would help to end the war. He advised that instead of fighting any more, commissioners from both sides be appointed to talk the quarrel over, and see if they could not agree upon some terms on which it might be settled. The Emperor thought this would be an excellent way to dispose of all difficulties, and said that if we would adopt it he would not take the least credit to himself for having suggested it. The President sent word back to the Emperor that we were very much obliged for his friendly intentions, but for the present we were perfectly well able to take care of ourselves ; that we had not the most re- mote intention of ceasing to fight while the Rebellion continued ; and that if the Rebels desired to send commissioners to talk with us, all they had to do was to lay down their arms, go home, and send their Senators and Representatives to Congress. This answer silenced the French Emperor and all other nations about interfering with us. Congress met in December, 1862, and the Presi- TJic P reside nf s Messas^e. 225 '' beautiful things which might be said of this great man. His course was such as to command the respect of all the - nations of the earth. European halls of State were draped in mourning, when news of his death reached their shores. The Queen of England and the Em- press of France both wrote letters of condolence to Mrs. Lincoln, and mingled their tears with hers. Coming generations will read and marvel at his won- derful career, and be stirred by his tragic death. He died for liberty, and earned the martyr's crown. Among the greatest of all great names is that of our martvred President, Abraham Lincoln. <-^^ B OV- DOVN-DEAR-L AMDfOR -THOV-HAST'FOVND-RELEAS E- iHY-GOD-m-THESE- DISTEMPERED- DAYS- HATH-TAVGHTTHEE-THE:-S\/RE:VlSDOn-OF:HlSWAYS- /\ND-THR OVCH- THi N E- EN EMIE S-H ATH -WROVG HT-TKY-PEACt- AbraJiant,