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 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 presented by 
 
 Allan Nevins 
 
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 r WOPBBTY OF 
 aULAN KEVINS 
 
 gUSASE RETURN 
 
 
 This Book is the Property of the New York World.
 
 LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY
 
 fe^Gily u, UK . 
 
 ^rJd. 
 
 IN THE 
 
 A FEW ACTS AND ACTOKS 
 TllAGEDY OF THE CiVltMS^ 
 
 a J J 5 > •) 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BENDER WILSON, 
 
 Military Telegrapher in War Times. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1892. 
 
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 Copyright March 30, 1889. 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 The Neiv Era Print, 
 Lancaster, Pa.
 
 CONTE:^rTS. 
 
 /^ Page. Pagk. 
 Dedication, 5 
 
 John Brown, 7 to 14 
 
 Imperialism the Motive for Secession, 15 to 21 
 
 Preparations for War — The First Troops to 
 
 Respond, 32 to 30 
 
 CURTIN AND i\.NDREWS, 80 to 31 
 
 "Honor to Whom Honor is Duk," 32 
 
 The Cockeysville Campaign and Fitz John 
 
 Porter, 33 to 41 
 
 Fitz John Porter, .* 41 to 45 
 
 Bull Run to Antietam, 46 to 72 
 
 The Ammunition Train, 72 to 82 
 
 A Trip from Frederick City to Chambers- 
 burg, AND A View of the Latter's Des- 
 olation, 83 to 81J 
 
 The Railroad in War Times, 90 to 95 
 
 U. S. Military Telegraph Corps, 9(5 to 102 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, 103 to 114 
 
 N
 
 TO MY WIFE AND CHILDREN :><ti^'^6^ 
 
 There are periods which come to all when the noise 
 of the world's activities seems to cease for a moment to 
 allow us the time to turn our thoughts inward for the 
 purpose of reviewing life with its hopes, its failures and 
 its possibilities. 
 
 Such reviews must necessarily place on the tablets of 
 memory many pictures taken from the world's ever- 
 moving panorama, which by producing in words, or on 
 canvas, may be profitable to our kind. 
 
 One of these periods recently came to me, and the re- 
 view covered in point of time five-sevenths of the al- 
 lotted years of man, for when the bells in the birth-da}^ 
 tower next chime for me I will have completed the 
 cycle of a half of a century of life existence with its 
 varied experiences and recollections. 
 
 1 have taken a number of pictures from memor3 's 
 tablets as they came up in the review and now group- 
 ing them together under the title of " A Few Acts and 
 Actors in the Tragedy of the Civil War in the United 
 States," lovingly dedicate their publication to you. 
 
 WILLIAM BENDER WILSON. 
 
 " Waldon," Holmesburg, 
 
 Philadelphia.
 
 
 
 NOTES ON THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 
 ' » > > ' J > ) ) ' ^ > > ^ ^ ^ 
 
 ■> . OS, „ •, o ' o ? , s 
 
 ■J3 J-> ' > 5 5 ) 
 
 > > > o 
 
 ' JO 
 
 JOHN BROWN.-""./ ». S%' ' ,' 
 
 »3 '.)5-i*J5J 
 
 JOHN BROWN'S acts at IIai'ffev's'^Fm^ry"cr)itsti- 
 tnted the hand-writino; on the national wall 
 which warned the world of the coming of that great 
 strus:2:le of which those acts were bnt a forerunner. 
 
 In the light of constitutional government and its 
 preservation, the movement upon Harper's Ferry can 
 only he viewed Avith condemnation, for it was a move- 
 ment wherein liberty degenerated into license and 
 lawlessness. There was, however, something border- 
 ing upon the sublime in the bearing and motives of 
 the prompter and chief actor in the movement that 
 must command the admiration of all fair-minded 
 people, and it is from this point of view that this 
 sketch is drawn : Condemnation for the methods 
 pursued — recognition of the bearing and motives of 
 the man.
 
 8 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 It was on a bright June day in 1859, whilst stand- 
 ing at the raih'oad station in Harrisburg, I saw John 
 Brown as he stepped on board a train on the Cum- 
 berland Yalley Railroad preparatory to his going to 
 Harper's Ferry and his fate. I had seen him before, 
 'inil: X little dre^^me^dia^' X looked upon him that day 
 'thkt' he was taking a step that was only the initiative 
 to a ^tremendous fraternal strife so soon to follow, or 
 that'as;he cr-ossQ<i; the Susquehanna he would never 
 rett^rn,'Oi* 'th^-.t his 6bb would be a stream of blood 
 reaching to the banks of that river. 
 
 John Brown sprung from the humblest walks of 
 life, passed through scenes of bloodshed, attracted the 
 eye and commanded the attention of the world. 
 
 There was an air of nobleness and dignity about 
 his person. He was grand and majestic in proclaim- 
 ing what he esteemed the truth, and strong and 
 mighty in the execution of its behests. As free as 
 the air of his native Connecticut, he was outspoken 
 in according the same freedom to others and daunt- 
 less in aiding them to maintain it. 
 
 The terrible curse of slavery was on this country. 
 The Christian Church, mistaking its mission, either 
 openly advocated slavery, or by its silence consented 
 to it; the Grovernment sustained and supported it, 
 statesmen coquetted with it, while the populace were
 
 John Broicn. 9 
 
 more than prepared to denounce, or, if their passions 
 were aroused, to mete out violence to the man or men 
 who would dare to intimate its abolition. Knowing 
 this, yet believing in the divine right of all persons 
 to enjoy personal liberty under the restraints of Divine 
 law only, John Brown did not hesitate to pronounce 
 in favor of the abolition of slavery. He believed that 
 the Americans, the mightiest as well as the wisest of 
 people, should rise to the height of the duties of the 
 hour and decide the question upon the grounds of 
 consistent justice. That America's mission was not 
 simply to elevate the liberties of those colorless 
 people who were so fortunate as to dwell within her 
 borders, but that she had the higher, nobler one of 
 obliterating the color line and of giving to the inhab- 
 itants of the Universe a system of government whose 
 sole basis should be the consent of the governed. 
 
 He recoo-iiized what an element of streno-th to the 
 enemies of popular governm.ent was the cry of Amer- 
 ican inconsistency, as well as the fact that that incon- 
 sistency could not be disproved so long as we held up 
 our idea as one of equality of all men, and at the same 
 time practiced the binding on of shackles to men, 
 women and children. 
 
 Believing this, John Brown was not one to hide 
 himself behind high-sounding theories of government 
 and shirk the duties that one man owes to another.
 
 10 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 lie souglit not personal advancement by the means 
 of political parties. He could have thrown his com- 
 manding talents into the arena of partisan politics, 
 and possibly, probably, have become eminent as a 
 politician ; but personal advancement had no attrac- 
 tions for him. 
 
 He aimed to be right — not popular ; to advance his 
 fellow man — not himself. 
 
 He knew that any of the then existing means of 
 convincing men of error and of bringing them up to 
 the duty line from his standpoint would fail. That 
 to convince them, or to bring them up to that line, 
 would require some bold, prompt action that would 
 startle and astound the world and place thought upon 
 the scent of ris^ht. With this in view he made his 
 movement upon Harper's Ferry. 
 
 He comprehended that the movement was a di- 
 rect violation of the written law of the land; that its 
 failure would bring upon himself the loss of life and 
 entail upon his fame and family the spot that death 
 upon the gallows leaves. But it did not deter him. 
 
 He moved on, captured Harper's Ferry, and de- 
 manded, not gradual emancipation, not emancipation 
 by compensation, not emancipation as a political ne- 
 cessity, but the immediate and absolute abolition of 
 slavery because slavery was wrong.
 
 John Brown. 11 
 
 He was not wrong in bis conclusions as to the effect 
 that would follow such a bold and prompt action. It 
 did startle and astound the people ; it did release 
 thought from the shackles of policy which had bound 
 it- Agitation became the order of the hour, and con- 
 tinued until the last bond was stricken from the last 
 bondsman. 
 
 For his movement upon Harper's Ferry John 
 Brown was termed crazy by that conservative ele- 
 ment w^ho, not desiring to place themselves in the 
 position of approving slavery, yet disapproved of any 
 action that was offensive to the keen sensibilities of 
 the slaveholder. There is not a single fact upon 
 which to base an assumption of insanity. It is a com - 
 mon thing to raise the cry of insanity as the most 
 convenient way out of the acceptance of an unpleas- 
 ant truth. 
 
 But where in the world has the man arisen who, 
 grasping at a great truth which had either remained 
 unseen, unknown or unacknowledged by the masses, 
 and having had the boldness, the fearlessness to pro- 
 claim it, has not been greeted with similar words of 
 denunciation ? The world of letters, of science, of in- 
 vention, of politics, of religion, is full of instances 
 where the greatness of man in its dawn emits a 
 dazzling light that dulls the perceptions of those
 
 12 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 upon whom it falls, bringing from them condemna- 
 tion and derision. 
 
 When the Heavenly-inspired Paul, turning aside 
 from the attractions of place and power, accepted a 
 great though unpopular truth, boldly and fearlessly 
 proclaimed it, he was called a madman. 
 
 When Paul delivered that speech of matchless 
 eloquence, proclaiming the freedom of all through 
 Christ, that caused King Agrippa to forget that he 
 was an anti-Christian Jew and wrung from his man- 
 hood the confession, " Paul, almost thou persuadest 
 me to be a Christian," Festus, the Roman Governor 
 who was present, exclaimed with a loud voice, 
 " Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning doth 
 make thee mad." The world of Festus believed that 
 Paul was mad and took up the cry. But who 
 believes it to-day ? Does any one ? 
 
 It may be said this comparison should not be 
 drawn. 
 
 Why not ? Paul was battling for the freedom of 
 the soul of man — was aimins: at releasins^ it from the 
 shackles that bound it to the devil. John Brown 
 was battling for the freedom of the person of man 
 and aimed at breaking the shackles that bound his 
 hands and feet and wounded the soul. 
 
 John Brown at Harper's Ferry announced his
 
 \ 
 
 John Brown. 13 
 
 government and proclaimed his purpose. He main- 
 tained his position for days against great odds before 
 he was taken prisoner. His trial and execution fol- 
 lowed. The failure to immediately reap the fruits of 
 his movement was owing to the fact that those who 
 were to be benefited by it, through ignorance, did 
 not comprehend his plans. But that his movement 
 was not a failure is patent to the thinker of to-day. 
 
 It was the knell that sounded slavery's doom. 
 
 John Brown issued the edict at Harper's Ferry 
 that the slave should be free, and General Grant 
 proclaimed to the world from Appomattox that the 
 freedom of the slave was an accomplished fact. 
 
 Brown at Harper's Ferry and Grant at Appomat- 
 tax were logically cause and effect. 
 
 What John Brown had done was heralded to the 
 Avorld. It fell upon the bondman as a great light, 
 inspiring him with hope, strength and courage, 
 awakened him to his duties to himself, and when the 
 irrepressible conflict which John Brown had inau- 
 gurated burst out in all its fury he was found in- 
 trenched in the right. 
 
 I say this without reservation. For the loj^al 
 mass of the disloyal region, who, surrounded by the 
 power of educated traitors, remained steadfast to the 
 Government, were those of the darkened skin. Al-
 
 14 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 though their minds were untutored and darkened hj 
 the heavy clouds of slavery, yet they were by intu- 
 ition intensely loyal. 
 
 Rarely in the history of the rebellion has there 
 been an instance recorded where a slave voluntarily 
 raised his hand against the Government. On the 
 contrary, every page is marked with the fact that he 
 was the white man's equal in devotion to the cause 
 they were fighting for, and side by side with the 
 white man he laid his life upon the altar of freedom, 
 a willins; sacrifice to that devotion. 
 
 The testimon}^ of all our leading military men 
 will bear me out in saying that by their wonderful 
 intuitive system of inter-communication in the insur- 
 gent States, used solely for the benefit of the Gov- 
 ernment, the slaves gave an aid to military opera- 
 tions whose value can hardly be estimated. And 
 soldiers who after sufierins; untold horrors in South- 
 ern prisons made their escape attribute their success 
 in so doing to the slaves' assistance. 
 
 John Brown's soul was marching on. 
 
 What John Brown did was done from his own 
 volition at the dictation of duty impelled by a sense 
 of right. He was to be admired in his humanity, 
 but to be condemned in his citizenship. He was a 
 good man, but he over-rode law and sufi:ered the 
 penalty.
 
 II. 
 
 IMPERIALISM THE MOTIVE FOR SECESSION. 
 
 SO MUCH has been written on the causes leading 
 up to the stupendous strife that robbed this 
 wonderful countr}^ of streams of precious blood which 
 flowed continuously for four long weary and dreary 
 years, that I crave pardon for dwelling a moment 
 upon them as they were presented to my mind at 
 the time. 
 
 In the spring of 1860, having just attained my 
 majority, I undertook a journey through the South- 
 ern States for the purpose of informing myself of the 
 practical results of slaverj^, and of obtaining a con- 
 sensus of opinion upon what the people of those 
 States wanted in the form of government and what 
 they expected from the then existing form. 
 
 I found the public mind very much excited and 
 inflamed by the passage of personal liberty bills and 
 emigration laws by some of the ISTorthern States, by 
 the acts of John Brown at Harper's Ferry, and by 
 the aggressive attitude of the Republican partj^ in 
 
 { i-^ )
 
 16 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 the campaign it was then making precedent to the 
 Presidential election fast approaching. • 
 
 The mass of the people with whom I came in con- 
 tact believed that the j)eople of the Xorth intended 
 making violent encroachments upon the rights, priv- 
 ileges and institutions of the South and were prepar- 
 ing, w^here not ready, to resent them. 
 
 The leaders, however, of public sentiment, the 
 able and cultivated men who ruled by force of intel- 
 lect, wanted revolution. To attain their desire they 
 cultivated the passions of the people by coloring and 
 exasisreratins: the foolish harano'ues of ^N^orthern fanat- 
 ics and the unfriendly enactments of Northern legis- 
 latures. The Republic, as a democracy, they despised 
 and in consequence were ever in readiness to conspire 
 to chano^e its form of o:overnment into a ]^ational 
 aristocracy. 
 
 ^Nature had been lavish of her gifts to the semi- 
 tropical States whose shore lines were w^ashed by the 
 waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The territorv cov- 
 ered by them seemed to these leaders to be peculiarly 
 adapted for the foundation of an Empire, while to 
 the south and west, just beyond the Eio Grande, 
 stretchins: from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific 
 Ocean, lay the land of the Aztecs. 
 
 Mexico — a country one of the fairest on the face
 
 Imperialism the Motive for Secession^ >s ^^ ^^ 
 
 of the earth, with a soil unexcelled in fertilm^a ^ "^ 
 climate unequalled in its varied gradations ; a coiAi-V ^<^ 
 ivy abounding in mineral wealth and precious stones, • ^ 
 with capabilities for an extended commerce and for 
 agricultural development, and one whose people had 
 no settled opinions of what should constitute stable 
 government, presented a dazzling picture for Impe- 
 rial acquisition and extension. It was a bright 
 dream and ever present to the minds of the leaders. 
 It is, therefore, not astonishing that they astutely 
 turned every argument that presented itself against 
 the Government of the United States and towards 
 educating the Southern masses to revolt. Im|)erial- 
 ism was the hidden basis of all political action, and 
 unwise utterances and unwise le2:islation in the i^orth 
 gave to its devotees the opportunity of presenting to 
 the people fallacious arguments which should tend 
 towards establishing it as a form of government on 
 this continent. 
 
 It was my privilege to come in contact with some 
 of the leaders and, although they were professedly 
 favorable to a Republic, I could see beneath their 
 republican garb the colors of royal robes protruding. 
 
 While stopping at the Assembl}^ House in Colum- 
 bia, South Carolina, on the eve of the Secession Con- 
 vention meeting in that city, I met Robert Barnwell
 
 18 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 Rhett, a man of brilliant attainments, an inveterate 
 hater of the American Union, and one who enjoyed 
 being looked upon as the first man in Congress to 
 propose a dissolution of that Union. Mr. Rhett had 
 just emerged from his self-imposed retiracy to pri^vate 
 life, in which he had waitingly lingered for a decade 
 of years to take the helm and steer his State on the 
 stormy sea of revolution. During an evening spent 
 in the parlor a number of gentlemen were discussing 
 the political situation — it was after Mr. Lincoln's 
 election. One cautious gentleman argued that South 
 Carolina had no tangible cause to secede ; that the 
 burning questions of the hour were mere abstractions 
 so tar as it was concerned; that the State would not 
 lose one slave by the unfriendly operations of the 
 personal liberty bills ; that the people were not 
 nomadic in character, and not one would be affected 
 hy the unfriendly operation of laws to govern the 
 Territories; that Mr. Lincoln's administration, no 
 matt-er how much it might desire to do so, could not 
 injure the State, for the reason that the co-ordinate 
 hranches of the Government, the judicial and legis- 
 lative, as then constituted in their personnel, were a 
 harrier to any encroachments by the Executive. 
 Mr, Rhett, who had been a respectful and attentive 
 listener, cut the arocument off bv admittins^ its force
 
 
 Imperialism the Motive for Secession. 19 
 
 and frankly saying that it was revolution of the 
 government that was wanted and that revolution 
 would be had. A few days thereafter, under the 
 leadership of Mr. Rhett, the ordinance of secession 
 was passed at Charleston, the first scene in the open- 
 ing act of the great tragedy which had been carefully 
 plotted for presentation to the American people. 
 
 In the preceding summer I had been stationed in 
 Montgomery, Alabama, and while there I saw 
 William Lowndes Yancey taking the platform as he 
 started on his campaign of firing the Southern heart, 
 which was to lead him and his section to their fate. 
 
 Mr. Yancey was a South Carolinian by birth, and 
 a true outcome of that aristocratic portion of the 
 people of the South who believed in the Divine right 
 of kings to rule, or, in the absence of kings, that the 
 land owner had the same kind of right to absolute 
 control of all that might be necessary to the cultiva- 
 tion of the land, whether men or cattle. He was 
 earnest and honest in his advocacy of his views, and 
 in consequence it was to be expected that he would 
 be found on the side of the few and against the many. 
 He was the most brilliant of that coterie wherein 
 E/Ufiin, Rhett and Keitt were shinins: lis^hts and 
 which truthfully represented the class that was in- 
 fatuated by the dream of Empire.
 
 20 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 As the class thought it saw in the Gulf States the 
 rising of the Emj^ire so did Mr. Yancfej^, and he gave 
 all of his great abilities, his remarkable eloquence, 
 his untiring energy and his exclusive time to bring 
 about the realization of the dream. 
 
 His personal appearance was faultless; his speech 
 pure, smooth and magnetic. There was not an im- 
 purity in his public or private character. It was, 
 therefore, expected as he moved along on his mission, 
 he would be able to bring not only devotees to the 
 altar, but converts too — an expectation which was 
 full}^ realized. 
 
 Fiery and impetuous in the extreme South, he mod- 
 ified his lancfuao^e as he moved northward, because he 
 knew that the stimulus for precipitating the Gulf 
 States into revolution would not answer in the border 
 States. The effect of his diplomacy was the dinwing 
 of most of the border States into the secession move- 
 ment — a movement that was expected to be only pre- 
 liminary to the total revolution of the form of gov- 
 ernment in the Gulf States. He aided in the forma- 
 tion of the Southern Confederacj", which he looked 
 upon solely as being the halting ground between the 
 Republic and the coveted Empire. 
 
 After the Confederacv had been formed he was 
 sent abroad as an ambassador to invite recoo^nition
 
 Imperialism the Motive for Secession. 21 
 
 and assistance from the monarchical powers of Europe, 
 but as those powers w^ould not entertain the recogni- 
 tion of the Confederacy with slavery as an acknowl- 
 edged feature of its foundation, and while he and his 
 followers would have willingly sacrificed slavery if 
 such sacrifice would brino^ about the establishino; of 
 the Gulf Empire, they clearly foresaw that the sacrific- 
 ing of slavery to obtain European recognition of the 
 Confederacy would only end in driving most of the 
 States back into the Union, ^vhere, under Mr. Lincoln's 
 guarantee, slavery where it existed would receive pro- 
 tection, he gave up the cause as lost, ran the block- 
 ade, returned home disheartened and took hi^eat in 
 the Confederate Senate. He died in comparative ob- 
 scurity. 
 
 Without elaborating the subject after giving you 
 these imperfect pictures of two prominent revolu- 
 tionists, I wnll only state that from all I saw and 
 from all I heard, the conclusions I arrived at was that 
 Imperialism was the motive for Secession.
 
 III. 
 
 PREPARATIOXS FOR WAR— THE FIRST TROOPS TO 
 
 RESPOND. 
 
 rriHE dark, impenetrable clouds, so loug gather- 
 JL ing, enshrouding the fate of popular govern- 
 ment, growing more threatening as they deepened, 
 were on the 13th of Apri^, 1861, lightened up by the 
 flashes from rebel guns in Charleston harbor, which 
 at once dispelled all doubts as to the nature of the 
 storm that was to sweep over the land. The effect 
 was an instantaneous uprising of the people to defend 
 the heritao^e of the fathers. 
 
 From farm to hamlet, hamlet to town, and town to 
 city, the embers of patriotism were fanned into a 
 blaze. There is no period in this country's history 
 which is marked with a purer, more unselfish patri- 
 otism than that embraced in the days intervening the 
 13th of April and the 1st of May, 1861, and no spot 
 that w^itnessed its fuller display than the Common- 
 w^ealth of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Andrew Gregg Curtin, forty-four years of age, 
 whose election in October, 1860, insured that of Mr. 
 
 ( 22 )
 
 > 
 
 
 Preparatio7is for War. "^^v ^^^ f^ 
 
 Lincoln to the Presidency in the J^ovember f<5^ow- /^ ^ 
 ing, occupied the Governor's chair at Harrisburg. * K^^^ 
 
 Beinsc absent from the State at the time of his » ^ 
 nomination for Governor, I have no personal knowl- 
 edge of the forces which accomplished that result, 
 but there was evident partisan Avisdom in the selec- 
 tion, as he was, perhaps, the very strongest candidate 
 his party could have named. 
 
 Pennsylvania w^as the pivotal State and its October 
 election the pivot upon which turned the indicating 
 arm pointing to party success in the Union. It was 
 undoubtedly true that notwithstanding the division 
 in the Democratic ranks, Mr. Lincoln's success de- 
 pended largely, if not wholly, upon his party carrj^- 
 ing the State of Pennsylvania for Governor in Octo- 
 ber. Party necessity therefore both demanded and 
 commanded the stiflingof personal jealousies and am- 
 bitions among the leaders and in the party ranks, 
 and the selection of a standard-bearer who through- 
 out the contest would fearlessly bear aloft its banner. 
 Curtin w^as chosen, and the result proved the wnsdom 
 of the choice. He w^as richly endowed with all those 
 physical qualities necessary to make up a full devel- 
 opment of a handsome man. To these were added a 
 well-stored, Avell-balanced brain ; a thorough knowl- 
 edge of the history of the Commonwealth and its re-
 
 24 Kotcs on the Civil War. 
 
 sources ; a full fund of language which flowed from 
 his lips with magnetic attraction in a copious, un- 
 broken stream. Earnest in intent and prompt in ac- 
 tion, he was the very personification of an ideal 
 leader of the people. With strong convictions on all 
 questions that agitated the public mind, he was mod- 
 erate in the language he used in giving expression to 
 them, and in consequence did not invite any violent 
 antagonisms. With an energy and a zeal that would 
 not permit him to entertain any other idea than that 
 of success, he took up the burdens of the campaign 
 and addressed the people in almost every city and 
 county of the State. 
 
 His classic oratory, resounding throughout the val- 
 leys and re-echoing from the hills, vibrated the grand 
 old Commonwealth with music rarely heard. 
 
 The people, regardless of former political affilia- 
 tions, attracted to his standard and enthused by his 
 speeches, triumphantly elected him over a Avorthy, 
 pure and able opponent by an astonishing majority. 
 
 The war cloud had burst, the flood gates opened, 
 and the stream of blood began to flow. 
 
 The proclamation of the President, dated April 15, 
 1861, calling for militia from the various States to 
 suppress the combinations in the South then defying 
 the law^s of the United States, reached Harrisburg by
 
 Tlie First Troops to Respond. 25 
 
 telegraph on the morning of that date. This was 
 followed by a telegram from Secretary of War Simon 
 Cameron, notifying the Governor that Pennsylvania's 
 quota under the call would be sixteen regiments, two 
 of which were wanted in Washington within two 
 days, as the enemies of the Government were seri- 
 ously threatening that city, Avhich w^as almost en- 
 tirely unprotected, and that the means for its defense 
 were inadequate. The Governor, without issuing 
 any formal proclamation, telegraphed that of the 
 President to every telegraph station and county town 
 in the State, subjoining an appeal of his own full of 
 patriotic fire, resolve and enthusiastic suggestion. 
 The immediate practical response was found in the 
 reporting at Harrisburg before the morning of the 
 18th of fiYQ full companies of uniformed militia. 
 
 The Ringgold Light Artillery, Captain James Mc- 
 Knight, of Reading, was the first to arrive at 8 p. m. 
 of the 16th, closely followed by the Logan Guards, 
 Captain John B. Selheimer, of Lewistown, who ar- 
 rived two hours later. The National Light Infantry, 
 Captain Edmund McDonald, of Pottsville, the Wash- 
 ington Artillery, Captain James Wren, of Pottsville, 
 and the Allen Guard, Captain Yeager, of Allentown, 
 arrived at one time, 8 p. m. of the 17th. 
 
 On the arrival of the Ringgold Artillery at Harris*
 
 26 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 burg, Capt. McKnight reported at the State Head- 
 quarters for orders, but the G-overnor being absent 
 in Washington, orders could not be obtained from 
 that source. The Captain, not to be checked in his 
 patriotic ardor, telegraphed to Washington for them, 
 and in reply received instruction from Secretary Cam- 
 eron to proceed to Washington by the first train. 
 These instructions were not obeyed because the official 
 family of the Governor were confronted with, to them, 
 the grave proposition that the militia of the State 
 could not be moved beyond the State's borders and into 
 and through another State without involving it in 
 conflict Avith the authorities and people of the latter; 
 and Eli Slifer, Secretary of the Commonwealth, rep- 
 resenting the Governor, instructed Capt. McKnight 
 to delay his departure for Washington until he 
 should receive his orders from the Governor. Al- 
 though from all parts of the Commonwealth could 
 be heard the steady tread of its sons as they hast- 
 ened to enroll themselves for the defense and perpetu- 
 ation of Constitutional government, the movement of 
 troops towards Washington for that city's relief was 
 halted until the early morning of the 18th, when 
 Fitz John Porter arriving at Harrisburg cut, to the 
 entire approbation of Governor Curtin, who had re- 
 turned to the Capital, the constitutional knot, by
 
 \ 
 
 The First Troops to Respond. 27 
 
 ordering the militia to be mustered into the United 
 States service and to move as United States troops. 
 By 9 a. m., Porter had these five companies, com- 
 prising 482 officers and men, mustered into the 
 service of the United States, loaded on board a 
 I^orthern Central Kailvvay train and started for 
 Washington. Thev had for company on the train 
 forty-live regulars of the 4th Artillery en route for 
 Fort McHenry, under command of Captain J. C. 
 Pemberton, that recreant son of Pennsylvania who, 
 deserting the flag of his country, joined the Southern 
 Confederacv, became one of its Lieut. Generals, and 
 is now only known to fame as having uncondition- 
 ally surrendered his command at Yicksburg to Gen- 
 eral Ulysses S. Grant. 
 
 The trip was uneventful until Baltimore was 
 reached. There, on account of the hostile attitude 
 of a large part of the population, who had the sym- 
 pathy and encouragement of many people of wealth 
 and influence, as well as that of the active portion 
 of the police authorities, it was deemed pradent to 
 disembark at Bolton, a station on the outskirts of 
 the city, and march the command for two miles to 
 Camden Station, on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
 road, where it was again to take a train for Wash- 
 ington. The march was a most perilous one. From
 
 28 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 the moment the command disembarked it was fol- 
 lowed and attacked by as desperate a mob as ever 
 passion raised. The mob multiplied as it moved, 
 filling the air with the noise of its threatenings, its 
 oaths and its imprecations. But, regardless of their 
 surroundings, and with minds intent on their mission, 
 the little band of devoted patriots, without a word 
 of reply or a movement towards defense, marched 
 unflinchingh^ on. As the passions and demonstra- 
 tions of the mob increased with its numbers so the de- 
 termination of the patriots increased as dangers ac- 
 cumulated around them and they pushed steadily 
 forward until Camden Station Tvas entered. At that 
 point the mob, fully ten thousand strong, infuriated by 
 the cool and intrepid demeanor of the command, broke 
 through all restraint and began a fierce assault upon 
 it with brickbats, bottles, stones and other like 
 missiles. Amid a storm of that character the com- 
 mand embarked upon the train in waiting. The 
 mob then attempted to detach the engine from the 
 train, but the resolute engineer supported by the 
 crew held the mob at bay with drawn revolvers 
 until they had the train beyond the reach of assault. 
 This piatriotically-inspired march of the five com- 
 panies of Pennsylvanians through Baltimore was 
 one of the most fearless incidents of the civil war.
 
 The First Troops to Respond, 29 
 
 With the exception of thirtj-fonr muskets, for which 
 there was no ammunition, the arms of the officers, 
 the sahres of the artillery and one box of percussion 
 caps, they had no means of defense as they made 
 their march through what was practically a hostile 
 camp. That they run the fearful gauntlet with no 
 injuries but slight cuts and bruises received at Cam- 
 den Station was due solely to their manly courage, 
 self-control, determined bearing, and last, but not 
 least, the sustaining consciousness of performing 
 duty. They arrived in Washington a little after 
 sundown, the first installment of that grand army 
 of citizen soldiery which was so soon to follow and 
 which was destined, mid the din and carnage of war, 
 to render illustrious the American name and to 
 establish the indestructibility of the American Re- 
 public. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 17th I ran telegraph 
 wires into the Executive Chamber, and there, with a 
 key and a relay, established on a window sill the 
 first electric telegraph office for military purposes on 
 this continent. 
 
 On the 18th the alarms momentarily coming from 
 Washington as to its danger, and the very threaten- 
 ing attitude of Baltimore, caused the Governor and 
 his civil and military family extreme uneasiness as
 
 30 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 to the fate in store for the gallant five companies 
 essaying to reach Washington. With almost breath- 
 less impatience they hung over the little instrument, 
 drinking in with avidity every word relating to the 
 movement of the command. When the companies 
 had reached Baltimore and the perils surrounding 
 them became known, the Governor and his assist- 
 ants deserted my improvised office and made haste 
 to the Commercial office down town, as if they would 
 be nearer to the boys. At that office they received 
 with deepest solicitude the details of the march as 
 they were being revealed. The hour was a gloomy 
 one filled with the darkest forebodings. Therefore, 
 great was the relief when the telegraph announced 
 that the command was safely out of Baltimore and 
 speeding towards Washington. With this expe- 
 rience before him the Governor on his return to the 
 Executive Chamber vowed that no more Pennsyl- 
 vania troops should move to the front unless they 
 were properly armed and equipped to defend them- 
 selves, a vow he faithfully kept. 
 
 Here let me narrate an incident that occurred in 
 my presence which illustrated the status of Curtin in 
 his relation to the conduct of the war. 
 
 Early one morning in the latter part of April, 
 1861, there came into the Executive Chamber
 
 The First Troops to Itespoiid. 31 
 
 an agent accredited from Governor Andrews, of 
 Massachusetts, to Governor Curtin, who announced 
 his mission to be the obtaining of permission from 
 the latter allowing a son of John Brown, of Harper's 
 Ferry notoriety, to pass through Pennsylvania with 
 a selected company of men, recruiting secretly on the 
 way enroute to Virginia for the purpose of causing 
 an uprising of the slaves against their masters. 
 
 As the horrors of a servile insurrection, in which 
 innocent women and children would be the chief 
 victims, loomed up before him, Curtin seemed par- 
 alyzed for a moment at the cold-blooded proposition. 
 Then, recovering himself, his frame quivering with 
 majestic anger, his tones surcharged with indigna- 
 tion, he dismissed the agent, saying, "l!^o! I will 
 not permit John Brown's son to pass through Penn- 
 sylvania for such a purpose, but I will use the whole 
 power of the Commonwealth to prevent his doing so. 
 Go ! tell those who sent you here that so far as I am 
 concerned this war will be conducted only hy civilized 
 methods." 
 
 But why eulogize Curtin and Pennsylvania's sol- 
 diers further? His patriotic actions and their heroic 
 deeds have passed into imperishable history upon 
 whose pages they shine with a spotless lustre. 
 
 It is a fact rarely known or commeiited upon,
 
 82 yotes on the Civii War. 
 
 that to Pennsylvania belongs the honor not only of 
 sending the first troops to the assistance of Washing- 
 ton in 1861, but also of tendering to the Government, 
 for the defense of the Union, the first or^ranized bodv 
 of men. This ofier went from the National Light In- 
 fantry of Pottsville, Edmund McDonald, Captain 
 commanding. April 11, 1861. and reached the War 
 Department April 13th, in response to the enemies' 
 guns which had opened on the flag at Sumter. The 
 offer was immediatelv accepted. I have vet to learn 
 that any other single company was accepted by the 
 Government during the war. The following certifi- 
 cate, written bv Simon Cameron, is of interest in this 
 
 connection : 
 
 " Philadelphia. Julv 4, 1866. 
 
 •^ I certifv that the Pottsville Xational Lis^ht In- 
 
 fantry was the first company of volunteers whose 
 
 services were offered for the defense of the CapitaL 
 
 A telegram reached the War Department on the 
 
 loth makinor the tender. It was immediatelv ac- 
 
 cepted. The company reached Washington on the 
 
 18th of April, 1861, with four additional companies 
 
 from Pennsylvania, and these were the first troops 
 
 to reach the seat of Government at the besrinnincr of 
 
 the war of the rebellion. 
 
 " SiMox Cameron." 
 
 General Cameron erred in stating the offer was 
 
 made by telegraph. It was sent by mail as above 
 
 noted.
 
 IV. 
 
 THE C0CKEY5VILLE CA3IPAIGX AXD FITZ JOH^ 
 
 PORTER. 
 
 \ \ '' HILE the ^ve Pennsvlvania cc'injianies were 
 T I raakir.g their way to AVashiDgtoD a larsre 
 force of the i>eople were gatheriDg at Harrisbnrg. 
 They came as individnals, in sqnads and by com- 
 panies, aod in a short time a larsre body had ar- 
 rived, chansriDff the apf>earance ot the town from 
 that of a j^eaeeful. qniet capital into a noisy, armed 
 camp. By the events of the 19th of April, wherein 
 Baltimore treason displayed its ferocity by mnrder- 
 ing troops on their way to Washington and by tear- 
 ing up railroads, burning bridges ^nd cutting down 
 teleeraph wires, thus isolating Washinsrton Citv from 
 the Xorth, it bei.-ame neoessarv to hnrriedlv orsranize 
 the arrivius: hosts. Unaecustomed to militarv af- 
 fairs it is not surprising that the people of the Xorth 
 were filled with c-onstemation as they saw the capi- 
 tal of the countrv cut off from all communication 
 with them and likelv to fall at anv moment into the 
 hands of the enemies to the Government bv direct 
 
 f -■>"■'» \
 
 34 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 attack or surel}^ to fall within a fortnight from star- 
 vation, l^or is it surprising that there were dis- 
 tracted, divided, although patriotic, counsels. It was 
 fortunate that at this time there was in Harrisburg 
 a man in whom the civil authorities could relj^, and 
 upon whom they could lean. That man was Fitz 
 John Porter, horn in N^ew Hampshire in September, 
 1822. He was educated at West Point, where he 
 graduated in 1845 as a brevet second lieutenant in 
 the Fourth Artillery. In 1847 he was promoted to 
 a first lieutenant, and- was with his regiment as it 
 moved with General Scott in his conquest of the 
 City of Mexico. 
 
 He was conspicuously gallant at the battles of Me- 
 lino del Rey, Chapultepec, and the Garita de Belen, 
 receiving respectively the brevet ranks of captain 
 and major for his conduct. At the last-named battle 
 he was severely wounded. Subsequent to the peace 
 he was instructor and adjutant at West Point. In 
 1856, receiving promotion to a captaincy in the Ad- 
 jutant General's department, he gave up his line rank. 
 When the civil war broke out he was a captain and 
 an Assistant Adjutant General. General Scott and 
 Secretary Cameron, feeling that the Capital was in 
 great danger and that communication between it and 
 the I^orth might be cut off at any moment, selected
 
 Fitz John Porter. 35 
 
 Major Porter as an able, true and discreet officer to 
 send to Ilarrisbarg for the purpose of representing 
 the Government in its military arm, of hurrying for- 
 ward relief, and, if the urgency demanded it, offici- 
 ally using their names and authority without first 
 communicatino; with them. It was a trust well re- 
 posed and faithfully executed. 
 
 Porter was a man of unquestioned courage, un- 
 doubted ability, and exalted patriotism. He was not 
 a magnetic man in the sense of creating noisy enthu- 
 siasm in troops whenever he appeared, but he was 
 magnetic in attracting and holding the absolute con- 
 fidence .of all men under and around him. To his 
 coolness and intrepidity in action was added a keen, 
 penetrating mind that enabled him to judge rapidly 
 and correctly. 
 
 His arrival at Harrisburg w^as opportune and his 
 services there invaluable to the authorities and Gov- 
 ernment. He at once set the military machinery in 
 motion and by April 20 had organized and mustered 
 into the United States service the First Resjiment 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, Col. Samuel Yohe, and 
 despatched it that night as the advance of an army 
 to move through Baltimore to reopen communication 
 with Washington. The companies comprising the 
 Second Regiment were mustered on the same day.
 
 36 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 but the regimental organization was not perfected 
 until the 21st, when Frederick C. Stumbach was 
 chosen colonel. That night Major Porter despatched 
 this regiment to join the First and Third who were 
 then in the neighborhood of Cockejsville, a station 
 on the Northern Central Railway, about fifteen miles 
 northwest of Baltimore. 
 
 The Third Regiment under Col. Francis P. Minier 
 had been organized, mustered and despatched on the 
 20th. The three regiments were under the general 
 command of Brigadier General Geo. C. Wjnkoop. 
 They were of the very best material, intelligent, 
 brave and patriotic, but exceedingly deficient in 
 military knowlege, the militia of the State being 
 only a military organization in name and form. 
 What military knowledge then existed in the com- 
 mand was confined to the few survivors of the Mexi- 
 can war who formed a component part of the several 
 regiments. This knowlege was not of much avail 
 in the exigencies which had arisen and Major Porter 
 had his hands full. 
 
 After Wynkoop's command arrived in Cockej's- 
 ville. Porter, seeing the necessity of having a support 
 to it that would inspire confidence, was hastily or- 
 ganizing a body of regular cavalry under Major Geo. 
 II. Thomas. Porter in person arrived at Cockeysville
 
 
 Fitz John Porter. ^J^lp ^ 
 
 
 o^ 
 
 late in the morning of April 21 and was rm5^-^ ^^^ 
 Richard Delafield and Capt. Daniel Tyler ?5^ ^le A, 
 regular arni}^, who aided in giving confidence ^K v^ 
 General Wjnkoop, and instructions to him and his • 
 subordinates. He had expected to have been able 
 on his arrival to order a forward march on Baltimore, 
 but was disappointed in not finding at Cockeysville 
 either Major Thomas' command, Sherman's Battery 
 of Artillery, nor the organized party of road .and 
 bridge repairers he had provided for and expected to 
 meet. 
 
 As all prudent counsel and calm judgment indi- 
 cated that to prevent bloodshed in making the re- 
 pairs to the railway and in effecting the passage of 
 Baltimore the command should be accompanied by 
 regular troops, Major Porter after properly disposing 
 of the troops and giving orders to General Wynkoop 
 hastily returned to Harrisburg to expedite the move- 
 ment of the regulars. So successful were his efforts 
 that by sundown he had embarked under Major 
 Thomas four hundred dismounted cavalry, and a 
 force of brido;e builders with brido-e material. Tak- 
 ing passage with the former he arrived at York 
 about midnight, expecting to reach Cockeysville in 
 abundant time to move the column early on the 
 morning of the 22nd. But here occurred one of
 
 38 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 those singular circumstances which frequently hap- 
 pened in the subsequent years of the* war — a coun- 
 termandino: of orders at the critical moment when 
 success depended upon the original orders being car- 
 ried out. The onward movement of Major Porter's 
 train was stopped by the notice of an arriving loco- 
 motive with orders from AVashington to stop the 
 advance of the troops on Baltimoj;e, and directing 
 their return to Pennsylvania to be forwarded via 
 Philadelphia and Annapolis. Major James Belger, 
 of the Quartermaster's Department, was said to he 
 the bearer of the orders and empowered to carry 
 them out. ^lajor Porter was dumfounded, could 
 not believe that such orders would be issued, and 
 much less that an officer of the Quartermaster's 
 Department would be detailed to carry out such a 
 stratesric movement. Xot seeins: the orders, he 
 resisted to the extent of his ability the execution of 
 them. The railroad was practically in the hands of 
 Major Belger, and the railroad officials would not 
 move Major Porter southward without first know- 
 ing that the track was clear to warrant such move- 
 ment with safety. The telegraph line was so fre- 
 quently interrupted south of York that it was 
 impossible to obtain any reliable information upon 
 which to base action, and so wore the night away ;
 
 Fiiz John Porter. 39 
 
 but when the dawn of the 22nd broke it disclosed 
 the troops from Cockejsville on board of arriving 
 trains at York. With the trains came Major Belger 
 and the orders. The latter were, first an order from 
 the Secretary of War, by direction of the President, 
 to return the troops then near Cockeysville, Md., to 
 York, Pa., and directing the officer in charge to 
 leave sufiftcient force along the railroad to keep it 
 safe from depredations and within his entire control ; 
 the second, an order from General Winfield Scott to 
 return the troops to Ilarrisburg, and forward them 
 from thence via Philadelphia and Annapolis, placing 
 the execution of the order in the hands of Major 
 Belo^er and abandoning;; the line of the !N'orthern 
 Central Railway. 
 
 On the back of the first order. Secretary Cameron 
 made an endorsement in lead pencil as follows : 
 '' Since writins: the within order it has been chano-ed 
 by the Lieutenant General by direction of the Presi- 
 dent. I now add that I direct the railroad to be 
 kept open at all hazards so as to give to the United 
 States the power to send troops or munitions if the 
 necessity for bringing them by that route shall oc- 
 cur by the failure or inability of the Mayor of Bal- 
 timore to keep his faith with the President." Both 
 of these orders w^ere issued at the instance of the
 
 40 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 President after rej^eatecl interviews with the Mayor 
 and proininent citizens of Baltimore, and from a 
 desire to prevent bloodshed in that city. The lead 
 pencil memorandum of Secretary Cameron was 
 written under these circumstances : Major Belger 
 was on his way to the depot in Washington with the 
 original orders when Secretary Cameron met him. 
 The Secretary had been reflecting upon the import- 
 ance of getting the troops to Washington and of 
 keeping open the line of the IN'orthern Central Rail- 
 way and hurriedly, as he sat in his carriage, made 
 the memorandum and then verbally directed Major 
 Belger to tell Major Porter to bring on the troops at 
 all hazards. Belger, however, disregarded the Sec- 
 retary of War's orders, did not deliver the verbal 
 order to Major Porter, but, abandoning the railway 
 to its fate, carried out the Lieutenant General's in- 
 structions and took the command out of Porter's 
 hands. It was not until years afterwards that Porter 
 heard of Cameron's verbal orders to him, and that 
 Cameron learned from Belg^er himself that he had 
 not delivered the orders to Porter. 
 
 Thus ended the Cockeysville campaign. Because 
 he did not hold the Pennsylvania troops at Cockeys- 
 ville, and did not force his way through to Wash- 
 ington with them and the regulars under Major
 
 Fltz John Porter. 41 
 
 Thomas, Major Fitz John Porter had for years after- 
 wards the enmity of Secretary Chase, Senators 
 Chandler, Wade and Henry Wilson, the latter ac- 
 knowledging in after years that that was the first 
 cause of his opposition to him. This seed of oppo- 
 sition grew in secret, and developed into such force 
 that when military incapacity, engrafted upon mili- 
 tary jealousy, demanded a sacrifice the powerful 
 partisans threw their weight of partisanism into the 
 scale and deprived this brilliant, this guiltless, this 
 distinguished ofiicer of his well-earned laurels and 
 the Government of his valuable services. 
 
 The acts of Fitz John Porter as recorded in the 
 foregoino; sketches were not the least of his in- 
 A'aluable services to the Government at that period. 
 Under almost insurmountable difficulties he had 
 with perfect judgment brought out from Texas the 
 only troops saved from Twiggs' surrender and so 
 placed them that they would render the greatest 
 service ; he detailed them to the garrisons at Tortugas 
 and Key West, thus not only strengthening but mak- 
 ing perfectly safe those positions. As the clouds 
 were darkening, and knowing that Col. Gardner, 
 commandant at Fort Moultrie, was too old to bear 
 the responsibilities which were sure to fall upon him
 
 42 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 in that coramaiKl, he selected and caused the appoint- 
 ment of Major Robert Anderson for the post. And er- 
 son's policj^ was settled in l!s'ew York in a conference 
 between himself, General Scott and Porter, the latter 
 marking out the plan by which Moultrie was to be 
 evacuated and Sumter occupied and held. Had re- 
 inforcements been sent as the plan provided Sumter 
 would have been held. This conference and its aofree- 
 ments were kept secret from the administration at 
 the request of General Scott, because the administra- 
 tion had not sought and was not seeking his advice. 
 
 Porter, in addition to his experience in the intestine 
 troubles in Utah and Texas, had cautiously gathered 
 a fund of information useful to the Government, and 
 was now at Harrisburg with communication cut otf 
 with the authorities, assuming the most weighty 
 responsibilities. His labors were ceaseless by day 
 and by night. For a week at a time he could not 
 spare a moment to even change his clothing beyond 
 renewing his collars and cuiFs. 
 
 To enter into all the details of his work, in his 
 seizing the reins and in rousing the people and gov- 
 ernment officials to the gravity of the crisis, would 
 require a volume of writing. Space herein will not 
 permit, but there was one act so prompt, so proper 
 and so far reaching in its results, that it will always
 
 Fitz John Porter. 43 
 
 stand as a monument to his ability, fidelity and 
 patriotism. Missouri was in a state of ferment. St. 
 Louis was apparently in the hands of the Secessionists. 
 In the St. Louis Arsenal there were 70,000 stand of 
 arms that the Secessionists were preparing to seize. 
 Missouri Union Volunteers were comins: to the front 
 and Lieut. J. M. Schofield, Third Artillery, then in 
 St. Louis, had been detailed to muster them in. 
 General Harney, commanding the District, standing 
 upon what he considered neutral ground, refused to 
 allow the Missouri Unionists to remain in the Arsenal 
 grounds nor to be armed. It was a critical moment, 
 and Frank P. Blair, Jr., using the telegraph ofiice at 
 East St. Louis, sent the following telegram which I 
 received at Ilarrisburg early in the morning of the 
 day it was dated: 
 
 "St. Louis, April 21,1861. 
 " To Governor A. G. Curtin: 
 
 " An officer of the army here has received an order 
 to muster in Missouri regiments. General Harney 
 refuses to let them remain in the arsenal grounds or 
 permit them to be armed. I wish these facts to be 
 communicated to the Secretary of War by special 
 messenger and instructions sent immediately to 
 Harney to receive the troops at the arsenal and arm 
 them. Our friends distrust Harney very much. He 
 should be superceded immediately by putting an-
 
 44 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 other commander in the district. The object of the 
 Secessionists is to seize the arsenal here with its sev- 
 enty thousand stand of arms, and he refuses the 
 means of defending it, Y/e have plenty of men, but 
 no arms. 
 
 [Signed] " Frank P. Blair, Jr." 
 
 Governor Curtin, appreciating the gravity of the 
 situation, which was increased by the certainty that 
 it would require from two to three days' time to per- 
 fect full communication with the Secretary of War, 
 and, believing that the delay of an hour might place 
 St. Louis in the hands of the insurgents, turned to 
 Porter and delivered Blair's appeal to him. Major 
 Porter, without a moment's hesitation, used the 
 name of Lieutenant General Winfield Scott and tele- 
 graphed Captain [NT. Lyon, Second Infantry, then at St. 
 Louis, to muster in the Union troops and to use them 
 for the protection of public property. He also noti- 
 fied Harney of the detail and instructed him to see 
 that the troops so mustered should be properly armed 
 and equipped. Telegrams of the same import were 
 sent to Captain Seth Williams, A. A. G., and to the 
 commanding ofl3.cer of the arsenal at St. Louis, and 
 in the name of the Secretary of AVar ( Simon Cam- 
 eron ) to Mr. Blair. 
 
 The prompt receipt of these orders enabled Gen-
 
 
 Fitz John Porter. N^x -^ < ^i'A 
 
 eral Blair, Captain Lyon and other prominent?-^*iiofl , ^ 
 men to become masters of the situation, to the eir^B. OyO 
 discomfiture of the Secessionists who by the delay oK^ O 
 one day would have been enabled to capture the 
 arsenal, with its valuable contents, and hold St. 
 Louis. General Blair always held that this action 
 of Porter saved Missouri to the Union with all the 
 great benefit to the JSTational cause that such result 
 implied. These few bold and prompt strokes of 
 Porter's pen saved that which had it been lost at the 
 time would have required a large army, with its 
 attendant expense of blood and treasure, months if 
 not years to recover. 
 
 Porter, with drawn sword on the Peninsula and on 
 the itineracy of the Army of the Potomac which 
 ended with the battle of Antietam, was an heroic 
 figure, but Porter in the emergency, cut off from all 
 communication with superior authority, standing 
 isolated, pen in hand winning a great and bloodless 
 victory for his country, is a grand character.
 
 Y. 
 
 BULL RUN TO ANTIETAM. 
 
 Dedicated to the memory of Thomas A. Scott, who, in life, 
 whether ia times of war or in times of peace, was a foremost 
 citizen in defending his country's rights and advancing its 
 prosperity. 
 
 THE battle of Bull Eun and its attending dis- 
 asters threw the country into a great turmoil 
 of excitement. The loyal people were appalled when 
 the startling fact broke upon them that they had 
 vastly underrated the strength, power and resources 
 of the enem}^ They saw that they were sadly dis- 
 appointed in their supposition that the ariJiy of raw 
 levies from the workshops, fields, counters and ofiices 
 of the l^orth, accustomed only to the avocations of 
 peace, would, in three short months, whip a military 
 people, fighting under the stimulus of desperation. 
 " Bull Run " was an error which a round of cir- 
 cumstances made the Government commit. The 
 three months' enlistments were drawing to the end of 
 the term; the troops not satisfied with the great 
 work they had performed of saving the Capitol, 
 
 ( 46 )
 
 Ball Ran to Antietam. 47 
 
 desired a taste of war's bitter fruits in the frenzied 
 fray ; influences from civil life clamored for a battle, 
 and everywhere throughout the land the cry of " On 
 to Richmond" could be heard; capitalists who had 
 loaned the Government their wealth, Senators and 
 Representatives in Congress w^ho had the voting of 
 supplies, and the radical abolitionists with an im- 
 petuousness inborn of their detestation of slavery, 
 demanded a demonstration against the enemy. Tlie 
 President at last gave way under the pressure 
 thus brought to bear upon him and added his voice 
 to the throng in urging an onward movement. Long 
 and fervent were the remonstrances of the veteran 
 General Scott and the young and intrepid McDowell, 
 but they, too, had to give way to the noisy clamors, 
 and the consequence was an order for McDowell to 
 advance his army on Manassas, the stronghold of the 
 enemy. The result, that toughly-contested battle, 
 fought on a hot Sunday, which brought so much dis- 
 tress, dismav and diso-race to the arms of the Union. 
 While the action was progressing I was on duty 
 in the War Department at Washington as military 
 telegraph operator, and around me was gathered one 
 of the most illustrious groups brought together dur- 
 ing the war with the Confederate States, to witness 
 on that beautiful Sunday the tragedy being enacted 
 on the banks of Bull Run.
 
 48 Notes on the Civil Wai . 
 
 Military science, surrendered to the passions of the 
 people, had passed under newspaper and partisan 
 political control, and the group had gathered to 
 watch the practical effects of that surrender, little 
 dreaming what the declining of that day's sun would 
 disclose. 
 
 The group was composed of President Lincoln, 
 William H. Seward, Simon Cameron, Salmon P. 
 Chase, Gideon Welles and Edward Bates, of the 
 Cabinet ; Colonels Townsend, Yan Rensalaer, Ham- 
 ilton and Wright, of General Scott's staff; General 
 Mansfield, commanding the defenses of Washington, 
 and Col. Thomas A. Scott, of Pennsylvania. With 
 maps of the field before them they watched, as it 
 were, the conflict of arms as it progressed, at the 
 same time keeping up a running desultory conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 The military telegraph, which had not yet reached 
 the efiiciencv which afterwards characterized it, ex- 
 tended only to Fairfax Court House, from which 
 point General McDowell kept the authorities advised 
 of his movements. Hour after hour the couriers 
 reported unbrokenly that our troops were steadily 
 forcing the enem}^ back, but as that w^as expected, 
 the reports only tended to increase the complacent 
 satisfaction w^ith w^hich all of the party seemed to be 
 possessed.
 
 Bull Run to Antietam. 49 
 
 A despatch had been received from General Rob- 
 ert Patterson, the evening before, announcing that 
 Johnston had eluded him, but the sanguine feeling 
 which animated the group was in no wise abated by 
 that knowledge or by the probability of Johnston 
 forming a junction with Beauregard that da}^ 
 
 The day passed quietly in the Department, all 
 present looking forward with an abiding coniidence 
 for McDowell's success. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln, deeply impressed with the responsi- 
 bilities of the occasion, wore a quiet dignity and his 
 observations on the pending conflict w^ere free from 
 humor and were few and measured. 
 
 Mr. Seward, complacently smoking a cigar, dis- 
 played a consciousness that his prophecy of a thirty 
 days' war was about being verified. 
 
 Mr. Cameron, not doubting the result of the day's 
 work, yet not sharing in Mr. Seward's views as to 
 the duration of the war with the forces then in 
 hand, gave expression to his opinions in the forcible, 
 practical manner for which he was distinguished. 
 
 The military gentlemen explained movements, be- 
 sides occasionally^ withdrawing themselves for the 
 purpose of advising General Scott of the battle's 
 progress, he being too much enfeebled hy the infirm- 
 ities of age to leave his quarters.
 
 50 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 The other gentlemen of the group were deeply 
 interested observers. 
 
 Up to half-past three o'clock in the afternoon 
 advices from McDowell were frequent, the des- 
 patches at that hour indicating that he was pressing 
 .Beaure2:ard back to Manassas Junction. From then 
 on until the shades of evenins; were drawing; on 
 apace an ominous silence settled upon the telegraph. 
 The conversation of the gentlemen took a speculative 
 turn on the causes of the sudden cessation of in- 
 formation from the field, the generally expressed 
 opinion being that McDowell, flushed with victory, 
 was too busily engaged in securing its fruits to 
 write despatches. But as time wore on, and specu- 
 lation had almost given way to impatience, the 
 throbbino; instrument broke its Ions; silence and told 
 that " Our armj^ is retreating." Such information 
 being entirely unexpected, was received at first with 
 incredulity, but as corroboration soon followed, and 
 the fact became apparent that the army was not only 
 retreating but was flying in a panic, it was received 
 and accepted with outward composure. There was 
 no consternation and but a feeble ripple of excite- 
 ment of momentary duration and scarcely discern- 
 ible. As the result was the opposite of the anticipa- 
 tions, it would be expected that the sudden revulsion
 
 Bull Run to Antietam. 51 
 
 would have at least produced great excitement, but 
 whatever may have been the thoughts and feelings 
 of these gentlemen they kept them closel}^ veiled as 
 the truth was beins; revealed. Mr. Seward smoked 
 on without the slightest perturbation being shown 
 upon his countenance, in his manner or speech. The 
 days of his prophecy were ended, and he extricated 
 himself from the consequences of their not bringing 
 fulfilment by extending them to a later period. 
 Colonel Thomas A. Scott, turning to General Mans- 
 field, said, quietly, " General, it would be well to man 
 your fortifications and stay this retreat," and then 
 left the Department with Mr. Cameron for the pur- 
 pose of holding a consultation with General Scott. 
 As the telegraph reported the terrible scenes and 
 heartrending stories of sufferings during the progress 
 of that never-to-be-forgotten flight, Mr. Lincoln felt 
 that the hour of the N^ation's greatest peril was 
 opening, and while making preparations to meet it, 
 the saddened lines of his countenance deepened and 
 his whole soul seemed to go out in sympathy to the 
 dying, the sick and wounded, the foot-sore and the 
 weary. 
 
 General Scott could not understand that a "hero 
 of one hundred battles" could be beaten, and he only 
 believed when the advancing hurricane of the flying, 
 
 This Book is the Property of the New York World.
 
 52 JVotes on the Civil War. 
 
 panic-stricken army sounded its approach to the 
 Capital. When the veteran at last believed he gave 
 me an autograph order to suppress all news of the 
 disaster which might be oiFered for telegraphing to 
 the country. Armed with this document I drove 
 down Pennsylvania avenue to the American Tele- 
 graph office and notified its manager of the commands 
 of the General-in-Chief. Piled upon the telegraph 
 tables were "specials" from the field describing, in 
 thrilling language — as only the " War Correspond- 
 ent" could describe — the scenes and events of the 
 day. All intimations of disaster were ruthlessly cut 
 from the specials, and only the rose-coloring per- 
 mitted to be telegraphed. Thus it was that while 
 the gloom of the darkest hour in the Republic's his- 
 tory hung like a pall over Washington City, through- 
 out the Xorth bells were ringing out rejoicings over 
 the glad tidings of victory. 
 
 Telegrams were sent to General McClellan, at 
 Beverly, in Western Virginia, informing him of a 
 "repulse " to McDowell, and to Generals Banks and 
 Dix — both of whom were in Baltimore — instructing; 
 them to keep their men under arms, l^o official 
 telegrams for aid were sent at this time, but Colonel 
 Thomas A. Scott, with a keen perception of the sit- 
 uation, and foreseeins: the necessities of the morrow.
 
 Bull Run to Antietam. 53 
 
 sent a telegram to Governor Curtin, at Harrisburg, 
 which, in conception and composition, was so char- 
 acteristic of the man who no sooner saw a want than 
 he comprehended its supply, that I give its entire 
 text here : 
 
 ^'Washington, July 21, 1861. 
 *''- Hon. A. G. Curtin^ HaiTishurg^ Pa,: 
 
 "Get your regiments at Harrisburg, Easton and 
 other points ready for immediate shipment; lose no 
 time in preparing ; make things move to the utmost. 
 
 [Signed] " TnoMAs A. Scott." 
 
 This despatch anticipated, by many hours, any of- 
 ficial action looking towards a call for " more troops." 
 The reply to it was found in the hastening of the 
 famous Pennsylvania Reserves to the relief of the 
 threatened Capital. Mr. Lincoln lingered around 
 the War Department until about two o'clock in the 
 morning, when he retired to the White House, leav- 
 ing Mr. Scott on guard, an active, watchful sentinel 
 of the movements of the night. Had the country 
 been consulted, there could not have been selected 
 from among its patriotic sons, an abler, truer, wiser, 
 braver guardian, than the noble Pennsylvanian whom 
 Mr. Lincoln left on guard to care for its interests i n 
 the crisis which had come upon it. 
 
 At the close of the battle of Bull Run, Washington
 
 54 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 City was crowded with a disorganized, demoralized 
 mob, scarcely controllable, which had taken the 
 shortest routes from the battle-field to the Capital. 
 The most of the persons composing it were eagerly 
 demanding their discharges, as the term of their 
 enlistments had either expired or were expiring. It 
 was indeed a dark day that had fallen upon the 
 country. While a strona: and victorious enemy, 
 jubilant oyer its success, was threatening the yery 
 gates of the Capital, its defenders, scattered and un- 
 manageable, were parading the streets and avenues 
 in grotesque parties spinning yarns of individual 
 valor. 
 
 General Simon Cameron held the portfolio of the 
 Department of War. He was assisted by Colonel 
 Thomas A. Scott, one of the best-equipped and prac- 
 tical minds of the day, a man whose energy and 
 applicability enabled him to surmount any difficulty 
 that might be thrown in his way. 
 
 At a consultation held immediately after the battle, 
 it was determined upon bringinging the young mili- 
 tary chieftain. General McClellan, from the scene of 
 his successes in Western Virginia to reorganize the 
 army for the defense of the Union. With his prestige, 
 ability and ardor he soon brought order out of chaos, 
 and had a large army in training on the banks of
 
 
 Bull Run to Anticiam. ^S^'^S^^A 
 
 the Potomac. A perfect net-work of fortifica^jpnsv . ^J^ 
 sprang np around Washington at the hands of )(J^ ^^ 
 coniplished and experienced engineers. Daily troopsT^ ^^ 
 were formed into beautifal human machines whose 
 every movement betokened harmony of action. 
 Colonel Lorenzo Thonias was made, by brevet, a 
 Brigadier General, and occupied the post of Adjutant 
 Geneml ; Captain Meigs, an eminent engineer, whose 
 work upon the Washington aqueduct and the dome 
 of the Capitol had given him a world-wide reputa- 
 tion, was appointed Quartermaster General, with the 
 rank of brevet Brigadier General; Colonel J. W. 
 Kipley, advanced to similar rank, was promoted to 
 Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, and Colonel Joseph 
 Taylor, brother of old '' Rough and Ready," acted 
 as Commissary General of Subsistence. 
 
 The army, under the auspices of these learned 
 military men, became, as it were, an army of vet- 
 erans, ever ready for the fray in which they might 
 retrieve the I^ation's honor and punish treason. The 
 summer wore away in bringing the army into con- 
 dition and insuring the invulnerability of the politi- 
 cal metropolis of the country, and just as the frosts 
 of autumn had rendered an advance upon the enemy 
 practicable, rains set in, causing Virginia's proverb- 
 ially bad roads to become perfectly impassable.
 
 56 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 Rains continued throughout the fall and winter. 
 Roads had no bottoms, and the ground became so 
 thoroughly saturated that at the close of 1861 and 
 the commencement of 1862, regimental and even 
 company drill had to be abandoned. The pickets in 
 camp and on the outposts, stationed in the most 
 advantageous positions, unable to walk their posts, 
 plodded them, and that often through mud to their 
 ankles. The only consolation our troops gave them- 
 selves in their mud-bound condition was that of be- 
 lieving the enemy were in no better condition. The 
 only difference which did exist was, that while our 
 army, ever prepared for an advance, waited for 
 propitious weather in tents, the enemy had gone into 
 comparatively comfortable winter quarters. 
 
 During the time the Grand Army of the Potomac 
 lay thus inactive, independent movements were made 
 and laro^e drafts for the men to carrv them into 
 effect were made upon it. These movements and 
 depletions of his ranks were strenuously opposed b}^ 
 General McClellan, on the ground of bad policy. 
 He contended that while it weakened his army the 
 advantages arising from striking at and occupying 
 isolated points in the South could in no way be equal 
 to those that would arise from his bearins; down 
 with a large and overwhelming force upon the posi-
 
 Ball Biui to Antietam. 57 
 
 tions where the strength of the enemy was centered. 
 Further, that concentration, not the isolation, of 
 divisions was the true principle upon which the war 
 should be conducted, to bring the rebellion to a 
 speedy conclusion. This sage and deep reasoning 
 was overthrown, and he was compelled to see some 
 of his choicest troops taken away from him, but to 
 his honor and patriotism be it said, that the moment 
 the policy of independent movements were resolved 
 upon, he gave all his talents and energy to ensure 
 their success. 
 
 The retiracy of General Winfield Scott, in the fall 
 of 18G1, caused the appointment of McClellan as 
 General Commanding the United States Army. 
 Multiplied as his duties became, by reason of his 
 advancement, he did not shrink an instant from the 
 responsibilities of his position, but went to work 
 with an energy which soon infused new life into the 
 whole army. He planned his campaign, then set to 
 work in bringing his combination to perfection. 
 Day and night have I seen him busily engaged mov- 
 ing the vast machinery of the whole army and per- 
 sonally attending to the details of the management 
 of his immediate command — the great Army of the 
 Potomac. !N'ot a moment of time did he devote to 
 himself excepting such hours as nature demanded
 
 58 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 for repose, and those he curtailed to the utmost 
 limit. His meals were oftenest eaten while he 
 labored. A little wicker basket, contaiuins; a few 
 saiKhviches, some bread and cheese, and now and 
 then a tart, was the storehouse from which for days 
 he drew his only provisions. The results of his ex- 
 cessive labors and close confinement to duty were 
 shown, in colors of brilliancy, by the gallant achieve- 
 ments in the West, the restoration of Kentucky and 
 Tennessee to the Union, the evacuation of Manassas 
 and Corinth, the reopening of the Mississippi and 
 the occupation of ^N'ew Orleans. 
 
 These glorious results were clearlj^ attributable to 
 the genius of McClellan, and would have been the 
 forerunner of greater achievements, bringing the war 
 to a close, with a restored Union, within eighteen 
 months from the time Sumter was fired upon, 
 had he been allowed to pursue his plans to their 
 final consummation. It was not to be so. Simon 
 Cameron resigned as Secretary of War, and Edwin 
 M. Stanton w^as appointed his successor. From that 
 moment the policy of the Department of War 
 changed. Mr. Stanton had a national reputation of 
 being an eminent legal scholar, withal he was am- 
 bitious to unheal thiness, egotistic, bombastic, arro- 
 gant and untruthful. He was called upon to act in
 
 Bull Run to Antietam. 59 
 
 a department, the hio:hlj patriotic duties of which 
 he was entirely unfitted for. It was peculiarly un- 
 fortunate that Mr. Lincoln's foresightedness should 
 have failed him when he consented to the appoint- 
 ment of Stanton. "We can only lament that it did. 
 The fulsome laudation of the press of the country soon 
 raised Stanton to a standard farbeyond his caliber, 
 and the people, so prone to allow their enthusiasm 
 to carry their judgment beyond the line of prudence, 
 carried the standard to a more giddy height, so that 
 Stanton, looking in any direction, saw nothing but 
 himself. His egoism and vanity were catered to, 
 causing him to assume the position he did which 
 proved so disastrous to the country. His incapacity 
 to wield the scepter placed in his hands soon showed 
 itself. 
 
 Simon Cameron and Thomas A. Scott, unaided, 
 had performed all the necessary administrative work 
 of the Department in raising, equipping, organizing 
 and placing in the field an army of six hundred 
 thousand men, besides receiving and hearing the 
 large crowds of people who, in rapid streams, flowed 
 into Washington irom all quarters of the country. 
 Day and night they were accessible to any person 
 that might call upon them. Mark the effect of the 
 change. Secretary Cameron's resignation took place
 
 60 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 when the army was ready to move and the business 
 of the Department had dwindled down to mere 
 routine. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Stanton in- 
 sisted upon having three Assistant Secretaries of 
 War and a large addition to his corps of clerks, 
 and after receiving that additional assistance, he 
 denied audiences four days in the week to all call- 
 ers, the President and members of the Cabinet 
 alone excepted. On the remaining two days he 
 graciouslj^ permitted access to his presence, designa- 
 ting live hours of one day as the time for Senators 
 and members of Cono:ress and live hours of the other 
 day as the time for the general public and officers of 
 the army to call. 
 
 The atmosphere of the Department soon thick- 
 ened with the atoms of autocracy and snobbery, 
 erstwhile found flying around the heads of royalty, 
 but which now had eftected a lodo-ment on and 
 around Mr. Stanton's desk. 
 
 The reason announced for the enlargement of the 
 force and curtailment of the freedom of access was 
 that such action was necessary for the expedition 
 of business. If such necessity existed, it was a 
 thousand times more urgent under Cameron than 
 under Stanton ; but the fact is that it did not exist 
 at all, and the only reasonable explanation of Stan-
 
 Bull Run to Ardietam. 61 
 
 ton's action was to be found in an overwhelmino; 
 desire on Lis part to surround himself with a seem- 
 ing inapproachableness so as to enable him to undo 
 all that had been done by his predecessor. That he 
 succeeded in obtaining his desire is fully attested by 
 subsequent events. Enlistments were stopped, and 
 the ranks of the army, instead of being kept up 
 to a standard of six hundred thousand fio-htins: men, 
 were being reduced daily by sickness and the casual- 
 ties of war, and no one to fill up the vacant files. 
 
 McClellan forced the enemy to abandon his ex- 
 tremely strong position at Manassas, and then sought 
 a new base of operations in the Peninsula. Evacua- 
 tion by the enemy of Yorktown and the lines of the 
 James, Chicahominy and York rivers to a new posi- 
 tion within a few miles from Richmond was an early 
 result. McClellan was thus in a position to realize 
 his fond anticipations of bringing the war to a 
 speedy conclusion, but the policy of the War De- 
 partment was against him, and it was impossible for 
 him to successfully contend with that enemy in the 
 rear, and the armed foe in the front. The failure of 
 McDowell to form a junction with him, and the non- 
 arrival of needed reinforcements caused the necessity 
 for the change of base to the James river accom- 
 panied by the " Seven days' fight " with all its at-
 
 62 Notes on the Civil War, 
 
 teiidant casualties. The President on appeal said 
 every man was sent McClellan that could he sent 
 him ; that there were no more to send. That was 
 unquestionably true, hut why? Enlistments had 
 been, stopped when they should have ^one on, at 
 least until such time as would be required to have a 
 sufficient force in reserv^e for just such emergencies 
 as arose. Cameron's policy would have insured a 
 patriotic army of a million of men, and operations 
 would not have had to be suspended a moment for 
 new levies to be made. Reserves under that policy 
 could have been sent forward to close decimated 
 ranks, enabling a steady advance of the Union col- 
 umns upon all those spots where the Confederacy 
 had its armed forces. '' Ko men to send " caused 
 Banks to retreat to the Potomac, and laid open to 
 the enemy the beautiful Valley of the Shenandoah. 
 Yet Banks' retreat was not a warning. To be sure 
 it fired the patriotic heart of the country, and caused 
 large bodies of able-bodied men to rush forward and 
 tender their services to the Government, but the 
 Government, under the baneful influence of Stanton 
 and his policy, cooled the ardor of the people by re- 
 fusing to accept the noble offers, on the pretext that 
 there were sufficient men in the field. Had those 
 sons of constitutional liberty been accepted, Mc-
 
 Bull Bun to Antletam. G3 
 
 Clellan could have liad an overwhelmino; force at 
 his command with which to destroy the Southern 
 Army, capture Richmond and close the war. 
 
 While McClellan was at Harrison's Landing put- 
 tino^ the Armv of the Potomac into condition for a 
 movement upon Richmond, and calling for reinforce- 
 ments that never came, the War Department author- 
 ities at Washington were again tampering with the 
 organization of the army. The corps of McDowell, 
 Banks and Fremont, and the garrison of Washing- 
 ton, which had been detached from McClellan's 
 command, were organized into the " Army of Vir- 
 ginia," and placed under command of Major General 
 John Pope, who signalized his incapacity for such 
 duty by boastfully proclaiming in general orders, 
 that the securing of " bases of operations " and 
 " lines of retreat " should be left to the enemy. 
 The enemy promptly secured Pope's. To cap the 
 climax of blundering, if not absolutely criminal 
 stupidity, Major General Henry W. Hal leek, who 
 had never marshaled even a squad in the field, was 
 called to Washington as General-in-Chief of the 
 Armies of the United States. Stanton thus became 
 strongh^ reinforced in the carrying out of his system 
 of undoing, and heartily did Halleck and Pope re- 
 spond to all calls he made upon them to aid him in
 
 64 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 that direction. All military maxims were disre- 
 garded, and the Army of the Potomac was recalled 
 from the line of the James. 
 
 That frightful blunder was immediately taken 
 advantage of by General Lee, who made a bold 
 move to reach Washington by turning its right 
 flank. On the second of August, 1862, General Hal- 
 leck issued orders for the recall of the Army of the 
 Potomac, and on the ninth of that month General 
 " Stonewall " Jackson's advance of Lee's army had 
 crossed the Rapidan and encountered Banks at Cedar 
 Mountain. Battle after battle followed until they 
 culminated in the disgraceful overthrow of Pope at 
 the very gates of the Capital. • 
 
 Lee thus cleared his line of communications so 
 that his march through the Shenandoah into the 
 Cumberland Yalley should be unimpeded. 
 
 The danger to the Capital was imminent, and the 
 Government and the people were thoroughly and 
 completely aroused. By the orders of Stanton and 
 Halleck, McClellan had been despoiled of all com- 
 mand, but when dismay spread its dark mantle over 
 Washington, President Lincoln telegraphed him, "I 
 beg of you to assist me in this crisis, with your 
 ability and experience. I am entirely tired out." 
 And to the utter discomfiture of Stanton and Chase,
 
 Bull Bun to Antietam. ()5 
 
 who would have preferred the surrender of Wash- 
 ington to accepting its safety at the hands of Mc- 
 Clellau, placed him at the head of the army for the 
 defense of Washington. 
 
 On the 11th of September Longstreet's corps of 
 Lee's army was occupying Hagerstown and vicinity. 
 
 McClellan, having hastily reorganized the army, 
 cautiously followed, covering Washington as he 
 progressed. 
 
 The J^orth was now aroused, and political in- 
 trigue and schemes of personal advancement had to 
 be dropped for the time being. 
 
 Pennsylvania, which w^as threatened with the 
 horrors and devastation of war, made strenuous ef- 
 forts to resist invasion. Governor Curtin's call upon 
 the people was responded to w^ith alacrity, and soon 
 a large army was gathering on the banks of the 
 Susquehanna. This army w^as composed principally 
 of the militia. It is somewhat customary to smile 
 w^hen the militia are mentioned in connection with 
 actual war, but the fact cannot be truthfully contra- 
 dicted that whenever the militia were called out 
 they always filled the part they were called upon to 
 act. 
 
 At that time Governor Curtin, having been ap- 
 prised in advance that Pennsylvania must look out
 
 66 Notes on the Civil Wa7\ 
 
 for itself, made the most complete arrangements for 
 the State's defense. He summoned the militia of 
 the Commonwealth to gather at the border, and 
 there await his arrivah 
 
 *' Then marched the brave from rocky steep, 
 From mountain river swift and cold ; 
 The borders of the stormy deep, 
 The vales where gathered waters sleep, 
 Sent up the strong and bold." 
 
 They gathered, and I can see them now with their 
 bright guns flashing in the September sunlight ; 
 their fresh blouses with shining buttons; their can- 
 teens overflowing with the cool waters of the Cono- 
 cocheague, and their haversacks filled with mtions. 
 They w^ere a fine sight to behold as their lines were 
 formed in field and wood. Some of them were im- 
 bued with State pride and citizen duty to such a 
 high degree that they hesitated in crossing the 
 border for fear that it would be doing an unconstitu- 
 tional act 1 This fact coming to the knowledge of 
 Curtin how^ grand he looked and how magical the 
 effect when he appeared before the doubting ones 
 and informed them that the border line was only an 
 imaginary one, and assured them that wherever 
 Pennsylvania troops would follow, there Pennsyl- 
 vania's Governor w^ould lead. So it was that.
 
 Bull Run to Antietam, 67 
 
 with all the " pride, pomp and circumstance of 
 glorious war," with drums beating and banners wav- 
 ing, they bravely crossed the border. The column 
 marched, and in good time arrived at Hagerstown, 
 where its Chief established his headquarters. It 
 then moved out the Williamsport road, along which 
 it was drawn up in line of battle to meet a portion 
 of the enemy advancing on its front. The position 
 was one of great responsibility and full of danger, 
 and had it not been filled by the militia it would 
 have been necessary to fill it from the Army of the 
 Potomac, then engaged with Lee's main forces. 
 Therefore, although not in the battle of Antietam 
 with its shifting scenes of successes and defeats, its 
 carnage and its glories, the Pennsylvania militia are 
 entitled to great praise for assisting in bringing 
 about its results. 
 
 On the 13th of September Longstreet's corps of 
 Lee's army was at Hagerstown, his advance having 
 reached there on the lltli. Hill was at the base of 
 South Mountain, and Jackson was investing Harper's 
 Ferry. General McClellan's headquarters were at 
 Frederick. 
 
 McClellan had a three- fold duty to perform: to 
 punish Lee, cover Washington, and to relieve the 
 garrison at Harper's Ferry. This latter duty should
 
 68 Notes on the Civil War. ■ 
 
 not have been imposed upon him, as it weakened his 
 ability to perform the other duties. Harper's Ferry 
 was of no strategic importance, and the attempt to 
 hold it Avas only to insure the loss of its garrison. 
 ^IcClellan advised its abandonment and the transfer 
 of the troops there to his command. But as usual, 
 it was only for McClellan to suggest a proper move- 
 ment to cause the War Department to frustrate its 
 accomplishment ; so it was that not until September 
 12th, that the command at Harper's Ferry was 
 placed under McClellan, contingent upon his opening 
 communication with Miles. Jackson's rapid move- 
 ments to capture Miles had cut off communication 
 with the latter, and it was only after this became an 
 ascertained fact that Halleck placed Miles under 
 McClellan's orders, subject to the first mentioned 
 contingency. McClellan saw the impending disaster 
 to Miles and tried to avert it, but the authority given 
 him in the premises came too late, as subsequent 
 events proved. McClellan now pushed forward rap- 
 idly, and on Sunday morning encountered Hill at 
 the Boonsborough pass of the South Mountain. Hill 
 made a gallant stand, and was reinforced during the 
 afternoon from Longstreet's corps. The action was 
 a bloody one, and while the pseans of victory went 
 to McClellan, Hill accomplished a great result in
 
 
 Bull Run to Aniietam. x ^x ^ -^"i^ 
 
 detaining McClellan long enough to allow Ja(^*;^n If 
 to accomplish the entire discomliture of Miles, fOf^^ y <?0^ 
 the next morning that unfortmiate officer surren- ^^ ^ 
 dered 12,520 men, with all the stores and munitions 
 of w^ar at Harper's Ferry, to Jackson. 
 
 Jackson was thus enabled to form a junction with 
 Lee and to enter battle with his troops enthused by 
 their victory, wdiile McClellan was handicapped by 
 being deprived of the moral and material support of 
 over twelve thousand additional troops that he 
 should have had with him when the two great 
 armies clashed in battle on the banks of the An- 
 tietam. 
 
 On the 15th of September McClellan continued his 
 march, and late in the afternoon came up with the 
 enemy near Sharpsburg ; but he had not sufficient 
 force at that time to warrant an attack. On the 
 16th a fog prevailed, and the day was devoted by the 
 gallant antagonists in concentrating their forces, 
 strengthening their lines and manceuvering for posi- 
 tion preparatory to the deadly fray so close at hand. 
 Artillery firing was kept up throughout the daj^ 
 and late in the afternoon Mead's Division, composed 
 of Pennsylvania Reserves, supported by other divi- 
 sions of Hooker's corps, engaged the enemy in a 
 sharp and bloody conflict to which darkness put a 
 stop.
 
 70 Notes on the Civil War^ 
 
 The 17th opened beautifiillj^, with all the splendor 
 oi' a September sun reflecting its rays over the scene. 
 As the sunlight broke OA^er the contending forces 
 rostino^ on their arms or marchinor towards the 
 chosen ground, the great battle of Antietam was be- 
 gun at the skirmish line of the Pennsylvania Re- 
 serves. Soon after regiment upon regiment, brigade 
 upon brigade, division upon division, and corps upon 
 corps, were thrown into action, until not less than 
 one hundred thousand men shared in the glories or 
 suftered in the disasters of the stubborn conflict. 
 From the time of the flrst firino; in the morninor 
 until night threw its mantle over the smoke of the 
 fleld the battle raged with terrific fury, and hope 
 and fear alternated in the breasts of contendins; sides. 
 Heroism, patriotism and valor wrote their names on 
 history's page all over the sanguinary field which 
 was strewn with nearly twenty-one thousand dead 
 and wounded men — 3,620 dead bodies, and 17,365 
 wounded men attested to the fierceness of the 
 struggle. I^either army could claim a victory in the 
 fight, neither was in a condition to renew the battle 
 next day, but the prestige went to McClellan, be- 
 cause he retained possession of the field. The results, 
 however, were of great importance to the Govern- 
 ment. Washington was now safe from attack, 
 and Pennsylvania relieved from threatened invasion.
 
 Bull Bun to Antietam. 71 
 
 The reverberations of McClellan's guns at Antie- 
 tam acclaiming the safety of Washington had not 
 died upon the air before the enemy in the rear, re- 
 lieved of its fears, again set in motion their system 
 of policy of undoing, and it was not long before Mc- 
 Clellan's military career came to an end through 
 their intrigues. Antietam closed the first chapter in 
 the history of the war. Patriotism had thus far 
 triumphed, but from the hour that Lee re-crossed the 
 Potomac, it was placed under a cloud, and partisan- 
 ship to a greater or less extent controlled the course 
 of subsequent events. Although patriotism was 
 deeply imbedded in the hearts of the army and the 
 people, it was at very low ebb in public places. A 
 new party had come into power, and its followers 
 were not only clamorous for the offices, but they 
 adopted every possible measure to perpetuate their 
 hold on public place, and to put in the background 
 all those who did not vote with them at the polls. 
 No matter how patriotic the citizen, how great were 
 his services and sacrifices for the preservation of the 
 Union, if he did not at once bow his head to the de- 
 crees of a partisan caucus he was hounded by the 
 })arty organ and the petty politician and ostracised 
 from participation in public affairs. There was con- 
 siderable presidential timber in the Cabinet which
 
 72 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 was more or less influenced in public action by party 
 clamor. From these causes sprung a spirit of intol- 
 ei'ance and intrigue, which, in view of the critical 
 condition the Government found itself in, was akin 
 to treason, that resulted in prolonging the war at a 
 fearful expense of precious life and a vast amount of 
 treasure. Of party men, however, there were a few 
 who were imbued with such broad patriotism that 
 ttiey tried to turn back the tide of intolerance, and 
 to some extent succeeded. Among their number 
 was Simon Cameron. I well remember the morn- 
 ing, in the Secretary of War's office, when Senator 
 King, of I^ew York, came in and reproached Mr. 
 Cameron for appointing Democrats to positions in 
 the army, and Mr. Cameron's reply : " Senator this 
 is not a war for party, it is for the country, and I am 
 with all those who are for the latter." Mr. Cameron 
 never departed from this broad standard of patriot- 
 ism while he remained in public life. Mr. Lincoln 
 did not partake of the s]3irit of intolerance, but the 
 radical and intolerant wing of his party were in the 
 majority both in Congress and in his Cabinet, and 
 he was forced at times by the circumstances sur- 
 rounding him to tolerate what he abhorred. 
 
 The train containing the special ammunition tele- 
 graphed for by General McClellan, while the battle
 
 Ball Run to Antietam. 73 
 
 of Antietam was pending, was ready at the Wash- 
 in o-ton Arsenal at 1 a. m., of September 18, 1862. 
 Why it did not reach the N'orthern Central Railway 
 at Baltimore until after 7 o'clock that morning has 
 always been more or less of a mystery. 
 
 The train consisted of an engine, tender and four 
 Baltimore and Ohio cars, in the custody of Lieutenant 
 Bradford, of the Ordnance Department. It left 
 Baltimore over the I^orthern Central Railway, at 
 7:27 a. m., and moving under the personal supervision 
 of Joseph ]Sr. DuBarry, the General Superintendent 
 of that road, reached Bridgeport and was delivered 
 to the Cumberland Valley Railroad at 10:20 a. m. 
 The run, 84 miles, was made in two hours and fifty- 
 three minutes, or an average of one mile in two min- 
 utes and three and four-sevenths seconds, or an 
 equivalent of nearly thirty miles per hour. 
 
 The train w^as detained at Bridgeport twenty-four 
 minutes, taking on an additional car of ammunition, 
 which had been loaded at Harrisburg from the Penn- 
 s^dvania State Arsenal, and in cooling otf the journal 
 boxes of the four cars. Leaving Bridgeport at 10:44 
 a. m., it arrived at Chambersburg at 12 m., and at 
 Ilagerstown at 12:42 p. m., making the run over the 
 Cumberland Valley Railroad, a distance of seventy- 
 four miles, in one hour and fifty-eight minutes, or an
 
 74 JSotes on the Civil War. 
 
 average of one mile in one minute thirty and six- 
 seventh seconds, an equivalent of over thirty-seven 
 miles an hour. The running time was faster than 
 this, for ten minutes were lost at each, jSTewville aitd 
 Chambersburg, in cooling off the boxes ; deducting 
 the stops, the speed of the train reached forty-five 
 miles 23er hour. Such running was never experienced 
 on the Cumberland Yalley Railroad before, and has 
 not been equaled since. When the train entered 
 Hagerstown all the journal boxes on the four Balti- 
 more and Ohio cars were ablaze ; of this fact I was 
 an eye witness. 
 
 The actual runnino- time from Baltimore to Hao;ers- 
 town, a distance of 158 miles, was four hours and 
 thirty-one minutes, or thirt^'-six and nine-tenth miles 
 per hour. Perhaps there is not another instance in 
 the history of the world where ammunition has been 
 moved such a distance Avith so much rapidity, and 
 in the face of smoking and blazing journal boxes on 
 the vehicles carrying it. 
 
 Had this ammunition, which was ready at the 
 Washington Arsenal, at 1 o'clock a. ra., been moved 
 at a relative speed to Baltimore that it was moved 
 from Baltimore to Hagerstown, it would have reached 
 destination at 7:20 a. m., on the morning after the 
 battle of Antietam and been of some avail to Mc- 
 Clellan that dav.
 
 Bull Run to Antietam. 76 
 
 Following are copies of telegrams relative to the 
 movement : 
 
 ''Headquarters Army of the Potomac, ) 
 September 17, 1862, 1:20 p. m. f 
 
 " Major General Halleck^ General in Chiefs Wash- 
 ington : 
 
 " Please take military possession of the Chambers- 
 burs: and Hao-erstown railroad that our ammunition 
 and supplies may be hurried up without delay. We 
 are in the midst of the greatest battle of the war, 
 perhaps of history. Thus far it looks well, but I 
 have great odds against me. Hurry up all the 
 troops possible ; our loss has been terrific, but we 
 have o-ained much g-round. I have thrown the mass 
 of the army on the left flank. Burnsides is now 
 attacking the right, and I hold my small reserve, 
 consisting of Porter's (Fifth) Corps, ready to attack 
 the centre as soon as the flank movements are de- 
 veloped. I hope that God will give us a glorious 
 victory. 
 
 [Signed] "Geo. 13. McClellan, 
 
 " Major General Commanding^' 
 
 The despatch of which the above is a copy I re- 
 ceived from an orderly of Gen. McClellan on the 
 road between Boonsboro and Hagerstown, took it 
 into Hagerstown and wired it to Washington via 
 Harrisburg, about 4:30 p. m.
 
 76 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 "Headquarters Army of the Potomac, ) 
 September 17, 1862. f 
 
 " Brigadier General Ripley^ Chief of Ordnance^ TVasA- 
 ingfon, D. C: 
 
 "If you can possiblj^ do it, force some twenty- 
 pounder Parrott ammunition througli to-night via 
 Hagerstown and Chambersburg, to us, near Sharps- 
 burg, Maryland. 
 
 [Signed] "Geo. B. McClellan, 
 
 " Major General CoramandingJ^ 
 
 The desjDatch of which the above is a copy was 
 received by me at dusk, and wired b}^ me to Harris- 
 burg for Washington at once. It did not, however, 
 reach the latter city until 10 p. m. 
 
 "Hagerstown, Md., ] 
 
 September 17, 1862, 9:30 p. m. \ 
 
 " Brigadier General Ripley^ Washington^ D. C. : 
 
 " General McClellan desires that duplicate ammu- 
 nition be sent, one part to Hagerstown and the other 
 to Frederick — twenty-pounder Parrott, ten-pounder 
 Parrott, twelve-pounder ^Napoleon and thirty-two 
 pounder Howitzer ammunition, and small arm am- 
 munition except .54, .58, .69 and .57; Sharp's am- 
 munition and pistol ammunition. 
 
 "I^. B. SWEITZER, 
 
 '-'- Lieutenant Colonel and A. D. C." 
 Sent telegram of which above is a copy at hour
 
 Ball Ban to Antietam. ^x ^ ^^% 
 
 indicated via Harrisburg. Its receipt ackno^^ged'/^ M*^ 
 at AYashington at 10 p. m. '^.^K v9/^ 
 
 " War Department, Washington, D. C, | ^ ^ 
 September, 17, 1862. j 
 
 " General McClellan, near Ilagerstown^ Md. : 
 
 " Telegram received. A special train will soon 
 leave with the twentj^-pounder ammunition asked 
 for. It will go in charge of an ordnance officer, and 
 will be in Ha2:erstown to-morrow mornino^. Other 
 ammunition will follow to Frederick and IIa2:ers- 
 town as soon as possible. 
 
 [Signed] "Jas. W. Ripley, 
 
 " Brigadier General^ Chief of OrdmanceJ'' 
 
 "War Department, WASiiiNaTON, D. C, | 
 September 17, 1862. \ 
 
 ^'■John W. Garrett, Esq., President B. and 0. B. i?., 
 
 Baltimore, Md. : 
 
 " AV^e are making up a train, to consist of a loco- 
 motive and one baggage car, loaded with ammuni- 
 tion which General McClellan wants in the morning 
 loaded at Hagerstown, if possible. This train must 
 have the right of way on the entire route, and must 
 be run as fast as any express passenger train could 
 be run. It will be ready to start in two or three 
 hours from this time. Can you make the necessary 
 arrangements to push it through via Ilarrisburg ? 
 
 [Signed] "P. H. Watson, 
 
 '■^Assistant Secretary of War.^^
 
 78 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 Baltimore, Md., September 17, 1862. 
 
 " Hon, P. H. Watson^ Assistant Secretary of War^ 
 Washington^ D. C: 
 
 " We make arrangements to forward the number 
 of cars stated, without delay. Will send through 
 Northern Central road, and we at once advise that 
 company to make all necessary preparations to trans- 
 port to Hagerstown as speedily as possible. 
 
 [Signed] "J. W. Garrett, 
 
 " President.''' 
 
 "12 p. m.. War Department, Washi.vgtgx, ] 
 
 D. C, September 17, 1862. f 
 
 *' To the Officers or Any of Them of the Northern Cen- 
 tral Railroad^ Pennsylvania Central Railroad, and 
 Cumberland Valley Railroad at Harrisburg., Pa. : 
 
 ••' An ammunition train will leave here about 1 
 o'clock a. m. for Hagerstown via Harrisburg, to be 
 run through at the fastest possible speed so as to 
 reach its destination to-morrow morning earl}-. It 
 must have the right of way throughout, as General 
 McClellan needs the ammunition to be used in the 
 battle to be fought to-morrow. It is expected you 
 will use every possible effort to expedite the passing 
 of this train. 
 
 " By order of the President of the United States. 
 
 [Signed] " Edwin M. Stanton, 
 
 '•^Secretary of IFar."
 
 Bull liitn to Avtidarn. 79 
 
 '' War Department, 12 p. m., ) 
 Washington, D. C, September 18, 1862. f 
 
 " Hon. Thomas A. Scott^ Harrisbarg : 
 
 " I have telegraphed to the officers of the North- 
 ern Central and of the Cumberland Valley Railroads 
 to expedite a train loaded with ammunition, of 
 which General McClellan is in great need, and for 
 which he telegraphed since 10 o'clock p. m. We 
 start the train in about one hour. If we could have 
 the assurance that you would attend personally to se- 
 curing the right of way for the train and otherwise 
 expediting its passage, we should have strong hope 
 that it would reach its destination early in the morn- 
 ing—in time for the ammunition to be used in the 
 expected battle to-morrow. At all events we should 
 know that nothins; would be left undone within the 
 limits of possibilities to get this ammunition to 
 General McClellan in season. 
 
 [Signed] " P. H. Watson, 
 
 " Assistant Secretary of War.'' 
 
 '' Harrisburg, Pa., Sept. 18, 1862, 1:40 a. m. 
 "P. H. Watson^ Assistant Secretary of War, Washing- 
 ton, D. C. : 
 "I will see the officers in person. No delay shall 
 occur that it is possible to avoid. Can you give me 
 an idea of the number of cars in train, so that suit- 
 able power can be ready to move it ? Answer imme- 
 diately. 
 
 [Signed] "Thomas A. Scott."
 
 80 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 " Washington, September 18, 1862. 
 " Hon. Thomas A. Scott, Harrishiirg, Pa. : 
 " The train contains four cars. 
 [Signed] '' P. H. Watsox, 
 
 '-''Assistant Secretarij of TFar." 
 
 "IIakkisburg, Pa., September 18, 1862, 2 a. m. 
 '•^ Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington, 
 B. C: 
 "No eiiorts shall be spared to expedite movements 
 of train. I have already advised officers of all the 
 roads to push it through with preference over all 
 other trains. 
 
 [Signed] " Thomas A. Scott." 
 
 "Harrisburg, P^., September 18, 1862, 8 a. m. 
 ''''Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secirtary of War, Washington, 
 JD. a : 
 
 ''The extra ammunition train had not reached 
 Baltimore at 7 o'clock. Is it coming? We have 
 about six car loads of six-pounder artillery, and some 
 musket ammunition, which I am nov/ loading up, 
 and will forvv^ard it up the valley if the other cannot 
 reach here. We had arrangements perfected through 
 to move the train forty miles per hour. 
 
 [Signed] "Thomas A. Scott." 
 
 "Harrisburg, Pa., September 18, 1862. 
 "^. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C: 
 " The ammunition train for General McClellan 
 was delivered to the Northern Central Railroad, at
 
 Bull Ran to Antldam. 81 
 
 Baltimore, at 7:^7 this a. m., and was delivered to 
 the Cumberland Valley Railroad at 10:20 a. m.; 
 eighty-four miles — two hours and fifty-three minutes. 
 It will he put through at the same speed to Hagers- 
 town. 
 
 [Signed] " J. ^". Du Barry. 
 
 ^'•SaperiyUendeiiC'^ 
 
 ''Harrisburg, Pa., September 18, 1862, 10 a. m. 
 
 "^. M. Stcmton^ Secretary of War, Washington, D. C: 
 
 " Ilagerstown reports no firing up to 9 o'clock. A 
 rumor is prevalent that McClellan granted armistice 
 to bury dead. Your ammunition train left Balti- 
 more 7:30 and will be put through quick. Governor 
 and staff have gone to Ilagerstown to expedite move- 
 ment of Pennsylvania forces to battle field. Surgeon 
 Smith also gone with forty surgeons. 
 
 [Signed] " Thomas A. Scott." 
 
 " War Department, Washington, D. C. ) 
 September 18, 1862, 10 a. m. f 
 
 ''Major General G. B. McClellan, Commanding Head- 
 quarters Army of Potomac, near Sharpsburg, 3Id.: 
 
 " Your telegram to Genei'al Ripley, saying, ' If you 
 can possibly do it force some twenty-pounder Parrott 
 ammunition through to-night, via Ilagerstown and 
 Chambcrsburg, to us near Sharpsburg, Md.,' was 
 received between 10 and 11 o'clock last night, and 
 2,500 rounds of this ammunition was ordered with 
 tlie least practicable delay from the arsenal, and 
 arrano^ements made to run it throu2:h on all the roads
 
 
 82 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 at express passenger speed. It is now near Harris- 
 burg, Pa., and will reach Ilagerstown hy: noon to-da3\ 
 [Signed] "P. H. Watsox, 
 
 ^^ Assistant Secretary of War.''' 
 
 '> Washington, D. C, September 18, 1862. 
 
 '•'■Major General George B. llcClellan^ near Hagers- 
 town^ Md. : 
 
 " Four hundred and fourteen wao^on loads of field 
 and small-arm ammunition have been sent to Fred- 
 erick for your army since Saturday last. Besides 
 this, the duplicate supplies to be sent to Frederick 
 and Hagerstown are being pushed forward with all 
 possible despatch. A special train, containing 2,500 
 rounds of twenty-pounder ammunition, left last night 
 for Hagerstown in charge of Lieutenant Bradford, 
 Ordnance Department. 
 
 [Signed] " J as. W. Ripley, 
 
 ^^ Brigadier General., Chief of Ordnance.''^ 
 
 "Harrisburg, Pa., ) 
 September 18, 1862, 2:30 p. m. j 
 
 '-'•Hon. E. 31. Stanton^ See. of War, Washington, D. C: 
 
 " Ammunition has been delivered at Has-erstown. 
 Stock in this arsenal has gone up by train this p. m. 
 The Governor ordered more ammunition and some 
 arms last night. They are needed. Will they be 
 sent? Chief of Ordnance telegraphs Governor that 
 he refers it to you. Please answer. 
 
 [Signed] "Thomas A. Scott, 
 
 " Aid-de-Camp.''
 
 YL 
 
 A TRIP FROM FREDERICK CITY TO CHAMBERS- 
 BURG, AND A VIEW OF THE LATTER'S 
 
 DESOLATION. 
 
 ^1HE bnriuiig of Cliambersburg, on Saturdaj^, 
 — July 30, 1864, by the command of the Con- 
 federate General McCausland, composed of his own 
 brigade of mounted infantry, and a brigade of cav- 
 a\ry 3,000 strong, under General Bradley T. John- 
 son, must ever remain the most wanton, brutal act of 
 all savage acts that here and there blot the fair pages 
 of the nineteenth century's history. 
 
 Even at this day, after a quarter of a century ha.s 
 elapsed, I cannot allow my mind to rest upon it 
 without being overcome by a wave of indignation 
 and of horror at the act itself, and a loathing for its 
 author. 
 
 The apology, always given without a blush of 
 shame, has been that it was an act of justifiable re- 
 taliation prompted by Hunter's deeds in the Shenan- 
 doah Valley, but the dwellings that Hunter burned 
 were onl}^ those that sheltered aixl concealed assas- 
 
 ( 88 )
 
 84: Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 sins who laid in wait and fired from ambush, while 
 Chambersburg, imfortiiiGd, ungarrisoned, had com- 
 mitted no graver offense than that of being true to 
 the Government, and of sending her sons to manly 
 warfare in the open field. 
 
 If it was retaliation why w^as it that, like the de- 
 mands of that notorious Mexican bandit, Cortinas, a 
 demand for a moneyed ransom preceded the burning F 
 Eetaliation forsooth ! Jubal Early, thwarted in his 
 designs on Baltimore and Washington, planned and 
 ordered the burning from motives in which plunder, 
 hatred and revenge did not play an inconsequent 
 part. 
 
 After General Lew Wallace's hurriedly-gathered 
 and undisciplined command was defeated on the 
 Monocacy by Early, I was making observations on 
 the Potomac, from whence, on the 29th of July, a 
 teleo'ram from Governor Curtin called me into Fred- 
 erick G\iy. There I was instructed by the Governor, 
 through the medium of the telegraph, that, as the 
 enemy were threatening a raid on Pennsylvania, I 
 should return at once to the border to observe move- 
 ments and report to him. 
 
 Frederick City was at the time in a ferment of ex- 
 citement over the probability of its being again vis- 
 ited by Early, and, in consequence, it was with ex-
 
 Frederick City to Chamhersharg. 85 
 
 treme difficulty that I could obtain a convej^ance to 
 carry me on iny way. However, after a number of 
 attempts, I succeeded in employing a man, who, 
 tempted by a ten-dollar bill, agreed to drive me to 
 Emmitsburg, a distance of about twenty-three miles. 
 
 As w^e drove along the road my driver soon began 
 to show signs of nervousness, which were in no sense 
 lessened by the tales of refugees fleeing towards 
 Frederick and from before a supposed foe. At three 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and when ten miles out, the 
 driver's nervousness had deo'enerated into absolute 
 fear, and stopping the horse he deliberate!}^, and 
 without the least ceremony, threw me out of the 
 buggy on to the roadside, and then drove back over 
 the road we had just come as if all the hates and 
 furies were on his trail. Although put out mentally, 
 as well as bodily, I was thankful for that ten miles' 
 ride, even if it had been at the expense of one dollar 
 per mile, and of a sudden introduction to Mother 
 Earth. 
 
 The prospect before me was not the most encour- 
 aging, but with youth and health, a love of adven- 
 ture and a desire to be of service to my country, I 
 took up with some complacency the long and soli- 
 tary march that laid before me. My every sense 
 was keenly aliv^e and acutely exercised, for I momen-
 
 86 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 tarily expected to see the enemy approaching. At 
 the few farm houses I entered to obtain information 
 I was assured, with marked positiveness, that the 
 enemy was only two miles in my advance, and as 
 I continued trudging along every now and then 
 sounds of horses' hoofs on the road would drive me 
 to the cover of fence corners or bushes, only to dis- 
 cover that the supposed foe was nothing more 
 than frightened owners hurrying their horses to 
 a place of safety. [N'either the darkness of the night 
 nor the discomforts of a heavy shower deterred my 
 march, and towards midnight I was passing over 
 the ground where a year before the heroic Meade, 
 backed by the grand old Army of the Potomac, had 
 driven ofi of Penhsjdvania soil General Lee and his 
 splendid Army of Northern Virginia. The very 
 ground seemed suggestive to me of strength, and I 
 entered the now historic town of Gettysburg, buoyed 
 up with hope and patriotism, only to find the same 
 alarm existing that had existed at Frederick and 
 along the road I had just traveled. Knowing the 
 necessity for a little rest I threw myself upon the 
 floor of a lawyer's office and took a two hours' nap. 
 Awakening refreshed, and, making preparations for 
 a continued walk, I was greatly relieved by a patri- 
 otic citizen volunteering to drive me towards the
 
 Frederick City to Chamber sbiirg. 87 
 
 mountains, and in the direction of Chambersburg. 
 A drive of some miles put me well on my way when, 
 after bidding my kind friend good bye, I resumed 
 my lonely march. As I passed down the mountains, 
 the lurid flames shooting far up into the heavens, 
 and the -clouds of dense smoke flying over the beau- 
 tiful Cumberland Valley, told me only too plainly 
 that a great calamity had fallen upon the people of 
 Chambersburg. The story of its nature and extent 
 was borne to my ears by horror-stricken victims be- 
 fore I reached the town. 
 
 The afternoon's sun was advancing as I entered 
 the town limits. The vandal's work had been done, 
 and the vandal flown, but, oh ! such distress, such 
 desolation may God never again present to my sight. 
 As I viewed the scene I grew heart-sick, and tears 
 unbidden came as the once happy homes were un- 
 folded as smouldering ruins, and their owners as 
 wanderers with no possessions but what they 
 bore upon their persons. People were wandering 
 listlessly among the ruins without permitting a 
 murmur to break upon the ear. This quietness 
 was not, however, a quietness produced by the agony 
 of despair, for all seemed to breathe the prayer of 
 thankfulness that the family circle was complete. 
 
 The scene was beyond the power of pen or the
 
 88 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 vividness of the imao^inatlon — iDdescribable. JN^oiie 
 but a fiend, or General Earlj, could have witnessed 
 it unmoved. It seems horrible to even contemplate 
 such complete ruin befalling a town inhabited by a 
 God-loving people. Picture to yourself a com- 
 munitj^ in full health and prosperity awakening on 
 a bright July morning and sitting around the famih^ 
 boards to partake, in thankfulness, of its morning 
 meal, and as its members talked over their plans for 
 the day, to be suddenly and ruthlessly torn from 
 their tables, to have their houses fired over their 
 heads, themselves driven out on to the highways 
 and byways homeless, almost penniless, fugitives; 
 and as they hurriedly passed over familiar streets, 
 seeking for personal safety, their lives imperiled at 
 every step b}^ flying embers and falling walls, their 
 ears deafened by the fierce, crackling flames, their 
 throats filled with suffocating smoke and their flesh 
 scorched by the merciless heat. If you can imagine 
 the horrors and miseries of such a situation you can 
 then form a faint idea of the surroundings of the 
 Chambersburg people that day. And yet amidst all 
 this, and while standing surrounded by the black- 
 ened ruins of their former beautiful town, these 
 people with an exiilted moral heroism, the outcome of 
 the teachings of Calvin and of Luther, were talking
 
 v> <^ <$b 
 
 Frederick Citu to Chamber sh urn. ^J^^O^ ^ 
 
 of issuina; a circular to the Union commanders in th© >-. ^py. 
 field imploring them to respect private property, to ^J\ vx, 
 protect the women and children, and not to visit * 
 upon any Southern community such suiFerings as 
 theirs. Is it a matter of wonder that with such 
 Christian charity at such a time that the community 
 so suffering should have arisen from its ashes, as it 
 has, like a new Phoenix, better, more beautiful, more 
 prosperous than before, and that the author of its 
 woes still lin2:ers on the stas^e of life an exile in his 
 native land?
 
 Til. 
 
 THE RAILROAD IX WAR TIMES. 
 
 THERE is inherent in the American ehamcter a 
 prejudice against corpomtions, which, at inter- 
 vals, displays itself in the shape of bitter complaints 
 or noisy clamors. Whenever the interests of the 
 corporation conflict with those of an individual or a 
 class, these displays are sure to occur. On frequent 
 occasions of their occurrence they are accompanied 
 by very pronounced intemperance of language, and 
 with a total disregard of the merits of the question 
 at issue. 
 
 The reasons for this manifest injustice are to be 
 found in the fact that the prejudice is but a natural 
 outgrowth of a democratic form of government, and 
 emanates from the innate spirit of opposition of the 
 people forming such a government to any idea which 
 is suggestive of centralized power. 
 
 The masses of the people cannot guard with a too 
 jealous strictness their rights as well against encroach- 
 ments of corporate wealth as against the unhealthy 
 ambitions of partisan leaders. At tte same time 
 
 (90)
 
 The Hailroad in War Times. 91 
 
 they should not forget that corporate wealth gives 
 the impetus to a,ll kinds of business which Insures 
 that development to a country that the individual 
 has not the power to produce, and that renders pos- 
 sible the largest meed to follow individual activity, 
 out of which always emerges enlarged fields of indi- 
 vidual independence. Kor must they forget that the 
 corporation is entitled to the same measure of justice 
 they demand for themselves. 
 
 During the war of the rebellion the corporations 
 were invaluable factors in maintaining the inviola- 
 bility of the Union. The patriotic sentiments and 
 movements of the people were ably supplemented by 
 the patriotic endeavors of the corporations. It goes 
 without saying that the unstinted assistance given 
 by the financial and carrying corporations to the 
 Government in the hour of its trials made possible 
 that rehabilitation of the Republic which has enabled 
 it to spread its beneficent influence throughout the 
 w^orld, and to rapidly advance the development and 
 prosperity of its citizens. 
 
 Volumes could be Avritten on the greatness and 
 variety of the service performed on behalf of the 
 Government by the railroad companies and by the 
 railroad branch of the army transportation, and of 
 the ceaseless work of such able and patriotic railroad
 
 92 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 officials as Thomas A. Scott, J. Donald Cameron, 
 Samuel M. Felton, J. ^. DuBariT^ J. H. Devereaux 
 and others, but the scope of this work will not permit 
 of m3^ trenching on the grounds that should be pos- 
 sessed by some able and well-equipped historical 
 writer. My object in touching upon the subject at 
 all is to attract attention to it, and to make record 
 of a long since forgotten act of the great Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad Company that never received the 
 credit to which it was entitled. In July, 1862, when 
 the disaster to the Army of the Potomac made urgent 
 the demand for more men and monev, the Board of 
 Directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at 
 their meeting held July 23, 1862, passed the fdllow- 
 ing preambles and resolution : 
 
 Whereas, It is officially declared by the Execu- 
 tive of the State of Pennsylvania, that a public 
 emergency demands the prompt co-operation and 
 financial aid of the people of the State to enable the 
 Government to ensure just and efficient security to 
 the citizens of this Commonwealth ao-ainst the va- 
 rious contingencies incident to the prevailing civil 
 war; and 
 
 Whereas, The interests of this Company, and the 
 protection of its property as well as that of the citi- 
 zens of Pennsylvania, are directly involved in the 
 perfect maintenance of such public security ; there- 
 fore be it
 
 The Bailroad in War Times. 93 
 
 Resolved., That the President of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company be and he is hereby authorized to 
 advance from time to time, as the same ma^^ be 
 needed, to the Executive of the State of Pennsyl- 
 vania, or such agents as may be organized by him 
 for the pur[)Ose of disbursing the Bounty Fund, con- 
 tributed by the people of Pennsylvania, the sum of 
 fifty thousand dollars, to be applied to the payment 
 of bounty to soldiers, enlisting in the service of the 
 Government. 
 
 Governor Curtin not having any authority, as 
 Governor, to accept and disburse this money, under 
 date of October 4, 1862, wrote a letter to the Board 
 stating that he must decline receiving the donations 
 as Governor, as the money could not be disbursed 
 through any official channel and no legal restraint 
 could be thrown over the faithful appropriation of 
 it, and suggesting that the resolution be changed so 
 as to appropriate the money to the use of Volunteers, 
 in Pennsylvania, then in the service, in such manner 
 as would promote their efficiency and comfort, and 
 offiBred a hearty co-operation in whatever was pro- 
 posed in that respect. 
 
 In reply to this communication it was recom- 
 mended by the Board that the donation be used as 
 part of a fund for the establishment of a Soldier's 
 Home at or near Ilarrisburg, or as an annuity for
 
 94 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 the same to provide for the comfort of disabled vol- 
 miteers from our Commonwealth. 
 
 Governor Curtin, accei:)tiiig this recommendation, 
 sent a special message to the Legislature early in 
 1863, urgently advising the acceptance of the gift 
 and its appropriation in the direction indicated, but 
 the Leo'islature took no action, and the sfift remained 
 unaccepted, although not lost sight of by the Gover- 
 nor. Between the adjournment of the Legislature of 
 1863 and the convening of that of 1864 he had sev- 
 eral conferences with the oificers of the company, 
 and by their advice and consent he again, in 1864, 
 sent a message to the Legislature urging the accept- 
 ance of the money and its application to the foster- 
 ing, as the children of the Commonwealth, the poor 
 orphans of Pennsylvania soldiers who had already 
 given up, or might thereafter give up, their lives for 
 the country in the then present crisis. The Legisla- 
 ture acted sluggishly and stintingly, and without 
 adding one cent of additional money for the object, 
 passed after much debate the following act: 
 
 " Section 1. Be it enacted, etc.. That the Governor 
 of the Commonwealth be and is hereby authorized 
 to accept the sum of $50,000 donated by the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad Company, for the education and 
 maintenance of destitute orphan children of deceased
 
 The Railroad in War Times. 95 
 
 soldiers and sailors, and appropriate the same in such 
 manner as he may deem best calculated to accom- 
 plish the object designed by said donation ; the ac- 
 counts of said disbursements to be settled in the 
 usual manner by the Auditor General and the Gov- 
 ernor, and make report of the same to the next Leg- 
 islature." 
 
 Approving the act as soon as it reached him. Gov- 
 ernor Curtin at once appointed the Hon. Thomas 
 H. Burrowes Superintendent of Soldiers' Orphans' 
 Schools, and thus by the broad generosity of the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad Company launched that great 
 charity which is one of the brightest glories of the 
 Quaker Commonwealth. As these facts prove that 
 Republics are not ungrateful, they also give evi- 
 dence that corporations are possessed of souls.
 
 Till. 
 
 U. S. MILITARY TELEGRAPH CORPS. 
 
 To the memory of my comrades who fell during the civil 
 war, sacrifices to patriotic duty, well performed, this par)er is 
 loviijgly dedicated by the author. 
 
 THE golden dream of empire, which had haunted 
 the waking and sleeping moments of the 
 cultivated aristocratic ruling class of the Gulf 
 States, and of the land barons of South Carolina and 
 Georgia, aided and abetted by impracticable legisla- 
 tion and fanatical expressions of latitudinarian 
 doctrines of government by agitators throughout the 
 ^N'orthern States, had at last brought about that most 
 deplorable of all conflicts — civil war. It was a 
 serious hour for the principles of self-government by 
 the people as represented by the Constitution of the 
 great American Republic. 
 
 Sumter had been fired upon, and the emblem of 
 our nationality was lowered at the demand of revolt- 
 ing citizens. 
 
 In this crisis, President Lincoln called upon the 
 
 (%)
 
 U. S. Milliary Telegraph Corps. 97 
 
 various States for 75,000 men to restore the author- 
 ity of the N^ational Government, 
 
 In response to that call, the men, who in the pre- 
 ceding election had voted in the ]N^orth for Lincoln, 
 for Brecken ridge, for Douglas and for Bell, with a 
 fair numher of Union-loving men from the South, 
 rushed forward, as with a common impulse, shoulder 
 to shoulder, with a patriotic impetus inborn of love 
 for and devotion to country. 
 
 I can yet hear the swish of the v/aves of patriotism 
 as they broke upon the shores of rebellion. 
 
 ITo person rushed with more patriotic fervor to 
 the field of Mars than did the boys of the telegraph. 
 It was my fortune to be made manager of the mili- 
 itary telegraph office in the War Department early 
 in the struggle, and it is, therefore, with confidence I 
 speak of the organization and efficiency of the Mili- 
 tary Telegraph Corps of the United States Army. 
 
 On the 27th of April, 1861, on the order of Simon 
 Cameron, then Secretary of War, David Strouse, 
 Homer Bates, Samuel Brown and Richard O'Brien, 
 four of the best and most reliable operators on the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad Company's telegraph line, 
 arrived in Washington and formed, under Thomas 
 A. Scott, of Philadelphia, the germ out of which 
 grew the best disciplined, the most wonderfully ac-
 
 98 Notes on the Civil War, 
 
 curate, reliable and intelligent army telegraph corps 
 ever known to the world. The quartette was rapidly 
 followed by others, until, throughout the length and 
 breadth of the army, over twelve hundred young 
 men enrolled themselves in the corps, and rendered 
 such services as had never before been performed for 
 any Government. Their ages ranged from sixteen 
 to twenty-two years — boys in years, boys in stature, 
 but giants in loyalty, and giants in the amount of 
 work they performed for their country. 
 
 A better-natured, more intelligent-looking or 
 harder-working band of young men did not exist 
 in the army. They were ready and willing to go 
 anywhere at a moment's notice, and, if necessary, to 
 work day and night without rest uncomplainingly. 
 Oft times they were sent where the sky w^as the 
 only protecting roof over their heads, a tree stump 
 their only office, and the ground their downy couch. 
 Provisioned with a handful of hard bread, a canteen 
 of water, pipe, tobacco-pouch and matches, they 
 w^ould open and work an office at the picket line in 
 order to keep the commanding general in in- 
 stantaneous communication with his most advanced 
 forces, or to herald the first approach of the enemy. 
 When retreat became necessary it was their place to 
 remain behind and to announce that the rear guard
 
 U. S. 3Itlitary Telegraph Corps. 99 
 
 had passed the danger line between it and the pur- 
 suino' foe. 
 
 CD 
 
 All the movements of the army, all the confi- 
 dence of the commanders were entrusted to these 
 boys, and yet not one was ever known to betray that 
 knowledge and confidence in the most remote de- 
 gree. 
 
 The military telegraph eventually assumed, under 
 General Eckert, colossal proportions, its ramifica- 
 tions extending to every portion of the Union where 
 a Union soldier could be found. Its delicate, yet 
 potent, power was felt and appreciated by every de- 
 partment of the Government. The system, as per- 
 fected, was elaborate and complete in all its details. 
 The boys constructed and operated during the war, 
 within the lines of the army, 15,389 miles of tele- 
 graph, and transmitted over 6,000,000 military tele- 
 grams. Of the latter a large proportion were in the 
 secret cipher of the Government, the keys of which 
 were solely in the possession of the operators. 
 
 The boys didn't plan campaigns or fight battles, 
 but amidst the fiercest roar of conflict they were to 
 be found coolly advising the commanding general of 
 the battle's progress. 
 
 When the army, in all its grand divisions, was in 
 motion they were to be found in the advance, in the
 
 100 Notes OR the Civil War. 
 
 rear, on right, left and center — wherever duty was 
 to be performed ; and when the army was in repose 
 a thousand general officers had them at their elbovv^s. 
 
 The corps was the very nerves of the army during 
 the war, and was so considered by all those that 
 came in contact with it, and yet it was not, and has 
 not been, recognized as an integral part of that 
 army. 
 
 Its services were great ; its sacrifices many. Be- 
 ginning at Yorktown, where poor Lathrop was mur- 
 dered by one of Magruder's buried torpedoes, from 
 East to West and Xorth to South, as our grand 
 armies marched and fought, until Rebellion's knell 
 was sounded at Appomattox, almost everj^ field, 
 almost every march numbered one of the telegraph 
 bovs amono; the fallen. 
 
 A hundred nameless graves throughout the battle- 
 fields of the Union attest their devotion unto death 
 to the sublime cause in which they were engaged, 
 and yet the Government they loved and labored for 
 never as much as thanked them for their services. 
 It is a sad reflection Avhen old memories come back, 
 that of the twelve hundred boys composing that 
 corps there are not three hundred left. Where are 
 the remainder? Those that did not lay down their 
 lives in action succumbed shortly after the war from
 
 U. S. Military Telegraph Corps. 101 
 
 wounds, and from the effects of exposures and im- 
 prisonments. 
 
 Here let me say of the dead : !N"ot a funeral note 
 was sounded as they passed into the earth ; not a 
 flower is cast upon their mounds as Memorial Day 
 comes around. 
 
 And of the survivors : Kot a door swings upon 
 its hinges to welcome them into any of the various 
 organizations of the loyal men who fought the battles 
 of the Union. 
 
 A few of the officers were commissioned, and, 
 in consequence, are borne upon the rolls of honor, 
 but the rank and file, who performed the principal 
 duties, although obliged to take an oath of allegiance 
 and of secrecy, not being technically sworn into the 
 service, were disbanded without a word of thanks or 
 a scrap of paper showing that they had honorably 
 discharged their trying duties. 
 
 Secretary of War Stanton said, in one of his re- 
 ports to Congress: "The military telegraph has been 
 of inestimable value to the service, and no corps has 
 surpassed it." 
 
 Since the war Congress has been appealed to 
 to right the wrongs and enroll the corps, but, not- 
 withstanding Grant, McClellan, Hancock, Sherman, 
 Sheridan, Burnsides, Warren, Rosecranz, Sanborn,
 
 102 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 Porter, Smith and others have urged that the ser- 
 vices of the corps were invaluable, and its members 
 shamefull}^ treated ; and General Logan, J. Don- 
 ald Cameron and General Hawley exerted their 
 utmost endeavors, from their seats in the United 
 States Senate, to have justice done, the wrong re- 
 mains unrio^hted. 
 
 'Twas an hour fraus-ht with s^loom, when the 
 maddened bullet, speeding from the murderer's 
 weapon, laid low the head of that mighty chieftain, 
 wdio was the one, had life been spared him, that 
 would have seen justice done the corps. But the 
 corps, like humanity in general, suifered when 
 Abraham Lincoln died. 
 
 It was through my connection with the corps that 
 I became acquainted with Mr. Lincoln, and it is 
 for that reason I have grouped a glimpse of him 
 with a glimpse of it.
 
 IX. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 THE m'nltitude of sketches that have been writ- 
 ten on the life, character and public services 
 of Abraham Lincoln make me hesitate in speaking 
 of the impressions of him that were left on my mind 
 by daily contact with him during the first year of 
 his administration of the Presidency. This hesita- 
 tion is rather increased than diminished when I con- 
 sider that his fulsome eulogists, under the garb of 
 conlidential friends, have so surrounded his memory 
 with a halo of deity that to speak of him as I saw 
 him may be looked upon as a misrepresentation. 
 The tragedy of his death, and the tight hold he had 
 upon the popular heart at that time created the op- 
 portunity for opening the llood-gates of flattery, 
 which, to a great extent, have obscured the true 
 character of the man. 
 
 I first saw him in Harrisburg, on an evening in 
 February, 1861, as he emerged from the side door of 
 the Jones House, in the judicious act of flanking auy 
 hostile movement that might be developed by the 
 
 (103)
 
 104 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 threatening attitude of Baltimore as he proceeded to 
 Washino-ton and his fate. At that time, althouo^h 
 conceding to him honesty of intention, I did not ac- 
 cept him as an oracle. My political education had 
 been in the strict construction school, and I had only 
 then returned from South Carolina to place myself 
 on the side of the Union. Knowino; the earnestness 
 and intensity of the feeling in the South I looked 
 upon his speeches from the text of ''nobody hurt" 
 as belittling the gravity of the situation. Towards 
 the close of April, 1861, however, I was called to 
 "Washington as military telegrapher in the Depart- 
 partment of War, and in that capacity came in con- 
 tact with Mr. Lincoln many times daily, and often 
 late at nights. He was always on terms of easy 
 familiarity with the operators, and it was through 
 that familiarity that my acquaintance with him 
 was formed. 
 
 I soon saw a man before me with a kind heart and 
 charitable disposition, who had a duty to perform 
 that he intended performing with a conscientious 
 exactitude. In the many telegrams he indited or 
 dictated, and in the conversations he had with Sec- 
 retary of State Seward, who almost invariably ac- 
 companied him to the war telegraph office, he dis- 
 played a wonderful knowleds^e of the country, its
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 105 
 
 resources and requirements, as well as an intuition 
 of the needs and wants of the people. 
 
 He was entirely unsellish, and in his exalted posi- 
 tion did not seen to think of himself for himself. 
 The great cause of perpetuating the Government en- 
 trusted to his care seemed to absorb his whole time 
 and thouo^ht. When he acted it was from a sense of 
 duty, and whatever the effect such action might 
 have upon himself I don't think influenced him pro 
 or con. 
 
 There was nothing ornamental in or about him, 
 and to depict him in the ornamental light is to de- 
 tract from his true greatness, vvhich consisted of his 
 being a true representative of a great people and a 
 great principle of government. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln's shining^ characteristic was his ex- 
 treme simplicit}^ He thoroughly recognized the 
 true import of his position to be the serving of the 
 people, and he tried to so conduct the administration 
 of affairs that whoever looked upon him in the pres- 
 idential chair should see reflected the power, the 
 intelligence, the charity, the greatness of a great na- 
 tion. His acts were all studied in the school of duty, 
 and were, to the extent of his information, the ex- 
 pressions of the national will. This was nowhere 
 more notable than in his issuance of the Emancipa-
 
 106 Notes on the CivU War, 
 
 tion Proclamation. To make him a god of freedom 
 on account of his promulgating that paper which 
 released the country from the curse of slavery is to 
 give him attrihutes he never claimed, and to imply 
 motives he would have spurned. 
 
 The Emancipitation Proclamation was not issued 
 solely in the cause of fieedom, or solely to liberate 
 the slaves, for Mr. Lincoln and the political party 
 which had elevated him to the presidential office 
 were committed to the strange doctiine that al- 
 though slavery was an evil not to be extended yet it 
 was to be tolerated and protected because of its exist- 
 ence. He announced most earnestly in his inaugural 
 address that he had no purpose to interfere, directly 
 or indirectly, with the institution of slavery in the 
 States where it existed. That he did not depart 
 from that policy until he w^as obliged to do so by the 
 stern necessities of war and the readiness of the 
 people for such departure, is a matter of historical 
 fact. It is true he entertained emancipation 
 view^s, but they were based upon emancipation by 
 compensation, attended by colanization that was 
 to be reached through independent State action. 
 When General John Cochrane, of I^ew York, 
 in the fall of 1861, suggested and advocated 
 the arming of the slaves, and Simon Cameron pressed
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 107 
 
 for the same object in Cabinet councils, both know- 
 ing that it was a practical emancipation measure, 
 and that the slave, by its adoption, would become 
 his own emancipator, Mr. Lincoln did not second 
 them in their efforts because he did not think it the 
 will of the people. 
 
 He declared his purpose to be the execution of the 
 laws and the maintaining the union of the States 
 inviolate. But as the v/ar of the rebellion drew on 
 apace, larger and larger in its proportions, and fiercer 
 and fiercer in its animosities, with variable results 
 to the contending parties, the emancipation of the 
 slaves became an absolute military necessity and 
 with that came the Emancipation Proclamation. Its 
 oritrin and standino- rests nowhere else. The slaves 
 were declared free, not because slavery was wrong, 
 but for the same reason that the enemy's horses, 
 cattle, houses, wagons and lands were taken from 
 him — to cripple him in his resources. 
 
 It was duty to the country, not justice to the' 
 slave, and Abraham Lincoln claimed no other credit. 
 
 He was not a god, and it is unseemly sacrilege to 
 paint him in colors wherein he might be mistaken 
 for such. He was a man with all the attributes that 
 enter into manhood. He had all the tastes, ambi- 
 tions, affections, longings and passions of other men,
 
 108 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 but lie had them under complete control, so that 
 they might be used for the benefit of common hu- 
 manitj', and not alone for self-gratification. 
 
 There was nothing false about him, for while he 
 mis^ht curtain his thoughts and intentions as a matter 
 of temporary policy it was not for the purpose of 
 deception, but simply to guard against the plucking 
 of unripe fruit. 
 
 It was not into ancestors' graves that Abraham 
 Lincoln dug for the clothes that were to clothe him 
 in the garb of manhood. He studied the laws of his 
 Creator to find the material from which to shape 
 them, and he found it. 
 
 Despoiled of his titles, honor and power, and intro- 
 duced solely as the homely, honest man he was, into 
 that American society that seeks the tracery of a 
 ducal coronet on its escutcheon, and that obtains its 
 principal sustenance from the phosphorescent light 
 emanatinc^ from the bones of lono; buried ancestors, 
 •he would have been thrust out as an unwelcome 
 guest. 
 
 AVhilst he was kind and tolerant to those of 
 difierent opinions from his, and freely communicated 
 with all those with whom he came in contact, yet he 
 impressed me with being a man who had but one 
 confidant, and that confidant himself.
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 109 
 
 Before coming to a conclusion, I will narrate some 
 anecdotes of the man that came under my personal 
 observation: 
 
 In the fall of 1861 fires in Washington City were 
 of frequent occuri'ence, without any organized ade- 
 quate means for rapidlj" extinguishing them being in 
 existence there. This condition of affairs was a 
 source of so much anxiety to the country at large that 
 no sooner was a Washington fire announced in the 
 newspapers of the principal cities than the mails 
 would teem with patriotic offers to the President, 
 from all sections, for the formation of fire brigades, 
 as a component part of the army, for the protection 
 of the Capital. This was one of the many great 
 anno^^ances of irrelevant subjects thrust upon the 
 President in those trying times, but he bore it all as 
 part of the responsibilities resting upon him ; yet at 
 last he was compelled to rebuke it from sheer lack 
 oi' time to give it any attention. One night the 
 Washington Infirmar}^ burned down, and, as was 
 customary after such a disaster, the next day brought 
 the President the usual complement of offers for fire 
 engines and firemen. Philadelphia's patriotism, true 
 to its traditions, could not await the slow progress 
 of the mail, but sent forward a committee of citizens 
 to urge upon the President the acceptance of a fully
 
 110 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 equipped fire brigade for Washington. On their 
 arrival at the White House they were duly ushered 
 into the Executive Chamber and courteously and 
 blandly received by Mr. Lincoln. Eloquently did 
 they urge the cause of their mission, but valuable 
 time v(7as being wasted, and Mr. Lincoln was forced 
 to bring the conference to a close, which he did by 
 interrupting one of the committee in the midst of a 
 grand and to-be-clinching oratorical effort, by gravely 
 saying, and as if he had just awakened to the true 
 import of the visit, " Ah ! Yes, gentlemen, but it is 
 a mistake to suppose that I am at the head of the 
 lire department of A\^ashington. I am simply the 
 President of the United States." The quiet irony 
 had its proper effect, and the committee departed. 
 
 The personal familiarity of Mr. Lincoln, shown in 
 his intercourse with the war telegraphers already 
 spoken of, cannot be better illustrated than by relat- 
 ing a few personal encounters with him. 
 
 September 27, 1861, was an appointed day for 
 humiliation, fasting and prayer, and was generally 
 observed throughout the I^orth. We operators on 
 the military telegraph were extra vigilant at our 
 posts ; our boy George was engaged in preparing a 
 'Daniel's battery" when, shortly after noon, Mr. 
 Lincoln entered the War Department office. Spy-
 
 Abraham Lincoln. Ill 
 
 ing George, he accosted liim with "Well, sonny, 
 mixing the juices, eh?" Then taking a seat in a 
 large arm-chair and adjusting his spectacles, he be- 
 canie aware that we were very busy. A smile broke 
 over his face as he saluted us with "Gentlemen, this 
 is fast day, and I am pleased to observe that you are 
 working as fast as you can; the proclamation was 
 mine, and that is my interpretation of its bearing 
 upon you." Then, changing the subject, he said, 
 "]N^ow, we will have a little talk with Governor 
 Morton, at Indianapolis. I want to give him a les- 
 son in geography. Bowling Green affair I set him 
 all right upon; now I will tell him something about 
 Muldraugh Hill. Morton is a good fellow, but at 
 times he is the skeeredest man I know of." 
 
 It was customary for Mr. Lincoln to make fre- 
 quent calls at the war telegraph office, either for the 
 purpose of direct telegraphic communication or to 
 obtain what he called news. One day in September, 
 1861, accompanied by Mr. Seward, he dropped into 
 the office with a pleasant "Good morning; what 
 news?" Responding to the salutation, I replied, 
 "Good news, because none." Whereupon he re- 
 joined, "Ah! my young friend, that rule don't al- 
 ways hold good, for a fisherman don't consider it 
 good luck when he can't get a bite."
 
 112 Notes on the Civil War. 
 
 On another daj, also accompanied by Secretary 
 Seward, he came into the office. They seemed to 
 have escaped from some one who had been boring 
 them, and the President appeared to be greatly re- 
 lieved as he sank into an arm-chair, saying, "By 
 Jings, Governor, vv-e are here.'' Mr. Seward turned 
 to him and, in a manner of semi- rep roof, said, " Mr. 
 President, where did you learn that inelegant ex- 
 pression?" Without replying, Mr. Lincoln turned 
 to us and said, " Young gentlemen, excuse me for 
 swearing before you ; by jings is swearing, for my 
 good old mother taught me that anything that had 
 a by before it is swearing. I won't do so any more." 
 
 Mr. Lincoln was entirely free from political intoler- 
 ance, although at times he was compelled to permit 
 its exercise bj' others. I experienced an application 
 of his broad views. A few days prior to the Penn- 
 s^'lvania election, in October, 1861, I went to the 
 White House and reported to the President that I 
 was going over to Pennsylvania for a few days, and 
 that I would leave the war telegraph office in charge 
 of Mr. Homer Bates, who would keep him as 
 thoroughly advised of passing events as I had been 
 doing. With his peculiarly humorous smile breaking 
 over his face, he said, " All right, my young friend, 
 but before you o^o tell me if you ain't going over to
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 113 
 
 Pennsylvania to vote?" I replied affirmatively, 
 adding that it would be my first vote in my native 
 State. Upon his questioning me still further, I told 
 him I was a Democrat in politics, and expected to 
 vote for the ticket of that party. Then, with the 
 remark " Oh, that's all right ! Only be sure you vote 
 for the right kind of Democrats," he bade me good- 
 bye. 
 
 On the 27th of August, 1861, our pickets beyond 
 Ball's Cross Roads had been driven in and an attack 
 upon our lines was anticipated, the enemy being 
 reported as advancing in force along the railroad. 
 General McClellan was on the Virginia side giving 
 his personal attention to his command. About nine 
 o'clock in the evening Mr. Lincoln, in company with 
 two other gentlemen, came into the office to be 
 "posted." I told the President that General Mc- 
 Clellan was on his way from Arlington to Fort 
 Cochrane, that our picket's still held Ball's and 
 Bailey's Cross Roads, and that no firing had been 
 heard since sunset. The President then inquired if 
 any firing had been heard before sunset, and upon my 
 replying there had been none reported, laughingly 
 said, " That puts me in mind of a party who, in 
 speaking of a freak of nature, described it as a child 
 who was black from the hips down, and, upon being
 
 114 Notes on the Civil War, 
 
 asked the color from the hips up, replied blacky as a 
 matter of course." 
 
 I could go on indefinitely relating such anecdotes, 
 but I refrain, and will conclude by saying : 
 
 Abraham Lincoln will live in the correct history 
 of his times as one who was unflinching in his devo- 
 tion to duty, unswerving in his fidelity to a great 
 cause ; one whose every breath poured forth the 
 purest sentiments of patriotism ; and as one who 
 tried to live a manly life within the bounds of his 
 comprehension of manhood's aims and duties.
 
 This Book is the Properly «^'»he. Haw YefKWyrs i. 

 
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