^ A 1 ^ . McClure's • >f Half a Century ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^E' LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER COLONEL A. K. McCLURE. COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY Author of "Lincoln and Men of War Times," "Our Presidents and How We Make Them," "Three Thousand Miles Through the Rocky Mountains," "The South," "To The Pacific and Mexico." Published by The Sai,km Press Company salem, mass. Copyright, 1902 By Alexander K. McClure Salem fi>ress: The Salem Press Co., Salem, Mass. 1902 p mv I 0-"^- CONTENTS. Matchless Progress of Half a Century i The greatest achievements of the world's history. — Political battles of the olden times. — Decline of popular oratory. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, 8 The Presidents of our Civil War- — The difference in their birth, educa- tion and personal attributes. Christiana and Harper's Ferry — The First Battles of Our Civil War, i8 The conflict at Christiana, Pa., the preliminary skirmish of the four years' struggle. The Battle of Broderick, Baker and McKibbin to Hold the Pacific Region to the Union, 29 The story of the distinguished and romantic careers of the three men ■who contributed most to shape the destiny of the Pacific Slope. Gales and Blair, the Great Editors of Olden Time, . . 37 Joseph Gales of the National Intelligencer, and Francis Preston Blair of the Washington Globe. If Thry Had Not Fired on Sumter, 48 The Southern Confederacy was a colossal suicide. — The North was forced to unity in support of coercion by the firing on Sumter. The Era of Good Feeling and of Convulsion, .... 60 The flood-tide of hate that convulsed the country under Johnson's administration without parallel in history of the country. The Pacific Railway and the Sale of Chihuahua, ... 70 Inner history of the construction of the first Pacific Railway. — Story of the concession of lower California by President Juarez. Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln and Johnson in the White House, 79 First visit to the White House in 1851. — Lincoln seen under all condi- tions and circumstances. — Reminiscences of first ladies of the land. Grant as Chieftain and President, 89 How difficult Grant found it to enter the army in 1861. — His epigram, matic dispatches and letters. — Personal incidents of Grant's later life. The Haves Election and Administration, 9$ The Presidential contest that required an electoral commission to decide it.— Incidents of the struggle. (iii) iv CONTENTS. Garfield and His Brief Administration, . . ' . . . io6 His hard struggles of early life. — His distinction as scholar, teacher, preacher, general and statesman. Arthur and His Successful Administration, . . . . 115 How he was dismissed from the New York collectorship and two years later became president.— First distrusted and later honored as president. Cleveland's Three Contests and Two Administrations, . . 124 His strong personality in public life.— Heroic acts when great emer- gencies Jirose.— Mrs. Cleveland model mother and woman. Harrison's Victory and Defeat, 134 Severely devoted to public and private duty. — An able, patriotic and laborious president.— Incidents exhibiting his personal qualities. McKinley's Triumph and Tragic Death, 145 The private soldier.— The leader of the House.— The re-elected president by the largest popular majority.— The ideal statesman and citizen. The Shadows of Our Great National Contests, .... 154 How Burr, Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Scott, Greeley, Blaine and others drank the cup of disappointment to the dregs. Sam Houston's Brilliant and Romantic Career, .... 164 Twice president of one republic. — National senator in two republics. — Governor of two states.— His victorious fight for Texas' independence with raw recruits. The Louisiana Lottery Robbery, 173 How it got its charter from the state. — The libel suits against the writer and how they hastened its overthrow. Thomas Corwin, the Greatest of Our Popular Orators, . . 184 His great speech on the Mexican war. — His matchless eloquence, wit and invective. — His brilliant argument of a divorce case before the Pennsylvania legislature. Kossuth, the Great Apostle of Liberty, 192 Personal incidents of Kossuth's visit to the United States. — His recep- tion by Congress and the Executive. — His death in poverty without home or country. Our Beautiful National Capital, 203 Transformed in forty years from dilapidation and mud to elegance in architecture and streets. — The men then famed in field and forum. — Governor Shepard who literally created the beautiful city now in the mountains of Mexico. Why Seward Could not be President, 212 His proposed division of the school fund with the Catholics made the American party hostile.— His great record as a Republican leader. BROWNLOW and VALLANDIGHAM, 222 luteresting career of the two men who aggressively revolted against their own people during the Civil War. CONTENTS. V WlLMOT AND THE WiLMOT PROVISO, 232. His name was interwoven with every political discussion in his time. — His unique position on slavery and the tariff. Pathetic Echoes of Lincoln Assassination, 241 The terrible sorrows which fell upon Edwin Booth and John S. Clarke and their households. — The sad story of their lives after the assassina- tion. The Rise and Fall of the Negro in Politics, .... 250 The first negro elected to the House was rejected. — Long hesitation of the Senate to admit the first negro senator. Robert E. Lee, One of the Great Commanders of the Century, 259 His defensive battles faultless in conception and execution. — He did not favor the Gettysburg campaign. — His gentleness and attributes as a soldier and gentleman. Thomas H. Benton, the Leader in Western Progress, . . 269 His wonderful appreciation of the West and his ceaseless efforts for its advancement. — Jeered as a dreamer when he proposed the Pacific railway. — His great w^ork in the Missouri compromise of 1S20. Western Railways and Rocky Coaches a Generation Ago, . 278 Crossing the plains and Rockies a generation ago compared with the present. — Conflicts with the Indians in early coaching days. Henry Wilson — Natick Cobbler and Vice President, . . . 287 A career worthy of the study of the young men of today. — One of the most beloved and useful of our great senators. The Story of Reconstruction, 295 Lincoln opposed to all retributive methods and universal negro suf- frage. — Party necessity enfranchised the negroes. James L. Orr, 304 Opposed Nullification and Secession but followed his State. — Congress- man, Speaker, Confederate Senator, Governor, Judge and Minister to Russia. Grant and McClellan, the Aggressive and the Defensive Gen- eral, 313 Their military theories and methods contrasted. — Lincoln's relation to McClellan correctly presented. Sheridan and Jackson, the Great Lieutenants of the War, . 322 Their brilliant military records recounted. — Their achievements grander than the victories of Napoleon's marshals. General Wm. T. Sherman, the Genius of the Union Army, . 331 Relieved of command in Kentucky in 1S61 as a lunatic. — His personal qualities. — The criticism of his destruction ef Atlanta, and the retri- bution he inflicted on South Carolina. The Unfortunate Commanders of the Army of the Potomac, . 341 McDowell, McClellan, Burnside, Hooker and Meade. — No great army in any modern war so unfortunate in its commanders. vi CONTENTS. Alexander H. Stephens, one of the Ablest and Most Unique OF Southern Leaders, 353 An earnest opponent of the secession movement.— Almost caused a revolt in Georgia against the Confederate government. Prince Henry and Other Royal Visitors, 362 Louis Philippe and Jerome Bonaparte came as incipient royalists. — Interesting incidents of the visits of the Prince of Wales, Prince Aleiis and Emperor Dom Pedro. The Deadly Struggle in the Border States, .... 371 Neighbors, families and relations brought into conflict by the great political issue. — The sorrows and sacrifices of John J. Crittenden and George D. Prentice tell the common story. The Tempest of Sectional Passion, 379 The retaliatory and murderous laws and proclamations of both North and South. — General Butler's experience. — Other incidents of the reign of passion. Sumner, Boutwell and Chase, 389 Three great Republican leaders called to statesmanship by the Demo- crats. — Incidents in their careers. Henry W. Grady and the New South, 398 The "Leader of Leaders" in creating the New South.— His part in getting Longstreet's defence of his responsibility in the battle of Gettys- burg. — His famous speech at the banquet of the New England Society of New York. Wade Hampton, Chivalric Soldier and Statesman, . . . 406 His military and political career. — His invasion of Chambersburg with a cavalry force, and first meeting with the writer. — War left him bank- rupt. Thaddeus Stevens, the Commoner of the Civil War, . . 415 Only two commoners in the history of the Republic. — Their personali- ties compared. — No other of our great men so misunderstood. Robert G. Ingersoll, the Great Agnostic of the Century, . 424 His great speech nominating Blaine for President. — His career as politician.— Opponent of revelation. Smirching Fame of Heroes, 432 General Fitz John Porter, General G. K. Warren, and Surgeon General William A. Hammond, who suffered degradation and dishonor in Civil War. — Later vindication. — Schley controversy referred to. Samuel J. Randall. — His Stern Integrity in Public Life, . 441 Congressman for 2S consecutive years. — Thrice Speaker. — Prominent candidate for President, John Sherman, Author of Redemption, ^eo His gre.it service in restoring the Union to specie payment. — Served longer in the Senate than any other senator.— Great achievements and great disappointments. CONTENTS. Vli Financial Progress of the Republic 459 From a money circulation of $455,000,000 and less than $14 per capita, we now have a circulation of over two billion and nearly $30 pc capita. Early War Delusions, 468 Confidence in early victory. — Abolition of slavery not a purpose. No idea of the magnitude of the war. — Interestina: ride with Lincoln and others. Our Three Expansion Epoch.'^, 476 The great speeches of Quin -v, Corwin and Hoar against the policies of Jefferson, Polk and McKinley. — The proud position of the Republic today. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Col, a. K McCluRE in 1902, Fmntispiece. Col. a. K. McClure at 19 4 Group of Presidents known personally by Col. McClure, . 80 Col. a. K. McClure in 1861, 210 Group of Confederate Commanders, 256 Col. a. K. McClure in 1870, 304 Group of Union Commanders, 320 Private Check, 462 (viii) MATCHLESS PROGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC. The last half century has written the most brilliant records ever given in the same period to the annals of the world's his- tory, in every attribute of civilized advancement. Progress has been unexampled in art, in science, in industry, in commerce, in finance and trade, as well as in achievement in field and forum. The great republic of the new world has vastly outstripped the progress of any other half century, or indeed, of any full century since the world was. I shall give in these chapters of random recollections impor- tant contributions to history, made especially entertaining and instructive by personal knowledge and incident. After more than fifty years of active participation in political and public af- fairs, and most of the time closely related to the great political movements of all parties in State and nation, with personal ac- quaintance more or less intimate with the leading chieftains of peace and war, I hope to furnish new and fresh contributions to the history of our great Republic outside of the ordinary lines of historical record. There never was a period in the history of our country when its achievements inspired a higher and wider measure of pride among all classes and conditions, or when the desire to study the progress of the great republic of the world was so general among the new generation that knows of our great civil war only as his- tory records it, while the few survivors of the sore trials of the flame of battle and of reconstruction cherish everything relating to them as the most grateful memories of their lives. All know that in fraternal conflict the heroism of the Blue and Gray pales Grecian and Roman story, and that the American statesmanship that was confronted in war and reconstruction by the gravest problems in the history of any nation, solved them- even in the fiercest tempest of sectional passions, to stand as an enduring monument of the grandeur of the civil powers of the nation that (0 2 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S had won the grandest homage from the world for its achieve- ments in war. The progress of this republic in the brief span of a single life seems like a romance born of the most latitudinous imagery. When I first saw the light of day there was not a single steam- ship on any of the seas of the world; there was not a train of cars drawn by a locomotive; the magnetic telegraph was not even noted in the wildest of dreams ; there was not a single State west of the Father of Waters with the exception of Missouri and part of Louisiana; the great Northwest, now presenting an unbroken galaxy of mighty and prosperous commonwealths, was then an unexplored wilderness, and a large portion of the Western coun- try now possessing a thriving population and clothed with State- hood, appeared on our school atlas as the Great American Des- ert. The boundless wealth of the Rocky Mountains was un- known, even to the dusky sons of the forest, who peopled that region from prehistoric times, and the now rich slopes of the Pacific, with its golden gate, had only a straggling semi-barbaric race. Ohio was known as the "backwoods," where the sturdy pioneers were yet struggling with the Indians, and ordinary let- ter postage between the East and the remote regions of the new Buckeye State was yjV^ cents. There was then great pride among the people that the new re- public had grown from a population of three millions to a popu- lation of twelve millions. It was regarded as an epoch of match- less progress, as Pennsylvania and New York had each com- pleted great water highways between the seacoast, the lakes and Western rivers, and considering the feeble resources of that age, their achievements in the line of advancement were as heroic as any of the present time. Today we have an unbroken line of sovereign States from the Eastern to the Western sea, from Northern lake to Southern gulf, with great possessions in the West Indies, and holding the gateway of the world in the Orient, and eighty millions of the most intelligent and prosperous peo- ple of the world enjoying the priceless blessings of our free in- stitutions. There is not a political party now known that had existence seventy years ago, although the Democratic party may be reasonably claimed to be the successor of the Republican party founded by Jefferson, that dominated the government until the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 3 advent of Jackson, who was first a candidate for, President as a Democratic Republican to distinguish him from the National Republicanism of Adams and Clay. I have witnessed the crea- tion of four political parties which have risen to national promi- nence, two of which have elected Presidents and three of which have elected Governors of Pennsylvania. The Federal party was utterly overthrown as a national political factor when Jef- ferson defeated Adams, although it maintained its vitality in New England and other States, and elected Buchanan to Con- gress and Finley Governor of Pennsylvania in 1820. The organization of the Anti-Masonic party, founded on the single principle of opposition to secret societies, and inspired to aggressive action by the alleged murder of Morgan, was a wel- come refuge for the scattered Federal forces and it became a formidable opposition to the ruling political power of the coun- try. It eLected Ritner Governor of Pennsylvania in 1835, and was the first political party of the country to hold a national con- vention for the nomination of Presidential candidates, in 1831. The party founded on a single idea, and that a perishable one, speedily waned in power, and the great Whig party was organ- ized in 1834, and displayed startling strength in the national contest of 1836 by the support it gave to Harrison. It elected two Presidents — Harrison in 1840, and Taylor in 1848 — and suf- fered two defeats with Clay and Scott as its leaders, the Clay contest standing out in the political history of the nation as one of the greatest political battles of our history. With the overwhelming defeat of Scott in 1852, the mission of the Whig party was ended, and the general Whig disintegration and the Democratic disafifection because of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854, gave a most inviting field for the new American party with its secret organization, and it presents the most revolutionary political records in many States and cities which have ever been recorded in our political conflicts. It was an important factor with Fillmore as its candidate for President in 1856, but the Republican party had then made its lodgment, sustained by the most positive and earnest convictions on the slavery issue, and it won the great Lincoln battle in i860, ac- cepted Civil War, abolished slavery, gave the nation the only sound financial system it has ever known, and has practically ruled the destiny of the republic for more than forty years. 4 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Cleveland was twice President, elected by the Democrats, but with all the vigor of his rule he only halted for a time the mastery of Republicanism. To these may be added the Greenback party that became a national organization in 1868, the Prohibition party that first appeared in national politics in 1872, and the Populist party favoring the free coinage of silver, that absorbed the Greenback followers and polled over one million votes in 1892. There have been several other socialistic parties which presented national candidates at the last Presidential election^ but their following was so feeble as to deny them recognition as national political factors. My first distinct recollection of a Presidential battle was the contest between Harrison and Van Buren in 1840, and in no way could the extraordinary advancement of the country be bet- ter illustrated than by presenting the political conditions which then existed. I recall it of course, only as an enthusiastic boy sharing the general infection that made the people spontaneously hurrah for "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and shout the songs which were heard at almost every cross roads. Even in the most primitive communities rude log cabins were constructed as em- blematic of the Harrison cause, and hard cider, or cider whether hard or soft, was drunk with the wildest huzzas. The country was sorely depressed, labor was unemployed, money was an al- most unknown commodity among the people, and what little there was came from banks, many of which were founded on the wild cat theory, and the Whigs in song and story promised the working men "$2 a day and roast beef." It was a most inspiring and practical slogan, and all classes and conditions became ear- nestly enlisted in the struggle. It brought a new type of oratory to the front that was illustrated in its highest line by the cele- brated "Buck Eye Blacksmith," who, with horny hands and fluent speech, coarse wit and coarser invective, rallied the masses into the most enthusiastic efforts for their cause. There were many great men at the front on the hustings, as it was only through the platform that the people could then be reached, but it was the one national battle during the period of sixty years in which the people ran away from their leaders and swept the country for Harrison like a hurricane. In those days the rural community was fortunate that had a weekly mail. Daily newspapers were unknown in the country, COLONEL McCLURE AT NINETEEN RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 5 and the people had to depend solely upon their local newspapers for their news. Considering that we now expect to have suffi- cient returns from the entire Union to determine a Presidential contest not later than midnight of election day, the facilities for information in 1840 are impressively remembered. On Friday, two weeks and three days after the Presidential election of 1840 in Pennsylvania, a number of neighbors were gathered at my father's at what was then known as a ''raising." The custom of those days was for the neighbors to be summoned when any one of them was ready to erect the frame or log work of a building, and spend the day or afternoon in fulfilling the kind neighborly offices which have been almost entirely effaced by the progress of civilization. What a builder would now do in an hour with machinery the neighborly gathering would give a day to the same task, and make it, besides, one of generous hospitality and enjoyment. Friday was the day on which the weekly mail ar- rived, and the Whigs and Democrats who enjoyed their political spats, as both claimed the State for their respective parties, were anxious to have the weekly paper to decide the attitude of the Keystone State. I was dispatched to the post office, a mile or more distant, in time to be there when the post boy arrived, with instructions to make special haste in returning. My father was one of the few liberal men of that day who received both the Democratic and Whig local newspapers, so that the anxious company was as- sured of information from the organs of both parties. When the mail arrived at the post office I seized the Whig paper, and was delighted to find a huge coon over the Pennsylvania returns, and the announcement that the State had gone for Harrison by 1,000 majority. In generous pity I opened the Democratic paper to see how it would accept the sweeping disaster, and to my utter consternation, it had a huge rooster over the Pennsyl- vania returns, and declared that the State had voted for Van Buren by 1,000 majority. I took the shortest cut across the fields to bring the confusing news to the anxious crowd that was awaiting it, and both papers were spread open and both sides went home rejoicing in the victory. Of course, they all felt that there was a strong element of doubt in the conflicting returns, but the matter was quietly dismissed without complaint for another week, and it was fully two weeks later when the of- 6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S ficial vote was finally received that gave the State to Harrison by 305 majority. Where the weekly mail then was welcomed as a generous blessing from the government, the daily mail and sometimes mails twice and thrice a day reach the people, and the daily newspaper is now more widely read than were the local weeklies of olden times. The difterence in the relations between the people and the public men they worshipped in the present and half a century ago can hardly be fully appreciated in this wonderfully progres- sive age. Then travel was a luxury that few could enjoy, and was almost wholly confined to those who found it a necessity. It was not only tedious and tiresome, but expensive far beyond the means of the great mass of the people. The great men of that day were idolized by their partisans as we now pay homage to the statue of some great leader as it poses ofi the pinnacle of the temple with its imperfections obliterated by distance. I never saw Clay or Webster, although I was six years an editor before their death. A visit to Washington by a village editor was usually beyond the range of his time and means, and of the many who shouted their hosannas to Clay and Webster and Calhoun, only one in many, many thousands ever saw his heroes face to face. Today we span the continent from the At- lantic to the Pacific in five days, and the song of the iron horse sends its echoes through almost every valley and to nearly every hilltop of the land. The electric telegraph has annihilated space, traversing ocean and mountain, and the telephone, now in almost every business house and in many private homes, makes easy converse with friends hundreds of miles distant. The perfec- tion of our great system of transportation has so greatly cheap- ened travel that all our people as a rule, with their vastly in- creased resources, take frequent excursions in their business af- fairs or to witness the progress that is surging around them. Public men like McKinley and Bryan, who have traversed the country in their political contests, would be known and recog- nized in nearly every village by old and young, even if they en- tered it unannounced. The people are today face to face with their heroes. They see them as they are; they learn that they worship only men after all, with their full share of human in- firmities, and the idolatry that was given to Clay is a lost at- tribute of the American people. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 7 The one quality of greatness that has been lessened by the transformation of our progressive civilization is that of popular oratory. Half a century or more ago the people could be reached only by the mass meeting, as the newspaper was a luxury confined to the more fortunate few in every rural com- munity. Political necessity then gave birth to a galaxy of popu- lar orators of national fame that has never been equaled in mod- ern times, and is not likely ever to be equaled in the future. The field for oratory is circumscribed by the universal advent of the newspaper, and popular oratory has been largely supplanted by the mastery of forceful disputation. Mere oratory no longer sways the multitude beyond the evanescent inspiration of the moment. Intelligence has become too universal for leadership to make successful battle by rhetorical appeals to prejudice or passion, and therein is the greatest safety to the noblest republic of the world. ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND JEFFERSON DAVIS. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis are names interwoven with the achievements of the last half of a century which will ever be studied with unflagging interest by the students of American history. Both were natives of Kentucky, and the dates of their birth are not a year apart. Lincoln was born in Hardin county on the 12th of February, 1809, and Davis was born in Christian county (now Todd) on the 3d of June, 1808. Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy on the i6th of February, 1861, and Lincoln was inaugurated as Presi- dent of the United States a fortnight later on the 4th of March, 18G1. Lincoln's assassination ended his pubUc career on the 15th of April, 1865, and the public career of Davis was ended by his capture on the loth of May, 1865. These two men were called to the most responsible positions of their respective governments, and bothi were chosen because of their generally assumed fitness for the grave duties assigned them. Lincoln's nomination for President in i860 was made by a convention that sincerely and earnestly preferred William H. Seward as the party candidate, but considerations of expediency made his nomination impracticable, and Lincoln was selected because of the masterly ability he had exhibited in the great Douglas-Lincoln battle, and also because of his freedom from political and factional complications. Davis' election to the Presidency of the Southern Confederacy, as he told me himself some ten years after the war, was a serious disappointment. He was on his way from Mississippi to Montgomery, the temporary Confederate capital, when advised of his election. He appre- ciated the oppressive responsibilities of the civil chieftain of the new government, and his earnest desire was to be assigned as commander-in-chief of the Confederate army. It would be difificuit to find in all the annals of American his- tory two men of such exceptional achievement summoned to (8) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 9 the performance of the gravest duties developed in all the muta- tions of American progress, who were sO' distinctly opposite in their ruling attributes. Lincoln came from close to mother earth, and grew up in sincere sympathy with the lowly. When called to the highest civil honors of the world he was never for- getful of the masses of the people. He not only heartily sym- pathized with them, but he had abiding faith in them. In all of the many great conflicts which arose during the war when new and most vital questions had to be settled, Lincoln ever per- mitted the surges oi disputing factional leaders to play around him unfelt and apparently unnoted until he was fully satisfied of the considerate judgment of the people of the country, and when he felt assured on that one point he was as immovable as the rock of Gibraltar. I once heard him rebuke a Western Con- gressman w^ho offered some apology for the unreasonable ex- actions of some of his constituents because of their want of in- telligent knowledge of public affairs in Washington. Lincoln replied in a quiet and most impressive manner: "I think God must love common people or he wouldn't have made so many of them." His battle in life was made entirely without friends or fortui- tous circumstances and his advancement was due wholly to his great natural endowments and his tireless self-education. One quality that distinguished him from most of our public men was his careful and exhaustive study of every problem from the most candid and impartial standpoint. He was honest with himself, honest with the world and, above all, honest in the discharge of the fearful duties and responsibilities which had been put upon him. He was the most approachable President the country has ever had. He always favored the audience of the unknown and helpless and many times Cabinet officers were compelled to wait in their attendance upon him while he heard the story of some heartbroken mother whose boy soldier was unfortunate and friendless in the army. While he ever exhibited the candor that forbade willing deceit, he was the most sagacious and at times the most reticent of all the public men I have ever known. I doubt whether any man ever fully enjoyed the confidence of Abraham Lincoln. Those who were closest to him during his life umite in testifying to his reticence, but when it was necessary to confide he did so with perfect frankness, and while he was lO COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S accused of many things in the violence of partisan criticism, I cannot recall an instance in which he was accused of deliberate deception. Mr, Lincoln entered the Presidency without a policy, and therein was his safety. The questions which he had to meet and determine were questions which had been in dispute from the foundation of the government with equal ability and patriotism and nearly equal numbers on either side. The great party lead- ers, including his Cabinet, with all of whom he had but little personal acquaintance, as a rule had their positively defined plans for meeting the issue of rebellion, but Lincoln had none. He knew that events which could not be safely anticipated must control the action of the government in the effort to preserve the integrity of the Union, and he was probably the only one of the eminent Republican leaders to confess that he had yet to learn the policy to be accepted and maintained by the government. Another very marked feature of Mr, Lincoln's character was his patient and generous forbearance with all who were unfriend- ly to him. I never heard Mr, Lincoln utter a single sentence of resentment against anyone, and I have never met any person who claimed to have heard him speak vindictively against even his bitterest foes. The beautiful sentence of his inaugural — "With malice toward none, with charity for all," was a perfect reflex of the heart of Abraham Lincoln. He sincerely respected Jefferson Davis because of his ability and his sincere devotion to the cause of the South, and he never gave expression on any subject relating to Davis that could not have been said to Davis in person without afifront. Although he was denounced in the South as a bloody butcher, as an obscene and profane jester, and as a ruler without integrity or statesmanship, he bore it all with patience, and the most I have ever heard him say in answer to these terrible criticisms which wounded him profoundly was that "when these people know us better they will think better of us," I have many times heard him say, speaking of the Southern lead- ers and people, that if they only knew how sincerely and earnestly the government desired to deal with them in generous justice to all, peace might be attained. He exhibited his friendly feeling for the South, notwithstand- ing the terrible desolation and sacrifices of war, when the mili- tary power of the Confederacy was on the verge of destruction. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 1 His order to General Weitzel, in Richmond, to give protection to the Virginia State government and Legislature if it assem- bled to resume relations with the Union; his instructions to Gen- eral Sherman, given at City Point just before the surrender of Johnston, in which he expressly authorized Governor Vance, of North Carolina, to resume his functions with assurance of recog- nition of the State government if acting in harmony with the national government, until the meeting of Congress, and the last speech ever delivered by him when serenaded to congratulate him on the surrender of General Lee, proved the entire absence of cherished resentment against the South. Had Lincoln lived Jefferson Davis would never have been captured. On this point I speak advisedly. He knew the in- tensely revengeful feeling that pervaded the inflamed sentiment of the North, demanding the arrest and execution of the leaders of the rebellion. He knew that they could not be convicted and executed for treason after having been recognized as a bellig- erent power and beleaguered our capital for nearly four years, and he was resolutely averse to the punishment of any of the Southern leaders unless guilty of violation of the laws of war. I heard the question discussed in his presence by several promi- nent men a short time before the surrender of Lee. Among them was General Butler, who was vehement in demanding the execu- tion of traitors. Lincoln heard the discussion in silence, and he finally closed it by a story the moral of which was that if Davis and the leaders of the Confederacy escaped from the country "unbeknown to us" it would be fortunate for all. He meant to bring the South back wath as little humiliation as possible, and distinctly met the issue of negro suffrage in his speech of April ii, 1865, the last he ever delivered, in which he said, referring to the question: "I would most prefer that it were now" conferred on the very intelligent and on those who served our cause as soldiers." In his entire official record as President during four long years of terrible war, he always looked hopefully to the restoration of the Union in one common brotherhood. Jefferson Davis was of gentler birth and shared none of the desperate struggles of Lincoln in early life to advance himself. His parents moved to Mississippi in his early youth, and he was given unusual educational facilities for young men of that period. 12 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S He was a student at Transylvania College, Lexington, Ky., then one of the foremost and most progressive Southern colleges, in 1824, when President Monroe appointed him a cadet to West Point, where he graduated in 1828 and entered the regular army. He had active military service in Indian campaigns for seven years, when he resigned June 30, 1835, and became a cotton planter near Vicksburg, In 1845 he was elected to Congress, but in June, 1846, he resigned to accept a colonelcy of the Mississippi regiment in the Mexican war, where he served with special distinction at the battle of Buena Vista. Soon after his return from the war in 1847 he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate, and in 1848 was elected for a full term. In 1850, when the compromise measures w-ere passed by Congress, Mr. Davis opposed them because they gave too little to slavery. While a large majority of the people of the North and many of the South opposed them because they gave too much to slavery. His colleague, Senator Foote, supported the com- promise measure and accepted what was called the Union can- didacy for Governor of the State and Davis w^as nominated against him. Both resigned their seats in the Senate, and in a canvass of the State Davis was defeated by a small majority. He was recalled to public life in 1853 t>y President Pierce, who made Davis his Secretary of \\''ar, and on his retirement from the Cabinet in 1857 he again entered the Senate, where he served until the 24th of January, 1861, when he resigned to join his State in the secession movement. Mr. Davis was a man of forceful intellect, a great student and one of the ablest debaters in the national councils. He had the courage of his convictions and was scrupulously honest alike in public and private life. He beheved in the right of secession and maintained it on all suitable occasions. He always dis- avowed disunion until after the election of Lincoln, when he took position in the front rank of those who advocated the dismemberment of the republic. He was respected by all his associates in public life because of the sincerity that guided him in his expressions and actions. He was grave and dignified to a degree approaching austerity, but was always one of the most courteous of gentlemen, while lacking the genial and magnetic qualities of men like Lincoln and Blaine. His military education doubtless strengthened his natural in- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1$ clination to reserve and self-reliance. It is worthy of note that West Point has not produced a single great popular leader, and military education must be at least measurably answerable for the failure of all our many great educated soldiers to attain distinction as leaders of the people in our free government where there is every incentive to develop popular masters. We have had a long line of military Presidents since we have had educated soldiers, beginning with Jackson and followed by the elder Harrison, Taylor, Pierce, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, the younger Harrison and McKinley. Of these, only two — Taylor and Grant — ^v^'ere educated soldiers, and neither was any more capable of political manipulation when elected President than the prattling babe. It was probably the chief error of Jefferson Davis that, like Grant, he carried into the administration of civil affairs the dominating qualities of the soldier. The educated soldier is trained to despise what they call popular clamor, and the tendency is to command. Jefferson Davis com- manded as President of the Confederacy; Abraham Lincoln obeyed the sovereign power of the nation, and therein is the sharp contrast between their qualities as civil rulers of the republic and of the Confederacy. Mr. Davis as President of the Southern Confederacy had quite as sore trials as those which beset Mr. Lincoln, and as the exhaustive exactions of war fell upon his people, it was natural that there should be active and aggressive hostility to any policy he might adopt. Whether others could have ruled the Con- federacy more wisely than Davis has always been an open ques- tion. The two leading histories of the Confederacy, both written by active Southerners, are directly opposite in their teaching as to the qualities and capabilities of President Davis. That by Mr. Alfriend fully and positively justifies Mr. Davis in all the great efforts of his administration, while that of Mr. Pollard holds him up to the world as individually responsible for the failure of the war. The one feature of his administration that stands out most distinctly is the fact that he did not seek to popularize himself by any of the many arts so commonly accepted by public men, and thus lacked the sympathetic popular support in the South that Lincoln commanded in the North. He was accused of favoritism, especially in the selection of his generals, but if he erred in that regard all' who knew him will doubtless concede that 14 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S with his naturally strong prejudices and preferences he erred in the exercise of an honest judgment. His removal of Johnson from the command of the army in Atlanta that resulted in Hood's disastrous battle and early evacuation of the city, in- tensified popular prejudice against Davis, and the States of North Carolina and Georgia, under the lead of their Governors, became aggressively hostile to the policy of the Confederacy. Mr. Davis committed a fatal error when he sent Vice Presi- dent Stephens with Hunter and Campbell to confer with Presi- dent Lincoln and Secretary Seward at City Point, where they met February 3, 1865, but his error was the logical result of his strict adlierence to the fundamental theory of the Confederacy and his accepted duty as its Executive. He practically in- structed the commissioners to consider no proposition for peace that did not involve the perpetuity of the Confederacy, and that made any conference with Lincoln on the subject impossible. Vice President Stephens, as was his duty, frankly expressed the limitation of his powers, and the question of peace between the North and South on the basis fixed by Davis could not be enter- tained for a moment. I know that President Lincoln would at that time have suggested the payment of $400,000,000 to the Southern people for their slaves if peace, emancipation and sub- mission to the national authority could thereby have been secured, and had not the instructions of the Southern com- missioners forbidden the discussion of peace by Lincoln, the proffer of $400,000,000 as compensation for emancipation would doubtless have gone to the Southern pubhc, and under the lead of North Carolina and Georgia, already clamoring for peace on almost any terms, the majority of the Confederate States would have demanded submission. Payment for slaves meant much more than the mere pecuniary advantage to the South, great as it was in their desolate and helpless condition. It meant sympathetic reunion and would disarm the fire-eaters of the South who proclaimed against submitting as conquered subjects. In a conference I had with Mr. Davis, at his home in Missis- sippi more than a decade after the war, in which he discussed the questions relating to the conflict in the most courteous and un- impassioncd manner, I asked him whether he had any informa- tion of Lincoln's desire to attain peace by the payment of $400,- 000,000 to the South for their slaves. He answered very frankly RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 15 that he had no intimation of such a purpose or desire on the part of Mr. Lincoln. I then asked him whether he would have given the same instructions to his commissioners at City Point if he had believed it probable that the proposition of compensated emancipation might be made at the conference. His answer was logical from his own standpoint of absolute duty to the Confed- eracy. He said he could not of his own motion, have made any proposition that did not involve the perpetuity of the Confeder- acy. He very concisely presented the difference between the Federal government and the Confederacy. The Federal Presi- dent could make such propositions because he represented a cen- tralized power with absolute sovereignty in the nation, while the President of the Confederacy represented a nation whose corner stone was the sovereignty of individual States. He felt that he w-as powerless to make any suggestion for peace that did not maintain the perpetuity of his government unless demanded by the individual and sovereign action of the States. No one of the Confederate States had proposed peace by submission, and he, as the agent and servant of the Southern States, could accept only the duty of maintaining the Confederacy until the States as- sented to its surrender, or it was overthrown by Federal military power. That he was sincere and consistent in his attitude will hardly be questioned by the dispassionate student of the history of the Confederacy. Within a few months after the City Point conference the Con- federacy was overthrown by the surrender of the armies of Lee and Johnston, and the assassination of Lincoln occurred when Sherman and Johnston were engaged in negotiations for the surrender of Johnston's army. On Sunday, April 2, 1865, Davis, in obedience to notice from General Lee, hurriedly left his capi- tol with his cabinet and personal staff to face the death strug- gle of the Confederacy. The disasters suffered in the field and the universal bereavement and desolation felt by the people, with the open hostility of Congress, made his position an utterly hopeless one. He re-established his government at Danville, where, on the 5th of April, he issued his last proclamation, urg- ing the continued prosecution of the war, in which he said: "Re- lieved from the necessity of guarding particular points, our army will be free to move from point to point to strike the enemy in detail far from his base." He was soon, compelled to abandon Danville, and he re-established the Confederate govern- l6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S ment at Greensboro, N. C, where he had opportunity to confer with Generals Johnston and Beauregard, and on the loth of May he was captured near Irwinsville, Ga., and taken to Fort- ress Monroe, where he was imprisoned for two years. The assassination of Lincoln had inflamed the North to a con- dition verging on frenzy, and President Johnson started out as one of the most violent persecutors of the South. He issued a proclamation offering a large reward for the capture of Davis and others as conspirators in the assassination of Lincoln, and when he had Davis as a prisoner it was a very grave question what could be done with him. It soon became evident to all that he was no more guilty of the murder of Lincoln than was Johnson himself, and yet the President could not have dis- charged Davis if he had wished to do so, because of the intensity of popular resentment in the North. After keeping Davis in prison at Fortress Monroe for a year he was indicted for treason in the United States Court at Norfolk. James T. Brady, one of the ablest criminal lawyers of the nation, appeared at the first term of the court as counsel for Davis and demanded speedy trial, but the government was unprepared and the case was con- tinued. Another year elapsed with Davis still confined, until it became a necessity to dispose of the distinguished prisoner, and on May 13. 1867, he was discharged on bail of $100,000. Some time after his discharge a nol. pros, was quietly entered by the government, and thus ended the case against JefTerson Davis in which he was charged when arrested with treason and com- plicfty in the murder of Lincoln. Mr. Davis was in feeble health, and it is) not disputed that he was treated with a degree of severity as a prisoner that now grates harshly upon the honest convictions of the people of both sections, but it was not without special compensations to Mr. Davis. By his arrest and imprisonment he was made the appar- ent victim of the vengeance of the government against the peo- ple who had been in rebellion, and the intense and aggressive hostility to Davis that had been exhibited among a large portion of the Southern people was speedily tempered into forgetful- ness of his real or imaginary errors and into warmest sympathy for him as the chosen sacrifice. It ended criticism of the Davis administration and brought out in vivid colors all his beneficent achievements for the South, while his errors were entirely ef- faced in sympathy for the one man who was made to suffer the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 17 indignity of long imprisonment solely because of his devotion to the rebellious Confederacy that had written most lustrous annals of American heroism. When Lincoln and Davis became Presidents of their respec- tive governments they were practically strangers to each other. Lincoln had served in Congress from IMarch 4, 1847, ^^ March 4. 1849, and Davis after his return from the Mexican war served part of the same term in the Senate, but he never met Lincoln personally. Lincoln had served his term very quietly, his chief effort being his speech in support of General Taylor for the' Presidency, delivered in the House during the campaign of 1848, and there was nothing in that effort to attract special attention. At the beginning of the wi-r it was very natural that Mr. Davis greatly underestimated Lincoln's ability and knew little of his admirable personal a.ttributes, but during a protracted conversa- tion with Mr. Davis, in which he often spoke with unusual in- terest, the discussion of Lincoln brought out his most positive expressions of respect. I shall never forget the earnest and pa- thetic conclusion of his remarks about Lincoln when he said substantially: "Next to the day of the failure of the Confederacy, the darkest day the South has seen was the day of Lincoln's assassination." Such was the tribute of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, to Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States, when peace had come to bless a reunited people. Both were called to the most responsible duties ever assigned to statesmen of our free government; both discharged their grave responsibilities with the utmost fidelity to their convictions, and neither has left a record of personal criticism against the other. Lincoln's tragic death just when his great life-work was about to be accomplished made him secure in the list of the wordl's immortals, and Davis bowed to the arbitrament of the sword and remained a stranger to his country, as he himself expressed it to the writer, because his assumed political aspirations if he accepted citizenship would have been a constant menace to the safety of the South and the unity of the two sections. He lived, as a rule, in severe retirement after his visit to Canada and Europe soon after his release from Fortress Monroe, until he rounded out more than four score years, when, in New Orleans, on the 6th of December, 1889, he passed away to join the great majority beyond. CHRISTIANA AND HARPER'S FERRY, THE FIRST BATTLES OF OUR CIVIL WAR. The hoarse tHunciers of shotted cannon were not heard in the first battles of our Civil War, nor were great armies in battle line for sanguinary conflict. The first was fought long before McClellan's skirmishes in Western Virginia and the disastrous defeat of Bull Run, which are now pointed to by the student of the history of our war, as well as by most of those in whose memory those fearful days still linger, as the first conflicts of one of the bloodiest wars of history. Great wars are never produced in sudden passion. There must be a gradual growth of strained hostility to prepare nations or sections to accept the terrible arbitrament of the sword. In like manner the people of the North and of the South were schooled in preparation for the appalling conflict through which they passed from 1861 to 1865. The pretext was given by the South that the election of a Republican President was an assault upon slavery, when, in fact, even with Lincoln as President, the South had absolute protection for the perpetuity of slavery, not only in a friendly Senate and Supreme Court, but in the Presi- dent himself, who sincerely declared that the Constitution pro- tected slavery, and that he had no desire to attempt the over- throw of that which had the protection of the supreme law of the nation. The cause of our Civil War w? not the election of Mr. Lincoln, although that was the incident that precipitated it. It was certain to come sooner or later, and soon at the latest, between two great sections, equal in intelligence, in heroism and pride, and devoted to their opposing political convictions with equal integrity. It was the passage of what is known as the Compromise Measures of 1850, embracing the fugitive slave law, that pro- foundly impressed the people of the North with the conviction that slavery would surely be the fountain of fraternal strife or of the disruption of the Union. The fugitive slave law was one (18) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 9 of the series of compromise measures. It provided for the arrest and return of fugitive slaves by the judgment of a mere com- missioner appointed under the law, who received double fees if he remanded the alleged slave back to slavery, and his officers were empowered to summon the people of all classes and condi- tions to aid in the arrest of the fugitive, while any who even permitted the slave to remain on his premises were required to surrender him to the officers of the law or be liable to criminal prosecution for harboring a fugitive slave, and to civil action for damages if the slave escaped. My recollection of the law is very distinct, as I happened to be a grand juror in the United States Court at Williamsport, Pa., in 185 1, when the first case under the fugitive slave law was brought before the court. The defendant was Jameson Harvey, of Luzerne county, with whom the alleged slave had been liv- ing, and when the officers appeared to capture the negro they demanded of the defendant that he should produce him, but the negro had hidden himsel'f in the barn, and was armed for his defense. Mr. Harvey said to the officers, "You can take your slave if you want to," but as the officers feared the armed negro, they withdrew and proceeded against him in the United States Court, where I had the pleasure, as a grand juror, of aiding in ignoring the bill presented against him. The first battle of our Civil War was fought on the nth of September, 185 1, near Christiana, in Lancaster county, Pa., on a farm then owned by Levi Pownell and now in the possession of Marion Griest. It is on the valley road some two miles or more southwest of Christiana, with an old stone house located on an eminence and surrounded by a thriving orchard. It is some distance away from any of the leading public highways and shaded by trees, making it almost invisible to persons ap- proaching it, but giving to those within it an excellent oppor- tunity to view any one coming. It was a Quaker community and of course strongly imbued with abolition sentiments, which made it a favorite centre for fugitive slaves, who had the sincere sympathy of the people generally. A man named William M. Padgett traveled in that commun- ity, ostensibly to repair clocks, but, in fact, to discover fugitive slaves and communicate with their owners through Henry H. Kline, who was then conspicuous as a slave-catching constable 20 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S from Philadelphia, and who acted under the direction of Com- missioner Ingraham, one of the few men in the State who ac- cepted a commission under the fugitive slave law. Padgett discovered that one or more slaves belonging to Mr. Edward Gorsuch, of Hereford, Baltimore county, Md., were living among the Quakers in Christiana, and a party from Maryland, consisting of Edward Gorsuch, alleged master of the slave; his son, Dickerson Gorsuch; his nephew, Dr. Pierce, and several others under the lead of Constable Kline were discovered early in the morning in ambush close to the residence of William Parker, a colored man. They were discovered by another col- ored man, an inmate of the house, who had started out to pur- sue his daily labor, and he at once fled to his home with the slave hunters in pursuit. The constable and his party entered the house of Parker, but the negroes had retreated to the upper floor, from the windows of w^hich they sounded the alarm by blowing a horn. This was responded to by two shots fired by the assailants without effect. Mr. Gorsuch then came forward and demanded his slaves, which he claimed were hidden in the house. He was answered with the positive assurance that the negroes would never be taken alive as slaves. A large number of the negroes from the neigh- borhood, summoned by the horn, flocked to the scene of trouble, and all of them were armed with guns or clubs. They remained in woods nearby awaiting the necessity for action, and again Gorsuch and his party were warned to leave and assured that it would be a battle unto death if an attempt were made to cap- ture them. For several hours the parley was continued until the blacks were increased to fifty or more, and there was imminent danger of a bloody conflict. Castner Hanway, a Quaker, who lived in the neighborhood, hearing the sound of the horn and noting the gathering of the blacks, rode up to the Parker house, where he was joined by Elijah Lewis, another Quaker, both men of the highest char- acter in their community and devoted to peace. They came solely for the purpose of avoiding a conflict and sought to per- suade Gorsuch and his party from provoking a collision that must result in the death of many. As soon as these Quakers appeared upon the scene Constable Kline, then acting in the capacity of deputy marshal, immediately ordered them to aid RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 21 in the capture of the fugitive slaves, which they naturally refused to obey, and they earnestly appealed to Kline and the Gorsuch party to cease the hopeless effort of less than half a score of men capturing fugitive slaves from fifty or sixty armed negroes, who had resolved to die rather than be captured or permit any of their number to be taken. Hanway and Lewis also exerted their influence to prevent violence on the part of the colored people. Gorsuch's son ap- pealed to his father to give up the contest, but the father refused. Finding that they could accomplish nothing, Hanway and Lewis started away after again earnestly urging the Gorsuch party to give up the contest. Soon after they left one of the negroes attempted to come out of the house and he was at once covered by Gorsuch's revolver. The negro urged him to go away if he did not want to get hurt, and pushing Gorsuch by he passed out. Gorsuch at once opened fire on the negro and his son and nephew joined him, buit that provoked the negroes to open fire and make an attack upon the Corsuch party. Gorsuch was killed by the first volley fired by the negroes and his son wounded. The others precipitately fled and joined Con- stable Kline, who had taken a safe position before the firing began. A number of the negroes were wounded, but none dangerously. The dead body of Gorsuch, who had come to capture his slaves, was sent to his home, and his son, who had been protected from the fury of the negroes by Parker himself, was well provided for until he recovered. The Christiana battle was the first bloody struggle under the fugitive slave law, and it made a profound impression upon the people of both Pennsylvania and of the nation at large. It determined a most earnest and desperate contest for Governor between William F. Johnson, Governor of the State and a candi- date for re-election, and William Bigler, who succeeded him. Johnson had served one term with distinguished credit, and his re-election was generally confessed by frivind and foe until the Christiana battle was fought. Philadelphia was then the great commercial city of the South, and while Whig in faith and not pro-slavery as were most of the Democrats of that day, the commercial classes were peculiarly sensitive about slavery agi- tation because of its probable effect upon the business of the city; and throughout the State there was a large Whig element 22 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S that supported the compromise measure including the fugitive slave law, then known as "silver grays" among those who spoke of them with respect, and as "dough faces" in less reverent political circles. The whole Whig press of the city and some of the ablest in the State denounced the killing of Gorsuch in unmeasured terms, and as Governor Johnson was a representa- tive of the anti-slavery element of the party he was thus doomed to defeat and he lost his election by 8,000 majority. The sequel of the Christiana battle was the arrest of Castner Hanway and Elijah Lewis, both prominent Quaker citizens, with some forty or fifty others, mostly negroes, on the charge of high treason for levying war against the government of the United States. They were denied the right of bail and were incarcerated in prison from the nth of September until they were brought into the United States Court at Philadelphia before Judges Green and Kane, on the 24th of November, for trial on the grave charges of which they were accused. The trial was one of the most exciting ever had in the State. An entire week was em- ployed in obtaining a jury, after the United States District At- torney had set aside twenty jurors exclusive of his right to chal- lenge. Thaddeus Stevens, John M. Read, Theodore C. Cuyler and Joseph J. Lewis, four of the most prominent lawyers of the State, and two of them leading Democrats, conducted the defense, while District Attorney John W. Ashmead was assisted by tlie Attorney General of Maryland and by James Cooper then a Whig United States Senator from Pennsylvania, who had supported the compromise measures. It was certainly one of the most notable legal battles in the history of Pennsylvania judicial trials. Lucretia Mott, the most prominent and beloved of the Quaker women of the State, at- tended the trial personally every day, and after the elaborate argument of counsel. Judge Green delivered his charge that occupied a closely-printed pamphlet of twenty-three pages. The jury retired, and in ten minutes returned into the court with the verdict of "not guilty." In this case only Castner Hanway was on trial, and after his acquittal by the jury, he was discharged, as were all his associates, who had been in prison for more than three months. Mr. Hanway appealed to the court to be relieved of the costs incurred by him in furnishing witnesses, but it was denied, and broken in health by his imprisonment, RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 23 and suffering expenses which he could ill afford, Jie never fully recovered from the harsh exactions of imprisonment and trial. He lived at his old home until 187S, when he went West and settled at Wilbur, Nebraska, where he died on the 26th of May, 1893, and, in accordance with his desire, his remains were brought back to Longwood Cemetery, near Kennett Square, to rest with the dust of his Quaker kindred. The Christiana battle, the killing of the claimant of the slaves and the woiunding of others, impressed the South with the fact that the recovery of fugitive slaves had ceased to be practically possible, and it profoundly deepened the apprehension of leaders in the slavery cause as to the safety of the institution. On the other hand, the arrest and imprisonment of Hanway and his associates, and his trial, involving our ablest judges and lawyers, profoundly impressed the people of the North with the fact that there was an "irrepressible conflict" between the North and the South on the slavery issue that must, in the fulness of time and at no distant day, either disrupt the Union or involve the country in fraternal war. Thus were the fearfully fruitful seeds sown a full decade before open civil war began that called millions of reapers into its harvest of death. During the decade from 1851 to 1861, when the Civil War burst upon the country in all its fearful fury, the people of both sections were moving steadily and surely and almost im- perceptibly to the consummation of the great conflict The supporters of slavery, inflamed by the failure of the compromise measures, which did not bring them a single slave State in the large territory acquired from Mexico, became violently aggressive and finally summoned their forces in 1854 to repeal the Missouri compromise for the purpose of forcing slavery into Kansas and Nebraska. The bloody con- flict between the sturdy Free State men and the Missouri in- vaders made adjustment of the dispute more difficult with each succeeding day, and the Dred Scott decision, substantially de- claring that the black man had no rights which the white man was bound to respect, deepened and intensified the convictions of the North, and compelled them to gird their loins and be prepared for the inevitable conflict. In all these great efforts to benefit slavery even their victories turned to ashes. The com- promise measures gave them only the fugitive slave law that was 24 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S a dead letter in the North, and that mocked their efforts to regain fugitive slaves. California was already a free State, and the other Mexican territories gave no promise of strengthening slavery. Kansas and Nebraska were made free States after the humiliating defeat of those who had desperately battled for slavery, and it soon became evident that the fate of the Dred Scott decision would be a reversal by the sovereign power of the republic. Thus both sections were steadily but surely drift- ing to the fearful arbitrament of civil war. The second battle of our Civil War began at Harper's Ferry ■on the 1 6th of October, 1850, by a force commanded by John Brown as captain, and consisting of John Brown and his three sons, Owen, Oliver and Watson, William and Adolphus Thomp- son, brothers of Henry, husband of Captain Brown's oldest daughter; John Henri Kagi, Aaron Dwight Stevens, John Edwin Cook, William H. Leeman, George Plummer Tidd, Jeremiah G. Anderson, Albert Hazlett, Stewart Taylor, Edwin and Barclay Coppoc and Francis J. Merriam, white men, and Osborne P. Anderson, William Copeland, Lewis Sherrard Leary and Shields Green, colored. John Brown made his base of operations in preparing for his Virginia campaign, the object of which was to incite the slaves to insurrection at Chambersburg, where I then resided. I saw him nearly every day for several weeks in the crowd that usually assembled about the post ofifice before the arrival of the evening mail. He made himself known to a number of our citizens, including myself, as Dr. Smith, and as engaged in preparations for the development of minerals in Maryland. He was very modest and unassuming and no one in the entire community suspected his true identity. He attracted no attention because his business was presumably legitimate and one in which the people of the town had little interest. In his conversation with citizens he carefully avoided any expressions on the subject of slavery, and he was regarded as a quiet, intelligent business man. Two days before the attack on Harper's Ferry a handsome young man entered my office and asked me to write his will. He was accompanied by a friend, whom he introduced as Mr. Henry, but who, in fact, was J. Henri Kagi. We retired into the private office and I wrote his willi. After making a few RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 25 special bequests he willed the bulk of his estate to the Anti- Slavery Society of Massachusetts, but there was nothing very remarkable in that and I gave it no more than a passing thought. When the writing of the will was finished he signed it ''Francis J. Merriam," He was unusually bright and intelligent and said he was going on a journey South and thought it best to dispose of his property to guard against accidents. My surprise may be well understood when, within three days, I read the startling story of the battle of Harper's Ferry and among the names of those engaged in it w^as Francis J. Merriam. He was one of the few who were unharmed in the conflict and made his escape. He managed to get to the railroad in Maryland, passed on to Philadelphia, where he remained over night at the Merchants' Hotel, registering his true name, and proceeded next morning to Boston. When Brown began his campaign against Harper's Ferry he rented what was known as the Kennedy farm in Washington county, Maryland, four miles from Harper's Ferry. It was an isolated place and of little value, as the rental was only $35 a year. At that place his various consultations were held, his pikes and other implements of warfare were shipped ostensibly as mining tools, and on Sunday, the i6th of October, 1859, Cap- tain Brown had his army complete at the Kennedy farm and was ready for the battle. He arose on that Sunday morning earlier than usual and summoned his army to prayer. He first read a chapter from the Bible, more or less applicable to slavery, and then fervently prayed for divine assistance in the liberation of the bondman. The roll call was made soon after breakfast and every name responded to, when a sentinel was posted to prevent surprise. At 10 o'clock the army was assembled in council, with Osborne P. Anderson, colored, in the chair. He then read the constitution of his organization, completed the commissions of his officers, and prepared elaborate and detailed orders for the attack to be made that night. When darkness had come the movement began, and Cook and Tidd were assigned the task of cutting the telegraph wires. Brown's force crossed the bridge to Harper's Ferry, captured the watchman without creating alarm and was soon in the ar- senal grounds. The watchman in the armory shouted the alarm, but he was soon silenced and the arsenal was in possession of Brown without having created any disturbance in the com- 26 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S munlty. This was all effected before no' clock in the night. The movement was discovered by the relief watchman, Patrick Higgins, who came on at midnight, and upon whom the first shot was fired, but Higgins made his escape and gave the alarm. When daylight came the little town was in consternation at the possession of the arsenal and government works by a band of insurgents. In answer to a complaint of the conductor of the Baltimore and Ohio train Brown said: "We want liberty; the ground, bridge and town are in our hands." Citizens at once began to arm as the news spread rapidly, and people came from the surrounding country, most of them with their guns. Anarchy soon prevailed in the village of Harper's Ferry. The people flocked in by hundreds, took possession of the saloons and many of them shooting at random during the day and evening of the 17th, and in the night the United States marines came under command of Colonel Robert E. Lee. In the mean- time several squads of Brown's army were scouring the country capturing hostages and taking possession of citizens and slaves. Among the hostages held was Colonel Washington, whom they informed that they intended to take his slaves but not his life. The slaves were crowded into a family carriage and a four horse w^agon, and on their way a number of colored men joined them. Brown and his command could have retreated with little loss any time up to noon on the 17th, but after that they were compelled to fight for their lives. Even when informed that the marines were arriving, which made his battle an utterly hopeless one, his only answer was: "Men, be cool; we will give them a warm reception." I have every reason to believe that Brown had decided either to succeed in the battle, in which he expected to be aided by hundreds of insurrectionary slaves, or to die in the struggle. He was morbidly fanatical in the cause to which he gave his life, and it is evident that he either relied upon an immense slave support, or intended to sacrifice himself and his men in the struggle, as he had ample opportunity to escape at any time in the early part of the 17th. Of the citizen prisoners his squads had brought in during the night of the i6th and 17th, Brown selected eight to be held as hostages. When he found that he was compelled to retreat into the engine house and was about to be assailed by overwhelming numbers, he notified the hostages that their fate would be the fate that his assailants accorded to him and his command. When RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 27 Colonel Lee, who was in command of the marines, communi- cated with Brown and urged him to surrender, Brown's answer was, "No, I prefer to die here." He then proceeded to barricade the doors and windows of the engine house into which his little force was driven, and desultory firing continued during all the day of the 17th until late at night. While half of Brown's men were killed, the prisoner hostages escaped unhurt. Finding that Brow-n would not surrender. Colonel Lee finally ordered an assault, and the door was battered in, when Lieu- tenant Green, of the marines, entered at the head of his com- mand and immediately selected Brown for his attack. With an undercut of his sword he pierced Brown in the abdomen, when Brown fell. The handful of men remaining with Brown who had escaped death or had failed to flee, were speedily made prisoners. Oliver and Watson Brown, William and Adolphus Thompson, John H. Kagi, William Leeman, Stewart Taylor, Lewis S. Leary, Jeremiah Anderson and D. Newby were killed in the battle, but Owen Brown, Cook, Tidd, Coppoc, Merriam, Hazlett and Anderson escaped. Of these Cook and Hazlett were captured and executed with Stevenson, Coppoc and Green. Hazlett was captured near Shippensburg in the Cumberland Valley and was supposed to be Cook. The result was a requisi- tion brought from Richmond to Carlisle for Cook, but the mistaken identity was discovered, and that was fatal to Cook, who was subsequently arrested in the South Alountain and lodged in the Chambersburg prison. I acted as his counsel in the utterly hopeless effort to escape the consequences of his law- lessness, but he would doubtless have escaped from the prison on the second night had not a requisition for him been at Carlisle, only thirty miles distant, that came unexpectedly at noon on the second day. Oliver Brown, Coppoc, Tidd and Anderson, most of whom were wounded, and Oliver Brown very seriously, made slow night marches through the South Mountain to Chambers- burg, where they were hidden and fed by a very few sympathetic friends who knew of their presence in the neighborhood, until they were strong enough to continue the marches along the underground railway across the mountains to Bell's Mills in the Juniata Valley, whence they proceeded northward. Brown remained at his home in Crawford county and no attempt was made to capture him. The Harper's Ferry battle was a bloody one. A large major- ity of Brown's entire force were either killed or executed and 28 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S most of the others wounded. Ten of the attacking party were killed during the fight, seven were executed and five escaped. The number of colored men slain by the reckless firing of the belligerents is given at seventeen, and of the citizens and soldiers engaged in the attack on Brown eight were killed, including one colored man, and nine wounded. Among the killed was Mayor Beckan, of the city. The feeling of the Virginia people was aroused to fiendish intensity, and the bodies of some of the insurgents who had fallen in the battle were subjected to name- less brutality. The Harper's Ferry battle aroused the South to intense bit- terness and resentment, and Governor Wise of Virginia made a most dramatic exhibition at the execution of Brown and his fellow prisoners. He was strongly urged by such prominent slavery leaders of the North as Fernando Wood and others to commute the punishment of the prisoners to imprisonment for life as a matter of public policy and safety to the South, but Governor Wise refused to entertain the proposition and the execution of these prisoners is yet memorable in Virginia as one of the most impressive exhibitions ever given in the history of the State. It would have been eminently wise for the Vir- ginia Governor to have treated Brown and his fellow prisoners as fanatical beyond full responsibility of the law, but the osten- tatious exhibition of vengeance that came up from Virginia did much to deepen and widen the anti-slavery sentiment of the North. Few ventured to excuse Brown's mad raid on Harper's Ferry to incite the slaves to insurrection, but he gave his life in such heroic devotion to his cause that the Northern people were im- pressed far beyond what they themselves had knowledge, as was proved by the scores of thousands of soldiers in blue who, but two years later, marched to fraternal conflict to the inspiring song of "Johr^ Brown's Body Lies Mouldering in the Grave." Such was the second battle of our Civil War. It drew the lines between slavery and anti-slavery more sharply than they had ever been drawn before, and thenceforth it was only a ques- tion when the terrible conflict must begin. The election of Lincoln the following year simply precipitated, but did not cause, the sanguinary strugg-le that through four years of the bloodiest conflict of history the soldiers alike of the blue and gray wrote records of the grandest heroism of the world's history. THE BATTLE OF BRODERICK, BAKER AND McKIBBEN TO HOLD THE PA- CIFIC REGION TO THE UNION. Three men, each the sole architect of his OAvn fortune, bore the burden and heat of the day in shaping the destiny of the Pacific slope when the struggle came to engulf that section either in a struggle for separate empire, or to have it join the South in a revolutionary efifort to dismember the Union. These men were David C. Broderick, Edward D. Baker and Joseph C. Mc- Kibben. Each of their careers is replete with romance. Their struggles for fame and fortune brought them many sore dis- appointments. Two of them died a tragic death, while the other witnessed his friend fall in a duel that was provoked by the deliberate purpose to end the power and career of the chosen victim on what is called the field of honor. The student of today, in looking over the history of the far West and its wonderful development and prosperity, can little understand the desperate battles which had to be fought by the brave pioneers of the golden shores of the Pacific to maintain the mastery of loyalty to the Union. Broderick and Baker gave their lives as proof of their patriotic devotion to free government, and McKibben braved the flame of battle as one of the most gallant soldiers during the Civil War. In i860 there were but two States on the Pacific coast — Cali- fornia and Oregon. The population of Oregon gave that State but one Representative in Congress, and California had only two. The wealth of the Pacific coast was then well understood, and there were many leading men who dreamed of a separate and independent empire, or, failing in that, hoped to cast the destiny of the Pacific with the South in dismembering the Union. The battle for the mastery of the slavery sentiment, un- der the lead of William W. Gwin and Chief Justice Terry, was fought out with the utmost desperation. Gwin was a master leader; had represented Tennessee in Congress, and repaired to California in 1848, being one year in advance of the memorable (29) 30 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S "forty-niners." He was one of the first Senators with Fremont when CaHfornia was admitted in 1850, and at the close of his term he was confronted and mastered by David E. Broderick, one of the most remarkable characters of American history. Broderick's father had emigrated from Ireland to accept em- ployment as a stone cutter on the National Capitol, and the son was born in Washington on the 4th of February, 1820. When only three years old his father moved to New York, where the son served an apprenticeship to the stone cutter's trade. He soon became prominent in the Volunteer Fire Department, and in 1846 he was defeated as the Democratic candidate for Con- gress. He was one of the earliest of the "forty-niners" to make the tedious and perilous trip to California, equally tedious and perilous whether over land or by sea, and among the sturdy pioneers of the new gold fields he soon became a leader. Dur- ing his first year as a resident he served as a member of the Constitutional Convention, was later twice elected to the Senate, and became its presiding officer. Until 1856 the Gwin-Terry leadership known as the "velvet heads," was in control of the politics of the State, but in that year Broderick and McKibben won out, resulting in the election of McKibben to Congress and Broderick to the Senate. It was a bitter defeat to the older and more experienced leaders who represented the pro-slavery cause, and Broderick committed the one great error of his life by consenting to a treaty of peace with Gwin and permitting him to be elected to the Senate as Brod- erick's colleague. The terms of the treaty were humiliating to Gwin, and he not only assented to them, but they were pro- claimed to the public. He knew that with a Democratic Presi- dent elected almost wholly by the South and on sectional issues he would occupy the vantage ground in Washington as a Senator and accomplish the overthrow of Broderick. Broderick soon took issue with the administration on the slavery question and Gwin became the absolute master of the whole power of the general government in his State. Severe friction naturally followed between the two Senators, but Brod- erick was fearless and earnest in supporting his cause. He was one of the quietest and most unassuming members of the Senate and rarely took the floor in debate, but when he did speak he was always heard with respect and always spoke eloquently and incisively. He opposed the policy of the administration on the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 31 ECansas-Nebraska bill and was one of the sturdiest of the Dem- ocratic leaders in opposition of that policy. In a speech deliv- ered in the Senate on the 22d of March, 1858, discussing the great issue that had been forced upon the country by the South, he admonished the friends of slavery of the folly of the battle they had precipitated. He said: "Slavery is old, decrepit and con- sumptive; freedom is young, strong and vigorous. One is nat- urally stationary and loves ease; the other is migratory and enterprising. There are 6,000,000 of people interested in the extension of slavery; there are 20,000,000 of free-men to con- tend for these Territories out of which to carve for themselves homes where labor is honorable." The power ol the administration was a controlling political factor in his State, and it gave an easy victory to the opponents of Broderick. McKibben had stood heroically with Broderick from the beginning of the struggle, although his father was Buchanan's closest friend. After unfurling the flag of freedom and fighting its battle tirelessly in Washington, Broderick and McKibben returned to their far distant State to engage in the hopeless effort of defending their cause before the people. Mc- Kibben was rejected as a Democratic candidate for Congress for re-election, and he and Colonel E. D. Baker, who had made his home in California a few years before, took the field as inde- pendent candidates. Broderick, Baker and McKibben were on the hustings from the opening to the close of the contest and bowed undaunted to the defeat that they knew was inevitable. Triumphant in their contest against Broderick and McKibben, the Gwin-Terry coterie deliberately resolved to force Broderick to meet his foes in a duel until he fell in the unequal contest. When he left Washington to return home in the spring of 1859, when the sectional issue had become most intense, and in Cali- fornia had been carried to the extent of absolute personal es- trangement, he knew the fate that he must accept. He had made a most impressive reply to the irritating speech of Senator Ham- mond, of South Carolina, who had personally reflected upon Senator Broderick by referring to the industrial class of the' North from which Broderick had sprung as the "mudsills of society." Speaking of the workingmen of the nation he said: "If I were inclined to forget my connection with them, or to deny that I sprang from them, this chamber would not be the place in which I could do either. While I hold a seat I have but 32 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S to look at the beautiful capital adorning the pilasters which sup- port this roof to be reminded of my father's talent and to see his handiwork." He then spoke of the great battle he was making for the sons of toil, in which he said: "If I fall in the struggle for reputation and fortune there is no relative on earth to mourn my death." On his return to California he entered into the political con- test, hopeless as it was, and knowing that he would be called to account by his enemies, he announced that he would take no notice of personal controversy until after the election, to be held on the 7th of September. Immediately after the election in which Broderick was not disappointed at his defeat, he was chal- lenged by Chief Justice Terry, and on the 13th of the same month he met Terry on the field of honor with McKibben as his second, and fell at the first fire, with his antagonist unharmed. He lingered until the i6th, when he died, and his death did more than all other causes combined to bring California back to a sternly loyal attitude, and gave her electoral vote to Lin- coln, with Douglas leading Breckinridge several thousand votes. The death of Broderick made a most profound impression on the country, and was indeed second only to the assassina- tion of Lincoln in its appeal to the loyal sympathy of the nation. The mute eloquence that came from the grave of the dead Broderick was an hundred fold more persuasive for the loyal cause than were all the efforts and teaching that a live Broderick could have given. He was not only mourned as a martyr to his faith, but throughout the wide circle of his friends there was the profoundest sense of personal bereavement. Broderick was a law unto himself. Beginning his promi- nence as a New York fireman, and continuing as one of the earliest pioneers in California, he was a man entirely apart from his associates in most of their qualities. He was un- known in the resorts of vice and pleasure, so commonly accepted by the earliest pioneers in the absence of the restraints of home and society. He never entered a saloon or took a drink of wine or liquor. He never was known to engage in a game of chance at cards. The profanity and broad story which were insepara- ble in the association in which he lived and moved, never passed his lips, and yet he was worshipped by the great mass of the rude pioneers with an idolatry that was never given to any other of the many who builded wiser than they knew in rearing RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 33 the great Commonwealth of the Golden Gate. He had fought his great battle for the friendless and lowly; had given his life as a sacrifice for his convictions of duty, and when he fell as the victim of a murderous conspiracy, he left no kith or kin to bedew his grave with tears. I saw much of Broderick during his service in the Senate. He was often at the hospitable board of Colonel Forney, whose friendship for Broderick bordered on the romantic. He was a man of very gentle and agreeable manners, always dressed in quiet elegance, and while a delightful conversationalist he was ever most unobtrusive. He was a man of most conscientious devotion to duty and commanded the respect of all within the range of his acquaintance by his earnest and dignified devotion to his faith. In the Senate he always sat quietly in his seat where his fellow Senators would often stop to chat with him. The conversations I had with him profoundly impressed me with the failure of the industrial and producing people of the country to dignify themselves and command the respect of the world by justly cherishing their own self-respect. His reply in the Senate to Senator Chestnut was a painful confession of the humiliation the workingmen of the country sufifered be- cause they did not properly respect themselves. With such convictions and with his sad experience in the rude battle he had fought for distinction, it is not surprising that he became the heroic champion of freedom and the uncompromising foe of slavery, and that his earnest, tireless and unblemished record in defense of his people was sealed with his death. Edward D. Baker, next to Broderick, rendered the most heroic service in the great struggle to bring the Pacific slope into harmony with the Union and in opposition to the demands of slavery. He was the opposite of Broderick in almost every feature and fibre. Like Broderick he sprang from the hum- blest walks of life and started his career in Philadelphia as a "bobbin" boy. He was born in London, February 24, 181 1, and was brought to this country by his father when five years of age. He moved to the far West at an early day, and settled at Springfield, III, where he acquired a fair English education and was admitted to the bar. He was chosen to the Legisla- ture in 1837, to the State Senate in 1840, and in 1844 was elected a member of Congress from the Springfield district, be- ing the immediate predecessor of Abraham Lincoln. He re- 34 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S signed his seat in Congress to command a regiment in the Mexican war, and after having made a highly creditable record as a soldier, when the war closed he returned to Illinois and settled in Galena, from which district he was again elected to Congress in 1848. He attained a high position in Illinois as a lawyer, and espe- cially as an advocate, as he was one of the most eloquent and im- pressive orators of the West. In 1851 he settled in San Fran- cisco, and for eight years he was regarded as one of the foremost leaders of the California bar. He ran for Congress with McKib- ben in 1858 in opposition to the pro-slavery Democracy of the State, and when defeated he removed to Oregon, and in 1861 was elected to the United States Senate by the united vote of the Republicans and Douglas Democrats. Colonel Baker was the most eloquent of all the many able men who confronted the Gwin-Terry, or pro-slavery, organiza- tion in California, and during the eight years of his residence in that State he stood in the forefront of the fight with Broderick and McKibben to maintain the Union inviolate. Baker came down from Oregon to San Francisco to deliver the oration on the death of the martyr to the Union and freedom, and that address is accepted as one of the most eloquent and impressive ever delivered in the history of the Republic. Baker took his seat in the Senate with the inauguration of Lincoln in 1861, and when war came he was among the first to offer his services in the field. He was one of the most impulsive and restless men I ever knew. I saw him many times, but never in repose. He was delightful in conversation, keen in invective, admirable in wit, and as eloquent in conversation, when he v^'armed up to his subject, as he was on the floor of the Senate. He always seemed to me to be a man whose life was being fretted away, and the only solution of the matter was that, having won the highest legislative honors of the nation, he was excluded from the highest civil trust of the government because of his alien birth. A man of his vigorous enthusiasm and hopefulness could well dream the dream of the Presidency, but that honor of the republic was forbidden him. One of the most interesting episodes in the history of the Sen- ate was an entirely unexpected and unpremeditated speech de- livered by Colonel Baker, in reply to ex- Vice President Breckin- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 35 ridge, of Kentucky, who became a Senator at the expiration of his term of Vice President. Baker was in the field with his regi- ment, but he frequently visited Washington, and happened one day into the Senate when Breckinridge was delivering the ablest speech that the Senate heard in defense of the action of the South seceding from the Union. Baker came wearing his fa- tigue uniform, and was at once attracted by the earnest and im- pressive speech of the ex-Vice President, and when Breck- inridge sat down Baker sprang to his feet and addressed the Senate in a measure of fervency and eloquence that can never be forgotten. His speech, although the creation of a sudden im- pulse, was strangely and grandly prophetic. He told how the Union would triumph in the fraternal conflict, and how even if it cost untold millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, it would emerge from the struggle greater and grander than ever before. It was one of the most impressive scenes that ever occurred in the first legislative tribunal of the nation, and it was more reverently remembered when only a few weeks thereafter the eloquent Senator gave his life to his country on the Ball's Blufif battlefield. Broderick's work was left unfinished when he fell in the duel with Terry, but Baker came from a newer State on the Pacific slope to aid in the grand consummation, and, like Broderick, he sealed his patriotic devotion to the RepubHc with his life. Thus after only a few weeks of service in the Senate, Colonel Baker's great work was finished, and the Senate and the country lost one of their most eloquent and loyal defenders. The death of Senator Baker, like that of Senator Broderick, was felt throughout the land as a national bereavement, and I saw thousands after thousands pay their last tribute of respect to him as his scarred body lay in state in Independence Hall. Of the trio who contributed most to shape the destiny of the Pacific slope in harmony with the Union, Joseph C. McKibben was the only one who lived to see the complete triumph of the cause for which they each had battled with such earnestness and self-sacrifice. Born in Pennsylvania of rugged Scotch-Irish Democratic stock, he was among the earliest of the "forty- niners" to seek fortune in California, where he was serving with Broderick in the Senate when one was elected to the United States Senate and the other to Congress. He was a man ,6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S of few words but always heroic in purpose. His towering form over six feet three, almost perfect in symmetrical proportions, made him a most imposing personality on all occasions. He was sorely tried when the Kansas-Nebraska issue arose in Con- gress, as his father, the late Chambers McKibben, was one of the closest friends of President Buchanan, and had done as much as any other one man to accomplish Buchanan's nomination; but even when earnestly appealed to by his father to harmonize with the administration, the brave pioneer of the Pacific gently but firmly answered by saying that his convictions forbade his ap- proval of the policy of the administration, and he henceforth made aggressive warfare w'ith Broderick and lived to see the fullest fruition of his hopes. McKibben had stood beside Broderick on the field when Terry's bullet laid Broderick low; he sav/ the sacrifice that was made in the cause for which he battled and he never ceased in his efiforts for the final victory until he saw^ the Union fully re- stored and slavery only a painful memory. When war came he entered the army and rendered heroic service in the Southwest on the staff of Rosecrans. He and three of his brothers were clad in their country's blue in the greatest war of history, and wdien peace came and the great battle of his life had resulted in victory, he quietly settled down in Washington, where he lived until a few years ago, when the inexorable messenger called him to the unknown life beyond. Such is in brief the history of the trio of men without w^hom California would have been mastered by the anti-union element of the South, or led into the vortex of the independent empire. It w^as a hard, indeed a desperate, battle that they fought in the early stages of the conflict, but they never wearied however dis- asters seemed to surge upon them. Two of them met untimely and tragic death because of their devotion to country, and long years thereafter the sequel of the Broderick tragedy came in the equally tragic death of the man who bore the blood of Broderick upon his skirts. GALES AND BLAIR, THE GREAT ED- ITORS OF OLDEN TIMES. The history of the great editors of the olden time from the organization of the government until a half century ago, would be practically a history of American journalism during that period. Newspapers were a luxury, were few in number, limited in circulation, and their importance and influence depended wholly upon the individuality of the editor. Leaving out Frank- lin, whose greatest distinction was in other lines although rather an audacious pioneer in American journalism, the one name that stands out with the clearest prominence as the exemplar of the best journalism during the first half of the last century, is that of Joseph Gales, who for more than fifty years was connected with the National Intelligencer and soon gave it the high national character that it maintained until its death. Joseph Gales came from sturdy English stock. His father, after a desperate struggle as editor and proprietor of the Shef- field Register, was finally driven from England because of his in- dependence in defying the autocratic power of that day by what was declared to be seditious teaching, and after much tribula- tion he finally reached Philadelphia with his family in the sum- mer of 1795. He obtained employment as a printer, but soon commanded special recognition by furnishing in the rude short- hand of that day, a complete transcript of the proceedings in Congress for the Independent Gazetteer. In a short time he became owner of the paper and continued its publication until 1799, when he was induced to leave Philadelphia because of the then general apprehension that the yellow fever scourge was likely to be an annual visitor to the city. He moved to Raleigh, N. C., and there established the Raleigh Register, named after his Sheffield seditious organ, and the Raleigh journal was main- tained as one of the ablest and most influential papers of the South by the Gales family until civil war engulfed it. When the government was moved to Washington in 1800 Samuel Harrison Smith, who had purchased the Gazetteer from (37) 3S COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the elder Gales, moved with the government to the new capital, and there established it as the National Intelligencer, and in 1807 the younger Joseph Gales, who had been trained to journalism under his father at Raleigh, was engaged as an assistant to Mr. Smith in the editorial and business direction of the paper. He rose rapidly in his journalistic work and became a partner of Mr. Smith within two years. In 1810 'Mr. Smith severed his connection with the paper, leaving Mr. Gales sole proprietor. In 1812 W. W. Seaton, who had married a sister of Joseph Gales, became connected with the Intelligencer, and it was published by Gales & Seaton from that time until the 3i5t of December, 1864, when the greatest of all our public journals during the early part of the last century perished in the tempest of civil war. Joseph Gales, like his father, had practiced the printer's crafl in Philadelphia, where he became a master in the art of stenog- raphy, and his high standard of intellectual vigor and culture made him one of the ablest political disputants of the nation. !Mr. Seaton, his partner, had also acquired proficiency in shorthand reporting, and they made the only reports of the debates in Con- gress that approached accuracy until official reports became rec- ognized as a necessity. Mr. Gales reported the proceedings in the Senate, and Mr. Seaton reported them in the House. It was only by Mr. Gales' shorthand report that Webster's reply to Hayne, accepted as the ablest exposition of constitutional rights ever given by an American statesman, was preserved precisely as it was delivered. His notes were carefully preser\^ed. magnifi- cently bound, and are yet held by some of the Webster descend- ants as one of the most valuable of the many relics of the great expounder. I met Joseph Gales many times, but only in a casual way, and have no claim to intimate acquaintance w-ith him, but as I had read the weekly National Intelligencer with the aid of a tallow dip when an apprentice, and highly enjoyed its great editorials, unsurpassed in purity and diction and forceful expression, I w^as always interested in the man, and w'as specially gratified on my later rare visits to Washington of those days to get even a glimpse of the great American editor. He was a most accom- plished gentleman of the old school, always courteous and de- lightfully genial in the circle of his home and intimate friends. He possessed a commanding personality and the strongly RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 39 marked intellectuality of his features, with his perfect grace of manner, attracted all who came within the range of his move- ments. Mr. Gales became connected with the National Intelligencer during the last term of the Jefterson administration, and from that time until the advent of Jackson, in 1829, the Intelligencer, under his direction, was what might be called the organ of the administration of Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and John Quincy Adams. It was not an organ in the sense in which the term is generally accepted now. The government had no favors which it was compelled to seek. It commanded the limited patronage of the government solely by reason of its exceptionally strong posi- tion as a Washington and national public journal, and while it rarely had occasion to criticise the public policy of those adminis- trations, it often took the lead in clearing the political pathway when grave problems were presented to the government. The editorials in the Intelligencer before and during the war of 1812 were regarded as ranking with the teachings of Clay in the House and Crawford in the Senate, who were the recognized oracles of the war sentiment of the country. In the meantime the Intelligencer had grown to be a widely circulated daily for that period, with semi-weekly and weekly editions which reached every State in the Union. It was the most delectable of all the great papers ever published in this country. It had all the dig- nity of the London Times, tempered and embellished with a degree of vigor and progress which made it quite as highly respected in the new world as was the London Times in the old world. There were then no telegraphs or telephones, and most of the time no railways to crowd news into the editorial sanctum, and beyond the editorials of the leading newspapers the chief labor of such a journal was an intelligent use of scissors and paste. The paper was most studiously edited from the first to the last column, and its news and selections were given in the most inviting form. I have often seen the Daily National Intelli- gencer, when Gales was in the zenith of his greatness, issued with less than half a column of editorial matter. Editorials were not then regarded as a daily necessity, but when occasion demanded elaborate discussion of any public question a leader would appear in the Intelligencer filling two or three columns, and sometimes even a full page. They were essays rather than editorial leaders, 4© COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S and as polished as if they came from the pen of a Macatilay. The idea of anything even approaching- sensationalism in presenting the news was never for a moment entertained, and thus for more than half a century the National Intelligencer, under the direction of Joseph Gales, pursued the even dignified tenor of its \\ay. When Jackson came into power in 1829, bringing with him a horde of political expectants that swarmed upon Washington in search of spoils, Mr. Gales had his first lesson in political antagonism, and he proved to be one of the most effective of all the assailants of the policy of Jackson that culminated in the overthrow of Yan Buren in 1840. The criticisms of Jackson's policy were as fearless and able as they were dignified, and they searchingly exposed the political faults of the administration while sustaining it in great trials when Jackson was right, such as was presented in the South Carolina nullification episode. ^^Ir. Gales was heartily for the majesty of the national authority, but he profoundly and incisively deplored the new political policy that came with Jackson openly proclaiming that "to the victors belong the spoils." Until Jackson became President everything relating to the government was conducted on the highest plane of convention- ality, and the inauguration of Jackson's methods, illustrated at times by the President smoking a corncob pipe while informally receiving visitors and officials in the White House, was a rude shock alike to the social and political methods which had so uniformly prevailed in Washington. The first of all the hum.or- ous and satirical political writers to attain fame was the author of the Jack Downing (Seba Smith) letters in the National Intelli- gencer. They were relatively quite as widely read and com- mented on at that time as were the letters of Petroleum A*. Nasby during the war and reconstruction periods. The fact that these letters appeared in the most dignified and respected jour- nal of the country was conclusive evidence that they exhibited the highest type of the satirist, and it is known that the keen invective of Jack Downing was a more irritating thorn in the side of Jackson and his political followers than were the assaults of any of the able journals of the country which were then in opposition. Of course, the high and successful standard of journalism RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 4 1 established by Joseph Gales would fall far short of the require- ments of journalism in the present age, but it is only just to say that for a period of half a century he conducted a public journal of national reputation, and maintained a pre-eminent position in American journalism, even when brought into competition with the pioneers of progressive newspapers issued by Greeley and Bennett. The old-time journalism required little energy in gath- ering all the news, the most successful journals of early times became so largely because of their ability and dignified conserva- tism. There were many violent partisan newspapers in those days which assailed opposing parties and candidates with a measure of defamation that would not be tolerated in the present age, but it is creditable to the integrity of the olden time, that the National Intelligencer, which represented the absolute mas- tery of dignity and conservatism in journalism, was the most re- spected and potent of the great newspapers of that period. Mr. Gales followed the policy of Webster as proclaimed in his great speech in reply to Hayne, and supported Harrison, Gay, Taylor and Scott as Whig candidates for the Presidency. He ar- dently approved and defended the compromise measures of 1850 which wrecked the Whig party, and in 1856, when the great sec- tional issue became paramount, he had refuge under the banner of Fillmore, whose administration he had earnestly commended. It was evident, however, that the power of this great newspaper and its great editor was sadly enfeebled, as it stood on the narrow middle ground between the fiercely contending parties organized on sectional lines. The leaders of the slave interests had gone far beyond the bounds of conservatism, and their devotion to the Union was secondary to their devotion to slavery, while the Republicans of the North, inflamed by the aggressive exactions of the slave power, offered no field for the conservative and always patriotic appeals of Joseph Gales. The great issue that absorbed the nation had passed beyond conservative restraint, and the National Intelligencer, at whose utterances in former times the leaders of all parties took pause, languished in patronage, in influence and in every attribute of successful journalism, save the dignity and elegance which always embellished its columns. Fortunately in the midsummer of i860, when the always able and earnest but almost unnoted appeals for the preservation of the Union by the election of John 42 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Bell were well maintained, Joseph Gales was called to the dream- less couch of the dead. His great work was done, and he was gathered to his fathers before he could witness the lingering death of the great national newspaper to which he had devoted his life, and by which he made American journalism honored at home and abroad. His surviving partner and brother-in-law, Mr. Seaton, continued the struggle, but the paper was powerless as conservatism was a stranger in the fierce passions of civil war, and Mr. Seaton retired from it on the 31st of December, 1864, and soon thereafter the great National Intelligencer was only a memory. The first of the great editors of the country to inaugurate vio- lent and defamatory partisan warfare was William Duane, of the Philadelphia Aurora, which was the organ of Jefferson as against Washington and Adams. Its criticisms of both Wash- ington and Adams, when in the presidency, were vituperative to a degree that no self-respecting journal would imitate in this age, but Jefiferson attributed his success over Adams in 1800 very largely to Duane, who retired from the Aurora on the removal of the government to Washington, and accepted a lieutenant colonelcy in the arm.y from Jefiferson. The next editor of this class to attain national fame was Duflf Green. He established the United States Telegraph in Wash- ington on the accession of John Quincy Adams to the Presi- dency, and violently assailed the administration and advocated the cause of Jackson with a degree of fervency and recklessness in painful contrast with the dignity and courtesy of Mr. Gales, of the Intelligencer, that was accepted as the organ of Adams. When the breach came between Jackson and Calhoun, Green supported CaJhoun, and a new organ for the Jackson adminis- tration became a necessity. I very well remember Dufif Green, who, after his political course had been run and he was well down at the heel, came before the Pennsylvania Legislature over forty years ago, when T was a member of the House, and personally appealed to the members to pass his Fiscal Agency bill. It was regarded by some as a huge joke and by others as the wildest of financial dreams, as, under the powers of his charter, he could have fin- anced the nations of the world. It was generally accepted as a harmless vagary of the old man, and it was passed solely because RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 43 of the general sympathy felt for him, none dreaming that the franchise would ever be of any value. The sequel of the story may be read in the scarred history of the Credit Mobilier, that was simply Duff Green's Fiscal Agency granted by the Penn- sylvania Legislature, changed in name and used for the con- struction of the Union Pacific Railway, Green's alienation from the Jackson administration brought Amos Kendall to the front. He was one of the ablest political leaders of his day, and then held the position of Fourth Auditor of the Treasury. Kendall brought Francis P. Blair to Washing- ton, who, like Kendall, was then a resident of Kentucky, and who was known to the President as the author of a number of able political articles defending Jackson. Mr. Blair located in Washington and established the Globe. The able and pungent articles of Blair and Kendall soon gave the new administration organ a national reputation. Mr. Blair's connection with the Globe continued for nearly twenty years, and during that period it was accepted by all as the ablest exponent of Democratic faith. Mr. Blair was not only one of the ablest political writers of his day, but he was a broad gauge political manager. He became the confidential adviser of Jackson, and he and Kendall were credited with the authorship of some of Jackson's best state papers. While the Globe under Mr. Blair did not approach the dignity and courtesy which were always displayed in Mr. Gales' National Intelligencer, that was its chief disputant in all political discussions, it did not descend to the violent vitupera- tion of the Duane school. The Globe, under Mr. Blair, continued as the organ of the Van Buren administration, and after the election and death of Harrison its leaders and its editor bore a conspicuous part in alienating Tyler from his Whig associates. I doubt whether in the history of American journalism any one editor was as great a political leader as was Francis P. Blair. Thurlow Weed ap- proached him in that line, but could hardly be classed as his equal, and certainly not as his superior. From the time of his connection with the Globe until Mr. Polk, in 1845, was un- fortunately persuaded to dismiss Blair from the editorship of the national organ and substitute Mr. Ritchie, of the Richmond Inquirer, Mr. Blair was even more potent as a Democratic leader than either of the Democratic Presidents who were so 44 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S" greatly indebted to him for their success. No administration measure was adopted without his approval, and no national policy of the party and no national candidates were accepted against his protest. General Jackson was yet living in feeble health in Mr. Polk's own State and he earnestly protested against changing Mr. Blair from the position of Democratic oracle, but Virginia had very shrewdly directed the Democratic National Convention of 1844 that nominated Polk, and "Father" Ritchie, as he was then called, who had made the Richmond Inquirer for many years the great organ of the mother of Presidents, was brought to Washington and installed as editor of the Globe, whose title was changed to that of the Washington Union. With the retirement of Mr. Blair the importance of the national organ perished. The Union, under Ritchie soon ceased to command the respect of the Democratic leaders, and while every President until the great revolution of 1861 had his organ, they steadily degen- erated in public respect and influence, and during the last gen- eration the leaders of all parties have ceased to look to Wash- ington for political direction through the party journal. The overthrow of Mr. Blair by Polk in 1845 was the first public confession by the administration that the Calhoun ele- ment of the Democratic party had triumphed over the mastery of Jackson; and while Mr. Blair, a devoted follower of Jackson, ceased to be a Democratic leader, he became a very important and dangerous factor in disturbing Democratic aims and suc- cess. President Polk sought to conciliate him by tendering him the Spanish mission, but it was peremptorily declined. Mr. Blair exhibited his dissent from Democratic leadership at that time by supporting Van Buren against Cass in 1848, and while he joined in the support of Pierce in 1852, he was one of the first and among the boldest to denounce the repeal of the Mis- souri Compromise in 1854. The revolution that followed the overthrow of the Missouri Compromise presented a confusing mass of discordant political elements with opposition to the ex- tension of slaverv as the single principle of cohesion. The oc- casion called for the ablest and ripest leadership, and Mr. Blair was the one man most conspicuous of all in meeting that great emergency. He was more nearly the founder of the Republican party than RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 45 any other one man, and he presided at the Pittsburg conference in January, 1856, which proclaimed the organization of the party that made Abraham Lincoln President four years later. It is known that Henry J. Raymond wrote the address that defined the purposes of the new political organization, but the master spirit of the whole movement, and one whose counsels were most generally accepted, was Francis P. Blair. He not only was most prominent in the organization of the party, and in defining its policy, but if PVancis P. Blair had not then been living John C. Fremont would not have been the Republican candidate for President in 1856. It was Mr. Blair who created Fremont as a Presidential possibility, and it was the faith of Weed, of Greeley, of Wilmot, and of many others in the political sagacity of Mr. Blair that made them accept his candidate. He chose Fremont not only because of the romance that attached to his career in the army and as an explorer, but because he was entirely unknown in politics beyond the fact that he was the son-in-law of Senator Thomas H. Benton, and he was the one man possessing some measure of national fame who presented no sharp antagonisms to the various discordant elements out of which the Republican party was created. I met Mr. Blair many times in the early day& of the Repub- lican organization. He was not a man of imposing presence nor specially attractive in manner. He lacked the finely chiseled face and outward intellectual signs of Gales, but he impressed all who came into conference with him with his masterly ability as a political leader. He was always incisive and unimpassioned in conversation, and I do not recall a single instance in which he ever made a public speech. I met him in Philadelphia in confer- ence with Simon Cameron, Thurlow Weed and Henry Wilson after the October election of 1856, when the Fremont ticket was defeated by only a few thousands. It was hoped that because of the small majority for the Democratic State ticket, the State might be saved for President by union on an electoral ticket, and the calculation was not greatly at fault, as is shown by the fact that Buchanan had only about one thousand majority over the combined vote of Fremont and Fillmore. Wilson was the en- thusiastic and hopeful man of the party, and he earnestly urged a desperate battle to save the State, but while Cameron, Weed 4^ COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S and Blair accepted the necessity of making the battle they were not confident as to the result. After discussing the situation for some time, Wilson in his hopeful enthusiasm said, "Well, they may beat us this time, but we will win in i860." Cameron, Weed and Blair were then all crowding around the patriarchal age, and Cameron, always prac- tical in his ideas, answered that it was very well for Wilson to look hopefully for future triumphs for the new party, but that as for himself and Blair and Weed, he "didn't see nmch in future victories if they had to begin by waiting four years.'' All of them, however, lived to play most important parts in the civil war and in reconstruction. Blair and Weed rounded out their eighty-five years, and Cameron died at the age of ninety. Mr. Blair maintained the confidence of the Republican party as one of its great leaders ; he was an important factor in effect- ing the nomination of Lincoln at Chicago in i860, and was one of Lincoln's most trusted advisers during the severe trials of our civil war. During the last year of the fraternal struggle Mr. Blair believed that the time had come when there should be intermediation from some source that could command con- fidence on both sides, and without advising Mr. Lincoln of his purpose, so as to avoid all complications in case of his failure, he asked the President for a pass beyond the lines of the Union army. It was granted without question, because of the con- fidence that was reposed in the intelligence and discretion of ^Ir. Blair. He approached the outposts of the Southern army and presented his pass from the President and stated that his movement was entirely his own and his purpose was to confer with President Davis on the subject of peace. He was passed through the Confederate lines to Richmond, wheie he had protracted conferences with Davis and those im- mediately in his confidence. It was this movement of Air. Blair that led to the peace conference at City Point on the 3d of February, 1S65, when Vice-President Stephens, at the head of a Confederate commission, met President Lincoln, Seward and others to find some method of ending the terrible war. He was safely returned through both armies, and earnestly urged the personal appearance of the President at the City Point con- ference. With the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Blair's mission as RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 47 a Republican leader ended. He was not in harmony with the violent and revengeful policy at first declared by Johnson, and later was no more in harmony with the violent reconstruction measures which the dispute between the President and Congress precipitated. Thereafter he acted with the Democratic party, and exhibited great skill as a leader in accomplishing the nom- ination of Tilden in 1876, but he did not live to see his candidate receive his popular majority of 250,000, although defeated in the electoral vote by the judgment of the Electoral Commission. On the i8th of October, 1876, Francis P. Blair, one of the greatest of the country's editors, and for nearly half a century one of the greatest of all our political masters, passed away to the City of the Silent. IF THEY HAD NOT FIRED ON SUMTER. If the Confederate Government had not fired on Sumter and had refrained from any hke attack upon the United States troops or the flag of the Union, I beheve that the Confederacy would have been successfully established, and that the North and the South would have gradually drifted into fretful and destructive anarchy. This assertion will startle many of the students of the history of our civil war, but let the intelligent and dispassionate inquirer look the facts in the face. Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States on the 6th of November, i860, and that election was made a pretext for precipitating secession in the South. South Carolina took the initiative, and passed the ordinance of secession by a unanimous vote on the 17th of December, Georgia fol- lowed on the 19th of December, Louisiana on the 25th, Mississippi on the 9th of January, Florida on the loth, Alabama on the nth, Virginia on the i8th of April, Texas on the 1st of May, Arkansas on the 6th, North Carolina on the 21st, and Tennessee on the 24th, as proclaimed by Governor Harris. Kentucky was also declared out of the Union by a Southern conference or convention at Russellville that passed an ordinance of secession on the i8th of November, 1861. Missouri and Maryland were also greatly convulsed over the question of se- cession. Governor Hicks, of Maryland, took a strong position in favor of the Union, while Governor Jackson, of Missouri, de- clared in favor of recognizing the Confederacy. Such was the action of the States of the South on the question of secession, and each convention that assumed to sever the relations between the State and the Federal Government chose members to the first Confederate Congress that met at Mont- gomery, the temporary capital, on February 4, 1861, with How- ell Cobb as President. In accepting his position, Mr. Cobb de- clared that the secession of the Southern States "is now a fixed (48) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 49 and irrevocable fact, and that the separation is complete and perpetual." On the 8th of February the provisional Congress adopted the constitution of the provisional government, and on the 9th Jef- ferson Davis was elected President and Alexander H. Stevens Vice-President. On the i6th President Davis was inaugurated with imposing ceremonies, and a full Cabinet appointed, with L. Pope Walker, of Alabama, as Secretary of War. It will be seen that just one month before the inauguration of President Lin- coln the Confederate government had been organized and was speedily in full operation at Montgomery, assuming all the func- tions of national authority. It is most important to understand the precise military situa- tion at the time of the inauguration of President Lincoln. South Carolina had taken possession of Forts Moultrie and Castle Pinkney on the 27th of December, i860, and on the 31st the arsenal, with 70,000 stand of arms, the Post Office and Custom House at Charleston. On the 2d of January, 1861, Forts Pulaski and Jackson, with the United States Arsenal at Savannah, were taken. On the 4th Fort Morgan, at Mobile, with the Mt. Ver- non Arsenal, containing a large amount of arms and ammuni- tion, was taken. On the 7th Fort Marion and the arsenal at St. Augustine were taken with the Chattahoochee Arsenal, contain- ing large supplies of arms and cartridges. On the 9th the steamer Star of the West, wath suppHes for Major Anderson's command, was fired upon and compelled to retreat. On the loth the guns and stores of the steamship Texas were taken. On the nth Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, near New Orleans, and Fort Pike and the arsenal at Baton Rouge were taken. On the 12th the Navy Yard and Forts Barrancas and McRea, in Florida, were taken and the revenue cutter Lewis Cass was seized and its armament removed. On the 20th Forts Chadbourne and Belknap w^ere taken and occupied, with the fort at Ship Island and the United States Arsenal. On the 24th the arsenal at Augusta was taken, containing a large amount of arms and ammunition. On the 25th General Twiggs, Department Commander, surrendered his command and all his stores to the Confederacy, the stores being valued at $1,300,000, and a large number of mounted and dismounted artillery with 35,000 mus- kets. On the 8th of January Forts Johnson and Caswell, in 50 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S North Carolina, were seized, but Governor Ellis ordered them to be surrendered to the United States on the condition that if any attempt should be made to reinforce them they would be occu- pied by State troops. On the 8th of February the arsenal at Little Rock, Arkansas, was taken, containing many cannon and a large amount of small arms and ammunition, and on the ist of Alay the Mint and Custom House at New Orleans, containing some $600,000 of specie, were taken and appropriated by the Confederacy. Thus when Lincoln was inaugurated nearly all of the forts, arsenals, guns and munitions of war in the seceding States had been seized and held by the Confederate authorities. The forts had only nominal garrisons without anything approaching ade- quate protection. These forts and the vast amount of ammuni- tion were taken without firing a gun, as the Federal forces were utterly unable to defend themselves. President Buchanan was ex- ceedingly anxious to avoid precipitating a conflict, and therefore advised that fruitless sacrifice should not be made against over- whelming numbers. Such was the attitude of the Southern States and their posses- sion of military forts and munitions of war on the 4th of March, 1861. Few who have not carefully studied the controversy re- lating to the attitude of the seceding States, and the attitude of the Federal Government in 1860-61, can appreciate the public sentiment in the North that strengthened the cause of the South. The sentiment that aided them very greatly was not confined to those who were in sympathy with them. President Buchanan reorganized his Cabinet on patriotic lines when he found that secession had precipitated w^ar. But he held that it was not within the power of the government to coerce the submission of the Southern States. In Buchanan's answer to the South Carolina Commissioners on December 28, 1860, referring specially to the forts in the Charleston harbor, he expressed the hope that no attempt would be made to expel the United States from the property by force, but he added: "Tf in this I should prove to be mistaken, the offi- cer in command of the forts has received orders to act strictly on the defensive." He also announced that his purpose was well known to the authorities of South Carolina, as he had publicly and freely expressed it, "not to reinforce the forts in the harbor RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 5 1 and thus produce collision, until they had been actually attacked, or until I had certain evidence that they were about to be attacked." President Buchanan in his last annual message, delivered when secession was well under way, declared that the government had no power to suppress the Confederate organization. He pre- sents the question whether "the Constitution delegated to Con- gress the power to coerce a State into^ submission which is at- tempting to withdraw, or has actually withdrawn, from the Con- federacy," and answers it as follows: "After much serious reflec- tion I liave arrived at the conclusion that no such power has been delegated to Congress nor to any other department of the Federal Government." In this he was sustained by Attorney- General Black. Opposition to the policy of coercion, that is the policy of sup- pressing the Confederate Government by force of arms, was not confined to one party. The Democrats of the North, with very rare exceptions, were vehement in their opposition to civil war to force back the seceding States, and m'any of the ablest Re- publicans were equally earnest in opposing coercion. Mr. Gree- ley, quite the ablest of the Republican editors, openly declared in favor of peaceable secession as preferable to civil war. Within a week after Lincoln's election he said in a leading editorial : "If the cotton States shall become satisfied that they can do better out of the Union than in it, we insist" on letting them go in peace." And only a week before the inauguration of Lincoln^ in another editorial, he said: "If the Slave States, Cotton States or the Gulf States only choose to form an independent nation, they have a clear oral right to do so." Mr. Chase, the ablest man in Lincoln's Cabinet, next to Seward, earnestly advocated submis- sion to peaceable secession rather than accept civil war. The idea of civil war was appalling to the people of the North, and Mr. Lincoln scrupulously followed the policy of President Buchanan by exhaustive efforts to avoid any collision with the Southern troops. If such a collision had occurred and either Buchanan or Lincoln had been responsible for it, the sentiment in the North would have been overwhelming against thus pre- cipitating war. Fernando Wood, one of the ablest Democratic leaders of the North, was then Mayor of New York City, and in an official UBfMRY ''WVFRSnvncniii 52 CXDLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S message to the City Councils, January 6, 1861, he assumed that the Confederacy was an established fact, and suggested that New York City should "disrupt the bonds which bound her to a venal and corrupt mastery," and make herself a free and independent city with a nationality of her own. In the South even the many Union men, with a very few exceptions, cast their lot with the Confederacy when the Presi- dent called for troops to coerce submission. The North was divided with an immense preponderance of conviction, limited by no party lines, against fraternal conflict. The South thus had not only a practically solid sentiment within its own sec- tion, outside of a few border States, in support of the Confed- eracy, but the North was so divided in its councils that it would have been midsummer madness for the government to attempt to precipitate a bloody conflict. President Lincoln, in his inaugural, declared distinctly against any assault by force of arms upon the South. He was in favor of maintaining the Union, but he added: "In doing this there need be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power con- fided to me will be used to hold, occupy and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties on imports, but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere." Remember that this was Lincoln's declara- tion made to the country one month after the Southern Con- federacy had been established at Montgomery, and when it was in possession of nearly all the forts, arsenals and arms of the South, all of which had been taken by force. What were the resources of the government to hold the forts and arsenals in the South, or to repossess them? The army then consisted of 18,000 men at its maximum strength, and many of these had surrendered or deserted, leaving the army roll consid- erably below its full complement. There were then no railroads beyond the plains east of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast, and the whole frontier required strong military force to guard the few public highways and to protect the pioneers. The entire army was at that time insufBcient to afford anything like reasonable protection to our Western mountain region. On the morning after the surrender of Sumter I was sum- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 53 moned, as chainiian of the military committee of the Pennsyl- vania Senate, along with Governor Curtin, to confer with Presi- dent Lincoln, Secretary of War Cameron and General Scott as to the legislation needed in our State that then occupied a most exposed position. It was not a difficult problem to solve, and after the routine business was ended I asked General Scott how many men he had for the defence of Washington. He answered that his force was 1,500 men and two batteries. When I asked him how many men Beauregard commanded at Charleston he answered in a tremulous voice: "General Beauregard commands more men at Charleston than I command on the continent who are available for war." General Scott had become much alarmed about the condition of the Southern forts before the Presidential election in i860, and on the 29th of October he addressed President Buchanan, enu- merating nine of these forts which were practically ungarrisoned and exposed to capture unless they could be reinforced. A con- ference was held on the subject, and when the president inquired of the commanding general what force he had to strengthen the Southern garrisons, Scott's answer was that all he had within reach was one company at Boston, one at the Narrows, one at Portsmouth, one at Augusta, Ga., and one at Baton Rouge. This force did not exceed 400 men, not sufficient to protect one of the nine forts. The weakness of the army was also demon- strated when Scott and Buchanan heartily co-operated to protect President Lincoln at his inauguration ceremonies. There were whispers of assassination in the air. The Southern forts which Scott wanted to reinforce just before the election, had then been captured without firing a gun, and on the commendable pretext of making a creditable military display at the inauguration of Lincoln, all the troops which could be gathered for the occasion were brought to Washington, and the total number was 630. Buchanan knew that it was impossible to reinforce these forts, and Lincoln appreciated it just as Buchanan did. A great nation was thus trembling in the balance for its exist- ence, and the government authorities well understood that if they precipitated war by attacking the South for the purpose of repossessing the arsenals and forts which had been taken, the North would revolt against the proceeding and refuse support to the government in the policy of aggressive coercion. The South 54 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S was thus safe from assault for two reasons. First, because the government had no army wnth which to inaugurate such a war, and, second, the North was positive in its hostihty to civil war unless actually and wantonly forced upon the government by the South. That had been done to an extent that would have made it the duty of the government to defend its forts and at- tack their assailants had there been an army equal to the duty, but neither Buchanan nor Lincoln would have been sus- tained in calling for an increase of the army even for the protec- tion of government property in the South. Thus Lincoln continued the policy of Buchanan by making no war upon the Confederacy, not only because he was powerless to do so, but because the North would not have sustained him in the effort. These preliminary statements which are essential to an intel- ligent understanding of the situation bring us up to the suicidal act of the Confederacy that doomed it to destruction. The first gun fired upon Sumter sounded the death knell of the Confeder- acy. Major Anderson with but a handful of men held Fort Sumter, while the Confederate flag tloated over Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinkney, the other two forts in the harbor. General Beauregard had 8,000 men, and had planted his batteries around Sumter so that its capture was inevitable whenever he chose to open fire. Anderson saw the Confederates erect their batteries for his destruction within rang-e of his guns, but dared not fire upon them, and thus he silently awaited the time for the prepa- rations of the enemy to be completed when he must either sur- render or sacrifice himself and his command in defence of his flag. It was impossible to reinforce or provision Major Anderson, and yet the fact that the government had decided that it must at least attempt to provision the Sumter garrison, when both the government and the Confederacy knew that it was impossible for any vessel to approach Sumter on such a mission, was made the pretext for firing upon Anderson. The Confederate forces, while daily strengthening their position and multiplying their guns for attack, insisted that they would fire upon Sumter if any attempt was made to reinforce or provision its garrison. For the sake of peace that policy had long been maintained by Buchanan and by Lincoln, but Lincoln's first message sent to the special session of Congress, July 4, 1861, stated that "the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 55 government regarded it as a necessity to attempt to provision the garrison at Sumter as it was then without adequate rations." Lincoln notified the Governor of South Carolina that he "might expect an attempt would be made to provision the fort, and that if the attempt should not be resisted there would be no effort to throw in men, arms or ammunition without further notice, or in case of an attack upon the fort." It will be seen how cautious Lincoln was to avoid giving even the pretext for ofifence to the Confederacy, as he gave his pledge that all he had in view was to feed a starving garrison, and that if that were permitted no attempt would be made to furnish additional men or ammunition to Sumter. Such was the condition on the 8th of April, 1861. Beaure- gard advised Secretary Walker that "an authorized messenger from President Lincoln has just informed Governor Pickens and myself that provisions will be sent to Fort Sumter peaceably, or otherwise by force." Numerous telegrams passed between Secretary Walker and General Beauregard, resulting in a formal demand upon Major Anderson on the nth of April at 2 p. m. for the surrender and evacuation of Fort Sumter. Anderson answered that the demand was one "with which my sense of honor and my obligation to my government prevent my com- pliance." Anderson was then asked to state when he would evacuate Sumter, and on April 12 at 2.30 a. m. he replied that he would evacuate the fort at noon on the 15th should he not receive in the meantime controlling instructions from his gov- ernment or additional supplies. At 3.20 of the same morning, or just fifty minutes after Anderson had proposed to surrender in less than three days, he received the following note, delivered by Captains Chestnut and Lee, who were aides to Beauregard; "By authority of Brigadier General Beauregard, commanding the provisional forces of the Confederate States, we have the honor to notify you that he will open the fire of his batteries upon Fort Sumter in one hour from this time." At the precise time indicated by the foregoing notice Beauregard's batteries, which almost encircled Sumter, belched forth their deadly mis- siles upon him and his starving and defenseless garrison, and hot shot was fired into his fort by which everything that was in- flammable was destroyed by fire. Anderson replied with all the guns that his small force could serve, and braved the terrible fire 56 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S for thirty-four hours, when, as he reported to the government on the i8th from the steamer Baltic, off Sandy Hook, "the quarters were entirely burnt, the main gates destroyed by fire, the gorge walls seriously injured, magazine surrounded by flames and its doors closed from the effects of heat, four barrels and three cartridges of powder only being available, and no pro- visions remaining but pork. I accepted terms of evacuation of- fered by General Beauregard." The secessionists of the South were wildly^ enthused over the capture of Sumter. President Davis and other prominent of- ficials were serenaded and delivered fervent congratulatory ad- dresses. War Minister Walker, who issued the order for firing upon Sumter, received a grand ovation in Montgomery^ and in his speech he predicted that the Confederate flag "will, before the 1st of May, float over the dome of the old capitol at Wash- ington, and if they choose to try Southern chivalry and test the extent of Southern resources, it will eventually float over Faneuil Hall in Boston." It seems incomprehensible, viewed in the light of the present, that the Confederate government, then safely organized and practically undisputed in its authority throughout the seceding States, should have precipitated war by firing upon a feeble and starving garrison, whose surrender was promised within two and one-half days, solely because President Lincoln had ordered an expedition only to give provisions to the troops, with ofBcial notice to the Governor of South Carolina that if the provis- ioning of the garrison was permitted there would be no attempt made to reinforce Sumter with troops. Had there been even the semblance of provocation by an attempt of the government to reinforce Sumter with troops there would have been the shadow of excuse for firing upon the fort, but there was no attempt to strengthen the resources of the fort for defense, and the assault was simply unmingled madness that made the Southern Confed- eracy a colossal suicide. While the tidal wave of unbridled sectional passion was sweeping the South with wild huzzahs over the victory won by 8,000 organized troops with a cordon of batteries encircling the fort that was captured, whose garrison was but a starving hand- ful in number, the people of the North were suddenly aroused as if a thunderbolt had come from an unclouded sky. The issue RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 57 of coercion was effaced by the quickened patriotism and fierce resentment of the Northern people which gathered anti-coer- cionists and quibblers of every grade into the resistless demand for a war that swept the land from the Eastern to the Western sea. In a single day the overwhelming sentiment of the North against coercion was changed into the imperious decree for the overthrow of the secession oligarchy. The day after the surrender of Sumter — April 15, 1861, — President Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 troops to suppress rebellion and cause the laws to be executed. While the South- ern and border states refused to fill the requisition made by the President, the North tendered more troops within twenty-four hours after the call than could be accepted, and every State asked permission to increase its quota. The North had been goaded beyond the last point of forbearance by the assault upon Sumter, and a million of soldiers were offered the President to suppress the rebellion and overthrow the Confederate govern- ment. The Southern Confederacy was in full and complete opera- tion. Its authority was practically undisputed in all the South- ern States which had formally accepted secession. It held pos- session of all the important forts and arsenals in the South ex- cepting those of Fortress Monroe and Pensacola, and they were no menace to the authority of the new government. President Lincoln had no army with which to invade the South for the re- covery of the forts and government property, and if he had possessed ample men for the purpose he would not have been sustained in the effort. He was utterly powerless to interfere with the Southern Con- federacy. Had he called for additional troops it would have been resented by the South as a menace^ and by the North as precipitating a war that they most earnestly desired to avoid. He was thus entirely without resources to interfere in any ma- terial way with the authority and operations of the Confederate Government. He knew that for him to be in any degree responsible for forcing fraternal conflict between the North and South would be his death knell and the probable overthrow of the Union. He knew that Congress could not aid him, and he had not summoned Congress into extraordinary session until after the Southern Government had fired upon Sumter in de- 58 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S fiance of every possible effort on the part of the government to maintain peace. Being utterly helpless and hopeless in his desire to restore the Union, President Lincoln was compelled to sit in silence for nearly six weeks after his inauguration and witness the authority of the government openly and successfully defied by a secession government in the entire South. The condition must have contin- ued indefinitely had not the South precipitated war by attack- ing a feeble and starving garrison that was on the verge of sur- rendering. The Confederacy thus unopposed would have strengthened itself not only among its own people, but it would have as steadily strengthened the conviction in the North that the dismemberment of the Union was an accomplished and ir- revocable fact. No dominant sentiment in the North demanded the overthrow of the Confederacy by force of arms until after the firing upon Sumter. The great governments of the world, most of whom sympathized strongly with the South, would have speedily noted the utter inability of the government to suppress the rebellion, and instead of recognizing the Southern Confederacy as a bellig- erent power, as they promptly did, in a very few months it would have been acknowledged by foreign nations as an established government entitled to recognition as a national authority. There could have been no other result had the South been con- tent to enjoy the triumphs it had achieved and administered its government without aggressive assault upon the flag of the Un- ion, and there would have been no excuse for foreign govern- ments withholding such recognition, as even the few forts in the South held by the Union troops were not permitted to fire a hostile gun against the Confederate Government unless di- rectly assailed by the military power of the Confederacy. The Confederacy was in fact established; there was no threat on the part of the government to overthrow it with military force. On the contrary, the assurance came from the govern- ment under all circumstances that peace would be maintained, and none thought of summoning troops from the North to re- sist the revolutionary movement that was in full operation and had possession of nearly all the forts, arsenals and government property in the South. It had only to be content to win foreign recognition in a very few months, and that would have made the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 59 destruction of the Confederacy impossible by appeal to the sword. If they had not fired upon Sumter, the Southern Con- federacy would have been successfully established and without civil war. Some ten years after the war I spent a day with Jefferson Davis at his beautiful home on the gulf, near Mississippi City. He received me with generous hospitality and conversed freely on all questions relating to the war. When I asked him why he had opened fire upon Fort Sumter when he had the assur- ance of the surrender of the garrison within three days if not reinforced or provisioned, when he knew that it was not within the power of the government to afford such relief to Major An- derson, he justified the firing upon Sumter on the ground that the government had violated its faith with the Confederate gov- ernment; that the assurance had been given that the conditions in the Charleston harbor should remain in statu quo, and that finally notice was given by the government that an expedition was to be sent for the purpose of provisioning and probably re- inforcing the garrison, I asked hhn whether the firing upon Sumter was not in some measure inspired by the purpose of enthusing and crystallizing the Southern people in support of the Confederacy, and he an- swered with emphasis that no such thing was thought of, and that it was not in any degree necessary. He seemed startled when I told him that the firing upon Sumter sounded the doom of the Confederacy, and that the North would never have been united to wage successful war against the South but for that assault that was not dictated by any necessity of diplomacy or war. He admitted that the North may have been inflamed to measurable unity against the South by the firing upon Sumter, and that the North might not have been in position to wage a great war upon the South had that provocation not been given, but he stood resolutely on the question of punctilio, and excused the assault on the ground of violated faith. Such is the story in brief of the first assault upon the Union flag and its defenders by the troops of the Confederacy, and that assault destined the Confederacy to an utterly hopeless con- flict that overthrew it with its land crimsoned by the blood of its heroic people and the pall of desolation spread over its entire country. THE ERAS OF GOOD FEELING AND OF CONVULSION. Two great epochs in the history of the republic stand out in the sharpest contrast on the annals of our free government. They are the "Era of Good Feeling" that came to bless the administration of President Monroe, by which he was re-elected in 1820 by a practically unanimous vote, lacking only one vote in the Electoral College to equal the unity that was exhibited in electing and re-electing Washington. This era is referred to by all political historians as a serene political calm unknown in our political history either before or since. Monroe closed his second administration without aggressive or organized opposi- tion, and as most of his Cabinet officers were candidates for the succession, he was not personally involved in the conflict and thereby escaped the embittered political criticisms which the na- tional contest of 1824 developed. The other epoch was an era of convulsive hate, beginning^ with the assassination of Lincoln and practically ending with the impeachment of President Johnson, and it stands entirely with- out parallel in the history of the Republic. It was an era of un- bridled passion, of fiercest sectional, partisan and individual con- - flicts, and presents the only severely tempestuous record of all the national administrations we have had. The assassination of Lincoln that flung the North into the maelstrom of frenzy, was quickly followed by the military-court murder of Mrs. Sur- ratt, and a flood tide of hate that convulsed the country from centre to circumference, in which President Johnson himself was the central and inspiring figure. This painful era practically ended in the impeachment of Johnson and the election of Grant, who gave to both sections of the country, in accepting the nom- ination for the Presidency, the words for which all most hun- gered: "Let us have peace." It is difficult for any one, however intelligent or fair-minded, (60) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 6 1 who earnestly participated in the political struggles from 1864 to 1869, to hold the pen in the strict lines of impartial history. Remembering my strong prejudices against Johnson, for whom I had voted to make him the candidate for Vice-President in the Baltimore convention of 1864, and my tireless antagonism against his policy and administration, I write this chapter with some hesitation, but looking over the dark annals of our country written by the Johnson administration with every purpose to be generously just to the Presidency, I feel entirely warranted in saying that President Johnson was primarily and almost wholly responsible for the terrible era of convulsive hate that came with his administration and that lingered in its bitter fruits for years after his retirement. President Johnson on many occasions exhibited the qualities of the demagogue when he pleaded his plebeian birth as a virtue in all his political conflicts, and the fact that it was cultivated as one of his carefully studied political methods was pointedly exhibited when he was inaugurated as \"ice President. It is well known that he was not responsible for his utterances on that occasion because he was in delirium from the use of stimulants taken to strengthen him for the ordeal after protracted illness, but when his better judgment was thus unbalanced and his im- pulses spoke with unrestrained freedom, he mocked the dignity and solemnity of the occasion by hurling his plebeian birth into the faces of the foreign diplomatic corps in reckless insult. He entered the Presidency through the scalding tears of the nation over the bier of Lincoln, and he at once exhibited the most vin- dictive resentment against the South. He was nothing if not tempestuous, and his tongue wagged on every possible occasion to express his purpose to punish treason to the uttermost. In this attitude he went beyond even the extreme radicals of the Republican party, while the conservative Republicans were ap- palled at the flood tide of hate that the President poured out upon the country entirely effacing the hope of sectional tran- quillity. Had the President maintained the policy with which he started out it would doubtless have been much better for the South and for the country. His extreme views could not have prevailed, and his policy would have been greatly tempered by the con- servative Republican elements had he maintained his relations 62 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S with the party that elected him ; but, during the summer, when Congress was not in session, the pohcy of President Johnson was entirely changed. He conceived the theory of reconstruct- ing the Southern States by Executive authority on a plan en- tirely his own that he ever after spoke of in public and private as "my pohcy." He gradually became not only estranged from the radical Republican element with whom he had acted at first, but also estranged from even the most conservative Republican views, and when Congress met in December he was practically at war with the entire Republican party, A very few Republi- can Senators and Representatives followed him, and thereby severed their connection with the Republicans, but the party organization in both branches of Congress became crystallized in positive and aggressive hostility to the reconstruction policy of the administration. Had President Lincoln lived to accomplish reconstruction it is not doubted by any who intelligently study the history of that period that he would have been at war with the extreme radical Republicans, and reconstruction would have been ac- complished by the administration, aided by the conservative Democrats against the radicals of both parties. Lincoln's great desire was to bring about the restoration of the Southern States in not only nominal but actual and sympathetic fellowship. He had little opportunity to express his views as to the proper method of reconstruction, but fortunately we are not left with- out unerring finger-boards furnished by himself indicating that his policy would have been on the most generous lines possible with public safety. At the City Point conference between Lin- coln, Grant, Sherman and Porter he instructed General Sher- man that on his return to his command in North Carolina he should assure Governor Vance that he as Governor, and his Legislature, could resume their official functions, and would be protected in doing so, if they did not violate the policy of the Federal government until the meeting of Congress. It was this assurance from President Lincoln himself that shaped the origi- nal terms on which General Johnston surrendered all of the Confederate forces then in the field to Sherman. But Lincoln had been assassinated, new conditions with intensely flamed pas- sions had been precipitated, and the Sherman terms of surren- der were rejected in brutal language by Secretary Stanton. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 63 Had Lincoln lived to consummate reconstruction, universal negro suffrage would never have written its blotted records in the reconstructed States. President Johnson's first proclaimed reconstruction policy meant the severest punishment of all the leading Confederates, the confiscation of their property, and that the Southern people be reduced to the condition of conquered subjects. When he changed his reconstruction policy he was largely influenced by the court paid to him by the gentler class of the South that had never before accorded to Johnson the social recognition he craved. As they gradually came into his confidence he was flattered and strangely misled into a policy of reconstruction that ordinary intelligence should have made him understand was an utter impossibility. Without waiting for Congress to act, he assumed the responsibility of appointing provisional Gover- nors in the Southern States, authorizing the election of Legis- latures, Senators and Congressmen, and confidently expected that when Congress met in December these reconstructed State governments would be recognized and their Senators and Con- gressmen admitted. Had these provisional governments been ordinarily prudent they might have strengthened Johnson to make a desperate bat- tle for his cause, but unfortunately, under promises from the President, the Southern people naturally struggled to relieve themselves of the logical consequences of war, and to remand the negroes back into a slavery worse than that from which they had been disenthralled. The black man, while his freedom was admitted in most of these States, was denied the most vital rights of citizenship. He was denied the right to sue, to make contracts, to testify in court, and was thus made entirely de- pendent upon the whites, who could make him a vagrant by re- fusing him employment, and then sell him into slavery as a vagrant, where he was as much a slave as he had ever been un- der the institution of slavery, without the master's interest in his person as property. The result was that when Congress met in December neither House entertained for a moment the question of recognizing these reconstructed States, or admitting their Representatives, and thus the battle began between Congress and the President. Had President Johnson yielded as Grant did whenever he 64 CCirXEL A1.EXAKDER K. MoCLDRES saw it imiffactic^rr : :r::rr; :;r 5 u: ^otild have escarped the oppfessire n : :r ;: :/.:,-. vras finally established in a temp^t of 5^;. :r^. /:.:t I : ' :'.-.v.so- would yield noth- :: r '--z : :;i_r :.:v^-'.: :5:t-:i: :: 5/ :nv:;^ i.e :o Congress and :: r ; a; 5t: :::::: :::;::: ir : :':.- rr; :'.i was a chasm :e: rt:; : ^t ?rri:it:;: Lni r::;;::55 :.:.: if utterly impass- izlr. ind Omgress, in the P2.-5 :. ;: .' 7 ; e. was self-excused :';- r--:ibH.shing nnirersal Dtcr: .uririrt : e cause it was held : ; It :::e only safety for the fr^r 1 : :.. : : -..; f'aves who had been t: 1: , -ated. Every recons:: :;:::. rriiure was passed by a : :-: r:5 ::f ::: : yth brar: — :r : 7 rr^ lent's veto, and :^\t " .; ': :'. f -^:\:"':t *rrf ,;...;. ::'.,-: :... -riQ o'l s'^rnerallv De Mr. -1 da J" to day he: - : i : :.: Congress r very possible power . i 1 : ;.7rer?!y con- ZxeratTve by the Ci: : : : :I:5 r:^ .: cf re- :~ 15 withheld :r;:: :e was s::;::ri the 17th of Dec- : 366, Mr. Ash! ey. if r lutia Tesohiti:;/ ;.: : .r _;l=ly for the purpose of making Wade the i. ;;t5.:r :: : :. in the Presidency. The success of Wade a : 1 1 : :-. ::' Fessenden greatly chilled the ardor of men 1: :; 7: :. ^ 7r;;enden, Grimes and other Repubhcan lead- er i ;. :77. .en the impeachment issue came that, how- ever : r :r. may have violated a statute of questionable con- sr::.: : 1 : i: Tvould be better to suffer the evils of Johnson's ai:.. .::..:::. han to inaugurate an aggressive and vindictive policy under President Wade. The i:.-?2::F:'' :■::-. ^ith Wade's election for the sole purpose c: r. i' :r_ / T; . lent and inaugurating an extreme radical ar i 1 ::r.i' z 7:cy, profoundly impressed the leading Senators, '::.Cy voted against impeachment- They gave no sig^ of :/ : : :: urpose, and the impeachment proceeding dragged its slow length along without a suspicion on the part of the Re- publican leaders that conviction could possibly be defeated. The Senate was composed of 42 Republicans and 12 Democrats, and as r. :r : :' the prominent RepubUcan Senators had publicly 5 : jn to rebel against the radical Republican rule, t/r i Johnson was regarded by Congress and by the ttuatiy as inevitable whenever the House passed the im- ;; e - : i : r resolution. It i5 r :t until the high court of impeachment had been in session some time that it was discovered that Chief Justice Chase was determined to rule entirely independently of the wishes and necessities of the friends of conviction, and while not a word was uttered by any of the Senators who voted RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 6/ against conviction to indicate their purpose, it soon became ■whispered that there was some danger of a revolt in the highest circles of Republican authority. I remember calling upon Pres- ident pro tern Wade in his luxuriant Vice-President's rooms when the impeachment trial had been in progress for probably two weeks, and when the first shadow of doubt was visible as to the result. Wade was violent in his denunciation of the Chief Justice for his ruling, and of the attitude assumed by several of the leading Senators. While I was in conversation with Wade, Thaddeus Stevens entered the room. He was ver\- feeble and unable to take active part as one of the counsel charged by the House to conduct the impeachment trial. He was in hearty sympathy with Wade and a radical of the radicals. x\fter dis- cussing the situation, in which for the first time I heard him ex- press some doubts as to the results, he summed up the situa- tion by saying: "This is the meanest trial, before the meanest tribunal, and on the meanest subject of history." As the trial progressed suspicion as to the attitude of some of the leading Senators became more and more pronounced, but it was not until the final vote was taken that the radical element of the Senate believed the acquittal of Johnson to be probable. Senator Wade was doomxcd to a double defeat, both most hu- miliating, by the result of the impeachment trial. Had Johnson been convicted, as was generally expected. Wade would have been President for eight months, and he would have promptly changed the whole policy and public officials of the government. He had been defeated for election to the Senate the preceding January, and he became a candidate for \ ice-President, expect- ing on the 4th of March following the impeachment trial to be transferred from the Wliite House to the Vice-Presidency. The fact that he was expected to be President for eight months, and that he was known to be one who would exhaust the power of the government to maintain the party organization, had made him a very formidable candidate for the Vice Presidency. He was strong in himself, as he had many followers, and the fact that he was expected to be President and wield the power of the government for eight months was strongly persuasive with very many of the delegates to the national convention, and he would certainly have been nominated for Mce-President in- stead of Mr. Colfax if Johnson had been convicted, The dele- 68 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S gates to national conventions in those days, as in these later days, had a wholesome regard for power and its spoils, but on Saturday before the convention met in Chicago the lightning flashed the news that Johnson had been acquitted, and that doomed Wade to defeat before the national convention as a can- didate for Vice-President. Thus within a week he suffered the humiliating discomfiture of losing the Presidency that he be- lieved entirely within his grasp and also losing the Vice-Presi- dential nom.ination that would have assured an election. It required a two-thirds vote to convict the President in an impeachment trial, and on May i6, 1868, a separate vote was taken in the Senate on three articles impeaching the President, resulting in each case in 35 Senators voting for conviction and 19 for acquittal. Only Republican Senators voted for conviction, but Fessenden, of Maine; Fowler, of Tennessee; Grimes, of Iowa; Henderson, of Missouri; Ross, of Kansas; Trumbull, of Illinois, and Van Winkle, of West Virginia, seven in all, voted with the Democrats for acquittal. Had any one of these seven voted for conviction Johnson would have been convicted and dismissed from office, and Wade would have succeeded him to the Presidency. It is worthy of note that the Republicans who voted for the acquittal of Johnson represented more than the average intellectual force of the body. Trumbull was accepted by all as the ablest lawyer of the Senate. Fessenden, Grimes and Henderson were among the ablest of the Republican lead- ers, while Fowler, Van Winkle and Ross commanded universal respect for their personal integrity. I was of those who believed at the time that Johnson should be convicted and dismissed from office, but there are very few among those who look upon public incidents of the past with the intelligent impartiality that is due to all historical events, who do not agree with me now that the conviction of Johnson would have been a national misfortune. He had bereft the great office of much of its dignity and honor. He had been guilty of violent usurpation of authority, and he seemed to be ruled by passion rather than patriotism in fighting the great battle by which he hoped to elect himself to the Presidency, but looking over that great conflict with its passions perished. I believe that it was most fortunate for the country that it was not precipi- tated into the violent radical revolution that would have inevi- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 69 tably followed the succession of Wade to the Presidency. I was at the Chicago convention as chairman of the Pennsylvania dele- gation, and saw the general disappointment, with which I sym- pathized, because of the failure to convict President Johnson. General Palmer, of Illinois, who was then the Republican nomi- nee for Governor of the State, was called out in the preliminary proceedings for a short address, and in that he pointedly criti- cised the failure of the impeachment trial, but the friends of all the other candidates for Vice-President were delighted that Wade had been removed from the certainty of a nomination by his defeat in attempting to reach the Presidency, and while there was a very general regret that Johnson had not been removed, the lack of intensity of feeling on the subject was exhibited by the failure of the convention to nominate Wade to the second place on the ticket. Had the delegates sincerely felt that the failure of impeachment was a wrong to the country and to Wade he would certainly have been vindicated by his nomination for the Vice-Presidency, but the judgment of the high court of im- peachment was accepted with more or less sincere and earnest expressions of regret, and Wade, who had fallen on the battle- ments of the conflict, was consigned to retirement. Soon after a committee of the convention that had nominated Grant by a unanimous vote, formally notified him of his selec- tion as the Republican candidate for the Presidency, and then in the convulsive conflicts of sectional and partisan passion Grant uttered the memorable sentence that tranquillized untold thousands North and South — "Let us have peace." There were conflicts and continued desolation in the reconstructed States for a few years thereafter, but with the defeat of impeachment, the nomination of Grant and his patriotic utterance in favor of peace, the era of convulsive hate was halted, and the full frui- tion came later when the carpet-bag rule that was the creation of this era, perished from the earth. THE PACIFIC RAILWAY AND THE SALE OF CHIHUAHUA. There are many unwritten chapters of inner story especially relating to our great civil war which will never be crystallized into history. Some of them are hopelessly lost by the death of those who alone could write them correctly. These incidents, many of which would be of thrilling interest, could not be written during the lives of the chief actors, and cannot justly be written now; and those which exist only in tradition cannot be accepted as part of the true history of the greatest conflict that ever was witnessed for the maintenance of free institutions. There are few of even our most intelligent and best read citizens who know the true history of the transcontinental rail- way. The first declaration made by any party in favor of the construction of the Pacific railway was delivered by the Repub- lican National Convention of 1856, which met in Philadelphia on the 17th of June. It was a Fremont convention, and it was confidently expected to carry California for the Republican ticket by a positive declaration in favor of the construction of the Pacific railway by the National Government. The platform declared that "a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, by the most central and practicable route, is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole Government, and that the Federal Gov- ernment ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction." In addition to this the same resolution de- manded "the immediate construction of an emigrant route on the line of the railway." The Democratic convention of the same year, which met at Cincinnati and nominated Buchanan for President, well under- stood that the Republicans expected to strengthen themselves, especially in the Western States, by a distinct declaration in favor of the Government constructing a Pacific railway, and while that party fundamentally denied the power of the Govern- ment to charter or aid banks, railroads or any other corpora- (70) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 7 1 tions, the Democrats hedged on the issue by declaring in their platform that they recognized "the great importance in the political and commercial point of view of safe and speedy com- munication by military and postal routes through our own territory between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of this Union, and that it is the duty of the Federal Government to exercise promptly all its constitutional power for the attainment of that object." This deliverance was practically a denial of the aid of the Government to the construction of the transcontinental rail- way, as the Democracy distinctly denied the constitutional power of the Government to engage in such enterprises. The construction of the Pacific railway in 1856 was regarded by all as a dream that might in the fullness of time, and many years hence, reach fruition. The entire revenues of the Govern- ment did not exceed $50,000,000 a year, and none of our leading statesmen would have ventured at that time to put upon the Government the severe strain of financiering the Pacific rail- way. It was simply political expediency for the time anticipat- ing what progressive men hoped might be accomplished in the distant future. It is entirely safe to say that the deliverances of both the Democratic and the Republican party in 1856 on the issue of the Pacific railway were mere political expedients. The Republicans, being more liberal in their construction of the fundamental law, could afiford to promise a Pacific railway in unqualified terms, and the Democrats, unwilling to be regarded as w'anting in interest in the people of the Pacific slope, gave a meaningless declaration qualified by well known Democratic se- vere constitutional construction. In i860 the question of the Pacific railway assumed an en- tirely different phase. The question of the disruption of the Union was squarely face to face with the Republicans who met in Chicago to nominate Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, and the question of Western empire, as cherished by many leading men, was then more than an open secret. Indeed, it was a very grave issue, and it became a necessity for the Rupublicans to hold the Pacific region to loyalty by the positive pledge that the Government should aid the immediate construction of the Pacific railway. Indeed, it was not doubted by many of the most intel- ligent observers of the political situation in i860 that the Pacific region could be held to the Union in the event of the Southern 72 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S States seceding, only by the assurance that this great trans- continental highway would be constructed. The Democratic platform of i860 was practically a repetition of the evasive deliverance of 1856, as it promised to the people of the Pacific States only "such constitutional Government aid as will insure the construction of a railroad to the Pacific coast at the earliest practicable period." This was the declaration of the Douglas convention. The Breckinridge convention reafBrmed the same plank and added to it the pledge of the party "to use every means in their power to secure the passage of some bill to the extent of the constitutional authority of Congress for the con- struction of the Pacific railway." It will be seen that both the Democratic conventions of i860 limited the aid of the Government to the Pacific railway to the Constitutional authority of the Government when the party had, ever since the adoption of the resolutions of '98, uniformly declared against the power of the Government to become con- nected in any way with banking, railway or other corporations. The two great parties of the country thus entered the contest of i860 with the Republicans unqualifiedly pledged to the construc- tion of the Pacific railway by the Government, and the Demo- crats pledged only to aid such enterprise as far as the Consti- tutional power would warrant, while every platform of the party had denied the existence of any such Constitutional authority. It was this attitude of the Republican party that made California and Oregon give their virgin Republican votes, and it was the confidence of the people of the Pacific States in the early con- struction of the transcontinental highway that not only made those States Republican, but entirely destroyed the hope of independent empire. The promise made was long delayed in its fulfilment, but the plighted faith of the party was fulfilled as speedily as was at all possible. The first proposition adopted by Congress made an appropriation of some $12,000 to $48,000 a mile, for which Gov- ernment bonds were to be issued, and for which the Govern- ment was to take the first mortgage on the line, allowing the builders to add additional mortgages as might be deemed neces- sary. Earnest efforts were made to financier the enterprise on this basis, but they utterly failed, and the Government was final- ly compelled to make the same appropriation to the Pacific road RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 73 and take a second mortgage for its advancement, allowing the builders to raise a like sum of money by a first mortgage. Even then it was difllicult to command the capital for the construction of this great highway. The bankers and other money men of the country would take the Government bonds, but did not wel- come the first mortgage bonds and other securities of the cor- poration, and those who finally succeeded in constructing the great transcontinental railway were men whose energy and pro- gressive qualities exceeded their capital, and who suffered many disappointments and sickening anxiety for years in consummat- ing their great work. In the end they all made fortunes, but most of them received little credit and much censure for their success and the use they made of it. The names of Huntingdon, Stanford, Crocker and Hopkins were comparatively unknown in money circles of the West when they undertook the appalling task of constructing the new Pa- cific railway from San Francisco to the Salt Lake Valley. It is impossible in these days of convenient and rapid communica- tion with every part of the country and the world to appreciate the dif^culties which confronted these progressive men. While those who constructed the Union Pacific from the Father of Waters to Salt Lake Valley had every facility for transporting their materials, the California pioneers in railway progress were compelled to ship all the materials and machinery they used around Cape Horn to the Pacific coast. They had a long and fearful struggle against bankruptcy, but finally succeeded, only to meet organized political opposition to the policy they adopted for the purpose of remunerating themselves. California has been convulsed in her political conflicts by the war against these railway magnates, and strange political revolutions have been wrought on the issue. Even to this day political contests are often controlled by a tidal wave of hostility to the men who cre- ated this great artery of commerce and trade. The men who constructed the Eastern or Union Pacific rail- way were, as a rule, little known in the financial circles of our great cities. Oakes Ames, one of the very few men who had the courage to shoulder the colossal enterprise, won fortune and defamation as his reward^ as the scandals of the Credit Mo- bilier abundantly testify. Since then, with the aid of liberal land grants, four great trunk lines have been constructed over the 74 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Rocky Mountains and the Sierras, and their tributary Hues ex- tend into all the centres of industry in that region. One who crossed the Rocky range, as I did, at four different passes a gen- eration ago, when the rude song of the iron horse had never been heard by the few pioneers and dusky sons of the forest, can well understand the colossal character of the enterprise that constructed the transcontinental railway; and Jay Cook, who did more to aid the progress and development of the country than any man now living, could tell the story of the desperate struggle required to construct the Northern Pacific, which has time and again practically fallen into bankruptcy, but which today, although immensely capitalized, commands par for its common shares on the stock market. Lower California at one time gave promise of playing an im- portant part in precipitating relations between the United States and Mexico, which might have created a new factor in hasten- ing the retreat of the French army from Mexico and the over- throw of Maximilian. In the winter of 1864-5, when it was well known that the military power of the Confederacy was on the verge of complete destruction, Juarez had been driven by Max- imilian to the extreme northern portion of Mexico in Chihua- hua, where he could make his escape into the United States if it should become necessary. Maximilian had entered Mexico, protected by the French army, during the summer of 1864, and the armies of Juarez had been defeated and driven from their battlefields by overwhelming numbers. Our Government never recognized the empire of Maximilian, but recognized the almost banished full-blooded Indian Presi- dent who was driven to the remote borders of the Republic. The power of Maximilian seemed to be fully and permanently established, and he doubtless would have been successful but for the failure of the Confederacy. President Lincoln had but one answer to the proposition of resenting the violation of the openly declared and uniformly maintained policy of our Government to prevent any foreign Power from establishing its authority by conquest in the Western Continent. Under ordinary conditions It would have been his duty to declare war against France for overthrowing by military power the sister Republic of Mexico, but flagrant as was the affront given by France, Lincoln's an- swer was: "One war at a time for the present." He realized the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 75 inability of our Government to accept a war with France that might have been extended even to England by England's recog- nition of the Confederacy, and he was compelled to submit in silence to this despotic intervention of Napoleon III to over- throw the Monroe doctrine by the establishment of the Mexi- can empire. Some time in the latter part of 1864 or in the early part of 1865 I was one of a party that met a dozen times or more in New York City to consider the proposition, which came from President Juarez through John Anderson, a great tobacco man and multi-millionaire, to transfer to an organized association of Americans the entire possession of Lower California, reserving to the Mexican Government only its sovereignty over that State. The men most prominently engaged in the enterprise with Mr. Anderson were Caleb Gushing, Benjamin F. Butler, Governor Curtin, Thomas A, Scott and several others of less prominence. At the time of the first meeting of these gentlemen Governor Curtin and I dined at Mr. Anderson's on Sunday, and there met a veteran Mexican general who was in personal charge of the wife and family of President Juarez. The Mexican Presi- dent had sent his wife and children to New York for safety, and they were in the care of this old soldier, who had served with distinction with Juarez in many of his battles, and was intrusted with the safety of his household gods. Juarez then regarded it as quite probable that he would soon be compelled to take refuge in the United States. With the exception of Chihuahua, the Maximilian em.pire had absolute authority throughout all the States and provinces of Mexico, and he was exceedingly anxious to enlist the business interests of a powerful American association by ceding to it the entire Government property and rights in Lower California, reserving only the sovereignty. He reasoned soundly on the subject, for any act of his Government would be accepted by the United States as the act of the recog- nized Government of the Republic of Mexico, and interference by Maximilian wnth the rights of Americans in Lower Califor- nia which had been granted by President Juarez would summon the power of our Government to the support of American in- terests. This would not have been practicable but for the fact that the overthrow of the military power of the Confederacy was certain to be accomplished in the very near future, and the ex- 76 COLONEL ALEXANDER K, McCLURE'S pectation was that, with our civil war ended, the veterans of both the blue and the gray would be glad to unite in a war with France for the overthrow of Maximilian and his empire, and for the re-establishment of the Monroe doctrine. This great enterprise had been very thoroughly considered by the pi eminent men engaged in it. Mr. Anderson was one of the most progressive men of his day, and was one of the com- paratively few multi-millionaires of that time. He was a born revolutionist, and loved adventure. He was the sole architect of his own fortune that he made out of his immense tobacco trade, and was a warm friend and supporter of Kossuth in his revolutionary struggles. At the dinner I have referred to he told an interesting incident that occurred when Kossuth was at the height of his revolutionary movements. Mr. Anderson spoke fluently almost every language, and had important business re- lations at times with the Rothschilds. He told how, on entering the reception room in the Rothschilds' house, he overheard two of the members of the firm discussing very excitedly in some foreign language, that Anderson well understood, the danger of Kossuth capturing a large amount of specie that was at some point on the line of his march; and the particular point was stated in the conversation. Suddenly the excited discussion halted as Anderson was observed, and one of the men engaged in it came up to him and addressed him in the same language, to which Anderson replied: "Beg pardon, but I speak English," and he then addressed him in English, evidently delighted that Anderson had not understood the conversation, if he even had overheard it. Anderson transacted his business promptly and spent a large sum of money to express to Kossuth the location and amount of money that might be captured. As a result Kossuth made a forced march and became the possessor of the tieasure. The possession of Southern California was the conception of Anderson, and he was a warm friend of Juarez. He was then aiding not only in protecting, but in providing for the family of the Mexican President. He was easily successful in making Juarez understand that in no way could he better strengthen his power than by making the concession to a powerful American association. He first submitted it to Caleb Cushing, who was then, as he continued until his death, a recognized authority on RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 77 international law. He was not only the legal adviser of the Government before the civil war, but during all the severe diplo- matic trials of our fraternal conflict he was the accepted author- ity of the Government in meeting all emergencies, and he con- tinued to be the legal adviser under all administrations until his great life ended. He gave the matter very careful consider- ation and became much enthused in the scheme. General But- ler, Colonel Scott, Governor Curtin and others were conferred w'.th, and united in the enterprise. Through the kindness of Curtin and Scott I was asked to join the movement, and was present at all the meetings held. Soon after this organization was accomplished the surrender of the Confederate armies of Lee and Johnston practically ended the civil war, and it was well understood that the close of our fraternal conflict would compel France to withdraw from Mex- ico and restore President Juarez to the supreme authority as the head of the Republic of Mexico. But this sudden change of the situation did not in any degree affect the attitude of Juarez toward the American association. He had given his pledge to cede Lower California to the Americans named upon conditions which at the time were regarded as entirely acceptable. It was believed by the leading men in the movement that it was a most promising speculation of immense proportions, and many months were devoted to careful study of the climate and re-, sources of Lower California, and of the best methods of accom- plishing colonization to that region on a large scale. The infor- mation given from time to time as to the resources of the coun- try and the probability of successful colonization did not meet the expectations of those who had the movement in charge, and after having given more than a year of effort to organize the enterprise in all details, it was finally voluntarily abandoned. It was known that Maximilian would be powerless to inter- fere with the American possession of Lower California; the great purpose that Juarez had in view practically failed by the sudden change of events in Mexico, and the American associa- tion finally decided that the large expenditure involved and the risk as to probable profits did not warrant them in carrying the proposition to its consummation. Had they taken possession of Lower California as Juarez agreed to cede it to them, at any time in the latter part of 1864 or the early part of 1865, they yS COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S would have come in direct conflict with the Maximilian empire, and the issue would have been sharply defined between this Government and the Emperor; but the changed conditions made the proposed cessation of Lower California without special interest to Juarez, and the only question then to be considered was whether the enterprise would be a profitable one. I well remember the last meeting held at the St. Nicholas Hotel, in New York, when Mr. Gushing went over the whole scheme in all its details, and advised against its further prosecution. The service expected to be rendered to Juarez had already been ren- dered to him by decisive events over which the American asso- ciation had no control and those best informed on the subject decided against continuing the enterprise as a mere speculation, although at first they believed it promised profits that could be estimated in the millions. Thus an American association, embracing some of the most distinguished men of the country, failed to become the owners of a great State within the present Republic of Mexico; and soon after the enterprise was abandoned Maximilian and two of his generals were executed by the order of Juarez, and "Poor Gharlotte," then the queen of beauty, hospitality and philan- thropy in Mexico, left her throne in the palace of Montezuma to plead her cause vainly before Napoleon and the Pope, and thence to enter an asylum of the insane, where to this day she has lived in the starless midnight of dethroned reason. FILLMORE, PIERCE, BUCHANAN, LIN- COLN AND JOHNSON IN THE WHITE HOUSE. My first visit to the White House was just fifty years ago, in 185 1, when Millard Fillmore was President. I had been at the Philadelphia convention that nominated Taylor and Fillmore, but in my journeyings, severely confined by the limited re- sources of a village newspaper, I had never been able to reach the capital of the nation. The President was then not as accessible as he is today. The rules of the White House were more conventional, and visitors of the merely curious class re- quired the aid of those in authority to give them access to the ruler of the Republic. A Whig United States Senator whom I had in a very humble way aided to elect gave me the very great gratification of a personal visit to the President, and in those days, in a little village nestling in the spurs of the AUeghenies and guiltless of railroads and telegraphs until within a very few years, a personal visit to the President was a most inspiring theme for discussion, not only in curb-stone and corner store- box gatherings but in social circles as well. President Fillmore was one of the two conventional and austerely dignified Presidents of the last half century, Buchanan being his fellow. The first impressions, mingled with the awe that a visit to the President inspired in one who was making his first visit to the capital and for the first time in the presence of the ruler of the Republic, are remembered as distinctly today as they were when I left the capital. He was a man of magni- ficent proportions and severe dignity, without a trace of the genial qualities which distinguished some of the later Presidents, but he was always courteous to his guests of all conditions. He was ever faultlessly dressed to set off his admirably fashioned form and his finely chiseled face, with a luxuriant crown of gray hair. His appearance gave every indication of greatness to the ordinary observer, and it is conceded by all that, even with a (79) 8o COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Cabinet of exceptional ability, headed by Daniel Webster, he was equal to every duty of his high office. It would have been very gratifying to me to see a genial smile on his handsome face during the brief interview to which 1 was a witness rather than a participant, but I was disappointed. I never met him again except once in a casual w'ay until after he had retired from the Presidency. He returned to private life with his mental and physical vigor entirely unabated; and I met him on several occasions, the most notable of which was when he returned from Europe to New York, in the summer of 1856, and delivered a short address when serenaded by an assembly of his political friends. I had been a delegate to the convention that nominated Fremont, but was so unfavorable to the Fremont movement that I quietly retired before the ballot for President; but an interview with Fillmore at the St. Nicholas Hotel on the occasion referred to developed a political purpose that I regarded as even much less entitled to support than Fremont and his cause. Fillmore was intensely embittered against those whom he regarded as the radical Republicans who supported Fremont. I found the dregs of his great battle for the acceptance of the Compromise measures, and the sting of his defeat in the Whig convention of 1852, pointedly reflected in him, and he was ten- fold more hostile to Fremont than he was to Buchanan. He entered that contest as a candidate of the Amiericans, whose convention had nominated him in Philadelphia in February of that year; and his candidacy was indorsed by a Whig convention in Baltimore in September. He bore himself in the contest with great dignity. With all his intensity of partisan feeling, he never uttered a sentence that was unworthy of a most accomplished statesman. He had risen from the shop where he had served as an apprentice in the carding and fulling business to the highest civil trust of the world, and was entirely the architect of his own fortune. Having purchased from his employer part of the time of his apprenticeship to enable him to prepare for the study of law, he soon rose to a high position at the Bar, represented the Buffalo district m Congress, was the unsuccessful candidate of his party for Governor in 1846, and the following year was elected Controller of the State, which position he held when he was nominated for Vice President in 1848. His nomination was a RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 8l triumph over the first attempt made to win a national nomina- tion by the power of wealth, as illustrated by Abbott Lawrence. The change in the White House caused by the death of Presi- dent Taylor and the succession of Fillmore was a complete trans- formation from the most delightful social conditions to the severely quiet hospitality that naturally followed the period of mourning for the dead President, and that was measurably main- tained thereafter by Mrs. Fillmore. She was one of the loveliest and best of American women, and had given a strong helping hand to her husband in all the trials of his life; but she entered the White House as its mistress a confirmted invalid, and never was in a condition of health to participate in the social cere- monies excepting when it was absolute necessity. She was uni- versally respected and beloved by all who knew her, and the con- trast between the quiet suffering of Mrs. Fillmore, who died only a few months after she retired, and the sparkling brilliancy of "Betty Bliss,'' who was mistress of the White House for Taylor, was keenly felt in social circles of th>e capital. "Betty" Taylor was the youngest of the several daughters of the President, one of whom had married Jefferson Davis; and after being educated in Philadelphia she married Major William W. S. Bliss at the age of nineteen. Upon the inauguration of her father she became the mistress of the White House, because of her mother's feeble health, and her husband became her father's secretary. Bliss was a very accomplished soldier and gentleman; had served on General Taylor's staff, and was generally credited with having written the terse dispatch from Taylor to Santa Anna saying: "General Taylor never surrenders." "Betty Bliss," as she was universally called, was only twenty-four years of age when her father became President, and with her elegant culture, sunny disposition and admirable social tact she was probably next to Mrs. Cleveland, the most generally popular mistress the White House has ever had. She became a widow in a few years there- after, and later married Philip P. Dandridge, of Winchester, Va., where she has lived for nearly half a century, universally beloved by all who surrounded her. I first met President Pierce at Harrisburg in the early period of his Administration, when he was the guest of Governor Pol- lock as a visitor to the State Agricultural Fair. He was a man of elegant and graceful manners, faultless in the quiet elegance 83 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S of his dress, and most genial in his intercourse with others with- out impairing the dignity of his high position. He had strong, manly, regular features, with an unusual wealth of beautiful hair, and may well be classed as one of the few of our handsome Presidents. He was born and raised on a farm up in the bleak hills of New Hampshire, and in his industrial life exhibited such unusual mental qualities that his father maxle great sacrifices to give him an academic and finally a collegiate education. He was admitted to the Bar in 1827, and soon thereafter was elected to the popular branch of his Legislature, where he served four years. He was elected United States Senator in 1837, and was the youngest member of that body when he took his seat. He took a prominent part in the discussion of public questions in the Senate, which then embraced such men as Clay, Calhoun, Websiter, Buchanan, Wright and others. After five years' service in the Senate he resigned that high office to resume the practice of his profession in Concord. He was a man of gener- ous, convivial nature, and it was an open secret at the time of his resignation that he retired from Washington because he wished to escape its constant current of convivial temptations. Three years after he resigned he was offered an appointment to the Senate by the Governor to fill a vacancy, but he declined, as he did the nomination for Governor, which would have meant an election. In a public letter he declared it to be his "fixed purpose never again to be voluntarily separated from his family except at the call of his country in time of war," In the early part of the Mexican war Pierce was appointed Brigadier General by President Polk, and he served creditably under Scott, but without special distinction. In 1852 the Democratic National Convention was greatly embarrassed in its choice of a candidate for President. Cass, Buchanan, Douglas and Marcy were the chief competitors for the prize, and after several days of angry discussion and fruitless balloting the Virginia delegation, on the thirty-fifth ballot, gave a solid vote to Franklin Pierce, whose name had not until then been before the convention, and on the forty-ninth ballot he received a practically unanimous vote. The Compromise measures of 1850 were claimed by their supporters as a final settlement of the slavery agitation, as the Democrats of all sections approved them, while the Whigs haltingly approved RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. S^ them in their platform by a trade with the South to assure the nominations of Scott for President. The result was Pierce's •election by an overwhelming majority. He carried every State but four — Vermont and Massachusetts in the North, and Ten- nessee and Kentucky in the South. His election was generally accepted as ending the disturbing slavery agitation for the time, but it was during his Administration that the country was shocked by the reopening of the slavery agitation with increased intensity by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, resuJting in the defeat of Pierce by Buchanan after a desperate struggle in the national convention. It was always a pleasure to visit President Pierce when he occupied the White House, and I availed myself of the few opportunities I had to meet him. He was ever cordial, with supreme tact in disposing of his visitors who trespassed upon his time, and made every one leave the White House feeling that it was a delightful privilege for an American citizen to see the ruler of the nation. Mrs. Pierce was a highly cultivated and accomplished woman, and fulfilled her duties as mistress of the White House by the generous exercise of quiet hospitality. She was greatly averse to the glitter of fashionable and conventional life, and was always most happy in the circle of her own home. President Pierce retired from office in 1857, suffering keen dis- appointment because of his failure to be renominated, since he started in the national convention within a very few votes of Buchanan, the successful candidate. Two of his three children had died in early youth, and the third suffered a tragic death in a railroad accident a short time before his father's inauguration as President. The President and his wife retired to their childless home in Concord, where they both lived a rather severely domes- tic life, and he was unheard of in political struggles, either State or national, thereafter. In 1863 his wife, who had made his home lustrous with all the loveliest attributes of womanhood, was called to join her children across the dark water, and six years later, in 1869, the devoted. husband and father answered the mystic bugle call to join the great majority on the other side. James Buchanan was the successor of Pierce, and I knew him intimately for some years before he became President. I was then a resident of his native county of Franklin, to which he made frequent visits, and, like all who knew him, cherished the 84 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S highest personal regard for him. He was a man of great ability, but extreme caution. In all his great career as a statesman he never originated a public measure that made its mark in the annals of the nation, but he did not lack courage. When his course was decided upon he always acted with great directness and stability of purpose. His humble home in the little cove was fortunately near the village of Mercersburg, where he had the advantage of excellent schools and an academy, and by great frugality on the part of himself and his parents he acquired a college education and graduated with honors. In his early political career he was a Federalist, and represented the Lan- caster district in Congress for a number of years. He finally espoused the cause of Jackson, and soon came to be recognized as one of the ablest of the Democratic leaders. He was a man of tireless industry, never employed a secretary, and wrote all his many letters with great care in a beautiful copper-plate hand. This habit he maintained until he was overwhelmed with corre- spondence when he became the Democratic candidate in 1856, when for the first time he employed a secretary. Buchanan had desperate battles even with his own State in his Presidential aspirations, as Cass was made prominent chiefly by the opponents of Buchanan; but in 1856 he returned from the English mission that had kept him away and entirely free from the disturbing agitation growing out of the repeal of the Mis- souri Compromise. I was at the Merchants' Hotel in Phila- delphia, the evening he arrived there from Europe on his way home, and heard him discuss the Presidential situation with great calmness, but, of course, with intense interest respecting himself. His strong Scotch-Irish qualities were exhibited in speaking of the opposition to him in his own party in Penn- sylvania, but he ever restrained his criticism of others within the most dignified lines. Many of the leading Whigs, especially in Philadelphia, supported him for President against Fremont, and many others were, like myself, finally restrained from sup- porting him by the strong pro-slavery platform of the Chicago Convention that nominated him. No more sincere and patriotic man ever entered the Presi- dency than James Buchanan, but he was chosen on a distinct sectional issue and elected by the vote of the solid South (with the exception of Maryland, which voted for Fillmore); and, RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 85 being a strict constructionist himself, it was most natural for him to be in harmony with the Southern views on the one supreme issue that then convulsed the country. I saw him fre- quently during his occupancy of the White House, and always found him the same severely dignified but always courtly gentle- man. Miss Harriet Lane, who was mistress of the White House for her bachelor uncle, and who is yet living, was one of the most attractive and accomplished of the many accomplished ladies who have filled that most trying position, and her graceful and genial hospitality did much to relieve the severe habits of the President. Buchanan had the severest ordeal of any Presi- dent excepting that of Lincoln, and his only error was his delay in reorganizing his Cabinet for the maintenance of the Union. He did it only when the last hope of peaceable Union had perished; but from the time the change was made, and after his retirement, during the entire civil w^ar he was thoroughly loyal to the cause of the Union. He was respected by all who knew him, even including his bitterest opponents, while the social reign in the White House was never more delightful than when Miss Lane was its mistress. Buchanan had little part in it beyond the conventional formalities necessary to his position. A very few ladies were welcome visitors to the Executive Chamber, and perhaps the only one for whom he would relax his habits of industry was Mrs. Gaines, one of the brightest of our Ameri- can women, well remembered as a celebrated suitor in forty years of litigation for the possession of a large fortune in New Orleans. Buchanan was the first bachelor elected to the Presi- dency and Cleveland the only one who succeeded him, but Cleveland retired from the bachelor list before half his first term had expired. Buchanan lived seven years after his retirement, and died in his home at Wheatland in 1868. There was sudden and violent transformation in general con- ditions in Washington after the inauguration of Lincoln. We were on the threshold of civil war; sectional strife was tem- pestuous, and in a month and a fortnight after his inauguration the guns of Beauregard thundered against the little starving garrison of Sumter. Lincoln was the least conventional of all our Presidents, but even if he had been inclined to the more ceremonious official life, it would have been next to impossible with all the violent surges of civil war convulsing the country 86 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S and the capital. I knew him better than I have ever known any of the other Presidents whom I have met during tlie last half a century. It was my fortune to be charged with the manage- ment of the battle of i860, in Pennsylvania, when the October election was to decide the question of his election or defeat in November, and that brought me into the closest relations with him. The fact that it was eminently successful gave me more credit from Lincoln than I merited, and it was the beginning of a personal and political relationship that ended only with his death, and that is the most grateful of all the memories of my life. I saw Lincoln under all conditions and circumstances; heard his inimitable witticisms, and saw him many times depressed to what seemed to be the verge of despair. He possessed one of the most kindly and sympathetic natures, and there was not a sorrow felt by his people that did not shadow his life. He saw more people during his more than four years of of^ce than any other five Presidents combined in the same period, and was always most happy to meet the people, as he did every week, in the great East Room of the White House. It soon became known to all those in charge of the White House that position or condition did not make a visitor unwelcome to the President, and the humblest mother of a soldier could always reach him to plead her cause; and it was seldom done in vain. Unhke his predecessors, Fillmore and Buchanan, whom I had seen in the same positions, Lincoln was notably careless in dress. He al- ways wore clothes of good material, but his tall, slender, angu- lar form unfitted him to present anything like elegance in ap- parel. He was simply forgetful of that important feature of one who is the ruler of a great nation. I remember on one oc- casion seeing several English noblemen presented to him by Secretary Seward, who, with all their good breeding, illy con- cealed their disappointment at the appearance of the President of. the United States when he first uncoiled his long legs and rose up to meet them; but before they had left him they learned to respect if not to reverence the representative of the great free Government of the world. He had no taste for the conventional social occasions which were at times imposed upon him at the White House, but his wife enjoyed the social distinction she possessed, and at times gave painful illustrations of the then ex- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 87 isting but not known malady that soon after the death of the President developed into hopeless insanity. He entered the Presidency without a policy relating to the secession issue, and he met all the many grave questions as they arose with a degree of statesmanship and fidelity that few, if any, could have equaled and none surpassed. His faith and hope were in the people, from whose humblest ranks he had sprung, and his tragic death just W'hen his great work seemed to be on the eve of consum- mation made his name the most beloved and reverenced in American history. Andrew Johnson, like Lincoln, came from close to mother earth, wath parentage so obscure as to make the place of his birth a matter of dispute. He acquired his trade as a tailor be- fore he could read or write, but he finally gravitated from North Carolina to Greenville, East Tennessee, where he married an in- telligent helpmate who aided him greatly in his education, and who lived to see him Mayor of his city, State Representative and Senator, Governor, United States Senator and President of the United States, although her feeble health prevented her from making her home in Washington during his Presidency. Her place was filled by her daughter, Mrs. Patterson, whose husband was then a United States Senator, and who filled the position of mistress of the White House with a degree of dignified hos- pitality that commanded the approval of all. I had known Johnson some years before his election as Vice- President, and as a delegate-at-large to the Baltimore Conven- tion of 1864 I voted for his nomination, but not because I pre- ferred him to Vice-President Hamlin. I voted for him because Mr. Lincoln personally expressed his desire that I should do so, and for reasons which made it a duty for me to comply. He had no hostility to Hamlin, and no special affection for Johnson, but he believed that the War Democrats not then connected with the Republican party were essential to party success, and he believed also that if the second ofBcer of the Government was chosen from a reconstructed State in the heart of the Confed- eracy, by the election of one who had filled every office within . the gift of his State, it would greatly strengthen the friends of the Union abroad, who w'ere making a desperate battle to pre- vent the recognition of the Confederacy by England and France, 88 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Johnson came into the Presidency through the tears of the nation over the assassination of Lincoln, and he was at once confronted with the exceptionally grave issue of reconstruction. He was unfortunate in coming into direct conflict with an in- tensely partisan and sectional Republican Senate and House, and an impassable chasm was soon created between them. His rule was tempestuous, as he was nothing if not aggressive, and while sincerely battling for the Southern people and their in- terests, he was chiefly or wholly responsible for the severe re- construction policy that was adopted in the sweeping passions of the time. I never saw him but once after he became Presi- dent. In response to his invitation I called upon him with Gov- ernor Curtin before the meeting of Congress in the fall of 1865. He desired to impress upon us the importance of sustaining his policy of reconstruction, which he organized without the knowl- edge or authority of Congress, and for which he vainly hoped to command Congressional approval. I was not in sympathy with his policy, and in the discussion of the political situation he ex- hibited impatience and petulance at every opposing suggestion. After a very full and very frank expression of views on both sides, during which he was always arrogant, and often vehe- ment, we parted with frigid formality on his part, and I never personally met him thereafter. On the eve of his retirement from the Presidency Johnson issued a message in which he practically advised the repudia- tion of the national debt and throughout made an appeal to the agrarian sentiment of the country. It fell upon listless ears, and very few of those living today know that such a paper was pre- sented to the public. He was the only President who imitated John Adams in not giving cordial personal welcome to his suc- cessor. Adams retired from the White House after midnight on the morning of Jefferson's inauguration, and did not appear at the ceremonies. Johnson was not visible at the Grant in- auguration, but it was well known that Grant was quite as much responsible for it as Johnson himself, as Grant had publicly expressed his purpose not to have President Johnson accom- pany him to the Capitol for the inauguration. GRANT AS CHIEFTAIN AND PRESI- DENT. General Grant was made the Republican candidate for Presi- dent in 1868 against his own personal wishes. He had never voted the Republican ticket, and always was Democratic in his tendencies. When the war ended he had, as he believed, irrev- ocably determined not to enter politics by becoming the Presi- dential candidate of any party. He might have adhered to that purpose if it had not been for his quarrel with President John- son, that became intensely embittered on both sides, and brought the Republicans to the support of Grant, who finally, after much persuasion, was induced to accept the Republican nomination. I had met Grant only in a casual way several times during the war. He was a man who did not exert himself to make friends, and was always reserved but courteous in his inter- course with others. He was made a candidate without any effort on his part, as his conservative views called to his support the substantial interests of the country, which were greatly inter- ested in having sectional passions overcome. I was chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation in the Chicago convention, and cast the vote of the State for his nomination, and I never more sincerely and heartily supported a candidate. While I had little to expect from him as a politician or statesman, I believed that his election would do more to tranquillize the country than the election of any of our more experienced and aggressive poli- ticians. I had no personal or political ends to serve, and de- sired only the success of the Republican party in harmonizing the estranged sections of the country as speedily as possible. On this issue I was grievously disappointed in President Grant's policy. I had never asked him to confer honors upon any one, and, therefore, had no personal disappointment. In- deed, I had retired from active participation in politics after his election, because the bankruptcy in which the destruction of Chambersburg by the Confederate troops had involved me made (89) 90 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S it necessary to give my whole attention to my profession. Be- yond an interview with him a short time before his inauguration, which was made important only by himself, and several visits to the White House in the early part of his administration without any political purpose, I had little intercourse with Grant dur- ing his administration. I met him several times on social occa- sions, but always without referring to political matters. I re- volted against his renomination in 1872, and was chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Cincinnati Convention that nominated Greeley as his competitor. After his retirement from the Presidency I met him under very pleasant circumstances on several occasions, and once at a private lunch with him and Mr. Childs at Mr. Drexel's office had the only opportunity of my life to see the genial qualities which Grant possessed but rarely exhibited. We were left alone after lunch for more than an hour, and Grant surprised me by his free and excellent conversational powers and his intimate knowledge of all the political movements of the country. If he had been nominated and elected to a third term in 1880 I believe that he would have made a model President. He had broadened immensely in general public afifairs, national and in- ternational, and by his journey around the world and in his more intimate acquaintance with the business interests of the people of our great country. He had few favorites when he was President, and, while he probably did not mean it, he repelled all who were not within the favorite circle. They seldom saw him, and the result was that his civil reign of eight years was conducted much on the principle of general army orders. Grant was usually very reserved in conversation, alike on public and private occasions, and he never made those about him feel the superiority of his position and power. While the greatest of our Union generals, he was certainly among the most modest. His war bulletins were as epigrammatic as Na- poleon's, and some of them are quoted by most of the school- boys of this age. Among the most memorable were his demand for the surrender of Fort Donelson, saying: 'T propose to move immediately upon your works." Another, sent from the terribly bloody contest of the Wilderness, in which he said: "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." His first let- ter to Lee demanding the surrender of the army in Northern RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 9 1 Virginia was a model of soldierly modesty, and his treatment of Lee when they finally met to consummate the surrender plainly exhibited his studied purpose to make no needless hu- miliation of the conquered chieftain of the Confederacy. Lee came, as army regulations required him, clad in his best regi- mentals, with a beautiful sword at his side that could have been demanded by his conqueror; but Grant came begrimed with the dust of a long-continued march, and without his sword. This omission in itself was notice to Lee that his sword would not be demanded, and the subject was not referred to. In all the many deliverances of Grant in the army and in civil life there is not a single sentence to be found that is needlessly assertive of his high position. He was as much the commander of Sherman's army when it captured Atlanta as Sampson was commander of the fleet that destroyed the Spanish squadron at Santiago. He had the power to halt Sherman at any place, or to give him any orders, and was just as much present at the battle which won Atlanta as Sampson was at the battle which destroyed the Spanish squadron. He personally visited Sheri- dan in the Shenandoah Valley, aided in planning his campaign, and gave him orders; but in announcing the victories at Atlanta and in the Valley he never was guilty of the bombastic false- hood of declaring that "the army under my command" has de- feated the enemy. A very pointed illustration of his modesty was given soon after the President and Secretary of War re- jected the terms of surrender between Sherman and Johnston, resulting in Grant being ordered to North Carolina to take command of the army. His presence on the field made him commander of Sherman, but he understood the situation, ap- preciated Sherman's soldierly qualities, and simply advised him to demand and receive the surrender of Johnston's army on the same terms Grant had given to Lee at Appomattox. This was speedily accomplished, and Grant's dispatch announcing the surrender advised the Government in his modest way that John- ston had surrendered his army to General Sherman. Grant, like Lincoln, has grown in fame and in the aflfections of the country and the world since his death. The assassina- tion of Lincoln, which was the most terrible shock the nation ever felt, and the lingering malady that brought Grant to the grave with unspeakable suffering called out the sincerest sym- 92 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S pathy of all classes and conditions, and effaced the last linger- ing prejudices of personal or partisan foes. I saw this point- edly illustrated during the closing week of the Congress of 1885. In 1883 Grant had suffered a fall, receiving an injury from which he never recovered, and was unable to walk without the aid of a crutch, and in May, 1884, by the failure of the banking house of Grant & Ward, in which all his resources were invested, he was brought to hopeless bankruptcy. He gave to Vanderbilt all his personal possessions, including his sword and other gifts, as security for a loan of $150,000, which was swallowed up in the Grant & Ward failure; and I have personal knowledge of the fact that the late Anthony J. Drexel advanced him at the same time $75,000 for which he asked no security, as he made no claim against Grant and left no record of any indebtedness to his estate. One of the most pathetic letters I have ever read I received from General Grant some weeks after his financial misfortunes had befallen him. I was then publishing a series of articles from the leading officers of both sides relating to the Civil War, and I wrote to Grant offering him $100 a column for an article of five columns, giving any phase of the war he chose to present. He sent me in reply a closely written letter of over three pages, written by his own hand, in which he spoke most gratefully of the offer made to him, and also gave a painful portrayal of his embarrassed condition. He was compelled to decline the offer because of an engagement he had just then made to write a series of articles for the Century Magazine. In the latter part of 1884 it became whispered that Grant was suffering from a serious malady that was not defined to the public. The fact that he had a malignant and incurable cancer, which must sooner or later terminate his life, was not known to the public until about the middle of February, 1885, and the first authoritative announcement was given through Mr. Childs. He had been to New York and learned the precise truth as to Grant's condition, and on his return he sent for me to come to his office. He was greatly depressed by the information he gave me, and said that something must be done to make Grant feel that he was not forgotten by the country, whose unity he had preserved as the great chieftain of the Civil War. He said that Grant not only needed pecuniary support, as he was entirely without means RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 93 and hopelessly bankrupt, but that in his condition on the very verge of despair he would be strengthened in his battle for pro- longed hfe if he could be restored to the army with the rank of General, retired. The Senate was RepubHcan, but the House was largely Dem- ocratic, with Carlisle as Speaker. Randall was the controlling leader on the floor, and Childs and Drexel were Randall's clos- est personal and political friends. They had never allowed Ran- dall to expend any money in his campaigns, as they knew he was without the means to do it. I had also very intimate per- sonal and political relations with Randall, and Childs asked me to go immediately to Washington, with a letter from him to Randall expressing the views of both himself and Drexel, earn- estly urging him to take the lead in passing a bill to restore Grant to his old rank as General, retired, which would give him a handsome income and at the same time revive his greatly de- pressed spirits. I hastened to Washington and presented the letter to Randall. EverytTiing depended upon the attitude he would take. Such legislation was against the general policy Randall had maintained with stubborn consistency, but he final- ly resolved all doubts in favor of the earnest appeal made by Childs and Drexel, and he agreed to champion the measure. It required a few days of personal intercourse with his party friends in both Senate and House to get them in line, and there were many who hesitated, while a few were positively hostile. There were only a few days in which to pass the measure, and it was not finally passed until near noon on the 4th of March, just when Congress was about to adjourn sine die. President Arthur was in the Vice-President's room in the Capitol, for the pur- pose of signing bills which required his approval before the ad- journment. The bill authorizing the appointment of Grant to the position of General, retired, was not finally passed and transcribed until the clock had once or more been turned back- ward to prevent the close of the Congress. It was hurried to President Arthur, who immediately signed it, and at once picked up a plain sheet of paper, wrote out the nomination of Grant to the rank of General, retired, and hurried it back to the Sen- ate, where it was unanimously confirmed, and was one of the last acts of that Congress. I have several times heard Mr. Childs speak of the great ray of sunshine that this action of the 94 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Government brought to the sorrow-shadowed home of Grant. He said that with all of Grant's great achievements in politics or war, none received such intensely grateful welcome in the home of the Great Captain of the war. In the small circle of Grant's very intimate friends George W. Chllds was doubtless closer to Grant than any others. Ke had no political purposes to advance, and he was tireless in his un- selfish efforts to serve his beloved chief. Childs told me on one occasion that Grant was one of the broadest-gauged and most liberal of men, and that only on one point was he unwilling to take advice. He believed himself to be a perfect judge of a good horse, and, as Childs presented it, he could with safety criticisie, in Grant's presence, any great campaign he ever planned or any great battle he ever fought, but to question his judgment as to a horse was the one thing that he did not tolerate. Childs hap- pened once to remark in Grant's presence that he was looking for a fine pair of horses for family use. Grant at once said: "Don't worry about it; I will select one and send it to you." A short time thereafter Childs received a pair of fine-looking horses, with a bill for $1700, which he promptly paid, and after giving the horses a fair trial he quietly sold them for ome-tenth the price he had paid for them, but never discussed the subject with Grant. I was a guest at a dinner given by Childs to John Walter, of the London Times. It was after Grant had retired from the Presidency and was enjoying excellent health. Walter was amazed beyond expression to find Grant one of the guests of honor and by his side General Joseph E. Johnston, the ablest of the Confederate commanders next to Lee. It was a revelation to the great English journalist that these opposing chieftains, whose swords iiad been sheathed and their banners furled only a few years before, were welcome guests side by side at a hos- pitable board in the North. A few years later, on the i6th of June, 1885, a little more than three months after Grant had been restored to his rank in the army by Congress, his painful suffer- ings, which had been borne with heroic patience, were ended, and the country and the world mingled with their sincere sor- row for the death of the Great Captain the grateful reflection that two of the most heroic of the Confederate soldiers were side by side with Union heroes as pall-bearers at his grave. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 95 Although President Grant was a graduate of West Point and had served with distinction in the Mexican War along with Lee, AlcClellan and others, he was time and again repelled in his efforts to re-enter the army in 1861 when the Civil War began. He had resigned from the army soon after the Mexican War and made a dismal failure as manager of a farm and as a real estate agent in St. I.ouis, after which he moved to Galena, where his father and brother were engaged in a large tannery enterprise. Pie was in their employ in 1861 at the modest salary of $800 a year. When Sumter was fired upon he appeared at a public meeting and was one of the first to volunteer, and his company was one of the earliest to arrive at Springfield, the capital of the State. Pie was accompanied by the Congressman from his city, Elihu B. Washburn, who presented him to Governor Yates and urged his appointment to the command of a regiment, con- lidently expecting that it would be promptly granted. I have heard the story from both Washburn and Yates, and Yates regarded as one of the best reminiscences of his public career the story of how he treated Grant when he came to ask for a command in the volunteer army. He refused Grant a command, but as Grant had a knowledge of military organization he gave him employment for a time in the Executive Ofifioe to aid in the organization of the troops, and when that was ended Grant quietly packed his grip and went home to Galena, while a lot of green colonels went into the field. He had served v/ith McClellan in Mexico, and he next made a journey to Cincinnati to ofTer his services on the staff of Mc- Clellan, who had just been made a major-general and assigned to the command of the movement against the South in Western Virginia. He twice called at McClellan's headquarters, and left his card, but did not succeed in obtaining an audience. Again he gave up in despair and returned to Galena, but soon there- after Governor Yates found himself beset by a new regiment largely composed of ''toughs," who were entirely unmanageable, and he telegraphed Grant asking him to take command of the regiment. The invitation was gratefully accepted, and when Grant met his roystering soldiers he soon found that only by heroic measures could he make them understand military regu- lations. He did not attempt suddenly and arbitrarily to enforce discipline, but in a short time the regiment was ordered to Cairo ^6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S and Grant was advised to make requisition for transportation. His answer was: '"I don't want transportation; the regiment will march to Cairo." He marched his boys for some days, keeping them steadily on the go, and by the time he got them into camp at Cairo he had them prepared to accept military regulations. He soon left his regiment by promotion, but it proved to be one of the best fightmg organizations of his command. Grant was a good hater, although in the later years of his life his hatreds were greatly mellowed, as is shown by his kind refer- ences to those against whom he had cherished some enmity, given in his Recollections, most of which were written while suf- fering great agony from the fatal malady that had then seized him. He seldom smiled, and I never heard him indulge in a hearty laugh, but he had a very keen sense of the ludicrous, and often gave some of the most terse and pungent expressions mingled with the most polished wit. He did not love Sumner for the reason that Sumner seldom harmonized with any man holding higher position than himself, and on one occasion, as I heard from one of the party present, when Sumner was dis- cussed by some of the President's friends, and one remarked that Sumner did not believe in the Bible, Grant's response was: "No, he didn't write it." He had great faith in his star, and with all the appalling upheaval of the Liberals in the opening of the campaign of 1872, when it looked as if the country would be swept like a tempest against the Administration, Grant had abiding faith in his triumph. The Cincinnati convention that nominated Greeley was a very imposing and exceptionally able national body, and Grant's friends who witnessed it were very much alarmed at the Republican revolt, and they bore doleful tales of the situation to Grant at Washington. After listening in his imperturbable way to the statements of his somewhat demor- alized friends, who had told him of the immense gathering at Cin- cinnati, his quiet answer was: "Yes, they were all there." My estimate of Grant is, that, great as he was, he never reached any- thing like the full stature of his greatness until after he retired from the Presidency, when he learned much that he should have learned before. President Grant had a lovely helpmate in his wife. She entered the White House an unusually sweet, unafifected, capable woman, and was as unobtrusive and unpretentious as her distinguished RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 97 husband. Her social rule as the first lady of the land was marked by genterous and unpretentious hospitality, and she was universally beloved by all who came in contact with her. She always spoke of the General or the President as "Mr. Grant," and only on one occasion did I ever hear her refer to any of the particular attributes of her husband. At an informal social circle when Grant was hammering the way before Richmond the question of the capture of the Confederate capital was introduced by some of Mrs. Grant's company, and she was naturally asked what she thought of the situation. Her answer was substantially as follows: "Mr. Grant started out to capture Richmond, and he is a very obstinate man when he undertakes anything." Mrs. Grant is still living, and one of two widows of ex-Presidents who receive an annuity of $5,000 from the Government. She com- mands the homage of the American people wherever she goes, and one of the most beautiful illustrations of her appreciation of the magnanimity of her great husband was recently shown when the wife of the great Union general of the war and President of the country met in the kindliest social intercourse the widow of the late President of the Confederacy. HAYES' ELECTION AND ADMINIS- TRATION. The personal attributes and the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes as President of the United States will perplex the future historians of the country for all time. I knew him well before he was called to the Presidency by the Electoral Commis- sion in 1877, and few men who have attained public distinction were more generally respected for integrity of purpose and strength of character. He had made an excellent record during the war, and, like Harrison, who was equally modest in the em- ployment of methods for self-advancement, he was much better fitted to command a division or a corps than a number of those who climbed to such positions in the army. He started his mil- itary career as ]\Iajor of the Twenty-third Ohio Regiment, and served creditably until the close of the war, retiring with the brevet of Major General for special gallantry. Hayes was first nominated for Congress in 1864, when in the field in command of his brigade, or division, but refused to leave the army to conduct his own campaign, and he was elected and also re-elected in 1866. He was twice elected Gov- ernor of Ohio, defeating the two ablest Democratic leaders of the State, viz.: Allen G. Thurman and George H. Pendleton. During his service in Congress and as Governor the cheap money question became very formidable in shape of the issue of paying all public and private obligations in greenbacks, but Hayes always stood resolutely in favor of an honest financial system. At the close of his term, in 1873, at a very quiet of¥- year election, the Democrats elected William Allen Governor by about a thousand majority over General Noyce. Allen led the greenback movement with great ability, and in 1875 it was deemed doubtful whether he could be defeated in his contest for re-election. The Republicans were compelled to turn to their strongest man, and Governor Hayes seems to have been univer- (98) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 99 sally accepted as the man who would command the largest vote. He was nominated against his earnest wishes, and after one of the most desperate campaigns ever made in Ohio he was elected Governor for the third term, defeating the great greenback leader by a majority of 5500. Mr. Hayes was not in any sense a political manager. In 1876 the Republican State convention unanimously presented him as a candidate for President. It was not believed at the time that Ohio could obtain the Presidential candidate, or Senator Sher- man would doubtless have been presented. The field was well filled with such Presidential gladiators as Conkling, Blaine and Morton, but the fight became so embittered that the convention finally took a stampede to Hayes as a dark horse and made him the Republican nominee. The campaign of 1876 was not made specially memorable until after the election. Tilden, the Demo- cratic candidate, received a popular m.ajority of 250,000, and by the vote as cast in the States of South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana he had a decided majority of the electoral vote, but the returning boards of those States gave certificates of election to the Republican electors, which gave Hayes one majority over Tilden in the electoral college. The battle for the disputed electors in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana and also for one elector in Oregon aroused the whole country to an unusual degree of aggressive interest. Leading men of both parties, including Senator Sherman, of Ohio, Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania and others, appeared before the returning boards of the disputed Southern States and waged most earnest contests for the success of their respec- tive parties. When the returns were finally declared in favor of Hayes the Democrats were inflamed to the verge of revolution- ary action, and the great Republic was threatened with anarchy in the very citadel of its authority. It was finally conceded that revolutionary measures in some form would be met at the in- auguration of the President, and the more considerate leaders of both parties took pause to inquire how such a conflict could be averted. This resulted in the enactment of a law by Congress providing for an Electoral Commission, which as finally con- stituted contained eight Republicans and seven Democrats. Al- though it was made up of members of the Supreme Court, grave Senators and Representatives of national character, on every lOO COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S vital test there was a strict party division, and Hayes was de- clared elected by one majority. The Democrats were united in the belief that Tilden had been honestly elected President of the United States, and many of the more intelligent and influential Republicans believe that Tilden was entitled to the office. Among these was Senator Conkling, who did not appear in the Senate, although in Washington and in excellent health, when the final vote was taken to decide the dispute in Louisiana. Such were the conditions under which Mr. Hayes reached the Presidency. He knew that his integrity was distrusted not only by the entire opposing party, but by many of his own party friends, because he accepted a position to which they believed he had not been elected. His position may be regarded as fairly expressed in a letter he addressed to Senator Sherman at New Orleans, who was there at the time to procure from the return- ing board a certificate of election for the Hayes electors. In that letter he said: "A fair election would have given us about forty electoral votes in the South; at least that many; but we are not to allow our friends to defeat one outrage and fraud by another. There must be nothing crooked on our part. Let Mr. Tilden have the place by violence, intimidation and fraud, rather than undertake to prevent it by means that will not bear the severest scrutiny." Mr. Hayes was an earnest and thorough partisan, and I think it due to his memory to say that he believed that some of the Southern States were controlled by the Democrats by intimidat- ing and defrauding the negro vote; but if he had been in a posi- tion to look the issue squarely in the face from an intelligent and entirely impartial standpoint he could hardly have failed to con- fess that when the Republican Governor of Louisiana had ap- pointed the ofiticials to register the vote of the State, with the power to determine who should and who should not vote, and when the same authority controlled the election boards in every parish and yet failed to win a majority for the party, after having decided who should vote and who should count the returns, there could be little ground of complaint against the vote and original returns thus made by the Republicans. There were grave apprehensions that the inauguration of Hayes might be violently interfered with by assassination or dis- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. lOl turbance of some kind. Indeed, I believe that there was more apprehension felt for the safety of Hayes when he was inaugu- rated in 1877 than there was for President Lincoln on the 4th of March, 1861. Violent threats had been made by impassioned Democrats that the fraud should not be permitted to reach its consummation, and every possible precaution was taken to pro- tect Hayes on his entire journey from Ohio to Washington, and at every stage of the inauguration proceedings. If any violent purposes had been cherished, their execution was prevented by the complete preparations for the protection of the new Presi- dent, and Hayes was safely conducted into the White House as President of the United States, with all the power of the govern- ment, including army and navy, subject to his orders, and ready to maintain the majesty of the law that had given him his high ofifice. It was an open secret that soon after the election of 1876, when it was definitely decided to have South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana counted for Hayes, the Democratic revolutionary sentiment of those States was tempered to passive submission by the distinct promise made to Democratic leaders of those States in the name of Hayes, through his most trusted friends, that if they submitted peaceably to the election of Hayes by the electoral votes of those States they would be given the control of their respective States by recognition of the Democratic Governors and Legislatures which had been elected along with Tilden. Few at the present time can appreciate the importance to the property interests of the Southern States to get control of their .State governments and Legislatures; and when it became understood, although ahvays spoken of in bated breath, that Hayes would give the Democrats their Governors and Legisla- tures in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana, it promised so much to the people of property throughout the entire South that they w^ere ready to yield at least sullen if not willing submission to the declared election and inauguration of Hayes. But for this silver lining to the political cloud in the South, Hayes would have had a term of turbulence, with a strong tendency to anarchy in many portions of the South. Believing that any lawfully declared elected President was bet- ter than revolution, I earnestly advocated the passage of the Electoral Commission bill, and when its final judgment was I02 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S given I advocated submission to the decision, as Hayes held his commission with all the ceremony of law, and under an act of Congress that had been warmly supported by the leaders of both parties. I was soon brought into rather intimate relations with the new President and had many conferences with him at the White House during the slow progress in the accomplishment of the revolution in the South, In the first conversation I had v»-ith him, after his inauguration, he frankly stated his purpose to bring about the acceptance of the Democratic Governors and legislators in Florida and Louisiana, and he tirelessly labored to accomplish that result. He was then in confidential communi- cation with such men as Senator-elect Butler, of South Carolina, who is yet living, and who was a claimant for a seat in the Sen- ate, having been elected by the Hampton Legislature, while the Chamberlin, or Republican, Legislature had elected another. In bringing about the recognition of the Democratic Gover- nors and Legislatures in the disputed States no violent measures could be taken, as Hayes was in the exceedingly embarrassing position of holding the Presidency by the same vote in those States that had elected the Republican candidates for Governor, according to the returning board's report, and it was certainly a very delicate task for him, holding the Presidency by the same vote that they held their Governorships, to ask them to retire and permit the recognition of the Democratic Governors and legislators, which certainly seemed to be a confession that Til- den was elected President. Hayes was much distressed by the embarrassments which confronted him. The Republican Gover- nors, of course, refused to yield, and I heard him discuss the situation on several occasions. On one point he did not hesitate to express himself frankly and positively, and that was that the plighted faith made by his friends to the Southern States must be maintained, and he believed that the acceptance of these gov- ernments would be the beginning of much better political and industrial conditions throughout the South. I had abundant opportunity in conferences with the President to estimate him correctly. He was incapable of dissembling, and certainly meant in all things to be entirely honest and faith- ful in the discharge of his duties. He held that his commission as President was given by the Electoral Commission, an entirely lawful tribunal from which there was no appeal, and that therein RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 103 his position dift'ered from that of the several Governors in the disputed States. However his judgment may have been in- fluenced by personal interests and personal conditions, no man could have conversed freely with Hayes on this vexed problem without regarding him as a sincerely conscientious man. He was an earnest and apparently consistent but unostentatious religionist, and had been so most of his life. He brought from his village home in Ohio the same simple religious ceremonies and erected their altar in the White House. His Sundays were devoted to religious services, in which he was heartily joined by his vdie, and it was not uncommon for those who were interested in church music to drop in at the White House on Sunday even- ing to hear, or join in, the singing of hymns. Hayes certainly believed that in accepting the Presidency as he did he accepted an entirely lawful' duty, and he certainly aimed to discharge it with absolute integrity. He was not a genial man, never was known to perpetrate a joke, and while not as severely dignified as Buchanan or Fillmore, he was generally reserved in conversation, although always courteous and scru- pulously maintained the dignity of his position. He was a sin- cere civil service reformer, and exhibited his fidelity to his civil service faith by the removal of Chester A. Arthur, who afterward became President, from the Collectorship of New York, and A. B. Cornell, who afterwards became Governor, from the Naval Ofifice, because under their direction the Custom House "has been used to manage and control political afifairs." A desperate battle was made against the confirmation of the new appointees with Conkling in the lead, but they were finally confirmed. There was no very serious difficulty about the recognition of the Hampton State government in South Carolina, as the mainte- nance of the Chamberlin government depended wholly upon United States troops for protection, and that issue was settled ^•hen the proper time came for consummating the agreement by the quiet withdrawal of the troops from Columbia. Governor Chamberlin, the Republican claimant, at once gave up his office and permitted Hampton, the Democratic Governor, to take pos- session, which speedily scattered the carpet-bag legislators, and gave the Democrats control of the State government. This was followed by the admission of Butler to the Senate, and it was I04 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S decided by the vote of Senator J. D. Cameron. Little difficulty was experienced in giving the Democrats possession of Florida, as the Republican claimants were steadily weakening under the impression that they were iinally to be overthrown. When the asperities of the conflict had been sufficiently tempered to war- rant definite action the President recognized the Democratic Governor of Florida, on the ground that he had been declared as elected by the decision of the Supreme Court. Louisiana was the most disturbing of all the disputed States. Packard, the Re- publican Governor, was the man who had controlled the return- ing board to declare himself and Hayes elected and he was per- sistent in his right to retain his office as long as Hayes retained the Presidency. He was implacable, and the President finally decided to send a special commission to that State, composed of able and conservative RepubHcans, to devise some method, after consultation with all parties, by which the Nichols Governor and Legislature could be recognized. That commission consisted of present Senator Hawley, of Connecticut; present Justice Harlan, of Kentucky; Wayne MacVeagh, of Pennsylvania; Charles V. Lawrence, of Illinois, and John C. Brown, of Tennessee. They proceeded to New Orleans, and were unable to accomplish any- thing beyond conveying to the Republicans the fact that the ultimate recognition of the Democratic Governor and Legis- lature was a necessity, and would be accomplished. This resulted in a compact, with which the commission had nothing to do whatever, and of which it had no knowledge, by which the Louisiana Lottery Company agreed to furnish whatever money was necessary to persuade enough of the Packard Senators and Representatives to join the Nichols Legislatune to give it a ma- jority of admittedly elected members in both branches. The con- sideration for the Louisiana Lottery Company was the granting of a charter in the constitution for a period of years. In a short time, under this commercial arrangement, Nichols had an un- disputed Legislature, the Packard Legislature perished, and the Louisiana Lottery Company received its charter when the new constitution was framed. This completed the fulfilment of the Hayes obligation to give the Democrats of those States their own government, and it was the beginning of the end of carpet-bag rule in the South. I saw the President soon after the Louisiana difficulty had been RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 05 finally settled, and he felt that a great load had been taken from his shoulders when his faith with the South had been fulfilled, and he conhdently expected to have a peaceful and successful administration of the government. He would have been glad to accomplish his re-election, but he was one of the few of our Presidents who was practically without political following or force in the national convention of his party at the close of his term. When he retired from the Presidency he returned to his quiet village home at Fremont, Ohio, and there devoted himself to rural pursuits until 1893, when on the 17th of January he died after a brief illness. Mrs. Lucy W. Hayes was an accomplished and severely re- ligious woman. She was the first of the ladies of the White House to banish every form of wine from State ceremonies, and that considerably narrowed her social circle, and during her period as first lady of the nation the social ceremonies of the President's House were limited by the restraining influences of her methods. She was a very estimable lady, distinguished for her service in the hospitals during the war, and was highly es- teemed by those who were brought into intimate relations with her. She was honored on retiring from the White House by a handsome testimonial from the Prohibition organizations of the country, including the presentation of her painted portrait to be added to the gallery of the White House. She survived her re- tirement from the White House seven years, and died at her home in Ohio on the 25th of June, .1889, GARFIELD AND HIS BRIEF ADMIN- ISTRATION. James Abram Garfield, who was elected President in 1880 over General Hancock, his Democratic competitor, was one of the real jolly good fellows to be met in Washington from the time that he entered Congress in 1863. He was a man of impos- ing presence and most genial manners, and one of the most ver- satile scholars of his day. He was eminent as preacher, teacher, lawyer, General and statesman, and a very fascinating conversa- tionalist. When he was the Republican leader in Congress he was justly proud of the distinction he had achieved without friends or fortuitous circumstance. He had a hard struggle to obtain a cohegiate education. His father had settled in the West- ern Reserve of Ohio when it was an almost unbroken wilder- ness, but died young, leaving his widow with four small children, the youngest of whom was destined to be President of the United States; and their only fortune was a rude little log cabin and a few acres of cleared land. The family struggled in poverty, but the mixture of Puritan and Hug-uenot blood that was infused into the children made them sturdy helpmates for their mother, and as early as possible they turned their attention to earning a little money in every way that was offered. James spent one summer driving mules on the towpath for a boat on the Ohio Canal, and soon thereafter he became a proficient carpenter. He worked steadily at his trade, studied by the lamp or pine-knot fire at night, and finally was enabled to get into the seminary a few miles from his home. By tireless industry and earning his own way, he finally graduated at Williams College in 1856. He had early adopted the faith of the Campbellites, known as the "Disciples," a church without an or- dained ministry, and he frequently filled the pulpit in the religious services of his people. After he graduated he became president of Pliram College, and soon became known as one of the leading teachers and scholars of the country, While con- (106) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 107 ducting his college he studied law, but by reason of his diversion to military and political channels there was little opportunity for winning distinction at the Bar. Garfield won high rank as a political disputant in the cam- paign of 1856, when he actively supported Fremont, and in 1859, without seeking the position, he was chosen to the State Senate. His service in the Legislature was brief, as early in 1861 he volunteered in the war, and was made lieutenant colonel oi the Forty-second Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, many of whom were his old pupils of Hiram College. When he entered military life he gave it the same careful study as was his habit in the per- formance of all duties, and his regiment was soon regarded as one of the best disciplined in the volunteers from the State. He made a heroic movement against General Marshall, of Ken- tucky, in the early part of 1862, and was promoted to Brigadier General for the skill and valor he exhibited at Middle Creek. He later became chief of staff to General Rosecrans, and was pro- moted to Major General for gallantry in the battle of Chicka- mauga. He had been chosen to Congress in the fall of 1862 while in the field, and he resigned his commission in the army just in time to meet with the regular session of Congress on the first Monday of December, 1863. From that time he served continuously in the House until he was elected President in 1880. During the war Garfield rendered great service in the Military Committee of the House, and after the war ended, when the Committee of Ways and Means became the most important of all committees, he was transferred to that committee; and when a new committee on banking and currency was created he was made its chairman. He was an earnest and generally an aggres- sive man, but as a leader on the floor he lacked the sternly heroic qualities of Stevens and the brilliant dash of Blaine. With all his great surroundings, however, he stood out in the fore- front of the leaders of the party in the popular branch of Con- gress. I first met Garfield soon after his appearance in Congress in the fall of 1863, and I met him many scores of times during the war and the desperate political battles over reconstruction. While a preacher of his faith, and with mingled Puritan and Huguenot blood, he had none of the severe qualities of the Puritan. He was always a genial, delightful companion, and I gratefully Io8 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S remember my many pleasant associations with him. He was unusually frank in conversation, and a very intelligent observer of political events. He was ambitious, as all men are and as all men should be with his opportunities, and in the fall of 1879, when the Legislature was to be chosen to elect a United States Senator, I remember a very interesting and impressive conver- sation with him on the subject of entering the contest for the Senatorship. Stevens was dead and Blaine was generally ex- pected to leave the House for the Presidency, thus leaving Gar- field the undisputed leader of the popular branch of Congress — a position that in times of national peril is the highest popular trust of the nation. Clay won greater honors as commoner dur- ing the second war with England than he ever achieved in any of the many lustrous records of his life, and Stevens stands out sin- gle and alone as the commoner of our civil war. Garfield said he believed that the Republicans would carry Ohio; that he could command the Senatorship without a serious struggle, and the result proved that his anticipations were en- tirely correct, as he was nominated practically without opposi- tion and elected by a large majority. He was in doubt as, to the wisdom of making the change from the popular to the more select branch of the national Legislature, and I earnestly urged him to remain in the House, where his leadership was now fully assured, while in the Senate he would be only one of many, with all his ability and experience. His judgment was clearly against the change, but he was human, and the opportunity of advance- ment Vv^as a temptation too great to resist. He would have been not exactly out of place in the Senate, but the different atmos- phere and methods which obtain in the two bodies distinctly qualified him for the popular branch and measurably disqualified him for the Senate. He was a popular leader in the House, but when the Senatorship came to him as it did he accepted it, and he is the only man in the history of the Republic who, on the same day, was member of Congress, Senator-elect and Presi- dent-elect. He was serving in Congress in 1880, had been elected to the Senate in January of that year, and in November was chosen President. The most memorable political spectacle witnessed since the organization of our Government was exhibited at the Chicago convention in 1880. It was a fight of giants summoned to a RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 109 battle royal between Grant and Blaine, and I met Garfield fre- quently during- the protracted sessions of that convention. His State had unanimously declared for the nomination of Sherman, and Sherman and his friends made an exhaustive struggle to make Sheiman the compromise candidate, as it was well under- stood that neither Grant nor Blaine commanded the full majority of the body. Garfield was placed at the head of the Sherman delegation, and made the speech presenting- Sherman's name to the body. Conkling had just delivered his great speech present- ing the name of Grant, and when Garfield came upon the plat- form to nominate Sherman he was greeted with thunders of ap- plause that lasted many minutes. He was a man of superb pro- portions, as eloquent as he was persuasive as an orator, but his address lacked the rugged incisiveness and earnestness that Conkling had exhibited in presenting his chief. It was in the air that a compromise candidate must be chosen in the end, and Garfield certainly expected that the choice would fall upon him. He has never been accused of conspiring in any way to bring about his own nomination, but his speech for Sherman was a beautiful and most impressive plea for peace, thus presenting a sublime contrast to the terribly aggressive eloquence of Conk- ling. The battle continued through many days, and at differ- ent sessions of the convention the coming of Garfield was always looked for and welcomed by the cheers of the ten thousand people who filled the vast auditorium. I saw him enter the convention at every session, and he always came just before the session opened, when the house was filled to over- flowings and the magnificent stride of his commanding form, with its faultless apparel, always called out the wildest applause from the vast assembly. Among those whose judgment could not be misled by personal interest there was the general im- pression that Garfield was the logical candidate upon whom the disputing Grant and Blaine gladiators must eventually unite, and Garfield certainly appreciated the situation and expected from the beginning that he would be the candidate. When the stampede came and Garfield was nominated there was a rush from the hall before the ballot was announced, and I was among the jostling newspaper men struggling to reach the telegraph office. Garfield had slipped out of the hall in the confusion, and no COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S just as I got outside of the door I saw him in a carriage, his dark felt hat pulled down over his eyes, accompanied by Gov- ernor Foster, of Ohio, who was hurrying Garfield away from the multitude. I saw Garfield the same evening, and his exultation over so grand a triumph was greatly tempered by the hostile attitude assumed by Conkling, the leader of the Grant forces. The Grant line had not broken, and it was the friends of Blaine who nominated Garfield. Conkling, imperious as a Roman Em- peror, could not accommodate himself to defeat, and when I spoke to him later in the evening about the political situation, and what New York would be likely to do as to the Vice Presi- dency, his answer was quite too sulphurous to be recorded in the public press. When asked by the friends of Garfield to name the candidate for Vice President, Conkling peremptorily and contemptuously refused to do so, and when some of the more considerate members of the New York delegation finally de- cided to present the name of Chester A. Arthur for the second place on the ticket Conkling gave only a passive assent, and did not appear at the head of his delegation in the convention when the vote was to be taken. Arthur was in the delegation with Conkling, and in Conkling's occasional absence during the pro- tracted sessions acted as chairman, and the uniform courtesy he exhibited in all that he had to say in announcing the vote or in participating in the other proceedings of the convention was in sharp contrast with the imperious manner of Conkling, and won the respect of all the delegates. Grant was at his home, in Galena, during the sessions of the convention, and he came down to Chicago the morning after his defeat. I met him in the Palmer House, and, while it was probably the greatest disappointment of his life, not a shade of disappointment was visible in the man. On the contrary, I never saw him more genial than he was on that occasion, but, while he maintained his imperturbable spirit to the world, he shared the bitter resentments of Conkling over his sacrifice, and it was there determined that the defeat of Garfield was a political necessity. This attitude was maintained by Grant and Conkling and their immediate followers until late in the campaign. Gar- field came on to New York to establish better relations between the Grant people and himself, and, although Garfield stopped at RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 1 1 the same house where ConkUng made his home, Conkling- did not call upon him and avoided meeting him. At that stage of the campaign there did not seem to be any reasonable hope of the election of Garfield, and had the election been held any time before the ist of September Hancock would have carried New York and all the doubtful States by large majorities; but Gar- field later invited Conkling to visit him in Ohio, and, after a very full consideration of the subject by Conkling with Grant and others, he decided to go, and that visit brought about har- mony between the opposition elements of the party. What conditions were expressed or understood at that con- ference the world can never know, but Conkling felt that he had at least the assurance of fair play in wielding the power of the Administration. So much harm had been done by the visible opposition of Conkling and Grant to Garfield that it required extraordinary efforts for them to recover their ground, and Grant, for the first and only time in his life, took the stump and made several short but earnest speeches in favor of Garfield's election, while Conkling threw all his great power into the bat- tle, and then saved New York only by the treachery of Tam- many. Had Tammany Hall given an honest support to Hancock he would have carried the Empire State, and that would have made him President ; but Hancock was not the man Tammany wanted. They could deal with Conkling when mutual interests demanded it, but Hancock was a thoroughly honest, straightforward, heroic soldier and Tammany justly feared him. What part Conkling played in the Tammany defection is not known, but it is quite probable he was largely responsible for it. The popular vote between Garfield and Hancock was the closest ever cast for President. In the total vote of nine millions, in round numbers, divided between Garfield and Hancock, the majority was less than 10,000. Garfield's election was not questioned in any way, and the 4th of March following, when he was inaugurated Presi- dent, presented the most imposing pageant ever given in Wash- ington when Hancock, then commander of the army, rode in front of the military procession that conducted Garfield to the Capitol to be qualified as President, and thence back to the White House. Conkling and Blaine had quarreled when both were in the 112 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S House some years before, and that quarrel continued with un- abated bitterness until the death of Conkling. Neither ever ad- dressed or recognized the other, and even when they were serv- ing together in the Senate and either had occasion to refer to remarks made by the other, instead of referring to the "gentle- man from Maine," or the "gentleman from New York," they would say: "It has been stated on this floor." It was pitiable to see two great intellectual giants like Blaine and Conkling thus exhibiting their personal enmities even on public occasions, but Conkling had been unhorsed by Blaine when both were young and ambitious, and Blaine had done it with the dash and vehe- mence that he alone could give to popular disputation. While Blaine would gladly have made friends with Conkling, as he told me many times, he never could obtain from any friends of Conk- ling the assurance that an advance on his part would not be re- pulsed with contempt. That estrangement caused the quarrel between Garfield and Conkling. Blaine's friends had nominated Garfield, and it was his obvious duty to tender to Blaine the position of premier. Conkling protested, but in vain, and finally informed the President that when the nomination of Blaine came before the Senate, he would not make open opposition, but w^ould be compelled to hold his nose to escape the stench that such an appointment must cause in the Senate. It is commonly accepted that the nomination of Robertson for Collector of the Port of New York, which was the greatest pos- sible affront to Conkling, was accomplished by Blaine at the head of the Cabinet; but in that Blaine is unjustly judged. Blaine did not advise the appointment of Robertson, and did not know of it until it was made. It was one of the occasions in w^hich the lack of executive attributes and discipline was exhib- ited by Garfield. He was a great popular leader, but he lacked many of the qualities of a tactful administrator. Robertson was in the delegation at Chicago, and led the minority of the dele- gates who refused to support Grant, and who in the end sup- ported Garfield; and the man who had thus dared to lock horns with Conkling's imperious spirit could never be forgiven. The result was a blunder on the part of Conkling that only passion could have inspired, and he resigned his seat in the Senate, tak- ing Piatt, his associate, with him, hoping to be re-elected by the New York Legislature then in session. Had the election been RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. I 13 held at once it is probable that Conkling and Piatt could have won ; but the presiding officer of the Senate delayed it a week by failing to make the announcement in time, and that delay was fatal. The result was a contest of some weeks before the Legis- lature, in which Vice-President Arthur was by the side of Conk- ling at Albany battling against the President; but the struggle was summarily ended by the assassination of Garfield. Conkling and Piatt grew weaker from day to day, and finally had to abandon the field before the death of the President, as he lingered many weeks after the assassin's bullet had stricken him. Garfield had little opportunity in the brief period in which he served as President to leave any monument of marked credit to his administration. Congress had not been in session, and two months before its regular meeting he died at Long Branch. He thus left no record by which to judge his qualities as the Exec- utive of the great nation. In the White House he gave the same generous welcome to visitors that he had given when among the leaders of the House. He was blest with a most buoyant, hope- ful temperament, and had gathered about him at the Capitol a large circle of Ohio friends, who expected to bask in the power of Garfield for eight years. I saw him in the White House sev- eral times during his brief stay there. There were no public questions of interest then to discuss, and he had only social duties to perform outside of the scramble for place. Blaine was the master spirit of his Administration, and Garfield was as enthusiastic as Blaine himself. Blaine expected to accomplish great achievements in bringing this country into closer relations with Central and South America, and Garfield looked forward to an era of peace and prosperity, with a record of greatly en- larged commerce, accomplished by his Administration. He had no exacting cares, and he was generally as cheerful as a boy at play. His hopeful temperament was never abated even during his long and always hopeless illness, and when informed by his physician, after the nature of his wound had been ascer- tained, that there was a chance for his life, he cheerfully answered, "Well, we'll take that chance." After his removal to Long Branch, when all who knew his actual condition knew that his recovery was utterly impossible, the silver lining of hope cheered him until his last moment. He was the second of our 114 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Presidents who fell by the assassin's bullet, and his death spread the dark pall of sorrow over the entire nation. ]\Irs. Garfield had no opportunity to exhibit her social quali- ties in the White House beyond meeting the jostling crowd at the inauguration. Congress was not in session during her brief period as the first lady of the land. After the rush of the inaug- uration ceremonies she always exercised such generous hospital- ity as the season would permit, until the 2d of July, when the President was shot, and from that time until the 19th of Sep- tember she was the devoted nurse of her dying husband. She was eminently fitted for a most successful career as mistress of the White House. Her acquaintance with Garfield began when both were students at school; she was a fitting helpmate in the laborious career he accepted for himself, and she was equal to her part in every distinction that he achieved. The sympathy of the nation for her and her children was promptly displayed after the death of the President by a voluntary popular sub- scription that reached $360,000, that was placed in trust for herself and her four sons and one daughter, and in addition, Con- gress voted the usual annuity of $5,000 to the widow of a Presi- dent. She was a w^oman of gentle and graceful manners, with unusually strong and positive qualities, and the hearty sym- pathy of the whole people went out to her as she returned to her desolate home in Ohio, clad in the habiliments of woe, ARTHUR AND HIS SUCCESSFUL ADMINISTRATION. No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Alan Arthur, and no one ever retired from that highest civil trust of the world more generally respected, alike by political friend and foe. When the death of Garfield called him to the succession, by the mandate of the Constitu- tion, he was known outside of his immediate circle of personal friends as a mere politician, and not of the most creditable school. His active participation in politics in New York; his factional struggles, which attracted the attention of the nation; his conflict with President Hayes and Secretary Sherman, which resulted in his removal from the Collectorship of New York charged with the abuse of his official power to serve political ends, and his defeat in this fight with his own party Administra- tion made it only natural that he should be generally accepted as a politician who could not rise to the dignity of statesman- ship, and who if charged with high political authority would pervert it to serve personal or partisan ends. Those who knew Arthur in his every-day life and were at- tracted to him by his manly personal attributes fully appreci- ated the wrong that was done to him. The whole record of his life shows that he was a man of positive convictions, of un- swerving integrity, and was ever ready to sacrifice himself in demanding the maintenance of his faith. He was born in the chilly mountains of Vermont, and, like Garfield, resolutely worked his w-ay to the attainment of a collegiate education, in which he graduated with exceptional honors. While devoting all his spare hours to teaching, he was enabled by his own efforts to gratify his ambition for accomplished scholarship, and when quite a young man he engaged in the practice of law in New York City. His first important case was one that an ambi- tious young lawyer looking only to his own advancement would never have undertaken. It was the memorable Lemmon slave ("5) Il6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S case. The feeling against the abolition sentiment of that day was so violent that Gerrit Smith had been mobbed at Utica in attempting to form an anti-slavery society, and William Lloyd Garrison had been dragged through the streets of Boston by a mob and found protection by lodgment in prison. The Lemmon slave case was the first test made by Southern slave owners to force the recognition of the right to hold slaves in transitu in free States. The compromise measures of 1850 tended to the establishment of this theory, and the Dred Scott decision, which followed in a few years, was regarded by the Democratic leaders as settling the slavery issue. The Dred Scott decision was foreshadowed in Buchanan's inaugural address, and the advocates of slavery extension believed that they had then attained not only the right to carry slaves into the territories, but also to take slaves in transit into and through free States. Jonathan Lemmon, a wealthy planter of Virginia, brought sev- eral of his slaves into New York on their way to Texas, and a writ of habeas corpus was issued by Judge Paine, of the Superior Court, on the petition of a free colored citizen of the State^ alleging that the slaves were made free by being brought by their masters into a State where slavery was unlawful. The Court decided that the slaves were free, and the Lemmon slave case suddenly became an important political factor. The Legis- lature of Virginia instructed its District Attorney to carry the issue to the highest court of New York, where the freedom of the slaves was affirmed, and Arthur, then the junior counsel for the slaves, personally appeared before the Legislature and the Governor of New York and secured the intervention of the State to defend their freedom, Arthur did not argue the case, but such men as Attorney- General Hoffman, Culver, Blunt and Evarts were engaged on the same side, and Charles O'Connor joined the Attorney-Gen- eral of Virginia in support of the cause of the master. He also brought the first action against the street car lines of New York for ejecting colored persons. He rose rapidly at the bar, and took a very active part in politics. He served on the staff of Governor Morgan during the civil war, and devoted himself assiduously to a very important but generally unrecognized ser- vice that is necessary in the achievements of our army. He was secretary of the confidential New York meeting of a number of RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 1 7 the Governors of the loyal States in June, 1862, which resulted in the celebrated Altoona conference that called upon the Presi- dent to sunnnon 300,000 additional soldiers to the field. His arduous duties in organizing and equipping the New York soldiers were so faithfully performed that his Democratic suc- cessor paid the highest tribute to his ability and integrity. He continued prominent in the practice of the law, and in all polit- ical movements until 1871, when he was appointed Collector of the Port of New York by President Grant, and confirmed by the Senate without objection. Four years later, in 1875, he was reappointed and confirmed at once without referring the nom- ination to a committee — a courtesy that is very rarely extended to any excepting those who have been members of the Senate. Arthur was a devoted friend of Conkling, as was Alonzo B. Cornell, then naval officer of New York, and in 1876 Conkling made his great battle for the Presidential nomination. Conkling was one of the greatest of Republican leaders, and no man ever had more devoted followers, among whom were Arthur and Cornell; and after the fierce battle between Blaine, Bristow and the Administration forces Conkling's supporters went to Hayes and gave him the nomination. Cornell was a prominent candi- date for Governor the same year, with Evarts and Morgan as competitors, Evarts representing the reform Republicans under the leadership of Curtis. Cornell withdrew and gave Morgan the nomiration, and Hayes called Evarts to the head of his Cab- inet. Evarts represented the Republican sentiment that was at variance with the aims and purposes of Conkling, and, as Hayes favored extreme civil service reform. Collector Arthur and Naval Officer Cornell, by their active participation in politics, had openly offended the reform civil service policy. It was not charged that they had been faithless in their official duties, but Hayes, who was an ideal civil service reform radical, joined Evarts in an as=;ault upon Arthur and Cornell. A commission was appointed to investigate the management of the Custom Plouse, and it reported Arthur and Cornell as offenders against the civil service policy of the Administration. The President thereupon nominated Theodore Roosevelt for Collector and J. Bradford Prince for Naval Officer, but Conkling came to the rescue of his friends and rejected the new nomina- tions. When Congress adjourned, some months later, the Presi- liS COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S dent suspended Arthur and Cornell, and appointed Edward A. Merritt as Collector and Silas W. Burt as Naval Officer, and their nominations were sent to the Senate when it met the fol- lowing December. Secretary Sherman sent to the Senate a detailed statement of the reasons which led to the removal of Arthur and Cornell, to which Arthur replied in defense of his administration; and after a controversy of three months Conk- ling was unhorsed by the confirmation of ^Merritt and Burt. This battle ended on the 3d of February, 1879, and on the 3d of Sep- tember following Cornell was nominated by the Republicans for Governor of the State and triumphantly elected, and one year later Arthur was nominated for Yice President at Chicago, was elected, and thereby became President of the United States. I had met Arthur only in a casual way at national conventions, and several times in Xew York, until the meeting of the Repub- lican convention at Chicago in 1880, where he was nominated for \'ice President. The sessions of that convention extended over some ten days, and it was one of the most imposing spectacles I have ever witnessed. It was the great battle between Grant and Blaine, and the ablest leaders of both sides were summoned to the conflict. Arthur was second in the New York delegation, and acted as chairman in the absence of Conkling. He had not the remotest idea that he might be named for Vice President. He was heartily devoted to his chief, Conkling, and to Conkling's chief, Grant, and they were confident of winning the battle until they were defeated in the preliminary struggle on the rules, whereby delegations instructed by their respective States to vote as a unit were given the right to vote their individual preferences regardless of their home instructions. Had this rule not pre- vailed Grant would have been nominated. It lost him many votes, especially in New York and Pennsylvania, and Robertson, who was appointed to the Collectorship by Garfield and made an impassable chasm between Conkling and Garfield, led the minor- ity of the New York delegation in defiance of Conkling and polled one-fourth more of the delegation for Blaine. Conkling was not an approachable man, except to his few very intimate acquaintances, and the newspaper men found Arthur, Avho was entirely familiar with the inner movements of Conkling, not only a most agreeable companion, but ready to furnish them all the information that he was warranted in giving out. I had RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. I19 frequent conferences with him during that long struggle, and my prejudices against him were greatly tempered by the manly qualities he always exhibited. No one could be in close touch with him at any time without seeing that he was a man of great ability, of severe modesty, and thoroughly straightforward in all his political movements. During the whole proceedings of the convention ConkHng was offensively imperious. He never an- nounced the vote of his State without giving the minority vote with a sneer or with an offensive remark. • On several occasions when Conkling was otherwise engaged Arthur acted as chair- man, and in announcing the vote his courteous manner was a most agreeable contrast to the offensive methods of his chief. When defeat came for the Grant forces Conkling was irreconcila- ble, and contemptuously refused to consider the question of pre- senting a Grant man for second place on the ticket. The more considerate men in the delegation finally took hold of the ques- tion and named Arthur for Vice President — the one man to whom Conkling could not possibly object. He gave his passive assent, but took no further active part in the proceedings of the convention. Arthur was nominated practically without a contest, as he was known to be tlie most prominent representative of the Grant forces, next to Conkling, in New York. When Garfield and Arthur were inaugurated President and Vice President it was generally expected that there would be harmony between the Garfield and Conkling elements, and Arthur certainly did everything in his power to maintain it ; but Conkling was ever suspicious of Garfield, and when he finally slapped Conkling in the face by the nomination of Robertson to the New York Collectorship it became a war to the death. Conkling was just the man to fight such a battle regardless of consequences, with his ears closed to every suggestion of com- promise. He attempted to assert his power over the President by resigning his seat in the Senate, depending upon the New York Legislature for re-election, but he there met only keen dis- appointment and disastrous defeat; and the long-continued bat- tle practically ended on the day that the assassin's bullet pros- trated President Garfield. Arthur had manfully stood by his friend in his hopeless struggle until the assassin had intervened between the contending gladiators, and when the tragedy of the Washington depot ended in the death of Garfield, at Long 1 30 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Branch, Arthur quietly summoned the Xew York Chief Justice to his home to administer to him the oath of office of President of the United States. I shall never forget the day, July 2, 1881, when, sitting on a veranda at the summit of the Alleghenies, a telegraph boy ran wildly among the visitors who were enjoying the cool breezes, announcing that President Garfield had been shot at the railroad depot in Washington, and that he could not survive. The horror of the second assassination of the President of the United States within a period of sixteen years w^as simply appalling, and the public distrust that attached to Vice President Arthur seemed to leave the dark pall that hung over the nation without even a sil- ver lining. The death of Garfield meant according to the general acceptation of the public, a radical political or factional revolu- tion, and it was generally assumed that it made Conkling Presi- dent in fact, as Arthur was presumed to be his submissive fol- lower. This distrust was measurably justified by Arthur's manly devotion to Conkling. He was at open war with the President, and he was censured for degrading the office of Vice President to the position of appearing before the Xew York Legislature as a soHcitor of votes for Conkling. A'alues were at once seriously disturbed, and there was general apprehension that the Repub- lican party would be disintegrated by the vindictive mastery of faction in the administration of the Government. Conkling had many wounds to revenge, and it was reasonable to assume that Arthur would be his willing instrument in all his resentful pur- poses. From the day that Arthur became President of the United States all the inherent great qualities of the man asserted them- selves. When he arrived at Washington the oath of office was again administered to him by Chief Justice Waite, and he gave out a brief inaugural address that did much to quiet the general apprehensions of the country. The closing sentence of that ad- dress v,-as in the following well-considered words, which he main- tained with unfaltering fidelity: "Summoned to these high duties and responsibilities, and profoundly conscious of their magnitude and gra\ity, I assume the trust imposed by the Con- stitution relying for aid on Divine guidance and the virtue, patriotism and intelligence of the American people." Our American Presidents have left manv monuments of RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 121 lieroism before which the heroism of mihtary chieftains must pale. Jefferson's acquisition of Louisiana, that was accomplished ag^ainst the general sentiment of his own party and of the coun- try; Jackson's incisive dealing with nullification in South Caro- lina; Lincoln's immortal Emanicipation Proclamation, and Cleveland's patriotic defense of the national credit against a re- pudiation Senate and House, and the suppression of anarchy by the military power of the Government, all stand out in distinct proof that "Peace hath her victories more renowned than war;" but 1 doubt whether any President ever performed a more heroic role in simple obedience to public duty and against such oppres- sive complications than President Arthur exhibited in asserting himself as President w'ith duties higher and holier than the inter- ests of even the dearest friend. The first lesson that he had to teach v.-as that he, and not Conkling, was President, and he did it in the most unostentatious way possible, resulting in the aliena- tion of the friendship of his recent chief. He changed his Cabi- net with the exception of Secretary of War Lincoln, and he could not do less with a Cabinet that had Blaine at the head and in which Attorney General MacVeagh was an important factor; but he never swerved from the acceptance of the whole responsibil- ity imposed upon him by a great national bereavement, and no other President has surpassed him in unswerving fidelity to every public duty. He publicly testified his appreciation of Conkling by nominating him as Justice of the Supreme Court, but he doubtless did it with the full knowledge that it would not be accepted. It was declined, of course, and thereafter Conkling was without interest in the Administration of the President who had so long been his protege and faithful supporter. Almost any man even in the Presidency would have tempor- ized with such an exacting dictator as Conkling by his side, and thereby lost the confidence of the country without serving his friend; but Arthur quietly devoted himself to winning the ap- proval of the nation by thoroughly deserving it. From that line be never departed; he was, therefore, eminently successful. He was one of the most delightful of our Presidents to visit at the White House, and while always maintaining every degree of dignity that should obtain in the office, he welcomed visitors with open heart, and all who met him learned not only to respect but to love him. Slowly but surely he grew in public trust, and 122 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S long before he retired from his high office he commanded not only the unbounded confidence of the great business interests of the country, but the universal respect of the whole people, re- gardless of their political faith. Like all men who have reached the Presidency, with very rare exceptions, he desired to succeed himself, but Blaine had the enthusiastic support of the Repub- lican people, had been defeated in two national conventions when he was the second highest candidate, and when his friends believed that he should have been successful, and Arthur fell in the Chicago convention of 1884, not because his Administra- tion was not heartily approved by his party, but because the Plumed Knight of Maine could not longer be postponed as the party candidate with the consent of the more vital elements of the party organization. Whether Arthur could have been elected in 1884 when Blaine was defeated is an open question. Conkling defeated Blaine by throwing the controlling State of New York against him, and it is quite likely that he would in like manner have defeated Arthur. Blaine made the most remarkable campaign for him- self that had ever been made by any Presidential candidate, ex- cepting Douglas, and that has ever been made since, excepting the two brilliant but fruitless campaigns of Bryan, and it is quite probable that Blaine's magnetic personality and brilliant cam- paigning brought himself nearer an election than could have been accomplished by Arthur. When Blaine was nominated, Arthur promptly telegraphed to Blaine his hearty congratula- tions, and gave a cordial and faithful support to the party candi- date; but Blaine was doomed to be the first in the line of Repub- lican candidates for the Presidency to be defeated in the period cf nearly a quarter of a century. I last saw Arthur on the evening of the day on which he re- tired from the Presidency. He was the guest of honor at a dinner given by one of his Senatorial friends, and I was painfully impressed by the fact that on that occasion he lacked the de- lightful companionable qualities which he usually exhibited. He was too much of a philosopher to exhibit depression because his days of power were ended, and later in the evening, when most of the company had departed, I spoke of it to the host, who then informed me that Arthur's health was seriously if not hopelessly broken, and that he was suffering from what was RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 23 believed to be an incurable malady. He returned to New York and announced that he could be consulted on legal questions at his office; but his vitality gradually wasted away, and he was rarely seen on public occasions. On the i8th of November, 1886, less than two years after he left Washington, he died sud- denly of apoplexy, and he fell in the race universally beloved and lamented. Arthur entered the Presidency as a widower, his wife having died in January of the year in which he was elected Vice-Presi- dent, but his sister, Mrs. Mary A. McElroy, was mistress of the White House during the social portions of the year, and acquitted herself with exceptional ability. She was quiet and unassuming in her social life, as was her brother in his great office, and the hospitality of the White House was dispensed with that gentle dignity that only a highly accomplished and thoroughly womanly woman can display, CLEVELAND'S THREE CONTESTS AND TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. The political contests which brought Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison into the Presidency are yet fresh in the recollections of the people, and the leading measures of national policy with which their respective Administrations were identi- fied need not be elaborately discussed; but some personal inci- dents interwoven with their official careers may be interesting to the general reader. Our public men are not judged wholly by their public acts. The strong or weak personality of a man called to high official position has much to do in shaping the public judgment of his official qualities. To know our great men as they really are they must be seen in the inner circles of their daily lives, and no man has ever reached the Presidency without having called out the most searching scrutiny as to his personal attributes. Many men thoughtlessly speak of Mr. Cleveland as a man of destiny, but with all his opportunities any man of less distinctive personal qualities would never have attained the success that he achieved. Fortuitous circumstance aids most of our success- ful public men at some crucial period of their lives, such as the fortunate nomination of Cleveland for Governor in 1882, when the Republican party of New York was hopelessly divided. Even with so reputable and in every way worthy an opponent as Mr. Folger, then Secretary of the Treasury, the State gave Cleve- land over 192,000 majority. That did much to make him a hope- ful candidate for President, but if he had not been the sternly honest and resolutely faithful man in the discharge of all public duties that he proved as Governor, he never would have been President of the United States. Like Arthur and Harrison, Cleveland was the architect of his own fortune, and was indebted to his own efforts alone for the tolerable education he attained. Beyond the scholastic advan- tages of an academy where his Presbyterian preacher father was (124) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 25 located, he had no opportunities for advancement beyond his own tireless studies. At 17 years of age he was a clerk and assistant teacher in the New York Blind Asylum, and later on thought himself doing well in assisting in the preparation of a book at $10 a w^eek. He entered a Buffalo law oiBce in 1855 as a clerk and copyist, but at once devoted himself to the study of law, and in 1859 was admitted to the Bar. After his admission he spent several years with his preceptor, acting as clerk and assistant at a salary beginning at $600, and annually advanced to $1,000, out of which he supported his widowed mother. He soon attracted attention as an exceptionally well-equipped law- yer. He was always a man of positive convictions and was earnestly devoted to the Democratic cause, although never an obtrusive candidate for party honors. He was nominated for District Attorney in 1865, when only 28 years of age, but was defeated. Five years later he was elected Sheriff, and in 1881 he w'as elected as Mayor of the city. While serving as Mayor he v/as nominated and elected Governor, and while serving as Gov- ernor he was nominated and elected President of the United States. Cleveland was a reluctant candidate for President in 1884. His friends had many consultations with him on the subject, but he uniformly discouraged rather than favored the move- m^ent. Mr. Manning, who commanded the battle resulting in Cleveland's nomination for President with consummate skill, and who served during part of Cleveland's first term as Secretary of the Treasury, gave me a detailed account of the reluctance on the part of Cleveland that confronted them in organizing to make him the candidate for President. He had little knowledge of the comprehensive campaign shrewdly planned and as shrewdly executed by Manning to win at Chicago. The Demo- crats had not elected a President since the success of the Repub- lican party in i860, although Tilden had received a popular majority in 1876 without finally succeeding in winning a ma- jority in the Electoral College. He regarded the contest as doubtful at best, and he was perfectly content to serve out the term of of^ce to which the people of his State had called him. He had never been intimate with the Democratic leaders of national fame, but he was scrupulously attentive to his public and private duties, traveled but little, and had the greatest aver- 1 26 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S sion to anything like ornamental parading in politics. I believe that he never was in Washington until he appeared there to be inaugurated President, with the single exception of a visit there in connection with a case he had in the Supreme Court. Cleveland's nomination in Chicago was accomplished against the most aggressive opposition of Tammany Hall, led by the veteran John Kelly. Tammany was in absolute control of the city of New York, where it required nearly 100,000 Democratic majority to give the electoral vote of the State to a Democratic candidate; but Manning and his associates, who were in the front of the battle for Cleveland, compelled Tammany to submit to have its votes in the convention cast for Cleveland under the unit rule. I had seen Kelly on several important political occasions, but never saw him so wildly excited as he was when he was defeated in his desperate struggle to prevent the enforcement of the unit rule that made him cast his vote for Cleveland, after he had vehemently protested against that nomination. Kelly ap- pealed to the convention until he became so hoarse that he could not be heard beyond his own delegation, but the hand of fate was upon him and he was compelled to bow to the inevitable. Manning had a clear majority for Cleveland at his command, but he lacked the necessary two-thirds vote; and I participated in the arrangement with Manning by which Randall, the Penn- sylvania candidate for President, was brought hurriedly to Chi- cago, and after a personal conference at which only Randall, and Manning were present, an arrangement was made by which Randall's support went to Cleveland on the second ballot, and that decided his nomination. I never met Cleveland until after his election to the Presi- dency. An appointment was made for me to visit him at Albany within a month after his election. I arrived there late in the evening, and found him awaiting me in the executive ofifice of the Capitol. The first impressions that Cleveland made upon an intelligent observer were precisely the same as would be made in a hundred later interviews. He was always the same quiet, unassuming, straightforward, sternly honest and entirely frank man in all things of which he could speak with freedom. Men have claimed that Lincoln, who was equally honest with Cleveland, at times dissembled and deceived those who conferred with him, but it was the result of Lincoln's extreme caution. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 127 The unwarranted misapprehension of his expressions led to dis- appointment. Lincoln was a man of variable temperament; at times bright and jolly; at other times sad and painfully impres- sive, but Cleveland was the same under all circumstances and conditions. Like Lincoln, he was a comparative stranger to the public men of the nation, and was compelled to choose a Cabinet most of whom he had never even seen ; but he gave the same careful study to the new political conditions which en- vironed him, consulted freely with those whose judgment he trusted, and when he formed his conclusions he was immovable. I formed then precisely the same impressions of Cleveland that I cherislied throughout the long and rather intimate acquaint- ance with him during his two Administrations and the three memorable campaigns in which he was the central figure. None could meet him and converse freely with him without fully understanding that he was a man of purest purposes and of unfaltering devotion to his convictions of right. In that con- ference he discussed the situation in Pennsylvania as well as the situation generally, and it was not until after the midnight hour that I bade him good night. I had no favorites to press upon him for any position, and that probably brought me into closer personal connection with him during his later career than could have been obtained had I annoyed him with the claims of place- men. Cleveland entered the White House as a bachelor, and he was a most delightful host for a late evening chat. I have many times gone to the White House by his appointment aften ten o'clock at night, and often passed the midnight hour with him. He was a tireless worker, gave more attention to details than any President we have ever had, and hard work seemed to agree with him. He was a delightful conversationalist when alone with those to whom he could speak with comparative freedom, and the one thing that was always taught in his discussions of any particular subject was his conscientious devotion to the right. He did not please his party because he unexpectedly accepted the civil service policy that was declared to be the Democratic faith. All parties believe in civil service when their power has been overthrown, and all party leaders, as a rule, seek to evade an honest civil service policy when they come into power and the other side has the offices. Cleveland believed in civil service re- 1 28 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S form, and he had the courage to inaugurate it by the distinct declaration that no capable and faithful federal officer commis- sioned for a term of years should be removed until his term ex- pired. I saw the tempest that this position made among the scores of placemen, but he stood as resolutely as the rock of Gibraltar, and since then no President has departed from the policy he established. Cleveland's record as President stands out as exceptionally great in several particulars. About the first of December, 1887, when Congress was just about to meet, I spent several hours v>ith him in company with John G. Carlisle. It was Saturday evening, and Congress was to meet on the following ^londay and elect Carlisle Speaker of the House. He gave me a hint of his memorable tarifif message that cost him his re-election, and I very earnestly appealed to him to change his message, not be- cause it did not state what was true and what the country should know, but because it would certainly defeat him the following year for re-election. That State paper, it will be remembered, although the regular annual message of the President, discussed but a single question, that of the tarifif, thus emphasizing the conviction of the President that all other national issues were secondar}- to the question of a reduction of taxes and expendi- tures. There was a large surplus in the Treasury', a large portion of which was needlessly exacted from the industry, trade and commerce of the people, and the large revenues had logically created profligacy. Cleveland believed it to be his duty to call a halt, and while he confessed that it would impair his chances for re-election, I shall never forget the quiet firmness with which he declared that it was a duty that he should perform to the nation, and that it must be performed regardless of personal consequences to him- self. The m.essage was delivered just as he had prepared it, and while up to that time the Republican leaders cherished little or no hope of defeating Cleveland's re-election, from that time on his defeat seemed to them to be quite possible. True, he was finally defeated by the treachery of Tammany, as he lost his elec- tion by the failure to receive the electoral vote of New York State. On the same election day that the Democrats electee! their Governor by nearly 20.000 they defeated Cleveland by nearly 15,000. I met him frequently during the campaign, and RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 29 found him hopeful, but not confident of success. He always spoke freely in vindication of his tariff message, believing that it was of much more importance to the country that that mes- sage should be delivered to Congress and the people than that he should be elected President. I doubt whether any President other than Cleveland would have made the personal sacrifice he did to perform what he accepted as a duty to the country. Cleveland's defeat in 1888 was accepted by many of the Dem- ocratic leaders as finally disposing of him as a national factor in the Democratic party. They did not love him because, while he was an earnest Democratic partisan within his own perceived lines of duty, he did not enthuse over the clamor of Democrats who importuned him for the spoils of power. Another instance of his devotion to his convictions w^as given during his retire- ment, when the free silver issue was running away with his party. He wrote and published a thoroughly frank letter antagonizing the free silver theory, that at once eliminated him from the list of Presidential candidates in the estimation of a large portion of the Democratic party that was distempered by the cheap- money policy; but when the great crisis came, in 1892, and the Democratic party had to choose its leader and its flag, the Dem- ocratic leaders were compelled by the overwhelming sentiment of the Democratic people to assent to his third nomination. I never saw a more desperate contest than was witnessed in the Chicago convention of that year. It was a fearfully discord- ant and almost riotously belligerent body. Bourke Cockran's speech against Cleveland is immortal in our political history. It is worthy to be ranked among the speeches of Ingersoll nom- inating Blaine, Dougherty nominating Hancock and Conkling nominating Grant, and it was cheered to the echo by the des- perately determined opponents of Cleveland. Not only Tam- many but the entire New York delegation presumed to repre- sent the pivotal State of the battle aggressively and vindictively opposed Cleveland's nomination. An appeal to the delegates of the convention against Cleveland's nomination was presented, signed by the entire New York delegation, but after a battle that lasted until far on in the morning hours a ballot was reached, and Cleveland was nominated on the first roll call by a few votes more than the necessary two-thirds. Had Cleveland failed in that ballot he would have been de- 130 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S feated, as many who were compelled to vote for him because of the positive Democratic sentiment that demanded his nomina- tion, would gladly have deserted him. The temper of the con- vention was shown by its absolute control by his opponents in all things excepting only his own nomination. The candidate for Vice President was nominated by his opponents, and the plat- form was made specially objectionable by the same influences; but with all this Democratic hostility the country came to the support of Cleveland, not because of personal distrust of Harri- son, but because his party, that was greater than himself, had wasted the surplus and imposed increased taxes upon the people. A half-dozen new pocket States of the West, created by Harri- son, came back with their electoral votes to mock him, and the cheap-money sentiment that had become so potent in both the great parties proved an aid rather than a hindrance to Cleve- land, because it divided the Republicans of the West. The result was his election to a second term by overwhelming popular and electoral majorities. Cleveland's second Administration was simply a continuation of the policy that ruled him during his first term. New ques- tions arose of the greatest importance, but he met them all from precisely the same standpoint and with the same patriotic pur- pose that always distinguished him in his public career. When the new Congress met the Democrats had an apparent majority in the Senate and an overwhelming majority in the House, but the Democrats of both branches were so terribly honeycombed with the doctrine of cheap money that the nation was brought to the very verge of repudiation. The Republicans, while less disturbed by the free silver and cheap-money theory, were far from united in favor of maintaining a sound financial policy. It was only with the greatest difficulty and after an exhaustive bat- tle that the bill was passed stopping the monthly purchase of sil- ver for free coinage; and when the gold balance fell to a point that threatened the credit of the nation and its greenbacks it was impossible to bring Congress to an appreciation of the highest of duties for the maintenance of the national credit. Cleveland's party was controlled in both branches by the cheap-money sentiment, but he rose to the occasion and promptly and emphatically notified Congress that the national RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 13 1 credit must be maintained. Fortunately he had authority to sell bonds to maintain the gold reserve, but those bonds were pay- able in "coin," which might be construed to mean either silver or gold^ and the 4 per cent, bonds that he was authorized to issu'C would not have been as acceptable on the market as a 3 per cent, gold bond. He earnestly appealed to Congress to authorize the issue of gold bonds to maintain the national credit, showing that if he were compelled to sell 4 per cent, coin bonds the loss to the Treasury in one transaction would amount to nearly $20,000,000, Congress turned a deaf ear to his appeal, and he resolutely maintained the credit of the republic by selling bonds in face of a Congress that could be justly classed as in- clined to repudiation, and maintained the credit of the country in the front rank of the civilized nations of the world. Again, when anarchy came in Chicago and life and property became the plaything of a mob inspired by organized anarchists who had the sympathy of the Governor of the State, and the commerce and mails of the nation were halted by violence, Cleveland came to the front, and in a single order of a few lines effaced forever the last dregs of State sovereignty that would make the safety of the commerce of the nation dependent upon the power of a State. It is just what Harrison would have done, but it would have been in accord with the teachings of Harri- son's party. Cleveland did it against the teachings of his own party, and established the policy of supreme national authority that can never be departed from while the republic lives. These acts of Cleveland were simply in accord with the established purposes of his life, and he stands before the country and the world today commanding the respect of all good citizens for the courage he exhibited in times of severest trial, when the safety of the credit of the nation and the protection of the public peace demanded the most heroic measures regardless of political teachings. His attitude in the Venezuela dispute with England startled the country like a thunder clap from an unclouded sky, and he was severely criticised by those who felt the disturbed business conditions of the country; but he reached a pacific adjustment in accordance with his own convictions of the right, and who today does not honor that feature of his Administration? Many 132 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S assumed that he had precipitated the issue with England to serve poHtical interests, and that the permanent tranquilHty of the busi- ness of the country might be very seriously affected. Some weeks before the final solution of the issue I was on my way South, to be absent for a month or more, and called to see the President, to find, if possible, some reason for allaying the appre- hension that was shared by all because of the Venezuda dis- pute. He spoke very frankly on the subject, not for publica- tion, and I soon found that he not only understood the issue perfectly in all the details, but that he was absolutely confident from the beginning of the peaceful result that was attained. He assured me that I could dismiss all distrust on the subject, but could not give publicity to the assurance, and I well remember the emphasis with which he added that the peaceful solution that was certain to be reached would make the people of both Eng- land and the United States cherish greatly increased respect for each other. Cleveland was the second President who was married while an incumbent of the White House. Tyler became a widower in 1842, more than a year after he had become President, and in June, 1844, during the last year of his Presidency, he married Miss Gardiner in New York City. Cleveland was the only President married in the White House, where, on the 2d of June, 1886, Frances Folsom, the daughter of his old friend and part- ner at the Buffalo Bar, became his wife. She was the youngest of all the many who have become the first lady of the land, being some two years younger than Betty Bliss, the daughter of Gen- eral Taylor, and she stands out single and alone as the one woman who completed the entire circle of womanly loveliness as mistress of the White House. She was young, beautiful, ac- complished and thoroughly genial, and in all her jenerous social mtercourse and delightful hospitality she has never provoked criticism. Today she stands before the country and the world as the model mother and woman of the nation. In the fierce campaign of 1888 I had many opportunities of discussing the political situation with Cleveland, and, while he was as nearly indifferent as possible to the result so far as it affected him personally, I knovv' that the greatest sorrow of both the battle and defeat were because of the wounds the campaign defama- tion brought to "the dear little woman," as he always spoke of RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 33 her, with liis ordinary, rather sober face, kindled with affection. She was by his side in the White House when the Hghtning bore him the message of defeat in November, 1888, and while the bright and hopeful eye was moistened by the sadness of the dis- aster, she bowed in sweet and queenly dignity to the same om- nipotent will that four years later reinstated her as the most beloved first lady of the land. HARRISON'S VICTORY AND DEFEAT. Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third President of the United States, was the second lineal descendant of a former President who succeeded to the Chief Magistracy of the Republic. John Quincy Adams, son of ex-President John Adams, who was then living, was elected President by the House of Representatives in 1825, and his son, Charles Francis Adams, narrowdy escaped be- ing the Liberal Republican candidate for President instead of Greeley in 1872. He led Greeley on most of the ballots until the last, and if nominated might have been elected, as the revolt against Grant was very powerful ; but an overwhelming reaction came as the election approached because of the uncertainty of the financial pohcy of Greeley. Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison, who was elected over Van Buren in 1840, and who died only a little more than a month after his inauguration. John Scott Harrison, the father of Benjamin Harrison, attained considerable distinction in poli- tics, taking high rank as a member of Congress from Ohio, in which position he served four years. The Harrisons were not born to fortune, as the elder Harrison held the position of Clerk of Courts of Cincinnati when elected to the Presidency, and Benjamin in early life worked wath his father on the farm, enjoying only the scant educational advan- tages of the log schoolhouse. By severe economy he found his way into P'armers' College, in Cincinnati, and, after two years of preparatory study there, he entered Miami University, at Ox- ford, where he graduated in 1852, standing fourth in his class. The strong attachment formed for Miss Caroline L. Scott when he was at college resulted in his marriage when he was a law student, before he attained his majority. In 1854, one year after his marriage, he followed the star of empire wiestw^ard, and lo- cated in Indianapolis, then the capital of a primitive Western State, possessing little wealth, but every prospect of rapid ad- vancement. He began housekeeping in a cheap little cottage (134) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 135 without means beyond his own very scant earnings, and was glad to receive a very small salary to add to his very limited in- come by acting as crier for the United States Court, as few fees in those days exceeded a $5 bill. He was a tireless student, and, with his strong intellectual qualities, he rapidly advanced at the bar, but just when he had acquired a practice that gave him some profit beyond his frugal living expenses, civil war came. In 1862 he was mustered into service, as second lieutenant of the Seventieth Indiana Volunteers; one week thereafter he was commissioned as captain, and before the regiment left for the field he was commissioned as Colonel. Within a year he was in command of a brigade, and on the 8th of June, 1865, he was mustered out of service along with his command. He participated as regimental or brigade commander in all of the battles fought by Sherman in his great campaign to Atlanta, and was part of Sherman's command that fell back from Atlanta when Sherman started for the sea, thus enabling Harrison to command a brigade in the battle of Nashville. Later he joined General Sherman in North Carolina in command of a brigade, and was present when Johnston surrendered to Sherman on the 26th of April, 1865. He was breveted Brigadier General "for ability and manifest energy and gallantry in command of a brig- ade." Had Harrison been more of a politician and less of a sol- dier he would probably have been promoted much more rapidly, as he was admittedly one of the best brigade commanders in Sherman's army; but he was as modest as he was heroic and skillful, and he was a stranger to the sinuous ways by which less competent and meritorious soldiers were advanced to high com- mands. He returned from the war universally honored as one of the most gallant and illustrious of Indiana soldiers from civil life. Harrison, like Cleveland, was a strong partisan, but not a strong partisan in the sense in which the term is generally un- derstood. He was a very positive RepubUcan in his convictions, and there were very few in Indiana on either side in those days whose political convictions were not of the most positive nature. The pohtical battles of Indiana not only before the war, but for many years thereafter, were among the most bitter and desperate witnessed by any State. Indiana was regarded as fairly debat- able in politics, and great leadership was developed on both 136 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S sides. During the war and until its great issues were settled Harrison was as emphatic in his political utterances as were his opponents. He made his first appearance as a political candidate in i860, when he was nominated for the office of Reporter of the Supreme Court on the same ticket with Henr)' S. Lane for Gov- ernor and Oliver P. Morton for Lieutenant Governor. It was well understood that if the Republicans succeeded in carrying the State ticket and Legislature, Lane would be elected to the Senate and Alorton succeed as Governor, and that programme was carried out, as Lane was elected Senator practically without opposition, and Morton, one of the ablest of all the national Re- publican leaders, became Governor of the State, and after serv- ing two terms was elected to the Senate, where he remained until his death. When Harrison went to the field with his regiment he ac- cepted the offer of some professional brethren to perform the duties of the office of Reporter in his absence, so that the small emoluments of the position should go to the payment of the debt upon his humble home. He had been elected for the term of four years, but in 1862 the Democrats assumed that his office w^as vacated by his acceptance of a position in the army, and nominated a Democrat to succeed him. The Republicans denied that there was any vacancy and presented no competitor, and after the election a Democratic Supreme Court divided on party lines and decided that Harrison's office was vacated by his en- listment. In 1864 he was unanimously renominated and re-elect- ed by a large majority, and on his return from the w^ar he served out his full term as Reporter. Harrison was not a politician in taste or inclination ; he loved study and retirement and he made little eflfort to popularize himself. He was kind and gentle in his intercourse with all who came in contact with him, but he possessed none of the arts which men so often employ to win popular favor. He believed also in honest politics, and with the political demoralization that w^as inevitable from cix^il war Harrison had little sympathy. Without being in active opposition, he was gradually but visibly estranged from the desperate and at times revolutionary meth- ods adopted by Governor Morton, and he was not regarded as in the line of political promotion; but in 1876, when the domi- nant power of the party had presented Godlove S. Orth as the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 37 candidate for Governor, whose political record provoked severe and just criticism, and finally compelled his retirement from the ticket, it became a necessity for the leaders to present a candi- date in his stead whose hands were so clean that none could question his integrity. With one accord the despairing leaders turned to Harrison and summoned him to take the head of the ticket with the hope of saving the party from defeat. Harrison, ever obedient to the call of duty, accepted the nomination and made the contest one of the memorable struggles which so often convulsed that State. He was little known to the people per- sonally, as he had rarely been among them on public occasions, and he had been proclaimed a kid-gloved aristocrat, thus sharply defining the contrast between Harrison and his competitor, who was then a Democratic Congressman knowTi as "Blue Jeans" Williams, and who represented the farming class and possessed great ability and shrewdness as a political leader. The political tide was against the Republicans, and Harrison was defeated in October, although leading his party vote, and in November the State was carried for Tilden against Hayes. Although defeated as a candidate for Governor, all appreciated the fact that he had fallen with his face to the foe, and after hav- ing made a battle royal for his cause, the Republican people of the State had learned to appreciate the able Republican cham- pion who had been quietly shelved for many years. Four years later, when the Republicans regained the State and carried the Legislature, Harrison was elected to the Senate practically with- out a contest. There were plenty who desired his defeat even beyond those who coveted the place, but the Republican senti- ment of the State was so overwhelmingly in favor of Harrison that all had to bow. As a Senator he was always dignified and able in discussion, but made little efifort to win the favor of his associates beyond an unfaltering devotion to his public duties. It was a notable fact that in 1888, when he was nominated for the Presidency, he was not heartily supported by a majority of his Republican associates in the Senate, but all of them accorded to him the highest measure of ability and unblemished public and private integrity. My first meeting with Harrison was at the Republican Na- tional Convention of 1880, when he was at the head of the In- diana delegation. That convention was exceptionally able, and 138 COLOXEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S will be ever remembered in the history of our national politics as the great battle of giants marshaled under the banners of Grant and Blaine. In all the many national conventions I have witnessed I never saw one so ably led. Logan spoke for Illi- nois, Garfield for Ohio, Harrison for Indiana, Conkling for New York; and only great men could be heard in that, the greaiest pohtical battle ever witnessed in a national council. Had Harri- son been more magnetic in character it is quite probable he would have been among the possibilities when it came to the question of choosing a dark horse as a compromise candidate. During the long sessions of the convention, lasting more than a week, Harrison was heard on several occasions, and always with the profoundest respect. It was my business as a news- paper man to see the leaders of the various delegations after the close of each day's battle to ascertain the probabilities for 'the morrow, and my acquaintance with Harrison ripened into the warmest personal regard and xevy high appreciation of his manly qualities. He was not an orator, like Blaine or Garfield, but he was a disputant of masterly ability, and always spoke directly to the point with resistless logic. He took the stump for Garfield in Indiana, and confined himself almost wholly to the local bat- tle, as he expected the victory in the State would make him the Senator. Morton was then dead, and his political methods had largely perished with him. The Republicans of the State were marshaled on better political lines under the lead of Harrison, and were devoted to their new leadership. It was a hard strug- gle, but he carried the State ticket and Legislature, and reaped the full fruition of his battle by his election to the United States Senate. Harrison's name was never presented to a National Conven- tion as a candidate for the Presidency until 1888, when he was nom.inated as the candidate of the party. The convention was delaved in its deliberations by the absence of Blaine, who was then abroad and enjoying a coaching tour. Elaine had publisHed a peremptory declination before going abroad, but his friends were unwilling to permit his retirem.ent as a Presidential candi- date, and there is little doubt that he would have been nominated had he not finally cabled the peremptory withdrawal of his name. In doing that he intimated to his friends his preference for Har- rison, and that turned the tide at once and gave Harrison the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 39 victory. The convention met in Chicago on the 19th of June and was in session for six days. The prominent candidates were Sherman, Gresham, Depew, Alger, Harrison, Allison, Blaine, Ingalls, Rusk and Phelps, and they are named in the order of the strength they exhibited on the first ballot. There was no bitterness in the contest excepting that exhibited by the friends of Sherman against the supporters of Alger, who were accused by Sherman's friends of corruptly controlling a considerable portion of the colored and commercial delegates from the South ; and Sherman evidently accepted Alger and his methods as the author of his defeat, as he has crystallized that impression in very plain language in his personal recollections published a short time before his death. The Pennsylvania delegation supported Sherman under the leadership of Senator Quay, and Governor Hastings, then Adju- tant General of the State, presented Sherman's name to the con- vention. Although the sessions were protracted from day to day some of them were almost entirely perfunctory, as they were awaiting definite information from Blaine. Depew, the candi- date of his own State, was present, and mingled with the dele- gates and his Presidential competitors, ever exhibiting a tireless fund of good humor. The Grangers were then very powerful in the West, and vindictively hostile to railroad corporations. With such conditions Depew was an impossible candidate, which he fully appreciated himself, and he frequently referred to it. He was always surrounded by a circle of friends, and on one occasion I heard him questioned by some of them as to how he expected to get along with the Grangers, to which he promptly replied that he had made the best terms he could with them, as he had promised them that the railroads would leave the farmers their fences, and he thought that ought to be an acceptable com- promise. It was evident from the start that with Alger commanding over 100 votes and bitterly hostile to Sherman, the nomination of Sherman could not be accomplished, and after four davs of waiting the final answer from Blaine was received. In a confer- ence in which Depew was the leading factor, it was decided to unite on Harrison. Just what Blaine cabled to his friends may never be made public, but it is known that from the time his final advices were received the action of the convention was defi- 140 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S nitely determined. Harrison started with 80 votes on the first ballot, and following with 91 on the second and 94 on the third, but on the fourth, when new combinations had been made by the absolute retirement of Blaine, he leaped up to 217. On the fifth ballot he fell ofif four votes, but on the sixth he rose to 231, on the seventh to 278 and on the eighth 554, which was followed by his unanimous nomination. The nomination of Harrison was received by his party in much the same spirit that the nomination of Cleveland was received by the Democrats. Neither was a favorite with the aggressive spoilsmen of his party; both were very positive in their devotion to the political faith; both were sincere in their support of civil service reform and had little sympathy with politicians who made politics a trade for the purpose of gathering the spoils of power, but both commanded unbounded respect from political friends and foes, and neither had the advantage of the other in the ephemeral popularity that public men at times achieve by the studied arts of the politician. Harrison had made few speeches in the Senate, and none of them exhibited any of the dash and magnetism that Blaine could throw into a Congressional dispute. He never made speeches for popular effect until after his nomi- nation for the Presidency, and then he developed into one of the most sagacious and effective speech-makers ever heard in our political conflicts. Immediately after his nomination he was waited upon by a large delegation at his home in Indianapolis, and to the sur- prise of the public generally, and somewhat tO' the dismay of his friends, he launched out in the political sea in the most fearless manner. That delegation was followed almost daily by other delegations, and it was soon found that it was his regulation duty to deliver a speech at least six times a week. He was at once counseled by some of the old leaders, who feared the efifect of much speaking by a candidate, that he should cease his off- hand public addresses, but he was self-reliant, and he very soon convinced his party and the country that he was abundantly able to meet every question as it arose without danger to his cause. He delivered ninety-four of these spontaneous daily speeches, which were given to the public by the Associated Press and read every morning from one end of the country to the other; and before the campaign had made much progress the daily utter- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. I4' ances of Harrison were looked for by his friends not with anx- iety, but as one of the pleasurable enjoyments of the day. These utterances were doubtless carefully revised before given to the public, but Harrison proved that his speeches needed little re- vision, and he finally became known as one of the safest and ablest of the public speakers of the nation. Later, when he had been two years in the Presidency, he made a journey to the Pa- cific coast and back, during which he delivered 140 addresses, all of which were fresh, instructive, patriotic and entirely free from partisanship. They have never been equaled either before or since by any President, with the exception of the recent speeches of the late President McKinley when he took nearly the same journey. The deliverances of these two Presidents, speaking in the centres of population from the Eastern to the Western sea, will ever be regarded as the choicest exhibitions of American statesmanship. The campaign of 1888 was one of the most manly political contests the nation has ever had. It was free from defamation and largely free from the violent partisan expressions which are so often provoked in national struggles. Cleveland was heard on several occasions during the progress of the battle. There were no violent political convulsions, and no threats of party defection on either side, exceptmg the apprehension that Tam- many would betray Cleveland. It was one of those quiet battles on regulation party lines that made it clearly visible to the lead- ers of both sides that the States of New York and Indiana would decide who should be the next President, and both States were contested with desperate earnestness. Cleveland was strong in the confidence of the business interests of the country, and, not- withstanding his tariff message, that had multiplied obstacles to his success, it was well known as the time for election ap- proached that only by the most extraordinary efforts could he be defeated. Indiana was carried for Harrison by the most complete and effective party organization ever known, and New York was carried for Harrison by the defection of Tammany. The electoral vote of the Empire State decided the Presidency. Cleveland had a popular majority in the country of nearly 100,- 000, and would have been re-elected had he received the elec- toral vote of his own State, but Harrison won the State when the 142 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Republican State ticket was defeated, and thus became Presi- dent of the United States. Harrison was a sternly honest man alike in public and private life, and he believed that his highest duty was to^ country and not to party. Although a positive partisan in all his. political convictions, he was not in sympathy with the great mass of ap- plicants for place that crowded the capital when his election had wrested the power of the Government from the Democrats, who were then filling most of the public olBces. He did not appoint Democrats, but he believed that candidates for public place should have some higher qualities than mere party service, and, like Cleveland, he chilled the active party workers at the early stages of his Administration. Senator Quay, who was chairman of the Republican National Committee, and who had employed methods to accomplish the victory in New York which he did not care to present to the public, was soon estranged from the President, as his colleague, Senator Cameron, was from the start. Both of them believed that the first duty of a public man was to his party, and in that they logically differed from the President. At no time during his Administration w-as he strong with the politicians of his party, but his strength was with the great mass of conservative and business people of the country. Precisely the same influence re-nominated Harrison at the Min- neapolis Convention in 1892 which renominated Cleveland at Chicago in the same year. The politicians of both parties would have been glad to defeat their candidates in the convention, but the sentiment of the people overruled and forced these nomina- tions. Harrison had a strong Cabinet with Blaine at the head, but, like Cleveland, he was the President himself. He gave great care to the details of his ofBcial duties, and when great inter- national questions arose he w^as the master mind that shaped the policy and deliverances of the Administration. This w^as ex- hibited in the dispute with the Italian Government relating to the New Orleans massacre, the Chile afifair and in the Bering Sea controversy. Blaine was an invalid during the latter part of his term as Secretary of State, but the President was thor- oughly familiar with every international issue, and no embar- rassment arose through Blaine's inability. The only error of his Administration was the excessive protective features of what was RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY, 1 43 known as the McKinley tariff; but, whatever his views may have been as to the details of the bill, as a President representing a positive protection policy he could not refuse his approval. It proved to be a great misfortune for the party, as soon after its passage the Republicans suffered the most overwhelming defeat in the history of the party, and it contributed much to the de- feat of Harrison in 1892. Harrison, with all his severe devotion to duty and his apparent lack of genial welcome to visitors, often relaxed from his labors to enjoy the prattle of children or the visits of young people. His wife was more or less an invalid from the time she entered the White House with him until her death, that occurred before his term expired, and his daughter, Mrs. McKee, was compelled to accept most of the social duties of the White House, and made her home with her father. In that family there was one who could turn the President from the soberest duties, and that was "Baby McKee." The little one was absolute mistress of the Gov- ernment and household, and she taught the world what a vast wealth of love for home and household gods was possessed by the usually severely dignified President. I saw a very beautiful illustration of that feature of his char- acter on one occasion several years after he had become Presi- dent. On my return from a several wrecks visit to the South I stopped a day in Washington. In the party were two unusually bright and beautiful girls just in the early teens. They had trav- eled abroad with their parents, and were keen and intelligent ob- servers. They were very desirous to meet the President. It was a time when Congress was not in session, and the President was not greatly oppressed with official duties, and I had no dif- ficulty in getting an immediate audience for them. The Presi- dent at once recognized the unusual attractiveness of the young girls, and he received them with the most generous welcome, and entertained them half an hour or more, heartily sympathiz- ing with and aiding their childish enthusiasm over everything about the White House. Had he been their youthful companion he could not have been more kind and generous in his devotion to their pleasures. Encouraged by the cordial welcome they re- ceived they asked for his photograph, and he promptly respond- ed by furnishing one to each, with an affectionate expression over his autograph. When they left the White House they had 144 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S but one memory of the President of the United States, and that was of the heartiest and jolHest of good fellows. Both have grown to womanhood, with the more sober appreciation of life that follows the departure from childhood, but among their green memories the grateful recollection of their visit to President Harrison is most imperishable. The social reign in the White House under President Harri- son was shadowed most of the time by the illness of his wife, who was a most cultured and thoroughly accomplished woman. Her intelligence, tact and generous qualities would have made her rank among the favorites of the first ladies of the land, but she lingered under a painful malady until the 25th of October, 1892, only a few days before the President was defeated in his contest for re-election, when she passed beyond the dark river. Harrison retired from the Presidency in full mental and physical vigor, and was among the most distinguished of the lawyers and legal teachers of the country until his death. Some seven years after the death of his wife he married Mrs. Dimmick, a niece of the first Mrs. Harrison, and a lady of rare personal and intellec- tual attractions. He lived in the same quiet and unostentatious manner at his home in Indiana until some time in March, when he was prostrated by a severe attack of pneumonia. His illness attracted the attention of the whole country, and on the 13th of March, 1901, his death was announced. No President save those who fell by the hand of the assassin died more la- mented by the country. McKINLEY'S TRIUMPH AND TRAGIC DEATH. The tragic death of President McKinley adds a sad chapter to the memories of the White House. On Friday afternoon, September 6, 1901, the President, when receiving the people in the Temple of Music at the Bufifalo Exposition, was shot twice by Leon F. Czolgosz, an anarchist. He promptly received the best surgical care, and for some days there were hopes of his recovery, but he died on the 14th of September at 2.15 in the morning. It was once said by an eminent diplomat that Russia was "'a despotism tempered by assassination," but in the period of a single generation three Presidents of the United States have fallen by the bullet of the assassin. Vice President Roosevelt was absent on a hunting expedition in the Adirondacks when the President's illness became severely critical, but he arrived on the day of the President's death and was qualified for the succession. He had been summoned to the President's bedside soon after the President had been shot, and remained for several days ; and he left only when the bulletins of the physicians gave reasonable assurance of the President's re- covery. After taking the oath of ofifice President Roosevelt in a tremulous voice said: "In this hour of deep national bereave- ment I wish to state that it shall be my aim to continue abso- lutely unbroken the policy of President McKinley for the peace, prosperity and honor of our beloved country." President McKinley's remains were taken to Washington and lay in state for a day in the rotunda of the Capitol, when the funeral cortege, accompanied by the new President, proceeded to Canton, where they finally received sepulture amidst the tears of the people. Although two Presidents, both greatly beloved, had fallen by the assassin's hand before McKinley was made the victim of the red-handed murder of anarchy, no President of the republic ever died so universally lamented as William McKinley. Lincoln stands high over all in the affections of the <«45) 146 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S country and the world today, but when he fell by the bullet of Booth the nation was engaged in fraternal war, and in the North political prejudices and hatreds were intensified by sectional strife; and while the assassination of Lincoln was denounced, his death did not call out the universal fountains of sorrow, which gave expression to the country's grief at the fall of McKinley. Garfield also fell in the midst of fierce factional strife within his own political household that estranged a large portion of his own party from approval of his Administration; but McKinley was stricken down by the anarchist when he had no violent par- tisan prejudices assailing him, and when political friend and foe united in testifying to the beneficent attributes of his public and private character. Even political criticism of the chief features of his Administration was heard in the feeblest tones, and throughout the entire land there was universal expression of not only respect but affection for the President of the Republic. It w'as my fortune to know President McKinley somewhat intimately from the time he appeared in Congress, in 1877, until his death. He was born at Niles, O., on the 29th of January, 1843, ^"d in 1 861, when only 18 years of age, he enlisted as a private in the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers, and served during the entire war, retiring as brevet major for "gallantry and meri- torious service." He served in the ranks as a private for 14 months, during which period he was frequently in the flame of battle. After the war he studied law, and was admitted to the Bar in 1867, when he made Canton his home, where he has since resided. He was seven times consecutively elected to Congress. The Democrats once decided to defeat him by a gerrymander that made his district DemiOcratic, but he overcame the party majority, although he lost his seat on a contest; and two years later, the Republicans having regained power in the State, his old district was restored, from which he was regularly returned by large majorities until 1890, w^ien the Democrats, having again carried the Legislature, gave him a district with over 3000 Democratic majority. LTndaunted by the adverse political tide that confronted him, he again became a candidate and largely exceeded his party vote, but was defeated by less than one-third the normal Democratic majority of the district. One year later he was nominated for Governor and elected by over 21,000, and in 1893 he was re-elected by over 80,000 majority, being the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 147 largest ever given to a candidate for Governor, with the single exception of Brough's majority over Vallandigham, in 1863. In 1896, after an earnest struggle with such competitors as Speaker Reed, Governor Morton and others, he was nominated for Pres- ident on the first ballot by more than a two-thirds vote, and elected by a popular plurality of 300,000, and received 271 votes in the Electoral College to 176 for William J. Bryan. He was renominated in 1900 by the unanimous vote of his party conven- tion on a poll of tlie delegations, and Theodore Roosevelt was nominated with him for Vice-President, falling just one short of McKinley's vote — and that one vote was cast by Roosevelt him- self. The result was his re-election by the largest popular ma- jority ever given to any Presidential candidate. McKinley early became one of the Republican leaders of na- tional fame. Some time before his retirement from Congress he was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and the au- thor of what was known as the McKinley tariff, passed in 1890, and approved by President Harrison. In all his pubHc career he was a model of personal purity in every relation of life, and the only imperfection I have ever heard imputed to him was in itself a virtue. He was a man of the kindest and gentlest dispo- sition, and it was claimed that at times his kindly nature would dominate his judgment; but none ever assumed that when the distinct issue was presented between the right and the wrong McKinley ever faltered. He was a delightful companion, an able and chivalrous foe and tireless in the performance of all his public duties. He has been criticised as the author of the McKinley tariff, but all who are well advised on the subject know that his political environment made it impossible for him to make any different revision of our tariff laws with the hope of success. While that tariff made his party suffer the most over- whelming defeat that has ever befallen it in its history, it did not in any way diminish public confidence in McKinley, as is shown by the immense vote he received in excess of his party in his hopeless struggle for re-election in a gerrymandered district, and by his election and re-election as Governor of the State. I met him frequently during his career in Congress, and, like all who had the opportunity of personal intercourse with him, have only the most agreeable recollections of him both as a public and private character. He was a positive partisan, but, above all, 148 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S he was as patriotic in the discharge of his high responsible civil duties as he was when he bore his musket in the ranks, offering his life for his country. I was first impressed with McKinley's Presidential possibilities while attending the Republican National Convention in Chicago, in 1888. In those days it was common for the chief editors of leading journals to attend national conventions as their own cor- respondents, and they usually formed very delightful supper parties after the labors of the day and night had been completed. Walking back to the hotel from one of these late gatherings with Murat Halstead, then of the Cincinnati Commercial, and discussing the general outlook of the convention that was then very much entangled by waiting for cable orders from Blaine, who was abroad, Halstead suddenly stopped and said: "Keep your eye on William McKinley, of Ohio; he will one day be President if he lives. He is the only man prominent among our Republican leaders today who served as a private in the Union army and fired his musket in battle after battle. Generals are popular, but a private soldier who has reached the distinction of McKinley, with his blameless character and record, must de- velop as a very formidable candidate for the highest honors of the nation." McKinley was then discussed in private circles as a possible Presidential candidate, but he was in the convention himself at the head of the Ohio delegation that was instructed for Sher- man, who started in the race with much the largest vote of any of the many candidates; and McKinley resented the use of his name in the most positive manner as involving perfidy to Sher- man and to the Republicans of his State. In disregard of his positive refusal to be considered a candidate, he received from 2 up to 16 votes on various ballots. In like manner he was voted for in the national convention of 1892 against his personal pro- test delivered from the chair, as he was President of the body. His name was not placed in nomination before the convention, but he received 182 votes in defiance of his refusal to permit the use of his name, and when the vote of his State was given unan- imously for himself with the exception of his own vote, he em- phasized his disapproval of it by having his vote recorded for Harrison. After the defeat of Harrison in his contest for re- election McKinley logically became one of the leading candi- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CE>rrURY. 1 49 dates for the Presidency, and the almost unprecedented majority he received for re-election as Governor of Ohio in 1893 gave great impetus to his cause. The history of the campaign and its result are familiar to all, and need not be elaborated. Earnestly as I had opposed McKinley's economic views as presented in the tariff of 1890, and while then at variance with him on the general administrative policy of his party, I 'car- nestly supported his election over Mr. Bryan, and The Times, with which I was then connected as chief editor, joined with half a score or more prominent public journals ardently devoted to tariff reform in advocating his election. No man ever received a more independent support outside of his party than was given to McKinley in the contest of 1896. Many of the ablest tariflF reform leaders believed that the question of a sound financial policy was paramount, and without importunity or condition of any kind they gave the victoi7 to McKinley. When he was successful, they asked no political favors at his hands; indeed, as a rule, they held that they could not consistently accept of- ficial reward for the independent services they had rendered, and that brought me into somewhat close and certainly very pleas- ant relations with him during his Presidency. I saw him many times in the White House, and was always delighted at the cor- dial welcome he gave and his frankness in the discussion of all questions of public interest. Having no personal ends to serve and no political friends to press upon his favor he could speak with freedom, and I never visited Washington without enjoying the pleasure of a visit to the President. I never had occasion to discuss with him any question with earnestness excepting several times when I complained of the attitude exhibited by the Navy Department toward Commodore Schley. He always spoke very kindly of Schley, and certainly he meant to be both kind and just. He gave Schley full credit for his valor in the naval battle of Santiago, but assumed that as Sampson was commander-in-chief and at least constructively en- gaged in the conflict, he was entitled to be promoted over his second officer. He expressed doubt as to the efficiency of Schley's early blockade of Santiago, to which I answered that if Schley had been guilty of anything before the battle of Santiago unworthy of a commander of his rank, to criticise him after he had been permitted to remain and fight and win the battle would 150 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S be only to criticise the President as commander-in-chief and the Secretary of the Navy and Rear Admiral Sampson. In later in- terv'iews, after the Senate had developed an overwhelming ma- jority against the promotion of Sampson over Schley, he made no complaint of the action of the Senate, but adhered to his be- lief that the commander-in-chief of the squadron engaged in the battle should reap the highest honors. He said he felt as kindly to Schley as he did to Sampson; that he had nominated both for promotion because of that feeling; that he had selected them as representatives of the navy at the most important State dinner of his Administration given to the Paris Peace Commissioners; that he had sent Sampson at the head of a tribunal to take charge of Cuba and superintend the retirement of the Spanish troops, and had sent Schley with equal honor tO' Porto Rico; that he had no sympathy whatever with those who sought to defame Schley or to make an issue between the two naval commanders, and he closed by saying that he was prepared to have Schley assigned to the command of a squadron. At the last interview I had with him on the subject he sent for Admiral Schley within an hour af- ter I left him, and I learned from the Admiral, with whom I dined that evening, that he was to be assigned to the command of the South Atlantic Squadron, with the Brooklyn as his flagship. On one of the occasions he inquired of me whether it would not be w^ell for Schley to ask for a Court of Inquiry, to which I answered that Schley could not do so in justice to himself for the reason that, unless the Navy Department was overruled, he could not get an honest Court. To this the President replied with emphasis that he would see to it himself that Schley should have an entirely impartial Court if he desired an inquiry. I re- member distinctly that he asked the question, "Would not Dewey do? Would not Watson do?" I said "Yes." He then added that he would perni'it no injustice to be done to any officer of the American navy by a Court of Inquiry, and he thought that I was unjust in assuming that the Navy Department was ready to be a party to injustice to Schley. I answered that if he would look at the action of the Department in ordering two subalterns who were involved in a dispute (as was common in both army and navy) to report to Captain Chadwick, Schley's bitterest foe, to ascertain who was right and who was wrong, when they should have been sent to Captain Cook, in whose presence and hearing RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 151 the conversation occurred (if any conversation was held) and be- fore whom neither could have lied or equivocated, he might understand the disposition in navy circles to defame Schley. I doubt not that, when the time came for the selection of the Schley Court, Dewey was made the head of the tribunal because the President indicated him for that duty. Soon after McKinley entered the Presidential office he was confronted by the Cuban troubles which ultim_ately resulted in a war with Spain. I saw him many times during the progress of events which led up to the War, and he was often torn by con- flicting desires. Like Lincoln, he was profoundly averse to war, and shuddered at the sacrifice of the lives of his countrymen; but the wrongs of Cuba became so intolerable and aroused the country to such a measure of resentment that when the battle- ship Maine was blown up and the lives of hundreds of our brave sailors sacrificed there was no alternative but to accept the arbitrament of the sword in behalf of humanity and justice. He was reluctant until the last moment to accept war, but when it was no longer possible to avoid it with honor he entered into it with all the earnestness of his patriotic nature. After battles had been fought and victories won by both our army and navy he was earnestly for peace, and was largely instrumental himself in effecting the preUminary agreement that practically ended the war. But for the extraordinary efforts of himself, his Cabinet and warm personal and political supporters the country would have been involved in interminable complications at the very outset of the war. It required all the political sagacity and moral power of the Government to restrain Congress from involving us in the recognition of the Cuban Republic and making us ac- countable to the world for obligations entirely beyond the scope of our humane purposes or our national necessities. McKinley was originally averse to the acquisition of the Phil- ippines, and at first yielded only sO' far as to demand the cession of Luzon; but the questions involved grew in magnitude, and the President arose to every new necessity until he realized the fact that only by the possession of the Philippine archipelago could we have peace and safety in the Eastern seas. At every stage of this great conflict he was humane and generous in every instinct, expression and action, and when the war ended he did every- thing within his power to give the largest measure of beneficent 152 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S attainment to the new peoples who came into our possessions with their provinces. He accepted the colonial policy with re- luctance, but finally beheved that it was the best solution that could be made of the problem, in view of the very grave compli- cations involving our industry and trade. Whatever he did he did because, after most careful consideration, he believed it to be the best for both the new provinces and the Republic. McKinley entered his second term on the 4th of March, 1901, with less political bitterness surviving the contest than was ex- hibited after any great national battle since the re-election of Monroe, in 1820. He was violently assailed only by a few ultra anti-imperialists and a circle of babbling anarchists, and the country generally accepted his re-election with very positive gratification or with the most generous opposing convictions. I last saw him in the White House a short time before he started on his journey to the Pacific. He seemed to be in excellent health, although a careful study of his complexion and the slightly dimmed lustre of his eyes suggested that he was not en- joying complete physical vigor. He has just reason to be proud of the condition in which his first Administration had left the country. There was universal tranquillity and general employ- ment for well requited labor. Prosperity spread its sunshine in every channel of commerce, industry and trade, and the grave national and international problems which confronted him during his first Administration seemed to be solved with satisfaction to the country and the world. He spoke hopefully and grandly of the progress and destiny of our free institutions, and seemed specially delighted that he was about to have an opportunity to meet the people North and South when there were no political issues to hinder his free intercourse with them. That journey was one of the most delightful records written in the life of McKinley. He was welcomed with enthusiastic ova- tions at every centre of population by the people who had given a majority of votes against him, and his frequent addresses proved the wonderful intellectual force of the man. Nearly all of the addresses he delivered were in the South, as his ming-line with the people was suddenly terminated at San Francisco by the critical illness of his wife, compelling the Northern route to be changed and a return of the party without permitting his in- tercourse with the people that they so ardently desired. No RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 53 man ever broadened out more than William McKinley after he reached the Presidency, and if he had no other record to leave as a legacy to the country than his spontaneous addresses de- livered during his journey to the Pacific coast, and his grandest of all deliverances at the Pan-American Exposition the day be- fore he fell by the bullet of the assassin, he would stand out in American history as among the most lustrous of our statesmen. Every life has its shadows, and the greatest sorrow of the life of McKinley was the suffering of his frail, sweet, angel wife, who was never permitted, even by the gravest duties of State to go beyond his care. She made heroic efforts to perform part of the social duties which devolve upon the first lady of the land, but it was always by a fearful strain upon her feeble vital powers. To her the whole world was centred in her husband, whose affection for her has crystallized him in history as the ideal husband, and has given the nation and the world higher and nobler concep- tions of the sanctity of home. She has unexpectedly survived the terrible shock of the murder of the one for whom alone she lived, and is now lingering in the darkly clouded home at Canton until "the shadows are a little longer grown," THE SHADOWS OF OUR GREAT NATIONAL CONTESTS. The shadowed side of our great national battles is rarely crys- tallized into history, although the pathway of these great con- flicts is thickly strewn with the bones of many who have fallen in the race. Not only have many who felt that the highest civil trust of the world was within their grasp been doomed to bitter disappointment, but many of those who reached the Presidency have retired with the keenest sorrow because they did not com- mand the approval of the people. In all the varied conflicts of American politics many scores who have failed or fallen in the struggles for the Presidency have drained the cup of bitterness to the dregs. The elder Adani's was the first to be crushed by defeat in his contest for re-election in 1880. He had defeated JefTerson four years before, but Jefiferson was confident that his success had only been delayed, and he bore himself manfully. Adams, who never regarded his defeat possible, forgot his dignity and self- respect and churlishly left the Presidential mansion at midnight, thus refusing to receive Jefiferson as his successor. Both lived for a quarter of a century, and time and age tempered the asperi- ties which had so long existed between two men who stood side by side in presenting the Declaration of Independence to the Colonial Congress. One of the most startling and pathetic illustrations of the shadowed side of our Presidential battles was exhibited in the alternating success, defeat and disgrace of Aaron Burr. He was quite as able as Jefiferson, and one of the most accomplished politicians of his day. He was sagacious, tireless and unscrupu- lous, and he saved Jefferson in the contest of 1800 by carrying the Legislature of New York, his own State, that chose the Presidential electors. At that time the electors voted only for President, and the second highest in the electoral college became Vice Presi'dent. Jefiferson was just as distinctly presented to the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 55 people by his party as its candidate for President and Burr as its candidate for Vice President as McKinley and Roosevelt were presented by the Philadelphia Convention. In the electoral college Jefiferson and Burr had each 'j'}^ votes for President, being- a majority of the electoral college. It is strange that such a contingency was not guarded against by some one of the Jefferson electors, but it was doubtless confi- dently expected that Jefferson would in some way receive more votes than Burr. It was a great opportunity for Burr to make himself a more than possible President in the future by manfully declaring that Jefferson was elected President, but on the face of the returns he was quite as much entitled to the Presidency as Jefferson, and he permitted, and doubtless aided in, a protracted struggle to elect himself. But for the aggressive hostility of Hamilton, aided by Bayard, of Delaware, it is more than possible that Biurr would have been elected by a combination of Federal- ists and Burr Republicans. Burr was defeated and disgraced, and lived for many years a wanderer and practically a man with- out a country. He made a desperate struggle to rehabilitate himself by running for Governor of New York, but Hamilton again threw himself into the contest against Burr, and paid the penalty soon after Burr's defeat by falling in a duel with his an- tagonist. No other man in all our political history appeared as having a life clouded without even a silver lining such as was the destiny of Aaron Burr. He was thwarted in every ambition, im- prisoned and tried for treason, and at times found peace only by living in extreme poverty abroad, a stranger to his own name, and he was smitten in all that he loved. The death of his grand- son, his only hope of a future defender, was a crushing blow, and soon thereafter he was called to suffer the lingering and unspeak- able agony of the death of his daughter and only child, who sailed from her Southern home to welcome him back to the country that had rejected him; and never was heard of more. Jefferson was re-elected without 'serious opposition, and the election and re-election of Madison and Monroe brought no serious shadow to the competitors, as they never could reasona- bly have cherished the hope of success; but in 1824, when Adams, Jackson, Crawford and Clay were opponents for the Presidency, the shadows fell thickly and heavily upon the defeated candi- dates. Adams was chosen by the House, and four years later he 156 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S was defeated in a square contest with Jackson. Adams bore his defeat with the philosophy that well befitted one of the most courtly and philosophical of our great Americans. Soon after his retirement he entered the House from his Congressional dis- trict, continued there for nearly a score of years and fell in the harness beloved by many and feared and respected by all, Jack- son, like Jefiferson, accepted his defeat as simply a delay in ob- taining the Presidential honors, and was afterward elected and re-elected by large majorities. No man suffered keener sorrow because of his repeated de- feats for the Presidency than did Henry Clay. For more than a quarter of a century he was a hopeful candidate. He was the great popular idol of his party, worshiped as no national candi- date was ever worshiped before or since, and it was only natural that the great aim of his life was to enjoy the highest honors of the Republic, on whose statesmanship he had shed the richest lustre. He was a candidate before the people in 1824, again in 1832, again in 1844, and was a hopeful candidate for the nomina- tion before the Whig national convention of 1848. He was twice defeated in the conventions of his party when his successful com- petitors were elected, and in 1844, when he was nominated in the Whig national convention amidst deafening cheers, and sup- ported with an enthusiasm that has rarely been equaled and never surpassed, he was defeated by the abolition diversion of New York. He apparently bore himself in this terrible adversity with more than Roman grandeur, but he was crushed in heart and hope, and thereafter the Clay over whose defeat untold thousands wept scalding tears was only a shadow of himself in the dark shadows that hung like a pall over him. He returned to the Senate, but he could not bow to the sceptre wielded by another, and he was soon in jarring discord with the Adminis- tration of his party. When the slavery issue arose after the Mexican war, he girded up his loins and again became the pacifi- cator that'he had been in the earlier trials of the Republic. The death of Taylor brought the Fillmore Administration, which was in harmony with his views, and his final triumph in statesman- ship was the passage of the Compromise Measures of 1850, which utterly wrecked his party, which was practically unknown and entirely unfelt after the terrible defeat of 1852. He lived only to see the head of the Administration that he had so ardently sup- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. I57 ported rejected by his party in its national convention; but, be- fore the election that obliterated his great party from the list of political factors of the nation, his weary spirit found rest in the sleep that knows no awakening. Webster wasted his life away in his rural home in Massachu- setts because of the ingratitude of the Republic. He had thrown himself into the struggle for the Compromise Measures which he believed saved the country from civil strife, and confidently ex- pected the Whig nomination for the Presidency in 1852. He knew that he was regarded by the country as the great ex- pounder of the Constitution and the first in intellectual force in our statesmanship, and he yearned for the appreciative recogni- tion that an election to the Presidency would give him. It was not only denied him, but he was not permitted to figure as a formidable candidate in the convention that adopted as its plat- form the Compromise Measures to which he had given success by his powerful support, and like the captive eagle in gilded bars he fretted through the crushing sorrow of disappointment to re- pose beyond the dark river. General Scott was a candidate for the Presidency before the Whig convention of 1839, of 1848 and of 1852, when he was finally nominated. Like Clay, he was a prominent candidate be- fore two conventions whose nominations for the Presidency were confirmed by the people. His chief infirmity was his belief that the politicians of his party conspired to prevent the people from electing him to the Chief Magistracy of the nation. His auto- biography exhibits this painful weakness on various pages. He was finally nominated in 1852, and fought the last battle for the Whig party in our national struggles. His competitor was a subordinate brigadier from civil life in Scott's Mexican cam- paign, and Scott believed that he would be elected by an over- whelming majority. Even after the disasters of the October elections, which pointed unerringly to his defeat, he never for a moment faltered in his faith that the people would rise above all political prejudice and make him President; and when the final blow came giving him but two States in the North and but two in the South, he v/as utterly crushed by the disaster that left him in the starless midnight of political despair. He lived for more than a decade after his defeat, but he was only waiting until the coming shadows gathered into night. 158 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Calhoun was once as hopeful a candidate for the Presidency as was Clay, but he was smitten by the omnipotent power of Jack- son, who deposed him from the Vice Presidency with a view of giving Van Buren the succession; and thereafter the life of Cal- houn was one of bitter disappointment that doubtless did much to make him sow the dragon-teeth of secession which later gave such a deeply crimsoned harvest in the civil war. Van Buren was made President in 1836 by the power of Jackson, but in 1840 he was largely defeated by Harrison. He philosophically accepted his defeat, as he was confident of re-election four years later; but when the time came he was doomed to disappoint- ment, for while a majority of the delegates in the national con- vention voted for his nomination, it was settled by the leaders that a new candidate should be chosen, resulting in the nomina- tion of Polk, the first dark horse who was named for the Presi- dency. His friends were finally reconciled to the -support of Polk, and he and they gave Polk the narrow victory he achieved ; but four years later, when hope of Presidential honors had fled, he became a bolting candidate of the Free Soil Democracy, and fell like Samson with the colum.ns of the Democratic temple fall- ing over him. He lived in retirement for a number of years, but his greatness and power lingered only as a memory. Fremont burst upon the horizon like a brilliant political meteor. N-ew and confused political conditions made him an available candidate, and he practically overthrew the political power of the Democrats in the Northern States. I saw him in the mid'st of his campaign hopeful and sobered by his expected new responsibilities; but after his defeat he was unknown as a political factor, failed as a commander in the civil war, failed in various great financial enterprises, and I lately saw the sequel to his career in the beautiful valley of Los Angeles, where I visited his feeble and broken widow, whose almost lustreless eyes brightened as I spoke of witnessing the nomination of her hus- band for the Presidency in 1856, and whose comforts of her own home are supplied by generous friends. Fillmore was a competitor of Fremont and Buchanan in the same contest. He had suffered keen disappointment in his fail- ure to be nominated over Scott in 1852, but his dominating de- sire to win the Presidency again made him accept the nomination of the third party in 1856, in which he suffered an overwhelming RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 59 defeat, carrying the electoral vote of only a single State. There- after he lived in the shadows of enforced retirement, and was un- known in the political movements or statesmanship of the na- tion. I first met John C. Breckenridge at a breakfast party very soon after his election to the Vice Presidency, and never studied a public man with greater interest. He was the youngest of all the Vice Presidents, and fairly won his distinction by his extraor- dinary triumphs in the Lexington Congressional district. He was then one of the handsomest men I have ever met. His ex- quisitely cut face indicated extraordinary individuality, and his keen eyes flashed with a brilliancy that is rarely witnessed. He was an easy, genial and delightful conversationalist, and I looked upon him as altogether the most promising of the public men of that day. He served his term of Vice President, and when he left the presiding chair it was only to be sworn in as a Senator from Kentucky. In i860 he was nominated by the Anti-Douglas or Radical Pro-Slavery wing of the party, and in the Southern States he received large majorities over Douglas, and was given jz votes in the electoral college to 12 for his Democratic com- petitor. No man ever more sweetly dreamed the dream of reach- ing the Presidency than did John C. Breckenridge, but when the time came his party was broken on factional lines, and he had to bow to a defeat that he knew was fatal to all his hopes. He evidently had an earnest struggle with himself before he cast his lot with the South in the civil conflict, as he remained in the Sen- ate long after the Southern Senators had resigned. I have heard his intimate friends in Lexington discuss the circumstances which led to his leaving home and State to join the Confederacy. They claim that he would not have done so had it not been that he was informed on credible authority that his arrest had been ordered by the Government, and he summarily fled to the South. In the Southern army he never won distinction as a military chieftain, but it is only fair to say that he had little opportunity, as when he became a commander the cause of the South was without an army equal to achievement. He was called to the Cabinet as Secretary of War, only to witness the expiring agonies of the Confederate Government. He was with General Johnston when his army was surrendered to Sherman in North Carolina, and then, accepting his position as that of a man without a coun- l6o COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S try, he escaped to foreign lands, and later returned to spend the brief evening of his Ufe in the unbroken shadows which fell upon him, Douglas was a competitor of Breckenridge and Lincoln in the great battle of i860, and he is the one man of all the great politi- cal gladiators in the Presidential arena who was grander if pos- sible in defeat than he could have been in victory. That he was disappointed in his ambition he did not affect to conceal, but he was strong and brave, and he was one of the first who came to the side of Lincoln, his old competitor, to point the way for the safety of the Republic. Had he lived I doubt not that he would have been one of the greatest of our public men in the most try- ing times of our statesmanship, but unfortunately, he fell in the full vigor of his life, lamented by every patriotic heart. General McClellan was one of those who drank deeply from the cup of sorrow. There was no more accomplished officer in the army; no purer or personally more blameless character, and he is safely crystallized in our historj^ as our greatest military organizer; but he failed to achieve success as a military chieftain, was deprived of his command, left on waiting orders for two years or more, and when his party made an earnest effort to vin- dicate him by his election to the Presidency, he went down in disastrous defeat with a popular majority against him of over 400,000 out of a total vote of 4,000,000. He was respected by all, and beloved by his poHtical friends; but from the day that he was called to the highest military position of the nation until his death his life was one continued disappointment, as is most painfully reflected in a large volume, entided "McClellan's Own Story," prepared by himself and published soon after his death. In 1868 Horatio Seymour, then the ablest of the Democratic leaders, was nominated as Grant's opponent for the Presidency against his earnest protest. In mingled earnestness and pathos he declared to the convention: "Your candidate I cannot be." He felt that he was unequal to it physically, but a combination organized by Tilden to defeat the nomination of Chase forced the leadership upon Seymour, and he accepted it fully appreciat- ing the fact that he was offered as a sacrifice to maintain the party organization. He was heard on the stump during the campaign, and his speeches were forceful, dignified and impres- sive; but it was the swan singing its sweetest notes in death. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. l6l He saved his own State by a small majority by methods which were gravely questioned by his opponents, and he fell with a popular majority of 300,000 against him, and with only 80 elec- toral votes to 214 for Grant. He suffered the double sorrow of losing the Presidency and being compelled to round out a dis- tmguished political career in overwhelming disaster. And who among those living 30 years ago does not recall the painful story of Horace Greeley? I had known him for many years, and loved him as a brother. As his sincere friend I sought to prevent his nomination at Cincinnati because I regarded it as simply crucifixion, but when he was made a candidate I gave my whole time to aid in the hopeless effort for his success. I know of no man of the past whose life was more sincerely and unself- ishly devoted to the public good, and especially to the cause of the lowly and oppressed. He did not thirst for power, for he had little regard for the usually empty honors of office, but I never knew a man who more earnestly yearned for the approval of his countrymen. When his defeat came he was already greatly en- feebled by his tireless devotion to his wife, who died but a few days before the fateful election; and stricken in his dearest af- fections and in all his hopes of usefulness, his great mind, that had once taught through The Tribune with more power than that of the President, was shattered by the blow; and after a few fearfully shadowed days in an asylum he gained the peace of the grave. Tilden, then the foremost of the Democratic leaders, and the greatest organizer the party ever had, after an exhaustive cam- paign resulting in his election by a large popular and electoral majority on the face of the returns, was dwarfed into littleness in the fierce struggle that resulted in the Electoral Commission and his ultimate defeat. The blow that fell upon him was one from which he never rallied. He had friends devotedly attached to him, but the cloud of his defeat shadowed his mastery, and I saw the temper of the Democrats at the convention of 1880 when they treated his letter of declination with little respect. The con- test of 1876 dated the decline and fall of his leadership, and the honors and the power of which he dreamed steadily passed away from him. Hie was practically unfelt in the later political con- flicts of his life, and died in the shadow of failure in his greatest hopes and ambition. 1 62 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Hancock, like Douglas in i860 and Cleveland in 1888, bowed to defeat with all the dignity and courage of a soldier. I never saw him look more grand than when he led the military proces- sion at the inauguration of Garfield, his successful competitor. Naturally he was disappointed at his defeat, as the popular ma- jority against him was less than 10,000 out of many millions, but he at once dismissed political ambition, and hisi pride in his mili- tary profession, in which he had won the highest distinction, was his consolation. There was no visible shadow upon his life, and he died universally beloved. Next to Greeley, Blaine's political shadows were the saddest which fell upon any of our leading men in the Presidential con- tests of the last half century. He was in his day "leader of lead- ers," and was in closer sympathy with the vital elements of his party than any other man since its organization. For full 20 years he was a Presidential aspirant, always hoping for success and always fearing defeat. He was enthusiastic in all things, but with all his masterful ambition to reach the Presidency he was ever shadowed with the apprehension that he was fated to failure. I saw him after his defeat in the Cincinnati convention of 1876, and heard him speak with great freedom of his attitude and his hopes, and he said with evident emotion: "I am fated not to be President: I am the Plenry Clay of the Republican party." No man had greater struggles and apparently greater opportunities, but he was twice defeated in conventions when the party nominee was successful, and afterward nominated only to lead his party to its first defeat since its success of i860. Even when broken in both physical and mental vigor, he permitted his name to be pre- sented to the Republican convention of 1892, only to suffer a humiliating defeat that was soon thereafter forgotten where memory perishes with life. Plarrison and Cleveland both w"on the Presidency, and both suffered defeats, but neither ever permitted a visible shadow to be brought upon his life by political disaster. Qeveland's defeat after he had served a term was retrieved by his re-election, but Harrison retired after his defeat of 1892 without hope of regain- ing the great prize he had lost. Both these ex-Presidents illus- trated the highest measure of dignity and fidelity in their official trust, and the highest and noblest attributes of citizenship in de- feat and retirement. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 163 Bryan has suft'ered two defeats for the Presidency after con- tests in which he exhibited unexampled energy and ability. In- stead of bowing to the shadows of defeat he is today as tireless, as aggressive and as hopeful as ever in his struggle for a politi- cal revolution that may call him to the highest civil trust of the world. Beautiful and fragrant as are the flowers which adorn the crown of the Republic, the path to the attainment of its honors is fearfully beset with thorns. SAM HOUSTON'S BRILLIANT AND ROMANTIC CAREER. Sam Houston is the only name by which the man was known who was twice President of one Republic, a national Senator in two Republics and a Governor and Congressman from his adopt- ed State of Tennessee, and the simple story of his life makes romance pale before the truth of history. Born in poverty in Virginia, March 2, 1793, his family moved to Tennessee when he was only 13 years of age and settled in the wilderness to rear their log cabin home and supply their frugal wants by tireless in- dustry. Although denied educational advantages in his boyhood, he had learned to read and was a tireless student with an un- flagging love for adventure. Before he reached manhood he joined the Cherokee Indians and lived with them for several years, but when yet in his teens he returned to Tennessee, taught a country school and was enabled to take a single session at Maryville Academy. Soon thereafter he enlisted in the regular army, served under Jackson in Indian warfare and suffered sev- eral severe wounds in a desperate engagement with the Creeks, one of which never entirely healed. He was promoted to a lieu- tenancy on Jackson's recommendation for special gallantry. In 1818 he resigned his commission, was admitted to the Bar and soon rose to the Prosecuting Attorneyship of the Nashville district. In 1820 he was elected to Congress by a large majority, was re-elected two years later, and in 1827 was elected Governor of Tennessee. While holding that position and a candidate for re-election in 1829 he married Aliss Eliza Allen, a rich and ac- complished Nashville lady, who had yielded to the importunities of her family to reject a man to whom she w'as sincerely devoted to accept the brilliant match of the young and most promising Governor of the State. Her imwillingness for the marriage was in some way betrayed during the day of the wedding, and he kindly but determinedly forced from her the confession that she was married against her will. He at once released her from the (164) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 65 obligation, left his bride and office and returned to his old friends, the Cherokee Indians, where he lived a dissolute life for several years. While with them he was recognized as the chief of chiefs, and in 1832 he visited Washington dressed in all the outlandish garb of the tribe ; but he was kindly received by Presi- dent Jackson, whose protege he had been in both the army and politics. While with the Indians he married a half-breed accord- ing to the Indian rites, and he proved his devotion by sending for her to join him when he later emigrated to Texas; but she re- fused to leava her tribe, and died a few years thereafter. In 1832 Jackson sent him as a Commissioner to make treaties with the Indian Comanches in Texas, and to arrange for the protection of American settlers. He was thus located in Texas when the rebellion finally took organized shape for the independ- ence of that State and he aided to organize the civil government at San Filipe de Austin. Soon thereafter a convention of the people of the State united in a declaration of independence, and the Mexican army, 5000 strong, under the command of Santa Anna, then Emperor of Mexico, invaded Texas to suppress the insurgents. The appalling Alamo butchery, March 6, 1836, was the first conflict between the Mexicans and the insurgents, and the 145 Texans, including Crockett, Bowie and Travis, resisted until the last man was killed. A few days later the Mexicans massacred 220 prisoners of war at Goliad. Houston was made commander-in-chief of the Texan army, and maneuvered until he got Santa Anna to the banks of the San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, when he gave battle with his 743 ill- equipped men to double the number of Mexicans and practically annihilated the opposing army. The battle cry of Houston's men was "Remember the Alamo," and how effectively they fought may be understood when it is told that out of 1400 Mexi- cans 630 were killed, while only 208 were wounded and most of the remainder made prisoners. Santa Anna escaped in disguise, but was captured and Houston braved the universal demand of his army to massacre the man who had commanded at Alamo and Goliad, and compelled Santa Anna to an exchange of pris- oners and the practical acknowledgment of the independence of Texas. The Mexican Government repudiated the treaty be- cause made by Santa Anna when a prisoner of war, but while threats were many times made of renewing hostilities, there was 1 66 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S no ftirtlier war between Texas and Mexico until our Mexican war of 1847 after the annexation of Texas. Houston was elected President of the new Republic July 22, 1836, receiving four-fifths of the whole vote polled, and the in- dependence of the Texas Republic was promptly acknowledged by the United States. Under the Constitution he was prohibited from succeeding himself in the Presidency, and at the end of his first term he was chosen to the Texan Senate and served there until another Presidential term expired, when he was re-elected practically without opposition. In 1841 he was inaugurated for the second time, and the same year married Miss Margaret M. Lea, of Alabama, who exercised the happiest influences over him during the remainder of his life and maintained his devoted at- tachment. He proposed the annexation of Texas to the United States, but the United States Senate first rejected it by 35 to 16, when Houston avowed his purpose in the event of the refusal of annexation to the United States to seek the protectorate of Eng- land or some other foreign Government. This brought the an- nexation question to a crisis, and on October 14, 1845, Texas was admitted as one of the sovereign States of our Republic. Houston was elected as one of the first Senators, taking his seat March 4, 1846, and he continued as Senator until 1859, when he was defeated for re-election, but was chosen Governor of the State the same year. He was a Union man of the Jackson school, and he vetoed the resolution of the Texas Legislature calling a convention to lead the State to secession; but it was passed over his veto by a vote of 167 to 7, and when he declined to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy he was deposed from the Governorship. He had then reached the patriarchal age, but he lingered out less than two years in the despair that the disruption of his country brought to him when he welcomed the peace of death. I first saw Houston while attending the Whig National Con- vention as a boy editor at Philadelphia in 1848. General Cass, the Democratic nominee for President, with a number of dis- tinguished supporters, passed through the city during one of the days of the convention, and they were given a grand ovation. Houston, Benton, Allen and Stevenson spoke with Cass from the balcony of a hotel on Chestnut street, above Sixth, and I happened to be in a good position in the crowd to see and hear. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY, 167 I was especially attracted to Houston by his magnificent phy- sique and singularly strong Roman face, but I had no oppor- tunity to meet him at that time. Several years later, on entering the car at Pittsburg to journey to Harrisburg, I found Houston in the same car on his way to Washington, and sitting alone. My enthusiasm over his romantic and distinguished career led me to introduce myself, and I had a most delightful chat with him during the entire journey to Harrisburg. He was a fascinat- ing conversationalist, although it required considerable effort to get him to talk about his own career, the one thing in which I was miOst interested; but after he got fairly started in the history of the Texas revolution that established the Republic, he warmed up to it and gave me the entire story of the inception, develop- ment and final success that was attained at the battle of San Jacinto. I remember that during the journey he was suffering from an old wound that he had received under Jackson in the Creek war, and he once stopped to bathe it. His account of his army was as amusing as it was instructive. He had only 743 men all told, without pretense of uniform or military discipline. They were simply wild Westerners, many of them fugitives from the States, who took refuge there because they were beyond the reach of extradition laws, but they had one quality that told fearfully in the battle — they were dead shots and Ihey always fired to kill. The description of his artillery was especially amusing. It consisted only of a few mountain swivels strapped on the backs of mules, and after firing one of the guns it took much more time to get the frightened and vicious mule quieted than to reload. He spoke of the heroic efforts required CO save the life of Santa Anna after he had been captured. For- tunately, the Mexican Emperor was in disguise and not recog- nized by the men who captured him, or he would have been mur- dered on the spot; and when it became known that he was a prisoner at headquarters, his men were vehement in the demand that the same mercy should be shown to Santa Anna that was shown by him and his army at the AlamO' and Goliad, where not one of the Texas insurgents survived. He impressed me as a man of extraordinary intellectual force, with little opportunity for culture, although he was one of the most graceful and courtly gentlemen on occasions requiring the exhibition of that side of his character; but his ordinary habits were unconventional. The 1 68 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S slavery issue had then just loomed up afresh by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and I was profoundly impressed with his courage and patriotism in standing up as a Southern Senator and opposing that measure because, as he predicted, it was the open door to future fraternal strife. He was thoroughly loyal to the Union, and believed that slavery was its greatest peril. When I bade him good-bye I felt that I had never enjoyed a more enter- taining and instructive journey than the ride with Sam Houston from Pittsburg to Harrisburg. I learned to know him better and to see the inner quahties of the man in the winter of 1858. A member of my family had ac- companied another lady, who spent much of her time in my household, to Washington for a visit to the lady's father, who was then in Congress representing President Buchanan's native county. They stopped at the Kirkwood, where Houston made his home and often had a circle of the more cultivated Indians about him, especially the Cherokees. One evening while the ladies were in their room dressing to attend a reception at the President's, the Congressman's daughter, who wore a white evening dress of combustible material, had left a candle on the floor at the side of the room that had been used for finishing her slippers, and after completing her toilet she walked around the room while waiting for her friend. In doing so the large hoops then worn swung her dress out to the candle and she was instantly enveloped in flame. Her companion was suffering from cold and fortunately had dressed in heavy brocade silk, and was thus saved in her rush to rescue her friend. Both screamed and the door was speedily broken in, and a gentleman, an entire stranger to both, enveloped the suffering lady in his cloak and saved her life, although she was terribly burned, and for months she trem- bled in the balance between life and death. It was impossible to remove her to her home, in Chambersburg; her companion could not leave her, and I spent a parr of every week that could be spared from legislative duties at Harrisburg in Washington. Houston was one of the most gallant and chivalrous of men, and when he heard of this misfortune to the young lady, with whose father he was well acquainted, he made several visits daily to see or inquire of the invalid. The Con- gressman whose daughter had thus been saved by a stranger naturally poured out a father's sincerest gratitude. After learning RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 169 that it was Postmaster John N. Jones, of Madison, Wis., who was the hero of the occasion, he begged to know of his daugh- ter's benefactor whether it was possible for him to render him any service. Jones said that he was simply on a visit to Wash- ington hoping to obtain his reappointment of Postmaster of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, and that he would be in the city but a few days. Houston learned the facts, and at once had the Congressman introduce him to Jones, to whom he said: "These young ladies can and they must secure your appoint- ment." Jones answered promptly that he would not ask or ex- pect any such return for the service he had accidentally rendered to an endangered lady that would have been given by anyone; but Houston made Jones' case his own, and, learning that both ladies were known to the President and came from his native heath, insisted that the ladies should unite in a note to President Buchanan asking for the appointment of Jones as Postmaster of Madison. The Congressman hesitated about having his daughter placed in a position that was certainly one of great delicacy, and that might be regarded by the President as an unwarranted pre- sumption, but Houston would have no denial, and he drew up a brief letter which he requested them to copy and sign, which they did; and Houston (although not in hearty political accord with Buchanan), the Congressman and myself called upon the Presi- dent, to whom Houston presented the letter. The President, al- ways severely dignified, w'as kindly aiTected by this strange intru- sion in the politics of his Administration. He knew and highly esteemed the ladies, and after some reflection answered that Gen- eral Cass, then Secretary of State, and the member of the Cabinet from the Northwest, had another candidate for the position. Editor E. A. Calkins, whose appointment was practically set- tled, but he added that he would submit the matter to General Cass and hoped it might be adjusted. When the President sub- mitted the letter to Cass he assured his Secretary of State that the appointment that had been determined upon should not be changed without his consent, adding that he would be glad, how- ever, if Cass could see his way clear to yield. When Cass learned the circumstances he promptly replied that Jones should be ap- pointed, and in that way, and only in that way, did Mr. Jones become Postmaster of the capital of his State. He appreciated the service rendered to him by the ladies, and regularly corres- 170 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S ponded v/ith them during the remainder of their lives. Both died 17 years later within a few months of each other. This circumstance brought me into very close and delightful relations with Houston, as I spent two or three days of every Aveek in Washington for some two months. He was very fond of ladies' society, and always elegant and graceful when in their presence, and he had a party to attend the theatre or a recep- tion nearly every night that I spent in Washington, on which occasions he always escorted the companion of the invalid, and often assigned to me an accomplished Indian lady. During most of the time there were a number of Cherokee ladies at the same hotel, chiefly or wholly daughters of chiefs and not one of pure Indian blood. They Wicre highly educated and in every way ac- complished, and I remember Houston's favorite among them was a Miss Pichlin, who was a most attractive and fascinating young lady and thoroughly refined and womanly, as I had opportunity to learn by escorting her at a number of Houston's social occasions. Under the circumstances I could not fail to be greatly at- tracted to Houston in 1858, when, as the most distinguished of all the Southern men in Congress, he had the courage to oppose the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, to refuse to sign the Southern address, and to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska policy, including the Le Compton constitution. He was nothing if not heroic, and yet his heroism was of a quiet and most unostenta- tious type; but when he took his stand, dictated by his patriotic convictions, he was as immovable as the rock of Gibraltar. I heard him many times discussing the new phase of the slavery is- sue precipitated by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and by the savage efforts made to force slavery into Kansas and Ne- braska, and I distinctly recall his predictions of fraternal war, which were so fearfully realized, and which spread the wings of the angel of sorrow over the whole land, and left vacancy in al- most every household circle. Like most if not all of our great men, he was ambitious to be President, and he did not conceal it. He spoke of it with the freedom that he would speak of any everyday affair, but saw little hope of attaining it. His one re- gret was that there was no Jackson to rally the Democratic party and save the country. Jackson was his ideal; he had no sympathy whatever with those who would make slavery para- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 17^ mount to the Union of the States, and he seemed to be painfully oppressed by the apprehension that his own State, that owed more to him than to any score of others, would desert him. He had been a candidate for Governor in 1857, supported largely by the American organization, and was defeated; but the old warrior was not conquered, and he declared his purpose to re- new the battle for the Governorship in 1859. He did so, and was elected over the man who had defeated him two years before, but he had that last vindication from his people only to place him on a higher pinnacle and make his fall the greater when they deserted him. He was prominently discussed as a candidate for President in i860, and the National Convention of the Constitutional Union party, which met at Baltimore, on the 9th of May, was really devised and called by those who expected tO' make Houston the candidate for President; but, before the Convention met, the grave peril to the Union presented by the issues of that year made the Southern Whigs, who were largely represented in that body, determine on Senator John Bell, of Tennessee, as the strongest Union candidate. On the first ballot Houston was only 11 votes behind Bell; but, on the second, Bell was nominated by a decided majority. Houston took no active part in the quadrangular Presidential battle of that year. He labored most earnestly as Governor of that State to strengthen the Union sentiment, but with the election of Lincoln came a tidal wave of secession that overwhelmed him. He vetoed the bill passed by the Legislature calling a secession convention, but it was passed over his veto with a yell, and by an almost unanimous vote. The convention met, secession was adopted, and all State ofificers were required to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. This the grand old friend and follower of Jackson refused to do, and his great career was ended by his humiliating displacement from the ofificc to which the people had called him, and, broken in heart and hope, two years later death brought him the repose that life denied him. I had never had opportunity to visit Texas until the early part of the present year, and I 'spent a day in historic San Antonio, where Crockett, Travis, Bowie and others, 145 in all, deliberately resolved to fight until the last man had fallen, and sealed the compact with their lives. The Alamo yet stands in 172 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the central part of the now beautiful city, and practically un- changed since the day it was deeply crimsoned with the blood of the Texas patriots. There yet stands the Cathedral steeple from which Santa Anna observed his brutal murderers in their fiendish war, and the old Alamo, battered by the storms of centuries and unchanged internally or externally, is yet visited by liberty-loving people from every clime. It was this terrible butchery that Houston so fearfully avenged at San Jacinto only a few weeks later, and his name and memory are inseparably interwoven with the grateful recollections of the patriots who died in defense of the freedom of their State. The monument erected to the victims of the Alamo tells the whole story in the brief but most eloquent sentence: "Thermopylae had her messengers of defeat; the Alamo had none." THE LOUISIANA LOTTERY ROBBERY. The story of the birth and death of the Louisiana Lottery Com- pany would read like a picturesquely lurid romance. It was born in the appalling floodtide of political debauchery that cast an inef- faceable blot on the escutcheon of the State of Louisiana and her carpet-bag rule in 1868, and its convulsive death throes agitated the country from centre to circumference for several years before its taking off. In its creation and in its costly and disastrous struggle to secure a renewal of its life by an extension of its charter it was inseparably interwoven with the political con- flicts of Louisiana; but its desperate struggle for mastery ex- tended into every State and territory, and it was strongly intrenched in the highest councils of the nation by those who shared its lavish expenditure for service rendered in protecting its interests. It was altogether the most colossal private specu- lative enterprise in the history of the nation, and even with its expenditure of miiHons annually to conciliate opposition and to enable it to command the tolerance of the country, all connected with it finally retired as multi-millionaires. Two libel suits brought by Maximilian A. Dauphin, president of the Louisiana Lottery Company, in which I had the honor of being the defendant, brought me into very intimate relations W'ith the movement for the final suppression of the lottery, and enabled me to render some service in quickening the Con- gressional action that finally doomed the lottery to destruction. New Orleans with its large Latin population, was long the centre of the lottery business of this country even after it had perished in all the States, and the Havana, Royal Saxon, Ham- burg and other lotteries in foreign lands did a thriving business in the Crescent City. It was the success of the foreign lotteries that induced John A. Morris, Z. E. Simmons and C, H. Murray to apply to the Louisiana Legislature in 1868 for a charter for the Louisiana State Lottery Company. Tlie formal applicants to the Legislature were men of straw, and when the charter was (173) 174 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S obtained it was transferred to the men before named, and with the exception of the transfer of the Simmons interest to Charles T. Howard, the real owners of the enterprise were not changed until it was finally overthrown in 1893. The Legislature that granted this charter is remembered as the most reckless and profligate legislative body that ever disgraced the State. In addition to chartering the lottery it licensed public gambling houses, and gave protection to every form of crime under color of law that was able to pay for its privilege. The people were impoverished by war, and later by the spoliation that attended the new rule that the war gave to the South, and when the Lottery Company offered the payment of an annuity of $40,000 a year to a charity hospital it was openly defended by a majority of the people. No business enterprise was ever managed with greater skill to disarm the criticism that a lottery enterprise would naturally provoke. Generals Early and Beauregard, two of the very prominent Confederate Generals were each paid $10,000 a year to superintend the monthly drawings. It was simply a purchase of their names to inspire confidence in the integrity of the man- agement, and to appeal to the cupidity of the poverty-stricken people of the South. The Lottery Company soon established an immense business, and its agencies were quietly but actively employed in every part of the country. It became the con- trolling political power of Louisiana. It was a master alike in city and State, and it was specially careful and earnest in its efforts to control the Courts, Its annual profits speedily rose up into millions, and the shrewd men engaged in the enterprise w^ell understood that they must sooner or later be antagonized by all the power of aroused public sentiment. It employed the ablest counsel in all the great business centres, and paid them liberally simply to stand as sentinels on the outposts to warn against threatened danger, and to aid when peril actually con- fronted it; and it paid double and treble prices for advertisements in all the leading newspapers which would accept them. Soon after I had become responsibly connected with journal- ism in Philadelphia I was surprised by the repeated offers made by agents of the Louisiana Lottery Company to pay as high as quadruple prices to have advertisements inserted in the paper with which I was connected. They were uniformly declined; but RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 75 when I thus came to understand the extent of the business that was carried on in Philadelphia alone, I found that not less than $50,000 a year was paid here for lottery advertising, notwith- standing the law of Pennsylvania that prohibited such advertise- ments. I had the question raised in the Courts, but it was held that our statute was defective, as the penalty was imposed solely upon the advertiser and not upon the publisher. I then framed a bill making it a penal offense for publishers as well as adver- tisers to give publicity to lotteries, and to my surprise it was earnestly opposed by a number of prominent men who certainly were not influenced solely by their regard for the public interests. Several positive and incisive criticisms of the criminal lottery policy then maintained in Pennsylvania appeared in the news- paper of which I was editor, and the best journals of the State were aroused to such emphatic expression on the subject that the Legislature finally passed the bill that made it impossible to advertise lotteries in Pennsylvania. This legislation was enacted in 1883, when the managers of the lottery company felt that they were omnipotent, and they decided on a policy of revenge. An action was brought by Maximilian A. Dauphin, president of the Louisiana Lottery Company, against The Times, of which I was editor, in the United States Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 20, of the October session, 1883. Mr. Rufus E. Shapley appeared for the newspaper company, promptly filed a demurrer and pressed for a hearing whenever opportunity offered. The hear- ing was delayed time and again by the plaintiff's counsel, and was finally forced to trial before Judges McKennan and Butler, who, after hearing only a part of the argument, sustained the demurrer, declaring that lottery dealing was a lawless occupation in Pennsylvania and could claim no protection from criticism in accord with the laws of the State and nation which pronounced it a crime. Counsel for the lottery company took an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, where in the natural course of hearing it would require three years to reach a final judicial determination. In January, 1885, I visited the New Orleans Exposition. I was well acquainted with Mr. Burke, the president of the enter- prise; had met him many times in Washington when he was urging the claims of the Exposition upon Congress. He was 176 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S then editorof The Times-Democrat, one of the leading journals of the State. I gladly aided him in my very humble way in his ef- forts to obtain Congressional aid, and in January, 1885, he wrote me a very pressing letter urging me to come and see the Exposi- tion, as he desired to confer with me on the question of appealing to Congress for an additional appropriation of $300,000. The Ex- position was a failure financially, and w^as in danger of collapse. I had several times joined Mr. Burke in conferring with ]\Ir. Randall, then chairman of appropriations, when the first aid to the Exposition was obtained, and he desired me to make a per- sonal visit to ascertain the merits of the enterprise and aid him in getting additional relief from Congress. When I arrived at New Orleans I was met by a United States Marshal while yet in the car, and served with a wTit issued by the United States Court at the suit of Maximilian A. Dauphin, president of the Louisiana Lottery Company, claiming $100,000 damages for libelling the lottery. The president of the company was so delighted with his achievement of getting me within the jurisdiction of his Courts, which he expected to control absolutely, that he had the fact of his service of process upon me given to the Associated Press and telegraphed throughout the country. I confess I was somewhat disturbed, because I knew of the almost unlimited power of the Lottery Company, extending even to Courts and juries; and when I arrived at the St. Charles Hotel, of which my old friend. Colonel Rivers, was host, I told him of the writ that was served upon me and asked him where 1 could find an able and honest lawyer who was entirely inde- pendent of the lottery. He said frankly: "We are all in it here, and I hardly know how to advise you; but there is one man that you can trust, and that man is Governor Nichols." The Gov- ernor came into the hotel during the evening and he exhibited great interest in the case. He said it was likely to do them great harm throughout the country, as they were just about to make application to Congress for an additional appropriation of $300,000 to save the Exposition from disaster; but he confessed that he did not see how it was possible for me to escape without paying a round sum in damages to the Lottery Company; that the sentiment of the community was with the lottery; that the ofificials of the city, executive and judicial, were generally in sympathy with them, and that it would be impossible to get RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 77 a jury that would not resolve all doubts in their favor; and he finally concluded that I should get an adjustment of the matter on the best basis I could. He gave me the name of Mr. J. Mc- ConncU as a lawyer whose ability and fidelity I could accept without question, and one of the very few members of the Bar who could be relied upon to conduct the case against the Lottery Company. The notice of the suit and service of the writ was published in the New Orleans papers, and before I had breakfast I was called upon by three prominent bankers, not one of whom I had ever met before, and all I believe friendly to the Lottery Company. They stated that they deplored the action of the president of the Lottery Company; that it was calculated to do New Orleans great injury in the North and in Washington, and that they had come to offer any security I might be required to give in the action. I thanked them for their kindness and informed them that it was a civil suit and no security would be required. I should add here that early in the morning I received a dispatch from the late William M. Singerly, who had seen the news of the service from the writ in his own paper, saying: "$50,000 tO' your credit in Philadelphia National Bank for any security you may be required to give." Soon after the committee of bankers had gone a committee of three lav;yers, all strangers to me, called and stated that the New Orleans Bar had instructed them to say that the suit brought against me would be defended by the Bar with- out cost to me. I cordially thanked them for their kindness, and said that I had not yet determined what course I would adopt in ansv^ering the suit of President Dauphin, and that I would confer with them later if their services could be accepted. I next called on Mr. McConnell and we went over the case with care. He proved to be a very able and accomplished lawyer, and rugged in his fidelity to any cause against the Louisiana Lottery Company, whose franchise he had opposed as a member of the Constitutional Convention. He told me frankly, however, that there seemed to be no possible means of escape from judg- ment, as the Judges, the Marshal who draws the jurors, and the community generally were in sympathy with the Louisiana Lot- tery, which was lavish in its beneficent gifts to charity and to the public. I said that I desired to get the case to the Supreme Court of the United States, where I was satisfied the charter 178 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S could be overthrown ; but his answer was that they would never permit such an appeal, that there was appeal only in cases of judgment of $5000 or more, and that a verdict would be found against me something under $5000. I had previously learned from present Senator Hawley, of Connecticut, and from ex-Attorney General MacVeagh, the in- side history of the method by which the Lottery Company had obtained its charter in the amended constitution. They were members of the committee sent by President Hayes to Louisiana to advise in the adjustment of the dispute between the Nichols and Packard Legislatures. Both Nichols and Packard were assum- ing to act as Governors, and two Legislatures were in session. It was the policy of the Hayes Administration to bring about the recognition of Nichols as Governor, and to give him a Legis- lature that would be undisputed. They found that that could be accomplished only by transferring from the Packard Legis- lature enough Senators and Representatives whose elections were undisputed to the Nichols Legislature to give it a quorum in both branches. With the 'execution of the programme the commiission had nothing whatever to do; but those who under- took to accomplish it found that the only way by which enough Senators and Representatives could be transferred from Packard to Nichols was to buy them outright and at very high prices. The property people of the city and State, who had everything involved in attaining an honest government, were utterly im- poverished and without the means to accomplish the legislative transfer. In this emergency the Louisiana Lottery Company came to the front and proposed to pay whatever might be necessary to accomplish the change of the Legislative authority to Nichols, provided the Democrats would give the Louisiana Lottery Com- pany a chatter in the new Constitution for the period of their legislative charter. Nichols was opposed to the whole lottery business, but in their extremity the lottery proposition had to be accepted. It was accepted, and the cost, amounting to nearly or quite $250,000, was paid by the lottery company, resulting in Packard being left without a quorum in either Senate or House in a very few days; and his administration thus perished. The people who had made the contract with the lottery company carried it out in good faith, although it was bitterly opposed by RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 79 many members of the convention. The charter to the lottery company was embodied in the Constitution, giving it the highest authority of the State and reheving it from the possibiHty of leg- islative repeal. I presented these facts to my counsel, with abundant evidence to establish them, and proposed to enter the plea of justification in the libel suit with a view of reaching the Supreme Court. He advised me strongly against it at first, because he feared that we could not get to the Supreme Court, as the verdict against me would be less than the amount that was appealable. I met him the next day and he was still in doubt, and I said that I could probably solve the problem by making a claim for malicious vexations and costly prosecution on the part of the lottery com- pany. I showed him that the very same libels charged in that case had been charged in the libel in the United States Court in Pennsylvania and had been dismissed on demurrer, and that now, in the same tribunal in another State, they brought an action for the same alleged libel while the other case was pend- ing on appeal in the Supreme Court of the United States. He admonished me that it would be a very costly and protracted litigation, to which I answered that I was prepared for that, as I confidently expected to make the lottery company pay ail ex- penses before we got through. He said that if I was clear in my own judgment as to that mode of procedure he would accept it. I then directed him to proceed with the plea of justification, and he added the plea in reconvention, equivalent to our set off in the common-law States claiming $25,000 damages, as that would give the right of appeal to the Supreme Court regardless of the verdict of the jury. It was an exceedingly difficult and delicate plea to frame, in view of the fact that in the State where the alleged libel was pub- lished the lottery business was criminal, while in the State of Louisiana, where the action was brought, it had the high sanc- tion of the Constitution. I relieved Mr. McConnell by stating that I would have the plea prepared in Philadelphia by Mr. Shapley, and when T returned Mr. Shapley framed the plea, covering 76 pages of a printed pamphlet, justifying the alleged libel, declaring that the Louisiana Lottery had no charter, and that all its acts were lawless, and reciting the ground on which the $25,000 damages were claimed. Added to the plea were the I So COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S statutes of every State and Territory in the Union making the selling of lottery tickets a penal offense, and in accordance with the practice of Louisiana interrogatories were filed for President Dauphin to answer. These interrogatories were of the most searching character, and if answered truthfully would have exposed Dauphin and his agents to prosecution in every State and Territory, in many of which the penalty was not only fine, but imprisonment. Mr. McConnell promptly filed the answer and demanded speedy hear- ing, as we had all agreed; but from the day that the plea was filed the lottery people saw that they were in for a fight to a finish, and that no matter what verdict was given in the Court below, it would be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and they knew that they could not maintain the validity of their charter. Twice the Judge of the district postponed it against our protest, and next the Judge of the adjoining district was called in and he finally fixed the day for the trial to proceed. Further postponement might have been possible but for the fact that it had become known that Judge Wood, the Supreme Court Judge of that district, was likely to preside at the trial, and that ended all hope of the manipulation of the case in the Courts. I liad called on Senator Edmunds and Senator Hawley on my return from New Orleans soon after the suit had been brought, went over the whole situation with them, and Senator Edmunds proposed as one measure of safety that he would specially request Judge Wood to preside at the trial, and he consented to do so. This action of the Lottery Company did more to precipitate its fmal overthrow than any other one cause outside of the general and growing prejudice against what was regarded as a lottery swindle. Two laws had been enacted by Congress to restrain the use of the mails for lottery purposes, but they were practically inoperative; and the fact that the president of the Lottery Com- pany had brought an action against the Postmaster General, claiming $100,000 damages for restraining his use of the mails, gave additional reason why there should be more decisive legis- lation against this growing evil. The late Benjamin Harris Brewster was then Attorney General, and Mr. Shapley and I called upon him to have him intervene on the part of the Govern- ment and go into the Supreme Court with us to ask the advance- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. iSl ment of the appeal of the Lottery Company from the judgment of the United States Court in The Times libel case. Notice was given to ex- Judge Campbell, the immediate counsel of the Lot- tery Company, that such application would be made and Attor- ney General Brewster and Mr. Shapley appeared in Court, the Attorney General intervening in behalf of the Government, and urged that the case be advanced, on tlie ground that the Lottery Company was interfering with the administration of the laws, vexing the officers of the Government with damage suits, and insisting that there should be a speedy and final judgment as to the rights of the company under its alleged franchise. Although the Lottery Company was claiming $100,000 damages, it opposed the advancement of its own appeal, and the Court, always averse to advancing cases excepting under the most imperious neces- sity, refused the motion; but the fact was brought out before the Government and Congress that the Louisiana Lottery Company assumed to dominate not only the press of the country, but the Government itself. The Louisiana case was delayed for over a year, always by the plaintitif's counsel, and finally a day was fixed for trial, and it became known that a Judge of the Supreme Court was certain to preside. They saw that they could no longer manipulate the case, and they saw also that the agitation in Congress was grow- ing immensely against them. They decided, therefore, that the suit must be stopped. Two weeks before the time fixed for trial a gentleman well known in Philadelphia as the immediate repre- sentative of the Lottery Company called upon me and proposed to discontinue the case and pay the costs if I would agree not to discuss the subject in the columns of my newspaper. The an- swer was that the columns of the newspaper could not be in- volved in any agreement; that the suit w^as a civil action, brought by themselves, which they could discontinue at their pleasure without consulting me; that under no circumstances could I accept a dollar of their money, but that I should in some way proceed against them for the costs which they had imposed upon me. He then asked me to name the amount. I named very liberal fees for the counsel and the actual expenses for the coun- sel and the actual expenses of depositions, printing, etc., amount- ing in all to $8500, which if paid by the company before the trial, would end all legal controversy between us. Within twenty- 1 82 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S four hours a check was deHvered for the money, and my two jibel suits for $100,000 each for the Louisiana Lottery Company were ended. For this early and safe deliverance from the vengeance of a colossal organization that for years had asserted its omnipotence, I am greatly indebted to Senator Edmunds, Senator Hawley, late Attorney General Benjamin H. Brewster, ex-Attorney General Wayne MacVeagh and General Bingham, Representative from my own Congressional district, and chairman of the Post Ofilice Committee. The intervention of the Government in my case then pending in the Supreme Court summoned Congress to the duty of adopting the most aggressive measures to overthrow this terrible stain upon our Government. General Bingham led the battle in the House, while Edmunds and Hawley led it in the Senate, and the Lottery Company was finally driven from the use of the mails. More and more stringent measures were adopted, finally excluding the transmission of newspapers which contained lottery advertisements, and when the company finally abandoned the mails and employed the express companies to handle its correspondence, the Government again interposed its strong arm, and compelled the express companies to abandon the lawless traffic. Notwithstanding the overwhelming tide of retribution that fmally surged against the Lottery Company, it was unwilling to confess that its omnipotence was overthrown. Its charter ob- tained in the constitution of Louisiana in 1879 distinctly provided that on its expiration in 1893 it should not be renewed. In the face of this positive contract with the State that was crystallized in the supreme law, and in the face of the irresistible opposition of both the government and people the Lottery Company de- cided to ask for a renewal of its charter, and formal application was made to the Legislature of 1890 and millions of money ex- pended in the fruitless efifort. When New Orleans was threat- ened with the yellow fever epidemic the Lottery Company fur- nished the Board of Health means to enforce quarantine and pro- tect the city, and when the Mississippi River overflowed its banks and threatened the destruction of the city the Lottery Company came to the front and furnished the means necessary to meet the emergency, without any claim of restitution. In order to concil- iate business interests it established large sugar refineries, RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. I S3 erected immense buildings in the city, and when the appHcation was made to the Legislature it embraced the payment of an an- nuity to the State of $750,000, which was afterward increased to a million, and later to a million and a quarter. It required a two- thirds vote in both branches to extend its charter over the con- stitutional prohibition, and after an immense expenditure of money the charter was carried in the Senate by a single vote, and that vote cast by a Senator who was brought into the chamber on his death bed, and who died soon thereafter. In the House the measure was carried by two majority. But when the charter extension had been carried by the Legislature it required the ap- proval of the popular vote, as it involved an amendment of the constitution; and after a most violent campaign, in which many of the leading ministers and best citizens of the State were ag- gressively arrayed against the Lottery Company, it was finally compelled to withdraw its proposition for an extended charter from the people and confess itself utterly defeated, although it lingered on until the expiration of its charter with its business reduced to little more than sustaining expenses. When the con- stitutional limit of its existence was reached, in 1893, it became only a painful memory of the triumph and retribution of the lot- tery robbery. THOMAS CORWIN, THE GREATEST OF OUR POPULAR ORATORS. Thomas Corwin, of Ohio, was confessed by friend and foe as the foremost popular orator of the country. He was the ad- mitted leader of a type of orators which has perished by the pro- gress of railroads, telegraphs and all the other features of ad- vanced civilization. They grew up in the sparsely settled West- ern and Southwestern States, where the only means of reaching the people was by mass meeting. Newspapers and schools were rare, and all popular movements, political or otherwise, were conducted entirely by mass assemblies; and these conditions de- veloped a type of popular orators that has made the names of men like Corwin, Prentiss and others immortal. When it is remembered that when Corwin first entered politics as a candidate for the Legislature just eighty years ago in Ohio, then called the "backwoods," letter postage between Philadel- phia and Corwin's home was 37^2 cents, and that few of the struggling pioneers could afford to spare the price of a letter from their scant earnings, the richly blessed people of today can in some measure appreciate the conditions which developed a host of popular orators, who were not only great on the hustings, but who asserted their grandeur in the councils of the nation. I saw something of this condition as late as 1872 in North Caro- lina, when I was assigned to a week of campaigning for Greeley in the rural districts and away from the only two railway lines then in the State. At every meeting I saw a majority of the voters of the entire country, and when there was not an ox roast to give a free feed to the people they brought their own provis- ions, many coming with watermelons balanced on their heads. The meetings lasted from 10 or ii in the morning until late at night, with relays of speakers. The people would give two days — that is, one day to each party — in the campaign, and that was the only means by which they could be reached in political con- flicts. When railroads, telegraphs and newspapers became acces- (184) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 185 sible to nearly every home the hustings became secondary to the school and press, and, while we still have armies of popular ora- tors for our political contests they are no longer the factors that they were in olden times, and the development of popular ora- tory is without the incentive that inspired men like Corwin to be- come masters in the art of moving great multitudes from the platform. Corwin's parents moved from Fayette county, Pennsylvania, to Bourbon county, Kentucky, where he was born on the 29th of July, 1794, and four years later his father and mother with their six children moved to what is now the city of Lebanon, Ohio. His father was entirely a self-made man, and became a legislator, Speaker of the House and Associate Judge. His father desired to give the best possible education to his children, but he felt unable to give more than one of them an opportunity to attend the schools of that day. Matthias, being the oldest, was given the preference, while Thomas was compelled to work on the farm and became known as the one of the family who was the teamster, and in early life gained the nickname of "the wagon boy," a term that became very familiar in his later political cam- paigns. He had access to the textbooks of his brother, and by hard study at night he made very rapid progress in academic studies, including Latin, and finally when nineteen years of age began the study of law. Even before his admission to the Bar he became known as one of the most skillful debaters in the local contests, which were quite common in those days, as the orator was the universal school teacher of the time. He was elected to the Legislature in 1821, and re-elected the following year without opposition. He was one of the most popular members of the body, but declined a third term to devote himself to his profes- sion. Seven years later, when party lines were being sharply de- fined for and against Jackson, he again entered the Legislature, and the following year was elected to Congress by over 700 ma- jority by leading his party ticket over looo, and he was re-elected in the four succeeding contests, his last run, in 1838, being prac- tically v.'ithout opposition. In the early part of Corwin's service in Congress he took rank among the leading statesmen of the party. He was the author of the bill chartering the United States Bank, which was over- thrown by Jackson, and he was the author of a new protective i86 pr a sp lis speech is v. ih - ■ pre ert'- : -^ r - toe'-- --'.^ ' w: call,. v,.:r.„.-. Senator. ; :^- : ' rrnsive measures ' ' \ -r:'.-- 1 ':: ■: 'i5t term in "i:..nil :.;: ;:----- fame by a use in Tindication 'ars fought overwhelming numbers with unfaltering courage, and at times wrested victory from the very jaws of defeat, but the cause of the Magyars was hopeless. They were surrounded by enemies, all bent on their destruction, for the Russian, the Prussian, the Austrian and the Turk were united against them. At this period of the conflict Gorgey became estranged from Kossuth, who, as Governor, was commander-in-chief, and Gor- gey thereafter assumed supreme command. Kossuth, to har- monize all the forces of Hungary, voluntarily relinquished his Governorship and gave to Gorgey the dictatorship, and almost the first act of Gorgey after having been invested with the authority of the nation was to address a letter to the Austrian commander, telling when and where he would make an abso- lute surrender of the entire Hungarian army. Thus on the nth of August, 1849, the struggle for the freedom of Hungary was ended, and the last hope of relief from the pitiless despotism of Austria perished. Kossuth, broken-hearted, kissed the earth of his native land that had been so deeply crimsoned with the blood of his people struggling for their freedom, and entered Turkey as an exile, only to become a prisoner, leaving his wife and children behind him to suflfer privation for years, and finally to join him in his exile. His accomplished wife maintained herself at times by RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 1 99 hiring out to service in humble famiHes where her identity was not hkely to be discovered. While in the Turkish prison Kos- suth thoroughly mastered the English and French languages, and when, on the ist of September, 185 1, he was finally liberated through the kind ofifices of the United States, he was able to address the different peoples of Europe and the United States in their own languages. The Mississippi, one of our naval steam- ers, was sent to Constantinople to receive Kossuth as our guest and convey him to the great republic of the world. When he reached Marseilles he changed his route to pass through France and England, but the French government denied him permis- sion. He then proceeded to Southampton, where he arrived on the 23d of October, and was accorded a most generous greeting by the English people. He was made the welcome guest of the Lord Mayor of London, and called out the eloquent Cobden to plead for the intervention of England to prevent Russia from crushing Hungary. His journey in England was one continued ovation, and on Thursday, the 4th of December, 1850, he landed at Staten Island, New^ York, w^here he was welcomed with a degree of popular enthusiasm that has since then been equaled only by the reception to Dewey wdien he returned from Manila. From New York he went to Philadelphia, thence to W^ashing- ton, and later to the W^estern cities, and the American people gathered in large numbers wherever they had opportunity to meet him. In July, 1852, he returned to Europe, hoping to renew the struggle for the liberty of the Magyars, but the over- throw of the French republic suppressed the revolutionary spirit of Europe, and in all the long years of waiting Kossuth found no opportunity for renewing a hopeful conflict for the liberty of his beloved Magyars. I first saw Kossuth when he was given a public reception in Independence Hall, on the 24th of December, 1851. Mayor Gilpin welcomed him to the city that is the cradle of American independence, and Kossuth's brief address exhibited his match- less power as an orator. I had read his speeches in Xew York, and was greatly impressed with his excellent use of the English language. He spoke it w'ith a purity that is unknown to the great mass of Americans, and he gave us English words which were either unknown or unused till then, and which were by him inseparably interwoven with our language. In his plea for 200 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the union and liberty of the Magyars he made an eloquent appeal for the "solidarity of the peoples" of his native land. I have heard Edward Everett, who is regarded as capable of the purest Biction in American eloquence, but I have never heard any American who spoke the English language with greater purity than did Louis Kossuth and Carl Schurz, and both of them spoke it with the highest standard of elegance after having studied it less than. a year. My enthusiasm for Kossuth made me desirous not only to hear him speak but to meet him personally, and I was much delighted to have the opportunity to receive the cordial grasp of his hand and hear his beautiful tribute to America and her institutions which pervaded his conversation. He was of medium size, compactly and symmetrically formed, with his face full-bearded excepting part of the chin, and he was as graceful in manner as he was eloquent in speech and genial in inter- course. He wore the dress of his people, and thereby introduced in this country the soft felt hat that has ever since been used by our people, and never more than now. The fine soft felt hat was then unknown in the United States, and there was widespread prejudice against its acceptance, but the Kossuth hat became a fad and was worn generally by the smart set, and gradually its comfort and convenience made it generally acceptable. In conversation Kossuth was ever ready and fluent; his man- ner most fascinating and his keen eye flashed the fire of defiance when he spoke of the sorrows of the Magyars, whose lost cause had made him an exile. He profoundly impressed our states- men at Washington, including President Fillmore and Secretary Webster, to whom modern political jingoism was unknown. His imprisonment had called out Webster's letter, which is the ablest definition of the aims and purposes and opportunities of our free institutions that has ever been given in the EngHsh language; and only the neutrality wisely imposed upon us by treaty obliga- tions prevented the intervention of our Government by the recognition of the nationality re-established by Kossuth. T saw Kossuth only on one other occasion during his visit to the United States. After his sojourn in Washington he started Westward. I then lived in the Juniata valley, in a village where the passengers of the few through trains of the Pennsylvania were dined, and, learning that Kossuth was coming, I arranged RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 20I with the proprietor of the hotel to have Kossuth and his wife so disposed at the end of the table that the seat reserved for me would bring me next to them. Railroad dinners were always very hurried occasions, and when Kossuth rushed in to the table he and his wife thought much more of trying to get a sat- isfactory meal out of American cooking, to which they were strangers, than of discussing the cause of Hungary. Mrs. Kos- suth was of medium size, with a strong, handsome face, equally dark in complexion with her husband, and she managed the dinner. As some of the dishes were entirely unknown to her, she always first investigated them by taking the dish and holding it under her nose to judge how palatable it might be by its fragrance, and if acceptable it was handed to her husband. I could not miss the opportunity to have another brief conversa- tion with the man who was then my great idol in hero worship, and when I reminded him of our meeting in Independence Hall, where he could not remember one in five thousand of those who greeted him, I had opened the door for the expression of his heartfelt enthusiasm for the American people and their govern- ment, and for the bleeding friends he had left behind him. He warmed up at once, and my recollection of the event is that I never before heard such fervent eloquence. I was sorry indeed when the hoarse scream of the iron horse called him away, and I parted from him for the last time with boundless pride because I had twice met the greatest living apostle of human liberty. After a six-months' journey in the United States, in which the hero worship of the American people was exhibited by the heartiest welcome in every city he visited, he returned to Europe bearing with him liberal voluntary contributions made to him for his cause. This money was expended in the preparation for a revolutionary movement in 1853, but the high tide of rev- olutionary action in Europe had been succeeded by a steady ebb, and before he was able to carry it into execution he and his compatriots were arrested, several were executed, and others, including himself, were banished. Two of his sisters found refuge in the United States, where their dust now reposes. He never wearied in the struggle for his people, and maintained himself by delivering public lectures. When Sardinia and Aus- tria became involved in war, in which France joined later, he hastened to Paris, hoping that the war might be extended to 202 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the invasion of Hungary, with a view to its final Hberation, but that war was brief and was summarily ended at Solferino, where Napoleon defeated the Austrian Emperor and made peace. Kossuth then resided in London for a decade or more, earning a precarious living by his pen, and later on he settled in Turin, where he devoted himself to scientific studies and wrote his memoirs, which have since been published. He was elected to the Hungarian Diet while in voluntary exile, but he declined to sit as a legislator in his country when Austria could annul the laws he enacted. Feeble health came with advancing age, and for many years before his death he lived in poverty, unw-illing to accept the contributions which would have come from many friends, and his great life ended on the 20th of March, 1894, in one of the humblest abodes of Turin, where Louis Kossuth died without fortune, home or country. OUR BEAUTIFUL NATIONAL CAPITAL. A recent visit to our national capital, now the most beautiful city of the world, impressively recalls the stride of magnificent improvement that has lifted Washington out of its disjointed and generally repulsive condition of 40 years ago. Its grand thoroughfares of today were then often almost impassable dur- ing unfavorable seasons, and the capital was a mob of soldiers, contractors and adventurers. I have seen army mule teams stalled in the mud of Pennsylvania avenue, then as now its finest thoroughfare. It then had here and there stately hotels and business houses, sandwiched in between rag-tag and bob-tail styles of structure which would now disgrace a Washington alley. The White House, the Treasury building, the Capitol and the Interior building were then the only imposing official edifices of the nation. Seward began his great work as Secre- tary of State in a tumble-down brick building attached to one end of the Treasury, and Cameron and Wells began the huge task of constructing an army and navy in a battered and shat- tered brick building that has since been replaced by a magnifi- cent structure for the same departments and the Secretary of State. The city was a vast mass of straggling buildings with little architectural display and few signs of permanent business activity and wealth. The Capitol then stood in its present co- lossal and beautiful proportions with the exception of the dome, that was not completed until the war was nearly or quite ended. The Washington monument, not half finished, stood during the war in the painful solitude that told the story of the nation's failure throughout nearly a century to complete its tribute to the Father of the Republic. Street railways were unknown, and the seething mob was the chief feature of the citadel of the power of the Republic. Lincoln had been inaugurated as President only a few months before the civil war had called out hundreds of thousands of grim reapers in the harvest of death, and neither he nor any two (203) 204 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S members of his Cabinet had a clearly-defined policy for the Government to maintain the unity of the States. About the only thing on which the Cabinet was in entire accord was in accepting Abraham Lincoln as entirely unequal to his great duties, and a number of them but illy concealed that conviction from the President himself. Seward felt that he was the great leader of the Repubhcan party, and asserted himself to the extent of suggesting the provocation of a foreign war, with him- self as dictator in its management, and the proposition was made directly to Lincoln. Most of his Cabinet were personal strangers to him, and no one had sustained anything like inti- mate relations with him. He was without experience in national afifairs. having served only a single term in Congress without distinction, and that was twelve years before he became Presi- dent. Every statesman of the party, and every military officer of prominence who hoped to become a great chieftain, had a policy of his own, and it was difficult to find any two of them who agreed in all material details. I recall many visits to Wash- ington in the very early days of the war, when a dispassionate ■examination of the conditions presented made almost every hope for the Republic perish in despair. There were mobs of office- seekers, who clamored with all the volubility of spoilsmen; there were mobs of contractors inspired by the single purpose to rob the Government in what they regarded as its dying agonies, and the adventurer and the adventuress plied their vocations on every hand. The one man who stood apparently alone in heroic hopefulness and tireless patience was Abraham Lincoln. He had faith in God, in free government, in the people and in himself. I can never forget the mingled pathos and earnestness with which I once heard him define his attitude as one who v/as sitting in a vast temple hearing the clamor of those who wanted to enter and enjoy it, when its consuming flames were kissing the heavens. He had no policy, because it was for events and conditions to dictate the policy of the Government. He calmly waited, quietly and patiently forebore with the com- plaints and importunities of others, and in the fullness of time he gave the people back a reunited country, with freedom uni- versal within its domains, and sealed his great work with his blood when the assassin laid him low. Washington at that time consisted of two entirely dififerent RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 205 communities, divided by official and social lines. Georgetown, which is now simply a pretty suburb of our great capital, was then the centre of culture, refinement and social exclusiveness. It had welcomed the earlier Presidents who came with the bluest blood of Virginia to grace official circles, but when the corncob pipe and the stone jug came with Jackson an impassa- ble chasm was made between the social and the political circles of the capital. They were somewhat mingled under Van Buren and Tyler and Polk and Taylor, but when the ungainly form of the rail splitter came to the White House, alien to the aristo- cratic circles of Georgetown alike by birth and conviction, the social rulers of the capital paid little tribute to the political powers beyond playing the part of spy to give prompt informa- tion to the enemies of the Republic of the movements of the Government. Lincoln had no time and less inclination for social recognition, and I have seen his Presidential carriage on the streets of the capital driven by a coachman not only without semblance of livery, but fitly clad to hold the reins of a night- hawk. The first story of the national Capitol was converted into a vast bakery to feed the brave boys in blue who were organized to fight the battle for the Union, and confusion and dilapidation were visible on every hand. General Winfield Scott was then regarded by all as the bul- wark of safety for the RepubHc. He was the hero of two wars^ was a Major General in the army before I was born, and was accepted by the entire country as the great Captain of the age. I saw him for the first time the morning after the sur- render of Sumter, when I had been summoned as chairman of the Military Committee of the Senate to accompany Governor Curtin to Washington for consultation with the President, General Scott and Secretary Cameron. It was known that he was feeble physically; that he was unable to mount a horse because of a spinal affection, but it was generally believed that his mental faculties were unabated. The conference was brief, as all agreed as to the duty to be performed by Pennsylvania; but I was anxious to see much more of the great hero who had been one of my idols from earliest boyhood. He stood in the window overlooking the Potomac to the Virginia hills be- yond, and I saw his gray eye, which was greatly dimmed by the waste of years, moisten with scalding tears as he pointed to 2o6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Virginia, his home — the State to which he had been taught to maintain allegiance — and in a tremulous voice express his ap- prehension that Virginia would now join the secession move- ment. He was undoubtedly thoroughly loyal, but it was sorrow's crown of sorrow for him to draw his sword against Virginia. He remained with Governor Curtin and myself a considerable time, during which the conditions of the country, the dangers of Washington and the questions of war were generally discussed, and it soon became painfully evident that the old chieftain had outlived his days of usefulness, and that he w-as utterly unequal to the appalling task he had accepted. I well remember when we descended the stairs after leaving the President's room Gov- ernor Curtin throwing up both hands and exclaiming: "Isly God, the country is at the mercy of a dotard!" That Scott most patriotically attempted to perform his duties was never questioned, but he was so visibly outgeneraled in the first battle oi the war by the division of his command, while the enemy united against inferior numbers and won the victory, that the question of displacement became only one of time. Soon there- after he retired and lived to see and rejoice over a reunited country. The situation in Washington at that time as generally ac- cepted by intelligent observers was very tersely presented by Mr. Stanton's private letters to ex-President Buchanan. Stan- ton had been in the Buchanan Cabinet during the closing months of the term, and wrote many private letters to his old friend and chief, portraying w^hat he called "the painful imbecil- ity of Lincoln" and the "venality and corruption" which seemed to pervade the different departments of the Government, and which, as he expressed it, could not be improved "until Jefif Davis turns out the whole concern." In one letter to Buchanan, written after the defeat of Bull Run, he said that "in less than thirty days Davis will be in possession of Washington." Stanton was then the close friend and adviser of General Mc- Clellan, and it was well known in the Administration circles and to Lincoln himself that Stanton earnestly urged McClellan to overthrow the constitutional Government because of weakness &fid incapacity, and declare himself dictator. One year later Stanton became the great War IMinister under Lincoln, whom he had never met since Lincoln's inauguration as President until RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 207 he was summoned to the White House to receive his com- mission charging him with the war portfoho. The men whose names have been immortahzed by achieve- ments in our civil war were then unknown to fame. ]\IcClellan was chief engineer of a Western railroad, and received his first military commission for the civil war from the Governor of Ohio which gave him command of a small army that operated in Western Virginia, where he won several victories over small bodies of undisciplined troops in actions which two years later would hardly have been regarded as a skirmish. Grant was clerk in the tanning establishment of his father and brother in Galena, earning $800 a year, a salary that was made more liberal because of his relations to his employers and of his own neces- sities rather than because of the value of his services. Sherman had just resigned his position as teacher in a military school in Louisiana because of his impetuous hostility to secession, and regarded himself as very comfortably fixed in St. Louis as officer of a street railway company, with a salary of $2500. Sheridan was a lieutenant on the frontier, and when he heard of the war he whirled his cap over his head after the manner of the then wild and woolly West, and said: "Here's for a cap- tain's commission or a soldier's grave." Meade was a captain serving as an engineer on the Northwestern lakes, and Thomas was a captain whose Mrginia birth and severely modest reti- cence gave him hesitating promotion when the regular army was increased. Farragut and Porter had not risen above the position of commander, and were unknown to fame. Dewey had just reached the rank of lieutenant in the navy, as had Ben- ham and Ramsey. Sampson and Schley were only masters, and Clark was a cadet at the Naval Academy. Of those then prominent in the army, from Scott down, who were relied upon as the men who should become chieftains in the great battle for the maintenance of the Union, not one was among the recognized heroes of the war when peace finally came at Appomattox. In Greeley's "American Conflict," the first volume of which gives a very concise history of the causes which produced the war, and the second presents as correct a story in brief of the achievements as could be given at that time, there are two full-page engravings bearing the same title. In the first volume the heroes of the Union are grouped around Scott, 2o8 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S and the faces are McCIellan, Wool, Fremont, Banks and others, in the second vokime a Hke group of the heroes of the war is presented that does not contain a single face that is given in the first. The leading Southern Generals as a rule held their posi- tions and emerged from the war having fulfilled the expecta- tions of their people in heroism, while the Union armies never had permanent commanders who held their positions and won advancement, until Grant and Sherman started out in the mem- orable campaigns of 1864. Thus during the first three years of the war there was always a large element of distrust caused by our military commanders. The army of the Potomac, that made the most heroic record of any army in any war, consider- ing that commander after commander failed^ was led to final victory by the tanner from Galena. When the Thirty-seventh Congress first met in special session July 4, 1861, the seats of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mis- sissippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas were vacant in both Senate and House, and the men who fought the great battles in the national councils for the maintenance of the army, the preservation of the national credit and the reconstruction of the severed States have nearly all passed away. I can recall the name of but one man in the Congress of 1861, who is now in the national legislature. Galusha A. Grow, now Congress- man-at-Large from Pennsylvania, was speaker of the first war Congress, and is the only one of all the statesmen of forty years ago who will meet with the coming Congress. If he shall live to serve out his present term he will retire on the 4th of March, 1902, just fifty-two years after having first entered Congress as the successor of David Wilmot. He will not only be alone in the next Congress as a national legislator who met the shock of civil war, but I cannot recall the name of one of his associates in the Pennsylvania delegation who is now among the living. Discordant as were the councils of the Republican leaders, the imperious necessities of the varied conditions which confronted them compelled unity of action, and the great struggle of eight years, covering- the period of the war and reconstruction under President Johnson, developed a standard of statesmanship that has certainly never been surpassed at any period of the nation's history since the fathers of the Republic founded it, and was not more than equaled even by those who reared the present great RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 209 Structure of free government. Stevens became the Commoner of the war and ruled with imperial power, and he ever had around him a galaxy of brilliant and heroic representatives, who in every emergency yielded all to the cause of the Union. In the Senate the names of Trumbull, of Illinois; Grimes and Har- lan, of Iowa; Fessenden, of j\Iaine; Sumner and Wilson, of Massachusetts; Chandler, of Michigan; Henderson, of Missouri; King and Harris, of New York; Sherman and Wade, of Ohio, and Anthony, of Rhode Island, were made to stand out among the most lustrous in American statesmanship. They had even greater problems to solve than had the Fathers of the Republic, and they accomplished what had never been attained in the history of civilized nations — the reunion of divided States which had maintained the most heroic war of history for four long years. All such wars of the past left victors and vanquished as masters and subjects, but in five years after peace was attained the Confederate chieftain became a national lawmaker, and later sat in the Cabinet of the conqueror of Lee. With the restoration of peace and the reunion of the States came the first great impetus for the improvement of our national capital. The colossal Goddess of Liberty that was mounted on the dome of our beautiful Capitol structure came just in time to proclaim the complete reunion of the States so long drenched in fraternal conflict. The District of Columbia was dignified by the creation of a complete local government, embracing a Governor and local Legislature, and the Republican Con- gress, to be consistent with its policy, gave universal suffrage to the residents of the District, by which the colored population, largely illiterate, became the controlling political power. Gov- ernor Cook inaugurated the new government with imposing ceremonies, but soon found that his task was a most ungracious one because of the reckless legislative authority. Governor Shepherd accepted the succession, and he did in Washington what Caesar did for Rome, who found the City of Seven Hills in brick and left it in marble. Shepherd was in advance of his time in his grand conceptions of what our national capital should be, and must be in time. That he had to deal with corrupt authority is not doubted, but he made the best use of his power that was possible, and he literally created the present beautiful city of Washington, with 2IO COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S its wide and well-paved streets, its magnificent angles, Its green shades and its grand monuments. He aroused fearful antago- nism, was violently assailed as a corruptionist, and finally lit- erally driven from his authority and home and popular govern- ment abolished; but how many are there in Washington today v.'ho do not point with pride to the achievements of Governor Shepherd? He gave up his home in the capital that he had beautified, soiled in reputation and broken in fortune, and since then he has been away in the mountains of Mexico. When recently in the land of the successors of the Aztecs I made special inquiry about Governor Shepherd, and would gladly have visited him had it been possible, but I found that he was away in the mountains hundreds of miles distant, and could be reached only by traveling nearly one hundred miles of mountains, without even a wagon road. He has acquired fortune, and seems to have no desire to return to the city that he so grandly em- bellished as to make it the pride of the nation and command the homage of the world. I never drive over the elegant streets of Washington and witness the succession of beautiful views constantly presented without thinking kindly of Governor Shep- herd, and feeling more than willing to forgive him for all the faults of which he was accused, even if the charges had been somewhat warranted. I think it only just to say that he was more sinned against than sinning, and that his name should linger in the grateful memories of every resident of our national capital. I recently met in the White House and had a pleasant chat with the President of the United States, sitting in the same window in which I had first met General Scott just forty years ago, when the thunders of civil war appalled the country. The present President was then not three years old, and in emerging from the Executive Mansion I met the Secretary of State, silvered with age and a halting step that told the story of broken health. I first saw him in the White House as a handsome and unusually bright boy hardly out of his teens, whose chief concern seemed to be the cultivation of a then stubbornly hesitating mustache. He has since then taken high rank in American literature, honored the country as Minister to the first court of Europe, and now commands the confidence of the country as the Premier under two Presidents. Most of the COLONEL A. K. McCLURE as he looked in the sixties when he lrEL ALEXAXDER K. McCLURE'S message, and after it had been fully discussed and the views of the Cabinet officers ascertained, Lincoln made this indorsement on the back of the message: "February 5, 1865. Today these papers, which explain themselves, were drawn up and submitted to the Cabinet, and unanimously disapproved by them," to v."hich Lincoln appended his name. It must be remembered that the war was then in progress, and few of the prominem friends of the administration were prepared to view reconstruction from a generous and sympa- thetic standpoint while the Confederate flag was defended by strong armies in the field. Had Lincoln lived to learn of the surrender of Johnston's army in North CaroHna he would cer- tainly have maintained his faith with Sherman and Governor \'ance that the ruling purpose of his policy of reconstruction was to maintain uninterrupted governments and authority in all the Southern States after the close of the war. His purpose on this point v.as also e^Jiibited when he visited Richmond and personally authorized General Weitzel to invite the State gov- ernment and Legislature to resume their authority in the line of peace. That arrangem.ent was defeated by Judge Campbell and others, who claimed that Lincoln had conceded much more than he intended to concede, which led to a bitter controversy in the Cabinet and in the Xorth, and after the surrender of Lee's army Lincoln revoked the order. The fact that he author- ized it proved that his policy of reconstruction contemplated the recognition of the State authorities in the South until the meeting of Congress, unless they persisted in some measure of antagonism to the authority of the national Government. Lincoln's reconstruction policy had been well considered and determined for months before the surrender of Lee, and it con- templated no act of revenge on the part of the Government. In the fall of 1864 I heard General Butler and Colonel Forney discuss with him the question of punishing the leading insur- gents with great earnestness and vehemence, to which Lincoln replied with a story that clearly conveyed his wish that they should all get away "unbeknowns" to him, and he expressed his views to his Cabinet on the last day of his great life, when Grant had returned as victor of Appomattox and was present with the President and his advisers to consider the situation. He declared to the Cabinet, as quoted by Xicolay and Hay, that RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 299 no one need expect him to ''take any part in lianging or killing these men, even the worst of them." I am thus enabled to con- firm my own statements as to Lincoln's views on the subject of reconstruction by the most conclusive evidence furnished by others. He was inspired by that beautiful sentence in his sec- ond inaugural, "with malice toward none and with charity for all," and, had he lived, by no act of his would any insurgent have suffered in person or property, unless guilty of violating the laws of war. On another vital point relating to reconstruction we have the most positive evidence as to Lincoln's views on the subject of suffrage. No proposition was seriously made to confer suf- frage upon the colored voters of the District of Columbia while Lincoln was President, for it would not have met his approval. He had evidently considered that subject as one of the stum- bling blocks in reconstruction. He knew that the radical ele- ment of his party would demand it, and he believed that it would be unfortunate for both races and for both sections. When he was serenaded after the surrender of Lee, and deliv- ered his last public address on the steps of the White House, he knew that the question of reconstruction was upon him and that he must meet it. It was one of the most carefully prepared papers he ever delivered, and with that caution that was always exercised by Lincoln, he meant that it should be suggestive on the material points of reconstruction. In that address he said, speaking of the then partially reconstructed government of Louisiana: "It is also unsatisfactory to some that the elective franchise is not given to the colored men. I would most prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent and on those who served our cause as soldiers." Only a month before he had written to Governor Hahn, of Louisiana, congratulating him as the first Free State Governor, and giving his suggestions as to the elective franchise to be defined in the new Constitution. He said: "I barely suggest for your private consideration whether some of the colored peo- ple may not be let in, as, for instance, the very intelligent, and especially those who have fought gallantly in our ranks. They would help in some trying time to come to keep the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom." The letter to Governor Hahn was written before the surrender of any of the Confederate 300 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S armies, and was given as a private suggestion, but the speech delivered on the last day of his life presented his most carefully considered conclusions on the subject of negro suffrage, and proposed that it should be confined to "the very intelligent" and to those who had served in the army and navy. The extension of the elective franchise to that limited class of negroes would not have made them a political factor in any State or commun- ity of the country. I have thus stated with some minuteness of detail the attitude of Lincoln on the two vital issues of reconstruction — viz., the treatment of the Southern people by the Government, and the question of suffrage in the reconstructed States. Had Lincoln lived, reconstruction w^ould have been accomplished after the most sober and considerate discussion of all the questions in- volved in it; but his assassination inflamed the loyal sentiment of the country, and President Johnson reflected it in the early days of his administration by his repeated declarations demand- ing a tidal wave of retribution. Just one week after he became President he delivered an address to visiting citizens of Indiana, headed by Governor Morton, in which he said that the time had arrived when the American people should be educated that treason is the highest crime known to the law, to which he added: "Yes, treason against a State, treason against all the States, treason against the Government of the United States, is the highest crime that can be committed, and those engaged in it should suffer all its penalties." Johnson was a man of violent passions. His birth ,education and all the conflicts of his life had taught him to hate the ruling class of the South, and when he waded through the tears of a bereaved nation into the Presidency his natural impulses were quickened by the keenly inflamed sectional sentiment of the North resulting from the assassination of Lincoln; but in a very few months, when he came to face the grave responsibility pre- sented to him, he learned that higher and nobler duties must be performed, and his first error when he started in the right direction was to assume the authority, without the knowledge or aid of Congress, to reconstruct the rebellious States. At that time he certainly did not anticipate estrangement from his party, but it was the first step that led him on and finally forced him into an attitude that made an impassable gulf between him RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 301 and Congress. He was the natural foe of slavery, and he be- lieved that if he reorganized the State governments in the South and secured the adoption of the amendment to the Con- stitution abolishing slavery he could command the approval of Congress, the recognition of his governments and the admis- sion of the Southern Senators and Representatives. He appointed William M. Holden Provisional Governor of North Carohna on the 29th of May, 1865; on the 13th of June William L. Sharkey was appointed Governor of Mississippi; on the 17th of June Jam^es Johnson was appointed Governor of Georgia, and Andrew J. Hamilton Governor of Texas; on the 2ist Lewis E. Parsons was appointed Governor of Alabama; on the 30th Benjamin F. Perry was appointed Governor of South Carolina; on the 13th of July William Marvin was appointed Governor of Florida, and on the 9th of May he recognized the Pierpont administration as the government of Virginia. William G. Brownlow had been elected Governor of Tennessee; Isaac Murphy had been elected Governor of Arkansas, and J. M. Wells had been elected Governor of Louisiana, all by the Free State organizations. Legislatures were elected under call of the Johnson provisional Governors, and Johnson required of them that they should approve the amendment to the Ccnistitu- tion aboHshing slavery and declaring against the payment of all Confederate State debts. There was much hesitation in some of the Legislatures in approving the constitutional amendment, and several of them added to the approval the reservation of the right to the State to claim compensation for the slaves, and some of them were extremely reluctant to reject all Confederate debts, but the President was imperative in his demand and they were compelled to obey. Johnson had nearly eight months in which to experiment in reconstructing the Southern States without the intervention of Congress, and he was entirely confident that, with the consti- tutional amendment abolishing slavery adopted and the Confed- erate debts rejected, his policy of reconstruction could not be discarded by Congress. Fie was not generally or severely as- sailed by the Republicans for the reason that none felt entirely sure of the policy Congress would adopt. The question was startling in its novelty and appalling in the magnitude of the issue. I saw the President some time after he had organized 302 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S his State Governments, and he was amazed when I expressed grave doubts about Congress recognizing his reconstructed authority in the States and admitting their Representatives to Congress. He certainly desired to avoid an issue with the Re- pubhcans, who controlled both branches of Congress by an overwhelming majority, with the Southern States unrepresent- ed; but when Congress met in December the conditions in the South were such as to strengthen the radical element of the Republican party in making aggressive battle against the policy of the administration. This was greatly aided by the action of the new Southern Legislatures denying full civil rights to the negroes. That these Southern Legislatures meant to be oppressive upon the negroes will not be believed by those who dispassionately study the then existing conditions. The slaves were suddenly made free, and they were the entire labor of the South. The Southern people believed that the negro would be valueless as a laborer under freedom, and their legislation that seemed harsh and greatly inflamed the North was carefully considered to bring about the best results to both races. The Legislatures declared that an idle negro, or one without visible means of livelihood, could be publicly sold as a vagrant to the highest bidder for the period of one year, with severe penalty if he did not fulfil the bond of the law. His civil rights were also limited, enabling him to be a suitor or a witness only in litigation with his own race. Such were the conditions presented by the reconstructed Southern States when Congress met, and the result was an immediate and irreconcilable issue between Congress and the President, as Congress refused to recognize the reconstructed govern- ments and their laws, and rejected their Representatives. The white people of the South were in the entire control of their respective State governments, and there seemed to be no middle ground on v/hich Congress, the President and the gov- ernments of the rebellious States could adjust their differences. The question of political control was then, as ever before and since, paramount, and the Republicans of Congress had to choose between accepting the policy of the President, or ac- cepting universal suffrage and the disfranchisem'cnt of those en- gaged in rebellion, to assure pohtical mastery of the South. Johnson was an impassioned leader and always inflamed rather than tempered opposition. He was aggressive and tempestu- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 303 Oils in his assaults upon those who differed with him, and in a Httle time it became evident to the RepubUcans that RepubH- can control in the South could be maintained only by universal suffrage and disfranchising the great mass of the property own- ers in those States. There were many prominent Republicans who hesitated long at accepting universal negro suffrage, with disfranchisement of nearly all the intelligent voters of the South- ern States, but all were compelled to choose between accepting the policy of Congress and the policy of the President, and with few exceptions they were marshaled in solid columns. They provided for elections in all the States, under the direc- tion of the military commander, giving the negroes the right of suffrage, requiring all voters to take the oath of allegiance, and thus founded what w^as known as the "carpet-bag" rule of the reconstructed States. It was an inviting field for political adventurers from the North, who were aided by a very small proportion of the more mercenary element of the whites in the South, and for nearly a decade this rule ran riot in profligacy, theft and the most violent prostitution of authority. The dark chapter of this reign is written in the annals of the Republic, and need not be repeated here. It was maintained by violent political methods until 1876, when its overthrow was dated by the Republicans being compelled to surrender the State gov- ernments of Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina to assure peaceable submission to the inauguration of President Hayes. Thus the South, after having suffered all the fearful desola- tion of four years of war, utterly impoverished, with its wasted fields and its silent shops, was compelled to suffer for eight years or more a political mastery that was worse than war in all save the sacrifice of life. But for this sad episode in the history of reconstruction the Southern States would have advanced rapidly in the development of their industries and trade, and it is a high tribute to the courage and patience of the Southern people that, after being halted for nearly half a generation by w^ar and reconstruction misrule, they have rapidly regained their prosperity, and today some of them are not only richer than ever before, but the men who wore the blue and the gray in deadly conflict with each other stood side by side under a com- mon flag in our recent war with Spain, and the victory achieved was as heartily cheered and blessed in the homes of the South as in the homes of the North. JAMES L. ORR. James L. Orr, of South Carolina, was one of the ablest of the Southern leaders for a decade before the civil war, when he served in Congress, and he had a very important part in the reorganization and final reconstruction of the State after the overthrow of the Rebellion, He was one of the few able na- tional leaders who, w-hile heartily sympathizing with the South and sincerely devoted to all Southern interests, was not blinded by sectional passion, and well understood that secession meant war and that war meant destruction. He was thoroughly hon- est and patriotic in all his purposes and actions; thoroughly commanded the confidence of the Southern Democrats before the w-ar, and of the Southern leaders during the existence of the Confederacy (when he served uninterruptedly in the Confed- erate Senate) and of all parties — carpetbaggers, adventurers and radical Southerners — in the many bitter and desperate conflicts in his State which attended reconstruction. Orr was born in Craytonville, South Carolina, May 12, 1822. He was of the old Scotch-Irish stock that emigrated southward from Pennsylvania and gave the three counties of South Caro- lina in which they settled the names of Chester, Lancaster and York. While he was a South Carolinian by birth, education, affinity and interest, he was born and reared in the western val- leys of the State, which are shadowed by the mountains, and while slaves existed there they were comparatively few in num- ber, and labor in the shop and field was not regarded as degrad- ing to the white man, while in the central and eastern part of the State the slave population largely predominated over the whites. He did not inherit fortune, but by care and frugality he attained a collegiate education, graduating at the University of Virginia in 1842. He then studied law and located at Ander- son, among his old neighbors, to practice his profession, where he established and edited a village paper entitled The Gazette. When but twenty-two years of age he was elected to the Legis- (304) COLONEL A. K. McCLURE. Taken in I 870. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 305 latiire and first attracted general attention by his earnest and able denunciation of nullification, that was then a lingering issue in the State. Four years later he was elected to Congress, and his first contest was opposed by a more radical Southerner, but Orr was elected by a decided majority. He was re-elected at the four following consecutive elections without op- position, and in December, 1857, when entering upon his last Congressional term, he was chosen Speaker, after having been unanimously nominated by the Democrats. He thus served in Congress during the bitter contest for the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the desperate struggles later made over the Kansas issue, but he was always conservative and sought to exercise a wholesome restraining influence upon the blind leaders of slavery who led it to its final and convulsive overthrow. In i860 he was elected to the Secession Convention of South Carolina, in which he earnestly opposed the withdrawal of the State from the Union, but he stood almost alone, and when the secession ordinance was adopted he yielded his own personal convictions to the sovereign power of the State, and when war came he was among the first to march a regiment of his rifle- men to the support of the Confederate cause. Before he had attained any active military service he was elected to the Con- federate Senate, where he served during the entire existence of the Confederate Government. He was one of the three Con- federate Commissioners appointed by the State to visit Wash- ington in December, i860, to treat for the surrender of the forts in the Charleston harbor, and he was the one member of that Commission who seemed to understand the magnitude of the issue they were called upon to solve. He was a careful student, an intelligent observer, and he was one of the most genial and popular of all the Southern Congressmen. I think it safe to say that he had more acquaintances and warmer friends among the Northern Representatives than any other man from the South, and he understood the North and its resources and the charac- ter of its people better than any of the madcap leaders who plunged the country into civil war. His career in the Confederate Senate was not an aggressive one, as he better understood the resistless trend of events than did most of his associates, but he was schooled in the doctrine 3o6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S of the sanctity of State sovereignty on which the Confederacy was founded, and he sustained the secession Government ac- cording to his best judgment. When the end came and the Southern armies were surrendered and their banners furled, he at once directed his efforts to the great work of restoring the people of his State to some measure of prosperity. A few months after the close of the war he announced himself as a candidate for Governor of South Carolina under Johnson's re- construction policy. He was known as a liberal Southerner, who desired to heal the wounds of war and restore the country to peace, but the more radical Southern element opposed his election and selected General Wade Hampton, then the most popular of South Carolina soldiers, to make the contest against Orr, It was a very earnest battle between these two favorites, as both were men of superior ability, ripe experience and per- sonally popular, but Orr was elected by less than a thousand majority, and serve companied Grant in his campaign from the Rapidan to Cold Harbor. During the terrible battles which Grant fought in the Wilderness, Spottsylvania and other places the cavalry under Sheridan was constantly on the flanks of the enemy and making raids to demoralize it. Like Jackson, his enemy never knew where he was. One of the most remarkable raids of the war was made by him starting on the 9th of May and lasting two weeks, when he cut all the railroads that supplied the Confed- erate army, and in one of his engagements, on the nth of May at Yellow Tavern, he defeated the great cavalry leader, General RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY, 329 Stuart, who fell in the battle. Again, on the 7th of June, when Grant was at Cold Harbor, he made another raid to the rear of the Confederate forces, destroying railroads and capturing a number of prisoners. Grant thus learned to appreciate Sheri- dan as a man of the highest strategic qualities and the boldest dash, with unfaltering courage, and when it became necessary to send an adequate force to drive Early from the Shenandoah Valley he assigned Sheridan to that task, and the history of that campaign is known to all as one of the most brilliant and suc- cessful movements of the war. He twice defeated Early, and finally, when absent twenty miles from his command, and Early had made an unexpected attack and driven Sherman's army from the field he made his celebrated ride, gathered up his scattered forces, formed them in line of battle, rode in front of them himself, hurled his reformed lines upon the enemy, and not only defeated, but routed it, and the valley was never again occupied by a Confederate army. For these victories Sheridan was promoted to a Major Generalship in the regular army. It was in the last campaign between the two great armies commanded by Grant and Lee that Sheridan conclusively proved his right to be ranked with Jackson as the greatest of all the lieutenants of his army. If Sheridan had not been with Grant, Lee would surely have escaped capture at Appomattox. He was the one man who was tireless in efifort, thoroughly skilled in the intricate movements necessary to harass a retreating army, and his courage at times amounted to madness. He was the fiend of battle, and he is the only man in the Union army who would have fought and won the battle of Five Forks as he did. It was the key to the successful pursuit of Lee, and Sheridan well understood that all hope of capturing Lee's command must perish unless the Confederates could be driven from their strong defensive position. When he reached Five Forks in the pursuit of Lee's army he at once appreciated that a formidable enemy confronted him in a very strong position. He immediately issued orders for the speedy march to his assistance of all the troops behind him. He dismounted his cavalry, seized the flag and led the charge himself. Only a Sheridan or a Jackson could have fought such a battle or won such a victory. With the Confederates driven from their last stand at Five Forks the capture of Lee was possible with such a relentless and swift 330 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S pursuer as Sheridan. He had raided almost every section of the country through which they were marching, and understood every opportunity open to Lee for escape. He was a man of extraordinary physical vigor, and, inspired by the hope of a final victory over the army of Lee, he never rested until Appomattox was made immortal in American history. He had all the fight- ing qualities of Grant, with a dash and ingenuity that none of his fellow-soldiers possessed. It is only just to the memory of Sheridan to say that he was the real victor over Lee at Appomat- tox, and he is crystallized in the history of the war as the great- est of all the lieutenants of the Union army. I never met General Jackson and cannot speak of his individ- ual qualities from personal knowledge, but his character is so well known that even his most intimate acquaintances could shed no new light upon it. He was the Cromwellian soldier of the war, the one who always entered battle with prayer, and who never wearied of religious devotion. I knew Sheridan well. He was one of the jolly, rollicking, big-hearted class that made him a most genial companion and delightful associate under all circumstances. Like Jackson, he was as modest as he was brave. It was most difificult to get him to tell anything about his own part in the war. I remember dining with him soon after his return from the Franco-Prussian war, wdiere he was with the German army. I was greatly interested in his observations of the condition of European armies and wherein they dififered from our military methods, but when I tried to get him to tell the story of his famous ride from Winchester to turn victory in- to defeat, he was a most reluctant talker. I pressed many in- quiries upon him in relation to it, but all he would say was that when he "met the boys they seemed to turn around and go in just of their own accord." He was made Lieutenant General by Grant, much to the disappointment of Generals Meade and Thomas and their friends, and when on his death bed, and only a few days before his death. Congress paid him the high compli- ment of authorizing him to be placed on the army roll as Gen- eral, and his last official act was his order announcing the ap- pointment of his stafT. On the 5th of August, 1888, the great lieutenant of the Union army passed to his final account. GENERAL WM. T. SHERMAN, THE GENIUS OF THE UNION ARMY. Next to Grant and McClellan the military chieftain of our civil war who has been most discussed from the standpoint of strongly opposing convictions is General William T, Sherman. Although he had been retired from active service in the early part of the war because he was believed to be wildly visionary in military matters, his name is now safely intrenched in history as second only to Grant among the great military commanders in defense of the Union. He was born in Ohio on the 8th of February, 1820, and when quite young was adopted by Thomas Ewing, then one of the leading pubHc men of the State, and in 1836, when Ewing was a United States Senator, he indicated Sherman for appointment as a cadet to West Point. Sherman graduated in 1840, and served as a second lieutenant in the army in Florida, Mobile and Charleston, and in 1846 he was in command of a body of troops sent around Cape Horn to join the army of Scott in Mexico. In 1850 he married Miss Ellen B. Ewing, the daughter of his benefactor, who was then Secre- tary of the Interior, and was promoted to a captaincy, in which position he served in St. Louis and New Orleans. In 1853, be- lieving that promotion would be long delayed in the army, he resigned his captaincy and became manager of the branch bank of Lucas, Turner & Co., in San Francisco. In 1857 he returned to St. Louis and resided in New York for a time as agent for a St. Louis house. In 1858 he located at Leavenworth, Kansas, to practice law, as he had studied law during his military ser- vice, and one year before the war he became superintendent of the State Military Academy at Alexandria, Louisiana. He was always frank and outspoken, and when the secession movement began in the South he at once declared his purpose to sustain the Government, and resigned his position and returned to St. Louis, where for a brief period he acted as an official of a street railway. (330 332 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S When civil war began Sherman promptly offered his services, and on the 13th of May he was commissioned colonel of the Thirteenth Infantry and ordered to report to Scott at Washing- ton. He commanded a brigade in the first battle of Bull Run, and exhibited great skill in the management of his almost en- tirely raw troops, for which he was commissioned Brigadier- General on the 3d of August, and on the 28th of the same month he was ordered to report to General Anderson, who was then in command of Kentucky. Anderson's failing health, and his inability to cope with the complicated political and sectional troubles in the State, made him ask to be relieved of the com- mand, and Sherman was assigned as his successor. When Sher- man was charged with the responsibility of an important com- mand he startled the Government by his demand for 60,000 troops to hold Kentucky in subjection, and declared that not less than 200,000 men would be necessary to overthrow the re- bellion in the Southwest. On this occasion Sherman simply proved that he understood the war much better than any of the national authorities or military commanders. He under- stood the South, knew what the war meant, and his demand for 200,000 men to conquer the rebellion in the Southwest was vindicated by the fact that fully that number of troops were finally compelled to be marshaled to overthrow the power of the insurgents in that section and enable the Father of Waters again to flow "unvexed to the sea." Instead of calmly investigating Sherman's demand, it was at once assumed that Sherman was mentally unbalanced. I re- member going into the War Department in Washington very soon after the announcement that Sherman had been relieved of his command in Kentucky, and met Colonel Scott, Assistant Secretary, with whom I was intimately acquainted. When I asked him why the change had been made he significantly placed his finger upon his forehead, and said: "Sherman's gone in the head; he's luny." General Cameron, who was then Secretary of War, had been sent to Missouri to investigate the Fremont troubles, and he stopped to see Sherman on his way back. I happened to be in Harrisburg when Cameron returned, and learning what train he would be on, and anxious to know whether he had accomplished anything in Missouri, I hastily boarded his car and had ten minutes' conversation with him. I RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 333 had great confidence in his judgment when he said that Fre- mont was a faihire, and would have to be relieved, but I was astounded when he told me that he had visited Sherman and that Sherman was absolutely crazy, Cameron said: "Why, Sher- man wants 60,000 tpoops to hold Kentucky, and says not less than 200,000 can conquer the rebellion in the Southwest." As the Government did not then have 260,000 organized soldiers throughout the entire country, the demand of Sherman was truly appalling, and the conclusion was irresistible that either Sherman was crazy or that we were up against a war of whose magnitude we had no just conception whatever. Cam- eron returned to Washington, reported that Sherman was "gone in the head" and wholly unfitted for command, and Sherman was soon relieved of his position in Kentucky and ordered to report at the St. Louis barracks. In Administration circles he was generally spoken of as a lunatic, and when it was told that he wanted a quarter of a million of men to hold the South from the Ohio to the Gulf there were few who were prepared to dispute his alleged infirmity. Sherman chafed around the St. Louis barracks for months, doing what he could to organize troops, but finally in February, 1862, Grant called for Sherman, as he knew him and had faith in him, and assigned him to the Fifth Division in the Army of the Tennessee. His first opportunity to display his ability as a commander was at the battle of Shiloh, where Sherman com- manded the wing of the army that received the sudden and overwhelming shock of Sidney Johnston's attack. It was charged that Grant and Sherman were both surprised when Johnston delivered battle, but Sherman always denied it with great earnestness. I have heard him speak of it many times, and he always very positively refuted the idea that they were taken by surprise. He did not deny that the attack was un- expected at the particular time it was made, but insisted that they were as well prepared for it as was possible, but that they hoped the attack would be delayed until the arrival of the Army of the Ohio under Buell that was then hourly expected. Johnston had masked his movements well, and suddenly struck Sherman's command and drove it from its position, but the fight was stubbornly maintained, and Sherman, although wounded, remained in the field and exhibited admirable qualities of gen- 334 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S eralship. Grant's army was outnumbered, and was compelled to fall back before the overwhelming force assailing it, but every inch of ground was desperately contested until night closed the struggle. General Buell with his entire command arrived during the night, which gave Grant equal or superior numbers, and the ofTensive was assumed early on the next day, when Beaure- gard was defeated and his army driven from the field. As Gen- eral Sherman had to bear the brunt of the attack, he had his first opportunity to exhibit his qualities as a field commander, and he was very highly complimented by General Grant, who said in his report, speaking of Sherman: "To his individual efforts I am indebted for the success of that battle;" and General Halleck, who came to the army immediately after the battle and thereby superseded Grant, in his report said: "Sherman saved the fortunes of the day on the 6th, and contributed largely to the glorious victory of the 7th." From the time of the battle of Shiloh Grant always regarded Sherman as the ablest of his lieutenants, and in all the many campaigns assigned to Sherman he never gave disappointment to his chief. The relations between Grant and Sherman were never strained^ although at times they differed as to military movements. When Grant decided upon his march from Vicks- burg around to Jackson to strike General Joseph E. Johnston and prevent him from uniting with Pemberton, Sherman was very earnestly opposed to it. It was the boldest military move- ment ever conceived or executed by Grant, and one that in- volved great peril to the army if it failed to achieve victory. Sherman had several times urged Grant to abandon it, but Grant was immovable, and finally Sherman wrote a protest to Grant, giving his reasons in a respectful but very frank manner why it should not be attempted. Grant made no answer, but placed the paper in his pocket, and after his return from the movement, which he had crowned with victory, and thereby decided the fate of Vicksburg, he quietly handed the paper back to Sherman. After the Vicksburg campaign Grant had Sherman brought to his aid at Chattanooga, where Sherman's command had the bulk of the fighting on Grant's left. In that struggle he had Hooker, Thomas and Sherman in battle under his immediate eye, and he was so fully confirmed in the superior ability of Sherman as an all-around commander that in the early part of RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 335 1864, when Grant was called to the command of the armies as Lieutenant-General, he assigned Sherman to the command of the second most important movement of the Union armies in the campaign to Atlanta. Sherman had Johnston in front of him in that campaign, a general who was equal to himself. It was one of the most brilliant campaigns of the entire war. There were few battles fought until Hood succeeded Johnston and made his ill-fated assault upon Sherman at Atlanta. In only one instance did Sherman assault Johnston, and that was the only mistake of Sherman's campaign. It was at Kenesaw Mountain, where Johnston occupied a very strong position, and Sherman decided to attempt to break the lines of the enemy, but he was twice repulsed, with great loss, and without serious injury to the Confederates. It was the most brilliant strategic campaign of the war, and the two opposing commanders were equally equipped in that important science of war. Sherman, with his superior numbers, could flank Johnston and compel him to retire, but it made an exhausting campaign, as every mile that Sherman advanced increased his difficulties in procuring supplies and weakened his forces to guard his lines, as it required four months for Sher- man to march from Chattanooga into Atlanta. Had Johnston continued in command at Atlanta, it is possible although not probable, that Sherman might have been pre- vented from capturing the city; but the Confederate Govern- ment and the Southern people generally became impatient over Johnston's many retreats, and when Sherman had his army in front of Atlanta, President Davis visited his army there and relieved Johnston of the command, and gave it to General Hood, one of the most heroic fighters of the Confederates, and he was appointed to the position with the distinct understanding that he was to give battle to the enemy. Hood met the expectations of President Davis by promptly delivering battle by a sudden and wholly unexpected assault upon General McPherson's com- mand. His movements had been well masked, and neither Sher- man nor McPherson anticipated the attack until the Confeder- ates were upon them. McPherson was at Sherman's head- quarters, neither anticipating any immediate movement by the enemy, when suddenly the firing began but a little distance from them. McPherson rapidly mounted his horse to reach the field, 336 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S but in a few minutes the horse returned riderless, as McPiierson was killed in attempting to reach his command. It was on this occasion that General Logan, a civilian commander, whose pro- motion in the military service had been severely criticised as due to political influence, exhibited great ability in handling the forces of McPherson. Although largely outnumbered, he held his position, fighting desperately until re-enforced, when, after a bloody battle. Hood was defeated and driven from the field. That conflict decided the fate of Atlanta, and in a few days thereafter Sherman was enabled to move his forces in such posi- tion as to compel Hood to evacuate the city. General Sherman was then in a condition that required the exercise of the soundest military judgment to determine how he should follow up his victory. He had Atlanta, the gate city of the South, but he could not remain to defend it, as it would simply bottle up a great army that could be supplied only with the greatest difihculty. It was Sherman's own conception to take the flower of his army and march to the sea. Grant and the Administration, after very careful consideration, approved of the movement that was then regarded as altogether the most desperate venture of the war, whereas it turned out to be little more than a picnic, as Sherman really marched to the sea through the richest country of the South that furnished him abundance of supplies, without meeting any Confederate force that fought beyond the dignity of a skirmish. His successful march to Savannah, the capture of that city and the later cap- ture of Charleston are so prominently recorded in history that all understand them. He marched his army of 60,000 men 300 miles in 24 days through the heart of the Confederacy, and had abundant supplies drawn from the country. At no time during the war was there greater anxiety about any one army than there was about Sherman during his mem- orable march to the sea. No word came from him directly during the twenty-four days he was on his march, and the wild- est reports came from the Southern newspapers about Sherman having been defeated tim'C and again. The War Department was crowded every day during the last two weeks of Sherman's march by anxious inquirers for information from his army. Finally, a day or two before Christmas, the advance of Sher- man's army was signaled at Savannah, and soon thereafter came RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 337 Sherman's first dispatch to President Lincohi, saying: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns, plenty of ammunition and 25,000 bales of cotton." For this achievement Sherman was made a Major-General of the regular army, and received the thanks of Congress for "his triumphant march." Sherman was the most brilliant and versatile of the prom- inent Union generals, and I believe that he may be justly re- garded as the military genius of all the chieftains on the Union side. He was not only a great fighter, but he was a great strat- egist, and he was terribly and tirelessly earnest in all his mili- tary movements. He was a man of the purest character, of the sternest integrity, and as positive in his convictions as he was aggressive in action. He possessed the genius of adapt- ability that made him equal to every emergency, and, taking his military record from the beginning to the close of the war, it exhibits fewer mistakes than are found in the record of any of his prominent fellow-soldiers, with the single exception of Thomas, who never committed a military blunder, never sacri- ficed a command and never lost a battle. It was my fortune to become intimately acquainted with Sher- man, and I met him on many social occasions. He rarely missed a dinner of the Clover Club, and was the favorite of all the many distinguished guests it has had. He loved convivial occasions, and was generally among the last to leave. I have often sat with him until far in the morning hours, after all but a few of the dinner guests had departed. He had great contempt for politics and politicians, resented with vehemence the sug- gestion of his name as a candidate for President, and declared that he would not accept the office if it were voluntarily tendered to him by the American people. Of course, he meant it, but none the less, like Grant, he would have accepted had such a contingency arisen. On all social occasions he was one of the most genial and delightful of guests, and as long as he was physically able to enjoy the dance he never missed an oppor- tunity to indulge in the waltz or cotillon when fair partners were around him. Of all the public men I have known I regard Sherman as the most frank and free in conversation. He was incapable of dissembling, and often blurted out the truth as he 33^ COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S accepted it in a way that was not always acceptable to his hearers. Sherman was the only one of the eminently distinguished offi- cers of the Union army who seldom spoke kindly of the Southern people. He Avas an earnest loyalist ; believed that the war for the disruption of the Union was utterly causeless, and he never ceased to censure the Southern leaders as guilty of criminal revolution against our free institutions. Considering that Sherman was one of the most chivalric of men, this feature of his character appears as a rift in the lute of his generally excellent attributes, but I have always believed that his hostility to the Southern people was greatly intensified by his personal contact with them. Between the soldiers, as a rule, the asperities of the conflict ceased when peace came, but Sherman in his campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and thence to Savan- nah, Charleston, Columbia and Raleigh, came in direct contact with the local civil authorities, and aroused their fiercest and most vindictive hostility by his rigid enforcement of the rules of war, as was absolutely necessary in conducting a campaign in the heart of the enemy's country. His correspondence with the local authorities of Atlanta developed this phase of his charac- ter with great distinctness, and while Grant would have spoken with equal decision, but with every possible degree of kindness, Sherman hurled back the complaints of the local authorities and people by reminding them that they were responsible for wanton and bloody war and must accept the consequences. Two features of Sherman's record have been discussed with great bitterness in the South. He was denounced as a brutal vandal for his destruction of Atlanta, and it is not surprising that the helpless people compelled to give up their homes to desolation poured a floodtide of defamation against him; but what could Sherman have done with Atlanta? It was the gate- way of the Confederacy and its most important base outside of Richmond. He had made a summer's march to conquer it, because its possession was most essential to the South, and when he had conquered it, he had to do one of three things: Remain in possession of it and bottle up a great army that would have required another great army to protect its line of supplies; abandon it and give back to the enemy all that he had fought for in his campaign, or destroy it and thus secure the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 339 substantial fruits of his victory. It was a harsh, a cruel fate, but military necessity does not take pause to consider the sacrifices which at times are imperative to attain military results. The desolation that attended Sherman's march through South Carolina and the destruction of Columbia, the beautiful capital of the State, have been harshly and in some measure justly criticised alike by the South, by the country and the world. Looking back over the terrible destruction left by the tread of Sherman's army in the Palmetto State, in the changed con- ditions of the present, there is little to offer in excuse for it; but it must be remembered that Sherman himself shared the im- placable resentment against South Carolina that was deeply grounded throughout the entire North because that State was held, and justly held, responsible for precipitating civil war, and it was the general expectation and certainly the general desire of the inflamed North that the heavy hand of retribution should fall upon that people. Sherman was always very sensitive on the subject, and I have heard him discuss it many times with great warmth in defense of his record. That he did not per- sonally command the destruction of Columbia I do not doubt, but that his army exhibited a degree of vandalism that was equaled only by the Confederate vandalism in Chambersburg, as they applied the torch to the ill-fated city, cannot be disputed; and the efifort m.ade to charge General Hampton and his com- mand with the responsibility for the burning of the city because they fired some cotton when they evacuated it was made plaus- ible, but lacked the vital element of truth. I met General Frank P. Blair soon after the army returned to Washington. He had commanded a corps under Sherman in South Carolina, and when I asked him to tell me to what extent charges of destruc- tion of homes and property in South Carolina by our soldiers were correct, his answer was: "Well, w^e left them the wells." No voice of protest came from the North, and in the fierce sectional passions of the time any measure of retribution upon South Carolina was welcome; but that record dims the lustre of the triumphs of the Union army, and I believe that General Sherman himself, if living today, would be in accord with the general sentiment of the North in the wish that no such chap- ter had been written in the annals of the republic. General Sherm.an succeeded to the generalship of the army 34° COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S when Grant became President, and with the universal approval of the loyal sentiment of the country, but he could not remain in harmony with the War Department, even when Grant was President, who was his sincere friend, and changed his head- quarters to St. Louis. After his retirement he made his home in New York, where he was a favorite in every social circle until the inexorable messenger came to bid him pass beyond the dark river. THE UNFORTUNATE COMMANDERS OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. No great army in any modern war was so unfortunate in its commanders as was the Army of the Potomac. During the four years of civil war that army had five different commanders, exclusive of General Grant, who personally commanded it as Lieutenant General during its last campaign, and of General Pope who commanded it at second Bull Run. General Meade was nominally its commander under Grant but he was little more than chief of staff. It is marvelous, also, that the Army of the Potomac, the most important Union army of our conflict, exhibited the highest type of heroism on every battlefield, not- withstanding the tendency to demoralization that necessarily re- sulted from the frequent failure and change of commanders. When, after the bombardment of Sumter, the Government was compelled to face fraternal war, and troops were hurried to Washington, the Confederates were equally active in prepara- tion for war, and it soon became evident that a great battle must be fought at some point between Washington and Richmond; and that was then expected to be the decisive struggle of the war. When Patterson was marching with his army to the Shenandoah Valley, in May, 1861, he encamped at Chambers- burg for some days, and I was intensely interested in the dis- cussion of the military situation and the probability of future battles, as presented by Generals Patterson, Cadwallader, Doubleday and Keim, and Colonel Thomas and Major Fitz John Porter, both of whom became Major Generals, with Sena- tor Sherman, a volunteer aid on Patterson's staff, who made up a dinner party at my home. The only point on which these officers agreed was that a battle would have to be fought, but all, with the exception of Thomas and Doubleday, were positive in the conviction that one pitched battle would bring the North and South to peace on some compromise basis. The one who said the least was Colonel Thomas, then commanding the regu- (341) 343 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S lars ill Patterson's army, as he did little more than modestly dis- sent from the views of the majority as to the magnitude of the war. He was a Virginian and knew the South. Doubleday, who had been in Fort Sumter, and who was an enthusiast, sur- prised his fellow-soldiers by declaring that it would be one of the most desperate and bloody wars of modern history; that he knew the South well, and that they meant to make it a fight to the death. He was the first to leave after the dinner, and when he had gone several leading officers ridiculed Doubleday's ideas of a long and terrible war, and I well remember the remark of one of them that Doubleday was a Spiritualist and a little gone in the head. When the first army was gathered in Washington after the surrender of Sumter to organize for the defense of the capital and for an aggressive movement toward Richmond Major Irvin McDowell was serving on the stafif of General Scott in the Ad- jutant General's Department as inspector of troops, and what little organization was possible to give to this army of three months' men was given by Major McDowell, who had served in Mexico under General Wool in Taylor's army and was bre- veted captain for heroic action at the battle of Buena Vista. On his return he became connected with the Adjutant General's Department and served in Washington, New York and else- where, and on the 14th of May, 1861, he was commissioned as Brigadier General and assigned to the command of the Depart- ment of Northeastern Virginia and of the defenses of Washing- ton. Two weeks later, after an earnest and somewhat bitter struggle between ambitious military men, he was assigned to the command of the Army of the Potomac, subject to the orders of General Scott as Commander-in-Chief. The struggle for the command of that army was very earnestly contested, as it was generally believed that only one great battle would be fought, and that the officer who was given command of the army would have an exceptional opportunity to win distinction. It was understood at the time that Secretary Chase, who was then very close to Lincoln and an earnest friend of McDowell, finally decided the assignment in favor of McDowell, who, like Chase, was from Ohio. It is not disputed that McDowell's strategic movements for the first battle of Bull Run were wisely conceived, nor has he RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 343 ever been criticised as having- failed in any of the important duties of a commander either in the march or on the battlefield. He was a quiet, intelligent, faithful officer, and the campaign may be summed up in a single expression made by General Sherman, who commanded a brigade in the action, and who said that "it was one of the best planned battles, but one of the worst fought." McDowell's army of 30,000 men was made up entirely of raw three months volunteers, with the exception of probably 800 or 1,000 regulars, and the battle was fought just when the terms of most of the volunteers were about to expire. The period of enlistment of several regiments expired between the time the army moved from Washington and the engage- ment, and some of them marched back from the battlefield to the music of the enemy's guns because they had given their full term of service. To lead such an army in an aggressive cam- paign to attack the enemy in a chosen position was a desperate undertaking, but difficult as was McDowell's task he had won the victory and would have driven the Confederates from the field had not General Scott's strategy proved to be terribly at fault by permitting Johnston's army to come to the relief of Beauregard just when his forces were retreating. Thus Mc- Dowell was compelled in the end to fight the two armies of Johnston and Beauregard, while Patterson's army was away in the Shenandoah Valley, where it was expected to hold Johnston in check. McDowell thus lost the first battle of the war, and although none questioned his fidelity or his skill in handling his forces, he was a failure, as in war nothing is successful but success. While McDowell was necessarily relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac he held important commands, and died October 15, 1882, a Major General in the regular army. The second commander of the Army of the Potomac was General George B. McClellan, who had entered the Military Academy in 1842 in the same class with Stonewall Jackson, Rey- nolds and others, and graduated in 1846. He was in the Mex- ican campaign with Scott, and his subsequent early history is well known. When the civil war began, McClellan was in Cincinnati, at the head of great railway work, but he promptly offered his services to the Government. Ohio was a border State, and, like 344 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Pennsylvania, seriously exposed to incursions from the enemy, and Ohio and Pennsylvania both proceeded about the same time to organize State forces for their own defense. When the or- ganization of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps was assured Governor Curtin telegraphed to General McClellan, at Cincin- nati, offering him the command of the corps, but he had just accepted an ofifer from the Governor of Ohio to commission him as Major-General of Ohio Volunteers, He was thus com- pelled to decline the Pennsylvania Corps, and in one month after he had taken the Ohio command he had started on a vig- orous campaign into the western part of Virginia, and won sev- eral battles, resulting in the capture of a large portion of the Con- federates and the death of General Garnet, their commander. Although these battles would not have been regarded as more than respectable skirmishes later in the war, they inspired great confidence in McClellan as a military commander, and he was called to succeed McDowell as commander of the Army of the Potomac, with the hearty approval of the country. On the ist of November, 1861, General Scott retired and McClellan was commander-in-chief of all the armies. McClellan exhibited marvelous military genius in the organ- ization and discipline of his new army, and, however his cam- paigns m.ay be criticised, all confess that he was the most accomplished military organizer of either army in our civil war, and no man ever commanded an army who inspired greater devotion than was given to McClellan by the Army of the Potomac. The country was impatient tor battle and for vic- tory, and McClellan's failure to move against Manassas during the fall and early winter months, when the weather was excep- tionally fane and the roads in good condition, gradually weak- ened the confidence of both the Government and the public in his ability as a commander of a great army. When he finally moved upon Manassas he found it aban- doned, and then at once made his movement to the peninsula. The result of that campaign need not now be reviewed. The crimination and recrimination between McClellan and the Ad- ministration are well known to all intelligent readers of the history of the war. The siege of Richmond was raised by the Seven Days' battles, in which the Confederates took the aggres- sive, and after the second defeat of Bull Run, when Pope was RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 345 driven into the fortifications of the capital, President Lincoln personally requested McClellan to resume the command. He accepted the position and soon had his army in position to assure the safety of Washington, and when Lee crossed the Potomac he followed him and fought the battle of Antietam. After Antietam IMcClellan delayed his advance into Virginia because of the lack of proper equipment, although repeatedly urged to move by the President. Finally, on the 7th of Novem- ber, 1862, he was relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac, and was succeeded by General Burnside. That ended McClellan's active military service during the war. He was cer- tainly one of the most accomplished soldiers in either army, and had no equal as an army organizer, but he was a trained engineer, and in taste and method was adapted to defensive rather than to aggressive warfare. In the defensive battles fought in the Seven Days' fight before Richmond he exhibited the highest attributes of generalship. Although the Army of the Potomac had four commanders, including Grant, who in turn succeeded McClellan, the one man who ever held the devo- tion of its soldiers was General McClellan. His career after leaving the army is well know-n, and need not be repeated. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for President against Lincoln in 1864, was Governor of New Jersey, and later engaged as engineer on the Stevens battery for harbor defense in New- York, and in 1870 became chief engineer of the Department of Docks of that city. He died in Orange, New Jersey, on the 29th of October, 1885. Thus, in eighteen months of the war the Army of the Poto- mac had fought under two commanders, and had been defeated in every conflict with the single exception of Antietam, and that was practically a drawn battle. General Burnside was called to the command as McClellan's successor, and he was the one man placed at the head of that army who frankly and positively declared that he did not regard himself as fitted for the responsi- ble task. He was an open-hearted, manly soldier, and knew his limitations. He was a graduate of West Point, after having served an apprenticeship to the tailoring trade, and, after a military service on the frontier, he resigned his lieutenant's commission in the army in 1852. He then became connected with General i\IcClellan in Western railroad operations, and 34^ COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S in i860 was treasurer of the Illinois Central Railroad, with his office in New York. In 1861 Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, called him to his native State to command the first regi- ment of volunteers, to which he promptly responded, and on the 20th of April he started for Washington at the head of his regiment. He commanded a brigade in the first battle of Bull Run. On the 6th of August he was commissioned a Brigadier- General, and in January, 1862, he commanded the expedition against Roanoke Island, resulting in the capture of that place and Newbern and of Forts Macon and Beaufort. At the second battle of Bull Run he commanded a corps under Pope, and when Lee crossed the Potomac Burnside led the advance and fought the battle of South Mountain, defeating the Confederates, and he commanded the left w^ing of McClellan's army at Antietam. When Burnside assumed the command of the Army of the Potomac it was divided into three grand divisions under Sum- ner, Franklin and Hooker, and on the 15th of November he made a movement to Fredericksburg, expecting to intervene between the two portions of the Confederate army commanded respectively by Longstreet and Jackson, which were then sep- arated by two days' march. He arrived at the Rappahannock in time, but the pontoons were delayed, thus hindering him from crossing the river until Lee's army was entirely united in his front. He then fought the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg, after which he charged Marey's Heights, after the failure of his movement on his left against Jackson, and was repulsed with terrible loss. I saw Burnside in the War Office at Washington the second morning after the battle. H^e was terribly crushed by his failure, and frankly insisted that he never should have been placed in command of the army. He asked to be relieved, and the request would have been promptly complied with, but a satisfactory commander could not be found. Reynolds, Meade and Sedgewick all refused it, or begged to be relieved from it. He believed that his division commanders had not supported him, and without consulting any one he issued an order dis- missing several of his leading officers from the service and re- lieving others from duty; but the order was not approved by the President, and the command was finally tendered to Gen- eral Hooker. Burnside was then transferred to the command of the Department of the Ohio, where his record became con- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 347 spicuous for the arrest and conviction of Vallandigham. He continued in important commands, his last being that of the Twentieth Corps in Grant's campaign to Petersburg; resigned from the army April 15, 1865; was thrice elected Governor of Rhode Island, twice elected United States Senator, and died at his home, in Bristol, R. I., November 3, 1881. General Hooker succeeded Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac on the 25th of January, 1863. There was much hesitation in Government and military circles about in- trusting Hooker with so responsible a command. He was a heroic and dashing lieutenant, and always fought the enemy and fought desperately when an opportunity presented, but he at times precipitated an engagement against orders, and when he should have refrained, a notable instance of which was at Wil- liamsburg, on the Peninsula. He had bitterly denounced Lin- coln as an incompetent, and suggested that the safety of the Government required a military dictator, and he was accused of having failed to give Burnside honest support in the Fredericks- burg campaign. Lincoln knew all these infirmities of Hooker, and when he assigned him to the command he addressed Hooker a letter, in which Lincoln frankly said to him that, when serving under Burnside, he had taken counsel of his ambi- tion and thwarted him as much as he could, and he also re- minded Hooker that he had declared that "both the army and the Government needed a dictator," to which Lincoln added that only successful generals could become dictators, and all he asked of Hooker was military success, in which case Lincoln would risk the dictatorship. Hooker gave fresh inspiration to the demoralized and despairing Army of the Potomac. He had the condition and supplies of the soldiers vastly improved, and his enthusiasm was largely infused throughout the army. I met him in the War Department in Washington soon after his assignment to the command. He was a most interesting study. He was a man of unusually handsome face and elegant propor- tions, with a complexion as delicate and silken as a woman's. When I asked him what he thought of his campaign on which he was about to start, he answered in the most enthusiastic manner, declaring that he had the finest army on the planet; that he could march it to New Orleans; that he would cross the 34S COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Rapidan without losing a man, and then "take the rebs where the hair was short." That his campaign was superbly planned is admitted by all. He had crossed the Rapidan most successfully, but when he came in front of Lee and was compelled to take the responsi- bility of directing a great battle he was bewildered into pitiable littleness. When standing on the porch of the Chancellorsville House in the Wilderness a ball struck one of the large pillars, and a heavy splint struck Hooker squarely across the breast, stunning him into insensibility. Stimulants were promptly ap- plied, and when he became conscious the first thing he said was that no movement of the army should be made until he was capable of giving the order himself. Thus many hours were lost in idleness when every moment was golden, and Jackson was enabled to complete his wonderful flank movement around the right of Hooker's army, surprise and rout it, and Hooker, although very largely outnumbering the enemy, retreated across the river. Had he been a corps commander, retreat would have been the last thing he could have thought of, but the responsi- bility of supreme command was too great for him, and he ended v*'hat at the beginning was one of the best conceived and exe- cuted campaigns of the war by retreating just when victory was within his grasp. I dined with General Stoneman in Washing- ton soon after the battle. He had commanded the cavalry under Hooker, and when I asked him why it was that Hooker had failed, he said that he was the most brilliant of all the generals up to a certain point, but when his limitation was reached he was utterly helpless. He said that he had been in California with Hooker, bullwhacked across the plains and run the mines and knew him thoroughly, and he described Hooker's infirmities in about these words: "He could play the best game of poker I ever saw until it came to the point when he should go a thou- sand better, and then he would flunk." A month after the battle of Chancellorsville Lee started on his Gettysburg campaign, and Hooker in following him cer- tainly directed his army with great skill. When Hooker had gotten his army into Maryland he very wisely asked of the de- partment that the 11,000 troops under French at Harper's Ferry should be added to his force, but it was refused, and Hooker at once asked to be relieved of the command. His request was RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 349 complied with, and General Meade was made his successor on the 27th of June, just three days before the battle of Gettysburg began. Hooker afterward was assigned to the command of the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, which were hastened to Chat- tanooga to the reUef of Rosecrans, and he made the struggle of Missionary Ridge romantic by what is called "the battle above the clouds," when he captured Lookout Mountain. In Sher- man's Atlanta campaign Hooker commanded the Twentieth Corps, and gave heroic service until after the capture of the Gate City, but, believing that he had been unfairly treated after the death of MacPherson, by the prom.otion of Howard, he asked to be relieved of his command, and on the 30th of July, 1864, he was placed on waiting orders and his active services in the war were ended. In 1865 he was in command of the De- partment of the East, and later of the Department of the Lakes, and, having suffered a stroke of paralysis in 1868, he was placed on the retired list on the 15th of October in that year, with the full rank of Major-General. He never fully recovered from the paralysis, and on the 31st of October, 1879, he died at his home in Garden City, Long Island. General George G. Meade was the fifth and last commander of the Army of the Potomac, He graduated from West Point in 1835, and first served in the Indian wars of the South; after- ward, under the direction of the War Department, surveyed the mouth of the Sabine River, and later assisted in the survey of the delta of the Mississippi, He was also employed in the astronomical branch of the survey of the boundary between the United States and Texas, and a civil assistant in the survey of the northeastern boundary between this country and British America, In 1845 ^-^ joined the staff of Taylor at Corpus Christi, took part with Taylor in the several battles which re- sulted in the capture of Monterey, and was breveted for gal- lantry. He was then transferred to General Scott's command and served on the staff of General Patterson. On the 13th of August, 1861, he was appointed Brigadier-General and assigned to the command of the Second Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves. I was on a visit to the Reserves at Tenleytown when General Meade appeared the first day he had worn his brigadier star, to take command of a brigade that he was destined to lead in many dc-sperate conflicts. He was then quite effeminate in 350 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S appearance, as he had been engaged in office duties for a con- siderable time, and had little of the rugged and bronzed appear- ance of the commander who stood the shock of Lee at Gettys- burg. He was very quiet, but courteous in manner, and was simply a soldier, with well-settled contempt for those in the military service who sought promotion by political pull. He was severely wounded in the Seven Days' battle before Rich- mond, but rejoined the army as speedily as possible, and par- ticipated in the second battle of Bull Run and fought most gallantly at South Mountain and Antietam. At Fredericksburg he did the only successful fighting that was done by the army, and most likely would have turned Lee's right had he been properly supported. He commanded the Fifth Corps at Chan- cellorsville. On the night of the 27th of June, 1863, when the army was in and around Frederick, on the march against Lee, but little more than two days before the battle of Gettysburg began, he was suddenly and unexpectedly charged with the command of the army. Considering all the circumstances, it was the most delicate duty ever assigned to any of the Union commanders during the war. The Army of the Potomac had been defeated in nearly every pitched battle under four different commanders, and he was compelled to assume the direction of the army just on the eve of battle, when he did not even know the position of the different corps of his command; but Meade reluctantly ac- cepted the grave duty assigned to him, and handled his army with consummate skill in approaching Lee. His corps were necessarily scattered over a wide line across Maryland, to be able to concentrate against Lee as rapidly as possible, either on lhe line of the Susquehanna or on the line of Baltimore and Washington, and when he heard that the advance of Lee had crossed the South Mountain he sent Reynolds, his ablest lieu- tenant, with two corps to reconnoitre. Reynolds met the Con- federates on the plains between the South Mountain and Gettys- burg, fell early in the action, and his two corps were speedily overwhelmed by superior numbers and driven through Gettys- burg without any military order whatever, and landed on Ceme- tery Hill. The many conflicts of the following two days and the final defeat of Lee are well understood by all intelligent readers. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 351 Meade fought the decisive battle of the war, but never was accorded the full measure of justice for his achievement because he failed to pursue Lee and give battle to the enemy when in a strong position at Williamsport. Meade's army had been march- ing or fighting almost day and night until it was fearfully exhausted, and one-fourth of his entire force was among the killed, wounded or missing when the battle closed. He had repulsed Lee at Gettysburg and thus decided the supreme con- flict of the struggle, and yet he was criticised because he did not commit the same blunder at Williamsport that Lee had made in Pickett's charge at Gettysburg. It is now known that he could have attacked and defeated Lee at Williamsport, for the simple reason that Lee's ammunition was exhausted and the river for several days was flooded and impassable, but Meade had no knowledge of that fact, and hav- ing won the decisive battle by repelling an assault, he prudently refused to assault himself and give Lee the vantage ground in the struggle. For thus winning the decisive battle of the war Meade was commissioned a Brigadier-General in the regular army, to date from the 3d of July, 1863. A period of inactivity followed at Gettysburg, until early in the fall, when Meade dis- covered that Lee's army was divided, and he made a rapid move- ment that finally brought him before Lee's entire command in a strong position at Mine Run. The failure to strike Lee's army in detached commands resulted from the failure of one of his commanders to move in the exact line assigned to him, and Meade found that he had the entire army of Lee in front of him, in a position of exceptional strength. Impatient as the country was for renewed battle, Meade had the courage, after a very careful examination of the position of the enemy, to with- draw without firing a gun. The army then went into winter quarters and remained until the spring of 1864, when General Grant was made Lieutenant-General and commander-in-chief of the army, and personally commanded the Army of the Poto- mac in its final movements from the Rapidan to Petersburg and Appomattox. Meade continued as commander of the Army of the Potomac, but, of course, had no responsibility for the move- ments of the army, and he was entirely overshadowed by the final achievement of the capture of Lee that practically dated the end of the civil war. After the war Meade commanded the 352 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Department of the East, and later the Department of the South, and died at his home in Philadelphia on the 6th of November, 1872. No modern war of any country presents such a strange his- tory in the failure of the immediate commanders of an army that fought the greatest battles during four years of desperate and bloody warfare. All of them were accomplished, experi- enced and gallant soldiers, and after four had failed to bring victory to one of the most heroic commands of history, the fifth saw the final triumph of his army as a subordinate commander. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, ONE OF THE ABLEST AND MOST UNIQUE OF SOUTHERN LEADERS. Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, was not only one of the ablest but he was quite the most unique character of all the great Southern leaders when civil war was precipitated. His father had settled in Pennsylvania about the middle of the eighteenth century, and made his home at the junction of the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers. After the Revolutionary war, in which he served, he moved to Georgia, where his son, Alexander, was born on the nth of February, 1812, and was left an orphan at the age of fifteen. He was a frail, delicate youth, and kind friends aided him to a collegiate education, but the indebtedness was fully repaid by his later efforts as teacher. He was admitted to the Bar in 1834, and in 1836 was elected to the Georgia Legis- lature. He was an earnest supporter of the sovereignty of the State, and a very positive advocate of the institution of slavery, believing and declaring it to be the logical and inevitable result of God's own laws; but he was equally positive in his opposition to nullification or to any revolutionary assault upon the power of the national Government. Stephens entered Congress in 1843 ^s a Whig, and served continuously for sixteen years. As a Whig he supported Clay for President in 1844, and at the same time advocated the an- nexation of Texas, to which Clay was opposed. He was very earnest in his hostility to the Mexican war and to the Polk Ad- ministration, although that war was intended to increase the slave power in the republic. He continued his fellowship with the Whig party until General Scott was nominated in 1852, when he and Toombs and a number of other prominent Whigs issued an address, written by Stephens, declaring their reasons for re- fusing to support Scott, and Toombs and Stephens voted for Daniel Webster for President at the election of 1852, although (353) 354 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Webster had died some months before. Notwithstanding the change in his poHtical attitude, he was continuously re-elected to Congress until he resigned in 1859. Soon after resigning he delivered a farewell speech to his people in Augusta, Georgia, in which he said: "I saw there was bound to be a smash-up on the road and resolved to jump ofif at the first station." In the national contest of i860 he separated from the ultra- Southern leaders, who supported Breckenridge for President, and advocated the election of Douglas. After the election of Lincoln, Stephens was invited to address the Legislature of Georgia, and on the 14th of November, i860, he expressed his views on the subject of secession with great frankness and in the most incisive and forceful manner. He said that the first question to be considered was whether it was the duty of the South to secede from the Union because of Mr. Lincoln's elec- tion to the Presidency, and his answer was in these words: "My countrymen, I tell you frankly, kindly and earnestly that I do not think they ought." He referred to the fact that they had gone into a national contest and had been outvoted, to which he added: "Were we to make it a point of resistance to the Government and go out of the Union on that account, the record would be made up against us." He made a most eloquent ap- peal to the Legislature not to act hastily; to exhaust all peace- able means before entertaining the question of severing the Union. Notwithstanding his appeal to the Legislature against revolutionary movement a convention was called that resulted in the secession of the State, and Stephens was chosen a member of the body. He continued in earnest opposition to the seces- sion movement, but his admonition fell upon listless ears in the tidal wave of passion that then prevailed, and when secession was an accomplished fact he bowed to it in obedience to his convictions of paramount duty to his commonwealth. The convention elected him one of the members of the first Confederate Congress, and when it met at Montgomery, in February, 1861, he was elected provisional Vice-President, along with Jefferson Davis as provisional President. His selection for the second ofTfice of the Confederacy was intended as a generous concession to the large old Whig element of the South that, while generally sustaining slavery, opposed the policy of seces- sion. In the beginning of his career as Vice-President his rela- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 355 tions with President Davis were severely strained, and although at the regular election for President and Vice-President in 1862 he was unanimously elected as Vice-President along with Davis, he rarely presided over the Confederate Senate. During the last two years of the war he was almost a stranger in the official circles of Richmond. Davis was not well adapted to har- monious action with those who were at variance with his policy, and it is quite likely that he did little to encourage confidential relations with his Vice-President, In 1863 he gave for The Richmond Dispatch an interview after Lee's retreat from Gettys- burg, when the question of some form of reconstruction was being openly discussed in the South. In that interview, which was revised by himself, he said that reconstruction was a thing impossible, and that such an idea must not be tolerated for an instant. To which he added : "The only terms on which we can obtain permanent peace is final and complete separation from the North. Rather than submit to anything short of that let us resolve to die like men worthy of freedom." Stephens' hostility to the policy of the Davis administration permeated his State so thoroughly that in 1864 the State Gov- ernment of Georgia, under Governor Brown, was on the point of rebellion against rebellion, and the power of the Confederacy was greatly impaired by the demand for peace that came from Georgia, North Carolina and other sections of the South. In the early part of 1865, when the military, and, indeed, all the resources of the Confederacy were practically exhausted, Davis realized the necessity of making a positive movement toward peace, and the way was opened by the mission of the elder Francis P. Blair, who was permitted by President Lincoln to visit Richmond, confer with Davis and discuss the question of ending the war. The result of that mission was the appoint- ment by Davis of Vice-President Stephens, ex-Senator Hunter and ex-Judge Campbell as commissioners to confer with Presi- dent Lincoln on the question of peace. The change of a single word in the two letters written by President Lincoln and Presi- dent Davis in authorizing a conference on the subject of peace made the success of the purpose of that conference entirely im- possible. Davis in his letter to his commissioners expressed the most earnest desire "to secure peace to the two countries," and 356 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Lincoln in his answer expressed equally earnest desire to secure "peace to the people of our one common country." Mr. Stephens and his Commissioners were instructed by President Davis to propose peace on any honorable terms that involved the perpetuity of the Confederacy, and that practically precluded a conference with Lincoln on the subject. Lincoln met the Davis Commissioners, but beyond a social chat with old acquaintances like Stephens and Hunter, with w^hom Lincoln had served in Congress, there was no pretense of adjustment. Lincoln was inexorable in his demand for one common country, and Davis equally inexorable in demanding peace for two coun- tries. Two months later the Confederacy collapsed by the sur- render of Lee, and in the tempest of passion that swept the country after the assassination of Lincoln Stephens was arrested as a prisoner of State and confined for five months in Fort War- ren, Boston, when he was released on parole. He was chosen to the United States Senate by the Legislature of Georgia or- ganized under President Johnson's reconstruction policy, but was refused admission. On the 226. of February, 1866, he de- livered a speech at Crawfordsville, his home in Georgia, in which he as frankly told the South that reconstruction must be ac- cepted as he had told the South before the war that secession meant war and destruction. It was the first important expres- sion that came from the leaders of the South, and was welcomed throughout the country as furnishing the first ray of hope for reunion and fraternal fellowship. In 1874 he was elected to Congress and served continuously, being re-elected without opposition until 1882, when he resigned to accept the Governorship of Georgia, to which he had been elected by over 60,000 majority. His first notable speech after his return to Washington as a national legislator was against the Civil Rights bill, and in the memorable Tilden-Hayes Presi- dential contest of 1876, while he advised and justified going behind the returns made by the Returning Boards of Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina, he earnestly opposed any revolu- tionary protest against the inauguration of Hayes when the Electoral Commission declared in his favor; and it is remem- bered as an important political episode that when the large painting now in the national Capitol presenting Lincoln and the Cabinet deciding to issue the emancipation proclamation was RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 357 unveiled Stephens gave an address that was then accepted as one of the most patriotic and eloquent deliverances of the times. He had been an invalid during his entire life, and when he retired from Congress to become Governor of Georgia his vital powers were well exhausted, and he died before completing his first term. I first met Stephens in 1856, when he came with Howell Cobb to Chambersburg, where I resided, to speak for the election of James Buchanan to the Presidency in the native county of their candidate. The appearance of Stephens was at first most dis- appointing. He was of nearly or quite normal height, but never weighed much if any over one hundred pounds. He looked like a walking skeleton covered by a swarthy skin, that gave him more the appearance of a well-preserved mummy than of a vigorous man, but he had a finely chiseled face, bright and ex- pressive eyes, and he was not only a delightful, although some- what grave, conversationalist, but he was an unusually earnest, incisive and impressive speaker. The advent of two such dis- tinguished sons of the South to the old home of Buchanan assured them a most cordial welcome, and the leading Repub- licans of the place joined in extending to them generous hos- pitality. Stephens and Cobb were entirely unlike in tempera- ment, although perhaps equally forceful intellectually. Stephens was always calm, earnest and logical, without any attempt to employ the rhetorical arts of the orator, while Cobb was im- petuous, fiery and at times superbly eloquent. Cobb believed that the Republican movement then just developing under Fre- mont would be easily defeated, and that the political organiza- tion would then perish, but Stephens at that early day was impressed with the peril to the country from the sectional issue that had then for the first time been squarely presented in a Presidential contest. I doubt whether any other Southern leader appreciated the true condition of the country and the growing strength of the anti-slavery sentiment as did Stephens. He spoke of it very frankly in private conversation, and did not attempt to conceal his gravest apprehensions of an early attempt to dismember the Union, to which he was heartily devoted. It was a period of the contest when the strength of the Repub- lican movement had not yet been developed, and Buchanan's election was confidently expected by an overwhelming majority; 358 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S but later, when the September elections came along, and when Maine, only a few years before one of the most reliable of Demo- cratic States, rolled up a majority of thousands for the Repub- lican cause, all who looked dispassionately upon the political situation could not fail to appreciate that the power of the Democracy was overthrown in the North, and that the South could not long maintain Democratic mastery in the nation. Stephens was the most astute parliamentarian of the Whigs during his early service in Congress, and second to him was Thomas L. Clingman, of North Carolina, who served with him as a Whig and later as a Democrat. It was Stephens and Chng- man who made possible the passage of the bill repealing the Missouri Compromise in 1854, and it was accomplished by one of the shrewdest parliamentary movements to get the bill before the House on final passage. Stephens advocated the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, as he frankly stated, because he be- lieved it to be in the interest of slavery. He was notable for the frankness of his expressions on all public questions, and he often declared in a dignified and respectful manner what the leaders of his party attempted to conceal. If he had possessed ordinary physical vigor he would have made a much more lustrous record, but most of all the great labors he gave were performed when he was a suffering invalid to an extent that would have made most men abandon public effort. He had resigned his seat in Congress one year before the war began, and tried to enjoy the rest he so much needed at his home in Crawfordsville, Georgia. When by his early efiforts at the Bar he had accumu- lated sufficient money, he purchased the old home of his father and occupied it until his death. During his entire residence there it was known as "Liberty Hall," where every one, high and low, black and white, was welcome to enjoy his bachelor hospitality. He made an earnest struggle from the time that the first seeds of secession had exhibited growth to hold Georgia in a position to conserve the violent secession sentiment of the Cotton States, and although he earnestly opposed secession, even against the inflamed public sentiment that demanded it, when the convention passed the secession ordinance he never lost the respect of his people. They elected him to the conven- tion as a known Union man, and he was made Vice-President of the Confederacy by a unanimous vote when it was well known RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 359 that he was not in sympathy with the cause and regarded it as suicidal madness. The result was that he was not in the con- fidence of the Confederate Government, and was not called upon to perform any public act of importance until February, 1865, when the collapse of the Southern Government seemed to be inevitable. He was then placed at the head of the Peace Com- mission by President Davis, and met Lincoln at Grant's head- quarters. Lincoln w-ell knew before he met the Stephens Commission that they could not have any hopeful conference on the question of peace. Lincoln's letter on the subject demanded peace to the people of "one common country," and Davis' letter on the same subject called for peace to "the two countries." Lincoln's first incHnation was to refuse to meet the Stephens Commission, but General Grant earnestly urged him to do so, however fruitless it might be, and Lincoln joined the conference solely for the purpose of preventing the Commission from returning to the South and declaring that the Lincoln Government would not even consider the question of ending the war. Lincoln had served with Stephens in Congress when Stephens was accepted as the most accomplished leader of Lincoln's own party, and when they met at City Point in 1861 Lincoln's humor at once re- moved all strained relations. Stephens' diminutive and almost fleshless body was encased in an enormous storm overcoat to protect him against the midwinter blasts of the coast, and when Stephens came into the presence of Lincoln and removed his overcoat, Lincoln's first remark was: "Well, Stephens, I have never seen so small a nubbin come out of so big a shuck." But for the fact that Stephens was bound by instructions from President Davis to consider no question of peace that did not recognize the Confederacy, Lincoln would then have proposed compensated emancipation to the extent of $400,000,000 to end the war. I met Stephens frequently after his return to Congress in 1874, and on one occasion had opportunity to learn how much he deplored the overthrow of the Confederacy, much as he was at first opposed to revolutionary action for its establishment. Governor Curtin had been a candidate for Congress in his home district, and was returned as defeated by a small majority re- sulting from a combination between the Republicans and Green- 360 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S backers, then a formidable power in many of the Northern States. Curtin contested the election of Yocum, who had been returned, and made out a case that his friends regarded as entirely justifying his admission to the body. With a united Democratic support he would have been given his seat, but there were a number of Greenback Democrats who were either indifferent or hostile, and it was discovered that Stephens was leading the opposition to Curtin's admission. I was requested to have a conference with Stephens on the subject, and met him in his room, when he discussed the matter in his usually frank manner. I saw that he exhibited some feeling against Curtin that I did not understand, and, after considerable conversation on the subject, he warmed up and declared that Curtin had delivered the most destructive blow to the South in 1862, when they believed that the North was on the point of surrendering the conflict. He spoke of the Altoona conference of Northern Governors, of which Curtin was the author, and he expressed the conviction that but for that conference the North would have been demoralized by the emancipation proclamation and the failures of the Union army, and that peace would have come on some compromise and honorable basis. I found him implacable in his opposition to Curtin, and he persisted in it until Curtin was largely defeated in a Democratic House. Stephens did not overestimate the disturbed condition of affairs in the North in 1862, just after Lincoln issued the pre- liminary Emancipation Proclamation. The Army of the Poto- mac had been defeated in the Seven Days' battles before Rich- mond and at the second Bull Run, followed by a drawn and bloody battle at Antietam. Public sentiment was so profoundly impressed by the failure of our armies that the Government feared to issue a call for additional troops. Stephens believed that this was the one opportunity during the war when peace could have been obtained had not the Governors of the North met at Altoona and boldly proclaimed to the President and the country that an immediate call should be made for 300,000 addi- tional troops, which they pledged themselves to furnish promptly. Stephens' career in the House after he returned to the Fed- eral Congress in 1874 was not notable for any great achieve- ment. His physical powers were steadily declining, and he RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 361 rarely took the floor. He suffered a severe humiliation one day in the House after he had spoken on the question of civil rights, and was followed by Representative Elliott, of South Carolina, a full-blooded negro, and the most eloquent man of his race then in the South. It was the irony of fate that the Vice-President of the Confederacy, who had proclaimed to the world that the corner-stone of the new government was slavery, should meet and be matched in debate in the hall of Congress by one of the race whose bonds had been broken by the overthrow of the Confederate Government. In his feeble health he wearied of Congressional life, and Henry W. Grady, then the master leader of Georgia, and certainly one of the most brilliant young men of the South, arranged to have him called to the gubernatorial office, but in less than a year after his inauguration his steadily exhausting physical power brought him to his deathbed in the Executive Mansion, and on the 4th of March, 1883, he quietly passed to the sleep that knows no awakening. PRINCE HENRY AND OTHER ROYAL VISITORS. Prince Henry, brother of the Kaiser, has come and gone, and he must bear home with him the most grateful memories of the hospitahty and generous welcome of the American peo- ple. His visit recalls several occasions in the past when royal personages have been the guests of the United States. In the early days of the Republic we had little to attract the presence of royal visitors, and the first experience of our people in that line was with incipient royalists, who had at the time little ex- pectation of wearing kingly robes. Louis Philippe was our guest at the beginning of the last century, when he was in exile, and had earned his bread for some time before he came here by quietly teaching under an assumed name. He was a favorite in the highest social circles of Philadelphia, as he was a grace- ful and genial gentleman, and tradition tells how he lost his heart to one of our beautiful damsels, but was rejected because he was entirely without promise of a career to enable him to support a wife and family. Thirty years later, in one of the then frequent revolutions of France, he became the Citizen King, but was overthrown by the revolution of 1848. His visit to the United States was one of mingled necessity and adventure, and as royal blood was then sadly out of fashion at home, he in- spired little enthusiasm among our people. Another incipient royalist was Jerome Bonaparte, who hap- pened to reach this country as a very young naval officer in 1803. He was a handsome, cultivated boy, fond of society and graceful in the dance, and at a Baltimore ball he was introduced to Miss Elizabeth Patterson, then the beauty of that city, and, despite the protests of his brother, the Emperor of France, and of the parents of the young lady, they were married in Decem- ber, 1803, when he had just passed his 19th birthday. The Em- peror Napoleon promptly repudiated what he charged as the youthful indiscretion of his brother in marrying the "young per- (362) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 363 son" in America, and would not permit her to land on French territory with her husband. Jerome returned to France, hoping to obtain the assent of the Emperor to the marriage, but the promise of a throne made him forget his American beauty, and he never again saw his bride. The Imperial Council of State made a decree of divorce and Jerome rose to Rear Admiral in 1806; was then transferred to the army, and finally was made King of Westphalia by his brother, where he married the Prin- cess Katharine of Wurtemburg in 1807, and reigned until the French were driven from Germany in 1813. The first royal prince who visited this country was the pres- ent King Edward, of England. He was then the Prince of Wales, and was being carefully trained by his intelligent and methodical father, the Prince Consort, for the English throne. It was intended that his visit should be as unostentatious as pos- sible, and while in this country he was registered and always presented as Baron Renfrew, that being one of his minor titles, and thereby he reduced formality and state ceremonies to the minimum. He was in the personal care of the Earl of Germain, and with him were General Robert Bruce, the Prince's tutor; Sir Henry Holland, his physician, and Sir Fenwick Williams, Captain Gray and Major Teasdale as equerries. He had made his journey through Canada to familiarize himself with his own people in the New World, and crossed over to Detroit, whence he traveled to Chicago, St. Eouis, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Wash- ington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. The American people were not then as ready to give generous welcome to royalty as they are today. The United States was then largely a dependent and debtor country, and prejudices against the English were deep-seated and widespread. He re- ceived none of the great popular demonstrations which were accorded to Prince Henry, but in every city in which he was a visitor he was very cordially welcomed by the more cultivated society people, and his stay among us was made very pleasant. Buchanan was then President, and he was one of the most courtly of all our Chief Magistrates. He had been Minister to two of the prominent courts of Europe, and not only on state occasions, but in his every-day intercourse with others, he was scrupulously ceremonious. He invited the Prince and his suite to the White House, and had them three days as his guests, dur- 364 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S ing which they visited the Capitol, Mt. Vernon and all the In- teresting sights of Washington. Miss Harriet Lane, then mis- tress of the White House, was a very beautiful and most ac- complished lady. She had been with her bachelor uncle at for- eign courts, and her unusual charm of person and manner, with her genuine American vivacity, completely captivated the young Prince of royalty. The President would not even permit the heir apparent of the English throne to dance in the White House, but he enjoyed several dances with Miss Lane and others on a boat in going to Mt. Vernon, and at other places in the city, besides having a game of ninepins with Miss Lane in the bowling alley at Georgetown Seminary for Girls. Miss Lane is yet living, the widow of Mr. Johnson, who died many years ago, and her two sons, and only children, slept with their father before they reached manhood. I saw the Prince of Wales on several occasions in Philadel- phia, and one evening had an excellent opportunity to see and study him as he stood on the balcony of the Continental Hotel, surrounded by his suite, watching what he supposed to be the beginning of the end of the great republic. It was the night of the election in October, i860. It was a contest of unexampled bitterness, as the Republican party, which then won its first great victory, was not in favor with the leading business, com- mercial or social interests of the city. As chairman of the Republican State Committee, I had my headquarters at the Girard House, immediately opposite the Continental, and watched the Prince as he gazed upon the uproarious and appar- ently revolutionary mob that crowded the streets. The Repub- licans were jubilant, as it was their first great victory, and the Democrats could not understand that the Government should be given over to the "Black Republicans," whom they not only opposed, but whose policy and leadership they despised. For several hours the streets of Philadelphia were simply a seething cauldron of cheering victors and howling vanquished, and the Prince evidently regarded himself as fortunate in getting here in time to see the beginning of a revolution that was likely to prove too strong for the Government. He was doubtless amazed the next morning to find that there was not the sign of disturbance in any part of the city, and that business was going on just as usual. He stood well to the front for nearly RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 365 an hour as he watched the pandemonium that was exhibited on the streets, and I had an excellent opportunity to observe him. He had an unusually handsome English face, and his manners were very quiet and simple. His gait was somewhat shuffling, and he seemed to lack the vigor and stately pride of American youths. He conversed freely with the members of his suite during the time that he was on the balcony, and was evidently intensely interested in the what was to him singular spectacle of a genuine American election hurrah; but it was noticeable that the enthusiastic or desperately disappointed masses which sent up howls or cheers in the streets took no notice whatever of the royal visitor. No expression of like or dislike came from the swiftly passing mob, and he was thus enabled to view it as quietly and uninterruptedly as if he were the humblest of Amer- ican citizens. He was entertained socially and given a ball by select circles of our citizens, but the masses of the people seemed to be entirely indifferent about the presence of the royal guest. He was also dined and balled in New York and Boston, and when he returned home he gave out the most pleasant impres- sions of our country and people, and royal thanks for our hos- pitality came from the English throne. Eleven years later, in 1871, the Prince Alexis, one of the younger sons of the Czar of Russia, became the guest of the nation, and he was received with much more generous welcome than was given to the Prince of Wales. He was on a journey around the world, and it was an open secret that he was inclined to marry at home against the royal mandate, and his journey was understood to be chiefly inspired by the desire of the Czar to make a long separation between the lovers. The people of the North were strongly inclined to give enthusiastic welcome to Prince Alexis because of the positive and aggressive friend- ship that Russia had shown to our Government during our civil war. Strange as it may seem, the most despotic monarchy of the Old World was the only sincere friend we had in Europe in the desperate and bloody struggle to maintain the union of our republic. When intervention was seriously threatened by France and England a Russian fleet appeared at New York, and it is now well known that the secret orders, which were never opened because intervention was not attempted, directed the Russian fleet to espouse the cause of the Union. The people 366 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S of the North thus had grateful memories to inspire their en- thusiasm over the Russian Prince, a son of the Czar, who was ready to make battle for our Union, and not only in select so- cial and business circles was he made a welcome guest, but the masses of the people generally greeted him with the most cor- dial enthusiasm. Like the Prince of Wales, he visited Washing- ton, was welcomed at the White House, and was the guest in turn of the leading cities of the country. The ball given him in Philadelphia was altogether the great- est and grandest social event in the history of the city. Never before nor since has there been such an extravagant display of dress and jewels. It was not confined to any severely strict so- cial lines, and fully 5,000 people were in and about the Academy of Music to pay homage to the son of the Czar. The shoddy tidal wave was then at its zenith. It was the creation of sud- denly-acquired wealth in our great manufacturing and industrial circles, and it was exhibited at the ball given to the Prince to an extent that approached the fantastic. Jewels were worn in the wildest profusion, and often without regard for refined taste. The more cultivated social circles were easily distinguished in the mass that attended by their elegant but quiet dresses and al- most total absence of jewels, but all were jostled in the great mass in their efl'orts to pay their respects to the more than wel- come guest. I had the pleasure of meeting the Prince at this ball, and to receive from him a personal message that Minister Curtin, then in Russia, had sent to me relating to the Prince and his suite, and it enabled me to meet personally all the Russian naval offi- cers who were with him. He was of immense stature, stoutly built, had a full round face that always seemed to be wreathed in smiles, and he was willing to grasp the hand of every one who desired to pay their respects. He spoke English as flu- ently as an American, and seemed to be greatly interested in the progress and powers of our reunited nation. Neither he nor any of his ofticers hesitated to express their earnest sympa- thies with the North during our civil war, and all spoke in the most delightful terms of Curtin, who had then been American Minister to the court of the Czar for two years. So highly did the Czar appreciate Minister Curtin personally that he sat for a portrait to be painted in the very best style for Curtin, and pre- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 367 sented it to him in a gorgeous frame when finished. It still adorns the parlor of the Curtins at their mountain home, in Bellefonte. While Prince Alexis and his suite had every reason to expect a very cordial welcome from the American people, it certainly greatly surpassed their expectations, as they were un- used to enthusiastic popular demonstrations in the land of the Czar. They could not understand it at first, but when they learned that it was a spontaneous greeting from the hearts of the American people, they appreciated it profoundly, and most gratefully acknowledged it in every possible way. Thus the Prince Alexis broke the ice that separated our free people and free institutions from sympathy with despotic royalty, and the visit of Prince Alexis did much to temper American prejudices against hospitable welcome to royalty. A few years later, in 1876, Dom Pedro, the Emperor of Bra- zil, accompanied by the Empress, visited this country unher- alded, and scrupulously discountenanced any efforts to pay homage to Brazilian royalty. They remained here during a considerable portion of our Centennial Exhibition, and I met the Emperor and Empress frequently on social occasions — and in their every-day life, that was as practical, unostentatious and common sense as would have been expected of a simple Ameri- can citizen. There was not the sign of royalty about either of them. He dressed plainly just as Americans dressed, wore a slouch hat, and he and the Empress often would go off to visit industrial establishments in Philadelphia before fashionable peo- ple had their breakfast. I first met them at the dinner given by the late George W. Childs on the evening of the opening of the Centennial, with President Grant and many of the leading offi- cers of the Government as guests, and there was no man more simple in dress or manner on that occasion than the Emperor of Brazil. He came here to study our institutions, to investi- gate our industries, and to ascertain some method by which he could advance the industries, trade and prosperity of his em- pire. The Empress was as simple in manner and habit, and as genial in conversation as was the Emperor, and Philadelphia never had two more welcome guests. He visited the editors of the newspapers without ceremony, saw nearly all the great in- dustrial establishments of the city, studied our colleges and 368 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S schools, and in many of his visits to these places his royal title was entirely unknown. During his stay he maintained the ut- most simpHcity, and on no occasion did he ever exhibit a single insignia of royalty. Strange as it may seem, after he had spent months in this country with the single purpose of elevating and advancing the people of his Empire, his crown was torn from him, not because the people distrusted or ceased to honor him, but because of the unwillingness to have the sceptre pass to the heir apparent who had grievously ofifended the people of Brazil. This great man, certainly one of the best rulers of the world, quietly gave up his crown and power to give peace to the people he had so long and so wisely ruled. The recent visit to the United States of Prince Henry, brother of the German Emperor, called out all the generous attributes of the American people. No royal guest ever received such a hearty welcome as was extended to the representative of the German Empire. On every occasion where he met our people he impressed them most favorably, and he grew in popularity every day he remained with us. There was nothing in the per- sonality of the Prince of Wales or Prince Alexis to attract the attention of Americans. They represented nothing but royalty, but Prince Henry's personality called out most generous wel- come in his intercourse with the masses. At the great press dinner given him in New York, where he met 1,200 fellow- guests of unusual intelligence, and representing a power that is omnipotent in our free institutions and that is almost wholly unknown in Germany, I was seated near enough to the Prince to observe him with care, and to hear him distinctly when he delivered his beautiful and remarkably politic address. He is of average height, well proportioned, elegant and graceful in manner, and entirely free from any of the frills which might have been expected from one accustomed to royal convention- alities. He has an unusually well chiseled and bright face, and when he delivered his speech his manner was quiet and his de- livery impressive. There was not the trace of the German dia- lect in his English, and everything about him impressed the vast audience that he was a perfect type of a big-hearted, intel- ligent and accomplished American gentleman. During the dinner he was engaged most of the time in con- versation with the distinguished gentlemen who sat with him RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 369 and any one not knowing that a royal guest was present, might readily have supposed that Prince Henry was a hail fellow well met with Senator Depew, Whitelaw Reid and others immedi- ately about him. After having had an opportunity to see and study his general character and manners I was entirely prepared for the very enthusiastic reception given to him in every part of the country during his whirl around from New York to the Father of Waters and the Lakes of the Northwest, in which he seemed to be imitating Mr. Bryan's rushing political cam- paigns. He was the recipient of more ceremonies than any of the other royalists who have been with us, and he met the peo- ple in masses at the different stations, where he could give but a few moments to hear and acknowledge their hearty welcome, but in no instance did he fail to gratify in the highest measure all who came to pay homage to him. The journey demonstrated also the wonderful endurance to which German royalty is care- fully trained. I last saw him in Philadelphia the day before he sailed, and, although he had been under a constant strain for weeks, his step was as elastic and his face as bright when he turned to wave his tinal good-bye to Philadelphians as it was when he first landed in New York. There has been much discussion in newspaper and official circles as to the purpose of Prince Henry's visit. He came among us manfully declaring that his mission had no signifi- cance whatever beyond cultivating the good will of the Ameri- can people, and in that he told the truth; but, while it was the truth, it is reasonable to assume that his mission had a specific and portentous aim in the interests of the German Empire. It was not, however, a mission in any sense antagonistic to the in- terests of the United States. The attitude of Germany, espe- cially as presented by the German squadron at Manila in the early part of the Spanish War, was universally accepted in this country as unfriendly, and there is little doubt that, had inter- vention been possible at that time, Germany would not have been in accord with our Government; but since then the United States has become too big to bully and too powerful to be alienated from German interests. The building of the Kaiser's private yacht in the United States, her christening by the daughter of the President in the presence of our Chief Magistrate, and the intimate personal re- 370 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S lations brought about by these wisely-devised proceedings, with" the hearty expressions of friendship from the German Emperor himself, all tended to bring the Prince into the closest inter- course with our Government and people, and today Germany has simply emphasized her desire to maintain the most friendly relations with our Government by the visit of the Emperor's brother to take the American people by the hand in cordial fel- lowship. What Germany wants, and what Germany most needs, is an Anglo-German alliance — not by compact or treaty, but by standing up abreast with each other and winking an un- written compact that the w'orld belongs to the saints, and that Germany, England and the United States are the saints. Prince Plenry's mission was one of peace, and he has certainly made the American people feel that they are more than willing to have peace and fellowship with Germany as long as that Gov- ernment does not interfere with our now assured mastery in the West Indies and in the Orient. THE DEADLY STRUGGLE IN THE BORDER STATES. History does full justice to the heroism and sacrifices of the people of the North and South during our civil war. Great bat- tles were fought, and no war of ancient or modern times records more heroic achievements than were attained by both the Blue and the Gray ; but the one class of people who suffered and sac- rificed most have little part in the story of the struggle for the overthrow and for the maintenance of the unity of the Republic. It was easy to be a Union man in the North, and it was easy to be a Confederate in the South, but the men who struggled in the South for the preservation of the Union until finally over- whelmed and compelled to yield obedience to Confederate mas- tery, or become strangers to their homes and people, suffered all the bereavements of war with sorrows and sacrifices which will never be justly portrayed in the annals of the country. The Virginia Convention first voted against secession by a decided majority, and a number of the ablest men, chiefly old Whig leaders, stood resolutely against secession until after the bombardment of Sumter, which was probably precipitated more to influence the secession of Virginia than to capture Major Anderson and his starving garrison. After the surrender of Sumter and the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men to sup- press rebellion by the invasion and coercion of the South, the convention met in secret session and adopted the ordinance of secession. There were many men who had been prominent in public affairs in the State before the war who resisted secession until they were compelled to choose between submission to the sovereignty of the State or come to open war with their neigh- bors and the new government that ruled them. As a member of the Pennsylvania Senate in 1861 and chair- man of the Lincoln State Committee, that had just won Repub- lican national triumph by Pennsylvania's support of Lincoln, I was much disturbed by the threats of civil war which confronted (371) 372 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S lis when the Legislature met on the first of January. I was au- thor of the motion that the Senate Judiciary Committee be in- structed to inquire whether any of the laws of Pennsylvania violated, in any regard, the comity that was due from one State to another, and to report by bill or otherwise. It commanded the unanimous support of the Republicans, although some of them gave it with reluctance. This action attracted the atten- tion of a number of border statesmen, especially in Virginia, re- sulting in considerable correspondence with A. H. H. Stuart, who had been in the Fillmore Cabinet, Alexander R. Boteler, Jubal A. Early and others, all of whom were earnestly opposed to the secession movement and intensely anxious that Pennsyl- vania should take some action to strengthen the hands of the Union men in the Old Dominion. One of the most earnest of the Union men was General Early, an old Whig leader, and a man of most pronounced convictions and actions. His letters were among the strongest I received against the secession move- ment, and yet he was one of the few of the Confederate military commanders who fulfilled his boast that he would die an "unre- constructed rebel." The Pennsylvania government. Republican in every depart- ment, was prepared to meet the issue on the most generous basis, and to yield anything that did not involve the surrender of the issues determined by the national contest. In the midst ot these efforts Sumter was fired upon, Virginia promptly seceded, and all hope of reconciliation by legislative action had perished. North Carolina was also slow to plunge into the vortex of seces- sion, but when the war actually began by the invasion of the South, none was big enough to brave the tidal wave of passion that swept over the State. I met ex-Governor Graham, of North Carolina, at Raleigh a few years after the war. He was a member of the Fillmore Cabinet, the Whig candidate for Vice President with Scott in 1862, and earnestly opposed to seces- sion. He was in the convention and manfully maintained his devotion to the Union, but he told me that when the secession ordinance was finally passed, if he and others who opposed it had refused to subscribe their names to it it would have been an invitation to violence and probably murder. This class embraced a large proportion of able and cultivated people in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 373 Missouri, and even Arkansas first voted against secession and was one of the last States to adopt it. They not only had to suffer all the bereavements and sacrifices of war, but with them the war was carried into every social circle and even to the altar where all worshiped the same God. Thousands of lives, few of which are noted in history, were given up in the individual conflicts of neighbors in the border States, and the tread of op- posing armies spread desolation on every side. It was not un- common for father and son and for brothers to be fighting in opposing armies, and there was not a shadow that the angel of sorrow could fling over these ill-fated homes that was not felt by numberless families in the border States. I have many times thought of the sad history of two of the most honored and beloved men of Kentucky — John J. Critten- den and George D. Prentice. I had often met both of them be- fore the war and during the early part of the struggle, and I was most profoundly impressed with the earnest but hopeless battle that Crittenden fought in the evening twilight of his great career to avert fraternal conflict and restore the Union. I heard his plea in the House when he offered his celebrated resolution declaring that the South was responsible for the rebellion, and that the war should be waged solely "to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality and rights of the several States unim- paired." Like many other sincere Union men, he halted at the overthrow of slavery, and while he never gave his support to the secession movement, the emancipation proclamation of Lincoln estranged Crittenden, and the grand old man died broken hearted one year later. Next to Henry Clay, John J. Crittenden occupied the most prominent position of any of the many great men who have shared the honors of the State. He was elected to the United States Senate in 181 7, but in 1819 he resigned his position to devote himself to his profession in Frankfort, the capital of the State. He was again elected to the Senate in 1835, and re- elected at the expiration of his term, but soon thereafter re- signed to become Attorney General under the Harrison Admin- istration. After the death of Harrison he resigned his Cabinet offfce, and' a year later was appointed to fill the vacancy in the Senate occasioned by the retirement of Clay, and at the expi- ration of the term was again elected, but resigned in 1848 after 371- COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S he had been elected Governor of the State, which position he resigned to enter the Fillmore Cabinet after the death of Taylor. In 1855 he was for the sixth time elected to the Senate, and was the leader of the conservative Whig element of the South that opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. On the 4th of March, i86t, he gave place to Vice President Breckinridge, who succeeded him in the Senate, but Crittenden had been elected to the House, and he was simply transferred from the Senate to the popular branch of Congress, where he made his final stand against secession, but was unwilling to fol- low the Union cause when it became necessary to save the Union at the expense of slavery. I saw him frequently during the first session of Congress in war times, and a sadder man I have never met. He saw that his power was gone; that new occasions, new ideas, new leaders had come to the front to which he was a stranger. He had then passed the patriarchal age, as he was born in September, 1787, and his physical powers were greatly impaired, but his sorrow's crown of sorrow was in the fact that his two sons led brigades or divisions against each other in the bloody conflict of fraternal war. His son, George B. Crittenden, was a graduate of West Point, served in the Texas revolution and in the Mexican war, and he reached a lieutenant colonelcy in the Union army, but on the loth of June, 1861, when his father was battling for the preser- vation of the Union, he resigned his commission and entered the Confederate service. He was in command of the army part of which, under ZoUicoffer, was defeated by General Thomas, at Mill .Spring, but was not present in the engagement. He was censured for the result of that action, but continued to serve with the Confederate army until the close of the war. His brother, Thomas L. Crittenden, who was not an educated sol- dier, served in the Mexican war and was a volunteer aid to Tay- lor at Buena Vista, He earnestly opposed the secession move- ment, and on the 27th of October, 1861, he was commissioned as a Brigadier General of Volunteers in the Union army, and was promoted to Major General for heroic service in command of a division at the battle of Shiloh. He served with great credit during the entire war; was in the engagements of Stone River, Chickamauga and in the Grant campaign against Lee in 1864. He served in the Union army until he was retired on age in 1881. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 375 Such was the painful position in which John J. Crittenden was •placed when the civil conflict began, and, viewing it as he did, under the shadows of nearly 75 winters, with a long life of pre- eminent honor and usefulness to be ended in the wreck of Union and of home and in embittered conflict among his own people, what was there left to give heart and hope to Crittenden? I saw him only a short time before he left Washington, never to return again. His tall form was bowed and the lustre of his eye dimmed by the weight of years, but while he could not harmon- ize with the Administration, he felt that he could not give up the struggle, and he spoke of the disturbed condition of the Union in the most impressive eloquence and pathos. He had an- nounced himself as a candidate for re-election to Congress, and was ready to make the battle, hoping that the starless midnight that overwhelmed him would yet break with a bright ray of hope for him to clutch in his efforts to save the Republic to which he was so ardently devoted, but the grim messenger of death met him in his struggle for re-election to Congress, and he found the peace in the grave that his convulsed country could not offer him. Another of the great men of that day who had won national if not worldwide fame as writer and poet, and whose life was darkly shadowed with sorrow before he was summoned to cross the dark river, was George D. Prentice. Of New England birth and education, he had won fame as a political and literary writer in the early period of his life. He was finally called to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1830, to write the biography of Henry Clay, then a prominent candidate for the Presidency. Clay was the idol of the people, and Prentice's work portraying the ability and achievements of the great Kentucky leader was enthusiastically welcom.ed. It at once gave him a high position as a political writer, and he was prevailed upon in the fall of 1830 to establish The Louisville Journal, which for 30 years thereafter was one of the most widely-read and one of the most quoted public journals of the country. The keen witticisms, biting satire and withering invective of his short editorial paragraphs embellished the columns of all our public journals and were carried into nearly every household in the land. Prentice was not only the most successful paragrapher of his time, but was one of the ablest of our political disputants. His 37^ COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S leaders were polished essays, and no man was more versatile in the discussion of public questions. Journalistic controversy was* then an entirely different thing from what it is today. Personal criticism of opposing editors was regarded as essential to the life of a newspaper, and Prentice outstripped all his fellows in that particular accomplishment. While few knew him as an able, sober disputant, the whole country knew him as a humorist and poet, and some of his poems will ever be remembered and quoted. He was a man of the most genial and delightful companionship, the favorite of every social circle, chivalrous in the highest degree to those opposed to him, and his home w^as the altar upon which his w^ealth of affection was lavished. I had met liim on several occasions before the war began, and, like all who enjoyed his acquaintance, knew him only to love him. Like Crittenden, he was sincerely and earnestly devoted to the Union, and when the issue of secession had to be mict he op- posed it with all the earnestness and enthusiasm of his nature. He was yet in the enjoyment of full vigor, with all his faculties unabated, and the earnest appeals of many of his friends to have him assume a neutral attitude only aroused his heroic qualities to their utmost intensity. Prentice's appeals to the people of Kentucky and the South to avoid secession and war, and to end hostilities even after the struggle began, were among the most able and eloquent productions of his pen, and he certainly did much to strengthen the Union sentiment of Kentucky, which was many times on the verge of being overwhelmed by the more aggressive seces- sion movement that was nearly or quite equal in numbers. His two sons had been born and grown up in the South, and both of them turned from him when he was so tirelessly pleading for loyalty to the Union, entered the Southern army and fought heroically against the flag so nobly defended by their father. Terrible as was the blow, he did not falter in his struggles to preserve Kentucky from Confederate mastery, but with his af- fections following the soldiers who wore the gray, the strain upon him was more than he could sustain, and he finally gave unmistakable signs of abated interest and power. I last met him when he was invited to lecture in Cham- bersburg, where I resided, in the fall of 1862. He was most RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 377 generously welcomed. He remained several days with us, and I was with him much of the time. He had just been on a visit to Washington, where he had finally determined to support the Administration and all the measures necessary to the successful prosecution of the war. The influence and financial success of his great public journal had been seriously impaired by the confused conditions of Kentucky, and he realized that his life- work, the creation and success of a great newspaper for nearly a generation, was about to turn to ashes in his hands. When alone with him he did not conceal that he was sore at heart and almost engulfed in despair. With his sons battling for the Confederacy and he breaking under the weight of years and sorrows, attempting an almost hopeless struggle to maintain his journal and the Union cause, there was little, indeed, to brighten his life; but he 'had resolved to struggle to the end, come as it may. He saw The Louisville Journal steadily decline until finally it was absorbed by a successful rival, and the memory of Prentice and his great newspaper has since then been dimly preserved in The Courier-Journal of Louisville, that has long been under the successful direction of Colonel Watterson, today the most brilliant and versatile of American journalists. Pren- tice ended his editorial career as a contributing or assistant editor of the united newspapers at a nominal salary. Like the wounded eagle, he fretted his life away, and on the 21st of Jan- uary, 1870, the days of George D. Prentice were ended with his last utterance "I want to go; I v/ant to go." Crittenden and Prentice were only two among the untold numbers of men in the border States who suffered ten-fold more than all the horrors of war which were visited upon those who could espouse their cause in harmony with their people, and give their sons to die for their convictions. There were scores of men who filled conspicuous positions in national affairs, whose fate was little less sorrowful than that of the two illustrious Kentuckians, but they had scores of thousands of followers of the humbler class who battled hand to hand with neighbors, and often unto the death, inspired by their devotion to the Union cause. The country honors its soldiers North and South. Great monuments have been erected to them in every section of the Union which now, with a reunited people, are accepted by 37^ COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S all, not as monuments of Union or Confederate triumphs, but as monuments of the heroism of the whole American people; but the large class in the border States that was in constant conflict and often in vastly greater peril than those in the flame of battle, has no monuments to commemorate the unfaltering courage of American manhood in the support of opposing con- victions, often in conflict vastly more deadly than the thunders of shotted guns. THE TEMPEST OF SECTIONAL PASSION. A civil war is simply a family or church quarrel on a greatly enlarged scale, and it involves an intensity of bitterness between the opposing parties that is unknown in modern wars between nations. The closer the ties of affection or friendship in families or churches, the more unreasoning and vindictive do they be- come when involved in actual conflict. Today the reunion of the States is as complete as ever it was in the history of the Republic; but the great churches which divided on the supreme issue involved in our civil war are yet estranged, without even the hope of early reunion. The students of today familiarize themselves with all the great incidents and achievements of the conflict between the North and the South, but they learn only of the heroic and ennobling qualities which were exhibited alike by the Blue and the Gray, while the fierce currents of sectional passion, bearing on their tempestuous waves the confiscation of property and the sacrifice of life, receive but passing note in the story of the greatest civil conflict of modern times. Only those who lived and saw the inflamed resentments of both sides when civil war was first precipitated upon the country can have any just appreciation of the fierce resentments which were cherished on both sides, even by intelligent men and women, who were sincere in their religious convictions and devotions. For some years before the conflict began blatant demagogues were found in abundance on both sides who sought to gain popular favor and political advancement by studied ap- peals to the prejudices and hatreds of the people. They were but the whitecaps of the angry waves which disturbed the coun- try, and they would have been harmless but for the profound convictions in North and South which permeated all conditions and classes. When the war began belligerent rights were not accorded to the South, and for a soldier on either side to be captured was (379) 3So COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S accepted as dooming him to the severest penalties, and possibly to death. It was not until after the first great battle of the war that a flag of truce came from either side, and when a squad of Confederates came to the Union hues bearing such a flag, the question of receiving them and recognizing the flag had to be referred to the Government at Washington. Of course there was but one way open to the Government, and that was to recognize it. England, F'rance and Spain had already recog- nized the Confederate Government as a belligerent power, and the necessity of the exchange of prisoners and the protection of the soldiers on both sides required that the belligerent rights of the Confederates should be recognized by our Government, even though it refused to formally declare them. I have heard General Andrew Porter tell the story of the first flag of truce that came to the Army of the Potomac. He was the immediate commander to whom it was first referred, and his description of the consternation it flung into the authorities at Washington, who were then compelled to meet the question of belligerent rights, was highly amusing. From that time until the close of the war our Government recognized in every practical way the belligerent rights of the South, without ever having risen to the dignity of confessing the recognition in any formal way. So intense were the inflamed passions of both sections that in the early part of the war it w^as next to impossible to pay decent respect to the body of a dead enemy or to minister to him on his death bed. After the battle of Gettysburg, wdien Lee left many of his wounded behind him, a number were gathered up and brought to Chambersburg, where I resided, and placed in an improvised hospital. One of our leading physicians accepted the care of these sick and wounded, but no citizen of the town ventured to visit them. The attending physician finally called upon me, and suggested that my w'ell-known position on the issues of the war would enable me to render a service that certainly should be given to these sick and dying prisoners, and I promptly accompanied him to the hospital, where I saw the condition of each of the inmates. One of them, a cultivated gentleman, named Colonel Carter, whose home was in Texas, was hopelessly ill, and evidently had but a day or two to live. He reached out his trembling hand to me, and in a feeble and tremulous voice said: "I am very glad you have RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 3S1 come; I want your assurance that I shall have a Christian burial when I die." I answered that I would accept it as my duty to fulfill his request, and the expression of grati- tude on that dying- face will never be efifaced from my memory. On the following day he died, and I at once applied to the authorities of the congregation of which I was a member for permission to bury him in the church cemetery, but it was unanimously refused, and a like refusal came from the church authorities of every religious congregation in the town. I then announced that I would take a lot of suitable size on the corner of my own farm on the public highway and execute and record a deed conveying it in trust as the resting place of the dead Confederate soldier. I at once proceeded to execute it. Of course the m.atter was very generally discussed, and with much warmth in the community. The one issue against which I was fully protected was the suspicion of being in sympathy with the enemy. An active member of the Methodist Church decided that such a disgrace should not stain the records of the town, and he persuaded the authorities of the congregation to authorize the interment of the body in the Methodist Cemetery, where Colonel Carter had decent and Christian burial as he had requested. I cite this instance to show how the passions of civil war inflamed Christian men in those dark and troublous days, even to the point of forgetfulness of most important Christian duties. Had any other than a citizen whose position on the war was absolutely imassailable attempted to exercise these offices of humanity he would have been made a stranger to his home and people. As soon as the Confederate Government was established in Richmond President Davis issued a proclamation of banishment for all within the jurisdiction of the Confederacy that did not support it, with notice that if they remained over 40 days they would be severely treated as alien enemies, and that was followed by confiscation laws and proclamations from the Confederate Government to be applied to all residents of the South who did not heartily support the secession movement. That policy was imitated by our own Government, and in a short time both the North and the South had sequestration laws which, if executed, would have stripped citizens of both sections of untold millions of property. When these laws were enacted and these procla- 3S2 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S mations given it was done in obedience to the next to universal demand of the people of both sections, and had any one in those days opposed the policy of retribution he would have been de- nounced as disloyal to his people. The writ of habeas corpus was suspended by both governments, and despotic rule was inaugurated throughout both sections. When President Lincoln issued his first call for troops to suppress the rebellion President Davis only a few days there- after issued a proclamation proposing to grant letters of marque and reprisal to prey upon our commerce, and a number of South- ern vessels promptly accepted the oflPer, were duly commissioned and started in their work of destruction. The first of these to be captured was the Savannah, which was taken off Charleston, the ofhcers of which were taken to New York, where they were tried for piracy, convicted and sentenced to death. Soon there- after the Jefiferson Davis, another vessel commissioned in the same enterprise, was captured and the ofiEicers and crew were tried in Philadelphia, where they were also convicted and sen- tenced to death. The announcement of these convictions and the death sentence passed upon the prisoners was promptly met by a proclamation from President Davis requiring that a like number of Union prisoners should be selected by lot and held as hostages for the safety of the condemned men, and to be exe- cuted as soon as it should be ascertained that the sentence of the condemned prisoners as pirates had been carried into effect. The Government did not execute the pirates, and later they were placed on the footing of prisoners of war, resulting in the release of the Union prisoners held as hostages. While the intensely inflamed passions of civil war were very general throughout the country, there w^ere several States in which the conflict between neighbors was carried to the utter- most, and every Union man's hand was against his Southern neighbor even unto his death, and every Southern sympathizer accepted it as his highest duty to murder his Union neighbor. Among those States Missouri was most conspicuous. General Fremont was assigned to the command of the Department of Missouri, and was given wide latitude in his instructions, but was expected, of course, to conform his actions to the laws of Con- gress and the policy of the Administration. On August 31, 1861, without the knowledge of the President, Fremont issued a proc- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 383 lamation declaring martial law throughout the entire State ; that all citizens taken with arms in their hands within the region occu- pied by his army should be tried by Court-martial, and, if guilty, should be shot; that the property of all citizens of the State who opposed the Union forces should be confiscated by the Gov- ernment and their slaves become forever free. General M. J. Thompson was then in command of the Confederate forces in the State of Missouri, and upon receiving the proclamation of Fre- mont, on September 2, he issued a retaliatory proclamation, giv- ing his "most solemn promise that for every member of the Missouri State Guard or soldier of our allies, the armies of the Confederate States, who shall be put to death, in pursuance of the said order of General Fremont, I will hang, draw and quarter a minion of said Abraham Lincoln." President Lincoln, whose common sense never deserted him, at once saw that Fremont had committed a grave blunder. Had he followed his own inclination, he would have promptly relieved him of his command; but Fremont was then regarded as too strong in the confidence of the people to be summarily dis- carded, and Lincoln wrote a private letter to Fremont, imme- diately upon seeing General Thompson's retaliatory order, ask- ing him to correct his proclamation, as of his own motion, to conform to the laws of Congress relating to confiscation and in- surrectionary movements, and also to withdraw the emancipa- tion features of the proclamation. Fremont refused to correct his proclamation as his own act, and the President then publicly directed that the Fremont proclamation should omit the emanci- pation clause and confine confiscation and punishment of indi- viduals to conform with the national statutes. Soon thereafter Fremont was found to be utterly incapable for his command, and he was relieved, and succeeded by General Curtis, whose success- ful battle of Pea Ridge determined the Union mastery of the State and Government. Price's followers, who could not safely enter the Confederate army, selected Montana as their future home, a territory then so far beyond the reach of civilization that they hoped they could live there in peace and dominate the Territory. The wealth of Montana was then just in its infancy of development, and for years Montana continued to be ruled by Price's soldiers. What is now Virginia City was named Varina, in honor of the mistress 3S4 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S of the Confederate White House in Richmond, but when the Territory was organized and a Federal Judge opened his Court in that city, which then had a population of 10,000 people, he summarily ami arbitrarily directed that the records of the Court should be written as of Virginia City. I saw the Territorial Legislature there in 1867, and two-thirds or more of it had served in Price's army in jMissouri. The Union men obtained possession of the State of Missouri, organized its Government, disfranchised every Southern sympathizer and it thus became one of the most radical of Republican States. Tides of passion run their course rapidly, and the more rapidly when most tem- pestuous, and in a few years Missouri liberalized her laws and restored all classes to citizenship. In 1862, when General Butler was enabled to march unop- posed into the city of New Orleans after Farragut had captured the forts on the river and his guns commanded the city, he was met bv the most intense and vindictive Southern sentiment. The Creole element that dominated in that city was never in hearty sympathy with the Government, and Butler had a fearful task before him. While unfitted for mihtary command in the field, as was demonstrated in every military movement he ever made, he was heroic in purpose and action and wonderfully fertile in resources. He was met in the most defiant manner by all classes and conditions, and after he had publicly proclaimed that any one who tore down the United States flag would be punished with death a man named Mumford, a notorious gambler and desperado, defiantly tore down the flag from one of the Govern- ment ofBces, rent it into shreds and stamped it under his feet in the street. He was promptly arrested, tried by drum-head Court-martial and condemned to death. Instead of pleading with Butler and giving assurance of law and order, he was flooded with threats of assassination if he dared to execute Mum- ford, and with Butler it had become a question of whether he and his fellow-ofhcers and soldiers could remain with any measure of safety in the captured city. Some more thoughtful and considerate people urged him to reprieve Mumford, believ- ing that his execution would inflame people to riot and murder, but he stood unmoved, and declared to all that painful as was the duty, he was compelled to execute the prisoner. He per- mitted Mrs. Mumford, with her children, to see him a short time RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 385 before the execution, and heard her sobbing appeals for the safety of her husband. He answered her gently but firmly that it was the one request with which he could not comply, and added that if at any time in the future it should be in his power to render her any service he would be glad to do so. He executed Mumford according to the announced programme, and thence- forth he was master of the murderous element of the city. I spent an evening with Butler soon after his return from New Orleans in the winter of 1863, and heard from his own lips the story of Mumford's conviction and execution, and the circumstances which led to it. Butler was a strange mixture of malice and mercy, of wisdom and folly. He spoke of the appeal made to him by the heart-broken wife, and how painful the duty was to refuse her a reprieve for her husband, and I v;ell remember his remark that seemed to come from the heart, that if ever it was in his power to render any service to Mrs. Mumford or her family he would be glad to do so. The sequel came some ten years or more later, when Butler, then in Con- gress, received a letter from Mrs. Mumford, written at her home in Wytheville, Virginia, reminding him of his promise, and stat- ing that her little hom.e was about to be sold. He immediately sent to the clerk of the Court for the record of the judgment, with its amounts and costs, and at once sent her the money to satisfy it in full. Nor did his kindness end with relieving her home from debt. Learning that it was impossible for her to make a living for herself and children there, he obtained a place for her in one of the departments at Washington, and when some years thereafter she was removed from one department he had her placed in one of the other departments of the Government. The most notable order issued by any General during the war was what was known as "Order No. 28," issued by General Butler when in command of New Orleans. His officers and soldiers were daily insulted on the streets in various ways by the women of the city, and he finally issued the following order: Headquarters Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, May 15, 1862. As officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from women calling themselves ladies of New Orleans, in return for 386 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered hereafter, when any female shall by mere gesture or movement, insult or show contempt for any officers or soldiers of the United States, she shall be regarded aud held liable to be treated as a woman about town plying h6r vocation. By command of MAJOR GENERAL BUTLER. George C. Strong, A. A. G. This order was naturally and justly resented by the women of the South, and was severely criticised in military circles at home and abroad. Demand was made upon the military com- manders in different sections of the South to ascertain whether the order issued by General Butler was approved by the Govern- ment, but no answer was ever given. Of course, the order was soberly considered at Washington, and while neither the President nor any of the military authorities would have issued such an order, they all felt that the revocation of it by Butler's superior officers would impair his power to maintain order in New Orleans, and the order was permitted to stand without the formal approval or disapproval of the Government. It is need- less to say that the order measurably or wholly accomplished the purpose General Butler had in view, but it was a humiliation to the ladies of New Orleans that has never been forgotten. After the Confederate Government had tried in various ways unsuccessfully to get an avowal from the Government approving or disapproving of Butler's order, President Davis finally took it up, and on the 23d of December, 1862, he issued a proclama- tion denouncing the execution of Mumford, and proposing re- taliatory measures. The proclamation was an elaborate paper, and in it was the following paragraph : "Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Con- federate States of America, and in their name, do pronounce and declare the said Benjamin F. Butler to be a felon deser\'ing of capital punishment. 1 do order that he be no longer con- sidered or treated simply as a public enemy of the Confederate States of America, but as an outlaw and common enemy of mankind, and that in the event of his capture the officer in com- mand of the capturing force will cause him to be immediately executed by hanging, and I do further order that no com- missioned officer of the United States taken captive shall be RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 387 released on parole or exchanged until the said Butler shall have met with due punishment for his crime." Even Lincoln, with whom mercy was a darling attribute, was compelled to issue an order July 30, 1863, directing the summary execution of Confederate prisoners in retaliation for the execu- tion of the colored Union soldiers. He proclaimed that for every colored soldier thus executed, a Confederate prisoner should be executed, and for every colored soldier sold into slavery a Confederate soldier should be sentenced to hard labor until the enslaved negro was released. A notable instance of the retaliatory measures then common is presented in the case of Colonel William Henry Fitz Lee, son of General Robert E. Lee, who represented the Alexandria District in Congress after the war, and died in the public service. Two Union men were sentenced to death as spies in Richmond, and the Government held that they had been unjustly condemned. The Confederate authorities refused to release them, and Lincoln then ordered that Colonel Lee and another Confederate officer, then prisoners of war, should be placed in close confinement and be immediately executed upon receiving authentic information of the execution of the alleged spies. It is needless to say that the work of death was halted and all were finally released. If all the confiscation and retributive laws of both Govern- ments had been strictly enforced and all the proclamations issued by the two Governments had been fully executed the loss of property would have been beyond computation, and our fair land would have been made one vast cemetery of the fallen in the conflict. Strange as it may seem, with all these intense passions, these terrible retributive laws and proclamations, I cannot re- call a case outside of guerilla warfare, in which a prisoner on either side was executed merely in retaliation. It is possible that such cases did occur, but they were very few, if any. With all this tempest of passion that swept the people of both sections from all moral and merciful moorings, the soldiers of both armies always exhibited the highest respect and kindliest feelings toward each other. I saw them on the battlefield of Antietam, Union and Confederate soldiers mingled in crowds along the little streams, pouring water on each other's wounds and conversing as fraternally as if they were strangers to internecine war, and 3SS COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S with rare exceptions the intercourse between the highest officers on both sides always exhibited the utmost courtesy and personal kindness. It seems strange that those who were in deadly con- flict could sink their passions in respect for heroic foemen, while in no conflict of the century was there such a fearful reign of tempestuous and almost fiendish passion as was exhibited by the masses of the people on both sides during our civil war. SUMNER, BOUTWELL AND CHASE. Few of those now active in politics have taken pause to con- sider how the Democratic party, when the anti-slavery agitation became formidable, brought into national prominence and elected to positions of power and influence three men who developed as the ablest and most potent opponents of the De- mocracy as Republican leaders. These men were Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, and Charles Sumner and George S. Boutwell, of Massachusetts. Boutwell was the Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1849, when he was defeated; again in 1850, when he was elected by the Legislature, and again in 185 1, when he was re-elected by the Legislature. He was then a young man, having been born on his father's farm in 1818, and by his own efforts had won high position at the Massachu- setts Bar. Under the election laws of Massachusetts it was necessary for a candidate to secure a majority of all the votes cast to secure an election, and in 1850 the vote for Governor was 57,364 for Briggs, Whig; 36,363 for Boutwell, Democrat, and 27,803 for Phillips, Free Soil. A very formidable Free Soil party had been organized in Massachusetts in 1848, in which Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson, Charles Francis Adams and many other old Whigs took promi- nent part and supported Van Buren for President. The Whig party of Massachusetts was very seriously disintegrated by the anti-slavery sentiment, and combinations were made in many instances between the Free Soilers and the Democrats. The result was a coalition of the opposition — that is, of the Demo- crats and Free Soilers in both the Senate and House — and as none of the candidates for Governor had a majority of the whole vote the election devolved upon the Legislature. A caucus of the fusion members resvilted in the nomination of Boutwell for Governor, Cushman for Lieutenant Governor and Rantoul for the short term in the Senate, all Democrats, and Sumner, an old Whig, was nominated for the full Senatorial term. All of (389) 390 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the Democratic nominees were promptly elected, but some of the old Democrats in the House hesitated about supporting Sumner. The Senate gave him a majority on the first ballot, where he received 2^ to 14 for Winthrop and i for Bishop, but in the House Sumner received 186, Winthrop 167 and scattering 28. The contest in the House was continued for nearly three months, but finally, on the 24th of April, the House adopted the secret ballot, and Sumner was elected. Thus were George S. Boutwell and Charles Sumner started in their great political careers by the solid vote of the Democrats of the Massachusetts Legislature. Sumner was an anti-slavery Whig, and Boutwell an anti- slavery Democrat, and after the repeal of the Missouri Com- promise in 1854 Boutwell was abreast with Sumner in opposition to the Democratic policy, and cast his fortunes with the Repub- lican party. He was a delegate to the Chicago Convention that nominated Lincoln, and when the internal revenue taxes were levied for war purposes in 1862 Lincoln called Boutwell to the head of that department, which he organized in a thoroughly methodical manner. On the 3d of March, 1863, he resigned his position to take his seat in Congress, to which he had been elected, and he continued to serve in Congress until he was called to Grant's Cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury in 1869. He continued in the Cabinet until March, 1873, when he re- signed to take his seat in the Senate, having been chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Henry Wilson to the Vice Presidency. I saw much of Governor Boutwell in the early part of the war, and all who knew him could not fail to appreciate his stern devotion to official duty. His organization of the revenue de- partment as its first Commissioner was a great work and well performed, and he was then regarded as one of the safest Re- publicans of national fame in the then important councils of the party. He was chairman of the committee appointed by the House to report articles of impeachment against President John- son, and was one of the Representatives of the House who con- ducted the prosecution before the Senate. His last public national service was his codification and editing of the statutes at large, to which position he had been called by President RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 391 Hayes. He is yet living, although considerably past the four- score mile stone, and he has never ceased to take an active interest in public affairs. Since the war with Spain he has been one of the prominent anti-imperialist leaders, and has very earnestly and ably opposed the acquisition of Spanish provinces and the present colonial policy of the Government. Robert Rantoul, Jr., who by the Boutwell-Sumner coalition was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Webster, served the shortest term of any man in either branch of Congress. When elected to the Senate he was away out in the Northwest where railroads and telegraphs were unknown, and it was some time after his election before he received the notification. He hurried back to Wash- ington and was sworn in as Senator on the 22d of February, and served until the 3d of March, making his term just nine days. The same year he was elected to Congress by the same fusion of political elements which had made him Senator, but he died on the 7th of August, 1852, before he had completed the first year of his term of service. Charles Sumner continued in the Senate from the time of his election, in 185 1, until his death, on the nth of March, 1874. He was not the greatest of the Republican leaders, measured by the standard of mere political leadership, but he was unquestion- ably the greatest intellectual force of Republicanism. He was not a political manager; indeed, he was a stranger to all the arts and inventions usually employed to reach political advancement or to maintain party organization. He was first of all a student and scholar, and entirely without tact in the management of men. I doubt whether he ever directly or indirectly sought the favor of any of the legislators who so often elected him to the highest legislative tribunal of the nation. Nor was he ever consulted by the practical leaders of the party as to political expediency. He was a man of the purest character and the sincerest convictions, and always faithful to them in his public and private actions. While unobtrusive in general matters, he was the one man of the Senate who could be relied upon, under all circumstances, to assert himself regardless of the favor or disfavor of his associates or of political power if he deemed it his duty to do so. When President Grant sent his first Cabinet to the Senate for confirmation, embracing the million- 393 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S aire merchant Stewart, of New York, for Secretary of the Treas- ury, who was ineligible to the position because of his vast mer- cantile interests as an importer, Sumner was the only man who had the courage to oppose the confirmation because the law forbade it, and when Sumner gave his reason for objecting to the confirmation the Senate took pause and the President was compelled to withdraw Stewart's name. The best efforts of Sumner's Hfe were given in opposition to slavery. When quite a young man he sympathized and co- operated with Garrison and others who are known as the origi- nal abolitionists, but in general politics he was classed as a moderate and conserv?.tive Whig. When General Taylor, a large slave holder, was nominated as the Whig candidate for President in 1848, Sumner was in the forefront of the rebellion, and what was then known as the Free Soil party embraced a number of the ablest men in Massachusetts. Sumner was made chairman of the Free Soil State Committee, and he received the nomination for Congress in the Boston district, but the coalition between the Free Soilers and the Democrats had not then been effected, and Winthrop was elected over Sumner and the Democratic candidate. When he entered the Senate he was confronted by the strongest combination that had ever been made in the South, with a very large Northern support, for the extension and mastery of slavery. The Fugitive Slave law had just been passed as one of the compromise measures of 1850, and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise followed in 1854. The repeal of the Missouri compact of 1820, forbidding the extension of slavery beyond the northern line of Alissouri, united the supporters of slavery to accomplish its extension and the control of the Government by the admission of new slave States and the election of pro-slavery Senators. The purpose and the methods by which it was to be accomplished were most carefully considered by the ablest statesmen of the South, aided by many of the ablest Democrats of the North, and the Dred-Scott decision, which speedily followed the inauguration of Buchanan, was regarded as the final triumph of the policy of slavery ex- tension. The Kansas-Nebraska troubles convulsed both sec- tions of the country, and thus Sumner had continuous struggle with the policy of slave power until it finally precipitated civil war in 1861. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 393 No one of the Republican leaders, with the exception of Lincoln, left such a lustrous record of Republican literature as did Sumner, There were many of his RepubHcan associates of less intellectual force who delivered much more effective popular speeches in defense of the Republican party, but the student of today who desires to see Republicanism presented in its purest and grandest attributes need only read the many speeches delivered by Sumner. He never made a deliverance in obedience to political expediency. He never yielded a hair- breadth of his convictions to maintain party unity or assure party success. He was an ideal statesman, and hoped and strug- gled to make his party and his Government vastly better than they ever can be made by those who are called to power under our free institutions. By great odds the most effective deliverance made by any man to advance the Republican party was made by the bludgeon of Preston S. Brooks, a Representative from South Carolina. He went into the Senate chamber after the body had adjourned, found Sumner writing at his desk and almost alone, and struck him upon the head with a bludgeon, and continued his blows until Sumner sank unconscious to the floor. On the 19th and 20th of May, 1856, Sumner had delivered his great speech, en- titled "The Crime Against Kansas." It was a most exhaustive and caustic presentation of the whole bloody Kansas struggle, and he assailed the slavery leaders as then engaged in "marshal- ing hostile divisions and foreshadowing a conflict which, unless happily averted by freedom, will become war — fratricidal, patri- cidal \\ar." It was a dignified, but most pungent arraignment of the slavery leaders, and he was bitterly assailed by Senator Butler, of South Carolina, and others. Butler was an uncle of Representative Brooks, and it was revenge for Sumner's criticism of Butler in running debate that inspired Brooks to play the part of bully and strike down with a club an unarmed man on the floor of the Senate. The in- tensity of the partisan feeling of that day may be understood when it is stated that the House refused to expel Brooks, but he was so generally censured that he resigned and was im- mediately re-elected without opposition. Sumner never fully recovered from the fiendish attack made upon him by Brooks, and his severe suffering was generally ridiculed by the Demo- 394 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S cratic press as the merest affectation, but it is now undisputed that Sumner was compelled to undergo the most painful treat- ment for years before he could even resume his Senatorial duties. I saw him when he was at Cresson, Pennsylvania, under the care of Dr. Jackson, and there and then learned for the first time how serious the injuries were. It was then believed that he could fully recover in the course of a year. Finding that he was not improving he sailed for Europe in March, 1857, and was absent from his seat in the Senate for nearly four years while undergoing the severest medical treatment. He resumed his Senatorial duties when Congress met on the first Monday in December, 1859. I well remember the effect of the assault upon Sumner throughout the North in the campaign of 1856. It caused many scores of thousands of Democrats of natural anti-slavery pro- clivities to sever their connection with the Democratic party and imite in the support of Fremont; and even throughout the South, where chivalry is cherished as one of the essential attributes of manhood, the action of Brooks was generally, though not publicly condemned. Democratic leaders soon learned that altogether the most effective agent in defense of the new Repub- lican party was Brooks and his bludgeon. I saw much of Sumner during his long Senatorial term of service. He made his friends welcome with courtly ceremony, but those who wished to remain as welcome visitors had to learn not to trespass upon his time. His elegant dignity was never bent, and his wonderful accomplishments in statesmanship, diplomacy, literature, art and all that added refinement to human character gave him ample sources of enjoyment within himself. When I was an independent candidate for Mayor of Phila- delphia he exhibited his interest in the cause of reform by vol- untarily writing a public letter urging my election against the regular Republican candidate, a tribute that I have always held in the most grateful memory. He separated from his old asso- ciate, Boutwell, in 1872, when he supported Greeley against Grant, and when Boutwell was one of the foremost of the Grant leaders. In thus opposing Grant he was compelled to oppose his Senatorial colleague, Henry Wilson, who was on the ticket with Grant for the Vice Presidency, and who had ever been his devoted personal and political friend; but they were not in any RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 395 degree estranged by Sumner's independent action. On the con- trary, Wilson made exhaustive effort after his election to the second office of the Government to restore Sumner to Republi- can favor in Massachusetts, and had Sumner lived a few months longer he would have been elected to his fifth term in the Sen- ate; but on the nth of March, 1874, the most accomplished of all Republican leaders was called to sleep with his fathers. Salmon P. Chase, the third great Republican leader, who was first given important office by the Democratic party, was a man of great ability, a tireless student, and a rigid and earnest anti- slavery man, but, unlike Sumner, he cherished boundless ambi- tion, and, like Webster, Clay, Calhoun and Scott, chafed through the evening of his life in bitter disappointment because he failed to reach the Presidency. He was elected to the Senate by pre- cisely the same coalition in Ohio that was made in Massachu- setts to elect Sumner — the Democrats and Free Soilers uniting — and he ranked with Seward, Sumner and Trumbull as one of the greatest quartet of Republican Senatorial masters in the early days of the party. Like Sumner, he was one of the original Liberty men, or abolitionists, and he was a delegate to the con- vention that nominated Birney for President in 1843. ^^ ^^~ tered the Senate in 1851 with Sumner, and four years later he resigned his place to accept the Governorship of Ohio, to which he had been elected. He was re-elected in 1857, and in i860 was one of the several candidates prominent as competitors of Lin- coln in the Chicago convention. He was a man of the sternest integrity, and thoroughly conscientious in the discharge of every public and private duty. He rendered a service to the country that can never be justly estimated by his management of the Treasury during the crucial test of our civil war. He had to brave, not only strong popular prejudices, but very formidable financial interests, in establishing our present national banking system, that for the first time gave the people of the United States a thoroughly safe currency. He saw many dark days when the credit of the Government seemed to be on the verge of destruction, but he struggled night and day, never despairing of the ultimate success of his policy. As a member of the Cabinet he was earnestly opposed to civil war and preferred peaceable dismemberment of the Republic to fraternal conflict, but when the policy of the Government was 396 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S declared he maintained it with unfaltering fidelity. He believed that he should have been elected President instead of Lincoln in i860, and he was more profoundly impressed with the conviction that he should succeed Lincoln in 1864. His awkward efforts to serve his political interests as Secretary of the Treasury led to a gradual estrangement between Lincoln and himself, and finally resulted in his retirement from the Cabinet a few weeks after Lin- coln had been unanimously nominated for re-election at the Baltimore convention. It was his purpose then not to support Lincoln, but finally when he found that the choice was between Lincoln and McClellan, who was nominated on a distinctive peace platform, he voted for the Republican ticket in Ohio in October at the State election, and telegraphed Lincoln congrat- ulating him on the victory. I saw both Chase and Lincoln at times when the question of appointing a successor to Chief Justice Taney was long under consideration. Chase was extremely anxious for the position, but he was greatly weakened and discouraged by the hostile at- titude of the leading Republicans of his own State. Lincoln finally tendered him the appointment, although he is perhaps the only President in the history of our Government who would have appointed Chase under the circumstances. I know that Lincoln was largely influenced in favor of Chase by the fact that he might be regarded as carrying his personal resentment into a most important official act if he rejected him. In assuming the duties of the Chief Justiceship Chase was forgetful of the fact that the Supreme Court furnishes no Presidents, and he was more earnestly anxious to become President than ever before. In the Johnson impeachment trial he developed his opposition to the policy of the Republican leaders, and in 1868 he was a hopeful candidate before the Democratic National Convention in New York for the Presidency, but was defeated by the shrewd political management of Samuel J. Tilden, and in 1872 he sup- ported Greeley against Grant. He did not attain great distinc- tion as a jurist, but scrupulously maintained the dignity of the highest Court of the land, and his opinions compare well with many of those who have filled a place on the Supreme Court. In 1870 he was stricken with paralysis and continued an invalid until the 7th of May, 1873, when he died in New York city. He was a man of kindly disposition, genial manners and RECOLLECl'IONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 397 a delightful conversationalist. He was unlike Sumner in his love for discussing politics, but like Sumner he was a most accomplished student in literature and art, and a master in his knowledge of the history of the nations of the world. Leaving out Lincoln, no other trio of Republican leaders of the past could be made up to stand abreast with Sumner, Boutwell and Chase, all of whom were placed in the position of national lead- ership by the Democratic party. HENRY W. GRADY AND THE NEW SOUTH. There are very many men in the South yet living who ren- dered great service to their section and to the country by their earnest labors to create the New South that is now just entering upon a career of great prosperity, but it is not invidious to say that Henry W. Grady, of Georgia, was the "leader of leaders" in the struggle to advance the South to the acceptance of its new necessities and its new and greater destiny. The war left the South wedded to its old idols, and few of those who had sur- vived the bloody conflict were prepared for the new duties which confronted them. The transformation was revolutionary and in conflict with the teachings and traditions of Southern leader- ship and pride. The few Southerners conspicuous in the battles of the war who took the advance step at an early day to accept the inexorable teachings of the war largely forfeited the affection and trust of the Southern people. Vice President Stephens, of the Confederacy, was among the first to teach the South the lesson it was forced to accept, but he did it with caution and maintained the love and confidence of the South. Longstreet was one of the few soldiers who appreci- ated the new conditions, but in accepting office under Grant at the beginning of his first Administration Longstreet greatly im- paired the strength of his position. I saw him in Washington when Grant surprised the country by nominating him as one of the Custom House oflficers of Xew Orleans, and he spoke feel- ingly of the criticisms of his old friends, for whose cause he had offered his life, and had abandoned it only when it was obvious to all that the Southern Confederacy was the great Lost Cause of American history. Ackerman, who served a brief period in the Grant Cabinet; Mahone, who united with the Republicans as Senator; and Mosby, who openly supported Grant's re-election and accepted a foreign appointment, carried little influence to (398) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 399 liberalize the sentiment of the South in advancing it toward its new destiny. The man whose name must go into history as pre-eminently the leader in the creation of the New South is that of Henry Woodfin Grady, of Georgia, who did more to advance the South in liberal and material progress, and to make the best qualities of the South understood in the North, in the face of the great cloud of prejudice that prevailed, than any other single individ- ual in all the insurgent States. He was only ii years old when the war began, as he was born in Athens, Georgia, April 24, 1850. His father fell at the head of his Confederate regiment in the charge of Petersburg, in 1864. His mother devoted herself to his education, and after graduating at the University of Georgia, in 1868, he followed with a two years' post-graduate course at the University of Virginia, thus completing his collegi- ate course in 1870, when just 20 years of age. Georgia, the Empire State of the South, had greater resources at the close of the war than most of the rebellious Commonwealths, and young Grady at once devoted himself to the great task of the liberal advancement of his State. He first established a newspaper at Rome, Georgia, but in 1871 he located in Atlanta as the Georgia correspondent of The New York Herald, and obtained a pro- prietary interest in The Atlanta Herald. In 1880 he became one of the proprietors of The Atlanta Constitution, and soon made it one of the leading journals of the South. Soon after Grady located in Atlanta I engaged him as general Southern correspondent of The Philadelphia Times, and his contributions were among the best newspaper articles of that period. Although quite a young man in the profession, his articles exhibited careful study and unusual elegance of style. He rendered a special service, not only to The Times, but to the country, and to the correct history of the war, by aiding General Longstreet to prepare his first public defense of himself at Gettysburg. I was then publishing in The Weekly Times a series of war articles from the leading military men of the coun- try, alternating weekly with contributions from Northern and Southern generals, and I was very anxious to have the then sys- tematically suppressed issue between Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg given to the public. Lee was dead, and Longstreet was silent. Lee had made no accusation against Longstreet, 400 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S and Longstreet could not take note of the innuendoes which were flung upon him by the friends of Lee, practically charging him with the loss of the decisive battle of the war. I urged Longstreet to write on the subject, but he refused for the very plausible reason that he could not discuss the subject except in answer to responsible accusations against himself. Count De Paris had not then completed his history of the civil conflict, and he was exceedingly anxious to have the Lee-Longstreet dispute brought to the surface to enable him to write that chapter in historical truth. I had met Colonel Taylor, who had been Adjutant General on Lee's stafif, when he was serving in the Richmond Senate. He was thoroughly familiar with all of Lee's campaigns, and nat- urally cherished a romantic attachment for his great chief. I asked him to write an article on the Gettysburg campaign without indicating any particular feature that should be dis- cussed. I did not doubt that he would place the responsibility for the Gettysburg disaster upon Longstreet. He furnished the article, and for the first time a responsible accusation holding Longstreet to account for the Gettysburg disaster was given to the public. Longstreet was thus not only relieved of all obliga- tion to silence, but he was fairly called upon to vindicate him- self. Knowmg Longstreet's lack of industrial habit, I instructed Grady to visit Longstreet at his home, remain with him until his answer was prepared, and to go personally to Richmond, New Orleans or any other part of the South to obtain any data that might be needed. Grady discharged his duty promptly and eflfectively. It required a week or more to have the article com- pleted, and thus came Longstreet's first public defense of his movements at Gettysburg. The article presented in brief the statemicnts given in his elaborate book, published a few years ago, in which he severely reflects upon Lee's direction of the Gettysburg battle, and clearly exhibits throughout its pages the fact that neither had entire respect for, nor confidence in, the other. The Longstreet article called out a number of severe rejoinders, and Longstreet gave me a second article in vindica- tion of himself. That controversy gave Count De Paris the in- formation he needed, and, as he gratefully expressed it, enabled him to finish his work. I did not meet Grady personally until he had been ten years RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 401 in Atlanta, where he had most of the time been my chief South- ern correspondent. In 1880 or 1881, when on a visit to the South, I spent several days in Atlanta, and most of it in the en- joyable company of Grady. He was then only thirty years of age, but was the master spirit of his great State. He made Governors and Senators almost without dispute, chiefly because he never sought to advance himself politically and acted solely in the interests of Georgia. The first evening I spent with him I was startled at his minute information as to the vast resources of the South and the great and strange waste in Southern prod- ucts. At that time the propositions to use the by-products of cotton were new, and generally rejected by cotton growers as the visionary ideas of fine spun theorists, but Grady had then mastered the whole subject and gave me in full detail the values which must soon be gathered from the by-products of the cotton, all of which were realized within a decade. The cotton seed was then almost entirely waste, and today it furnishes nearly all of the so-called olive oil used by the country, and when the oil is extracted the fibre of the seed is now converted into food for stock. He gave me my first insight into the deplorable waste in baling cotton and sending it to Fall River in the far North to be spun and woven. He said the baling, pressing and unbaling of the cotton diminished the value of the fibre ten per cent., and that after paying transportation northward it had to be manu- factured at a greater cost for labor than it could be manufac- tured in the midst of the cotton fields in the South. He had studied every variety of soil in the State, its adaptability to various crops and the profits which could be realized from their growth, and he enthusiastically predicted for Georgia that the next generation would see it the most prosperous State in the Union. He accompanied me to all the prominent places of the capital, and every door was open to him with the heartiest wel- come from the highest to the lowest official, and he was tireless in his great work to impress upon them the advantages of prog- ress in the development of the wealth of the South. I was frequently Grady's guest at his modest but thoroughly homelike cottage, and I recall one dinner occasion made up of a small circle of Grady's prominent personal friends, at which the situation of the South was discussed with a degree of frank- ness that was most refreshing to me. The guest of honor was 402 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Governor Colquitt. Ex-Governor Bullock and Colonel Kimball, both Republican leaders — Bullock having been the only Repub- lican Governor of the State and Kimball had just been defeated as the Republican candidate for Mayor of Atlanta by less than one hundred majority — were among the guests. Political condi- tions, both State and national, were discussed without reserve between Governor Colquitt and Grady, leading Democrats, and Bullock and Kimball, leading Republicans, and their general agreement as to State policy was somewhat a surprise to me. Bullock and Kimball were both engaged in large industrial enterprises, each having charge of a cotton mill, and they were thoroughly identified with the business interests of the State. At that time I did not meet any Atlanta prominent business Re- publicans who desired Republican control in the State adminis- tration, but they were heartily in accord with the national organization of the party. All had absolute confidence in Grady, and at that early day they had learned to look upon him as the one man upon whom they must chiefly depend for the advance- ment of the material interests of the State. One of the guests on this occasion was a remarkably well pre- served gentleman who had braved the blasts of over eighty winters with his mental faculties entirely unabated and in the enjoyment of excellent physical health. He had lived in Ten- nessee and had seen Jackson and Benton attend the cock fights with their chickens under their arms; was an intimate acquaint- ance of Sam Houston's, and knew his Tennessee wife inti- mately. He gave us the story of Houston's marriage, with all the details which led to the separation and the later marriage of the discarded wife to the man she loved, and with whom she lived a happy life, surrounded by her family of children. He was a man of culture, a keen observer and his manner carried abso- lute confidence in his expressions. The most interesting feature of the delightful reminiscences he gave was an account of his graduation at Harvard in 1820. He was very ambitious to meet the elder Adams, who then lived in retirement at Quincy, and he and several of his Southern fellow-students addressed a note to ex-President Adams asking permission to visit him before finally returning to their homes in the South. Adams responded by sending his coach and four to bring them to his home and treated them in the most princely RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 403 manner. After spending a few hours with the veteran ex-Presi- dent, who stood beside Jefferson in presenting the Declaration of Independence, they were sent back to Harvard in the same grand style, and they all carried with them during their lives the most grateful mem.ories of that event. On his way home he halted at Washington for some days, and had letters of intro- duction to Secretary Crawford, of the Cabinet, who received him with great kindness. Congress was then convulsed over the Missouri i^sue, and Secretary Crawford was profoundly im- pressed with the apprehension that the question would fail of adjustment and lead to secession and possibly to civil war. The compromise was finally successful, however, and he remained in Washington until the passage of the bill admitting Missouri on the terms of the compromise. There was universal rejoicing at the peaceful solution of the first great struggle over the slavery question, and he started the next morning on his way South. When the stage halted at Charlotteville for dinner he was grati- fied by meeting at the table ex-President Jefferson, ex-President Madison and Chief Justice Marshall, and had the pleasure of communicating to them the first news of the passage of the Missouri Compromise. It is needless to say that they were greatly delighted; and he had a brief and very agreeable ac- quaintance with the three great Fathers of the Republic. In all my varied acquaintance with public men I have never met any one who was such an entirely supreme political master of the State as was Henry W. Grady at the time I visited him, and it continued until his untimely death before he reached his fortieth year. He was a man of the kindliest nature, and saved many of the bruised reeds of the war by helping them to posi- tions that gave them a livelihood. His mastery was not only generally accepted, but it was pointed to with pride by the great mass of the people, high and low. When General Gordon re- signed from the Senate, tempted by the hope of fortune in specu- lation and failed to realize his expectations, Grady made him Governor of the State, and he performed the same kind ofifices for Colquitt and Stephens. He was not followed as are political masters of modern politics because he possessed accidental power, but he was followed because he was regarded as the one man of the State of supreme ability, who most unselfishly directed the political policy of the great Commonwealth. He 404 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S then overshadowed all the editorial forces of the South, as his paper brought him not only eminent distinction in his profes- sion, but what he regarded as ample fortune that enabled him to give generous assistance to many of the needy. An indication of the impoverished condition of the South is given in the fact that when Colquitt, who was known as the "fighting parson" of the Confederate army, was elected Gov- ernor in 1876 he came to the capital to be inaugurated clad in the best suit he could afford, but in Grady's judgment it was not appropriate to so important an occasion, and he promptly fur- nished the new Governor with a suitable costume in which to accept the high honor of Chief Magistrate. When Colquitt re- tired from the Governorship by Grady's influence he was elected to the Senate, and at the end of his first term, and within a year of Grady's death, Grady had to make an exhaustive effort to prevent the Legislature from electmg himself over Colquitt. The leader who is capable of such sacrifices could well command the affections of the people of his State. Grady was then only thirty-eight years of age, and better equipped for a Senatorial career than any man in Georgia, but he was devoted to the old warrior, who would have been consigned to poverty and help- lessness, and he peremptorily forbade his own election. Grady was little known in the North outside of journalistic circles until 1886, when he was invited to attend the annual ban- quet of the New England Society of New York city. It was known that he was a capable speaker, a man of liberal Southern views and one of the progressive young men of the South, but his eloquent address startled the New Englanders and led them up to the highest enthusiasm. Never before had they given such a welcome to an orator at an annual banquet. He spoke for the South and for the North; he was manly, patriotic and chivalric in every expression, and his speech was published in whole or in part in nearly every leading journal of the North. In a single day Henry W. Grady was created throughout the North the foremost man of the South, and thereafter his name was ever lisped in the North with honest praise. He was at once recog- nized as an orator of national fame, and later he addressed the Texas State Fair on the problem of the South before twenty-five thousand people. He addressed the University of Virginia on Centralization, and his last one, one of his greatest deliverances. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 405 was in December, 1889, only a few weeks before his death, to the Merchants' Association of Boston, who hailed him as the "Na- tional Pacificator." It is only just to say that Grady was then the acknowledged national orator on the relations of the two sections which had emerged from civil war. He was tireless in his work to advance his city and State, was one of the foremost men in the Southern Chautauqua scheme, in promoting the Atlanta Exposition, in erecting the Y, M. C. A. Building at Atlanta and in estabHshing a home for helpless Confederate veterans. I doubt whether in our history since the civil war any other man has equaled Grady in attaining national respect and affection and in accomplishing substantial usefulness to both North and South, and to him is the New South of today, now so rich in promise, more indebted than to any other score of all the eminently useful men of that section. Grady was one of the most delightful of all the many Southern men I have met, and maintained proverbial Southern hospitality in the most generous way. He was of medium size, compactly built, with a round, smooth face that beamed with intelligence and every generous attribute of humanity, and his home was the altar where his sweetest affections were ever called out. Had he lived he certainly would have wTitten the most lustrous record of any of his Southern associates, but on the 23d of December, 1889, before he had reached his fortieth year, the grim messenger came, and one of the noblest, sweetest and bravest of all the men of the South, or indeed of any section, passed across the dark river. WADE HAMPTON, CHIVALRIC SOL- DIER AND STATESMAN. The recent death of Wade Hampton, of South Carohna, removes one of the notable characters of the last half-century. He was the third who bore the same name, and all were alike conspicuous in war and peace. His grandfather. Wade Hamp- ton, was a fellow-soldier of Marion and Sumter, a Representa- tive in Congress, and was one of the largest and most success- ful cotton planters of his time. He re-entered the army as a colonel before the war of 1812, and rose to major general, serv- ing on the Northern frontier under Wilkinson. His father. Wade Hampton, was born in 1791, served as an aide to Jackson at the New Orleans battle, and after peace he retired from the army to devote himself to his large cotton estates inherited from his father. His son, Wade Hampton, whose recent death has spread sorrow throughout the Palmetto State, was born in Columbia, S. C, in 1818. He graduated at the University of South Carolina, and later was admitted to the Bar, but never devoted himself to the practice of law. He inherited an immense fortune from his father, chiefly in cotton estates, on which were the largest number of slaves owned by any one man in the country. He was an accomplished sport, devoted to fine horses, was a famous hunter and fisherman, and regarded as the best shot in his State. He was a man of elegant presence, graceful in manner, courteous and genial in every relation of life, and was regarded as the very embodiment of chivalrous manhood. Such a character, with such heroic lineage, and the model of all the best attributes of manliness, could not but be a universal favorite with all classes and conditions. While of the most aristocratic birth and education he was always democratic in his ways, and never permitted the humblest slave to surpass him in the ordinary courtesies of life. These quaHties made him popu- lar with the masses of the people, who, in the conditions under (406) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 407 Avhich he was born and grew up, found a wide and impassable chasm between them and the educated or ruhng class. While Hampton was always greatly interested in public affairs, he had little or no inclination for public office nor for political efforts. He served in both branches of the South Carolina Legislature, was an efficient and useful lawmaker, but he did not seek public office, and its duties were always distasteful to him. When great questions came before the Legislature, how- ever, he asserted his strong individuality. When he was serving in the Legislature the question of reviving the slave trade was seriously urged by some of the leading men of the South, but Hampton delivered the ablest and much the most impressive speech of his life in opposition to the measure, declaring that it was in violation of every principle of justice and humanity to capture the negro in his jungle home and doom him to captivity by violence. These views did not command the approval of many of his prominent fellow-planters, but he stood resolutely for the right, and the effect of his speech may be appreciated when it is rem-cmbered that Horace Greeley declared in The New York Tribune that Hampton's argument against the re- vival of the slave trade was "a masterpiece of logic directed by the noblest sentiments of the Christian and patriot." He volun- tarily retired from the Legislature at an early period of his life, and never after accepted political office until after the civil war, when he became one of the earliest advocates of sectional har- mony and was called by the universal consent of the friends of reform to accept the nomination for Governor in 1876. He was impoverished by the war, as he lost an immense fortune in slaves alone, and when he attempted to resume his cotton planting without capital and with disorganized labor, his struggles were rewarded by bankruptcy, and he finally ended his career as a planter by adjusting his affairs in the Bankrupt Court, as did nearly all of his associates in the State, and in many other sec- tions of the South. In the fierce sectional discussions which were precipitated for some years before the civil war Hampton took no part. While he loved the South and had all the pride of its noblest blood, he was not an agitator, and earnestly and sincerely deplored seces- sions and civil war. He was reared in the school that knew only obedience to the sovereignty of the State. The pride of the 4oS COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S South Carolinian had taught him that his was the noblest and grandest of all the Commonwealths — an empire by courtesy called a State. The sovereignty of the State had been taught in his mother's lap, in every school he entered, from every pulpit from which he heard a minister of the Gospel, and the great statesmen, such as Calhoun, McDuffie and Hayne, had advo- cated it sincerely and ably. He saw the imposing walls and pillars of the Columbia Capitol slowly growing up year after year to be completed in the greatest splendor as the future Capi- tol of the Southern Republic, if the sectional issue should ever lead to the dismemberment of the Union, and he little dreamed that this magnificent structure would within his lifetime be hastily and rudely completed for a meeting of the South Carolina Legislature in which his own slaves would be his lawmakers; but even when this bitter humiliation came to him he had the courage to bow to the inevitable, and only one year after the war had ended he pleaded the cause of the negro, saying: "As a slave he was faithful to us ; as a free man let us treat him as a friend; deal with him frankly, justly and kindly." Had the Southern men generally shared the broad and sensible views of Hampton the problem of reconstruction would have been an easy one, and the South would have been spared unspeakable suffering and sorrow. When war came it is needless to say that Hampton was one of the first to offer his services, and he volunteered as a private, but before the company he had joined had been organized he was appealed to by many hundreds to accept the command of a special brigade composed of infantry, cavalry and artillery, and to be known as the "'Hampton Legion." He commanded the Legion at Bull Run, the first battle of the war, and there as in all the subsequent battles in which it was engaged it bore a dis- tinguished part. In the battle of Seven Pines on the Peninsula Hampton's command lost nearly half its members in killed, w^ounded and missing, and Hampton was severely wounded. After the Peninsula campaign Hampton was promoted and assigned to a brigade of cavalry under Stuart, and in nearly every important raid made by the Confederate cavalry with Lee's army during the war Hampton had an important part. He was regarded as one of the best cavalry officers for detached service, and was second in command with Stuart when the most RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 409 audacious raid of the war was made through Mercersburg and Chambersburg and around McClellan's army soon after the battle of Antietam. At the battle of Gettysburg Hampton re- ceived three wounds and a majority of the ofificers of his com- mand were either killed or wounded. Perhaps the most im- portant special service he rendered as a cavalry commander was when he checked Sheridan at Trevillian's Station in 1864 and broke up Hunter's campaign in the valley by preventing the junction of Sheridan and Hunter at Lynchburg. He was made lieutenant general and commander of Lee's cavalry in August, and he made a number of successful raids, capturing many pris- oners and at one time some twenty-four hundred beef cattle from the L'nion army. In one of these raids his son, a gallant officer under him, was killed in action. When Johnston organized his army in North Carolina to oppose the advance of Sherman northward from South Carolina Hampton was assigned to that army to command the cavalry. He was in possession of his home city of Columbia, the capital of the State, when Sherman advanced upon it, and retreated northward as Sherman's army entered. Before retiring he had fired a considerable amount of cotton that was stored in the outskirts of the city, and this gave some color of plausibility to the charge that he was responsible for the burning of Columbia. A somewhat heated controversy occurred between Hampton and Sherman after the war as to who was responsible for the destruction of the beautiful capital of the Palmetto State, but the w'eight of testimony certainly acquitted Hampton. He surren- dered with Johnston's army to Sherman in North Carolina and returned to his home with the hope of gathering up some rem- nant of his broken fortune. From the day that the war ended no expression of bitterness or resentment ever came from Wade Hampton. On the contrary, he not only earnestly urged the restoration of peace and fraternal brotherhood, but was one of the few men in the South who appreciated the fact that the negro was not only a freeman but a citizen, and was entitled to be treated and respected as such. My first acquaintance with Hampton was in October, 1862, when Stuart made his celebrated raid around McGellan's army then in Maryland. I was then on duty at Harrisburg as Assist- ant Adjutant General of the United States, but always spent one 4IO COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S or two days with Sunday at my home in Chambersburg. When I arrived at the Chambersburg depot on one of my home visits for a brief rest I was summoned by the telegraph operator to his private office. He had just received several dispatches from Mercersburg, stating that a Confederate cavalry force was then in possession of that town, and was moving in the direction of Chambersburg. It was startling intelligence, indeed, and it seemed incredible that a Confederate force would attempt to raid Chambersburg, only an hour's distance from Hagerstown, where there was a large Union force, with ample time and equip- ment to bring it to any point in the Cumberland Valley. I waited for an hour, and was advised of the progress of the Con- federate force as it moved steadily toward Chambersburg. I telegraphed to the Union commander at Hagerstown, not knowing who he was, stating the facts and suggesting as a mat- ter of precaution that a small force of infantry and artillery should be hurried to the defense of the town. In charity I will not give the name of the Union commander, who answered that the suggestion of a Confederate force entering Chambersburg was too absurd to be considered. Half an hour later the ad- vancing Confederates had reached Chambersburg turnpike, and were moving directly upon us and only ten miles distant. I then repeated an appeal to the Union commander at Hagerstown, stating the facts and urging him to send a force to intercept the enemy, as there was yet ample time to do so, but the only reply was an intimation that military commanders had no time to waste on lunatics. Finding it impossible to get any relief from the Union army, as I could not hopefully communicate with any ofificer beyond Hagerstown, I went to my office and sat down to await events and accept the situation as philosophically as pos- sible. Soon after dark several Confederates appeared at the Western part of the town with a white rag tied on a stick, and announced to the first citizens they met that they bore a flag of truce from the Confederate army, and desired to be conducted to the Union commander of the town. As there were no Union troops in Chambersburg they were so informed, and they asked to be con- ducted to some citizens of the town with whom they could com- municate the wishes of their commander. They were brought to my office, where they courteously announced that they were RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 4 r I there by orders of their commander to ask for the surrender of the city. I told them that there were no troops to oppose them, and that there was nothing to hinder them from entering Cham- bersburg whenever they chose to do so, but as this first invasion of the enemy naturally produced the wildest consternation in the community I said to the bearers of the truce that I wished to know what assurance of safety could be given to the people. I asked who their commander was, and was told that his name could not be given. I then asked where he was, and that infor- mation was also refused. I then inquired whether they could take me to their commander and assure my safe return. They said they would, and, accompanied by Colonel Thomas B. Ken- nedy, then a prominent lawyer of the town and now president of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, we mounted horses and rode to the front. It was pitch dark, and when we had ridden out beyond the suburbs we were finally halted, with the information that we were now in the presence of the Confederate com- mander. It was only barely possible to see that a body of men were in front of us, but what they looked like we could form no conception. When we stopped an officer rode up to us and announced that he was General Hampton, commanding part of the Confederate force, and that he desired to know whether they could enter Chambersburg. We assured him that there was no force to oppose him, and that we desired simply to learn from him what assurance could be given to quiet the people of the town when the Confederates entered. He promptly answered that they made no war upon private citizens and non-com- batants; that the people should be advised to remain in their homes, as they would not be disturbed, and that no property would be taken from any one except such as was needed by the army. He then directed Mr. Kennedy and myself to lead his forces into Chambersburg, and in a very short time the town was practically filled with them. The people were at once assured that they had nothing to apprehend, and there was no tendency to panic. In crossing the Centre Square a short time after Hampton's force had entered I was familiarly slapped on the shoulder, and, turning around, recognized Hugh Logan, then a captain in the Confederate army and the guide of the raid, as he had been born and grown up on the South Mountain in Franklin county, and 413 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S 1 had once successfully defended him when charged with kid- naping. He was one of the rugged mountaineers whose fidelity is equally rugged, and he informed me that I was one of a number of citizens of Franklin county whose names had been selected and given to General Stuart, who commanded the raid, to be taken as prisoners to Richmond to be held as hostages for Pope's arrest of civilians in Virginia. I told him that I had met Hampton, although he did not ask my name, and had his assur- ance that ofBcers would be paroled, and that I was an army officer. He answered in a characteristic, terse manner: "Well, Hampton's a gentleman, and if you are taken and get to him he'll discharge you, but Jeb. (Stuart) wants you damn bad." Seven citizens had been arrested and were taken to Libby, one of whom died before his release. I asked Logan what he thought it best that I should do, to which he answered: "Go out to your home. We're in a hell of a hurry and you probably won't be disturbed, but if you are taken I'll put you out tomor- row night." If I had been taken he would have fulfilled his promise, even at the peril of his life. I w-ent to my home on a farm some distance outside the town, and found my ten horses had already been conscripted into the Confederate army. I was not disturbed, and thus escaped an unpleasant journey to Libby prison and the necessity of an appeal to General Hampton for my discharge. I did not again m.eet Hampton until after his election to the Governorship in 1876. At our first meeting we had a pleasant evening, recalling the interesting incidents of the Chambersburg raid. From then until the last few years I met him many times in Washington, and was always delighted to enjoy his genial and kindly companionship. He had been a candidate for Gov- ernor immediately after the war and before the Congressional reconstruction of the South, but was defeated by Governor Orr. In 1876, when the people were goaded to desperation by the licentious carpet-bag rule of the State, Hampton was forced into the campaign for Governor against Governor Chamberlain, who was greatly the best of all the carpet-baggers of the State, and who would have made reputable Republican government had it been possible. The contest was one of unusual desperation, but with all the power and machinery in the hands of the State authorities, sustained by the army, and by a State constabulary RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 413 that permeated every precinct, Hampton was elected by 1,134 majority. A State Return Board in South Carolina had the authority to revise the returns, and it bodily threw out the counties of Edgefield and Laurens, the first of which gave 3,000 Democratic majority and the second 1,100, by which it returned a majority for Chamberlain of 3,433. The Senators and Repre- sentatives elected on the Democratic ticket in those counties were refused admission to their seats, and the result was the organization of two Legislatures and the inauguration of two Governors. Chamberlain had the advantage of being in possession, and I doubt whether Hampton rendered more heroic service even in the flame of battle than he did in restraining his friends from resorting to violence, when the election fraud was perpetrated, and driving the corrupt carpet-baggers from the State; but he held his people steadily to law and order, feeling assured that in time the right would triumph. President Hayes' assurance had been given that the Democratic State ofBcers of Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina would be given their places, as they were undoubtedly elected, and after several conferences between both the disputing parties and the President, notice was finally given that the Federal troops would be withdrawn from Colum- bia, and that at once ended the contest. Chamberlain quietly gave up the office of Governor, and the Democratic State and legislative officers were admitted to their seats without further dispute. Having assured honest government in his State, his friends naturally desired to confer upon him the highest honors within their gift, and he was soon thereafter chosen United States Senator practically without a contest, and at the end of his first term was re-elected in like manner. During his twelve years' service in the Senate he was always one of the most conservative and patriotic of Southern law- makers. He exhausted his efforts to suppress sectional strife. Not only by example but by every deliverance he ever made he pleaded for the suppression of sectional bitterness and the restoration of fraternal relations between the North and the South. He was one of the most delightful of all the Senators to meet in social intercourse, and his magnificent physique, sol- dierly bearing and honest face commanded the admiration of all who came within the range of his acquaintance. At the end of 414 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S his twelve years' service in the Senate he was overwhelmed by the agrarian Populist element that swept the South, He could have no sympathy with those who would destroy the Govern- ment credit that is the life of the Republic, and he had none of the arts of the demagogue to pacify the masses by promising them impossibilities. He could have retained his position in the Senate until his death if he had joined in the tempest of passion, but he was honest in all things, and he bowed to it, preferring to maintain his convictions, his integrity and his patriotic manhood to continuance in office. President Cleveland recognized Hampton's claims upon the country by appointing him as Commissioner of Pacific Railways, where he served wdth his usual fidelity until a change of administration deposed him; and since then he has quietly lived among the people who so devotedly and enthusiastically cheered him throughout his long career, and finally when he had faced the storms of eighty-four winters he was borne to his final resting place by the profoundly sorrowing multitude. THADDEUS STEVENS, THE COM- MONER OF THE CIVIL WAR. Thaddeus Stevens was the Commoner of our civil war. In the entire history of the Republic but two men rose to the dis- tinction of Commoner — Henry Clay and Thaddeus Stevens. Clay was the accepted Commoner while he led the cause of the country in the popular branch of Congress during the war of 1812, and Stevens ruled as Commoner during our entire civil war. The Southern Confederacy developed no statesmen dur- ing that conflict who approached the dignity of Commoner. Yancey aspired to it, but his impulsive methods unfitted him for leadership, even with his pre-eminence as an eloquent disputant, and led to his untimely death in the forum where he hoped to win imperishable fame. The title of Commoner is not generally understood in all its grand significance. Such a distinction is possible only in times of great national peril, when the conflicts of ambition are com- pelled to yield to the public safety, and no one can wear the crown of Commoner who does not win for himself the undis- puted leadership in directing legislation for the cause of the Republic when threatened by civil or foreign war. Presidents, Cabinet officers, Senators, Representatives and diplomats may win position by fortuitous circumstance, and often without pos- sessing the ability necessary to fill it creditably, but the Com- moner must be completely equipped in ability, courage and skill to lead the cause of the Government and command respect and unquestioned following. Clay was the grandest of American Commoners. He was able, eloquent and fearless in disputation and imperious in action. He differed from Stevens in his won- derful magnetic qualities, which attached men to his personality and aided him greatly in his supreme command of forces, while Stevens lacked the personal charm of Clay and was always self- poised and ruled in grim and relentless mastery. Even Clay, (415) 4i6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S with all his genial qualities and beloved personality, had vastly greater dispute with the supporters of the Government during the war of 1812 than ever confronted Stevens during our civil struggle, but both have left a record of unbroken leadership as Commoners. While Stevens' record during the war fills such a prominent part of the history of that great conflict, and has made his name familiar with all students of the great epochs of the Repubhc, there is no one of our great men whose general characteristics are so widely misunderstood. He was indifferent to criticism, and to public misconception of his acts and purposes. Unlike Clay, he never sought to popularize himself. On the contrary, he greatly hindered his political advancement in the early part of his career by his heroic devotion to the cause of justice for the helpless and lowly. Born in the chilly mountains of Ver- mont, on April 4, 1792, and having a desperate struggle to attain a collegiate education, like Lincoln, he never was forgetful of the needs and of the tendency to oppression of the great mass of the people. He earned the means to prosecute his studies for the Bar by teaching in an academy at York, Pa., and after his admission, in 1816, he located at Gettysburg, then a quiet provincial village, that was later destined to attain world- wide fame as the place where the decisive battle of the civil war was fought; a little town nestled between Cemetery and Seminary hills, over which the hoarse thunders of the artillery of the Blue and the Gray passed in their mission of death. His first case in Court was as the volunteer defendant of an impoverished and helpless prisoner in the dock, and his in- genuity and eloquence at once won him fame, and he rapidly advanced to the head of his profession. He was elected to the Legislature in 1833 and at the two succeeding elections, and it was by his tireless and well-directed efforts that the first free school law was adopted in Pennsylvania. He was suc- cessful also in obtaining an appropriation for the Gettysburg College, and also for the construction of a local railroad, but he was defeated for his presumed extravagance in appropriations for education and improvements. When he was nominated it was generally accepted that his election was assured, and the Democrats chose a candidate who was obviously presented for sacrifice. To use Stevens' own language, as I heard hiin RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 417 express it, he said: "The only time I was beaten was when nobody ran against me." He had none of the qualities of an organizer, and, being entirely confident of his election, he per- mitted it to go by default, and was greatly astounded and mor- tified at his defeat, but a year later he was returned to the House by a very large majority. He was one of the central figures of what was known as the "Buckshot war" in Pennsylvania. A disputed representa- tive delegation from Philadelphia county held the balance of power in the House, and as both had more or less formal certifi- cates of election, both took their seats, and two organizations of the House followed — Stevens adhering to the anti-Masonic side, whose Representatives from Philadelphia county were not entitled to their seats as is now generally accepted. When the Senate recognized the Hopkins House, to which Stevens was opposed, he refused to qualify as a member, and when he an- nounced his refusal the House declared his seat vacant, although he had qualified under the opposing Speaker. He returned to his people, was re-elected by the largest majority ever given to him, and then resumed his seat and qualified under the Hopkins organization. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Con- vention of 1838, and was one of the most influential and useful members of the body, but he refused to sign the new funda- mental law because it contained the word "white" in conferring suffrage upon the people of the State. After the free school law had been enacted in Pennsylvania it was met with a storm of popular opposition, and the next House was strongly inclined to repeal it. It was not doubted that a majority of the members were elected under pledges to efface it from our statutes. The friends of the measure had practically given up the contest, when just before the final vote was taken Stevens arose and delivered what was certainly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, arguments of his life. He had wonderful skill as a practitioner at the Bar, and while few, if any, equaled him in wit and sarcasm, he always knew when and how to employ them, and when not to summon them. I have heard most of his great contemporaries at the Bar in the trial of im- portant cases, and in a humble way had experience with Stevens at the Bar both with him and against him, and I never knew a man who so well understood how to make an effective appeal 41 8 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S to the intelligence or to the ignorance or prejudice of jurors. His great speech in defense of free schools was one of the most earnest and searching appeals to the considerate judgment of the members of the House that ever was delivered in our legislative halls, and to the surprise of both the friends and foes of the bill its repeal was defeated. The last time I saw Stevens, at his home in Washington, only a few weeks before his death, he spoke of that speech and that achievement as the brightest record of his life. Only a short time before he had that speech reprinted in pamphlet form and gave me a copy. He returned to the House in 1841, and that ended his legislative career in Pennsylvania. The practice of law in Gettysburg gave him but moderate com- pensation, and he engaged in the manufacture of iron, resulting in practical bankruptcy. Finding it necessary to retrieve his financial condition by obtaining greater returns for his law practice, he removed to Lancaster in 1844, where he at once took position at the head of the Bar, and in 1848 he was elected to Congress by the Whigs and re-elected in 1850. His speeches in the House against the Compromise measures were not only among the ablest but certainly the most impassioned of all his political deliverances, and he was so thoroughly disgusted with what seemed to be the complete triumph of the slave power that he voluntarily retired from Congress in 1853 to devote himself to his profession. He was still involved in debt by his unprofitable Caledonia furnace, in Franklin county. He often thought of abandoning it, and I remember on one occa- sion when he had gone out to his furnace to look things over he returned to Chambersburg and told me that he was strongly inclined to close the concern, but his manager told him that the w^ood choppers and others were entirely dependent upon the furnace, and he thought he could manage to get money enough out of it to pay them and concluded to "let the thing go on." His iron works w^ere destroyed by the Confederates in 1863, and he never during his life time realized any profit from them. In 1858 Stevens was encouraged by the Democratic defection over the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the temporary success of the American movement to hope for the election of an anti-slavery House. This inspired him to seek the nomi- nation for Congress, which he won after an earnest battle with RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 41 9 a number of competitors. He was re-elected in i860, and was a delegate to the Chicago convention that made Lincoln the candidate for President. He was not an original Lincoln man, nor was he sincerely for Cameron, for whom he had accepted instructions, but insisted, as he told me on our way to Chicago, that the true policy of the party was to disarm the conservative opposition element by the nomination of Judge McLean, and added: "Of course, McLean is too old and wouldn't live through his Presidential term, but we can nom- inate a vigorous young Republican for Vice President and Mc- Lean will pull him through." In 1 861 when war came there were a number of Republicans in the House who were riper in Congressional experience than Stevens, but Grow, who was Stevens' choice, was elected Speaker, and Stevens was made chairman of Ways and Means and thus formally indicated as the leader of the House. If ordinary conditions had remained there would have been no occasion for a Commoner, and Stevens would have been a leader with other disputing leaders and the conflicts of ambition which are so often seen in both branches of Congress; but when civil war came the country was appalled beyond 'expression, and time-serving and mean ambition were compelled to yield obedience to the supreme necessities which confronted the coun- try. It was most natural that with the universal desire to avoid fraternal conflict men of ability and sincerity should exhaust all possible resources to avoid war, and a flood of compromise measures came when Congress met on the Fourth of July, 1861; but Stevens met them all with a courage and vigor that speedily stamped him as the master leader of the cause that had won before the great tribunal of the people in i860. In one of his speeches discussing the proposition of compromise he said: "Rather than show repentance for the election of Mr. Lincoln, with all its consequences, I would see this Govern- ment crumbled into a thousand atoms. If I cannot be a free- man let me cease to exist." But for the solemnity of the occasion and the magnitude of the issue, there is little doubt that Stevens' leadership would have been desperately contested, for he was until that period regarded as unapproached in leading an opposition and not equipped to lead a majority, but he represented in himself and 420 XOLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S in his long career the issue of the hour in its most vital form, and Mr. Blaine well said: "Stevens was the natural leader, v;ho assumed his place by common consent." He surprised many who regarded him as wayward and fitful in leadership by hifc uniformly conservative and consistent action in supporting the Government, and on all questions relating to secession, and all questions growing out of the war, Stevens ever stood squarely and manfully for the supremacy of law. Many be- lieved that he was one of the desperate abolitionists whose aims and purposes could be best expressed by the quotation: "Damn the Constitution;" but in every issue between law and expedi- ency, or law and necessity, Stevens loomed up as the most con- scientious and masterly exponent of the law, and earnestly urged obedience to it. On the question of issuing the legal tender currency grave doubts were entertained as to the constitutional power of Con- gress to issue such bills, but while Stevens declared the bill "a measure of necessity, not of choice," he gave the clearest defense of the policy of legal, tender paper based upon the Constitution and the law. The objection was heard all around him that no such power was expressed in the Constitution, but to this Stevens answered: "If nothing could be done by Congress ex- cept what is enumerated in the Constitution, the Government could not live a week." When the proposition was made to blockade our own ports Stevens earnestly protested, declaring that there was no law to warrant us in blockading any but the ports of an enemy, and that to blockade our own ports practically involved the official recognition of the Confederacy. He favored and strongly urged upon Congress the necessity of abolishing the ports of entry in the various Southern ports, declaring that the law would then blockade them, and "respect for that law is safer than fleets." That he was right, judging from a strictly legal standpoint, can- not be questioned, for, had we declared Charleston and other Southern cities no longer ports of entry, no foreign vessel could have entered them to trade with the enemy without making it an act of war; but Stevens was overruled by the fact that France and England, and especially France, were more than willing to find some plausible excuse for recognizing the Southern Con- federacy and thus involving us in foreign war. It was that RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 42 1 conviction, and that alone, that finally made Stevens yield the law, not to expediency so much as to necessity. Again, on the question of the admission of West Virginia, Stevens favored the measure and justified it as within the powers conferred upon Congress by the Constitution because by the secession of Virginia the State had withdrawn from the protec- tion of the Constitution, and Congress, under the Constitution, could deal with the Territory of Virginia as with any other unorganized territory of the Union. He admitted that if Vir- ginia was within the protecting powers of the Constitution the admission of West Virginia was clearly prohibited by the funda- mental law, but he held every Southern State that seceded, alike during the war and during the reconstruction period, as being absolutely outside the fold of the Union and subject to government as provinces or territory conquered by the Union army. He was a man of the most earnest convictions and sternness of purpose, and he believed that confiscation was not only the right but the duty of the Government, and pressed that policy until it was entirely overruled by reconstruction. He held that the Confederates represented a government of belligerents ; that they were subject to the laws of war alone, and he insisted upon the usually accepted policy of war between nations of mak- ing the vanquished pay the conqueror for the expenses of the war. He was the early advocate of engaging the slaves as soldiers, and for the abolition of slavery and the enfranchise- ment of the freedmen. He carried through the House a bill at an early day abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, and later a bill to give the right of suffrage to the negroes of Wash- ington, regardless of any standard of intelligence or property. In all my long observation of public men I never saw such an exhibition of imperious authority as that exhibited by Stevens when the question was before the House conferring franchise upon the negroes of Washington. On the day the bill was to come up for final passage I was sitting with Stevens in the House some time before its opening in the morning, and while conversing with him a prominent Pennsylvania Republican, whom I knew well, came up to Stevens and made an appeal to him to give qualified suffrage only in the first bill that was to be passed extending the franchise to negroes. Stevens' brow 422 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S was instantly knit and he turned his cold gray eye upon his fellow-Congressman, and with language much more emphatic than polite bade him go to his seat and vote for the bill or take the consequences of voting against it. The man knew that a word from Stevens charging him with having faltered in the cause would destroy him, and in silence he retired and gave his vote for the bill. It is a fact not now generally known that a large portion of the Republicans shuddered at negro suffrage. They would gladly have voted to limit suffrage in Washington to intelligence and property qualifications, but Stevens outgeneraled them by a compact with Fernando Wood, the Democratic leader of the House. He appealed to Wood to unite the Democrats with him to defeat the qualified suffrage amendment for the reason, as Stevens said to Wood: '"You don't beheve in negro suffrage at all, and you ought to be satisfied to make it as odious as possible by conferring it upon the most ignorant." Wood w^as glad to ser\'-e Stevens personally, for their relations were exceed- ingly pleasant, and he saw the advantage of having the oppor- tunity to assail universal suffrage as conferred upon a host of illiterate negroes in the capital city of the nation, and it was by this combination that Stevens secured unqualified negro suf- frage. When the final rupture came with Johnson, Stevens stood upon the broad constitutional right that the insurgent States were out of the Union and beyond its protecting power, and that only Con- gress, and not the President, could reorganize the insurgent ter- ritory into States or Territories as Congress might deem best. President Johnson vehemently assailed Stevens for his criticism of the Presidential assumption to reorganize the Southern States, and in a public speech he named Stevens with Sumner and Wen- dell Phillips as men who were defying not only the Government, but the Constitution and the laws. In a later speech, delivered in Cleveland, the President said: "Why not hang Thad Stevens and Wendell Phillips?" When the question of universal suffrage in the South was before Congress Stevens advocated it with all the earnestness of his nature, and declared to the House: 'T must have forgotten the obloquy which I have calmly borne for thirty years in the war for liberty if I should turn craven now." He was also author of the Fourteenth Amendment, reported RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 423 to the House on the 30th of April, 1866. In his last great speech in defense of the rights of the negro he evidently felt that he was nearing the end of his great life. He said that there was nothing in his public course relating to human freedom that he could wish to have expunged or changed, and he added: "I believe that we must all account hereafter for deeds done in the body, and that political deed will be among those accounts. I desire to take to the bar of that final settlement the record which I shall this day make on the great question of human rights." Thus from the beginning to the close of the civil war and of reconstruction, Thaddeus Stevens was the acknowledged Com- moner of the Republic. His last important deliverance was his argument before the Senate sitting as a Court of Impeachment to try President Johnson, but he was so feeble that he sat in a chair while delivering part of it, and had most of it read by another. His vitality gradually wasted away until the nth of August, 1868, when he quietly passed away. Three days later the Republican primary elections were held in his houTe county of Lancaster, and his name was on the ticket for renomination for Congress. His body was brought home, and lay in state on the day before the primaries in his own house. It was known three days before that election that the great Commoner had gone to his final account, but no man dared to offer his name to the people as Stevens' successor while his body was untombed, and the dead Commoner received the grandest tribute ever paid to his great career by the unanimous vote of his people to renominate him for Congress when his spirit, that never was mastered in life, had gone to its final Judge, 3vr rt&er Tmrnf v.:L£r si \:jai^y a-nr 51 ^p — rHsrn r msrusseL ir zhs TirmTpg if Thf- iauc niT-mg iht ;g=r- haV "-°r r n- jL b£ Thm DC iJ3r»en G. Tn gErsali. A- th^ -rrmF m hv: nf?-r tuF- tjcw: ~hf- -mr«T -PTTrrnfTTT DigHmen: ie Tsv^isnim in As rrr zcj nrhsT EDmmy. a-nrl in? fmpTTTTanr^ T^;^ g- rpa-rr r icasinneii in" ~Tve T^mrnmr v m jmlpTT JtHifiniaH-Lfe ID sngxigf: ir pubiir rrniiTpygrxrv -vcitt -hpse "wiiD gnts- :riiineE rr^vsajec T^iigiim. TT-p -was qth^ de rhf a^hlpj;^ ymr mosl snn^^nl popninr ni:q H i ;H ii !4- lie -na-irm fT?sr prpdnced. and ie "w^ IS JI1ZSJV5 hul logira: 2£ hs wbs elDqnenL "H-p -w:a5 an aitVf Ie V v'er . and. win: its masrerrr pD^^er m analrss anfi ins ranmiaS: TrCT-rr-ir-a' knDWJf:qg£. hs: arwHA^ nat^ tIvp TK TiaTr r HD- Trarnfd rVp-i-y i ^ ncr pTiiain- 31 £. dsanrairra^^. ymri T belifv-e -fhsi. v-iiL •ftTf addet impmanct gu^fm xd rtrm iyv liis mrveisf rVriral "■mi'~L'vsi~T, ie riir -mnrr f -rp imssnlf T tflH^ in o^veiariDn Ttian aTl lis rmiEr osarher; en -rmTwli"? rtTr-rng ttvp layr cenrnrr. •rVrTrngs 25 ± rma}- ^sm. Tngsijall w;^ liis sun m a Conprega- Tinnal dei^jinan, ^mr is -^2= Ttrr-r m Dc^sden. 2C?w Xnrk, on jitt Txti IE AufTsi. 11^3. Sis -h r'n?^ "vr^ a inrnisier nf mj- isnaHy irrcad vie*k* in -fnzrt dar. -wiiiiL ai tttth*i: ransfifl soxcs dsersirrL in lis TOr ys r.. ttxsi never Tsaritef ths: umm d5 caxs- rng a ss^^sianDf: ijervi-esn nasiar and iaii_ Xns sonih" Tngpyfl la "TTtmrnf "wtwni "Rnten -wk id 3^^335 m ag£. "H-p ac gni r e fl a ^r ^~ : : r — list lav:, and -ffiten adnnired jx« litf: Bar located in r": IL.. n) prartine wifl: is iETj-her. ±3>5n. Soih lODf: an aniv± 3HII in pnlidis, and. -FrnaTH r. in 1S57. ihsy mcrred iL' P-snria. "wftgrs: "thfy bode Tist x: ny?"rnrtinn as menmexi d5 :&E 2^. and ^ifeen -was pramroen: ^ a T>emDc-aric isader, ■vdnk ±j>ei3 -w^ cgnaThr jErnmnenr ^ a SfgnmHran Ifader. Id lifici 3iift»sn -wr«s lie Z>e: " ' - CongrssE, lac -wza dffearfid. and ionr 2-- -" ±^i>er! "was ekred id CansTEss in A^ samt rirgtrirr, id SI -fle xacanrr U24) RECOLLECnOSS OT HALF A CESTUKT. 4^5 servmg from 1864 to 1871. WTico chil war came Robert entered the Union service as Coiond of the E k .i njilli Tffiw*** Cavalry, and his war experieiice specdatf fiansioniied Ilim mto an aggressive Republican. In 1866 he becasne tfie RepobGcaii Attorney General of the State, but m^ jSij6 it could act be sad of him. that he had attained a natknal le p nlati o e . He was well known within his State, bofc had sddom, if ever, been heard in the East. He bad oa sereral occasiofis ddvered pabSc addresses in which, is rexy cantioas manner, be q n cs ti o iic d fbe acceptance of revelation, bat he was not generally knovm as a champion oi nnbeliel I attended the Cincmiiati Cooventioa in iS^ said was sor- prised to learn that the impoftant ta^ of fvesendi^ Bbine as a candidate to the convention bad been assigned to Robert G. IngersoII. I cotild not recall that I had erer heard his name mentioned, although I had known bis tMTOtber Eben as an able and efficient RepofalicaD Congressman. there was general stuprise among Blaine'- - - - - - -h^ East, that a man unknown to fair Blaine himself to make the preser": of the delegates and ^pectatc r - ^^^ or heard of Ingersc^ and ..-: unusual interest, as it was ge: understood wh: ::--'r "-—' i' dency before an t/: vention was sincere - ^npathy with B- . ~xj of the delegare : - ,-:-,-•-:;_-_-.. - ^ majority of the ,. , ■ _ . : , -er. but never on the same ballot. The Permsyi- _ was held in Ie:i"' :^ -'^ " ; : ~ f-^?-"^ .-.-c who was chair . structions for Hartranft f : : 7 : : : of taking the large Fe:\ ■ 7 delegates friendly to I in time to effect his n . ; _ however, :■.- \ ' ' . leader as I .: ; 7 T r cause. WTien Presiier.: James G. BlaiiLe -.vc.-^i r.:w :e pr 426 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Robert G. Tngersoll there was instant silence throughout the large assembly as Ingersoll came forvN^ard with elastic step and beaming face to plead the cause of the man whom he then and there made known to the country and the world as the "Plumed Knight" of Republicanism. Ingersoll was perfectly self- possessed, and his round, smoothly-shaven face, flashing eye and benignant expression at once gave promise of an unusually forceful address. He had not spoken five minutes until he had the convention wrought up to the wildest enthusiasm, and he was halted time and again in his impressive sentences by the cheers which arose and echoed through the large auditorium; and when he closed there was not a friend or foe of Blaine in the convention who did not feel that Blaine must win an easy triumph. I have heard nearly all the great speeches made in national conventions during the last half-century, and recall but five which made imperishable impressions, and the greatest of these was that of Ingersoll nominating Blaine. I never before or since heard a public speech that approached it in the grandeur of eloquence and in the magnitude of forcefulness, and I believe that it is now accepted as the greatest political address delivered in the history of American politics. I well remember the criticism I made upon it at the time, saying that I now tmderstood how the immortal speech of Patrick Henrys declaring "Give me hberty or give me death'' might have been as impressive as it has been represented. I heard Conkling, who w^as a man of greater intel- lectual force than Ingersoll, deliver the most memorable speech of his life, presenting the name of Grant to the national con- vention in Chicago in 1880, but grand and eloquent and impres- sive as w^as the deliverance of Conkling, it did not approach the impressiveness of IngersoU's presentation of Blaine. Dougherty delivered the most elegant and inspiring oration of his life presenting the name of Hancock to the Democratic National Convention in Cincinnati in 1880, but it was a beautful poem compared with the trip-hammer persuasiveness of In- gersoll. Cockran won national fame in the Democratic Con- vention of 1892 when, backed by the solid delegation of his State against Cleveland, he delivered a protest against Cleve- land's nomination that greatly staggered the Qeveland forces, and would have defeated Cleveland's nomination had a second RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 427 ballot been reached; but, while Cockran had the element of oratorical power approaching that of Ingersoll, he lacked the exquisite elegance and sympathetic touch with his hearers ex- hibited by Ingersoll. Bryan won his nomination for the Presi- dency in the National Democratic Convention of 1896 by one of the most skilful and impassioned speeches ever delivered on such an occasion. He knew that his audience was made up of discordant elements without harmonious leadership, and all uncertain as to the final action of the body, and just at the right time he effaced the doubts and differences of the delegates by a well-chosen exhibition of matchless rhetoric, and nominated himself; but such a speech would have fallen on listless ears at Cincinnati in 1876. The impression made on the convention by Ingersoll's speech presenting the name of Blaine for the Presidency was not of the fitful type that is made by a beautiful oration, but it left impres- sions which were never effaced during the entire sessions of the body. Speeches presenting other candidates were forgotten. While all were creditable, they were dwarfed into insignificance by the great deliverance of Ingersoll. Had a ballot been taken at any time during that day Blaine would undoubtedly have been nominated for President, and I never witnessed a more earnest struggle on the part of friends of a candidate to force a ballot, or more desperate efforts made by the opposition to postpone a ballot until the next day. The friends of Blaine fought reso- lutely to continue the session, and meant to extend it even into the night if necessary, but the desperation of the opposition made them prepare for such emergency, and when the shadows of darkness began to fall upon the body it was found that the gas had been cut off from the building, and that no lights could be obtained. An adjournment was thus forced, and never have I witnessed in a national political body such desperate and suc- cessful efforts of the minority to prevent the delegates from expressing their honest preferences for President. The Blaine forces were under divided control, and it was not until the third day that the friends of Blaine were able to force the convention to a ballot, during which time a number of com- mercial votes from the South were lined up against him and on the fifth ballot the stampede to Hayes began that carried 428 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S him to a majority on the seventh, receiving 384 votes to 351 for Blaine. No man ever sprang into national, indeed, international, fame so suddenly as did Robert G. Ingersoll. The convention had full representation, and a large attendance of spectators from every State and Territory of the Union, and they all carried back to their homes the story of the wonderful orator w^ho had pleaded the cause of the Plum.ed Knight. It was discussed in every newspaper, and thus made known to every community throughout the entire country, and then none outside of his State, and probably but few in it, had ever heard of his peculiar religious views. I remember the surprise with which I read the first publication made on the subject in an Illinois news- paper, declaring that the great speech made by the newly crowned Republican leader at Cincinnati had come from an infidel, but it was generally received as a campaign scandal, and little attention was paid to it. Ingersoll was in great demand in the campaign, and he delivered several great speeches, but he confined himself nearly or entirely to the Middle States. Soon after the Presidential election, Ingersoll was invited to deliver one of the Star Course series of lectures, then in very successful operation in Philadelphia, under the management of Mr. Pugh, and was paid a very liberal compensation. It was Mr. Pugh's custom to have some citizen of Philadelphia preside at each of these lectures and introduce the speaker, and he requested me to preside at Ingersoll's lecture. I then, for the first time, became somewhat intimately acquainted with Inger- soll, and was greatly fascinated by his genial, sympathetic nature, and his brightness and versatility as a conversationalist. He had not then developed in open hostility to revelation, and he was not regarded as aggressively heterodox in his views. His address was one of the most interesting and plausible lectures to which I have ever listened, and I never heard a more subtle and searching assault upon the accepted doctrine of revelation than he gave without a single specially offensive expression. He had a thoroughly orthodox audience that crowded the vast auditorium of the Academy of Music, from parquet to dome, but while most of them regretted the trend of his address, they could not point out specially offensive utterances. Ingersoll at once became very popular as a lecturer, and RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 429 delivered the same address in the leading cities of the East and also in the West, and it was not until he was forced into public dispute by some more zealous than wise pulpit orators that he developed into an aggressive blasphemer of revealed religion. He was bitterly assailed by religious enthusiasts and often with more invective than logic, and it was the utterances of these pulpit disputants who gave Ingersoll the keynote of his most effective arguments against revelation. He was not an atheist; he never denied or acknowledged the existence of a God, but he swept away all revelation as the merest fiction, and, while his class of hearers had changed, he could always command the largest audiences of any platform lecturer. I heard him several years after he had delivered his first address in Philadelphia, and was startled at his blatant blasphemy of everything per- taining to revealed religion. The late Chief Justice Black, a devoted religionist of the Camp- bellite faith, and certainly one of the ablest disputants of his day, tinally delivered a broadside against Ingersoll and his teaching in The North American Review. But, dispassionately judging the controversy from the standpoint of merit, he was outclassed by Ingersoll. I watched and studied Ingersoll's many disputes with great interest, and I believe that his influence for propagating unbelief was vastly magnified by the public controversy forced upon him. He was greatly aided in his advocacy of unbelief by the personal respect he commanded from all who knew him as he was and by his conspicuously pure, sympathetic and philanthropic life that stood before the world without a blemish. After Hayes became President in 1877 Ingersoll located in Washington, where I met him frequently and learned to know him well. Aside from his offensive and ostentatious denial of revelation, he was one of the purest and loveliest characters I have ever known. He was a thorough agnostic, holding that men should believe only that which they could understand. He did not deny that there must be some great First Cause, but he assumed that he was refused all information relating to it, and therefore he simply bowed to the inevitable and held that if immortality was the destiny of man, his fitness for the new life must be attained by a blameless life here. He accepted the doctrine of evolution as accountable for human and animal life, but he did not explain the existence of the heavenly bodies 43° COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S in their spheres because he did not know. He did not wholly reject the theory of immortality. On the contrary, one of the most beautiful addresses he ever delivered was at the grave of his brother Eben, in which he referred to the possibility of im- mortal life. It is evident that his brother shared his convic- tions, as the only ceremony on his funeral occasion was the exquisite eulogy delivered by Robert. In my many meetings with Ingersoll on only one occasion did he introduce the subject of religion, and then he did it in rather a jocular manner. He said: "Of course you have too much sense to believe the story of Eden and of the flood and the im- maculate conception, and the resurrection, etc.; why don't you discuss these questions?" I answered: "Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the Bible is a fable, the Christian civilization is the grandest that the world has ever known; it is the protec- tion of the sanctity of home, of law and order in the community and of the supremacy of government, and it has elevated men and women more than all other agents combined toward the high standard of manhood and womanhood and humanity for which you are earnestly pleading; let it be effaced, and tell me what you have to offer that would be equal to, or better than, Christianity?" The only answer that Ingersoll could make was that the laws of humanity, when once made supreme by the teaching of men and women, v/ould give us a faultless life with human sorrows reduced to a minimum. The subject was speed- ily changed, and I never again heard him discuss the question. After hearing his second lecture, in w^hich he first aggressively blasphemed religion, I never again was among his auditors. No man ever lived a more blameless hfe personally than did Robert G. Ingersoll in both public and private, and he had many devoted friends at the Bar and among personal acquaintances, who did not sympathize with his views as to revelation. His home was the sacred altar of his life, and his household gods worshiped him. He never offensively corrected a child, or de- nied it any pleasures it sought beyond advising it with a tender affection that usually commanded obedience. His children were as free to take his money and spend it as he was himself, and when they made mistakes he would kindly teach them the error, and thus always enjoyed their implicit confidence. The result was that his children grew up to mature years as part of him- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 43 1 self, believing that his religion was the best the world could know, because it brought no shadows to their home. He would leave the most important professional duties at any time to take up the cause of the helpless, and many hundreds of whom the world has no knowledge shed scalding tears over his death. He was thoroughly sincere in all things, incapable of deceit, and disarmed his bitterest foes by his gentleness of speech and gener- ous philanthropy. I saw Ingersoll on several dinner occasions at the Clover Club, where he met some of the most brilliant men of the land from different sections of the country, and when he would enter the club he was usually greeted with the song, "In the Sweet Bye and Bye," but he welcomed the song with the most genial smile, and when opportunity came always acquitted himself delightfully without offense to any. I never saw him rufifled in temper, and at times, when under special provocation on social occasions, his exhaustless fund of exquisite wit was always ready to enable him to meet the assault without obtruding his peculiar views upon the guests. He died as he expected and hoped to die, in active harness, and while his teachings were severely and justly criticised by the religious men of the country, even those who had been his severest critics in life were compelled to pay the highest tribute to the intellectual power, to the purity of character and to the generous humanity of Robert G. Ingersoll. SMIRCHING THE FAME OF HEROES. Great achievements in war or peace always develop the des- perate struggles of ambition and violence of passion which seek to dim the lustre of those who have been most successful. The long and bitter Schley controversy, which, however regarded as a closed incident by the authorities at Washington, is still a vital issue with the great mass of the people, is a pointed illus- tration of the penalties which are inseparable from those who attain pre-eminence. It is only in time of war, when political issues are likely to be subordinated to the overshadowing issue of public safety, that great wrongs can be committed upon indi- viduals of heroic achievement, and be sustained, or at least tol- erated, for a time by the public sentiment that so often asserts its omnipotence in revising the acts of its rulers. There were three conspicuous instances in which personal degradation was officially inflicted upon men who had attained high distinction in the discharge of their military duties. They were the cases of General Fitz John Porter, General G. K. Warren and Surgeon General Hammond, all of whom were doomed to disgrace by military Court-martial, and had to brave the condemnation of the Government to which they had given their best services for many years; but when the tide of passion had spent its fury and the power of mean ambition had been broken, all of them were fully acquitted by like tribunals chosen solely in the interest of justice. In the passions of war military Courts are, as a rule, organized to acquit or to convict as the Government demands, and as the judges are created by the Government, the judgment of the Court invariably reflects the Government's purpose. The most conspicuous instance of injustice ever inflicted upon any military officer in the history of the country was suffered by General Fitz John Porter, and it was not until after he had suffered for a full score of years under an unjust judgment, which not only dismissed him fi-om the army, but made him (432) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 433 ineligible to any office of civil trust under the Government, that his vindication was attained; but when it came his justification was so complete and overwhelming that even his accusers who yet survived were compelled to cease their fiendish work and bow before the unstained heroism of the soldier they had so wantonly and vindictively dishonored. I met Fitz John Porter soon after the surrender of Sumter. He was then on the staff of General Scott, and was sent to Har- risburg to represent the Commander-in-Chief in the sudden and somewhat confusing military movements which were being made under the first call of the President for troops. Few of the present can appreciate the appalling horror of civil war. Our people had for many years been trained to peace, and when threatened with civil war that arrayed brother against brother and State against State, it was a condition that even the most dispassionate and heroic could contemplate with the pro- foundest sorrow. I was present at the military conferences in Governor Curtin's office, and heard the Governor, General Patterson, Major Porter and the Governor's personal staff discuss the situation. The Baltimore riots had just completed their work of devastation; had cut the North off from its capital by the destruction of the telegraph and railway bridges, and for nearly three days the State authorities were without advices from Washington. Por- ter was then in all the vigor of his youth, and his finely chiseled face and flashing eye when he entered into discussion com- manded not only the respect, but the admiration of all about him. The troops then rushing to the front were simply unor- ganized mobs, and no information could be obtained as to the condition of affairs in Baltimore. As the number of the troops increased they were advanced as far as York, and grave consul- tations were held time and again as to the propriety of advancing them beyond that point. General Patterson had been a soldier in two wars, and was a brave and. discreet commander. He naturally hesitated, as did the Governor, about advancing raw troops toward Baltimore, where they might precipitate a struggle with the well-organized and armed mobs in possession of that city. Porter was modest in manner and patiently heard the views of Patterson, the Gov- ernor and others, and, when appealed to for his judgment as to 434 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the line of action to be adopted, his handsome face sparkled with his patriotic impulses as he declared: "I would march the army through Baltimore or over its ashes to reach and protect the capital of the nation." The impression made by Porter upon all who were present made them the first to protest against the judgment of the Court-martial that degraded Porter, and the first application made to President Grant for a revocation of the judgment, or a review of the case by a dispassionate tribunal, was headed by Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, and Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts. Porter proved himself to be one of the most accomplished and heroic commanders of the Army of the Potomac. He was the only one of McClellan's corps commanders who fought three pitched battles in which he alone commanded, and in which he won the admiration and the gratitude of the Government and of the people. He proved that he was much more than a mere corps commander at Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills and at Mal- vern Hill, but the failure of McClellan's peninsula campaign developed an implacable personal quarrel between Secretary Stanton and McClellan, and from that time Stanton was as earnest and systematic in his efforts to overthrow McClellan and all of his favorite lieutenants as he was to overthrow the enemy. General Pope had been brought from the West and given a new department, embracing the defense of Washington and the armies of McDowell, Fremont and Banks, and when Lee ap- peared for the second time on the plains of Manassas Pope was outclassed in generalship from start to finish, and was finally driven into the defenses of Washington. He began his cam- paign as a blatant braggart, and when he was defeated by in- ferior numbers he was compelled to confess his utter failure as a military chieftain, or to find some victim upon whom the retribu- tive stroke due to himself must fall. A brave, honest soldier would have told the truth, but the bombast looked for a victim upon whom he could inflict the shame that justly belonged to himself, and he immediately made formal charges against Porter for disobedience of orders, and Porter was at once relieved of the command of his corps. Just then the situation v/as too serious to indulge in the inven- tions of bombast or individual hatreds, and President Lincoln, without consulting his Cabinet, called upon General McClellan RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 435 at his home and requested him to assume at once command of the defenses at Washington, which gave him command of the entire forces of the Army of the Potomac and of Pope's army. Stanton and other members of the Cabinet earnestly protested, but Lincohi knew McClellan's superb quaHties as a defensive officer and his great abihties as an organizer, and when he de- cided upon his course of action the Cabinet knew that protest was needless. After Lee had crossed the Potomac and marched toward Antietam McClellan asked the President to restore Porter to his command and it was promptly done. He ac- companied McClellan to Antietam, commanded the centre of the army in that action, and a few days thereafter was personally thanked on the battlefield by President Lincoln himself for the splendid service he had rendered the country. When Lee crossed the Potomac into Virginia Porter led the advance, and with his single corps he successfully fought the battle of Shep- herdstown. Some weeks later, when McClellan was removed from the command of the army. Pope's charges against Porter were re- vived, and a military Court was appointed by Stanton and studi- ously organized to convict. Porter met every accusation in the frankest manner, and when the case had closed he was so fully satisfied of his acquittal that he asked to be assigned to active duty before the finding of the Court was announced. I saw him in Washington when the case had been under consideration by the Court for some time after the testimony and arguments had closed; he was in excellent spirits, and told me that he had an appointment with the President that evening, his purpose being to urge an immediate assignment to active duty in the field. The fatal judgment of the Court had then been rendered, but had not passed through the various channels necessary to enter into the final decree. Lincoln heard him patiently, and, al- though the President then knew of the verdict of dismissal, he gave no intimation to Porter that his services would not be wanted. Lincoln hesitated long before he gave his approval to the judgment of the Court, and it is one of the few acts that Lincoln sincerely regretted at the time and ever after. He did not believe Porter to be faithless, but he knew that Porter was a devoted friend of McClellan; that all of McClellan's officers 436 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S regarded Pope as a bombastic incompetent, and there was direct and positive testimony from inflamed or deliberately dishonest witnesses declaring that Porter had not co-operated with Pope. McClellan had then been permanently retired from the army, and new conditions and new and grave military necessities con- fronted Lincoln; and while he did not approve of the judgment against Porter, he felt that Porter and others of his type merited admonition to assure some measure of harmony in military affairs, and he finally decided that to approve the judgment would be the least of the evils presented to him. Had Lincoln survived the war there is little doubt that he would have been among the first to give vindication to Porter when the whole truth became accessible. The conflicts of ambition in military and naval affairs often greatly surpass conflicts in our Civil Courts between inflamed litigants who summon perjury for their own protection. So vindictive and desperate were the enemies of McClellan and Porter, and so tireless were they in manufacturing testimony against them, that not only the loyal sentiment of the country but most of the military commanders accepted the judgment of the Porter Court as measurably or wholly just. General Grant, who was not in any way involved in the controversy as a mili- tary commander, came into the Presidency fully impressed with the conviction that Porter was perfidious to Pope in the second battle of Bull Run, and he stubbornly refused to give Porter an opportunity to reopen his case before a dispassionate tribunal; but, after he had retired from the Presidency, at Porter's request he carefully examined the Union and Confederate records of that battle, and in The North American Review of December, 1882, he published an article over his own signature, headed "An Undeserved Stigma," in which he not only declared, but fully demonstrated from the records, that Porter was not only guilt- less of refusing to aid Pope, but that Porter had exhibited the highest qualities of the true soldier in acting as he did. President Hayes, who was a brave and intelligent soldier, took up the subject and investigated it carefully, and he finally ap- pointed Generals John M. Schofield, Alfred H. Terry and George W. Getty as an advisory board to rehear the case and report to the President. None of these officers was regarded as specially friendly to Porter, but they were accepted as entirely RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 437 capable of judging intelligently and fearless enough to report the truth. The case attracted much attention, and the unani- mous judgment of the Court gave Porter the most complete vindication. The finding of the Court not only relieved Porter of all accusations of failing to perform his duty, but said: "Por- ter's faithful, subordinate and intelligent conduct that afternoon saved the Union army from defeat, which otherwise would have resulted that day in the enemy's more speedy concentration. . . . Porter had understood and appreciated the military situation, and so far as he acted upon his own judgment his action had been wise and judicious." Three of our most experienced, in- telligent and dispassionate military commanders had put the enemies of Porter to shame by declaring that he was not only innocent of disobedience, but exhibited the best attributes of great generalship. But Congress was slow to act; the passions of war still ruled in political circles, and it was not until 1885 that Congress passed a bill restoring Porter to the army roll. It was vetoed on technical grounds by President Arthur, and the next year, on the 7th of August, 1886, Congress passed an act that was approved by the President, restoring Porter to his old position on the army roll, to accept in his own discretion either active service or to be retired. Twenty-two years had passed, during which he was practically isolated from military association, and he accepted a position on the retired list of the army. General Terry, who was not in any sense a partisan of Porter, but who as a member of the new commission had be- come profoundly impressed with the terrible injustice done to Porter, illustrated his chivalric character by proposing that Porter should be advanced to the position of Major General, to which Terry was just then entitled as the ranking Brigadier General, but Porter manfully refused to stand in the way of the promotion of the brave officer who had given him his vindica- tion. Few persons of today can have any conception of the humil- iation inflicted upon General Porter. He had a family growing up about him, and he was without fortune to supply them with the necessaries of life. He had been heralded throughout the whole land as a traitor, and when he was sent to Colorado, a few years after his dismissal from the army, as chief engineer in the erection of a mining mill, the Legislature of the Territory 438 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S passed resolutions demanding that he should leave Colorado be- cause of his record as a traitor to the Union. He lived a most unobtrusive life, and never appeared conspicuously on public occasions. I met him frequently at small dinners, where some of his old military friends were glad to welcome him, but throughout the long period of his life, when he should have been most useful to his country, to himself and to his family, he was looked upon as a traitorous soldier, and escaped insult by his severely retired habits of life. He had a large circle of devoted friends in New York city, where he resided, and was made Commissioner of Public Works and later Police Commissioner. Soon after his restoration to the retired list of the army he set- tled in a quiet and modest home in New Jersey, and fretted out the evening of a life that had been so fearfully and so unjustly shadowed, until the spring of 1901, when he was borne by sor- rowing friends to his final resting place with the dead. General Gouverneur K. Warren, one of the most accom- plished corps commanders of the Army of the Potomac, was summarily relieved from his command in the last battle of the war at Five Forks, after he had made a record second to no other corps commander in that army. He was a quiet, unasser- tive officer, excepting in the strict line of duty. He was in every battle in which the Army of the Potomac was engaged, from Big Bethel until the final retreat of Lee, and in every conflict he had proved his courage and skill as a commander. He sought no political influence, and never received promotion, except when it was voluntarily tendered for meritorious service. He was assigned as chief of the engineers of the army, and as such rendered a service at Gettysburg that probably decided the fate of that battle. He did not reach the field until the second day, and when he arrived on Cemetery Hill he noticed that Round Top was unoccupied by the Union forces, and immediately or- dered its occupation. The movement was made, and not a mo- ment too soon, as the enemy was just about to seize it, and it was held as part of the Union lines only after a desperate and bloody struggle. When the army was reorganized under Grant, Warren was assigned to the command of the Fifth Corps. While he lacked the dash of Sheridan, his steady, self-poised skill made him one of the most important corps commanders, and he became known RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 439 as the great flanker of the army. When Sheridan made his rapid movement that resulted in the battle of Five Forks, Warren came to his support, and finding that Sheridan's order for attack was faulty in designating the position of the enemy, he promptly flanked Pickett's position, and greatly contributed to Sheridan's victory. Sheridan's impetuous method led him to relieve War- ren on the instant without inquiring why he did not attack as directed or ascertaining what service had been rendered, and, after relieving Warren without sufficient reason, the one blot on Sheridan's fame comes from his refusal to vindicate Warren, even by confessing an error of his own. Warren was not a favorite with either Grant or Sheridan, and Grant was then omnipotent in military circles, Warren was thus degraded just before the final victory for which he had so grandly fought, and for 15 years struggled to obtain a military mquiry into his record. It was finally given by President Hayes, and the judgment gave a substantial vindication to the broken- hearted hero. He continued in the engineering department of the service, but was rarely seen outside of his daily routine du- ties, and the severe strain of bitter disappointment brought him to the peace of the grave on the 8th of August, 1882. One of the strangest records of military injustice was exhib- ited in the case of Surgeon General William A. Hammond. He entered the United States army in 1849 ^s Assistant Surgeon, and later, having retired to accept a professorship in the Uni- versity of Maryland, he re-entered the army at the beginning of the civil war and was assigned to the charge of the hospitals of Hagerstown, Frederick and Baltimore. He was distinguished in his profession, thoroughly methodical and practical in his great work, and was first recommended for the position of Surgeon General by the United States Sanitary Commission. He was appointed Surgeon General in April, 1862, when but thirty-four years of age, and no more honest or faithful man ever accepted official trust, but in the loose methods inseparable from the hasty preparations for war some of those in whom the Surgeon General had every reason to place implicit confidence defrauded the Government in the supply of medical stores. The fraud was detected, and naturally provoked very general condemna- tion. Hammond was tried in a tempest of passion by a military 44° COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S commission and dismissed from the army in 1864. He was as innocent of fraud as the unborn babe, and the guilty parties were never detected, as they had the influence of powerful friendships, and one of the most competent, and certainly one of the most faithful of the officers of the army, was thus unjustly doomed to dishonor. He located in New York and soon be- came distinguished as a specialist in nervous affections. He commanded the very general respect and confidence of the med- ical profession, and in 1878, after fourteen years of suffering from the unjust judgment passed upon him, so thoroughly had the country become convinced of his innocence that a bill for his relief was passed by a unanimous vote in the House and with but one dissenting vote in the Senate, and in 1879 he was re- stored to his position on the army roll as Surgeon General on the retired list. Having been completely vindicated by the high- est authority of the Government he was specially honored and beloved by the people because of the unjust humihation inflicted upon him. General Sherman truthfully said that "war is savagery," and it summons the rule of passion in field and forum, and alike in military and civil authority. The conflicts of ambition are as mean and desperate in the highest departments of power as they are in the lowest of the political slums. Temporary power, with passionate resentment, often deals its deadliest blows against the noblest and manliest, but in this great free Government, where the considerate public sentiment is the sovereign power, justice is certain to declare its mastery in the fullness of time by the vindication of those who have suffered unmerited disgrace. SAMUEL J. RANDALL— HIS STERN INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC LIFE. Samuel J- Randall, of Pennsylvania, was one of the heroic characters of the last half a century whose record deserves much more careful study than is generally accorded to it. In this age of headlong advancement, of the appalling mastery of wealth and of subordination of political power to colossal business and financial combinations, the brave struggle with poverty of a man like Randall through a long public career, beset by tempta- tions on every side, can be studied with interest and profit by all who wish properly to understand public and private duties. He wielded great power in State and nation, but his severe devotion to public and private integrity made him resist all the blandishments of wealth, and at times to brave the passions of party when they came in conflict with the interests of the Republic. Randall was born in Philadelphia on the loth of October, 1828, and was the son of Josiah Randall, who for many years had been one of the most conspicuous of the Whig leaders of the State. His son had his first training as a merchant, but had a fondness for politics, and soon after he had attained his major- ity he was several times elected to the City Councils when acting with his father as an opponent of the Democratic party. In 1856, when the radical Republican element prevailed in the nomination of Fremont for the Presidency and the Democrats made Buchanan their candidate, a large number of the ablest Whigs of Philadelphia, deserting the Republicans, supported Buchanan and thereafter acted with the Democratic party. The Democrats then had an accession of illustrious names from the Whigs in the Randalls, the Reeds, the Ingersolls, the Whartons and others, and young Randall's taste for political conflict made him at once an aggressive leader among his new political friends. He was a born fighter; he loved fierce conflict when he believed he was defending the right, and he often refused obedience to (441) 442 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the commands of party when his convictions dictated a different action. In 1857 he was elected to the S'enate to fill an unexpired term of two years, and at once became the Democratic leader of the body. He believed in party organization, but held that indi- vidual sense of duty was ever paramount, and he gave a con- spicuous illustration of it during his first session in the Senate when the Democrats, who controlled both branches of the Pennsylvania Legislature, decided to legislate Judge Wilmot out of office. The Democrats had only three majority in the Senate, although they had nearly a two-thirds vote in the House, and when it was proposed to retire Judge Wilmot from the Bench by special legislation he planted himself squarely and firmly against the measure. He denounced it as bad party policy and worse public policy, but Randall stood alone on the Democratic side, and he was defeated by one majority. He was a candidate for re-election to the Senate in 1859, but the People's party, em- bracing a union of the Whigs, Americans, Republicans and anti- slavery Democrats, swept both city and State and Randall was defeated. In 1862 Randall was nominated for Congress in the only Democratic district in Philadelphia. After the Republicans had gained control of the State they consolidated nearly or quite all the Democratic wards of the city into one district, regarding it as preferable to concede one Democratic Congressman than to endanger the loss of two or three districts, and in 1862 Randall received the Democratic nomination and was elected by a large majority. He then entered upon a Congressional career that was to end only with his death, 28 years later. When the second Republican apportionment of Congressional districts came around the strength of the Republicans in the city was so great that they could readily have made every district decidedly Re- publican, but Randall had won the respect of Republicans, although an earnest and aggressive Democratic leader, by his conspicuous loyalty during the war and by his fearless advocacy of a protective tariff, and in two Congressional apportionments made by Republican power Randall's Democratic district was unchanged. Like all positive and fearless leaders, Randall made many enemies within his own political household, and repeated efforts RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 443 were made to unhorse him in his district, but his people were devoted to him, and every effort against him resulted in disas- trous failure. The district was made up almost wholly of the wards fronting on the Delaware, with a population very largely composed of laborers and others in very moderate circum- stances. They noted his frugal life, as in his free intercourse Vv^ith them they were thoroughly familiar with his every-day movements, and, while his district was in early times the centre of violent election methods, Randall commanded the respect and affection of his people by the simple and heroic methods of his life and by his unfaltering honesty. At most of his elections there was no attempt made to defeat him either at the primaries or at the polls. He looked carefully after the assessments and taxes of his people. He had nothing but his salary on which to live, and could not have afforded the cost of maintaining the organization of his party in his district from his own resources, but from the time he entered Congress until his death he had devoted friends in George W. Childs and A. J. Drexel, who always furnished the means to qualify the electors of the district. In 1861, when civil war cam.e, Randall volunteered with the old Philadelphia Troop, and accompanied General Patterson in his march through the Shenandoah Valley. He was elected to Congress soon after the war began, but appeared in every emer- gency force that was called for by the State when the Confeder- ates had invaded or threatened the borders of Pennsylvania, and, while he did not approve of the entire policy of the Lincoln Administration, he uniformly advocated and voted for every measure necessary for the maintenance of the army and the prosecution of the war. Randall held to his old Whig faith in Protection until the day of his death, and that put him out of accord with his party during the later years of his life and made him an impossible candidate for the Presidency in 1884, when he had the cordial support of his State and was regarded by his friends as one of the hopeful aspirants. When the convention met at Chicago it soon became evident to his friends that he could not be the party candidate. He was brought to Chicago in person, and, after a conference with Daniel Manning, of New York, who managed the Cleve- land forces, he transferred his support to Cleveland and thus secured the nomination for the candidate of the Empire State. 444 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S He made one of the most heroic battles of his Hfe against the Morrison Tariflf bill, and succeeded in defeating it, although the House had a large Democratic majority. He had been defeated by Carlisle for Speaker at the opening of that Congress entirely on the tariff issue, and he would certainly have been Speaker had he been willing to yield his convictions on the question, but he preferred defeat in the line of consistency with his faith, even at the risk of alienating himself from the sympathy and favor of the Administration. Again in 1888, when the Mills Tariflf bill was passed, Randall, although greatly broken in health, made exhaustive efforts to amend it in the interest of Protection, and opposed the measure at every step; and when the final vote was taken and illness pre- vented him from being present in the House, he was paired with a supporter of the bill, thus practically casting his vote against it. The passage of the Mills Tariff bill, against Randall's earnest opposition, brought him into somewhat strained rela- tions with President Cleveland and the party leaders, but they did not venture to carry their opposition into his district. Al- though then suffering from a painful and incurable malady, and unable even to visit his district, he was unanimously nominated and elected by one of the largest majorities ever given to him. Randall was one of the strong intellectual forces of the House, although a stranger to all the arts of rhetoric. He was direct, incisive and earnest in the discussion of any question, and he led the opposition to the force bills and Hke measures which followed the tempest of reconstruction. From the time he entered Congress, in 1863, until 1875, the Democrats were uni- formly in a minority, but at the fall election of 1874 the Demo- crats swept rhe country and carried a large majority of the popu- lar branch of Congress. Randall at once became a candidate for Speaker, and would have been elected but for the fact that he was earnestly opposed by United States Senator Wallace, from his own State, who had just been elected to the Senate and was a political leader of great ability. He and Randall possessed the same defect that is so common even among the most distin- guished men — that of not understanding that a great State is big enough for two great men. They led opposing factions for many years, each in turn winning and losing over the other, and Wallace, who was much the more skillful political manager of RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 445 the two, accomplished the defeat of Randall for Speaker at the meeting of Congress in December, 1875. Speaker Kerr, who triumphed over Randall, died after serving a single session, and Randall was elected Speaker in the beginning of the second ses- sion of that Congress. He was re-elected Speaker by the two succeeding Congresses, and served in that position from the 4th of December, 1876, to the 3d of March, 1881. The Republicans regained the House and held their mastery only for a single Congress, when the Democrats were successful again, and John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky, was nominated for Speaker over Ran- dall, after a desperate contest. His success was due solely to Randall's attitude on the tariff question. It was fortunate for the country that Randall was Speaker of the Democratic House in 1876-7, during the desperate struggle over the Presidential succession, when Hayes was finally de- clared elected by the Electoral Commission over Tilden by a single vote. Randall wielded the power of the Chair with rare promptness and decision. He was a devoted friend of Tilden, whose election he confidently expected from the Commission by the electoral vote of Louisiana. The act authorizing the crea- tion of the Electoral Commission was a felicitous solution of one of the m.ost appalling perils ever presented in our political con- flicts. Tilden had received a popular majority of over 250,000, and when the power of the Government was turned into the contest to control the electoral votes of Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina against Tilden, there were violent threats of revolutionary action. The apprehension of anarchy made the boldest of our political leaders take pause to consider sortie measure of safety. Under the provisions of the law creating the Commission, its judgment in deciding the electoral vote of any State was not to be accepted as final until approved by one of the two branches of the national legislature. The House was strongly Demo- cratic, and the Senate strongly Republican, and the House promptly dissented from the judgment of the Commission awarding the disputed States to Hayes. Louisiana was the State on which the Democrats relied, as the Democratic majority was decisive, and the record and facts overwhelmingly in their favor. When the Electoral Commission, by a vote of eight to seven, gave the State of Louisiana to Hayes, there would have 446 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S been revolutionary action in the House but for the heroic stand taken by Speaker Randall. It was all the more creditable on his part, as he was the devoted friend of Tilden, who was cruci- fied. It was the only time during his long period as Speaker that his party narrowly escaped a defiant attitude toward the Chair, but he had supported the bill creating the Electoral Com- mission that was to be the final arbiter of the disputed Presiden- tial honors, and he stood like the rock of Gibraltar when his party friends were thrown into violence that was little short of anarchy. In taking this bold stand against vehement party pas- sions he had the single inspiration of devotion to public duty and to public safety, and although he was severely censured at the time by many of his party followers, when the tidal wave of passion had run its course all united in according the highest measure of respect to Randall for the unfaltering courage he had exhibited in one of the severest trials of the power of free government to maintain itself. Randall was twice an active candidate for the Presidential nomination, and in 1880 he would have been nominated by the Cincinnati Convention had Tilden acted promptly and decisively. There was a strong sentiment in favor of renominating Tilden, who, as his friends believed, had been defrauded out of the Presi- dency four years before; but Tammany was hostile to Tilden, and he hesitated until the last moment, when his letter of decli- nation was delivered and his friends instructed to support Ran- dall. It was an open secret before the meeting of the conven- tion that a close friend of Tilden's had a letter of declination in his possession to be delivered when instructed by Tilden to do so, but Tilden lost the control of the convention by his inde- cision, as his letter was not given out until the first ballot had been taken for President. Randall's name had not then been presented, but before the second ballot Tilden's friends were ordered into line for Randall, and gave him 128J/2 votes to 320 for Hancock. The Tilden forces had been broken up and demoralized before they received their orders, but I have good reason to believe that had Tilden's declination been given out before the meeting of the convention Randall could have been nominated. It was the only time in his life when the Presidency was a possibility to Randall, and that opportunity was lost by the want of prompt RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 447 and courageous action on the part of Tilden. Four years later, when Randall made an aggressive campaign for the nomination and had his Pennsylvania delegation unanimously instructed and heartily for him, the tariff question had become a vital issue with the Democrats and Randall's nomination was an impossibility. I first met Randall in January, 1858, at the meeting of the Legislature, when he appeared as a Senator and I as a Repre- sentative. I soon learned to appreciate his manly and heroic qualities, and from that time until his death our personal friend- ship was never strained, although often earnest opponents in political conflicts. He was a careful student, a man of strong intellectual force and a powerful disputant, but his speeches read better than they seemed in the hearing. He was incisive, logical and always positive and aggressive. He was an earnest and always chivalric foe, and he was a devoted and constant friend. After I became a resident of Philadelphia our personal friendly relations were steadily strengthened, and I learned to know not only Randall, the great leader, as he appeared to the pubHc, but Randall the man, whose personal attributes became more and more appreciated as they became more and more un- derstood. In factional quarrels which confronted him in his party he was at times more aggressive than wise, and he many times conferred with me when he was involved in desperate struggle within his own political household. Several years before his death he became the victim of a pain- ful malady that all but himself knew to be fatal, but he struggled on and never relaxed his interest in public afifairs and never ceased to cherish the hope of his restoration to health. A year before he died, when Congress adjourned, he decided that he must remain in Washington, where his wife owned a small house on Capitol Hill. Mr. Childs, who was his devoted friend, learned from some members of the family that they were going to remain in Washington during the summer because Randall could not afford to incur the expense of seeking more comfortable quar- ters. Mr, Childs sent for me, informed me of the decision Ran- dall had made, and added that Randall certainly could not live throughout the summer unless he was moved from Washington. He inquired whether a comfortable summer residence could not be obtained for him in the neighborhood of my summer residence, 12 miles distant from the city, where the country is broken by 448 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S liills and forests and streams. It happened that I knew of a very desirable place that could be obtained very reasonably within a mile of my own residence, where there was a large stone house situated on an eminence and surrounded by a forest. I at once made inquiry and found that it could be leased for the summer partially furnished for $500, and that $100 additional expended m furnishing would make it very comfortable. I reported to Mr. Childs, and he instructed me to have the lease executed, pay the rental and have it receipted on the lease as paid by Randall. This was promptly done, and Mr. William M. Singerly, Mr. Frank McLaughlin and Mr. Alfred Gratz joined Mr. Childs and myself in the payment of the rent and the furnishing of the house. Mr. Childs then notified Randall that he had obtained a place for him, and desired him to come on as speedily as possible, as it was ready for immediate occupation. When Randall came on I met him at the depot, and there presented him the lease with the receipt for the rental. He hesitated for a few moments when he saw that the rent had been paid, and said with emphasis: "I cannot accept this unless you agree that I shall refund it when able to do so." I answered that we would discuss that question when he was in a more comfortable condition. He thus had a very restful summer for one in his suffering condition, and I saw him every few days. When unable even to be out of his bed I would find him with books and pamphlets lying around him, from which he was studying every important question likely to be presented to the next Congress. He was entirely confident that he would be able to resume his seat in December. After he had been there some two months or more I found him in the parlor reclining on a sofa. Immediately after greet- ing me he drew a large envelope from his side pocket and handed it to me. Said he: "There is the money for the rent and you must accept it." It was evident that he had denied himself and his family many of the ordinary comforts of life in order to save $500 out of his monthly payments. I told him that it could not be accepted: that there were others besides Mr. Childs and myself who had joined in it, and that none would permit the money to be returned. He answered with emphasis: "No public man can afford to accept gratuity from any." I saw that he was very positive and that it was needless to discuss the RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 449 question with him. I then asked that Mrs. Randall be called, and when she entered the room I handed the package to her and said: "This money your husband insists shall be returned to those who rented this property for him, and it will not be accepted. You must take it and devote it to the comfort of your suffering husband and your family." Mrs. Randall hesi- tated for a moment, and finally said that she would receive it, and asked that all who had contributed to it should be thanked for the care for her sick husband, whose life had been prolonged by the summer in the country. Randall said nothing until his wife left the room, when I immicdiately resumed the discussion of public questions in which he was interested, and diverted him from the question of refunding the money. My last visit to Randall, only a short time before his death, was on a like mission. Mr. Childs, knowing that Randall was near the end, and that he was entirely without fortune to leave his family, had raised a fund, doubtless made up by Mr. Drexel and himself, that would give Randall and his family an income of nearly $2,000 a year as invested by Mr. Drexel himself, but Randall promptly and peremptorily refused it. Mr. Childs asked me to go to Washington at once and explain to Randall that he owed it to his family to permit this investment to be made. I at once visited him at his home in Washington, where he was on his death bed, and he met my first suggestion about the money with a positive refusal to accept it. He insisted that no man in public office could afford to receive aid from any one except as a loan that was certainly to be paid. I then told him that the fund would be presented to Mrs. Randall, and that he must, for the sake of his family, permit that to be done. After much painful hesitation he finally acceded to it, or, rather, said that perhaps he ought not to interpose to prevent it. The fund was then put into proper shape and handled by Mr. Drexel himself. He struggled until the very last to give some measure of performance to his pubUc duties. By a special order of the House he was sworn in as a member on his death bed, but he never was able to be present to answer roll call. After two years of suffering, and many months at the close in terrible agony, on the 12th of April, 1890, he bowed to the inexorable foe that masters all, and a life of exceptional usefulness and ,severe integrity was ended. JOHN SHERMAN— AUTHOR OF RESUMPTION. To John Sherman, of Ohio, belongs the honor of the longest service in the United States Senate given by any man in the history of the Republic. He entered the Senate on the 4th of March, 1861, to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Chase to the Lincoln Cabinet, and he served continuously in the Senate, with the single exception of four years when Secretary of the Treasury under Hayes, from 1877 to 1881, until the 4th of March, 1897, when he resigned to become Secretary of State under McKinley. He thus served thirty-two years in the first legislative tribunal of the nation. When Benton retired in 1852, after having served thirty consecutive years in the Senate, he stood single and alone, and his interesting work entitled "Thirty Years in the Senate" is the best political history of that period. It exhibits a very high appreciation of Benton's own services, but that was measurably pardonable because he was altogether the most prominent statesman of his day, with the single excep- tion of Clay. Since then Morrill, of Vermont, was elected to a sixth term in the Senate, but he lived only a short time after he entered upon it. Allison, of Iowa, will close out thirty consecu- tive years in the Senate if he lives until the 4th of March next, and has been elected to his sixth term. John P. Jones, of Ne- vada, will also round out thirty consecutive years in the Senate at the close of the present Congress, but his successor has not yet been chosen, and Anthony, of Rhode Island, was elected to a fifth term, but did not live to enter upon it. The only differ- ence between Sherman and the others who have served thirty years, or will have served thirty years at the close of the present Congress, is in the fact that his service was not continuous. When Hayes assumed the Presidency on the 4th of March, 1877, he called Sherman from the Senate to the head of the Treasury Department, where he served for four years. On the 4th of (450) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 45 1 March, 1881, when his term of Secretary expired, he had already been commissioned for a new term in the Senate. Sherman was one of a large family of Sherman boys who were left without fortune by their father at his death, and one of the sons, who afterward became the famed General Sherman, was adopted by Senator Thomas Ewing, whose daughter the General afterward married; and John was taken into the family of his cousin, John Sherman, and aided in equipping himself for col- lege. He contributed largely to his education by his own efforts, serving most of the time as a rodman in a corps of engineers, and, after equipping himself to enter the sophomore class at college, he finally decided to begin the study of law instead of making a desperate struggle for a collegiate education. He became a student with his brother Charles, in Mansfield, O., where he was admitted to the Bar in 1844, and the brothers practiced together until John entered public life as a Congress- man in 1854, and continued uninterruptedly in the public ser- vice until his death at the advanced age of ']']. The John Sherman of early days was very different from the John Sherman as he was known in his later years and is now generally regarded by the public. When he entered Congress a comparatively young man, in 1854, he was one of the most genial and jovial of the Republican leaders in the House, and while he was one of the ablest and most indefatigable workers of the party he won the nomination for the Speakership at the beginning of his third term quite as much because of the per- sonal affection cherished for him as because of his admitted ability. He would have been Speaker of the House but for an unfortunate indorsement he had given to Helper's book on slavery. Sectional feeling was running very high, provoked by the bitter controversy over the defeat of the Missouri Com- promise. Helper had published a statistical book on slavery that was very offensive to the Southern people, and some of the more aggressive anti-slavery men sought to aid the circulation of the book by recommendations from Congressmen. Sherman thoughtlessly signed the paper, and thus gave mortal offense to a few conservative Whigs from the South, who were opposed to the Democratic organization in the House but would not sup- port Sherman. After a contest of several weeks, during which Sherman came within three votes of an election, a compromise 452 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S ■was effected, and the opposition to the Democrats was harmon- ized on Governor Pennington, of Xew Jersey. It was a serious defeat for Sherman, as he was young, able and ambitious, and the fact that he was compelled to abandon the field for Speaker after having been the unanimous choice of his party made him a very ardent worker in the anti-slavery cause. One of the most important State papers in its bearing upon the slavery issue was the report of the committee of Congress appointed to investigate the revolutionary action of the slavery Missourians in Kansas. Sherman was on the committee, with Howard as the chairman, but most of the work was performed by Sherman, owing to the illness of Howard, and he prepared the report. It was elaborate, exhaustive and conclusive, and was the text book of the great battle of i860 that made Abra- ham Lincoln President. When Chase was called to the Lincoln Cabinet there were many aspirants for the Senatorship, and Sherman had an earnest and desperate battle before him. I saw him several times in Washington while the contest was on, and he fully realized that he had a hard fight before him, but he was a great organizer, a tireless worker and commanded a higher measure of popular respect than any of his competitors, and in the end he won a signal triumph. He had been re-elected to the House, but when the Congress of 1861 expired he resigned and took his seat in the Senate, where he rendered more important service to his country than was given by any of his Senatorial associates. His career was not the most brilHant, for he did not study the art of rhetoric, but as a member of the Finance Committee, and later its chairm.an, he became the accepted leader in the Her- culean task of restoring the country to specie payments. He was the author of the bill providing for the gradual approach to a specie basis, and it was fortunate for the country that he was called to the head of the Treasury Department with his great ability and earnest purpose to restore the credit of the nation. It was a desperate undertaking. The Democratic Na- tional Convention of 1876 that nominated Tilden, whose plat- form was prepared by Tilden himself, one of the shrewdest of the political leaders of the day, denounced the resumption policy of the Republicans as a visionary scheme that was impossible of consummation, and a very large proportion of the Republicans RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 453 had very little faith in the ability of the Treasury to carry into effect the Sherman resumption law. I doubt whether any other man than John Sherman could have taken the Treasury port- folio in 1877 and accomplished the resumption of specie pay- ments as he did. He was thoroughly familiar with the resources of the country and with the financial conditions of every country in the world. He devoted himself tirelessly to the work of strengthening" the credit of the Government, and, despite the croakings of the opposition in both parties, he brought the coun- try to specie payments on the ist of January, 1879, without a ripple on the financial surface, and from that date until the present our Government had been on a specie basis, and today commands the highest credit of any Government of the world. Of course, Sherman could not acquire sufficient gold to redeem the currency of the Government, but he well understood that if he had ample gold in reserve to give credit to the cur- rency of the Government its redemption would not be asked for, as the currency was preferable to gold as a circulating medium. He patiently pursued his work until he had acquired $140,000,- 000 of a gold reserve, and as the ist of January, 1879, ^P~ proached it became generally accepted that the Government would be quite able to maintain the specie standard. The premium on gold gradually declined until it reached but a frac- tion of I per cent, a few weeks before the period of resumption, and on the day of resumption the gold premium entirely disap- peared, and has been unknown in our financial history ever since. Sherman's exceptional services in the restoration of the national credit have been almost forgotten by the great mass of the people. Public men are remembered largely or wholly as they keep in sympathetic touch with the people, and it was Sher- man's misfortune that he became so entirely absorbed in his ceaseless and exacting labors to maintain our financial resources during the war, and to re-establish the Government credit after- ward, that he insensibly lost all the genial qualities which he possessed in such a large degree at the beginning of his public career. His home was childless, and of all the public men I have known I think Sherman gave himself the least of social recreation. He was thoroughly honest in all his public affairs, and his sole aim was to render the greatest possible service to 454 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S the country when it was struggling for its existence. He was not snobbish, but during more than the last decade of his life he was regarded as cold and unapproachable, and there is little doubt that the mental prostration he suffered soon after he entered the McKinley Cabinet, when he was enjoying a fair degree of physical health for one of his years, was chiefly or Avholly the result of his entire absence of social pleasures to give him forgetfulness of his exacting cares. Very few of the people now living have any just appreciation of the great service rendered to the country by John Sherman in restoring the national credit. For a quarter of a century the question of the sanctity of the national credit has been elimi- nated from our political conflicts. True, we have had a tidal wave of greenbackism that revolutionized some of the States of the North, and later we had the free silver tempest, but the advocates of both of those theories always assumed that they would fully maintain the national credit by their financial policy. Of course, most of them knew better, for the success of either would have been a vital stab to the integrity of the national faith, but at no time during the last 25 years has there been any political organization that openly avowed repudiation. The re- pudiation theory is, therefore, one of the forgotten incidents of our civil war, as it was overshadowed by the many grave issues which grew out of that sanguinary conflict, but for a full decade from the beginning of the war open repudiation had many sup- porters, and very many sincere and honest advocates of main- taining our national credit were doubtful as to the ability of the American people to bear the billions of debt and war taxation which had fallen upon them. There were open advocates of repudiation in both branches of Congress. President Johnson, in his latest deliverance to Con- gress, presented an elaborate argument to prove the utter im- possibility of the country paying the national debt, and proposed that interest should be paid on the full amount of the debt in gold until the interest payments aggregated the amount of the principal, when that should be accepted as payment in full. Hundreds of millions of bonds issued by the Government and paying a high rate of interest were payable in gold, and yet were purchased for currency when gold was from one hundred to two hundred per cent, premium. The bondholders were thus a RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 455 privileged class of creditors, their bonds being worth double their face value in the currency that had to be received as a legal tender in the commercial and business transactions of the people. Demagogues found a fruitful field in which to exploit the the- ories that prejudiced the people against maintaining the national credit, and I well remember when the wisest and bravest of our statesmen trembled over the prospect of fully restoring the credit of the nation. It was under these conditions that Sherman as chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate first proposed his refund- ing act in 1867, only two years after the war had closed, and when there was even in the circle of his own political friends grave doubts as to the possible success of resumption at any time in the near future; but Sherman stood to his guns and heroically maintained the necessity of giving the country and the world the assurance of the early resumption of specie pay- ments. His first bill of 1867 failed, and in 1870 he succeeded in passing a refunding act without the resumption clause, which he so earnestly favored, but the refunding act was a step in the right direction, and it strengthened the confidence of the coun- try in the ultimate success of resumption, and in 1874 he secured the action of the Republican Senatorial caucus to select a special committee, of which Sherman was chairman, to consider and report on the question of resumption. So absolute was the con- fidence of the Republicans in Sherman on the resumption ques- tion that his associates decided that he should present the measure whenever he chose; that they would leave the discus- sion of it entirely to himself; and he at once came to the front and passed his resumption bill providing for the resumption of specie payments on the first of January, 1879. He could not succeed in making resumption mandatory at the time named in the bill, as most of his associates believed it to be impossible, and he was compelled to accept a provision that the execution of the law should be left to the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. Fortunately for the country Sherman became the Secretary of the Treasury two years later, and was thus charged with the execution of his own law. Never did a public officer render a grander service to the country than did John Sherman during the three years of his Secretaryship, which he devoted to the 45^ COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S single purpose of re-establishing the credit of the Republic. So wisely and faithfully did he perform this duty that long before the time fixed for resumption, it became evident to all that the great free Government of the world, in eighteen years after the most exhaustive war of history, was enabled to re-establish its credit on a sound money basis, and again take its rank among the high credit nations of the earth. I think it safe to say that but for John Sherman the resumption of specie payments would have been long delayed beyond the period fixed by his resump- tion act, and it is impossible now to measure the magnitude of the service he rendered in the complete restoration of the credit of the Republic. Ohio was distinguished for the abiHty of her Senators during the war and reconstruction period. Sherman had as his col- leagues bluff Ben Wade, who was one of the ablest and most unbending of all the Republican leaders, and two of the ablest Democrats of the State, Thurman, the recognized Democratic leader of the Senate for a full decade, and Pendleton, who was one of the most accomplished and brilliant of our Senators, and, strange as it may seem, the author of the first civil service law. Sherman was frequently opposed in his contest for election to the Senate, and at one time, but for his consummate skill in the management of men, he would surely have been beaten. There were a number of Republican leaders in the State more popular personally than Sherman, and they organized at the end of each of his terms to accomplish his defeat, but it is creditable to the people of Ohio that, however much they may have loved the smaller men, their pride in their State and its statesmanship made them always rally on the homestretch to the support of Sherman and scatter his competitors as if a tempest had struck them. He was ambitious, as was his right, and he certainly had good reason to cherish the high expectations which made him battle for the Presidency; but he was not in magnetic touch with the Republican leaders as was Blaine, and, while all admitted his pre-eminent ability, there were few who really preferred him as a Presidential candidate. In his devotion to the civil service policy of President Hayes he had given ofifense to the more active element of the Republican party, and especially in the removal of Collector Arthur and some of his Custom House RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 457 associates in New York. He was prominently and earnestly presented by his State in 1880, with Garfield at the head of the delegation. In that convention came the battle royal between the friends of Grant and Blaine, and it soon became manifest that neither could be nominated. Had Sherman been in a position to command any reasonable measure of enthusiastic support he would have been the logical candidate, but Garfield, who championed Sherman's cause, much more effectually cham- pioned his own and became the compromise nominee. His only hopeful battle for the Presidency was made in 1888, when Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Senator Quay, declared for Sherman, and Adjutant General Hastings, after- ward Governor, delivered the speech presenting Sherman's name to the convention. His nomination at that time was altogether within the range of possibility had he not been betrayed by some of his professed friends. As Secretary of the Treasury he had completed a very efficient organization throughout the South and controlled it to a large extent in 1888 in the selection of delegates to the national convention, but in his own memoirs he makes the humiliating statement that a number of his delegates were debauched by a Presidential competitor, and his defeat thereby accomplished. But for the diversion of the Southern delegates from the Sherman ranks it is more than probable that he would have been nominated at Chicago in 1888, and if nomi- nated he certainly would have been elected. Sherman never fully recovered from the blow he received in that contest, and as he had then reached an age beyond which Presidential candi- dates could not be taken, one of the great inspirations of his public life had perished, and Sherman became more and more of a recluse as he found relief from his great disappointment only in ceaseless devotion to his public duties. In 1892, four years after Sherman had made his last effort to reach the Presidency, Harrison was overwhelmed in his contest for re-election, and in 1896 the Republican nomination for Presi- dent came to Ohio for the third time since Sherman had dreamed the dream of attaining the highest civil honors of the world. McKinley was nominated and elected, but Sherman had ceased to be a political factor, and was unseen and unfelt in the St. Louis convention. When the new Ohio President was in- augurated on the 4th of March, 1897, Sherman had two years of 45^ COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S his Senatorial term to serve. He then felt the ravages of age, and his severe employment of his mental powers for 40 years, with little or no relaxation, unfitted him for the leadership he had so long maintained. Having outlived ambition, and long passed the period allotted for mortals, his desire was to finish his Senatorial term and then retire to await the grave summons that must come to all; but new political conditions and new leaders had arisen, and his place in the Senate was wanted by Marcus A. Hanna, who had, by his masterly political manage- ment, accomplished the nomination and election of McKinley. The proposition to round out Sherman's career as Premier of the new Administration was well understood by Sherman him- self as a demand upon him to surrender his seat in the Senate, and he reluctantly bowed to the new mastery that confronted him and accepted a place in the Cabinet, only to find himself a nominal Premier, with little or no duties to perform, and to be practically voiceless in the performance of the high duties of his office. Mental depression speedily followed; the same influ- ences which commanded him to accept the Premiership sug- gested his retirement, and he finally gave up his portfolio, broken in health, in heart and hope, and a very few years later, on the 22d of October, 1900, death ended the career of John Sherman, one of the ablest of American statesmen, the author of our restored national credit, and one who won the greatest achievement in council or forum, and suffered the greatest dis- appointments. FINANCIAL PROGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC. The wonderful advancement of the United States in industry, commerce, finance and trade, with capital more profitably in- vested than ever before in the history of the country, with labor more generally in demand and better requited, with the prod- ucts of our ingenuity and industry competing with the home markets of every country in the world, and with a financial pol- icy that makes every dollar in circulation, whether paper or specie, of equal value in every part of the country, makes few of even the more intelligent people of the present day take pause to inquire into the financial and industrial condition of the Un- ion when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President on the 4th of March, 1861. The national debt was then $65,000,000 in round numbers, and the revenues of the nation were but little over $50,000,000. The entire money in circulation, including paper and specie, was $435,000,000, being less than $14 per capita for the entire population of the country at the time. The national debt had been more than doubled during the last two years of the Buchanan administration, resulting chiefly from what was known as the IMormon war, and it was larger at that time than it had been at any period after the country had en- tirely recovered from the financial strain of the second war with England. One of the strong arguments against the continuance of the Democratic party in power was the increase of the national debt to what was regarded as the enormous sum of $65,000,000, but it is only just to say that the same arguments were generally and vehem.ently used against John Quincy Adams in 1828, be- cause he had permitted the annual expenditures of the Govern- ment to reach the sum of $13,000,000. When it is remembered that the credit of the United States is today the best of any Government of the world, with a debt of two billions, over one- half of which is interest-bearing, and that in the darkest days (459) 460 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S of our financial difficulties during the civil war the national debt reached high-water mark at $2,773,236,173.69, that being the aggregate debt of the country on the ist of July, 1866, the matchless advancement of the industrial, commercial and finan- cial interests of the country since the inauguration of Lincoln can be justly appreciated. During the last generation the people of this country have had no experience with depreciated currency. True, the moneys of the Government, and also of the national banks during the period of suspension, were not redeemed in gold, and their rela- tive value compared with gold was at times largely below the gold standard, but the Government currency was a legal tender in all the business transactions of the country, and the notes of the national banks, being absolutely secured, were very gener- ally accepted in the payment of all obligations in business cir- cles. Today the business man does not take the trouble to look at the name of the bank that has issued the bank note he re- ceives, and the workingman knows when he is paid his wages, whether in paper or specie, that every dollar he holds is good for one hundred cents wherever he shall choose to expend it. An occasional counterfeit makes its appearance, but the Gov- ernment notes are so carefully printed that it is most difficult to imitate them, and counterfeiting gains little progress, making the loss caused by it imperceptible in trade. The few who can remember the financial conditions of 1861 well understand the unexampled advancement that has been made by the great free Government of the world. At that time the entire circulation was about $435,000,000, or less than $14 per capita, as compared with the present circulation of over two billions, giving nearly $30 of money to every man, woman and child in the land. But, limited as was the circulating medium in 1 861, its quality was even more defective than its quantity. The only paper circulation was issued by State banks. In many of the States what was known as "wild cat" banking was reduced to a fine art. Banks would be organized and the coun- try flooded with notes, and when the pressure came for redemp- tion the banks would fail and there was no remedy for the note holder. The breaking of banks in some sections of the country in severe times was almost a daily occurrence, and even in the most prosperous business conditions one-half the paper circu- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 46 1 lation of the country was regarded as unsafe. Every business man was compelled to have his Bank Note Detector, then issued weekly, giving the name, capital, circulation and officers of every bank in the United States, with the credit condition of its issue. A number of banks in the leading cities were quoted at par, and country banks which redeemed their circulation through city agents were also quoted at par; but the large majority of the country banks were quoted at from j^ to 10 per cent, discount. The notes most distrusted were most pushed in circulation, as all who received them paid out their doubtful money first. Every merchant and business man was required to have the latest Detector by his side, and farmers, mechanics and working men receiving money were compelled to make inquiry of their storekeeper or some experienced business man to ascertain what portion of it was entirely good and what por- tion doubtful. In addition to the high rate of discount of much of the paper money then in circulation, the country was always flooded with counterfeits. A few of the thoroughly solid banks had their notes executed in the very best style and printed on the finest quality of durable paper, and they were rarely counterfeited; but a majority of the country banks issued very indifferently engraved notes, making it easy for the counterfeiters to imitate. The loss to the business men in bad paper circulation was a very considerable item in their expense account. All that was remedied when the National Banking law went into eflfect in the early part of 1863. One of the provisions of that law levied a tax of 10 per cent, on the issue of every State bank note, and, of course, it was prohibitory, so that from the day that the national banking system went into effect until the present we have had a uniform bank circulation, and the issue of each bank, however small or obscure, is equal in credit to the issue of the richest bank in the financial metropolis of the country. When the civil war began the question of financing the nation through a long and costly conflict was one that appalled the bravest and ripest men of the country. It was at first deemed a necessity to maintain the credit of the nation, and the sus- pension of specie payments was delayed much too long. It would have been the part of wisdom in the midsummer of 1861, 462 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S when the disastrous battle of Bull Run clearly indicated that a long and bloody war must be maintained to preserve the Union of the States, to have suspended specie payments at once and not permitted the Government and the banks to be drained of gold by the many who distrusted financial conditions and gathered gold only to withdraw it from circulation and hoard it. The Government did not suspend specie payments until the 25th of February, 1862, and then it was done simply because it became absolutely impossible to maintain the specie standard. The suspension at once made gold command a high premium, and silver was at that time more valuable than gold on the ratio of 16 to I that had been accepted as the standard for years by the Governm.ent. The result was that not only gold was entirely withdrawn from circulation, but silver also, and as there were no bank notes of less denomination than one dollar the country was suddenly left entirely without subsidiary money that was needed in the daily transactions of the people. Al- though the Government had authorized the coining of subsidiary silver, there was very little of it in circulation in i860 through- out the rural districts. The chief money of less denomination than one dollar was the old Spanish coin known as the "fip" (6yi cents) and the 'levy" (125^ cents), with Spanish silver pieces worth a little more than 20 cents which passed current as "quarters." So long had these Spanish coins been in cir- culation that it was not uncommon to find the "fips" and "levies" worn to a point that you could not distinguish that there ever had been any inscription on them. They answered the pur- pose of change, and they were received without question; but when gold and silver commanded a premium, even the small Spanish change was retired from circulation, and the people were left entirely without any circulating medium of less denoniination than one dollar. It became a very serious matter to all classes and conditions, and the result w-as a flood of what was called "shinplasters," consisting of 5, 10, 25 and 50-cent notes, little more than quarter the size of an ordinary bank note, and issued by all sorts of corporations, municipal, railroad, etc., and as a rule the corporations which were least responsible issued the largest amounts and scattered them broadcast, hoping that many of them would be destroyed and finally a considerable per- centage of them was repudiated. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 463 As an illustration of the condition in Chambersburg', one of the best communities in the State, where I then resided, the floodtide of irresponsible "shinplasters," which had to be ac- cepted because there was nothing- better to take their place, brought the officers of the old Chambersburg Bank to the con- sideration of some measure of relief for that section of the State. They decided to call in a number of their responsible depositors to confer on the subject, and urged them to unite in the issue of small neatly engraved checks on the bank of the denomination of 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents, and it was promptly agreed to. The result was that the Chambersburg community had an abundance of small change checks on a bank issued by depositors who commanded the confidence of the public. I was one of the number called upon to issue these small checks, and I here give a copy of one of them, presenting it in the exact size and form in which it was issued. The experiment made in Chambersburg was so satisfactory that it was repeated in a number of communities in Pennsylvania, but the "shinplaster" tidal wave soon became so disturbing to the country that the Government was compelled to furnish some measure of relief, and in July, 1862, Congress authorized the issue of what was called postal currency, which afforded im- mediate relief, and was so well received that on the 3d of March, 1863, fractional currency was authorized to the extent of $50,- 000,000. That sum was issued in the denominations of 3, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents, and continued to be the sole small circulating medium of the country until the resumption of specie payments on the first of January, 1879. As soon as resumption was suc- cessfully accomplished silver and gold immediately reappeared, and the Government has largely increased the subsidiary silver coins of the country, providing an abundance for all the neces- sities of trade. The Government very largely profited by this fifty millions of fractional currency. It was in very general and active circula- tion from 1863 to 1879, ^ period of sixteen years, and the care- lessness w'ith which small money is so often handled resulted in a very large measure of loss. The latest report of the Treas- ury estimates that $8,375,934 of the fractional currency issued has been lost or destroyed, and the books of the Treasury acknowledge the amount of $6,876,361.63 as yet outstanding, 4^4 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S very much of which will never be presented for redemption. Many of the small notes have doubtless been lost or destroyed, and many more are held as souvenirs of w^ar times. It is safe to estimate that of the fifty millions of fractional currency issued by the Government, fully ten millions will never be redeemed. The gross indebtedness of the Government today, while main- taining the highest credit of any Government of the world, is in round numbers $2,145,000,000, about one-half of which bears interest, and more than one-third of which is in 2 per cent, con- sols, which sell at a premium. The amount of the national debt, less actual cash resources in the Treasury, is in round numbers one billion of dollars, being about $12 per capita. In 1868 the national debt, less cash resources in the Treasury, was $2,481,000, being over $67 per capita of the entire population. If the United States needed a billion dollars today for any purpose of war or peace, the loan would be sought for at the lowest rate of interest in every money centre of the world; but in 1861, when it became necessary to provide means for the prosecution of the civil war, the first proposition for a loan of $50,000,000 appalled not only the people generally but the leaders of finance. It was only after exhaustive effort and earnest ap- peals to the financial institutions of the country to sustain the credit of the Government for their own safety, that the loan was taken. Jay Cooke, who is yet living with his faculties unabated to see the fulfillment of his early and then generally doubted prophesy of the financial, industrial and commercial prosperity of the country, was a son of Ohio, a personal ac- quaintance of Secretary Chase, and a budding banker in Phila- delphia. He was a great enthusiast, intensely patriotic, and a tireless worker, and it was by his personal efforts that the banks of the country raised the first $50,000,000 loan for the Govern- ment. As an illustration of the feeling in financial circles at that time, when the negotiation for the loan was completed one of the leading bankers of the country said to Secretary Chase: "That's all we can do. You will have to finish the war on that." When it is remembered that before the close of the war the war expenses of all kinds reached the enormous average of nearly three millions per day, and that that average daily cost was never reduced until after the surrender of the Confederate armies in 1865, the magnitude of the effort to financier the war RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 465 and preserve at least a fair semblance of Government credit may be properly appreciated. The country was not prepared to look the war squarely in the face and make ample provision for its prosecution, and a great number of financial makeshifts were resorted to for the purpose of tiding the Government along until there should be some sign of peace, or until the people could be educated up to the point of making loans by the hundreds of millions. Finally, early in 1862, when the army was long unpaid, and the Government was entirely unable to meet its obligations from day to day, Congress rose to the emergency and authorized the issue of five hundred millions of what was then known as the five-twenty loan. They were 6 per cent, bonds, principal and interest payable in gold, redeemable in twenty years, with the right of the Government to redeem them at any time after five years. Secretary Chase was a strict economist in the management of the affairs of the Treasury, and that led him to commit the serious mistake of attempting to handle the loan directly from the Treasury Department. He could only operate through the limited number of the agents of the Government and a few banks and bankers, and the Government had no systematic method of presenting the loan to the people. With this loan upon the market, accessible to any who would apply for it, the Govern- ment fell more and more behind, until at the beginning of 1863 over $60,000,000 were due to the soldiers, many of whom had not been paid for from three to six months, and the Treasury was literally bankrupt. It was then that Jay Cooke was ap- pealed to by Secretary Chase to become the special agent of the Government and assume the responsibility of handling the loan and supplying the needed revenues. It was a fearful undertak- ing, but Cooke was young, thoroughly equipped in all the methods of banking and cherishing an abiding faith in the patriotism of the people. He was confident that the time had come for the Government to withdraw its appeal from the money centres of the country and carry the case of the endangered Union to the homes of the people themselves. He inaugurated a system of advertising in newspapers and by cards, by which he reached a large majority of the homes of the Northern people, and appealed directly to them to put their $50, or their $100, or their $1000 of surplus money into Government bonds as the 4^6 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S safest investment they could make. The response even sur- passed the expectations of Mr. Cooke, and in a few months he had the daily receipts from bond subscriptions averaging over three millions. By the close of the year 1863 he had sold the entire loan and had subscriptions for thirteen millions more, which the Government afterward accepted and authorized the issue of that amount in addition to the original loan. Any man or banking house accomplishing for one of the Governments of Europe the great financial results obtained by our Government from Mr. Cooke would be paid a princely fortune in commissions. The Rothschilds would charge 2 or 2^ per cent, for handling a large English loan, without assum- ing any responsibility whatever, and yet Mr. Cooke was paid only a commission of Vz per cent, on the first $10,000,000, y% per cent, on all beyond that amount, and even that commission, small as it was. Secretary McCullough reduced to V^ per cent, in 1865. Out of this small percentage Cooke paid all adver- tising, agents' commissions, etc., but the magnitude of his opera- tions gave him a very handsome compensation. After he had made such a success of the first "five-twenty" loan and a new and larger loan had to be handled. Secretary Fessenden, who succeeded Chase, decided that it could be floated by the Govern- ment on the tide of public credit established by Mr. Cooke, but he was struck by the panic of Black Friday, when gold soared up to 2.85 premium; and finally, after having allowed the army to be unpaid for many months, and the Treasury to be unable to meet its obligations, he again called Mr. Cooke to handle the bonds for the Government, and in five months' time he placed the largest loan ever made by the Government, that of $830,000,000, known as the "seven-thirties." He also later handled the "ten-forty" loan, and never failed to make a brilliant success of his efforts. One time, when running the "seven- thirty" loan, he received $42,000,000 of subscriptions in one day. No one would now think of going back to the old State banking system, and few people of the present understand how reluctantly the financial interests of the country accepted the new National Banking law that has given us the only good bank currency the country has ever had. In forcing the acceptance of the new banking law Mr. Cooke also played a prominent part. Immediately after the passage of the law, in February, RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 467 1863, he and his brother, then Governor of the District of Colum- bia, organized the first national bank in that city, and Mr. Cooke immediately came to Philadelphia and by his personal efforts organized the first national bank of this city. No disposition to accept the new law was manifested in banking circles, and in New York there was aggressive hostility to it; but Mr. Cooke went to New York, summoned the men who had so cordially aided him in supporting the credit of the Government, and in a very few days a capital of five millions was subscribed for the first national bank of that city. It soon became evident to the banks of the country that it was to their interest to organize under the national law, as they were permitted to do, and gradu- ally the new system was accepted until it became universal within six months. From that time until the present all bank notes have been equally good, whether issued in New York city or in the prairie villages of the West, and the nation has the most staple currency of any Government in the world. It is claimed, and perhaps reasonably, that it needs to be amended to increase the elasticity of the system, but the system itself can never be overthrown except by some tidal wave of repudiation. From a population of 30,000,000, annual revenues of $50,000,- 000 and a money circulation of only $13 per capita in 1861, when Lincoln became President, we now have a population of 80,- 000,000, with a money circulation of nearly $30 per capita, and the 2 per cent, consols of the Government selling at a premium. Never was a country so richly blest in its progress, and its richest blessings have reached every class and condition of our people. Our trade is extended into every market of the world; our industry is better recjuited than that of any other people of the earth; our railways are extending into the remotest parts of our immense possessions, developing the nation's wealth that is simply beyond computation, and we have not only the happiest and freest and the best-provided people of the world, but we have given freedom to the Republic of Cuba, 'that has just inaugurated its first President with recognition from all nations, have thrown the great protection of freedom over Porto Rico in the West Indies, and will soon have free government in the Philippines of the Far East, where our great Republic holds the gateway to the now assured development of the Orient. EARLY WAR DELUSIONS. Few of even our most intelligent citizens of the present time take pause to consider how entirely different were the purposes and efforts of the Government at the beginning of our civil war from the purposes and efforts after it had been in progress for nearly two years. President Lincoln and the Republican lead- ers, with few exceptions, never regarded the abolition of slavery as one of the vital purposes in suppressing rebellion until nearly half the period of the war had been exhausted. So far from aiming at the overthrow of slavery, every declaration made by President Lincoln during his campaign, after his election, in his inaugural address, and his many utterances to visitors at the White House, distinctly disclaimed any such purpose, and frankly declared that slavery v^as protected by the Constitution, and that it could be overthrown only by changing the funda- mental law, or by a condition of rebellion that would produce anarchy and compel a rehabilitation of the insurgent States. There was no time between the day that Sumter was fired upon in April, i86i, until the ist of January, 1863, when the South could not have returned to the Union with every right of slavery maintained and recognized, not only by the Government, but by all parties which rose to the dignity of political factors. It was midsummer madness on the part of the Southern States to secede from the Union and take their Senators and Repre- sentatives from Congress. The wildest and most revolutionary abolitionists could not have interfered with slavery. The Senate was largely Democratic and pro-slavery, and the Supreme Court of the United States was the bulwark of slavery, its last im- portant deliverance being the decision of the Dred Scott case, and a Republican Administration and a Republican House would have been utterly powerless to make any progress whatever toward the abolition of human bondage. True, when rebellion began, the ultraradical or Abolition 'element in the Republican party welcomed secession as opening (468) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 469 the door for final emancipation, and during the first year and a half of the Lincohi administration the President was earnestly importuned by such men as Sumner and Wade to declare an emancipation policy; but Lincoln silently and patiently waited for the fulness of time, when he believed emancipation became a paramount duty, imposed by the rebellious action of the Con- federate Government founded on slavery. Even when he ac- cepted emancipation as the inevitable policy of the Government as forced upon him by the necessities of war, he issued a pre- liminary proclamation in September, 1862, in which he declared that only in all States which should be in rebellion against the Government on the ist of January, 1863, slavery should be abol- ished and forever prohibited. At that late day the opportunity was given the South to return to the Union and regain the supreme protection of the Constitution. Doubtless Lincoln knew that the South would not accept peace even with the pro- tection of slavery, but opportunity was given in good faith, and not a single State in the South took any steps whatever to save slavery by resuming allegiance to the Federal Government. The emancipation issue was thus accepted by the South itself as submitted to the terrible arbitrament of the sword, and slavery perished, a colossal suicide. Not only did not the Government and the people of the North expect to accomplish the destruction of slavery at the beginning of the war, but the very general conviction was that the war could not last beyond one or two decisive battles. It was confi- dently expected in the fall of 1861 that McClellan would capture Richmond, and that peace would then be attained by the restora- tion of the Union and the preservation of slavery. The first battle of Bull Run was a disastrous defeat, wherein the Union com- manders were outgeneraled by uniting the Confederate forces of Johnston and Beauregard and keeping the Union forces of AIcDowell and Patterson divided. Until the first battle was fought at Manassas it was generally believed that one decisive victory for the L^nion army would assure peace on some com- promise basis, and when the defeat of Bull Run was announced the North was for a time crushed to the verge of despair; but the loyal sentiment of the country was aroused, and the patriot- ism of the people asserted itself by a very generous response to the call of the Government for an army that looked like war 470 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S — an army to serve for the period of three years, or until the war was ended. General Scott had outlived his usefulness, and soon after General McClellan had been called to the command of the Army of the Potomac Scott retired and McClellan was made commander-in-chief. McClellan was one of the best educated officers of the army, and probably the best organizer on either side. He believed most sincerely in preserving the Union, and believed just as sincerely that the South should be brought back ,into the brotherhood of States with slavery unimpaired and all the rights of the South respected. He soon gathered in and around Washington an immense army, and he was tireless and most skillful in his efforts to organize and discipline his troops. He was a most accomplished engineer, and made the fortifica- tions of the capital so complete that the safety of Washington was thereafter assured. He believed then, as did the people of the North, that it was necessary only to capture Richmond to end the war, and he and the people were alike confident that Richmond would be captured at an early period, and that the fraternal conflict would then be ended. In the early fall of 1861 the country had entirely recovered from the fearful shock of the Bull Run disaster. There was absolute confidence in McClellan's ability, and his army was known to be the superior of any army that could be brought into conflict with it. There was, therefore, at first patient wait- ing for the end of the war that was soon to come, and as the advance of the Army of the Potomac was delayed from week to week impatience was manifested; but confidence in the early victory of the army and the final termination of the war was unabated. There were other army movements in the West of more or less importance, but the whole country turned to the Army of the Potomac as the hope of the nation in winning a decisive victory and restoring the Republic to union and peace. Had the loyal people of the country then been told that it would require four long years of bloody and desolating war, the sacrifice of more than half a million lives, and the destruction of untold millions of property to restore the Union, I doubt whether even the bravest patriots of that day would have felt that the sacrifice could be accepted. I remember meeting General Burnside at Washington late in the fall of 1861, when RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 471 the country was impatient because McClellan's army had not advanced upon the Confederate forces at Manassas. In the course of conversation I asked him why the movement was delayed. He answered with the frankness that always character- ized him that the army could advance any day upon Manassas and drive the enemy from its position, and that it could capture Richmond, but he added with tremulous voice that it would require the sacrifice of ten thousand men to accomplish that achievement. The contemplation of the sacrifice of ten thou- sand men was appalling in that day, and I was silenced because I felt that such an effusion of blood should be avoided if possi- ble; but ten times ten thousand men fell in fraternal conflict for the mastery of the Confederate capital before it was con- quered. The people had to be educated to advancement in ac- cepting the sacrifices of the war, but their patriotism was equal to every emergency, until finally it was accepted that whatever sacrifice of life and treasure was necessary for the preservation of the Republic must be given to prevent the overthrow of the great free Government of the world. One of the memorable events in the early part of the war that I recall was a ride around the entire Army of the Potomac in the early fall of 1861 with Lincoln and McClellan. The Penn- sylvania Reserve Corps, embracing fifteen regiments of the best organized troops, with a degree of discipline that none of the other fresh levies had enjoyed, w'as accepted as part of the army within a month after the battle of Bull Run. It had been called out by General Patterson after the Baltimore riots, resulting in the destruction of the railway and telegraph, cutting Washing- ton off from the North. He made requisition on Governor Cur- tin for 25,000 additional troops, and the troops were called out before the Washington authorities could be advised of the move- ment. The patriotic people of the State promptly responded in a large excess of numbers, and they were gathering in Harrisburg by the thousands when communication was resumed with Wash- ington, and notice received from the Government that the troops could not be accepted because not needed. Governor Curtin felt that the safety of Pennsylvania de- manded the organization of these troops, and he firmly believed that the Government would need them. He summoned the Legislature, and, under a special act, fifteen regiments were 47^ COLONEL .\LEX.\NDER K. McCLURE'S organized of a State Resei^^e Corps. They were mustered into the State serxnce.. but under the law they were subject to the call of the Government at any time they might be needed. They were all organized and reasonably well disciplmed before the battle of Bull Run. and Governor Curtin, several weeks before the battle, knowing that a conflict was imminent, wrote the War Department proposing to send these troops to re-enforce the armies, but they were refused. Two regiments, however, were called to protect the Upper Potomac, but all the others re- mained in camp in different sections of the State. When Mc- Dowell's army w^s defeated and driven into the intrenchments of Washington, scores of messages came from the President, from the Secretary- of War, from Senators and Congressmen to Governor Curtin urging the speedy transfer of the Pennsylvania Reserves to Washington to protect the capital, and the most welcome tread of soldiers ever heard in the national capital came from the march of the Reserves on Pennsylvania avenue the next morning, fully armed and equipped, and ready to protect the capital. Their arriA^al gave absolute assurance of safety, and soon thereafter they were incorporated in the Army of the Potomac as a division under the command of General McCall, with Gen- erals Meade, Reynolds and Orth at the head of brigades. It was composed of the flower of Pennsylvania sons, and, as it was a State organization. Governor Cunin took special pride in officering it with the best men and making it in every w'ay as efficient as possible. After it had been consolidated and united with the Army of the Potomac, Governor Curtin, as authorized by the law creating it, had prepared beautiful State flags for each one of the fifteen regiments, and a day was fixed for him to present them in person at Tennellytown, Md., where the Re- sene Corps was then in camp. I accompanied Governor Curtin, along with a number of others, on that occasion, and it was made a memorable day by the presence of President Lincoln, General McQellan, Secretan.- of War Cameron and a large num- ber of leading civil and m.ilitar}- officials. It was a bright Sep- tember day, and the Pennsylvania Reser\-es, with their fine disci- pline and equipment, presented a most beautiful spectacle. Each regiment was drawn up in line, and the Governor passed along. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 473 presenting the proper flag to the Colonel of each regiment with a brief speech, to which reply was given by the Colonel. After the flags had been presented a lunch was served to the large party present, and while at lunch ]\IcClellan proposed that the President, the Governor and any others who might choose to accompany them should devote the day to a ride through the Army of the Potomac from its right to its left flank, and return to Washington in the evening. Lincoln and Curtin promptly accepted, and soon after lunch a mounted party consisting of President Lincoln, General AlcClellan, General Marcy (father-in- law of McClellan and chief of his staft), Governor Curtin, Secre- tary Cameron, General McCall, commander of the Reserves; General Russell, Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, and myself, with probably several staflF officers whose names I do not recall, W'ere ready for the tour. It was an interesting party to study as they were mounted ready for their journey. AlcClellan, who was a superb horseman, who looked nearly as tall as Lincoln when on horseback, and yet was rather below than above ordi- nary stature when on his feet, was the centre of attraction. It was the first time I had met him beyond a casual introduction on one occasion in the War Office, and I took advantage of every opportunity that ofifered without being obtrusive to talk with him about the army and the war. He impressed every one most favorably. He was modest, but obviously self-reliant, and exhibited abiding faith in himself and in his army. In point of fact he was the best theoretical general on either side of the war, although surpassed by many in execution, and I felt that now the army had a commander that would speedily capture Rich- mond and end the war, for none then looked to a prolongation of the war for any considerable period beyond the overthrow of the Confederate capital. Lincoln, who rode with McClellan in front of the cavalcade, presented a strange and somewhat ridiculous contrast with Mc- Clellan as a horseman. He was as awkward on horseback as he was on his feet, and while McClellan's short legs made his stir- rups invisible excepting with a side view of the horse, Lincoln's long legs were halfway between the under part of the girth and the ground, his long arms could have guided his horse by the ears, and with the enormously high-crowned hats then worn, he presented a spectacle that was anything but attractive. Cam- 474 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S eron and ]\rarcy followed; next to them were Curtin and McCall, with Russell and myself in the rear. It was a long ride, and we traveled at a rapid pace, stopping here and there to enable IMcClellan to receive the homage that was so freely given him by his troops, and at one point we were halted to view the Con- federate flag on Munson's Hill, when McClellan somewhat dis- turbed the equanimity of most of the party by saying that we were just at that time outside of the Union lines. I was profoundly impressed with McClellan's abilities as an organizer when, during the course of the day, we halted near the centre of the army, where a New York regiment, I think it was, for some breach of discipline had been disarmed a few- days before, and McClellan had it drawn up before him and the Presidential party to receive the assurance of its officers of implicit obedience. McClellan delivered a brief address that inspired every one present with the conviction that he was every inch a soldier. The regiment that he had thus severely disci- plined and restored to its position in the army greeted him with hearty cheers. The day was full of interesting incident, and the party was broken up many times during the journey. I remem- ber falling in with L-incoln in one of the many changes that occurred, and heard him express absolute confidence in Mc- Clellan and his earnest and confident hope that Richmond would soon be captured and end the war. He was profoundly -im- pressed with the horror of the sacrifice of life in the struggle for the maintenance of the Union, and he was eloquent beyond my power to portray in expressing the hope that the Union might be restored without great effusion of blood. Most of the day he v/as unusually sober. He seemed to be thinking all the time of the fact that the brave men we v;ere visiting must soon be in deadly conflict with their own brethren, and that many of them must lay down their lives in defense of the flag; but at times he would find relief in the story that he always told so well, and that seemed for the time to make him forgetful of the sorrows which crowded upon him.. None of McClellan's army had then been under his command for more than three months, and many of them were little bet- ter than raw troops, but discipline was exhibited on every hand — not merely the discipline that is forced, but the discipline that was freely and willingly accepted by soldiers who loved their RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 475 commanding general. All who were in the party could not fail to see that McClellan had most extraordinary results in the organization and discipline of his troops, and there was every reason to believe that the Army of the Potomac was a most efficient military force, and that it had the one commander best fitted to lead it to victory. The sad sequel to this story is known to all. It was not until nearly four years of the bloodiest struggle of history that the Confederate capital was captured, after losing in the flame of battle in killed, w^ounded and missing, quite as many men as composed the grand army reviewed by McClellan and Lincoln on the bright fall day of 1861. The men who emerged from the terrible conllict to wear the greenest laurels of victory were then comparatively unknown. Grant had been given a small com- mand after much hesitation; Sherman was fuming in the St. Louis barracks, where he had been consigned as a lunatic, and the name of Sheridan was unknown outside of a small circle of army men. Five different commanders led the Army of the Potomac w-ithout achieving final success, and billions of treas- ijre, with half a million lives and four long years of the most destructive battles of modern history, were the price to be paid for the rehabilitation of the great Republic of the world. OUR THREE EXPANSION EPOCHS. Every intelligent student of American history should carefully read the great speech recently delivered in the Senate by Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, against the Philippine policy of the Government. It is one of three great speeches delivered in our national legislature against the policy of expansion by the re- spective leaders of the opposition in the several epochs of terri- torial extension; and when the student shall have carefully perused the obviously sincere and admittedly masterly argument of Senator Hoar he should turn back and read with equal care the great speech delivered in Congress by Josiah Ouincy, of Boston, then the ablest of the Federal leaders, and afterward president of Harvard College, against the recognition of the Louisiana purchase by the admission of Louisiana as a State, and then as carefully study the great speech of Senator Corwin, of Ohio, against the acquisition of Mexican territory, delivered in 1847, when the war was in progress. These three great statesmen will stand out conspicuously in American history as the ablest opponents of the policy of expansion, and their argu- ments should be exhaustively studied to understand how the great Republic of the world was opposed in its advancement from the few feeble colonies of the eastern coast to a great nation of States, extending from the eastern to the western sea, and from the northern lakes to the southern gulf, with prov- inces of priceless value in the West Indies and the gateway to the Orient. Jefferson accomplished the purchase of Louisiana from Na- poleon in 1803 for the sum of $15,000,000, and on the 20th of December of that year the American fiag was first raised in tlje city of New Orleans. Louisiana had been held alternately by France and Spain. The Spanish element predominated in the population, and when Napoleon obtained repossession of Louisi- ana from Spain in 1800 his purpose was to send a military expe- dition to New Orleans and speedily develop the power of his (476) RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 477 Government on this continent. The apprehension that the freedom of commerce of the Mississippi would be impaired by Napoleon was speedily realized by a proclamation prohibiting the freedom of the Mississippi to American traders. Jefferson then addressed Livingston, the French Minister, with whom was Mr. Monroe, urging the purchase of the Island of New Orleans to assure the freedom of commerce on the Mississippi. In the meantime Napoleon's purposes had been changed, and he de- cided to fortify himself for an extensive struggle with England. To the surprise of Livingston, Napoleon when approached on the subject at once offered to sell without reserve the entire territory of Louisiana, and in less than a fortnight after the negotiations had comm.enced the treaty was signed on April 30, 1803. The territory then contained a population of about 85,000 whites, with 40,000 slaves, and its magnitude may be understood when it is remembered that out of that same territory have been created the States of Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Min- nesota, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Okla- homa and Indian Territory. The Federalists vehemently op- posed the purchase of Louisiana, and assailed Jefiferson unspar- ingly for reckless usurpation of executive authority and violation of the Constitution, and the temper and convictions of the op- posing Federalists were most eloquently and forcefully presented by Mr. Ouincy in his speech of July 14, 181 1, against the admis- sion of Louisiana as a State. He declared that the Louisiana extension policy would justify a revolution in this country; that "the bonds of this Union are virtually dissolved; that the States which compose it are free from moral obligations, and that, as it would be the right of all, so it would be the duty of some to prepare definitely for a separation — amicably if they can; vio- lently if they must." The special force of Mr. Quincy's cele- brated argument was in the fact that Louisiana was then beyond the reach of our civilization, as communication could not be had with New Orleans in less than a fortnight ; that the people were alien to our race, to our laws, to our language and to our methods of life, and that if admitted into fellowship as sover- eigns of the Republic they would come like the barbarians of the Northern forests when they swarmed upon Rome. Here is his emphatic language on this point: "You have no right to throw the rights and liberties and property of this people into 478 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S hotch-potch with wild men on the Missouri, nor with the no more respectable race of Anglo-Hispano-Galo-Americans who bask on the sands at the mouth of the Mississippi." To which he added: "Do you suppose the people of the Northern or Atlantic States will or ought to look on with patience and see Representatives and Senators from the Red River and the Mis- sissippi pouring themselves on this and the other floor managing the concerns of a seaport 1,500 miles at least from their resi- dence, and having a preponderance of the councils into which constitutionally they could never have been admitted?" He seemed to be appalled at the prospect of the growth of the West with a barbarous and semi-barbarous population, and he sought to make Congress take pause over the admission of Louisiana by declaring that boasts were made that "as many as six new States" would ultimately be formed out of the Western territory, and that the mouth of the Ohio might one day be east of the centre of the great empire that was contemplated by the Im- perialists of that day. He declared that revolution would not only be justified, but that it would be inevitable, as the imperial- ism of Jefferson would never be content until it had reached the Pacific coast, including California and the Columbia River. He admitted that such a government might last for some time, but he declared that under the death blow then given it could only linger, and that "lingering its fate will, at no distant period, be consummated." Such were the arguments presented against the imperialism of Jefferson that gave us Louisiana, and that has vindicated Quincy's prophetic vision by giving the nation nine States, with two Territories which will soon be admitted into Statehood. He was earnest, conscientious and able, as were Corwin and Hoar, who took his place in the two great expansion epochs which have followed, even when the wisdom of Jefferson's imperial policy was accepted by all political parties. After the defeat of the Federal party in 1800 it assumed to be the conserving power of the Government, and its lines were defined for conservative action, but from conservatism it degenerated into a reckless pessimistic policy, fell far in the rear ranks of progress, and finally perished unlamented as a political factor in our free Government. When the student of American history shall have finished his RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 479 Study of the great speech of Mr. Quincy he should take the map of the United States and draw a hne across it, beginning at the southeast corner of Louisiana on the Gulf, and follow the line of the Mississippi to the northeast corner of Minnesota on the lakes; thence westward to the northwest corner of North Dakota, and return southward on the southern line of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, and he will then understand that the Louisi- ana territory now covers nine States and two Territories, and if they were eliminated from the Union it would cut the great Republic in twain from the Gulf to the Lakes, and make the Mississippi the western terminus of the Republic, without even the free navigation of its waters. The Louisiana purchase forced the annexation of Texas, and later led to the Mexican War, that gave us the territory now embraced in five States and two Terri- tories, and the possession of the Pacific coast from the southern line of California to the British possessions. It was not so much imperialism as a desire to extend slavery that led to the annexation of Texas in 1845. It was earnestly opposed by leading statesmen North and South, prominent among whom were both Gay and Van Buren, and the general ground of opposition to the annexation was that it would be accepted by Mexico as an act of war, or would, by reason of the disputed boundary lines, lead to war. Polk was elected Presi- dent over Clay in 1844, when the annexation of Texas was made an issue in the contest, and after Polk's election and before his inauguration Congress passed and Tyler approved the annexa- tion measure. It was well understood then that the Southern leaders looked to the extension of Southern territory for the creation of new slave States by the acquisition of part of Mexico. The North, with its free industries, was moving westward and threatened to disturb what Calhoun called the equilibrium be- tween the North and South in the control of the Government. It was accepted as a necessity in the South to acquire new slave States. In accordance with this policy President Polk precipi- tated the Mexican war when Congress was not in session by ordering General Taylor's command from the Neuces to the Rio Grande, thereby occupying the territory claimed and held by the Mexicans, and the battles of Palo Alto and Reseca de la Palma followed. 480 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S The Mexican war called out most earnest protest from the statesmen of that day who represented the anti-imperial senti- ment. They were as earnest and sincere in their opposition to the new imperialism under Polk as Quincy and his fellow anti- imperiaUsts were in opposition to expansion under Jefferson. It was claimed by them then that the war was wantonly pro- voked, and that the Government could not justify itself before the enlig-htened judgment of the world in waging war on a weak nation to despoil it of its territory. The man who most ably voiced that sentiment was Senator Thomas Corwin, of Ohio, who delivered the ablest speech ever heard in the Senate, unless Webster's reply to Hayne may be made the exception, on the nth of February, 1847, i" which he earnestly and eloquently protested against the further prosecution of the war, and de- clared his purpose not to vote a dollar of money even to sustairi the army. Corwin was one of the most accomplished orators of his day, and was certainly one of the most forceful of all the many men of that time who were distinguished as popular orators. His speech lacks the colossal profundity of Webster's reply to Hayne, but it ranks today among the classics in American ora- tory. It was in this speech that he said: "If I were a Mexican I would tell you: 'Have you not room in your own country to bury your dead? If you come into mine we will greet you with bloody hands and welcome you to hospitable graves,' " and his incisive presentation of the moral aspect of the issue is simply beautifully echoed in the recent speech of Senator Hoar against our Philippine policy. Corwin said: "If the history of our race has established any truth, it is but a confirmation of what is written — 'The way of the transgressor is hard.' Inordi- nate ambition, wantoning in power, and spurning the humble maxims of justice, has, ever has, and ever shall, end in ruin. Strength cannot always trample on weakness; the humble shall be exalted, the bowed down will at length be lifted up. It is by faith in the law of strict justice and the practice of its precepts that nations alone can be saved. All the annals of the human race, sacred and profane, are written over with this great truth in characters of living light. It is my fear, my fixed belief, that in this invasion, this war with Mexico, we have forgotten this vital truth." RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 48 1 The speech of Corwin made a profound impression through- out the country, but the fact that he refused to vote supplies for the American army in the field greatly weakened his posi- tion, and he lived to see the imperialism to which he was so earnestly and conscientiously opposed complete its triumph by taking from Mexico what would be today the most important part of her possessions; and a dozen years later, when Corwin had returned to the popular branch of Congress after a long sea- son of retirement, he was sent as Minister to Mexico by Presi- dent Lincoln solely because of the affection cherished for him by the Mexican people and Government, thereby giving him the power to prevent them from becoming complicated with the ef- fort of the South to dismember the Republic. There w^ere many other great men whose voices were heard teaching just what Quincy taught in 181 1, and what Hoar taught in 1902, but Cor- wdn's great speech overshadowed them all. Even Clay, the grand orator and statesman of his thvxe, voluntarily emerged from his retirement on the 13th of November, 1847, snd delivered an elaborate address at Lexington to his friends and neighbors against the policy and purposes of the Mexican war. The sky was overcast and threatening storm when he appeared upon the platform, and the first paragraph of his speech was in these words: "The day is dark and gloomy, unsettled and uncertain, like the condition of our country in regard to the unnatural war with Mexico. The public mind is agitated and anxious, and is filled wnth serious apprehensions as to its indefinite continuance, and especially as to the consequences which its termination may bring forth menacing the harmony, if not the existence, of our Union." But, great as were the arguments of Clay and others against the policy of the Mexican war, the speech of Corwin has ever stood out single and alone as the matchless deliverance of that epoch against the tide of imperiaUsm that gave us the most valuable portion of Mexican territory. After carefully studying the speech of Corwin as the grandest and greatest of the efiforts of our statesmen against imperialism in the second great epoch of its progress, let the student of our history take the map of the United States and draw a line from the southeastern corner of New Mexico northward to the north- eastern corner of Colorado, thence westward to the northwestern corner of California on the Pacific, then south along the coast 4S2 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S and the southern Hne of California, Arizona and New Mexico, and he will learn what the imperialism of that day accomplished for the Union. Eliminate the Louisiana purchase and the terri- tory acquired from Mexico from the map of the United States, and with them the State of Texas, which would never have been ■ annexed but for the acquisition of Louisiana, and our Republic would possess territory only east of the Mississippi, with an isolated province in the far Northwest that would today be comparatively primitive and far beyond the reach of our civil- ization but for the triumph of the imperial policy under Jefferson in 1803 and under Polk in 1848. The great speech recently delivered in the Senate by Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, will go into history as the grandest of the protests of American statesmanship against the new epoch of expansion that began with the acquisition of the Sand- wich Islands and ended with the possession of Porto Rico, the Philippines and practically Cuba. It is a speech that in point of logical analysis and earnest and conscientious presentation of abstract truths has been equaled by few, if any, and never sur- passed in the records of American statesmanship. There is not a single fundamental principle of justice presented in it that could be logically refuted, and the same can be said of the great speeches of Quincy and Corwin, but they all overlooked the su- preme political necessities of the time which were indissolubly interwoven with the great destiny of the Republic. The teach- ings of these men would have made our great Republic patterned after the little mountain Republic of San Morino, that for 14 centuries has maintained its independence and is one of the very few happy nations that has no history. In all the long period of its existence it has not advanced in civilization, but has stood still in peaceful poverty, without creating a single heroic char- acter to lead mankind to nobler aims and effort. Senator Hoar's great speech will live, like the speeches of Quincy and Corwin, as records of the masterly ability that at- tempted to halt the progress of our RepubHc. The present expansion policy is only the logical sequel to the expansion epochs of Jefferson and Polk, and the immediate necessity for it is even greater. In our wonderful progress we have reached a period when American skill and ingenuity outstrip the in- dustries of the world, and the demand for the control of foreign RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 483 markets in the interest of our diversified products is inexorable. Like every advancement of civilization, the Bible and the battleax have been hand in hand in this progress. It is the same resist- less destiny that made the Indian retreat before the pioneer until his hunting grounds and the graves of his kindred were erected into great Commonwealths; the same resistless destiny that made our armies wage war, and often with appalling brutal- ity, against the semi-barbarians of Mexico, and the same resist- less destiny that made us accomplish the possession of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines, the last of which brought a conflict with barbarians that can be first mastered only by the sword, to open the way for the lessons of civilization and the blessings of freedom. It is well that there are those to halt the progress of brutality in war, as the best soldiery, when confronted with the brutality and treachery of barbarism, is in danger of degenerating into fiendish warfare; but after all shall be said that can be said against the violation of the rules of war in the Philippine conflict, the record of the American army will stand unsullied in the history of the Republic. We have Cuba because it was a necessity to possess it. True, it is nominally a Republic, but a few years at the most must bring it into full fellowship with the Union; and Porto Rico, the Philippines and the Danish West India Islands, soon to be possessed by us, will all brighten the grandeur of our Republic, and give to the world an impressive illustration of the priceless blessings of our civilization and free government. We hold the gateway in the Orient, and our great Republic is now for the first time in its history in a position to command the markets of the world for our trade and commerce, and with them carry to every foreign mart the influence of our beneficent civilization. Ouincy, Corwin and Hoar have made grand landmarks in the history of our statesmanship, but our free people were wiser than these teachers, and they steadily advanced our free institutions until today there is not a crown or a republican ruler of the old world who does not confess the omnipotence of the United States in war or peace. INDEX. * A star indicates that the name is mentioned two or more times on the same page. Ackerman, 398. Adams, Chas. F., 134, 389. Adams, John, a reminiscence of his princely hospitality to four Southern col- lege graduates, 403-4; mentioned: 3, *42, 88, 134, *i54, *i5s, 156, *402. Adams, John Quincy, 3, 39, 42, 134, 212, 459. Alamo, *i63, 167. Alexis, Prince, visited country on a jour- ney around the world in 1871, 365; wel- come because of friendship Russia had shown in the war, 365; ball given him in Philadelphia greatest social event in its history, 366; he did much to temper American prejudice against royalty, 367; mentioned: *365-6-*7, 368. Alfriend, 13. Alger, Russell A., blamed by Sherman for his defeat, 139. Allen, Miss EHza, 164. Allen, Gov. \Vm., 98, 166. Allison, 139, 450. Altoona; 117, *36o. Ames, Oakes, 73. Anderson. Jeremiah G., 24, *27. Anderson, Major and General, 49, *54, *S5, 241, *332, 371. Anderson, John, *7S, 76. Anderson, Osborne P., 24, 25. Anna Santa, defeat of by Houston, 165; mentioned: 81, *i67, 172. Anthony, Senator, 209, 269, 450. Antietam, *263, 264, *3i5, 317, 318, 319, 320, *326, *34S. 34^. 350, 360, 387, 409. 435- Appomattox, 91, 207, 241, 242, 267, 298, 321, 329, "33c, 351- Arthur Chester A., and His Successful Administration, 115 — 123; widely dis- trusted on entrance to Presidency, 113; his previous career, 115; his first impor- tant legal case the Lemmon slave case, 116; great ability and severe modesty of. 119; his manly devotion to Conkling gave rise to the fear that he would he dominated by Conkling, 120; heroic obedience to public duty, 121; showed that he. not Conkling, was President, 121; slowly but surely gained public confidence, 121-2; had unbounded con- fidence of the people upon his retire- ment, 122; died universally beloved and lamented, 123; mentioned: "93, 103, 110, 113, 124, 437, 456. Ashley, 64, 6$. Ashmead, John W., 22. Astor House, 220. Atlanta, 91, "335, *336, *338, 349, 399, 401, 402, 405. Atlanta Constitution, 399. Atlanta Herald, 399. Attila, *i94, 196. Atzerodt, Gov., 245, '246. Austrian Emperor, 202. Ball's Bluff, 35. Baker (Edward D.), Broderick and Mc- Kibben, battle of, to hold the Pacific region to the Union, 29 — 36; author of one of the most eloquent and impressive orations ever delivered in history of re- public, 34; his impromptu speech in reply to Breckinridge one of most in- teresting episodes in history of Senate, 33; gave his life on Ball's Bluff battle- field, 33; his death felt as a national be- reavement, 33. Baltic, steamer, ^6. Banks, Gen., 208, *324, 325, 434. Barrancas, Fort, 49. Barrett, Lawrence, *249. Bates, *2i3. Bayard (of Del.), 155. Beauregard, Gen., 16, 33, 34, '53, 56, 83, 174. 241, 314, 323, 334, *343, 469. Beaufort, Fort, 346. Beckan, Mayor, 28. Bee, Gen., 323. Belknap, Fort, 49. Bell, Sen. John (of Tennessee), *i7i. Bern, Gen., 197. Benham, 207. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary of State, 224. Bennett, 41. Benton, Tesse, *27i. Benton, Thos. H., the leader in Western progress, 269—277; few today have any- thing approaching a just appreciation of his great service to country, 269; did more than any other dozen men to eflfect Missouri Compronise, 270; quarrel be- tween Jackson and, 270; arrogance and egotism that weakened him, 272; first to propo.se Pacific Railway and called a dreamer," 273; his romantic devotion to Jackson after their reconciliation, 273; series of political defeats after thirty suc- cessive years in Congress broke his heart, 277; his "Thirty Years in the (48s) 486 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Senate" best political history of his period, 450; mentioned: 45, 166, 402, 450. Bering Sea controversy, 142. Big Bethel, 43«- . . ^ . Big Dick, mountain stage coach driver, 284-5. Bigler, Wm., 21. Bingham, Gen., *i82. Birney, 395. Bishop (of Massachusetts), 390. Black, Atty. Gen., 51. Black, Chief Justice, 4^9- , ,, Blaine, Tames G., would gladly have made friends with Conkling, 112; master spirit of Garfield administration, 113; remarkable campaign made for himself in 1884, 122; little doubt that he would have been nominated in 188S had he not withdrawn his name, 138; "I am fated not to be President," 162; the surprise at his selection of one Robert G. Inger- soll, an unknown man, to present his name to the convention in 1876, 425; de- scription of the great speech of Robert G. Ingersoll, nominating him for the presidency, 426; how an adjournment was forced and his nomination delayed till too late, 427; mentioned: 12, 99, 107, io3, '109, *iio, 117, 118, 121, 129, 139, 142, 214, 219, 420, *426, *428, 456, 457. Blair (Francis P.), and Gales, the great editors of olden times, 37—47; as editor of the Globe, 43; greatest political leader among American editors, 43; more nearly founder of Republican party than any other man, 44; created Fremont as Presi- dential candidate, 45; master spirit at organization of Republican party, 45! passed through the lines to confer with Davis, 46; important factor in effecting nomination of Lincoln, 46; mentioned: 243, *26o, 261, 339, 3S5- Blair, Montgomery, 260. Bliss, Betty, 81, 132. Bliss, Maj. Wm. W. S., *8i. Blunt (of New York), 116. Bonaparte, Jerome, incipient royalist vis- itor to country, 362-3. Booth, Miss Asia, 246. Booth, Edwin, his sad life after his brotlier's murderous deed, 249; men- tioned: 245, *248. Booth, Edwina, 248. Booth, J. Wilkes, his assassination of Lin- coln, 243; plan to abduct Lincoln, 245; criticism of, as an actor, 245; capture of, 246; mentioned: 146, 242, *243, '246, 247, 248. Border States, the deadly struggle in, 371— 378; the manful fight against secession, made by many public men in the, 3TI-2; war in, carried into every social circle and even to the altar, 373; not uncom- mon for father, son and brother to be fighting in opposing armies, 373; sad story of the lives of John J. Crittenden and Geo. D. Prentice, 373; scores of men whose fate was little less sorrowful than th&t of Crittenden and Prentice, 377; mentioned: 382. Boseman, *255. Boteler, Alex. R.. 372 Boutwell, Geo. S., Sumner and Chase, 389 — 397; one of the three great Repub- lican leaders, started in his career by the Democrats, 389-90; organization of revenue department, 390; codification of statutes, 390; mentioned: 288. Bowie, 165, 171. Brady, James T., 16. Bragg, Gen., 328. Breckinridge, John C, handsome personal appearance, 159; no man ever more sweetly dreamed the dream of reaching Presidency, 159; why he joined the Con- federacy, 159; mentioned: 32, 35, 72, 160, 3.=;4, 374- Brewster, Atty. Gen. Benj. H., 180, 181, 182. Brewster, Jonah, '337. Biiggs, 3S9. Brinkerhoff, Judge (of Ohio), 236. Bristow, 117. Broderick (David C), Baker and McKib- ben, battle of to hold the Pacific region to the Union, 29 — 36; one of the most remarkable characters of American his- tory, 31; his position on slavery cost him his prestige and his life, 30; his death profoundly impressed the coun- try, 32; it did more than all other causes combined to hold California to the LTnion, 32; and Wilson resented re- flection upon dignity of labor, 293-4. Brooklyn, flagship, 150. Brooks, Preston S., and his bludgeon, the most effective agent in advancing the young Republican party, 393-4; men- tioned: *289. Brough, John, 147, 229, 230. Brown, Gov., 355. Brown, Henry, 24. Brown, John, made himself known as "Dr. Smith" to inhabitants of Chambersburg, 24; his force at Harper's Ferry, 24; preparations for atta-ck, 25; arsenal cap- tured without a shot, 26; attacked by marines, and band captured or killed, 27; mentioned: 245. Brown, John C, 104. Brown, Oliver, 24, 27. Brown, Owen, 24, 27. Brown, Watson, 24, 27. Brownlow, Parson Wm. G., his rebellion against rebellion, 222; preacher, journal- ist and politician, 223; arrested and sent inside of Union lines, 224; boundless en- thusiasm of his reception on lecture tour through the North, 224; mentioned: 30. Bruce, Sen. Blanche K., *2S4, 257. Bruce, Gen. Robert, 363. Bryan, tireless, aggressive and hopeful to- day in his struggle for political revolu- tion, 163; his speech nominating himself one of the most skilful and impassioned ever delivered, 427; mentioned: 6, 122, 147, 149, 369. Buchanan, anxious to avoid conflict, 50; did not believe Congress had power to coerce -State. 51: Pierce, Lincoln and Johnson, in the White House, 79: never originated a public measure, 84; tireless industry, 84; only bachelor ever elected President, except Cleveland, 85; severest ordeal of any President save Lincoln, 85; only error was his delay in reorganiz- ing cabinet, 85; kindly affected by two young ladies' appeal, 169; mentioned: 3. 31, 36, 4S, 53, *54, 70, 79, 80, *82, *83, 86, 103, 116, 158, *i68, *2o6, *2i8, *3S7, 363, 392. *44i, 4S9- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 487 Buckalew, Chas, R.) 240. Buckeye Blacksmith, celebrated orator in Wm. Henry Harrison campaign, 4. Buell, Gen., *3i4, 333, 334. Buena Vista, 12, 342, 374. Bullock, ex-Gov., *402. Bull Run, 18, 206, 262, 294, 315, 317, 318, 323, *326, 332, 341, 342, 344, *346, 350, 360, 40?, 436, '462, '469, 470, 471, 472- Burnside, Gen., third commander of Army of Potomac, 345; frankly declared himself not fitted for the command, 345; terribly crushed by his failure at Fred- ericksburg and Marey's Heights and re- quested his own displacement, 346; ap- palled at the thought of sacrificing lo.ooo men to capture Richmond, 471 ; men- tioned; *227, '228, 315, 319, 326, *347, 470. Burr, Aaron, his great opportunity, 15s; terrible sorrow and misfortunes of, 155; mentioned: 154. Burt, Silas W., *ii8. Burke, Mr. (Pres. New Orleans Exposi- tion), 175; mentioned: 176. Butler, B. F., anxious to punish leaders of Confederacy, 298; his subjection of the city of New Orleans, 3S4; his notable order No. 28 against the ladies who in- sulted his soldiers, 385-6; how he later befriended the wife of the man who was shot under nis order for tearing down flag at New Orleans, 385; mentioned: II. 75, 77, 256, *386, *387. Butler, Judge, 175. Butler, Sen. (of South Carolina), 102, 103, *393- Cadwallader, Gen., 341. Calhoun, John C, his disappointment as candidate for Presidency doubtless did much to make him a secessionist, 158; mentioned: *6, 42, 44, 82, 193, 226, 232-, 235, 275, 276, 395, 408, 479- California, Broderick's part in keeping it loyal to Union, 30-1-2; would have been mastered by anti-Union element or led to independent empire without Broder- ick. Baker and McKibben, 36; Repub- lican party expected to carry, by declara- tion in favor of Pacific Railway, 70; con- vulsed in her political conflicts with op- position to men who built the Pacific Railway, 73; proposition to cede to asso- ciation of Americans, 74-5. Calkins, Editor E. A., i6g. Cameron, Gen., reported Sherman as ab- solutely crazy, 332-3; mentioned: *45, 46, S3, 104, 142, 203, 205, *2i5, "240, *26o, 291, 419. 425, 472, 473- Campbell, ex-Judge, 14, 181, 355. Campbell, Judge, 298. Campbell, Lewis D., 226. Capital, our beautiful; see Washington, 203. Cardosa, *255. Carlisle, John G., Speaker of House, 93; mentioned: 128, 444, 445. Carter, Col., 81, 380. Carter, Judge, 285. Carrol.', Gen., 271. Cass, Gen.. 44, 82, 84, *i66, *i6o, *237. Caswell, Fort, 49. Cedar Run. 325. Cemetery Hill, 264, 266, 268, 350, 416, 4381 Century Magazine, 92. Chadbourne, Fort, 49. Chadwick, Capt., 150. Chamberlain, Gov. (of South Carolina), 102, 103, 255, 412, *4i3. Chambersburg, 89, 318, 339, 341, 357, 376, 380, 409, *4io, *4ii, 412, 418, '463. Chancellorsville, 267, *3i8, 322, 324, 327, ^*348, 350- Chandler, Sen. (of Michigan), 209, 213. "Charlotte, Poor," 78. Chase, Salmon P., rendered country in- estimable service in his management of the Treasury during the war, 395; be- lieved that he should have been Presi- dent instead of Lincoln; 396; his efforts lo serve his political interests led to his retirement from cabinet, 396; appoint- ment as chief justice, by Lincoln, 396; Sumner and Boutwell, 389 — 397; one of the three great Republican leaders started in their careers by the Demo- crats, 390; mentioned: 51, 160, *i89, 213, *2i5, *342, 450, 452, *464, *465, 466. Cheatham, Henry C, 257. Chestnut, Capt., 55. Chestnut, Sen., 33. Chickamauga, 107, 328, 374. Chiliuahua, sale of, 70; mentioned: 74, 75. Childs, Geo. W., initiated movement for Grant's relief, restoring him to army with rank of retired general, 92-3; how Grant made a horse trade for him, 94; mentioned: 90, 92, *93, 224, 367, 443, *447, *448, *449. Christiana and Harper's Ferry, the first battles of our Civil War, 18—28; fugitive slaves discovered at, 20; their capture attempted, 20; the battle that brought first blood of the Civil War, 21. City Point, the peace conference, 14, 15, 62. Clark, Capt., 207. Clarke, Creston (son of John S.), 247, 248. Clarke, Gov. (of Missouri), *27i. Clarke, Mrs. John S., *247, '248. Clarke, John Sleeper, brother-in-law to Booth, 246; how he suffered for Booth's deed, 247; mentioned: *248. Clay, Henry, no man suffered keener sor- row because of repeated defeats for Presidency, 156; worshiped as no na- tional candidate was ever worshiped be- fore or since, 156; grandest of Amer- ican commoners, '415; his speech against the Mexic.Ti *6, *39, 41, 82, 108, ISS, »I56, 157, 158, 193, 214, 215, 232, 233, '275, 276, *353. *373, 375, 395. 4^6, 450, *479. Clay. James B., 275. Cleveland, Pres. Grover, three contests and two administrations, 124 — 133; early career, 125; reluctant candidate for President, 12=;: the claim that he was a man of destiny a thoughtless one, 124; strong, resolute personality, 124; Tammany's fight against his nomination, 126; real- ized the personal sacrifice he was mak- ing in his memorable tariff message, 128; how he maintained credit of republic by selling bonds in spite of Con^rrcss. 130; his prompt order which stopped the Chicago riot. 131: attitude in the Ven- ezuela dispute, 131-2: had 100,000 popular maiority and would have won in iS'^S could he have carried his own State, 141; mentioned: 4, 85, 121, 135, 140, '142, *i62, 414, 426, '443, 444. 488 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Cleveland, Mrs., model mother and woman of the nation, 132; mentioned: 81, 133. Clingman, Thos. L., *358. Cobb, Howell, 48, *357. Cobden, 199. Cockran, Bourke, his speech against Cleve- land's third nomination immortal, *i29, 426, 427. Colbatb, Jeremiah Jones, 287. Cold Harbor, 315, 328, 329. Colfax, Vice-Pres., 67, 291, *292. Colquitt, Gov., '402, 403, *404. Columbia, 338-9- Conkling, Roscoe, speech nominaung Grant, 109; imperious manner, no; at- tempted to assert his power over Presi- dent by resigning his seat in the Senate, 119; nommated by Arthur for justice of Supreme Court, 121 ; defeated Blaine m 1884 by throwing New York against him, 122; mentioned: 99, 100, 103, m, *ii2, *ii3, *ii7, 118, *12D, 129, 138, *426. Connors, Hank, mountain stage coach driver, 285. Continental (hotel), 364. Cook, Capt., 150. Cook, Gov., 209. Cook, Jay, 74- Cook, John Edwin, 24, 25, 27. Cooke, Jay, special . agent of the govern- ment to finance' its war bonds when they were a drug on the market, 46s; went to the people with his appeal and by the end of the year had the $500,000,- 000 over-subscribed, 465; Rothschilds would have charged ten millions for ser- vice for which he received about two millions, minus all his expenses, 466; also placed the "seven-thirty" loan, the largest ever made by the government, and later the "ten-forty" loan, 466; his prominent part in overcoming opposition to the new national banking law, 467. Cooper, James, 22. Copeland, Wm., 24. Copi>oc, Barclay, 24. Coppoc, Edwin, 24. Corbett, Boston, 246. Cornell, Alonzo B., 103, *ii7, *ii8. Corpus Christi, 349. Corwin, Matthias, 185. Corwin, Thos., foremost popular orator of his time, 184; career, 184-5; .a speech without equal in eloquence, wit and in- vective in annals of Congress, 186; his speech against Mexican War is second only to Webster's reply to Hayne, :86; l.is witty speech in a celebrated divorce case recalled, 187-8; one of the few who fully estimated the seriousness of the slavery issue, 190; happy influence of, as minister to Mexico, 190; sudden death at a social gathering, 191; his great speech against the war with Mexico, 480-81; mentioned: 478, *482, 483, 485- Corv/in, W'm. Henry, 190. Cowan, Edgar, 240. Courier-Journal, 377. Crawford, Secy., 39, 155, '403. Crary, Gen., 186. Credit Afobificr, 43, 73- Crittenden, Geo. B., 374. Crittenden, John T., one of the most prom- inent men of Kentucky next to Henry Clay, 373; his hopeless eflforts in the twi- light of his great career to avert fra- ternal conflict, 373; his sorrow's crown of sorrows when one son entered Con- federacy and another entered Union army, 374; mentioned: 374. 375. 376, 377. Crocker, 73. Crockett, 165, 171. Cross Keys, 325. Gulp's Hill, 264. Culver (of New York), 116. Curtin, (jov., how he and Lane turned the Seward convention to Lincoln, 215-16; suggested the call for the meeting of the Northern Governors at Altoona, 220; "buried" in Russian mission, 200; Ste- phens' declaration that he delivered the most destructive blow to South by Al- toona conference, 360; his offer of Penn- sylvania Reserve Corps refused by War Department, and later accepted with pre- cipitation, 472; presentation of flags to Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, 472 — 473; mentioned: 53, *7S, *T/, 88, 99, 205, 206, *2i5, *2i9, *29i, 318, 344, 359, *366, 433, 434, *47i, 474- Curtin (of New York), 117. Curtis, Gen., 383. Cushing, Caleb, 75, 76, 78. Cushman (of IMassachusetts), 389. Cuyler, Theo. C, 22. Czar of Russia, *365, 366, 367. Czolgosz, Leon F., 145. Dallas, Vice-Pres., 232, 233. Dandridge, Philip P., 81. Dauphin, Maximilian A., 173, 175, 176, 177, *i8o. Davis, Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, 8 — 17; his election to Presidency of Con- federacy a serious disappointment to him, 8; would never have been captured had Lincoln lived, 11; his early career, 12; man of forceful intellect and able in debates, 12; frankly maintained the right of secession on all suitable occasions, 12; his trials as President as bad as those of Lincoln, 13; his clear explanation how he was unable to consider any peace overture that did not involve perpetuity of the Confederacy, 15; capture and im- prisonment, 16; how sentiment against him in the South changed during his imprisonment, 16; his tribute to Lincoln, 17; startled at the idea that North would never have waged war had not attack been made on Sumter, 59; his reason for firing on Sumter, 59; believed Lincoln to be a rude jester and relentless butcher, 244; issued proclamation of banishment, 381; proclamation to grant letters of marque and reprisal, 382; his proclama- tion against Butler, 386; mentioned: *\(>, *49, 56, Si, *2o6, 253, 254, 261, 262, '265, 297, 3.1^. 354. *?.--., *356, *359- Davis, Mrs. Jefferson, 97. Davis. Sen. (of Massachusetts), the first to defeat a measure by talking against time, 237. De Frees. John D., 215. Delaney (of South Carolina), '255. De Large (of South Carolina), 256. Denver, when it had only 5.000 popula- tion; mentioned: 281, '282, 286. De Paris, Count, *400. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 489 Depew, leading factor in deciding on Harrison, 139; mentioned: 369. Devlin, Miss Mary, 248. Dewey, Admiral, suggested by McKinley for Schley Court of Inquiry, J50; men- tioned: 151, 199, 207. Dimmick, Mrs., 144. Dodge. Col., *28i. Dom Pedro, 367. Donaldson, Fort, 90. Doubleday, Gen., his prediction that war would be most desperate and bloody in modern history, 342; mentioned: 341. Dougherty, 129, 426. Douglas, Stephen A., grand in defeat, 160; patriotic support to Lincoln, 160; had he lived, 160; mentioned: 8, 32, 34, 72, 82, 122, 159, 162, 354. Downing, Jack, first of humorous and satir- ical political writers, *40. Dred Scot^ decision, 23-4, 116, 392, 468. Drexel, Anthony J., a free loan to Grant by, 92; mentioned: 90, *93, 443, *449. Duane, \Vm., vituperative editorials against Washington and Adams, '42. Early, Gen., wrote against secession, yet fulfilled his boast that he would die an "unreconstructed rebel," 372; men- tioned: 174, *329. Edmunds, Sen., *i8o, *i82. Edward, King, 363. Elliott, Rep. (of South Carolina), *25S, *2c6, 361. Ellis, Gov., so. Emperor of Brazil, *367. Evans, INIiss, 311. Evarts, \Vm. M., 116, *ii7, 219. Everett, Edward, 200, *289. Ewell, 324. Ewing, Miss Ellen B., 331, 451. Ewing, Sen. Thos., adopted Wm. T. Sher- man as a boy, 451; mentioned: '277, *33i. Expansion Epochs, Our Three, 476 — 4S3; acquisition of Louisiana territory, ac- quisition of Texas, acquisition of Philip- pines, 47C; three great speeches against expansion by Quincy, Corwin and Hoar, 476-483. Farragut, .\dmiral, 207, *384. Fenton, 290. Ferdinand of Austria, 19s, 197. Fessenden, Senator, regarded as the best- fitted man in Senate to succeed Johnson as President, 66. Fessenden, Sec, had to call on Cooke after failure to float the $830,000,000 loan in 1865, 466; mentioned: *68, 209, 213, 214. Fillmore, Pres. Millard, Pierce, Bu- chanan, Lincoln and Johnson in the White Plouse, 79—88; carried the elec- toral vote of only one State in 1856, 159; mentioned: 3, 41, 45, 84, 86, 103, 156, 158, *i87, 193, 200, *2i8, *Z72, Z7A- Fillmore, Mrs., *8i. Financial Progress of the Republic, 460 — 467; increase from $14 to $30 per capita in circulation, 460; immense amount of bad money in circulation a half century ago, 460-1-2; government forced to sus- pend specie payment in 1862 and gold went to a premium, 462; how withdrawal of gold and silver from circulation in- augurated the evil of the small fractional notes, known as "shin plasters," 462; how a Chambersburg bank supplied small currency for the community, 463; $50,- 000,000 of fractional currency issued by the government, and $6,876,361.63 still un- redeemed, though none' of it is in circu- lation, 463-4; net per capita debt of coun- try about $12 today, against $67 in 1868, 464; the tremendous service to the coun- try rendered by Jay Cooke in placing our war loans, 464-5-6; after financiers had refused to take more bonds Cooke went to the people with his appeal, and had the issue over-subscribed thirteen mil- lions, 466; the reluctance of bankers to accept the National Banking law and Jay Cooke's efforts in its behalf, 466-7. Finley (Governor, Pennsylvania), 3. Five Forks, *329, 438, *439. Folger, Sec. (of Treasury), 124. Folsom, Frances, Cleveland married to, 132. Footc, Sen., 12. Ford's Theatre, 242, 243, 245. Forney, Col., 33, 298. Foster, Gov. (of Ohio), no. Fowler, Sen., '63. France, Emperor of, 362. Francis Joseph, 19S. Franklin, 346. Franklin, Ben, 37. Frederick III., 195. Fredericksburg, 315, 318, 325, *326, *346, 347, 350. Fremont, John C, burst upon horizon like meteor, 158; failed of elector, failed as commander and failed in financial enter- prises, 158; proclamation that he would shoot all citizens taken with arms in their hands and free their slaves, 383; his refusal to correct his proclamation and relief from command, 383; men- tioned: 30, *45, 70, 80, 84, 107, 208, *2I3, *2i4, *2i8, *324, *32S, 332, 333, 357, '382, 394. 434. 441- French (at Harper's Ferry), 348. Front Royal, *324. Gaines, Mrs., 85. Gaines' Mills, 325, 434. Gales (Joseph), and Blair, the great editors of olden times, 37 — 47; his name stands out with clearest prominence as exenipl.ar of best journalism in first half of cen- tury, 37; his shorthand report saved Webster's reply to Hayne exactly as de- livered, 38; intelligence rose in power and circulation, 39; most delectable of all great papers ever published in this coun- try, 39; his fearless opposition to Jack- son administration, 40; his position on the war isue left his paper to languish and die, 41. Gardiner, Miss, 132. Garfield, Pres. James A., and his brief ad- ministration, 106; political career, 107; position as undisputed leader in Con- gress, 108; buoyant temperament; una- bated cheer during his long illness after being shot, 113; lack of executive attri- butes; cause of quarrel with Conkling, 113; the issue with Conkling, 118-19-20; mentioned: 13, 115, *ii9, *i2o, *i38, 146, 162, 191, ♦244, 457. Garfield, Mrs., 114. 490 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Garnet, Gen., 344- Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, ii6, 392. George, Sen., 25+ , Georgetown, once the centre of our cap- ital's culture and refinement, 205. Germain, Earl of, 363. German Emperor, 365. Getty, Geo. W., 436. .. , Gettysburg, battle of, 264-5-6; mentioned: *3i'8, *3i9. 327. 348, *35o, *35ii 335. SSo, *399, *400, 404, 416, 418, 438. Gilpin, Mayor, I99- Girard House, 364. Globe, *43. 44- Godfrey, Holland, 282. Goliad,' *i65, 167. Gordon, Gen., 403- Gorgey, Gen., *198. Gorsuch, Edward, *20, *2l. Gorsuch, Dickerson, 20, 21. Grady, Henrv W., arranged to have Ste- phens called to Governorship m h^s State, 361; and the new South, 39^3; "leader of leaders" in the new South, 398— 405; made Governor and Senator almost without dispute, 401; his foresight re- garding the possibilities of the by-prod- ucts of cotton and the advantages of cotton mills located South, 401; his po- litical mastery in his State due to his supreme ability, 404; his fame in the North created in a single day >jy h;3 famous speech at the banquet of the New England Society in New York, 404; forced to peremptorily forbid election of himself to Senate, 404; his personality and his untimely death, 405. Graham, ex-Gov., 372. Grant, Pres. U. S., and Taylor, the only one of our military Presidents who were educated soldiers, 13; his memorable sentence, "Let us have peace," ends era of hate, 69; would not have Johnson ac- company him on his inauguration, 88; as chieftain and President, 89; Democratic tendencies, 89; genial qualities, 90; broadened immensely, 90; epigram- matic war bulletin, 90; magnanimous treatment of Lee, 91; modesty and non- assertiveness, 91 ; financial embarrass- ments in later life, 92; inside history of measure for relief of, which restored him to army with rank of retired general, 92— 93; repelled in efforts to re-enter the army when Civil War began, 95; pungent expressions, 96; faith in his star, 96; his ■wife, 96; not a shade of disappointment visible in his face on mornin,;^ after his defeat for third nomination, no; speeches in favor of Garfield first and only time he t»ok the stump, in; clerk in tanning establishment at beginning of war, 207; was to have attended Ford's Theatre with Lincoln on night of assassination, 242; defection of leading Senators against, dur- ing his first term, 290; regarded by Mc- Clellan's friends as reckless leader and •wanton sacrificer of lives, 313; McClellan, the aggressive and defensive general, 313 — 321; most aggressive of all the generals who led Union army, 314; defeated in his only defensive battle, 314; and McClellan distinctly the great military men of our civil conflict, 314; how he v/ould have fought battle of Antietam, 315—320; v/ould have been a failure had he been on the other side, where conditions were dif- ferent, 320; conducted his campaigns from the start on different theory, 320; pre- eminently the aggressive chieftain of the war, 320; had campaign in the Vt'ilder- ness failed, he would have been severely criticised and hopelessly condemned, 321; his bloody battles in the Wilderness would have deposed him in disgrace two years before, 321; \.hen commissioned Lieutenant-General marched directly for Lee's army, 321; the bold strategic move- ments that gave the country confidence in him and allowed him to fierht in his own way, 321 ; his call for Sheridan to command his cavalry a surprise to War Department, 328; how he pocketed a pro- test against one of his intended move- ments and returned same after its suc- cessful accomplishment, 334; his com- plimentary report regarding Sherman, 334; urged Lincoln to meet Stephens' Peace Commission, however fruitless it might be, 359; surprise at his nomina- tion of Longstreet as Custom House of- ficial at New Orleans, 398; refused to allow Fitz John Porter a re-hearing, when President, but in 1881 examined the records and published an articie com- pletely vindicating him, 436; n-.entioned: 60, 62, 63, 65, *i09, *no, 117, *ii?, *ii9, 129, 134, 138, 160, 161, 208, 212, 219, *24i, 263, *264, *267, 289, *2qr, *292, 297, 29S, 311, 312, 322, *328, *329. *330, *33i, *333, *334. 335, 356, 337. 338, *340, 341, 345. 347. 35i, 367, 374, 390. 391. *394> 396, 426, 434, 438, *439, 457. Grant, Mrs., 96-7, *242. Grant & Ward, 92. Gratz, Alf, 44S. Gresham, 139. Greeley, Horace, taught through Tribune with more power than a President, iCi; his nomination for President S'mple crucifixion, 161 ; Grant and Wilson at funeral of, 292; tribute to Wade Hamp- ton by, 407; mentioned: 41, 45, 51, 90, 96, *i34, 162, 184, 207, 290, 394, 396. Green, Duff, *42. Green, Judge, *22. Green, Lieut., 27. Green, Shields, 24. driest, Marion, 19. Grimes, Sen. (of Iowa), 66, *68, 209. Grow, Galusha A., only war Congress.-nan now- left in House, 208; how J">avid W'il- mot named him for Congress, when he never dreamed of being a candidate, 238; mentioned: 419. Gwin, Wm. W., 29, 30, 31, 34. Hagerstown, 410, 439. Ilahn, Gov., *299. Halleck. Gen., 314. 3:7, 328, 334. Ilalstead, Murat, his prophecy regarding INIcKinley, *i48. Hamilton, Andrew J., 301. Hamilton, Alexander, *iss. Hamlin, Vice-Pres., *87, 213. Hammond, Sen. (of South Carolina), 31, *293- Hammond, Surg.-Gen. Wm. .\., disinissed from the army because of a fraud by subordinates in his department, 439; ex- RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 491 oneratcd and returned to army roll 14 years after, 440; mentioned: 432, "439. Hampton Legion, *4o8. Hampton Roads, 297. Hampton (i), Wade, 406. Hampton (2), Wade, 406. Hampton, Gen. Wade, chivalric soldier and statesman, 406 — 414; embodiment of chiv- alric manhood, inheritor of an immense fortune and largest owner of slaves in the country, 406; always democratic in his ways and popular with the masses, 4c6; his "masterpiece of logic" against the slave trade, 407; deplored secession and Civil War, 407; bore a distinguished part in the war as cavalry officer under Stuart, and succeeded to ihe conmand of Lee's cavalry, 409; dispute between him and Sherman as 10 vsho iired the capitol of South Carolina, 41)9; his en- trance into Chambersburg in Stuart's raid, and intention to capture McClure, 412: elected Governor and Sen.itor after the war, 413-14; mentioned: 102, 103, 256, 306, 339- Hancock, Gen. Winfield S., would have been elected President had it not been for infidelity of Tammany, 11 1; had closest popular vote ever given defeated candidate, iii; bowed to defoat with the dignity and courage of a soldier, 162; mentioned: 106, 129, 426, 446. Hanna, Marcus A., wanted Sherman's place in the Senate, 458. Hanway, Castner, 20, *2i, *22, 23. Harlan, Justice (of Kentucky), 104. Harlan, Sen. (of Iowa), 209. Haroldson, Jerry, *257. Harper's Ferry, second battle of our Civil War, 24; how John Brown took posses- sion of the arsenal, 26; the battle, and death of John Brown at, 27; first Ij.ittle of, drew the line betu-een slavery and anti-slavery more sharply than they had ever been drawn before, 28; aroused South to intense bitterness and resent- ment, 28; mentioned: 263, 264, 3:4, 323, *326, 348. Harris, Gov. (of Kentucky), 48. Harris, Miss, 242. Harris, Sen. (of New York), 209, 242. Harrisburg, 318, 332, 333, 409. Harrison, Pres. Benjamin, his vfictory and defeat, 134; descendant of former Presi- dent, 134; not a politician, 136; little effort to popularize himself, 136; how nomination for Governor came to him, 137; Blaine's preference for, turned tide in his favor, 138; nomination, 140; sur- prised the public as a sagacious and spontaneous speech maker, 140; his jour- ney to Pacific coast while President, 141; made 140 speeches that are unsurpassed as statesmanlike deliverances, 141; carrying of Cleveland's own State won him his election, 141; master mind of his ad- ministration, 142; his pleasant hospital- ity to two young lady visitors, 143; men- tioned: 13, 98. *I24, *:30, 131, 147. "148, 158, 162, 217, 287, 288, 457- Harrison, John Scott, 134. Harrison, Mrs., 144. Harrison, Wm. Henry, 3, *4, 5, 13, 41. '31t 186, *3-3. Harrisburg, 324. Harrold, Samuel, 245. Hartranft, 425. Harvey, Jameson, *ig. Hastings, Gov., 139, 457. Hawlcy, Sen. (of Connecticut), 104, 178, 180, *l82. Hay, Sec'y John, 210, 241, 259, 297, 298. Hayes, Mrs. Lucy W., banishment of wine from state ceremonies, 105. Hayes, Pres. Rutherford B., few men more respected, 98; his excellent war record, 98; his political career, 98; contest Dver electoral vote, 99; his position set forth in a letter to Sherman, 100; his belief that several Southern Slates were con- trolled by fraud, 100; grave apprehen- sion of his assassination, loi; meant in all things to be entirely honest and faithful, 102; the embarras.^ment tf his promise to give control of State govern- ments in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana over to Democrats, 102; diffi- culty in displacing Packard, the Repub- lican Governor of Louisiana, 104; ap- pointed board to rehear the case of Fitz John Porter, 436; called John Sherman to his cabinet, 450; mentioned: 13, 115, *ii7, 137. *i78, *i9i, *356, 391, 413, 427, 429, 436, 439. *445. *450, 456. Haynan, Gen., 198. Hayne, 3S, 41, 186, 193, 408, 480. Hazlett, Albert, 24, 27. Heintzelman, Gen., '230. Helper's statistical book on slavery, 451. Henderson, Sen. (of Mo.), *68, 209. Henry, Patrick, 426. Henry, Prince, and other royal visitors, 362 — 370; no royal guest ever received so hearty a welcon^e, 368; the Press Club dinner in New York, 368; his journey through the country, 369; the object of his visit, 370. Henry, Mayor, 318. Heroes, Smirching Fame of, 432 — 440. Hicks, Gov. (of Md.), 48. Higgins, Patrick, *26. Hill, A. P., 3-'6. Hill, Mr., 282. Hiram College, 106, 107. Hoar, Sen., his great speech against the Philippine war, 482-3; mentioned: 476, 478, 480, 481. Hofifman, Atty.-Gen., 116. Holland, Sir Hen-y, 363. Holden, Gov. Wm. M., 301. Hood, Gen., 14, *335. *336. Hooker, Gen. Joseph, fourth commander of army of Potomac, 347; gave fresh in- spiration to army of Potomac, 347; boundless enthusiasm of, 347-8; planned his campaign well, 348; shriveled into utter helplessness when he faced re- sponsibility of supreme command, 348; retreated when victory was in his grasp, 348; was refused reinforcement of 11,000 men and resigned, 348; mentioned: 266, 267, 282, *3i8, 321, 326, *327, 334, •346, 349- Hughes, Aichbishop, 216, 217. Hunter, Sen., 14, 355, 356. Hunter (Union commander), '409. Huntingdon, 73. Hopkins, 73. 492 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Hopkins (of Pa.), 417- , , , Houston, Samuel, story of life of makes romance pale, 164; joined and lived with Cherokee Indians, 164; joined army and promoted to lieutenancy, 164; Governor of Tennessee, 164; released bride on wed- ding day, 164; went back to Indians and married half-breed, 165; commander-in- chief of Texan army, 165; annihilated 1,400 Mexicans with 743 ill-equipped Tex- ans, 165; president of the Republic of Texas, 166; brought U. S. Senate to terms on annexation, 166; incidents of his battle with Santa Anna, 167; inter- esting incident of gallantry of, 169; prominently mentioned for presidency in i860, 171; refused to sanction secession and deposed as Governor, 171; men- tioned: *4a2. Howard, Chas. T. (of La.), i74- Howard, Gen., *327, 349. Independence Hall, 192, 199, 201. Independent Gazetteer, 37. Ingalls, Sen. John J., 139- Ingersoll, Eben, 424, 425, 430. Ingersoll, Robt. G., the great Agnostic of the century. 424—431 ; no other name so widely discussed in homes of the land, 454; most eminent opponent of revela- tion in the world, 424; first known to country through his great speech nomi- nating Blaine for presidency, 425; de- scription of his delivery of the Blaine speech, 426; now accepted as the great- est political address delivered in the history of American politics, 426; at once became popular as a lecturer, 428; forced into public dispute and developed into aggressive opponent of religion, 429; his attitude toward religion outlined, 429; his faultless life, 431; never ruffled in temper and always had ready tact and wit, 431. Ingraham, Commissioner, 20. Irwinsville, Ga., 16. Jackson, Pres. Andrew, irritation felt at Jack Downing's satire, 40; criticism of policies of, by Gale, 40; quarrel between Benton and, 270; mentioned: 3, *i3, 39, *42, 43- 44. ?4, iSS, *i56, *i58, 164, *i65, 166, 167, *i7o, *i7i, *i85, 205, 212, 223, 263, 267, *27o, *27i, 273, •27s, 402, 406. Jackson, Dr., 394. Jackson, Fort, *49. Jackson, Gen. Thos. J., unapproached by any other Confederate commander in swiftness of movement, 322; the incident that gave him title of "Stonewall Jack- son," 323; sober, ungenial and devoted to religious and philanthropic theories, 323; and Sheridan the two great lieuten- ants of the war, 322 — 330; excelled the romantic and heroic achievements of Napoleon's marshals, 324; the bril- liant movements of eight months, in which he fought more battles against superior numbers without a single de- feat than any other commander of an- cient or modern times, 324-5-6; shot acci- dentally by the men who worshiped him, 327; mentioned: *3i4, '320, 343, *346, 34S. Jackson, Gov. (of Mo.), 48. Jefferson, Thos., purchase of Louisiana Territory and the opposition to, 476-7-8; mentioned: 2, 3, *39, *42, 88, 121, '154, ♦153, 156, 234, *235, *403, 480, ♦482. Johnson, Pres. Andrew, his reign an epoch of unbridled passion, 60; undig- nified flaunting of his plebeian birth, 61; flattered and strangely misled in policy of reconstruction, 63; his impeachment contemplated for two years, 64; his of- fensive issue with Congress and how it led to universal suffrage for the negro, 64; his removal of Stanton the signal for vote for impeachment proceedings, 65; conviction looked upon as sure, 66; dissatisfaction with Wade finally led to acquittal of, 66; vote so close that one more would have meant impeachment, 68; best for country that impeachment failed, 68; Fillmore. Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln in the White House, 79—88; parentage so obscure as to make his place of birth a matter of dispute, 87; practically advised repudiation of na- tional debt, 88, 454; his violent passions and vehement demand for punishment of Southern traitors, 300; his appointments to Governorships in the South, 301; amazed at the suggestion that Congress might not recognize his reconstructed authority in the Southern states, 302; political mastery the supreme object of Congress, and it could only be effected by opposing his policy and advocating universal suffrage, 302; many Republi- cans hesitated long over suffrage for the negro, 303; inauguration of disgraceful "carpet-bag" rule, that lasted eight years, 303; "Why not hang Thad Stevens and Wendell Phillips?" 422; mentioned: 15, 16, 47. 89, 208, *2I2, 221, *222, *243, 245, 246, *25o, 293, *30o, 302, 306, 356, 390, 356, 423, 454. Johnson, Fort, 49. Johnson, Gov. James (of Ga.), *3oi. Johnson, Mr. (husband of Harriet Lane), 363. Johnson, Reverdy, 261. Johnson, Gov. (of Pa.), 21, 22. Johnston, Gen. Jos. E., South impatient over his many retreats before Sherm.an, 335; mentioned: 11, 14, 15, 16, 62, 77, *9i, 94, 135. 159, 242, *262, 258, 320, 323, 324, 334, *343, *409, 469- Johnston, Gen. Sidney, *3i4, *333. Jones, John N., *i69. Tones, John P., 450. Jones, 228. Joncsboro Whig, *223, 224. Juarez, President (of Mexico), tried to cede lower California to an association of Americans, 75; family under charge of an American in New York, 76; men- tioned: *74, yT, 190. Kagi, John Henri, *24, 27. Kaiser, 362, 369. Kane, Judge, 22, 233. Katherine, Princess, 263. Keene, Laura, 242. Keim, Gen., *34i. Kelly, John, his fight against Cleveland's nomination, 126. Kelso, Congressman, 64. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 493 Kendall, Amos (fourth Auditor of Treas.), "43- Kenesaw Mountain, 315, 335. Kennedy, Col. Thos. B., *4ii. Kennedy Farm, 25. Kernstown, 324. Kerr, Speaker, 443 Kimball, Col., *402. King, Sen. (of New York), 209, 213. King, Mayor (of Phila.), 252. Kliiie, Henry H., constable who attempt- ed capture of negroes at Christiana, 19, *20, *21. Kossuth, how an American apprised him of the location of a large sum of money, which he captured, *76; visit here as gitest of our government, 192; the story of Hungary's struggle for liberty, i93-4- 5-6-7-8; welcomed by President and given ovation by both branches of Congress, 193; popular enthusiasm of his recep- tion eqaaled only by reception to Dewey, 199; excellent purity of his dic- tion aftei studying the language only one yea*-, 200; how the Kossuth hat be- came the fad, 200; spent last days in poverty, 202. Kossuth, Mrs., 201. Langston, John M., 257. Lane, Gov. Henry S., *i36, *2i5, *2I9. Lane, Miss Harriet, *85, *364. Lawrence, Abbott, 81. Lawrence, Chas. V., 104. Lea, Miss Margaret M., 166. Leavitt, Judge, 228. Leary, Lewis S., 24, 27. Le (Tompton, 170. Lee, Capt., 55. Lee, G. W. Custis, resigned from army with his father, 262; has succeeded his father as president of Washington and Lee University, 267; mentioned: 260. Lee, Gen. Robert E., in command of U. S. marines at Harper's Ferry, 26; ex- pected to assume command of Union army at outbreak of war, 259-60; openly opposed to secession, 260; "but how can I draw my sword on Virginia?" 260; resigned his commission when Virginia seceded, 261 ; how he gradually became involved in battle against the Union, 262; compared with McCIellan and Grant, 263-4; limitations of, exhibited at Gettysburg, 264; the Gettysburg battle discussed, 265-6-7; of all the defensive generals of modern times he was the greatest, 266; no commander of the cen- tury accomplished more with the same resources, 266; one of the gentlest of men, 267; ccnsternation when he marched into Pennsylvania, 318; had the best mingling of aggressive and defen- sive qualities of any commander on either side, 320; mentioned: *ii, *i5, *27, 77. *9i, 94, 95, 209, 241, 242, 245, 268, 296, •298, 299, 314. 315, 317, *3i8, 319. "321, 322, *325, •326, "327, *329, '330, 345. *346, *343, •350, •351. 355, 336, 374, 380, 387. *399. 400, 408, ..09, 434, 435, 438. Lee, Fitz, Col. Wm. Henry, 387. Leeman, Wm. H., 24, 27. Lemmon slave case, 115 — 116. Lev.'is, Sen. (of Ala.), 236. Lewis, Capt., *27i. Lewis, Elijah, 20, *2i, 22. Lewis, Joseph J., 22. Lewis, Cass (revenue cutter), 49. Lincoln, Pres. Abraham, and JefTerson Davis, 8 — 17; always waited to satisfy him- self of judgment of the people before act- ing, 9; most sagacious and most reticent, 9; most approachable President country ever had, 9; entered the Presidency with- out a policy, 10; generous forbearance toward his enemies, 10; his sincere re- spect for Jefferson Davis, 10; preferred that Jefferson Davis should escape cap- ture, 11; did not favor universal negro suffrage, 11; would have given $400,000,- 000 for peace, 14; his election not the cause but the incident that precipitated war, 18; Blair important factor in ef- fecting his nomination, 46; was against force of arms upon South, 52; Korth would not have sustained him in war at beginning of administration, 54; his call for 75,000 troops after the firing on Sumter, 57; inspired the terms of John- ston's surrender, which were brutally re- jected by Stanton, 62; has left unerring indications of generous intentions in re- construction policy, 62, 295; would not have had negro suffrage universal, 63; said, "One war at a time," when France invaded jNIexico, 74; Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan and Johnson in the White House. 79 — SS; least conventional of all our Presidents, 85; always happy to meet the people, 86; personally requested support for Johnson for \'ice-President, 87; his name the most beloved and rev- erenced in American history, 87; grown in fame and affections of world, 91 ; as- sassination most terrible shock nation ever felt, 91; his extreme caution led men to suspect him of dissembling and deceiving, 126; at times bright and jolly, at times sad and impressive, 127; his as- sassination denounced but not lamented universally, 146, 244; without experience in national affairs when he became Pres- ident, 204; his heroic hopefulness and tireless patience, 204; faith in God, free government, the people and himself, 204; the one thing in which his cabinet was in accord was that he was entirely unequal to his great duties, 204; Stanton refers to "pain'ul imbecility" of, 206; criticised by McClellan's friends for 'failing to sustain him." 213; the polit- ical conditions that caused his unexpect- ed nomination for President, 215-16 17-18- 19; New York would not contribute a dollar to his campaign in the crucial state of Pa., 719; regretted arrest and trial of Vallandigham, 228; pathetic echoes of the assassination of, 241; ex- pression of his sentiment on a recon- struction policy, 241; assassination of, 243; Davis believed him to be a rude jester and relentless butcher, 244; plan to abduct, 245; reconstruction the one thought that occupied his thoughts for many months before Lee's surrender, 296; knew that public announcement that he was willing to pay $400,000,000 for emancipation would defeat him for re- election, 296; his reasons for favoring the payment of $400,000,000 to the South 494 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S 296; greatly regretted that South so mis- understood liim, 297; presented his pro- posal to pay $400,000,000 to his cabinet, which disapproved it, 297-S; would have recognized reigning authorities in all the states of the South, 298; a letter to Gov. llahn. making suggestions anent negro suffrage, 299; attitude exemplified in sentence "with malice toward none and with charity for all," 299; positive evi- dence of his intention of limited suffrage for negroes, 299-300; his faithful support of McCIellan unquestionable, 316; re- called McClellan in disregard of the views of every member of his cabinet, 317; many letters of, show how desirous he was to aid McClellan, 3i"-3i8; his reply to McClure's urgent despatch for McClellan's recall, 319; Hooker's de- nouncement of as an incompetent, 347; well knew that the Stephens peace com- mission would be in vain, 359; first in- clination was to refuse to meet Peace commission, 359; requested Fremont to change his emancipation proclamation before publicly directing that it be done, 383; considerations that influenced him in tendering Chief Justiceship to Chase, 396; always regretted approving the court martial of Fitz John Porter, 435; financial condition of country when he was inaugurated, 459; disclaimed any purpose to overthrow slavery during his campaign, 46S; awkvifard appearance of, on horseback, 473; and party on a ride through Army of Potomac, 473-4; men- tioned: 3, 28, *32, 33, 34, 45, 48, •49. 50, *Si. 53. *SS. 56. 60, 61, 64, 71. loi. 121, 145, 151, *l60, 171, 189, *I90, 20s, *2I2, 214, 220, 227, *229, *230, 240, *250, *259, 267, *295, *296, *297, *298, 337, 34^, *345, *354- *355. *356, *359, 360, *37i. 373. 382, *387, *390, *393, 397, 416. *4i9. 436, 443. 450, *452. 467, *46o, 471, 481. Lincoln, Mrs., 86, 241, *242. Lincoln, Robert, 121. Livingston (French minister'), *477. I.,oan, Congressman, 64. Logan, Hugh, rugged mountaineer and Confederate who saved McClure from capture as prisoner of war, 411-12. Logan, Gen. John A., how he vindicated his promotion at Atlanta, 336; men- tioned: 138. Long, Jefferson F., 254. "Long John," mountain stage-coacli driver, 281-82. Longstreet, Gen. James, Lee's Gettysburg- campaign severely criticised by, 264; harshly criticised by his old friends for accepting office from Grant, 398; men- tioned: 266, 346, *398, *399, *409. London Times, C9. 94- Txjokout Mountain, 321, 349. Louis, King, 195, 196. Louis Philippe, 362. Louisiana Lottery, inseparably interv/oven with politics of Louisiana, 173—183; all connected with it became multi-million- aires, 173; Karly and Beauregard paid $10,000 a year for superintending monthly drawings, 174; willing to pay qttadruple rates for advertising, 174; attack upon the company in Pennsylvania by Col. McClure, 174-s; brought suit against Col. McClure, 175', served writ on Col. McClure in its own state, 176; Col. Mc- Clv.re's plea of justification and claim of $25,000 damage, 179; its fight with Col. McClure precipitated its final downfall, 180-1-2; the men who assisted Col. Mc- Clure in his fight against the company, 182; mentioned: 104. Louisville Journal, 377. Lovejoy, Owen, 424. Luzon, 151. Lynch, John R., *2s6, 257. l^Iacaulay, 40. Madison, Pres. James, 39, 155, 403. Magyars, 192, 194, 195, 196, *i97, *i98, *i99, "aoo. Mahone, 308. Maine, battleship, 151. Malvern Hill, 434. Manassas, 316, *323, 326, *344, 434, 469, *47i. ^Manning, Daniel, how he won in his fight for Cleveland's nomination, 126; men- tioned: *i25, 443. •Mansfield, 326. Marcy, Gen., 473-474. Marcy, Wm. L., 82, 212, 213. Marey's Heights, 346. Marion, Fort, 49. IMarion, Gen., 406. Markle (of Pa.), 233. Marshall, Gen. (of Ky.), 107. Marshall, Chief Justice, 403. INIarvin, Wm., 301. Maryville Academy, 164. Macon, Fort, 346. Maximilian *74, *7S, 76, '78, 190, 195. IMcCall, Gen., 472, 473, 474. McClellan, Gen. Geo. B., drank deeply from cup of disappointment, 160; relieved of command and disastrously defeated for Presidency, 160; chief engineer of a railroad at beginning of civil war, 207; and Grant, the aggressive and defensive generals, 313—321; one of the most dis- cussed commanders of civil war, 313; best defensive commander on the LTnion side, 314; and Grant distinctly the great military men of our civil conflict, 314; conditions under which he would have been greatest commander of Union cause, 314; no one approached him as organizer, 315; no one commanded the affection of the rank and file as he, 313; would have achieved eminent success in Confederate army, 315-16; certainly bad faithful support of Lincoln, 316; speed- ily restored order out of chaos after sec- ond battle of Bull Run, 317; Philadel- phia business interests anxious for his recall on eve of Gettysburg battle, 319; no man in army would have met Lee with greater skill at Gettysburg, 319; second commander of army of Potomac, 34^; confidence of the country in, and the devotion of the army to, 344; mar- velous genius as organizer, 344; delays, excuses, failures, and recall, 344-5; su- perb horseman, 473; confident bearing, 473; homage and obedience he inspired among the soldiers, 474; and party on a ride through the army of the Potomac, 473-4; mentioned: 18, *95, 206, 208, 220, 230. *262, *263, *264, 294, 296, 322, *324, RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 495 32s, *326, 331, •343, *344. "345. 346, 396, *409, *434, *435, '436, 469, *470, *47i, *47^. *-473. *474- McClure, Col. A. K., progress during the half-century of his life, 2; condition of science, industry, commerce and travel in the year of his birth, 2; first recollection of Presidential campaign that between Harrison and Van Buren, 4; consternation of conflicting election returns, 5; conference with Jefferson Davis ten years after the war, 14; saw John Brown, who made himself known to him as Dr. Smith, 24; how two of John Brown's followers came to his of- fice to have a will executed before the Harper's Ferry raid, 24; acted as coun- sel for Cook, the captured John Brown raider, 27; political conference with Blair, Cameron, \\'eed and Wilson, 45; summoned to confer with President, Secretary of War and commanding gen- eral on morning aftfer surrender of Sum- ter, 53; his conversation with General Scott a revelation of Scott's incapacity, 53; asked Jefferson Davis why he fired on Sumter when he had the assurance of its surrender in three days, 59; call on President pro tem Wade when John- son's impeachment trial was on, 67; one of a party of gentlemen who considered proposition from President Juarez to cede lower California, 75; his first visit to the White House, 79; first visit to White House was when Fillmore was President, 79; first meeting with Pierce, 81; knew Buchanan intimately before he became President, 83; saw Lincoln un- der all conditions and circumstances, 86; had management of Presidential cam- paign in Pennsylvania in i860, 86; sup- ported Johnson for Vice-President at Lincoln's request, 87; urged by Johnson to sustain his policy of reconstruction-, 88; bankrupted by destruction of Cham- bersburg, 89; heartily supported Grant for President, 89; disappointed in Grant's policy as President, 89; a private lunch with Grant, 90; offered Grant $500 for a newspaper article, 92; pathetic letter from Grant, 92; negotiated for the relief measure, restoring Grant to army posi- tion of retired General, 93; advocated submission to decision of electoral com- mission, declaring Hayes President, 102; brought into intimate relations with President Hayes, 102; acquaintance with Garfield began when he was Congress- man, 107; a talk with Garfield, in which he urges him to keep his place as pop- ular leader of the House, 108; meeting with Grant at the Palmer House on the morning after his defeat for third nomi- nation, !io; sulphurous reply of Conkling to query regarding Vice-Pre=idency, no; many conferences with Arthur at the Chicago convention, 119; last meeting ■with Arthur, 122; never saw Kelly so excited as when forced to vote for Cleveland, 126; appointment made to confer with Cleveland at State Capitol in Albany, 126; many times went to White House by Cleveland's appoint- ment and passed th« midnight hour, 127; an evening with Cleveland and Carlisle, when memorable tariflf message was dis- cussed, and he urged Cleveland that it would cost him re-election, 128; a frank talk with Cleveland over the Venezuelan incident, 132; acquaintance with Harri- son as soon as he came into national arena, 137; took two bright girls to see the President, 143; knew McKinley inti- mately from time he entered Congress, 146; discussion of the Schley controversy with McKinley, 149-150; gave McKinley editorial support of the Times, 149; re- cent visit to the widow of Fremont, 158; gave his whole time to aid in the hope- less effort for Horace Greeley's candi- dacy for President, 161 ; regarded Gree- ley's nomination as crucifixion and tried to prevent it, 161; journeyed with Sam Houston and heard the story of his de- feat of Santa Anna's army with 743 un- disciplined men, 167; brought into close and delightful relations with Houston, 170; his fight in Pennsylvania against the Louisiana Lottery Co., 1756-7-8-9; served with writ by Louisiana Lottery Company in its own state, 176; aided president of New Orleans exposition to secure appropriation from Congress, 176; plea of justification and claim for dam- ages from Louisiana Lottery Co., 179; his fight against Louisiana Lottery Co. led to action by Congress and precipi- tated its final downfall, 180-1-2; enter- tained Thomas Corwin, 188; traveled 150 miles to meet Kossuth, 192; a second meeting with Kossuth at a railway sta- tion, 201: a pleasant chat with Theodore Roosevelt, 210; full analysis of the politi- cal conditions that made Lincoln's nom- ination for President, 215-16-17-18-19; let- ters to Thurlow Weed and Gov. Morgan unanswered and not a dollar contributed by New York in the battle to carry the pivotal state of Pennsylvania for Lin- coln, 219; Seward's coolness towards, after his defeat for nomination, 220; an editorial spat with ''Fighting Parson" Prownlow recalled, 224-5; saw Booth piay at Ford's theatre, 245; lived in South Carolina and saw the negro under carpet-bag rule, 255-6; a visit to G. W. Custis Lee, 267; experiences with ma- rauding Indians on his journey West by stage-coach, 281-2-3-4-5; conference with sought by Vice-President Wilson in New York, 291 ; last meeting with Vice- President Wilson when Wilson climbed *hree pairs of stairs to see him in Times office, 293; an hour alcne with Lincoln in the White House in 1864, when re- construction and the payment of $400,- 000,000 to the South were discussed, 296; experiences in South Carolina during days of carpet-bag rule, 306-7-8-9; friend- ship and acquaintance with James L. Orr, 307-8-9-10; a visit with Miss Evans, the authoress, 311; niany times heard Lincoln discuss McClellan, 316; a tele- gram to Lincoln urging McClellan's re- call, and Lincoln's reply, 319; stood by McClellan's side when he fought battle of Antietam, 319; unavailing efforts to get Sheridan to tell about his famous ride from Winchester, 330; his talk with Gen. Cameron, in which Cameron de- 496 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S clared Sherman "gone in the head," 33-2-3; his intimate acquaintance and after-dinner talks with General Sherman at the Clover Club, ^.37; often heard Sherman defend with warmth his de- struction of Columbia, 339; an interest- ing discussion of the militarj' situation in 1861, by four generals and other of- ficers, at the home of, 341 ; a talk with Hooker when he took charge of Army of Potomac which brought out his boundless enthusiasm and confidence, 317: a dinner with Gen. Stoneman, in which latter aptly summed up limita- tions of Hooker, 348; delegated to confer with Stephens in behalf of Gov. Cur- tin's admission to Congress, 360; re- ceived a message through Prince Alexis from Minister Curtin, 366; a meeting ■with ex-Gov. Graham, of North Caro- lina, 372; his experiences in trying to secure a Christian burial for a dead Con- federate soldier, 380-81; spent an evening with P.utler and heard the story of Mum- ford's conviction and execution at New Orleans, 385: Sumner urged the election of, in open letter, during his independent candidacy for Mayor of Philadelphia, 354; Longslreet spoke feelingly to, of the criticism of his old friends, for ac- cepting ofBce from Grant, 398; engaged Grady as correspondent for the Times, 399; his part in bringing the Lee-Long- street dispute over Gettysburg to the surface, 400; spent several days with Grady at Atlanta, in 1881, 401; meeting with Hampton under "flag of truce," upon the occasion of Stuart's raid of Chambersburg, 411-12; how he narrowly escaped arrest as a prisoner of war on Stuart's raid, 412; spent an evening with W'ade Hampton ten years after the war, recalling incidents of the Chambersburg raid, 412; an incident on the floor of the House w-hile talking to Thad Stevens, 421 ; presided on the occasion of Robt. G. Ingersoll's firs, lecture in Philadel- phia, 428; a talk with Ingersoll on Eden and the flood, 430; present at the mili- tary conference when Fitz John Porter declared he would march through Calti- niore or over its ashes, 433 — 434; asso- ciated with Mr. Childs in furnishing a summer home for S. J. Randall, 447-8; his tender of a fund giving an income of $2,000 yearly to Samuel J. Randall's wife, in the interests of Messrs. Childs and Drexel, 449; conversation with Gen. Burnside in which he said army could take Richmond any day, but it would sacrifice 10,000 men, 471; accompanied Gov. Curtin in the presentation of State flags to the 15 regiments of the Penn- sylvania Reserve Corps, 472; a ride with Lincoln, McClellan and others through the Army of the Potomac, 4-r McClure, Mrs., one of the party of trav- elers who had narrow escape from In- dians, 283-4; mentioned: 308, 300. McConnell, J., 'i;;, 179, 180. McCook, 32S. McCullough, 466. McDowell Maj. Irvin, first commander of uIT,^ . T,^.'^*'^'"^'^' 342-3; why he lost battle of Bull Run and was relieved, 343; mentioned: 323, *324, *325, *342, 344, 434, 469, 472. McDuffie, 408. Mcl'lroy, -Airs. Mary A., 123. McKee, Baby, 143. McKee, Mrs., 143. McKennan, Judge, 175. McKibben, Chambers, 36. LIcKibben (Joseph C), Broderick and Baker, battle of, to hold the Pacific region to the Union, 29; stern adher- ence to his convictions, 36; service in the war, 36; lived to see Union fully restored, 36. ^IcKinley, Mrs., 153. IMcKinley, Pres. Wm., assassination of, IJ5; no President ever died so univer- sally lamented, 145; nomination for Pres- idency, 147-S; Murct Halstead's proph- ecy that he would be President, 148; no rr.an ever received more support out- side his party than he in 1896, 149; his attitude in the Schley-Sampson contro- versy, 149-50: prosperous conditions when he entered on second term, 132; reluc- tant to make war with Spain, 151; averse to acquisition of Philippines, 151-2; trip West, 152: speech day before assassina- tion, 153; mentioned: 6, 13, 141, 143, 155, *244, 450, 454, 437, 458. McRae, Fort, 49. McLaughlin, Frank, 448. IMcLean, Judge, *4T9. McPherson, Gen., killed at Atlanta, 335- 36. 49- ^McPherson, 423. Mac\'eagh, Atty.-Gen., 104, 121, 178, 182. Mc\'icker, Miss, 249. Weade, Gen. Geo. G., a captain serving as engineer at beginning of civil war, 207; assumed comm.and onlj- three days before battle of Gettysburg, 266; fifth commander of Army of Potomac, 349; his call to command on eve of battle of Gettysburg most delicate duty as- signed to a Union commander, 350; did not even know position of his corps, 35r; approached Lee with consummate skill, 350; his movement against Lee at IMine Run, 331; continued in command, but was overshadowed by Grant in the movements that finally ended the war at Appomattox, 331; his victory over Lee decisive battle of the war, 331; never given full m.easure of justice because he failed to pursue and give battle at Wil- liamsport, 351 ; reasons whj' it was pru- dent not to pursue Lee, 351; mentioned: 268, 318, 319, 330, 341, 346, *349, *35i, 472. Mechanicsville, 434. Menard, J. Willis, *252. Mercersburg, 409-10. Merchants Hotel, 84. Mernam, Francis J., 24, *2S, 27. Merritt, Edward A., *ii8. Mexican Emperor, 165, 167. Miami University, 134. Middle Creek, 107. Mill Spring, 374. Miller, Thos. E., 237. Mills tariff bill, '444. Mine Run, 351. Missionary Ridge, *328, 349. Missouri Compromise, Benton's influence in, 270; mentioned: 3, 23, 44, 83, 84, 136, RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 497 *l6S, 170, 239, 240, 288, 30s, '337. 3"4. 390, 392, 403, 418, 451- Moga, Gzn., 197. Monroe doctrine, 75, 76, 190. Monroe, Pres. James, and the "Era of good feeling," 60; mentioned: 39, 132, 155- Monterey, 349. Montgomery, 354. Morcran, 3, 212. Morgan, Gov., 116, 117, 219. Morgan, Fort, 49. Morrill, Sen. (of Vt.), 269, 450. Morris, John A., 173. Morrison tarifT bill. 444. Morton. Gov. (of N. V.), 99, 147. Morton, Gov. Oliver P. (of Ind.), *I36, 138, 3P0. Morton, Sen., 251. Mosby, 398. Moses, Gov., *3ir. Mott, Lucretia, 22. Moultrie, Fort, 49, 54. Mt. Vernon, 227. Mum ford, Mr., *3?-4, 385, 386. Mumford, Mrs., 384, *38s. Munroe, Fortress, 16. Munson's Hill, 474. Murphy, Isaac, 301. Murfrecsboro, 228. 328. Murray, C. H., 173. Murray, Geo. W., 257. Nacey, Henry W., *237. Napoleon Bonaparte, stands supreme and alone in versatility of war tactics, 263; mentioned: 271, 324, 476, 477. Napoleon III., would have acknowledged the Confederacy, 190; mentioned: 75, 78, 202, 362. Nasby, Petroleum V., 40. Nash (of S. 0, 255. National Intelligencer, 37, 38, *39, 40, •41, *42, 260. Negley, 328. Negro, rise and fall of in politics, 250 — 238; widespread prejudice among Republicans against suffrage of, 251; Congress re- fused admission to first applicant, 252; the first one to enter Senate, 253; end of record as a national legislator, 257-8; Lincoln's disapproval of universal suf- frnp-e for. 200; number of unusually able, in South Carolina, 308. Nero. Fmperor, 297. Newbern, 346. Nevby. D., 27. New Orleans Exposition, 175. New Orleans massacre, 142. New York Herald, 399. Nev York Tribune, 407. Nichols, Gov. (of La.), 104, *I76, '178. Nicolay, 241, 259, 297, 298. North American Review, 429, 436. Noyce, Gen., 98. O'Connor. Chas., 116. "Old Wicked," 282. O'Harra, James D., 257. 0'Lr<'!Thtin, Michael. 245. Omaha 35 years ago, 280; mentioned: *279. Ors'-^ry. mere, no longer sways the multi- tude, 7. Orchard Knob, 328. Orr, James, 304—312; one of the few lead- ers not blinded by sectional passion, 304; one of the ablest of the Southern leaders before the war, 304; Governor of South Carolina, 306; mentioned: 412. Orth, Godlove S., 136, 472. Quid, 239. Packard (of La.), his displacement from the Louisiana Governorship by Hayes administration, 104; mentioned: '178. Pacific Railway and the sale of Chihuahua, 70; declaration for construction of, by Republican party, 70; regarded as a dream, in 1S56, 71 ; positive pledge to build it made in i860, by Republicans, 72; the pledge to build made California and Oregon Republican, 72; P.enton first to propose it, '273; mentioned: 274, *279, 293. Pacific Railways, 414. Pacific slope, three men who shaped its destiny, 29. Padgett, >Vm. M., detective of fugitive slaves, 19, 20. Palmer, Gen., 69. Paris, Count de, anxious to get Long- street's defense regarding battle of Get- tysburg, 400. Paris Peace Commissioners, 150. Parker, Wm., first battle of civil war fought about his house, 20. Parsons, Lewis E., 301. Patterson, Miss Elizabeth, 362. Patterson, Gen., mentioned: 310, 323, *34i, 342, 343, 349. *443. 469, 471- Patterson, Mrs., 87. Parties, political creation of four during: lifetime of author, 3. Payne (alias Lewis Powell), 245, '246. Pearce, Land Officer, 282. Pea Ridge, 383. Pemberton, 334. Pendleton, Geo. H., 98, 230, 456. Pennington. Gov., 452. Perry, Gov. Beni. F. (of S. C), 301. Perry, Mr. (of Mo.), 283, 284. Petersburg, 264, 347, 351, 399. Philadelphia Aiirora, 42. Philadelphia Times, *399. Phelps, candidate for Presidential nomi- nation in 1888, 139. Philippines, 151, 476, 480, 482, *483. Philippe, Louis, incipient royalist visitor to our country in the beginning of the last century, 362. Phillips. Wendell, 389, 422. Pedro, Dom, his visit to country during Centennial Exposition, 367; went about with a slouch hat and dressed as other Americans, 367-8. Pichlin, Miss, 170. Pickens, Gov., 55. Pickett, Gen. Geo. D., 264, 266, 351. Pierce, Dr., 20. Pierce, Pres. Franklin, Fillmore, Bu- chanan, Lincoln and Johnson in the White House, 79; genial intercourse, 82; career, 82; circumstance that brought him nomination, 82; disappointment at not getting re-nomination, 83; men- tioned: 12, 13, 44, Si, 240. Pierpont, Gov. (of Va.), 301. Pike, I'"ort, 49. \ 498 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Pinkney, Castle, 49. S4- Polk, f'res. James K., 43, *44, %z, 158, 205, 233, 235. -'72, 353, *479, 480, 482. Polk (Gov. of Mo.), *-77. Piatt, Thos., 112, *ii3. Pollard, 13. Pollock. Gov. (of Pa.), 81, •239. Pope, The, 78. Pope, Gen. John, *262, 317, *32Si *326, 34i. 344, 346, 412, *434, 435. *436. Porter, Gen. Andrew, his story of the first flag of truce that came to Army of Potomac, 380; mentioned: 62. Porter, Gen. Fitz John, his court martial the most conspicuous instance of injus- tice ever inflicted upon any military of- ficer in history of country, 432; made a scapegoat by Pope, 434; recalled at re- quest of McCIellan, 435; commanded the centre of the aimy at Antietam and per- sonally thanked by Lincoln for hi^ splendid service, 435; court martialed and dismissed, 436; board appointed by Hayes 12 years after to rehear the case unanimously gave acquittal. Grant's re- view of the case, 436; bitter humiliation, 437: heralded as a traitor, 437; legislature of Colorado demanded that he leave the- territory, 438; mentioned: 207, 325, 341, *437. Port Republic, 325. Porto Rico, :.so. Potomac, .-\rmy of the, no great army in any modern war so unfortunate in its commanders, 341 ; had 5 different com- manders, 341 ; high type of heroism of, in spite of demorrlization of many changes, 341 ; unfortunate commanders of the army of, 341 — 332; Gen. Geo. B. Mc- CIellan. second commander of, 343; Major Irvin McDowell, first commander of, 344; General Rurnside, third com- m.ander of, 345; Reynolds, Meade and Sedgwick refused command of, 346; Gen. Hooker, fourth commander of, 347; Gen. Geo. G. Meade, fifth commander of, 349; first flag of truce that came to, 380; mentioned: '347, 349, 3S0, 351, 360, 380, 434, 435. *438, *470, 47i, *472. 473- Powell, Lewis, 245. Pownell, Levi, 19. Prentice, Geo. D., wrote Clay biography, 375: established Louisville Journal, 375; most successful paragrapher and one of the ablest political disputants of his time, 375-6; his earnest appeals to the South against secession, 3-6; his two sons turned from him and fought in Confederate army, 377; mentioned: 184, 373. *37S, 376. Price, *3S3-4. Prince Consort, 363. Prince, T. Bradford, 117. Prince of Wales, 363, 364, 365, 366, 368. Public men seldom seen by the people half a century ago, 7. Pugh, Mr. (of Philadelphia), •428. Pulaski, Fort, 49. Purves, 255. Ouay, Sen., 139, 142, 457. Quincy, Josiah, his great speech against recognition of the Louisiana purchase, 477-8; mentioned: 476, 479, 480, 481, *482, 483. Railroads, none in the far West in '61, 52; Union Pacific, 43; orators perished by progress of, 184; street, unknown in Washington, 203; Western, 278; greatest civilizer on our continent the locomo- tive, 278. Rainey, Jos. R., 254, '255, ^256. Raleigh Registe/, 37. Ramsey, 207. Randall, Josiah, 441. Randall, Samuel J., his part in the relief measure restoring Grant to the army as retired General, 93; his stern integrity in public life, 441 — 449; Democratic leader of the Senate in 1857, 442; his fearless devotion to his convictions, in spite of party, 442-3; candidate for Pres- ident in 1880 and 1884, 443-46; his bold stand for the acceptance of the report of the Electoral Commission which made Hayes President, 446; how delay on the part of Tilden probably prevented his nominatirn in 1880, 446-7; incidents showing his stern integrity, 449; men- tioned: *93, 126, 176. Randall, Mrs., *449. Rantoul, Robert, Jr., served shortest term of any man in either branch of Con- gress, 391; mentioned: 380. Rathbone, Major Henry R., *242. Raymond, Henry J., 45. RecDnstruction, the story of, 295 — 302. Read. John M., 22. Reed, 441. Reed, TIios. B., 147. Reid, Whitelaw, 369. Renfrew, Baron, 363. Republic, matchless progress of, i ; condi- tion of at tim.e of author's birth, 2. Revells, Hiram R., 252, *2S3, *2S4. Reynolds, Gen., 343, 346, 350, 472. Richmond Dispatch, 355 Richmond Enquirer, 43, 44. Ritner (Gov. of Pa.), 3. Ritchie, "Father," 43, 44. Rivers, Col., 176. Roanoke Island, 345. Robertson (of N. Y.), 112, 119. Rocky Mountains, dangerous experiences of Col. McClure in crossing in stage coaches, 286. Roosevelt, Pres. Theodore, speech pre- senting name of only negro -n-ho ever presided at a national convention, 256; mentioned: 117. *i4S, *i47, 155, 210, 369. Roosevelt, Miss Alice, 369. Rosecrans, Gen., 36, 107, 328, 349. Ross, 68. Rothschilds. 76. 466. Round Top, 264, 438. Rusk. 130. Russell, Gen., 473, 474. Russia, Czar of, 279, 312. San Filipc de .\ustin, 165. Sampson, Admiral, 91, 149, *iso, 207. Santiago, 91, *I49. Schenck. (^en., 227, 231. Schley, Commodore, McKinley's feelings toward, *i49-*5o; mentioned: 131, 207. Schofield, Gen. John M., 436. Schurz. Carl, 200. Scott (Vice-Pres. Pa. R. R.), 319. Scott, Mi.-;s Caroline L.. 1.^4. Scott, Gov. Robert K. (of Ohio), 307, 308, RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 499 Scott, Col. Thos. A., 75, *77, *220, 260, 332. Scott, Gen. Winfield S., utterly crushed by his disastrous defeat for presidency, 157; regarded by all as the bulwark of safety for republic, 205; his old age and physical incapacity when war broke out, 206; men- tioned: *3, 41, *53, 83, 158, *207, 210, 259, •261, *274, 323. *33i. *342. *343, 344, 349, *333, 372. 395. *433. 470. Seaton, W. W'., "^38, *42. Sedgewick, 346. Sedgwick, Fort, 281. Seminary Hill, 416. Seven Days' Battle, 325-26, 344, 345, 350, 360. Seven Pines, 408. Seward, Wni. Henry, why he could not be President, 212; political career, 213-214; his utterly illogical idea of provoking a foreign war and assume role of dictator, 204, 214, 215; his eminent position as po- litical leader, 214; full explanation of the political conditions that operated against his nomination, 215; his attitude on the school question made his election im- possible, 216; his supporters dumfounded by the Lincoln nomination, 2ig; greatly oftended at Curtin and Lane for his de- feat, 219; would not exhibit ordinary civif- ity to McClure after his defeat for nom- ination, 220; made a great record as Premier of Lincoln administration, 221-22; mentioned: 8, 14, 46, 51, 86, 203, 245, '246, 395 Seymour, Horatio, oflfered as a sacrifice to maintain party organization, *i6o. Seymour, Gov., 229. Shapley. Rufus E., 175, 179, 180, 181. Sharkey, Wm. L., 301. Sheftield Register, 37. Shenandoah Valley, 91. Shepard, Gov., in advance of his time in conception of what our national capital should be. 209; literally created the pres- ent beautiful city. 209; did for Washing- ton what Caesar did for Rome, 209; today his achievements are pointed to with pride, 2'o; assailed as a corruptionist and driven from authority and home, 210; now far in the interior of Mexico, 210. Shepardstown, 435. Sheridan, Gen. P. H.. a lieutenant on the frontier at beginning of Civil War, 207; unapproached by any other Union com- mander in swiftness of movement. 322; and Jackson, the great lieutenants of the war. 322 — 330; how Grant witnessed his inspiration of the movement which drove Braff? from Missionary Ridge. 128; called by Grant to take charge of his cavalry. 328: w'th Grant in the terrible battles of the \A'i!derness. 328: if he had not been with G'-ant he would have escaped cap- ture at Appomattox. 329; his brilliant campaign against Earlv, in which he ma-'le his famot.is ride. 720; seized the flag and led the charge at Five Forks, 329; jollv. rollickinc. big-hearted, and a most genial companion. 330: as modest as brave. 330: made General on d'^athbed, 330: was the real victor over Lee at Ap- pomattox, 330; the one hlot on his fame his refusal to vindicate Warren, 439; men- tioned: 91. 296, 438-*39, '409. Sherman, Chas., 451. Sherman, Scc'y John, blamed Alger for his defeat in 1888, 139; evident from start that his nomination could not be accom- plished, 139; how he missed being Speaker of the House by endorsing a book on slavery, 451-2; called to the Treasury by Hayes and enabled to put into operation his plan for resumption of specie payment, 452-3; longest service in the U. S. Senate of any man, 450; his great service in restoring credit of the government almost forgotten by the great mass of the people today, 454; .Sherman, John, author of Resumption, 450 — 4s8; genial and jovial in younger days, his close and exacting labors changed him to a cold and unapproachable man, 453-4; the great doubt as to ability of country to ever pay the billions of debt. 454; open advocate of repudiation, 4>5; his work re- stored the government to rank among the high credit nations of the world, 456; his disappointment in the nomination for the presidency, 456-7; retirement from Senate and cabinet to make way for new leaders, 458; mentioned: '99, 100, *i09, 115. Tt8. '139. 209. 341. Sherman. Gen. Wm. T., had Just resigned a position as teacher at beginning of Civil War, 207; the Genius of the Union Army, 331 — 340; his early enlistment and quick promotion to Brigadier General, 332; his startling demand for 60,000 men and estimate that 200,000 would be needed in Southwest, 332; War Department de- cided that he was crazy and relieved him of his position, 332-3; his name second only to Grant in greatness, 331 ; chafed around St. Louis barracks until Grant called for him, 333; how he saved the day at Shiloh. 3-?4; from day of Shiloh Grant regarded him as ablest of his lieu- tenants, 334; assigned to the important movement against Atlanta by Grant, 3.'?": hip army not heard from for 24 days, 336; wild rumors of his capture, 336: capture of Atlanta and march to the sea, 336; capture of Savannah, 337; bitter de- nouncement of his burning of .\t1anta, 33R: burning of Atlanta a military neces- sity. 338: never temnered the asperity of Iiis feeling^ toward the South, 338: harsh- ness of criticisms against him for burn- ing Columbia. 339; made general of the army when Grant was President. 340; mentioned: 11. 15, *62, *qi, •135, 148, 159, 208, 242, 206, *297, 298, •307, 315, 329, 343. *409. 44". *4Si. Shields. Gen., 193, •325. Shiloh,* 314, 333. 334. 374- Ship Island, Fort, 49. Shtmk,' *233. Shurtz,- 290. Sigel, 3.-»5. Simmons, Z. E., 173, 174. Singerly. Wm. M., 177, 448. Smalls, Robert, 255, *257. Smith, Gerrit, 116. Smith, Samuel Harrison, 37, 38. Smith, Seba. 40. South Carolina under carpet-bag fute, 3*8. South ATountain, 346, '350, 411. Spaight Cof North Carolina), 235. Spottsylvania, 328. 500 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S Sprague, Gov. (of Rhode Island), 346. Squadron, South Atlantic, 150. Stanford, 73- , ^ . , Stanton, Sec'y. his opinions of Lincoln and the government in 1861, 206; called to Lincoln's cabinet, 206; mentioned: 62, *65, 317. *434. 435- Stanton (of Tennessee), 193. Star of the West (steamer), 49. Staunton, 324. Stephens, Alexander H., one of the ablest and most unique of Southern leaders, 353 — 361; opposed to secession, 353; elected to Vice-Presidency of Confed- eracy, 334; hostility to policy of Davis, almost led to revolt against Confederacy in Georgia, 335; the head of the Peace Commission that conferred with Lincoln, 355; arrested when Lincoln was assassin- ated, and imprisoned in Fort Warren for five months, 356; elected Governor of Georgia, 356- deplored overthrow of Con- federacy, in spite of his opposition to secession, 339; implacable in opposition to Curtin because of latter's authorship of Altoona conference, 360; his humiliat- ing experience in being matched in Con- gress at debate by a full-blooded negro, 361; mentioned: 14, 46, 45, 233, 398, 403. Stevens, Aaron Dwight, 24. Stevens, Thaddeus, the commoner of the Civil War, 413—423; his first case in court at once won him fame, 416; indif- ferent to criticism and widely misunder- stood by the public, 416; engaged un- profitably in the iron business, 418; re- moved to Lancaster and was elected to (Tongress, 418; the session of Congress in which he loomed up as master of the floor, 419-20; an incident exhibiting his imperious authority, 421 ; how he secured suffrage of negro in District of Colum- bia, 422; author of Fourteenth Amend- ment, 422; mentioned: 22, 67, 107, 108, 209. Stevenson, Jeremiah, -i^j. Stevenson, 166. Stewart, A. T. (of New York), *392. Stoneman, Gen., 3^,8. Stone River, 374. Strasburg, 324, 325. Stuart, A. H. H., 372. Stuart, Gen., wanted McClure as prisoner "damn bad," 412; mentioned: 328, *4o8, 439. St. Charles Hotel, 176. St. Louis, *27i-2-3-7. St. Nicholas Hotel, 78, 80. St. Philip, Fort, 49. Sumner, Charles, how he championed the admission of the first negro to the Sen- ate, 233; Wilson's kindly efforts to re- instate in the fellowship of his colleagues, 290; Boutwell and Chase, 389 — 307; one of the three great Republican leaders started in their careers by the Democrats, 389-93; not ereatest leader, but greatest intel- lectual force of Rerviibl:c!inism, 391; en- tirely without tact in management of men, 391; never consultjd by party leaders on political expediency. 391; the only man who had the courage to oppose Grant's nomination of A. T. Stewart for Secre- tary of the Treasury, 391-2; an ideal statesman who worked to make his party and government better than it can ever be made, 393; Brooks' brutal assault upon with a bludgeon, 393-4; mentioned: *', Chief Justice, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36. Terry, Gen. Alf. H., 436, *437. Texas (steamer), 49. Thomas, Gen., a captain at beginning of Civil War, 207; never sacrificed a com- mand, lost a battle or committed a blunder, 337; mentioned: 328, 330, 334, *34i. 374. Thompson, Adolphus, 24, 27. Thompson, Gen. M. J., *383. Thompson. Wm., 24, z-j. Thomson, Pres. Pa. R. R., 319. Thurman, Allen G., 98, 436. Tibbetts, Congressman (of Kentucky), 2^6. Tidd, 24, 23, 27. Tilden, Samuel J. greatest organizer Democratic party ever had, 161 ; never rallied from his defeat at hands of Elec- toral Commission, 161; how his delay in offering his declination at the Cincinnati convention probably prevented Randall from geting the nomination, 446; men- tioned: 49, 99, 100, 102, 125, 137, 160, 335, 396, *443. 447. *452- The Times (Philadelphia), 149, 175, 181, 293. RECOLLECTIONS OF HALF A CENTURY. 501 The Times (Weekly), 399. Times-Democrat, 176. Toombs, 353. Travel, Western, a generation ago, 279-80- 81; danger of, in Western stage coaches, 281-2-3. Travis, 165, 171. Trenton, 318. Trevillian's Station, 409. The Tribune, 161. Trumbull, Sen. (of Illinois), 66, 68, 209, '214, 250, 395. Twiggs, Gen., 49. Tyler, Pres. John, 4, 43, 132, 205, 479. Union Pacific Railway, the sequel of DufF Green's Fiscal Agency bill, 43; men- tioned: *73, 280. United States Bank, 185, 275. United States Telegraph, 42. Vallandigham, Clement L., defiantly advo- cated State rights and denounced co- ercion, 226; his arrest and banishment within Confederate lines, 227-8; prophecy that North would sweep Lincoln dynasty out of existence in one year, 229; nom- inated for Governor by Democratic State convention, 229; his emphatic defeat, 230; later return and practice at bar, 230; his unblemished personal character, 231 ; an able, honest and fearless man who became a foe to himself and country rather by circumstance than purpose, 231; mentioned: 147, *222, 347. Van Buren, Pres. Martin, mentioned: 4, 5V 40, 43, 44, 134, 'isS, 20s, *2i7, 232, '237, 288, 389, 479. Vance, Gov. (of North Carolina), 11, 6z, *297, 298. Vanderbilt, 92. Van Winkle, Sen., *6S. Venezuela dispute, 131. Vicksburg, 315, *334. Vigilantes, rule of, in Colorado, Idaho and Montana, 286. Wade, Sen. Ben, no tact or fitness as pre- siding officer of Senate, 6s; to prevent his reaching presidency Johnson was ac- quitted, 66; triple defeat, 67; consigned to retirement, 69; mentioned: 65, •191, 209, 213. *2i4, 456. 499. Waite, Chief Justice, 120. Wales, Prince of, recollections of the visit of, in i860, 363-4-5; people were not then as ready to give welcome to royalty as now, 363. Walker, L. Pope, 49, *55, S6- Wallace, Sen., *444. Walter, John, 94. War Delusions, overthrow of slavery dis- tinctlv disclaimed, 469; conviction gen- eral that the war would not last beyond one or two battles, 469; belief that cap- ture of Richmond would end the war, 469: contemplation of the sacrifice of 10,- 000 men appalling, 471. Warren, Gen. Gouverneur K., relieved by Sheridan for not carrying out an order as he gave it, 439; his service at Gettys- burg, 438; vindicated fifteen years later hy a bonrd apr'ointed by Hayes, 439; mentioned: 433, *438. Warren, Fort, 228, 356. Warmoth, Gov., 252. Washburn, Elihu B., 95. Washington, deplorable condition of, forty years ago, 203; most beautiful city of the world, 203; present beautiful, literally created by Shepard, 209; Shepard's grand conception of what it should be, 209; Shepard did for it what Caesar did for Rome, 209; impetus for improvement of came with restoration of peace, 209; Stan- ton's description of conditions in, in 1861, 2o6; mentioned: 42, 96, 264. Washington, Col., 26. Washington Union, 44. Watterson, Col., 377. Watson, 150. Wayne, Judge, 193. Webster, Daniel, yearned for appreciative recognition of an election to presidency, 157; wasted his life away because of in- gratitude of republic, 157; mentioned: *6, 38, 41, 80, 82, 186, 192, •193, •200, 232, 27s, 353. 354. 391. 395, 480. Webster, Prof., 224. Weed, Thurlow, 43, '45, '46, 213, 214, 219. Weitzel. Gen., 11, 298. Wells, 203. Wells, Gov. J. M. (of Louisiana), 301. West Point, has not produced a single great popular leader, 13; mentioned: 95, 321. 323. 345, 349. 374- WTiarton, G. M., *i87, 188. Wharton, 441. Whetmore, 191. Whipper, 255. White, Geo. H., 257. Wilderness, Battle of the, 90, 321, '327, 328, 348. Wilkinson, 406. Williams, "Blue Jeans," 137. Williams College, 106. Williams, Sir Fenwick, 363. Williamsburg, 347. Williamsport, 264, •351. Wilmot, David, author of the Wilmot pro- viso that convulsed the country in 1846, 232; interesting political battles, 233-4-5; the "proviso" that made him famous and how he happened to become its sponsor, 235-6; mentioned: 45, 208, 225, 442. Winchester, '324, 325, 330. Winthrop, 390, 392. Wilson, Henry, career most profitable study for young men of today, 287; learned shoemaker's trade, and when he began delivering political speeches was billed as the "Natick cobbler," 287; ad- mitted leader of Free Soil party in Mas- sachusetts, 288; Natick Cobbler and Vice- President, 287 — 294; known as peace- maker of Senate, 289; kindly efforts to reinstate Sumner, 289-90; tireless efforts for harmony during Grant administra- tion, 291; a stranger to indulgence in wines and dinners, 293; at the forefront in every great battle for national ad- vancement, 293; and Broderick resented reflection upon dignity of labor, 293-4; his service as chairman of military com- mittee during the war, 294; author of "Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America," 294; died in Vice-President's room, with harness on, 294; mentioned: 502 COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE'S •45, '46. 209, 2:3, *2S3, 389, 390, 394, 395, Yancey, 415. 434. Yates, *95. Wilson, Mr. (of Mobile), 311. Yellow Tavern, 328, Wise, Gov. (of Virginia), *28. Yocum, 360. \\^ood, Fernando, 28, 51, *422- Yr°'^' ^^\ . , , . Wood, Judge (of Pennsylvania), *i8o. ^PJi'^^A Brigham, as absolute a niler as Wool, Gen., 208, 342. ^^^ ^^^"^ "^ ^"^sia, 279. Wright, 82. Zapolya, 195. ^^■^ight, Judge, 255. Zollicoffer, 37^, f iii liiliilliiliipljippiiipii, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'' iiiiiiil iiiiiiiliillM^^^^